“Why are you so hot?” Nia asks, her words slurring and slowing.

Yes, she is most likely going to remember very little of this conversation. She might even think all of it is just more of her dreams. Not that I am not curious about where this conversation will lead, because I most certainly am. I just wish it was a conversation we were having with her when she was coherent.

“We are colder than humans,” Lyath says, tilting his head to the side in confusion. His eyes meet mine, and I give him a small shrug.

Nia doesn’t seem to mind his confusion. She reaches up for him, and when he offers his hand again, she shoos it away and reaches for his bare chest. We both sleep without clothing, so I am completely bare beneath her, whereas Lyath must have pulled on a pair of pants before coming into Nia’s room with the torch.

“So hot,” Nia says as her fingers run over the scales of Lyath’s chest. I suck down a deep breath of air and force my cock to stay firmly planted in my pocket and not harden and press into Nia’s backside. She does not need to know I crawled into her bed naked.

“We should go,” I say to Lyath, but I am mostly talking to myself.

What I want is to stay in this bed all night, rouse Nia a bit more so she is fully awake, and then ask her to expand on Lyath’s warmth so we can understand what she means.

“We should,” Lyath agrees with me, even as he keeps his chest bared for Nia’s inspection of him.

Her hand traces down a long length of scales that run from the center of his chest down to his lower abdomen. Her fingers trail the scales until she is at the waistband of his pants, and then she lowers them even further down the fabric. Lyath is hard, and his length is straining against the fabric.

“Do not touch my mate without permission,” I hiss and grab Nia’s hand to still her movements.

I will enjoy watching her and Lyath play with one another, but tonight is not that night. Not when she still might be thinking this is part of her dreams. I want her fully conscious when she decides to lay with us in the way lovers do, and I want my cock to be the first one she wraps her hand around. She is my mate, after all, and I am a greedy male.

Lyath groans deep in his throat as I pull Nia’s hand away from where it is about to graze his cock. I expect him to whine more than he does, and I am surprised when he stands from the bed and cups Nia’s cheek.

“Another time, perhaps,” he tells her with a stroke of his thumb. “I think you need to sleep now.”

“Another time,” I agree.

It takes everything in me to lift Nia’s small body away from me and slide out from behind her. Lyath’s eyes fall down the length of my body, probably seeing if I was successful in not hardening against her. I was because I am a good mate who does not use his mate’s nightmares as a means to slide inside of her.

“I want you to sleep now, Nia,” I say as I tuck her back underneath her covers and push her hair away from her face. It does not want to cooperate, but Nia seems used to it being in her face. Her eyes are already closed before she’s back on the pillow, and I know she has drifted back off to sleep as I press my forehead against hers. “No more nightmares tonight.”

She doesn’t respond to me, but that is okay. I know she will follow my command. Her mind wants to be my mate, and her soul yearns for it. I only need her to see that she fits perfectly with Lyath and me. Then we will be the happiest of mates in the whole tribe.

“You were a good mate,” Lyath says to me when we creep back out of Nia’s room. I leave the door open this time, wanting to make sure I can get to her quicker if she has another nightmare.

“I am always a good mate,” I grunt.

I drag our bed from where it is tucked in one of the corners furthest away from the door and move it so it is against the opposite corner with the foot of the bed only a few feet from the open door. Now, if I lie in bed, I have a clear view into Nia’s room, and it will help keep my mind at ease.

“Yes, you are,” Lyath agrees, extinguishing his torch and crawling into bed. He sleeps against the wall. This is how it has always been. “She will see it soon.”

“Mhm,” I murmur, sliding into bed beside him.

He eyes me curiously like he is unsure what kind of mood I am in. Yes, it could be easy for me to be unhappy because one of my mates has not asked to be with me in the ways she wants another male, but I am happy because I at least know she is interested in us. Not to mention, I can now handle my other mate who was going to allow someone who is not me to touch something that is mine.

“What is wrong?” Lyath asks. He tries to roll onto his side to face me, but I push him back down and press my horns against his. His body tenses in panic but settles quickly since he knows he has done nothing wrong.

“Would you have let her touch your cock?” I ask, my hand trailing down his body and grabbing hold of where he is still stiff from Nia’s inspection of his chest.

“I would have,” he groans as I begin to pleasure him with my palm.

“You would have let her touch what is mine,” I growl, pressing his head further into his pillow as our horns scrape against one another. Lyath does not answer this question. His mouth is too busy making soft whimpering sounds that mean he is close to releasing in my hand.

“You are mine, Lyath.” I punctuate the words by stopping my movements and holding his cock in a soft grip. “Mine to pleasure, mine to touch, mine to share when I want.”

“Beren,” Lyath’s eyes are wide in panic now because he knows what is about to happen. “Do not be cruel.”

I release his cock from my grasp and pull his body close to mine. I do not miss the hiss that escapes his lips or how his eyes flicker to red. The smile on my lips is a mockery, but I cannot help it when I am such a blessed male. Lyath grumbles some more under his breath before allowing his body to relax against mine.