Page 44 of Two Thousand Blades

“I don’t belong here.”

Xiang’s hand moved to cup his cheek, forcing Kai to tilt his head so their eyes locked. “You are staying. We’re going to talk. Fill them in on what happened. Afterward, we’re going to have a big meeting about how to move your hoard here, so you know it’s safe.”

“Here?” The single word broke from Kai’s thought. “You want me to move my hoard here?”

Xiang’s smile spread so wide it twinkled in his eyes. “Of course. That way, you’ll always be close to it while you’re here with me. Plus, you’ll have an entire clan helping to protect it.”

“You want me to stay with you?” Kai knew Xiang had said those words to him more than once, but he’d never allowed himself to believe them. Xiang was supposed to be saying them simply to get Kai to take him home.

Well, he was home now, and Kai was willing to leave him with his clan. No more imprisonment in a cave under the river. Xiang was free, and yet he continued to cling to Kai, pulling him into this clan that meant the entire world to him.

Xiang’s thumb rubbed along his cheekbone in the sweetest caress, sending Kai’s fragmented thoughts scattering to the wind. “I want you to stay. It won’t be just you anymore. You have people now.”

There was no more conscious thought. Only need.

Sweeping his arms around Xiang, Kai pulled the vampire into a tight embrace. Their mouths collided in a kiss that blotted out the entire world. He wasn’t sure who started the kiss. Maybe they met in the middle. It didn’t matter. Xiang was holding on to him as if he were the only person he ever wanted to be with. At the first touch of Xiang’s tongue across the seam of his lips, Kai opened, welcoming him inside.

Clan. Hoard.

No, this was the only place he wanted to be.

Chapter 15

Li Xiang

Oh Gods, Kai knew how to kiss.

His fucking toes were curling in his shoes. Xiang wasn’t entirely sure how they’d gotten to this point, but he was not complaining. It was just that Kai had started talking about leaving and something inside of Xiang’s brain had screamed that if he let Kai out that door, he would never see the dragon again.

And then he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

Never seeing Kai was like losing a limb, or maybe part of his soul. Whatever. He was beyond rational thought and was willing to do whatever he needed to convince the dragon to stay. He’d figure out shit with his family later.

But now he was in Kai’s arms, lips moving together, tongues tangling. Every breath he inhaled was an exhale straight from Kai’s lungs. This was perfect…except for one thing.

They had an audience.

“Damn, I should have made popcorn,” Meimei whispered loudly.

“Should I be recording this? I feel like I should be recording this,” Moon chimed in.

“Definitely didn’t see this coming,” Junjie muttered.

“I’m so confused,” Chen stated, and Xiang almost broke off the kiss there.

“They’re lovers,” Moon replied in a low tone that rivaled Meimei’s. “They’ve been fucking in this dragon’s hoard while he was kidnapped.”

“Rescued,” Meimei corrected.

That ended the kiss right there. He was giving his family the wrong idea, right? Well, they hadn’t been intimate like that. He had the image growing in his mind now, though. He had seen Kai naked once, but blood had covered the dragon from head to toe. It hadn’t been conducive to sexy thoughts.

Would Kai be interested in more than kissing?

No! Bad brain! Later. Much, much later.

Xiang opened his eyes and stared into silvery-gray ones that were filled with the same wonder that was swelling in his chest. He wasn’t alone in this. He flashed Kai what he hoped was a reassuring smile and swung back to his clan, who were watching him with a mix of confused and shocked expressions. This was not how he expected to be introducing Kai to his clan.

Shoving aside his own anxieties and swirling thoughts, he stepped up to Xiao Dan first and bowed his head. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Shixiong. I am home now and would like to introduce to you Kai. He is a dragon and needs our help. The fae stole a sword from him.”

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