Page 50 of Monsters of Air

Somehow, Zilon worked his magic and managed to get a fire going. It was small and didn’t do much for warmth, but it was still better than nothing.

We all huddled against the rock, doing our best to stay under the overhang. The dragons all faced me, wings spread out as they tried to keep the wind away, and the fire burning. It did a good job, and blocked out some of the chill, but I was the only one benefitting, all of their backs were still to the wind and they were chattering and shivering worse than I ever had. I didn’t want to think how the Fae was fairing, left out in the cold just on the other side of Zilon.

“Will we freeze to death if we fall asleep?” I asked.

“We’re here, you won’t freeze,” Zilon said, scooting closer. The other two stayed where they were.

“What about you?”

“Get what rest we can, tomorrow isn’t going to be easy with all this snow to walk through,” Philit said, ignoring my questions and closing his eyes.

“Not on guard duty?” I leaned forward so I could see him on the other side of Zilon.

“Zilon’s taking first shift,” he said, with a yawn.

“Shit, how can you fall asleep in this,” Landers said, cuddled into his own blanket next to Philit.

“I’ve been in these mountain before–”

“Don’t tell me, you’ve trained since you were five?” Landers cut him off, I choked on my laugh as Philit snarled.

I pushed more into Zilon for his warmth, it worked far better than the measly fire we had going. Quietness surrounded us, blanketed by the heavy snowfall around us. Soon both Philit and Landers' heavy breathing joined the wind, the two dragons asleep even as I tried to get my body to relax.

“Rayna,” Zilon whispered when I had shifted for the hundredth time, still trying to get comfortable. “Move a little less. Please.”

“Why?” I asked, confused. But then I moved again and I felt it. Something long, hard, and most definitely excited to see me. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Zilon’s voice was tight. “You have a way of umm… it would be best if we kept our hands to ourselves tonight.”

“That sounds a bit like a challenge,” I breathed out, already imagining what it looked like.

“Rayna.” Zilon sounded like he was in pain. “Don’t make me have to fight this pull. It’s exhausting.”

“Then maybe we should stop fighting it?” I yawned, my exhaustion making me loopy. We all knew there was no way anyone was going to stop fighting it.

“I don’t want to hurt you or do something to jeopardize your future.”

I snorted and leaned my forehead against his shoulder, right near the edge where his scales stopped.

“Didn’t we already do that?” I could barely get the words out, my chest was tight, my heart pounding at the memory of his fingers as they did that.

“We all want you, Rayna. But we also acknowledge the danger of taking what isn’t ours.” Zilon sounded like he tore a page out of the ‘Philit book’.

I sighed, there was no way I was going to convince They were torturing me, not intentionally, but they were. Landers was a complete asshole, but I still wanted him. Philit refused to come near me when he didn’t need to, even though he kept glancing my way with heated eyes.

“You’re always by my side,” I said softly. “You’re always helping me. If I have to choose between the three of you, I think the answer is clear at this point. You’re the only one who wants me.”

“Shit. Rayna.” Zilon turned enough to pick me up and practically pull me into his lap, hugging me tight to him, his face buried in my neck as he took in a deep breath. “Your scent is so intoxicating. I want you so bad. I really do.”

His words were surprisingly like a balm to my heart. For the last couple of days, over and over, I heard about how Landers and Philit didn’t want me. Although it seemed like they were fighting themselves every time they did it, it still hurt. Then there was Zilon. He was more than happy to protect me, to stay by myself, to share his warmth.

Zilon’s hot fingers touched my skin, right where my top had ridden up.

I leaned against him, my skin buzzing to be touched by him again. I reached down into the blanket, finding the edge of his pants. He took in a sharp breath, but didn’t move, staring down at me with impossibly dark eyes.

Zilon leaned closer to me, his forehead pressing against mine as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer. His tail coiled around me to rest against my legs, making me feel like I was cocooned in him. “Why are you so gorgeous?”

“I don’t feel gorgeous,” I admitted. “I feel like a forest rat that was birthed by a mud demon.”

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