Page 15 of Dragon Awakened

Malik's blue dragon and Jianyu's gray one lend a ripple of magic to the air as well, and deep inside my chest, there's a fluttering of wings. My dragon stirs, but it's not time yet. Her circle of mates is not complete.

It will be, though. I can feel it.

"We'll bring light to shadow," I say, barely more than a whisper, but the words echo, the reality of the undertaking finally beginning to seem real.

"And ascend to the Grand Throne." Jianyu's voice rumbles, deep and rough and full of power.

And those were the words the Shadow King said. I didn't entirely believe them at the time, but now, here, surrounded by these men, with my magic and my dragon both stirring, it seems true.

"We'll unite the dragon kingdoms," Rafe agrees.

Malik's brilliant blue eyes flash with light. "And end the war between dragonkind."

"Together," I breathe, and it's too much. I never wanted power; I never, ever imagined being any kind of leader--much less a fabled monarch.

But this is the path that destiny has chosen for me and my mates, and between one breath and the next, we embrace it.

I've barely finished speaking before Jianyu is reeling me back in again. Our kiss this time tastes like magic and light--like stone rising from bare ground and the power of the earth beneath my fingertips.

I give myself over to him, opening wide and welcoming the hot, wet stroke of his tongue. He scrapes his teeth over my lip, and between my legs, I flash molten.

A breathless, panting noise escapes me, and then Rafe is tugging at Jianyu's shoulder.

Jianyu pulls away, only for Rafe to drag me to stand. His strong arms enclose me. His golden eyes burning with need, he claims my lips for his own.

I moan into his mouth, my achy nipples pressing into the hard muscle of his chest. His skin is fiery hot against mine, and I need more. I put my hand to his throat, feeling the hum of life in his pulse, and he growls. He cups my ass, hauling me in even closer, until I can feel how huge and hard he is for me.

Between my legs, a gush of wetness soaks me. I'm suddenly dizzy with desire. After the terror of the last twenty-four hours--not to mention the general trauma of the last forty-eight or so--I'm shaky and needy. The instinct to connect with my mates blinds me to everything else in the world. I have to feel them, be with them, remind myself that this is real and that I'm alive, despite all the odds.

"Need," I mumble, sliding my hand down to the collar of his shirt.

"Anything," Malik interrupts, slotting himself in behind me, and my knees wobble, my pussy throbbing at the heat of him as he blankets my spine. "Anything you want, beloved. Name it and it's yours."

"All of you--I need--I can't--" Can't find the words to speak my desires out loud, can't wait, can't bear the emptiness within me.

Rafe kisses my gibberish from my mouth, and I'm so grateful. I welcome the hot sweep of his tongue, gliding my palm down his chest while reaching backward with my other hand. Malik entwines his fingers with mine, and when Rafe pulls away, Malik is there.

Malik turns me and gazes deep into my eyes. He was so opposed to sharing me, but all I see in him now is hunger.

When he kisses me, it's gentle but firm. With quiet command, he slowly and methodically takes me apart, licking the taste of my other mates from my tongue. I'm breathless, unable to resist his assault--entirely too willing to be overcome.

By the time he releases me, I'm panting, gasping, my breasts aching and my pussy a slick mess of absolute need.

For the first time, a flicker of doubt flits across Malik's gaze. He glances between me and my other mates and back again. He swallows, and there's a vulnerability to his voice. "I do not know how this works."

"Haven't had a lot of foursomes, Your Majesty?" Rafe jabs.

But Malik refuses to rise to the bait. "None," he says earnestly.

He twines a hand in my still-damp hair and glides the other down my front, tracing through the valley between my swollen breasts.

His breath is hot against my mouth, our lips almost touching. "Show me how you like it," he breathes. "How you like your men to pleasure you."

I pulse inside, his words reaching into me and sending the kindling of my desire to a smoldering blaze.

"One at a time?" he prods, kissing me again, soft but brief. He drifts his lips across my cheek to my ear. "Or more than one of us?"

"I don't know." I turn my head to the side, giving him better access to the tender line of my throat. My fingers wrap themselves in his shirt, just trying to hold on. "It's not like I've had a foursome before, either."

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