Page 87 of Silent Jay

She sighed and bit her lower lip. I shut up, suddenly unsure who was in control. Once again, she looked at me, studying my every motion as if badly needing to trust me but unsure if she could.

I stood and knelt at her side so we were eye to eye. “I’m thirty-two and a Leo.” I gestured around me. “I live here alone because my first love is magic. For a long time, my only love was magic, but I suspect that might not be true anymore.” I squeezed her, unsure how she would respond if I admitted how drawn to her I was. My dragon wanted her to be his, and after just a day, I wanted her just as much. On some level, I’d known since the Social over a week ago. I hadn’t let myself admit it.

What had the other two already told her about their marks? I decided not to risk contradicting them. “I sit on the earth dragon council as their magic advisor. I’m probably the most magically gifted dragon on the island. Though I don’t usually say it like that.”

Her gaze lit up with understanding.

I swallowed hard. I needed to admit to what had just happened. Good communication was everything. “And you just gave me my first blow job.”

I stood tugging her to her feet, wanting her to know everything about me. To see me. “My heritage is some mix of black and Asian… don’t ask me how.” I grinned. “I suspect my dad is the only black dragon on our council. Kinda hard to guess that one wrong.” I laced her fingers with mine and tugged her toward the side of my cave with my favorite display. “And I do all my tattoo work as I need to draw to channel Ley Line magic. It works perfectly.” I pointed out the little section of my cave covered in my sketches and a leather-covered tattoo chair.

She cocked her head to the side and wrote on the pad. ‘No katana collection?’

“No swords.” I grinned and splayed my fingers, shifting them into claws. “I don’t need to collect what I already have.”

She wrinkled her nose and nodded a few times.

My heart stopped. What if I scared her? I forgot that claws were scary. I shifted back into my human hands, but she didn’tseem fazed. Or even that interested. “But I mean, if you want me to collect swords, I could do that.”

Jay took a deep breath and pulled out the pad of paper. ‘Look, stop.’

I bit my lips together. “Stop what?”

Jay sighed. ‘Being nice to me. I gave you a BJ because, when I gave Rehan one, it unlocked some of the curse trapping my magic.’

She used me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it was a thousand times better than my fear of forcing her. I took a few deep breaths, unsure where to go from here.

“Our, um, actions didn’t help you though?” I asked, clinging to the part of this I understood… trial and error to discover new magic. “Has anyone else’s?”

Her eyes bugged. ‘I’m not blowing every dragon I see!’

I waved my hands over the paper. “No, I didn’t mean it like that!”

She was already writing. ‘Even if I was, there’s nothing wrong with that.’

“I completely agree.” I patted my chest. “If my magic were trapped, I would also suck as many dicks as it took to get it back.”

Jay bit her lower lip and raised an eyebrow.

“I am making it worse, aren’t I?” I traced the runes to bury myself alive on my wrist, ready to power them just in case.

‘Yes. You’ve already dug in deep. If you want to power your runes to cover the hole, by all means.’

Her eyes sparkled, watching me read her comment, and I relaxed a little. She bumped me with her shoulder and wrote. ‘I know we got a weird start, but I respect your loyalty to your people. Water under the bridge, I’m too old to dwell in the past. I want to be upfront. I feel a similar connection to you as I do Rehan and Tyson, and I believe it’s the curse.’

Mate.The word filled my mind, directly conflicting with her conclusion.

‘Are you upset?’ she wrote, not bothering to flip the paper around for me.

I shook my head. “I don’t believe anything can manipulate a mate bond.” I cocked my head to the side, willing her to see what I was just realizing. We were connected deeply. “I’m not upset about the situation. You having other mates doesn’t bother me or my dragon.” Heat kissed my cheeks. “It’s the opposite, really.” I rubbed my stubble-covered chin. “Do you know why my, ah essence, didn’t help you when Rehan’s did?”

She shook her head. ‘I think it has to do with the mate mark.’

My stomach danced, and my dick twitched. I licked my lips—two mate marks. Despite everything, just the idea of adding mine as a third made my dragon roar happily. I’d spent my life alone, dedicating myself to my magic, always looking for the next spell. Maybe it wasn’t just spells I wanted.

Jay grabbed my hand this time and tugged me toward my tattooing area. My leather table sat upright in a corner, surrounded by framed drawings and shelves of reference materials. I hadn’t given myself a new tattoo in a while. But a black and white striped loveseat and footrest sat in the middle. A very complicated, new design sat halfway finished on the table next to it.

Jay pushed me into the loveseat. I tried to pull her with me, but when she pulled back, I let her go.

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