Page 54 of Don't Fae With Dragons

My eyes go wide with her announcement, and I wrap my hands around her, lifting her and spinning her in the air. She giggles loudly, then she pulls back and kisses me suddenly. I feel a spike of shock from Cory and quickly pull back, eyes wide. When I look at him, though, he’s half-grinning with a sort of bewildered happiness.

“Oh!” Mili exclaims, running over to Cory. “I’m so –oh, gods, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I–”

Cory wraps an arm around her shoulder, protective and maybe a bit possessive too, and smiles down at her. “It’s okay. We’re a pack, after all – you want one of us, you’re sort of stuck with the others.”

“You’re not mad?” she whispers.

Cory shakes his head firmly. “Just remember that Iamthe only Alpha.”

“Oh, Realm’s Mother,” Max groans with an eye roll.

“Easy,” Cory growls. Max raises his hands in surrender, smirking, and I feel myself smiling at how quickly he settles back into his snarky persona. Only minutes ago he’d been practically helpless at my touch, whining for me,beggingfor me.

“Port?” Mili asks inquisitively. “Are you alright?”

I realize I’m blushing and growing hard again, and I nod emphatically, trying to shake the flush off my face. “Uh, yes, sorry. I was far away for a moment there.”

Her earlier curiosity reignited, she turns to Max and paces across the room to him. She asks slowly, “What were you doing in here with your pants unbuttoned, Max?” as she moves to stand right in front of him.

He tries to step backwards, shrinking under her sudden scrutiny, and I find myself blushing harder at the sight of him so shy to have been physical with me. It’s attractive, too, seeing Mili make him squirm.Gods, this is fun, I think to myself.

His foot catches on the chair, and he stumbles to catch himself with an awkward laugh. Mili presses forward, though, until they’re only inches apart. She taps a finger to his nose and faux-whispers, “Not very sneaky, are you?”

Cory laughs at her comment and remarks, “No, he’s not, is he?”

“Oh, cut him some slack,” I say with a smile, hoping she’ll leave Max alone before he explodes from her interrogation. Mili whirls around to face me, a mischievous grin on her face, and shrugs innocently.

“Fine,” she says with a sigh, “just leave Cory and me out of all the fun.”

Max snorts behind her. “It looks like you two had enough fun of your own on the volcano’s peak.”

Mili forces a scowl, but it quickly breaks into a smile. “Perhaps,” she teases. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“You will soon,” Cory murmurs, leaning in to kiss her neck.

Mili’s eyes go wide at the sudden display of affection, and her cheeks flush pink. I make a mental note:looks like Cory already knows how to get her flustered. She’s so beautiful when she’s caught off guard, and her scent blooms even brighter; I decide I’ll have to tease her a bit myself one of these days, since I’d love to see her blush for me.

The four of us stand in happy silence for a moment, Cory with Mili, Max and me standing a comfortable distance around them, before Max breaks the silence.

“So ... what now?”

CHAPTER 36: MAX

The next morning, I’ve packed my small collection of belongings and have arrived at Mili’s door to escort her to the front of the volcano. Port and Cory are waiting for us there, then we’re all going into town together. I try not to think about how crazy that is. Cory asked Port for a private conversation, which I would consider quite ominous if it wasn’t for the growing bond between our pack.

I knock on Mili’s door after taking a moment to compose myself. The smell of her, cinnamon and chocolate, wafts through the door into the hallway, and I clench my fists at my side. After a quick exhale, my pitiful attempt at pushing away her scent, I knock.

It’s still a challenge to keep my desire in check around her, especially now that I know she’s been intimate with both Cory and even with Port. To be honest, Ireallydid not expect Cory to willingly share Mili, so to speak. As much as he wants to be a real pack with Port and me, he has the strongest Alpha instincts of us all, so I assumed that would make it a bit of a challenge to restrain his possessiveness. Still, he literally saw Mili kiss Port yesterday and hardly flinched. I suppose we’re all full of surprises –Cory’s no exception.

Really, I’m probably projecting; seeing Port kiss Mili lit up something strange inside me. Not jealousy, exactly, but something close. It’s not that I don’t want Port and Mili to enjoy each other, not at all. There’s just a nagging feeling I have that I’m not ... deserving of the two of them. I feel unworthy of them as separate people, and Icertainlyfeel that I don’t deserve their combined affections.

I haven’t even let myself think of Cory in that way; then again, I think if he were added to the mix with me and Port, the four of us would never leave the bedroom. Besides, he’s too concerned with big-brotherly affection towards me and Port to feel any romance towards us. Honestly, the thought makes me shudder.

Mili’s door swings open suddenly, and she stands behind it with a bright smile. Without realizing it, I smile back, and she reaches up to rumple my hair. I raise an eyebrow at the casually intimate gesture, but she just shrugs with a grin.

“You looked too tidy,” she smirks.

I roll my eyes and hold out a hand for her satchel. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise as she hands the small bag over to me.Is it so surprising I’d be a gentleman?I think with a scowl.

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