Page 98 of Devoted to the Dragon

We still have things to iron out, but I feel settled. There’s no need to rush or race a ticking clock. We have time to feel each other out and learn how to be a horde.

I land easily on the shore, shaking off my dragon and taking human form. Fennik holds open a blanket for me, and I go directly into his arms, his presence settling some of that itch under my skin.

“You didn’t fly long,” Fennik murmurs, his lips brushing my neck. His tongue swipes over my new mark, sending a current of electricity down my spine.

“I wanted snuggles,” I admit with a half-formed moan.

That’s new too. I’ve always been tactile, and for so long, I craved touch but didn’t allow myself to indulge that need. I can’t get enough now that I’ve allowed myself to have it.

Fennik chuckles, and the deep vibrations feel delicious against my chest. “That can definitely be arranged.”

My alpha scoops me up on a startled shriek and throws me over his shoulder, his palm smacking my ass twice as he carries me back to the campfire. Fennik deposits me in Knox’s arms, and my serpent’s silky shadows wrap around me in hello. I snuggle back against his chest, my dragon already purring.

Knox takes my lips, slow and savoring, as though I’ve been gone for days instead of an hour. By the time he’s done kissing me hello, I’ve forgotten what decade it is. He smiles into my lips, feathering kisses down the side of my mouth and then my nose, the bond thrumming with his smug satisfaction.

“Welcome back, baby.”

I’m too dazed to respond. Instead, I nuzzle into the crook of his neck where that sweet smoke is strongest.

Across the dancing yellow-and-red flames, Gunnar winks at me. He’s wrapped in a blanket, back against a fallen log, and holding a plate of kabobs. I make a grabby motion, and he chuckles but moves close enough to feed me bites.

Fennik forces us to pause long enough that he can slip his shirt over my head. He gives me a forehead kiss and goes back over the fire pit, turning the kabobs as he sips his drink.

It’s quite the operation they’ve set up. When we decided to go down to the lake, Knox disappeared. I’d assumed he was shadow-walking to the beach, and he was. He just happened to visit multiple stores first. By the time we made it to the spot, he had the whole thing ready for a lakeside barbecue: coolers with drinks, food, and blankets. It was a thousand percent over the top andvery Knox.

When we saw it at first, he was so nervous. I’m sure a big part of that is because I destroyed the nest he made. But I could feel in the bond how much he wanted to contribute, to make something nice for all of us. He’s really very sweet, much sweeter than he lets on. I told him how amazing it was and apologized again for the nest, but he shook his head and told me we were done with apologies. That may be true, but like his desire to give me this tonight, I want to reassure him that he doesn’t need to make any more amends.

It was a whole conversation without words. It’s nice how our bodies and hearts can talk through the bonds when sometimes our mouths can’t always say it best.

“What did you learn from the bonds that you didn’t know?” I ask no one in particular.

Knox jumps in first. “Gunnar’s every third thought is food.”

“Nobody needs the bond to know that.” Fennik gives our pup a soft smile.

Beside me, Gunnar wiggles his eyebrows. “I do love to eat.”

“Pussy and snacks,” Knox adds. “You’re like a horny puppy.”

In the bond, we all feel the reminder that Gunnar is obsessed with food because survival taught him that he doesn’t know when his next meal is coming—the same way the bond tells me Knox wanted to take care of us this evening or that Fennik sometimes worries about how much older he looks than the rest of us.

It’s beautiful how the bond allows me to see all these hidden layers. I’m kind of obsessed with it. I want to study all three of them and their hidden places.

I focus my energy, trying to send reassurance to Gunnar in the bond. I tell him that he’s safe and he doesn’t need to worry about finding a home anymore. It happens while we laugh on the surface. Both layers feel necessary, and both light up his heart.

“You’re not wrong.” Gunnar dives for me, pretending to eat me up and making me snort-laugh when he plants raspberries on my stomach.

That dissolves into giggles when Knox adds his shadows. He twists Gunnar and me up in his silky bands, zapping us with different textures and tickling probes until my little wolf is howling and begging for mercy. We land in a heap, me sprawled across them, all three laughing.

Fennik looks completely unaffected on the other side of the fire, shaking his head at our antics. He loves watching us, though he has no desire to join.

I pick back up our conversation as I turn into Gunnar’s side and wrap my leg around Knox’s. “You know what I learned from the bond?”

“Hmm?” Knox hums, the sound spurring me on.

“How much Gunnar wants his cock cage back.”

My little wolf sucks in a breath and pinches my side. “Way to call me out, gorgeous.” The words aren’t said with any venom, but I feel that little slip of vulnerability in his voice.

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