Page 13 of Her Two Dragons

WANTING TWO

MICHELLE

God, what is wrong with me?

Michelle had been caught off guard when Darius kissed her, but the moment his lips touched hers, it felt like everything she’d ever dreamed of.

Even now, sitting with Khalid, talking about archaeology, about getting dinner in Alexandria, her eyes kept drifting to where Darius stood along the edge of the tent, eating an apple with more focus, more intensity, than she had ever seen someone devote to fruit.

She knew she hadn’t hit her head in the fall, but it was the only explanation she kept coming back to. If she’d gotten a concussion, if she had a head injury, at least that would’ve explained why she wanted to kiss Khalid here in the mess tent. Why she wanted to grab Darius and press her body against his again.

Why her head kept filling with images of both big, gorgeous men, kissing her. Touching her. Tasting her. Together.

“Michelle? Is everything okay?”

“I…umm… I think I should lie down for a while. I don’t know if it’s the sun, or what, but I feel a little dizzy.”

“I’ll walk you back to your tent.”

Michelle quickly shook her head. “No, I can make it on my own.” She grabbed her water bottle and stood. “Thank you for lunch. It was perfect.”

Khalid’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t try to stop her, and she was glad he didn’t try to follow her either.

She was pretty sure if he’d pressed her, she would’ve just ended up kissing him, like she’d let Darius kiss her. And she wasn’t exactly sure she wanted more than just a professional relationship with either of them.

She wasn’t sure she could handle it.

Khalid was quiet, attentive, and always seemed to be right where she needed him to be. He’d become a fixture in her days, and she found herself wanting to talk to him, to tell him secrets.

But Darius…Darius was bold, he spoke his mind, took what he wanted, and made her feel sexy. Beautiful.

Neither of them made her feel like there was something wrong with being intelligent, thoughtful, and analytical. Neither of them made her feel like she was less than, because she wasn’t stick thin or doing her makeup every day or curling her hair. They seemed to see her, just for who she was.

It was all making her head spin.

“Michelle? Is everything okay? Did Khal do something? Say something?” Concern filled Darius’s voice as he jogged to catch up to her. “If he made you feel uncomfortable, I will make sure he stays far away from you.”

She paused in the sand, letting him catch up. “He didn’t say anything. He’s a good guy.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, just to pull it out again as soon as she remembered that she was standing in full sun. “I just need to go back to my tent. I need…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I need.”

“Talk to me. How can I help?”

She licked her lips, ignoring the way her stomach did flips and her body moved a little closer to his, as if of its own accord. “I don’t know. I mean…you kissed me. And it was…amazing. I was half tempted to demand more. But then Khalid showed up, and he’s…” She shook her head again and started walking toward her tent once more. “I like you. But I like him too. And I didn’t travel halfway around the world to flirt with guys. I came to make the find of a lifetime, something to make my thesis sing. How can I do that if I spend half my day daydreaming about hot Egyptian men?”

Darius held open the tent flap, letting her duck inside before following her.

She sunk down onto her cot, glad that the small space didn’t leave a lot of room for clutter.

“You daydream about us? Both?”

“Not at the same time.” She bit her lip. “Most of the time.”

“What do you want, Michelle? What would make your heart happy? Do you want us to leave you alone? To leave the dig early?”

“No. God, I wouldn’t ask that of anyone.” She sighed and flopped backwards onto her cot, staring up at the beige muslin of her tent ceiling. “I don’t know what I want. I want you to kiss me more. I want to find out how Khalid kisses. But I think I need for both of you to keep your lips to yourself.”

Darius let out a chuckle. “I thought I was the only one having a hard time with all this.”

She looked over at him, giving him side-eye as she smirked a little. “You want to kiss Khalid too?”

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