Page 1 of The White Dragon Revealed

PURR

Valerius picked Caden up into his arms. The young man let out a delighted “whoop”. Caden wrapped his arms around Valerius’ neck.

“Where are we going?” Caden asked.

Had the young man not understood that Valerius intended to make love to him here? In his tower? In his bed? He tipped his chin up to indicate where they were headed.

“I like cool sheets against my bare skin. Don’t you?” Valerius challenged.

Color flooded Caden’s cheeks. “Oh, most definitely.”

The earlier “whoop” was repeated several times as he raced them from platform to platform that curled along the outside wall of the tower. They passed by a platform solely for his clothes. Caden reached over as they went by to finger the leather and silk he had teased Valerius about earlier, even as he himself wore it with such evident pleasure.

“Look at all those boots!” Caden chuckled. “I love the fur trim, though those look almost like something Illarion would wear.”

“The gods forbid!” Valerius laughed.

He thought of his fellow Dragon Shifters and Illarion’s commentsabout him seducing Iolaire right from under their noses. Illarion was right, of course even though he had not made his intentions towards Caden clear, at least not in words.

It is because my seduction of Caden is not the reason he is uninterested in them. He has all his friends and family here.

But was that true?

They reached the topmost eyrie where he had one of his beds. There were two. One on the ground floor of the tower where Chione had discovered him, which was heavily curtained and tucked away from the world. That was the one where he could avoid sunlight and could cocoon away from the world. But this one, the one he took Caden to, was fully open to the air.

It was a custom-made mattress, twice the size of a standard king, with a simple platform frame of maple. The bedding was whites and soft grays like the first touch of twilight. It reminded him of sleeping in the sky on a mountain. He set Caden down on the cool bedding. Immediately, the young man stretched out, his arms nowhere near able to touch the edges. Caden closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh.

“Oh, man, this is niiiiiccccceeeee,” Caden dragged out the last word. “I don’t think I ever want to leave.”

I may not let you. You look so right here in my bed, Caden.

He winced a little. He really did sound like one of those actors in the Werewolf mate romances. He smirked then as he realized how very jealous the Werewolves would be to know he had a mate.

The very thought came unbidden and naturally. But it had him freezing. He immediately looked at Raziel, to see what his Spirit would say in response to that. But Raziel said nothing. Because Raziel was asleep. But just like him, Raziel was not sleeping alone.

In all his years, he had never seen anything quite like this. There was still a separation, a hazy line, but he could seebothRaziel and Iolaire. They were curled up asleep, but their foreheads were practically touching. Iolaire’s much smaller head was pillowed on one claw while Raziel’s claws were outstretched towards the White Dragon Spirit as if wanting to hold onto Iolaire. He thought about tellingCaden about it, but he decided not to. How would Caden react to their Spirits loving each other like this. And that’s what it was. His grouchy, fiery Raziel had never looked so at peace or content before. But now…

“Valerius?” Caden had cracked open his eyelids in the midst of him frisking against the cool sheets.

He snapped out of his shock. “Y-yes, my Caden.”

“MyCaden?” Caden twinkled at him.

Valerius decided that action rather than words would serve him better. He was a man of few words after all. But his actions were legendary. So he launched himself on top of Caden. Caden’s reaction was perfect. His mouth opened in an “O” of shock and he closed his eyes tightly as Valerius pounced on him. He landed though on his hands and knees so he didn’t actually land on the young man. He lowered his face so that he was half an inch from Caden’s. The young man opened his eyes again to peer up at him.

“Meep?” Caden asked.

Valerius grinned and kissed Caden’s nose this time. “Meep indeed.”

Caden broke into laughter and wrapped his arms around his neck once more. Time seemed to stretch and elongate until it was like a ribbon of silk rolling into an unfathomable distance. This was what eternity was like and he felt it with Caden. To go along this path together and not alone…

Wasn’t that what Caden had offered him earlier? The young man showed a deeper understanding of his feelings at twenty-five than he had known countless times that number. Even until Caden said it, he had not truly quantified and explored what he felt, especially since taking over rulership of this world. But Caden had put it neatly and easily into words. He smiled down at the young man. It wasn’t a bright and happy smile, but more a tender one. Caden’s eyes widened in wonder.

Yet Valerius knew something was troubling Caden that was, not necessarily greater than Serai’s death, but was striking at the core of the young man. Caden had no poker face. Even when he smiled andlaughed, if something was bothering him, it showed in his eyes. And it was there now, along with a great deal of desire and impishness.

“Are you happy?” Valerius found himself asking.

Caden’s eyes went wide again and he answered rather breathlessly, “Y-yeah. Of course!”

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