Page 18 of Entranced By the Nakken
“What?” Tsunis demanded, scowling against Casimir’s pillowy mouth when they heard how weak their voice was.
“The prettiest flower on the surface.” Casimir nipped their lower lip, dragging it out of their frown.
Tsunis surveyed the flowers floating around them, and Casimir laughed. Tsunis shot him an annoyed glance, but he arched a brow and backed away.
“What, me?” Tsunis’ frown deepened into something more like a pout. “Not fair. You cannot steal my pet names for you and make them your own.”
“Why not?” Casimir deposited his guitar on a dry patch, then returned to lean on the stone, staring at Tsunis like they were the goddess herself.
“Because.”
“That’s my brat,” Casimir murmured.
Tsunis’ jaw dropped, but Casimir caught it with his knuckles and traced the line of their open mouth. They snapped it shut. Mischief gleamed in their mate’s eyes.
This. This was the problem with thoughts of Casimir, especially problematic when they arose before their scheduled meetings. Tsunis glanced around the flower bed and gathered the nymphaiias in front of themself so Casimir wouldn’t get an eyeful before Tsunis could explain.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Tsunis repeated, calmer now. Irritating methods aside, Casimir never ceased to unarm them. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Dunnoh.” Casimir shrugged and dipped his fingers in the water, splashing around like a carefree child. “Just kind of followed my instincts.”
Tsunis snorted but schooled their expression under Casimir’s curious gaze. No, he’d not followed his instincts, but he had followed something.
Their song. Not the one Casimir planned to play for all to hear, but the one that belonged only to the two of them. The song that united their heartstrings. A bond that couldn’t be broken. A song that couldn’t be ignored.
There was a saying back home, extracted from the texts of Glacia, written in the dead language of the elementals. Scholars translated it as,There will come a spirit who sounds like a Song written by the goddess to keep you alive.Casimir wasn’t fromGlacis. He couldn’t have been created by the goddess. Yet his soul sounded like a poem written to convince Tsunis to stay. To live.
“Hey.” Casimir’s tone changed. Still flicking the water, he bit his cheek. Tsunis tensed, awaiting the detonation. “I think I dreamed of your dragon.” Tsunis blanched. Casimir glanced up, catching their surprise. “Like, a few weeks ago. Definitely before I saw it…you.”
Goddess damn it all.
Resigned, Tsunis pinched the bridge of their nose. That settled matters. It was decided. They flicked their fingers toward the guitar and resumed bossing Casimir around.
“Grab your case.” A smile pulled their lips when Casimir obeyed like it was second nature. He started to open the case. “No. We’re doing things differently today.”
“Okay,” Casimir drawled. Tsunis dutifully held his gaze. “I have the case.”
“Put it over there, under the tree.” Casimir obeyed. Good human.
“Take off your clothes,” Tsunis caught Casimir’s shocked brows rising as they shifted into their dragon form. “And ride me."
Chapter Ten
Casey
Casey did as Tsunis commanded. He was so helpless to their power, it might as well be magic. Fuck, they could tell him to do any number of unsavory things and Casey would not question. He wanted to explore this side of them, to peel away their layers of uncertainty and see if a piece of it lay beneath.
Within heartbeats, Casey stripped to his underwear and climbed onto the dragon’s neck. He couldn’t explain how he knew where to find Tsunis, and he wouldn’t be caught dead saying platitudes likeI followed my heartunless it was ironic, which it wasn’t. It was the cold, hard truth.
“Now what?”
“Hold on.”The voice was Tsunis’ but deeper, and…in his head?
Casey blew out a breath and clutched hairlike strands of silver fins, cinching the beast’s broad neck with his thighs, like riding a horse. A massive, mythical horse, who planned to plunge him underwater.
“Very good, little mate.”
“Little?” Casey started to scoff, but water consumed his world. They dove without warning, their massive head jutting out from between Casey’s widespread thighs. Okay, at the moment, he was the little one, completely out of his element and submerged in water instead of oxygen.
