Page 10 of Beyond the Storm
“That’s what you think,” he mumbled.
“It’s what I know.” I lowered my head to his collarbone and breathed him in. Kyo smelled like water lilies. He smelled like home. “You’re stuck with me.”
Kyo rested his cheek on the top of my hair. “Maybe I don’t mind it.”
I smiled. The water gently lapped at us as we held each other, my back pressed to a large slab of rock and him between my legs. He kissed my forehead and touched my hair. I kissed the cherry blossom tattoo on his chest that was still visible beneath the scattering of scales.
When he was in his hybrid form, I felt closer to him. We connected on a deeper level. Our souls danced as our lips met once, then twice.
After another kiss, he pulled from my arms. “My brother is expecting us soon.”
“Oh, yay.”
“Be nice.”
“I’m always nice to my dearest brother-in-law. My new life goal is to be at his beck and call.”
Kyo shot methe look. One he only reserved for me. I loved it. “That sarcasm can’t hide the truth, Red. You and Tatsuya have become friends since we moved here.”
It was true. Because of King Ryujin—the former water dragon king and Kyo and Tatsuya’s father—the water dragons had nearly been wiped out. Ryujin had been power-hungry and felt he should’ve been the ruler of all dragons. When the clans opposed this ideal, he’d waged war on them. Centuries after his death, the harm he caused was still creating a divide among the dragons.
With the war against Lucifer behind us, Tatsuya had shifted his focus to mending those relationships and had asked Kyo and me to live in the palace and help. Within that time, we’d formed a bond. Kind of.
“Friends is an exaggeration,” I said, watching as Kyo stepped out of the water. My gaze trailed over his glistening body, and I groaned under my breath as my cock swelled. “We tolerate each other.”
“Is that why you drank with him the other night? You were just tolerating him?” Kyo tossed me a smile over his shoulder as he pulled on his pants. “Queen Yuma said my brother was a giggling fool when he came to bed, and he kept saying how much fun the two of you had.”
“Gross.”
Kyo had been hanging out with Daichi that night, so I had strolled the palace grounds and bumped into Tatsuya in the courtyard. He had invited me to his study, where we might’ve gotten into the ambrosia andmight’vebeen a little heavy-handed when adding it to our wine. The king, when you took away his too-serious demeanor and got him to relax, was a pretty cool guy.
Like hell I’d admit that though.
I got out of the water, not bothering with a towel. The sun would dry me off in no time. “What’s Tatsuya want this early in the day?”
“He mentioned having lunch.” Kyo grabbed my hand as we found the short path back to the palace. He’d never been the overly affectionate type who confessed his undying love at every opportunity like I so often did.
No, Kyo expressed his love in a different way, more subtle. Longing glances, soft smiles, and how his fingers squeezed mine a bit tighter.
“I hope there’s shrimp tempura,” I said. “That sounds fucking amazing right now.”
There wasn’t any shrimp tempura. But the table in the king’s private dining chamber was covered in so many other delicious things I didn’t care. The lunch consisted of rice, miso soup, fried fish, a ginger-dressed salad, and Japanese curry. I totally called forth my inner Raiden—gods bless my gluttonous brother’s soul—and chowed down as Kyo and Tatsuya chatted about family affairs.
“A princess from the wind clan is interested in one of my sons,” Tatsuya said after dabbing at his mouth.
“I thought the princess was set to marry Prince Feliks,” Kyo responded. Feliks was King Nikolai’s firstborn son and the heir to the ice dragon kingdom. He was Warrin’s nephew and was a total pompous douchebag.
“She is,” Tatsuya answered. “This is her younger sister.”
I swallowed a bite of curry, then scooped another in my mouth, talking as I chewed. “Well, you have, like, twenty sons. I’m sure one of ’em will marry her.”
The king had multiple wives and had a ton of kids with each of them. It was common among the dragons, especially with royalty. Thankfully, Kyo didn’t want anyone but me. I wouldn’t have been able to share him anyway. I considered myself a fairly easygoing person, but when it came to my mate, I was possessive and wouldn’t hesitate to whip out my dagger and slice and dice any bastard who dared even think about touching him.
“The union would strengthen relations with the wind clan.” Tatsuya sipped his green tea, then shifted his gaze to the tree beyond the window. “I’ll discuss the matter with my sons.”
Blossoms had sprouted on the branches with the arrival of spring, but as April neared its end, those blossoms had started to fall. The blooming season only lasted a few weeks. A short window of beauty before it faded once more. But not everything faded. Certainly not my feelings for the hot-as-hell dragon beside me with his orange eyes and devastating smile.
“What?” Kyo asked me, chopsticks paused at his lips. “Why are you staring at me?”
