Page 90 of Claimed by the Savage Dragons
‘Mine,’ he echoes, pulling out of me and then pushing in harder.
My fingers dig into the tree, the pleasure so intense that I’m afraid my legs are going to fail.
His rhythm quickens, driving himself into me, the sounds of our bodies meeting reverberating around us. My cries are loud, every thrust taking me higher. My knees tremble and give out, so he lifts me, moving me up and down on him as I hold onto the tree in front of me.
And then it feels different. He’s larger, the texture of him changes suddenly, filling me, stretching me. I scream his name as sensation courses through me, my body shaking with pleasure in his arms, and he roars his own release not more than a few seconds after, making the nearby birds fly from their perches in the trees in panic.
He holds onto me, staying inside me for a few more seconds in silence as if he can’t believe what just happened, and I’m afraid on some level that he regrets it, but then he gives me a lingering kiss on my shoulder and lifts me off him carefully, turning me. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, putting my face to his chest.
‘Are you all right? I didn’t hurt you… the baby… I didn’t mean to be so?—’
‘I’m fine.’ I smile against his skin. ‘Everything is fine. That was…’ I sigh, ‘perfect.’
His concerned expression turns to relief, and he starts carrying me back to the house, kissing me every few steps.
‘You’reperfect,’ he says, holding me against his warm body so that I’m not cold in the chilly early spring air.
We get back to the cabin quickly and I frown as we go inside. ‘It seemed a lot further while I was running,’ I say. My eyes narrow on him. ‘And you cheated, just so you know. I don’t think changing forms should be allowed.’
He rumbles a laugh. ‘Noted for the future.’
The idea that there will be a future for all of us is a happy one, and I give him a final squeeze as he puts me down on the couch.
Tor and Brax are here as well, and they look up at me and Drey with amusement.
‘All claimed?’ Tor asks.
‘Sure sounded like it,’ Brax mutters.
My cheeks heat and he chuckles.
‘Come on,’ Drey says. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
The other two rise from their seats, and I’m led up the stairs to the main bedroom with a mezzanine that overlooks the living room. The bed is massive and the sheets smell fresh.
Tor turns down the thick blankets and gets in, beckoning me. As if by some unspoken decision, I’m in the middle with Tor and Brax on either side of me, while Drey lies down next to Brax.
I think for a moment that we’re all going to do something, and I try to stifle the yawn that takes me unawares, but Tor just strokes my hair from my face and gives me a gentle kiss.
‘Rest, Mari.’
My body wants more, but the need for sleep wins out, and I find my heavy eyes closing, hoping they’re all still there when I wake up.
The next few days pass quickly. My dragon mates stay with me and so does Del. Like at the dam, it’s as if the world outside no longer exists and they all seem to take great pains to make me forget that it does. They don’t speak about anything that’s going on in the faction. When they do talk, it’s in hushed voices in other rooms so I can’t hear. I understand what they’re doing, and that they’re trying to keep me relaxed, but it frustrates me. I might be human and pregnant, but I’m not a shrinking violet. My questions are met with calm reassurances, though, and placations that make my eye twitch.
When those don’t work, they resort to underhanded measures, like back rubs and plying me with food. The nausea that was plaguing me seems to have gone, and in its place is an almost insatiable hunger. My belly grows bigger and Del stays close by almost all the time, giving me support whenever I start to panic, which, as the due date that she calculated draws closer, increases.
Dread is my constant companion. Sometimes I can’t breathe for the anxiety I’m drowning in, and Drey or Tor hold me while Brax sends me feelings of calm. They help, but there’s only one thing that will stop it, and that’s to actually have the baby. As the time gets closer, under all the negative emotions, I feel excited.
I think.
In the evenings, we read and talk. We get to know each other and play board games. I find that Drey has a streak of humor in him. He makes me laugh until my sides hurt constantly. He gets stronger as the days pass and recovers from the dragonsbane poisoning almost completely. I’m surprised to find that all three of my dragons grew up together almost a thousand years ago.Getting my twenty-three year old human head around that isn’t easy, but we settle into a day to day normalcy. Spring is in full swing and the earth blooms all around us in this untouched valley. It’s like a utopia. I want our time here to last forever. Everything is perfect.
Until it’s not.
It’s been seven weeks since we came here, and bar the claiming with Drey, and the cuddles and kisses they give me freely, none of my three dragon mates have touched me no matter how much I plead or cajole or throw myself at them.
I know it’s because they don’t want to hurt me accidentally, but I’m stronger than they know, and Ineedthem. Finally, the frustration has me coming up with a plan that, knowing how much they enjoy chasing their prey, I hope will work. I choose a sunny afternoon, and I put a note on the table while they’re outside having one of their clandestine conversations. I leave the house and walk slowly up through the glen to the forest trails. I don’t run. I can’t now, I’m just too round.
