Page 19 of Dragon Fire

But was Seth?

Gowan looked up to meet Seth’s gaze. Blue sparks lit his eyes as he watched Livia rubbing up against Gowan. Oh, yeah. Seth was on board too.

It was time for Gowan to go to work.

“Seth,” he said in a low voice. “Spread our cloaks on the softest sand you can find.”

Command came naturally to him, even more so in this sort of situation. He was glad Seth was secure enough in his own right to play along with Gowan’s dominant tendencies.

If only Seth were a knight…and his dragon partner was Gen’s mate….

Yeah, right. Gowan might as well wish for the moon on a silver platter. But it would have been good. He knew that already.

So he’d enjoy it while it lasted and do his best not to think about the future. He’d also do his best not to let either Livia or Seth think about it either. This time was for them—as a threesome—stolen away from the world, wrapped up only in each other.

Seth moved to take the traveling cloak from Gowan’s shoulders. Livia helped, untying the closures for him with her dainty fingers.

The cloaks Gowan and Seth had worn were specially designed to be both wind and water proof so that knights riding atop dragons wouldn’t be frozen by the cold air that blew in lofty heights or drenched by clouds. They were made of stout fabric that had been treated with some sort of waterproofing substance. Seth probably knew exactly what was used and how they were made, but Gowan only knew he wouldn’t want to fly without such protection.

The cloaks could double as a tarp while on the ground, and that’s the purpose they’d use them for today. A nice big tarp under them, with Gowan and Seth’s clothes on top to make it softer and warmer, while Livia’s clothes lay folded neatly a distance away, safe. If Gowan had his way, Livia would leave this cave dressed as beautifully as when she’d entered. Nobody would know by looking at her what they had been up to—especially not her father.

After the cloaks were spread to his specifications, making a nice large solid foundation, Gowan nodded at Seth. Both of them began disrobing, placing their clothing in strategic layers on top of the cloaks, concentrating mostly on the area where their upper bodies would rest. Livia tried to help, but Gowan ordered her away with a look, and she smiled up at him, complying, which made him want to grin.

She was a biddable little thing when it came to pleasure. That was something that pleased him enormously. And he anticipated a lot more pleasure shortly.

Livia licked her lips as the two men revealed their gleaming muscles bit by bit. She’d died and gone to heaven. Her dreams were coming to life. She’d spent so much time thinking about the few times all three of them had been together, she almost tried to pinch herself to see if this was real.

But she couldn’t have imagined the healing wounds and new scars on her boys. They’d both seen fighting during the battle for Dragonscove, and both had come out of it with injuries. Thankfully, none were too terrible, but they both had a few new scars. In Seth’s case, he hadn’t had many to begin with. He’d spent most of his life denying his warrior abilities.

It seemed he’d been making up for lost time since befriending Gowan, though, which had turned out well for the town. If not for Seth directing the cannons and leading the troops on the shore into battle when the pirates tried to storm the beaches, she didn’t think there still wouldbea town.

Seth had done more than anyone had ever expected of him to defend Dragonscove, but Gowan, too, had been part of it. He’d fought his share of pirates during the battle and had been an instrumental part of the harbor’s defense. Both of them were heroes—battered, bloodied, but going strong. She had never been prouder of anyone in her entire life than she had been of them in the aftermath of the battle.

It had been some days since the fight, but both men were still recovering. A few of the deeper gashes would take some additional time to heal and leave only a scar behind. She looked her fill at each and every inch of their bodies as they were revealed, planning how she would caress them and kiss their hurts. If they let her. Or, more accurately, ifGowanlet her.

She shivered, anticipating his orders. She’d never experienced such pleasure as that time the three of them had been together in the Lair and Gowan had been in charge. She liked his bossiness in the context of the bedroom. He didn’t even try to order her around otherwise, but at certain times, in special circumstances—like when they were naked—she not only welcomed it butwantedit.

Like she wanted it now.

As she stood there, she realized her knees were trembling. Not in fear, but in anticipation.

Both men stripped to the waist, spreading their shirts out on top of the cloaks, and she realized they were sacrificing their clothing to make her bed. A warmth settled in her heart that was never far away when she thought about either man. Seth, with his blond good looks and boyish charm, had grown as she had, from the boy she’d loved from afar to this golden god of a man who now stood before her. A little battered from the fight he’d been in, but more handsome for it in her eyes.

And then, there was Gowan. A newcomer to their small world of Dragonscove. A compelling man in his own right. Hardened in ways Seth wasn’t, she found it a challenge to make him laugh, each one of his smiles prized. He’d seen hard things in his life. He’d lost his home and created a new one with his dragon partner. He seemed adorably unsure of himself sometimes, though she’d never let him know that she noticed. He was so new to being a knight he didn’t have that arrogance that some of the older knights from the Lair had.

Neither did Seth, though he took being around dragons for granted. It was clear that, to Gowan, being around dragons was still something new and magical. Not that Seth took any dragon for granted, but it was more like he was their kin…somehow. Like he loved them and understood them on a level Gowan didn’t but was striving to learn.

As Seth taught Gowan about dragons, Gowan taught Seth in return about being a fighter—and a leader of men. She could see it happening before her eyes, though she doubted either man was fully aware of the changes they’d each wrought on each other. They were a good team. Good for each other. She felt a little pang at the idea that they would have made an amazing fighting partnership…if only…

But she understood Hrardorr was scarred beyond the obvious injuries. He wasn’t ready for a knight. Most dragons went off alone after losing a knight and grieved for many years before returning to the fold to try again. Because of, first, his grave injuries and then blindness, Hrardorr hadn’t been able do that. The loss of his knight was still a fresh wound in his heart and his soul. To ask him to take a new knight so soon, and with him still unsure of his place in the world as a blind dragon, was asking too much.

She pushed the sad thoughts from her mind as Gowan and Seth approached, one on either side of her, intent clear in their eyes. In silence, they began undressing her, inch by delicious inch, taking their time.

As her shoulders were bared, they each kissed one. Gowan stood to her left and slightly behind while Seth was on her right, slightly in front of her. He met her eyes but then looked to Gowan as if for direction.

Oh, yes.Gowan was in charge again, and Seth was playing along. This promised to be mind-blowing.

Her blouse lowered little by little, Gowan and Seth both loosening the ties that held all her clothing in place. Her skirt fell to the floor, and she felt Gowan dip down behind her, pausing to bite the curve of her butt in a playful way that made her squeak before he coaxed her feet up one at a time, removing the skirt. He rose, and she was peripherally aware of him folding her skirt neatly and putting it well out of harm’s way while Seth freed her breasts and immediately began kissing and fondling them.

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