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I held on as Lachlan flapped his wings, propelling us upward. The lights on the ground shrank to pinpricks, and the Thames became a narrow ribbon.

Alec settled next to Lachlan once more and swung glowing emerald eyes to me. What do you think of your first dragon ride?

I started to yell a reply, then tested out our mental connection. A little scary at first, but I’m getting used to it.

Approval shone in his eyes. You just had to try it to know you liked it.

The double meaning was clear.

A magical life awaits you, Chloe. It’s up to you to seize it.

I stared at him as we glided over London, the glowing city sprawled below us. It was magical. There was no denying the view or the sheer wonder of sailing through the sky with two dragons. They’d warned me their world was dangerous, but that was true of the human world, too.

And yet…

I was human. There was nothing special about me. And I hadn’t imagined Lachlan’s resignation in the tower. His shuttered expression and grim acceptance. Human mates were rare. Alec admitted it. I even had it in writing. Out of nowhere, Josh’s voice rang through my head. “I don’t know, Chloe. I think I was just bored.”

Abruptly, Lachlan folded his wings and took us on a sharp descent. The city rushed up, making me gasp and cling to his horns. Wind roared. My stomach dipped like I went over the hill on a roller coaster. We punched through a bank of clouds. A skyscraper appeared out of nowhere. Lachlan swept toward it, snapped his wings out, and landed on the roof. A second later, Alec alighted beside him, his claws scraping concrete.

I barely had time to take in my surroundings when Lachlan lowered himself to the ground and tipped his body sideways. Instinct bade me grip his horns in a bid to stay seated, but the angle was too steep. I slid off his back and onto his wing—and kept right on sliding until my feet hit the ground.

Alec was there in human form, his big hands gripping mine and pulling me up. “All right, lass?” he asked, brushing my tangled hair from my face.

“N-No.” I was too unsteady to push him away, so I clung to his arm as I rounded on Lachlan. “You could have warned me you were descending!”

The golden dragon shimmered and twisted into smoke.

“I could have fallen,” I told it.

The smoke formed into Lachlan, who strode to me, muscled Alec out of the way, and swept me into his arms.

Not again. What was it with Highlanders and plucking women off their feet? “Put me—”

“No’ yet,” Lachlan said, his accent thick as he carried me toward the glass doors of what was obviously a penthouse apartment. He looked down, and his predator’s stare made my mouth go dry. “You have some twisted thoughts in your head, Chloe. It’s time we untangle them.”

Chapter Fourteen

LACHLAN

As I carried Chloe into the penthouse, I waited for Alec to call me a hypocrite or try to stop me. Considering how things turned out the first time we found ourselves in this situation, I wouldn’t have blamed him.

He did neither, but a mix of confusion and displeasure clouded his features as he followed me into the living room.

I couldn’t fault him for that, either. I’d given him plenty of reason for confusion through the years. But that ended tonight. At last, it was time for me to come clean to my mate.

Both of my mates.

I deposited Chloe on a long sofa and gestured Alec to a nearby chair. “Please, sit. I have something to say.”

“All right,” Alec said slowly. He pulled a throw blanket from the arm of the sofa and tossed it at me. “Maybe cover up first. I see it was a cold flight.”

It was a crass attempt to break the tension, and while I appreciated the effort, I couldn’t bring myself to smile or snipe back at him. What I had to confess was too important.

And painful.

Swinging the blanket around my shoulders, I perched on the edge of another big chair, my bare feet looking absurdly out of place on the room’s white shag area rug. Mostly glass and chrome, the apartment was ultra-modern and about as opposite the castle as a place could be. Alec loved it. I was ambivalent, although I didn’t mind the tub in the master bath. It was big enough for both of us and—

“Lachlan?”