Page 18 of Dragon Rivals of New York (Dragons of New York #3)

Chapter 18

Sora

F orever is a long time. My high turns to a low as I’m brought back to the reality of our situation. My whole body starts to shake.

Kyro curses and looks at the window. I completely forgot we were being watched, though the thought definitely turned me on at the beginning. He discretely extends his claws and rips the binding that ties me to the bedposts and to Jethro.

Kyro might remember this forever, but if I don’t choose to mate with one of them, or both of them—if that’s even allowed, if Kyro will even go for it—I’ll forget. Everything that happened tonight will vanish from my memory, and I’ll never have another experience like this ever again, and the two of them will be heartbroken to the point of losing their sanity, and the orgasm I just had, the one that made me see stars and nearly black out, the best orgasm of my life, will have never happened, or may as well have never happened, because I won’t remember it.

I blink back tears. My teeth chatter, body shivering. Why is it suddenly so cold?

Kyro pulls me into his lap and holds me against his warm chest.

Jethro uses his freed hand to yank off the blindfold and take Kyro’s boxers out of his mouth. “What happened?”

“She’s crashing.” Kyro squeezes me tighter. Why does his voice sound like it’s coming through cotton?

“We need to keep her warm,” Jethro says.

“You think I don’t know that,” Kyro snaps.

Jethro takes a blanket from the foot of the bed and tucks it around me. It should be warm, but it doesn’t stop my shivering.

“W-w-why is it so cold?” It’s like even my organs are shivering.

“Shhh,” Jethro coos, smoothing down my hair. His hand is the only part of him that touches me, but he’s sitting close enough for me to feel some of his body heat. It just won’t penetrate the deep cold. “Just relax, lovely. You’re okay. Let our mate hold you. ”

“I’m not your mate,” Kyro growls, pulling me closer to his body and away from Jethro.

I shake harder. These men only know how to work together when we’re having sex. And even then, Kyro wasn’t exactly nice to Jethro. How could we possibly all be in a relationship together? We can’t just have sex every minute of every day for the hundreds of years we might live as dragons. Tears stream from my eyes and down my cheeks.

“You need to get on board, Ky. This is what the goddess wants,” Jethro says. “Seemed like you wanted it too when you were grabbing my cock.”

“This isn’t what the goddess wants!”

“How do you know?” Jethro demands. “Are you suddenly a priest? Do you know the mind of the goddess?”

“I just know. Okay?” He squeezes me close with the blanket over my head. “She’s going to pick me.”

Those last words are quieter, difficult to hear over my chattering teeth and the muffling effect of the blanket.

“I’m n-n-not p-p-picking anyone,” I try to say. If I decide to mate, I can’t pick between them. I know that much. I’d rather forget them both than pit them against each other. It might not be kind, but it’s fair .

Neither of them acknowledges I said anything.

“I’m not just handing my mate over to you, Kyro,” Jethro says. “Why does it have to be one or the other of us?”

“Because it’s fair. It’s justice. You owe me!”

“I owe you? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You stole my mate from me, so now the goddess is giving me yours.”

“How the hell did I steal your mate?!”

“You killed her!”

“You’re fucking holding her right now! She’s fine.”

I’m not sure I’m really fine. I feel cold and clammy and it’s hard to focus, but I’m definitely not dead.

“Not Sora. Nadia!”

“Who?”

“You can’t even fucking remember her,” Kyro growls. “How many people have you killed that you could forget that easily?” His voice cracks. Is he crying?

I want to comfort him, but I’m still shaking, eyes heavy, body weak .

“What the hell is going on in here?” A new voice. Feminine.

“Get out of here, Jasmine,” Kyro says.

“No. A guest reported you, Ky. Your girl is dropping and you’re fighting!”

The room goes eerily silent. Kyro pulls the blanket away from my face and looks at me. His eyes are glassy, and his face is red.

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath. “I’m sorry, Ara’ha.”

“Me too.” Jethro rubs my back.

“Get her some fruit juice,” Kyro says.

“And chocolate,” Jethro adds.

I guess they’re talking to Jasmine. Has Kyro ever tied Jasmine up the way he just tied me up? Did he like it better with her? She probably didn’t freak out like this afterwards. Heavy tears sting my eyes. But it’s not Jasmine I’m really wondering about. “W-who was N-Nadia?”

“We can talk about it later,” he says. “Right now, I just want to take care of you.”

“Here, drink.” Jethro holds a glass out, and Kyro helps me sit up and drink. The apple juice tastes even sweeter than normal. I can’t seem to drink it fast enough, suddenly realizing how thirsty I am.

“Slow down, lovely.” Jethro pulls away the glass and sets a piece of chocolate on my lips. I open and eat it. “That’s it, there’s our girl.”

“You did so well, Sora. You were perfect.”

“But why do I feel…” I can’t even explain what I’m feeling. The shivering is calming down now, but I’m still shaky, exhausted. Kind of like I felt after the woods, but ten times worse.

“It’s okay. This is on us.” Kyro lays down with me in his arms. Jethro puts another blanket over us, then drops on his side in front of me while Kyro spoons me from behind. Jasmine left at some point, though I’m not sure when, and the curtain’s been drawn over the window, blocking out our audience.

A crushing sense of vulnerability hits me. Even curled up with Jethro and Kyro, covered in blankets with the window closed, I feel exposed. I can’t believe I just did that. Talk about jumping into the deep end. It was everything I wanted and have secretly dreamed about, but it was intense. And on the heels of the vulnerability, I feel… ashamed. What would my parents think? My pastor? Shit, I’m probably going to hell now, aren’t I?

I let a man completely rail me while tied to another man with god-knows how many people watching. What the fuck was I thinking ?

I dip the crown of my head to Jethro’s chest, hiding myself under the blankets.

“This happens sometimes after an intense sexual encounter like that. It just seems you’re extra sensitive to hormone drops.” Jethro tries to lift my head, but I keep it buried under the covers.

“It’s called a sub drop,” Kyro says. “There’s a lot of endorphins involved in what we just did. When those hormones start to fade, it can be overwhelming.”

“Plus, I didn’t feed you beforehand, so you probably had low blood sugar, too.” Jethro kisses the top of my head. “Forgive me.”

“And me.” Kyro kisses my neck. “We shouldn’t have fought when you needed aftercare.”

I notice he doesn’t say they shouldn’t have fought at all. It’s clear things still aren’t resolved between them, and I don’t know what that means for us.

Kyro had a mate before me. Someone he loved. Someone Jethro might have killed.

I sob into Jethro’s chest. For Nadia, for him, for us. I can’t see how this is ever going to work. But after what we just did, I can’t see how I can ever walk away from them, either.