Page 13 of Drawn by Dragonblood (Blood Born #1)

“Good fucking show right there,” Jon continued, sauntering into the kitchen as though he owned it.

Little did he know, I would lay the world at his feet if that were his wish.

“Wasn’t sure which kind you’d want, so I grabbed a couple.

” He set one of the bottles on the small island.

“I’m not usually a wine guy, but if it’s this old,” he said, glancing at the label on the bottle still in his hand, “I’ll give it a try. ”

I took note of the Penfolds Grange 1951 he’d brought upstairs, humming my approval of his choice. “The glasses are there.” I pointed to the corner cabinet on the far side of the kitchen.

My gaze glued to Jon’s backside as he moved toward where I’d indicated. Tight glutes flexed with each step in the shorts I’d been wanting to rip off his body with my teeth since the moment he’d walked into the gym.

Mine .

I swallowed the growl, wanting to declare dominance and demand he submit to my beast.

Unaware of my inner struggle, Jon opened the cabinet and reached up toward the top shelf, his T-shirt lifting to tempt me with a peek of muscled, golden skin, same as when he’d done pull-ups and roused my dragon’s desire to dominate and mark.

Jon turned and met my gaze, one of his brows rising. “Corkscrew?”

He knew I stared. Must have.

“Here.” I tore my focus off him and rummaged in the drawer in front of my hips.

Like a warm, fall breeze, Jon moved close, his earthen scent flooding my senses and swelling me to full length within a matter of heartbeats. I bit down on my tongue to keep my groan contained.

Our fingers brushed as I handed over the gadget, and his lips parted on a caught breath.

Once tied in my ropes, how many stripes would it take before he leaned into my cane? How long before he begged me to fill him? Allow him release?

Dakota stared at us, knife poised in her mincing of the garlic. Even the strong scent of the allium didn’t overpower the combined pheromones dousing my kitchen.

She was hesitant.

He was tempted but not enough for me to risk her or his heart.

“Sybil—2Cellos, ‘Thunderstruck’,” I commanded, my voice strained.

Jon’s brow furrowed as the cellists began playing the AC/DC song, but recognition lit his eyes within seconds, easing the dent between them. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”

Smiling at pleasing my beta, I returned to my task in willing my groin to relax.

“That wine is predominantly made with shiraz but includes a bit of cabernet sauvignon. One of Australia’s finest.” I didn’t add that the bottle had cost me close to fifty-thousand dollars.

I would give my mates everything I owned if it meant they would stay of their own accord where fate intended.

Ears tuned in to their every move, I listened as Jon pulled the cork and filled three wine glasses while Dakota placed the garlic in the pan.

I had watched the two of them making dinner the evening before by their campfire, and I found myself feeling as though my presence didn’t hinder their harmony. Like a well-rehearsed orchestra, we worked together to create our meal.

Onions translucent and garlic perfectly fragrant, I added the remaining ingredients for a marinara I had been making for tens of years.

Awareness of Jon’s presence tingled my skin. “Here.”

I turned, my gaze landing on his crystalline blue eyes. No boundary hid him from me, no wall of hesitancy or self-preservation. He peered at me with naked honesty, glass of wine in his outstretched hand as if to say, I see you. I know you.

My soul shifted as though the mountain trembled beneath my bare feet. Did he mean it?

Truly?

Jon moved away before I found my voice and handed Dakota her glass. He kissed her temple and murmured his love. Grabbing his own glass off the island, he faced us both. “I’ve been trying to come up with some fancy-assed toast for this old vintage but fuck if I can think of jack shit.”

I smirked as Dakota coughed, clearly pained by his lack of refinement in front of me.

“To new friendships,” she said, her words almost void of tone as she glanced at me.

“To lovers finding their fate,” I added, lifting my glass.

“Hell, I’ll drink to that! To good fucking music too.” Grinning, Jon tipped his wine back and drank down a large swallow rather than sip, which would allow him to appreciate its richness. “Damn.” He peered into the glass as he lowered it. “That’s some good shit.”

I swirled my wine inside the glass and lifted it to my nose, inhaling—and completely missing out on the red liquid’s aromas. Jon’s face, pure enjoyment, and laid-back attitude held me captive.

Want .

Dragon teeth gnashing to bite into my male mate’s flesh, I sipped without really tasting. My beta’s blood would be sweet on my tongue, a heavy bouquet that would soothe the beast prowling for release inside me.

But would I have that chance? How could I entice him and our female to stay longer than a single night without resorting to physical manipulation?

Unable to give myself an answer, I sat down to dinner after serving the two I wanted to spoil forever.

Dakota’s lack of control over her body’s response to both of us men delighted me throughout our meal and created an ache in my groin I longed to ease between her thighs.

The scent of her arousal wafted through the air more often than not, adding to the musk of Jon’s pre-cum that seeped from his hard cock hidden beneath the table between us.

While dining, they spoke of mundane things, the wheres and whats of life. Information exchanged did little to douse the hot embers of desire among the three of us.

They’d married three months earlier and had rented a one-room apartment in New York.

Jon had just lost his position at a tech company, but Dakota’s freelance photography job and their savings would see them through for a time.

She liked hiking and the outdoors. He enjoyed gaming, something I wasn’t fully familiar with, and Dakota’s bragging of tournaments and titles he’d won revealed her pride—and his embarrassment.

Jon and I finished our pasta, drinking our wine while our female continued to pick at her food. He lounged in his pushed-back chair, legs spread and hands clasped behind his head. The move stretched the T-shirt tight across his defined pectorals and biceps. It also put his bulge on display.

Between his blatant need for release and the sweet scent of Dakota’s continued wetness, my dragon hissed and spat, fighting against my control to come out and play.

“But what about you?” Dakota’s question as she placed her fork upside down on her plate tore my focus off her husband and the dark thoughts his beauty inspired both halves of me to bring to fruition. “What do you do for work?”

Talking about myself wasn’t something I enjoyed but had relented to while we’d been briefly without Jon’s presence. Bragging, even more so. I shifted on my seat at the intrusion into my personal life even though I wanted them both to share in every year I had left on earth.

“I hold a few degrees and put my gained knowledge of them to the test almost daily,” I replied.

“Degrees? Plural?” Jon asked.

“Chemical Engineering—” I only named one of three “—but my newest love is robotics.”

“What do you build?” Dakota asked, reaching for her wine glass.

“Offensive types. Weapons and those sorts of things.”

Jon snickered, his appreciative gaze sliding over my shoulders and chest. “You’re a modern-day Tony Stark?”

A smirk curved my lips. “Something like that.”

“You’re a government agency’s wet dream,” he said, his eyes twinkling—without a doubt flirting.

I shared in his light chuckle but didn’t answer.

“Fuck.” His gaze narrowed, even though his dimples remained. “You’re government, aren’t you?”

“I’m not, but I’m hoping to close a deal with our military in a few days.”

“Shit.” Jon’s eyebrow rose. “You work with any other countries?”

“One or two,” I said, standing to gather our plates, “but if I tell you anything more, I’ll have to kill you.”

Jon snorted a laugh at my blatant lie I’d offered with a wink.

“Let us help,” Dakota said, rising to her feet and sending a fresh waft of her spring-like scent past my nose.

My cock throbbed even as contentment swelled in my heart.

“More wine, Mr. Tight Lips?” Jon asked, finally moving from his sexy pose and reaching for the second bottle on the table. He hadn’t been forthcoming either, leaving answering my questions to his wife.

I dipped my head, hardly bothered by his read of my similar character as his own. I wondered who had caused Jon’s careful nature. “Please.”

The new moon had attempted to light the sky, but nothing other than stars dotted the darkness beyond the windows once we finished cleaning up after our meal.

Mere embers remained of the once crackling fire, and empty wine glasses sat upon the coffee table in front of us.

Dakota curled against Jon’s side, and same as earlier, I positioned myself a bit away from the couple, angling to face them.

Her hand and cheek lay on his chest, but her attention focused on my face. Jon trailed his fingers though the long tresses draped over her shoulder but kept his gaze on me as well. As one, they stared my way, probably unaware the other did the same.

I explained the sensors behind the lights system, the home automation system I’d created, the natural spring in the deepest parts of the cavern that fed the entire house with fresh water, and the solar panels with enough battery backup to power the entire space for a week.

I realized I might have droned on too long in answering Jon’s questions about the technology that made the cave a comfortable home when Dakota’s eyes glazed over and her hand slid down to rest on Jon’s thigh, mere inches from the bulge in his shorts.

Not having showered, both of us men emanated the musky scent of having sweated while working our muscles. Given the chance, I would have gladly licked every inch of Jon, lapping up the salt lingering on his skin, drawing him so deep into my lungs he filled my soul.