Page 17 of Drawn by Dragonblood (Blood Born #1)

Elijah

I knew the second Dakota had stepped onto the veranda.

With every passing second she had stayed at the railing, the more her arousal had filled the brisk air and roused my dragon to wakefulness when he usually slumbered through my morning ritual.

Her presence had overridden my focus, and I couldn’t help but glance up at her.

Frozen in Single Whip pose, everything but her pull on me had diminished to static in my mind.

Lips parted, pupils huge, she’d stared.

Come to us.

My dragon’s command to our female echoed between my ears, and I’d held my breath, waiting, my selfishness wishing she broke her husband’s heart in that moment.

She’d spun away.

My arms had dropped to my sides as my beast groaned his misery, and I’d straightened, head tilted back in hopes she would appear above me once more. Some time had passed before I accepted she’d denied us.

I grabbed my towel before heading back through the hidden lower entrance near the wine cellar, pondering the desire among the three of us and Jon’s insecurities he’d silently revealed the evening before.

Being in his alpha’s house would call to the dragonblood in him, make him want to submit to me, but he didn’t seem the type to bow down to another man’s command.

Same as Dolyn.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to think on the man and how his name echoing in my head still caused a sting in my chest.

The longer my real mates remained in my presence, the better. If only I could figure out a way to get them to stay of their own accord.

Shackles .

“No,” I grumbled under my breath.

Rope .

I shook my head at my dragon’s insistence I take what belonged to us rather than wait for their initiations as was required for a lasting bond. I refused to lose my humanity to instinct no matter how badly I ached to claim my mates.

I found myself alone in the main living area when I passed the staircase threshold leading from the lower levels. A deep breath and careful listening assured me they hadn’t yet left. Jon’s cup of coffee sat untouched on the counter, Dakota’s barely-sipped mug of tea beside it.

Did Jon catch her watching me? Could he smell her thick arousal as I had? Did jealousy eat at him this morning when it hadn’t seemed to the day before?

Moving up the stairs toward the bedrooms, I focused on the sound of running water. They showered, I realized while passing their cracked-open door.

My foot stumbled at Dakota’s soft whimper of pleasure.

Want .

Jaw clenched, I continued on toward my room even though the unclosed door suggested it’d been done as an invitation to join them.

Get ready for the day and think up a way to make them stay , I told myself, trying to shut out the sounds of my mates and the resulting images my brain created that only heightened my dragon’s desperation to own them both.

My mind didn’t offer the answer to the conundrum I faced, and until I returned downstairs, intent on a cup of coffee and seeing both of their faces, my palms sweated and heart raced at the truth they would leave me shortly.

Abandon me to loneliness I’d barely survived when my ex-lover had disappeared all those years ago.

Steaming mug in hand, I stood in the kitchen, listening as Jon and Dakota exited their room and made their way down the hall.

Backpacks loaded and in hand, neither met my gaze while walking down the stairs.

The thumps of their dropped bags sounded loud, like a dead weight falling to the ground—exactly as my heart did.

No one spoke.

Jon peered at me, Dakota’s gaze flitting between the two of us. Although freshly showered, their hair still damp, the scent of their combined cum clung to them. My dragon wanted to smear mine over both of them, chain them up, and force a mating they might not want.

Yessss .

Take.

Keep.

My throat tightened as my stomach twisted. Why did they need to return to New York now? According to what they’d said, another week of vacation lay before them, and Jon was unemployed.

“My job,” I said, my voice higher than usual as an idea shot through my brain.

“I have to go out of town earlier than expected. It’s the government contract I spoke of.

” Mind scrambling, I blurted the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m unprepared for a last minute absence and can’t leave things left undone here at home. Solar batteries and the like.”

Neither moved.

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into housesitting for a few days while I’m gone?” I focused on Jon. “I could show you what needs to be done while I’m away.”

He still didn’t speak, but I could see the desire to stay—and the hesitation over accepting.

“I’ll pay you,” I tossed out when Jon glanced at his wife, beyond desperate for him to agree to remain where my essence would hopefully entice them to linger even after I returned.

“What do you think, Dakota?” he asked, his voice low and full of caution as I’d expected.

“Your call,” she whispered, glancing over at me, “but I don’t have to hand in the photos I took for North Woods Living for a couple more weeks.”

Jon returned his focus my way. “When would you get back?”

“Friday.” If it earned me the time required for my mates to realize they ought to stay indefinitely, the lies would be invaluable.

The blue eyes I’d once thought innocent stared into mine as though reading into every word.

A smile hinted at Jon’s lips when I’d thought he would sneer.

“Any chance we could hang a little longer and you could use your chopper to fly us back to our car so we don’t have to waste time walking out of these mountains? ”

A rush of breath I hadn’t realized I’d held expelled through my parted lips. “I’ll do whatever it takes for you to agree to stay,” I stated honest words for the first time since they’d descended with intent to leave.

Please , my human mind called out to Jon through the energy already seeming to connect us even if dragonblood would never visibly make itself known. Submit to my request.

“You got yourself a deal, friend.” Jon stuck out his hand, and I clasped it in mine, the hint of ancient blood in his veins sending a charge up through my arm and straight to my groin.

Mate.

Mine.

“I need to pack,” I said, forcing myself to pull from the hair-raising desire between us. “I—I’ll find you before I leave.”

Jon dipped his head, his gaze unwavering from my eyes until I turned my back on them both and hastened up the stairs, the coffee I’d desired left forgotten on the counter.

I threw a bag together, only half paying attention to what went in it. My meeting in New York wasn’t scheduled until Thursday, but I could always get some other work done to pass the time.

And watch from afar.

While my guests breakfasted, I made my way to the lowest level where my tech room sat.

Countless screens showed images from the various cameras I’d installed throughout the cavern the year before even though no one—dragonblood or otherwise—could enter my home without being invited past the ward etched in granite over each entryway.

Jon and Dakota still sat at the table, both of their gazes flitting toward the stairwell leading to the lower levels where I lingered.

My chest ached with desperation to be near them, but enjoying the sight of them on-screen would have to suffice.

Double-checking the live feed could be accessed by an app on my cell, I exited and locked the room behind me. The door directly across from me drew my gaze, and I paused. I hadn’t entered the room for years.

Would the scent of my ex-lover still linger? Would the toys I’d used to bring us both pleasure be dust-covered? Unusable? Would the wall my dragon had melted with fire in our overwhelming grief over his leaving fully resurface the heartache I’d felt a decade ago?

I had imagined Jon cuffed and bared for me in my dungeon, his wife tied down and unable to escape the vibrator I had strapped to her clit, but the memory of every device, each carefully crafted crop and whip, brought fresh ideas to my darker side.

Cock swelling, I punched in the key code to gain entrance when I hadn’t considered doing so in over a decade.