Page 27 of Drawn by Dragonblood (Blood Born #1)

Elijah

I had wanted to take Dakota to my room, lay her on my bed, and demand Jon join us—and never leave. And even though I fought my dragon, teeth gnashing, at the memory of finding release with them, I’d left them alone in their own bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

Dakota had lapped at and swallowed my pre-cum that didn’t contain seed like a human’s. The slickness intended for easing my mate’s ability to take me didn’t have the potency to rob her of consent like the spurts I’d shot upon my own skin rather than hers.

They had retained their freedom to choose and would need space.

Time to assure the other of their love, dedication, and all the things a committed couple needed to do after involving another person in their sex life.

For I had no doubt that would be the next step in our relationship—and I couldn’t wait to taste them both again.

Jon’s strong grip on my cock had been the biggest temptation for me.

The alpha in me needed to establish the beta’s position before I had any hope of mating with the female.

She would have to come to her own conclusion about where her heart rested, but if Jon gave into my dominance first, I expected her choice would be easier.

She wanted sexual gratification, but I couldn’t yet tell if she felt drawn to me in the same way Jon was. He, at least, recognized the connection enough to kneel without being told, but his position on the floor had only gone that far. There’d been no submission in his eyes. Or in his kiss.

Dakota had gone along with what her husband had put into action, but was she ready to submit to me, to recognize she belonged to me as much as she did to Jon?

Yes, she’d spoken of her wish to see the two of us together, but I’d yet to get a clear read on her desire outside of climaxing due to my touch.

Humans and their misconstrued notions of love and same-sex relationships.

.. So many in the non-human world had evolved centuries earlier from one male, one female.

The humans would eventually catch up to the other creatures of the universe, but I believed it would be hundreds of years before that happened.

Strict religious teachings, like leading lambs by the powerful, the manipulative, had gotten humanity to a point of closed-mindedness that didn’t leave room for the truth of evolution.

Besides world religions through the ages, I had also studied psychology and recognized the symptoms of a man having spent his childhood beneath a narcissist. Both Jon and Dakota had told me they’d grown up in foster care and didn’t know their birth parents.

Neither had said much beyond that, but I was well aware of when to let a matter lie.

Jon’s childhood with such a caretaker would explain his love for Dakota. She accepted him and built him up with words of edification.

What I needed to do in order to win his affection was to show my unconditional love.

Yes, love , I admitted to myself while my inner beast grumbled about our weaker human side.

I thought I had experienced what that emotion was, but I’d never felt the all-consuming need to shelter, nurture, and protect like I did with both of my mates. And what a welcomed feeling it was.

I stepped into my room, believing I might have found a way to true happiness but couldn’t imagine the joy of bonding would fully bring.

The sight of my bed drew me up short.

I’d been fantasizing about having Jon and Dakota both there, but memories of another swamped my mind.

Bonds tying him to the frame.

A massive plug in his ass to ready his hole for my cock.

His denial to taste my cum, his fear from being forcefully made to submit his beast to mine.

My other half’s grumbles escaped as a rumble in my chest.

“I can’t help how the human heart feels, the grief that his leaving us still holds over me,” I murmured in the stillness, tearing my focus off my mattress and heading for the bathroom.

Dolyn had only been meant to share a short time in my existence, and we’d enjoyed years together, creating mostly beautiful memories.

I’d been hesitant to accept his demise after failing to locate him, but I no longer would live in denial of his death.

Closure would have eased my transition of transferring my loyalty and love to those intended for me.

Perhaps knowing his final resting place would allow me the freedom from grief that lingered longer than was healthy.

Hot water pelted me from all sides as I stood in the shower, arm against the tile, my forehead resting alongside. A heavy sigh released some of the tension still riding my mind.

I’d been too domineering, too demanding with Dolyn, in attempts to cling to what I’d longed for.

A mate.

Now, both rested in my cave, and I would not overstep bounds or make another mistake.

Remembering Jon’s hand on Dakota’s stomach, caressing her womb, caused my cock to thicken, but I ignored it, choosing instead to focus on the longing to sense life there.

My soul shredded at the truth that as dragonblood fated mates, they would never conceive without me.

Own .

“Shut up,” I muttered.

Alpha .

“As if I don’t know that.” I swiped my shower gel off the shelf and proceeded to wash myself with clinical efficiency.

I set out the makings for coffee and tea the next morning before sunrise, intent on my ritual of greeting daybreak with mediation.

But the veranda still overshadowed by darkness called.

Yessss .

The window of the guest chambers where my mates rested remained unlit due to its one-way glass, but I didn’t have a sense of watchful eyes. No hint of their scents suggested they’d left their room either.

Shift. Fly.

I would give him freedom, but only for a short time while those most precious to me weren’t in close proximity.

Once stripped down to bare skin, I threw myself off the cliff, muscle and bone stretching until our wings caught air.

We shot upward like a midnight rocket, the beast in full control over our body.

Rather than cackle or taunt our supposedly weaker half, the darker side of us remained silent as contentment roared through our heated blood.

Speeding through the predawn, cold air rushing against our face, we soared and dove, leisurely stretching as we hadn’t since before I’d caught the combined hints of Jon and Dakota on the breeze.

We had made promising steps toward strengthening the connection among us the evening before. And we’d barely restrained from shooting cum down our female’s willing throat. The way she had sucked and probed at my slit as though desperate for life-giving?—

A gale of wind slammed into our left side, catching us unaware, and we rolled through the sky.

Our mind flashed to memories of Dolyn’s golden body flying alongside us. How he would play, roughhouse in the air, testing how far he could go in attempts to show dominance fate hadn’t intended for him.

The last time we’d flown together, he’d crossed a line by nipping at our hind quarter.

We’d chained him to the dungeon roof once we’d returned and shifted back to our human forms. My whip had reminded him of his place.

Dolyn’s mind fought submission even though he’d given himself to me, but his body had responded, gifting us his release. He’d hated every second, declaring his human half had betrayed him, and wouldn’t allow me to pamper him with aftercare.

Anger and bitterness had rolled off him, his golden eyes wet while peering up at me and declaring he was meant to be alpha—he’d had zero thoughts otherwise in his heart.

We’d kindly reminded him of my beast’s royal lineage, that there had been no denying who’d been meant to lead between the two of us.

The next morning, I’d woken to find Dolyn gone from the home we’d shared.

Tears whipped from our blinking eyes, and the beast roared his anguish he continually denied into the rising sun.

My human half huddled in silence, long having allowed myself to grieve. If only the feelings would abate for both halves of us.

Surely, once we mated, the pain of our past would dissipate, and we would be free to live and love without further hauntings.

While the beast battled to enjoy stretching our wings as we’d been doing moments earlier, my other half required a break from emotion. Forcing my human mind on the project Jon would be laboring over helped me focus.

Testing of the now-contracted robots had been done at the New York office over the previous six months, but with what the military wanted me to upgrade, I would need to do more.

However, I refused to return to the city and leave my mates again. I hoped Jon had the skills to do the testing required remotely and we could stay holed up in the cavern, exploring each other and deepening our bond for when I had no choice but to go back to New York.

We would do everything within our power to drag out the days and hours, taking advantage of every minute allowed to us.

Pink and hints of red streaked across the sky before I returned home, keeping toward the backside of the mountain lest Jon and Dakota were awake and watching for me from the northern side where all the windows overlooked.

I took on my human form outside of the garage before letting myself into our home.

Silence hung over the cave, so after retrieving my clothing from the veranda, I made my way down to the lower outcropping for my morning ritual of tai chi I was in a better headspace to enjoy.

Within minutes of meditating through motion, serenity descended, easing my mind of all stress.

I flowed through each pose effortlessly until sweat poured from me and the sun kissed my face.

My skin pebbled a second before the scent of Dakota swept past me, but I continued my practice, fighting my cock’s desire to swell. The click of her camera sounded loud in my ears, but I pretended I wasn’t aware she captured me with her lens.

A second shiver licked at my spine. Jon watched as well. Unable to concentrate any longer, I lifted my head.

Dakota stood at the railing above me same as before, alone, a blanket wrapped around her. Cheeks flushed, she stared at me, her camera lowered, hands trembling.

Come to me , we silently bid her, but lower lip between her teeth, she turned away.

My attention roamed upward, seeking out Jon. I could sense him looking down at me through their darkened bedroom window, but he disappeared a heartbeat later. Quickly. As though he couldn’t bear the sight of me.

Stomach tight, I grabbed my towel and entered the door leading into the lower cavern. Did he regret our actions from the night before? Did he hate that his wife watched me? Took pictures of me?

Heart racing, I donned my T-shirt and hurried upstairs in fear of the sure conflict ahead of us that could very well tear my mates away from me.