Page 49 of Drawn by Dragonblood (Blood Born #1)

Dakota

“ Y ou!” Jon stormed forward, hands fisting like he readied to pummel the naked blond douche for once more intruding on our peace.

Elijah grasped his arm so he couldn’t stride past, halting my husband in his tracks. “You know him?” Careful wariness laced his question.

“Not personally, thank fuck.” My husband spat the words with unmistakable disdain.

“Jon, Dolyn,” Elijah stated, barely restrained anger simmering beneath the proper graciousness he offered to the naked man who’d let himself into our home as though he shared in ownership. “Dolyn, Jon.”

Tension and energy radiated throughout the cavern, strong enough to raise the hairs on my forearms and not in the usual delicious way the nearness of my two lovers enticed.

Shivering and arms wrapped around my trembling core, I stared at the man who had almost ruined my relationship with Jon years earlier.

Recognition came easy as he had a face I would never forget, same as it must have been for Jon when first laying eyes on Dolyn.

The man had strong features as perfect as Elijah’s.

Golden skin and hair and the most gorgeous amber-like eyes.

His body was built similarly to Elijah’s, right down to the length and girth of his heavy cock between his thighs, but nothing about him aroused me like either of my lovers did.

The pull toward him wasn’t as strong as it’d been once before either, but this time I realized the truth of why I’d been drawn to him as though his soul pulled me in like a tractor beam.

The scent of fire and brimstone— Elijah —clung to Dolyn.

It’d been our lover’s aura and energy lingering on the stranger long after it should have faded that had drawn me so intensely, even though we hadn’t spoken a single word to each other.

Not his blond perfection, not the stunning smile he’d flashed at me while striding past and leaving me breathless as only Jon had ever done.

This was the man that had made me notice something was missing in my life, but it hadn’t been him I’d been desperate for.

It’d been the scent of Elijah, the third meant to fill the emptiness I hadn’t realized resided in my soul.

And the golden god known as Dolyn? I had no doubt in my mind that he was the man who’d left and broken Elijah’s heart, the one I knew Elijah still pined for regardless of my husband and I becoming involved with him.

Fear flared in my head at that knowledge pinged to life, burning clear down to my legs and causing my knees to weaken.

I’d finally become comfortable in who I was, and this man’s arrival stirred up a hornet nest of emotions, a complete upheaval of that happily-ever-after triad I’d dreamed about.

My mind set on staying in the cavern with my lovers until my heart beat its last, but Elijah’s connection with the man ran deeper than that which he shared with both me and Jon.

I feared Dolyn would attempt to replace my husband in our dynamic.

Or perhaps his return would erase all of Elijah’s interest in both Jon and me.

I mean, the intruder had the body of a god and was Elijah’s match in almost every way except for their opposing energy.

My gaze snapped from one man to the next—Elijah’s stare on the blond, Jon’s scowl focused on the same place.

And Dolyn?

He studied me , ignoring both Elijah and Jon who stood like a warrior wall between us, both tensed and seemingly on the verge of pouncing like a couple of lions to defend me if needed. “I’ve seen you before.”

I swallowed hard, nodding, baffled why Dolyn couldn’t care less about the two men ready to rip him to shreds should he speak the wrong word.

Safe .

Twin, low growls sounded from my lovers, and warmth flooded through me regardless of my fear, a sense of belonging—a promise that nothing would tear us apart.

“New York,” Dolyn suggested, although he sounded sure rather than posing a question.

“A mere passing on the street,” I whispered, my insides still a riotous mess. How did I know it’d been Elijah on him that had drawn me to follow him up the street? Why would I even think that?

My fanciful imagination, most likely.

No. Truth.

The quiet whispers assured me I wasn’t losing my mind, even though the fact I heard a voice to begin with suggested I did.

“You followed me for two blocks before that man—” he gestured at Jon “—caught up and caused a bit of a scene.”

I cringed at the memory of how Jon’s low hiss of anger hadn’t mirrored the devastation in his eyes when I’d told him that the man somehow had what I’d been missing.

The words had spilled without thought. I hadn’t considered how my claim might make my other half feel, the devastation it would wreck on his already insecure nature.

It hadn’t been a sexual draw to Dolyn but one of energy, which I’d tried to explain to Jon, but his jealousy had overshadowed all ability to think rationally.

I’d been his, the only person that had ever belonged to him, and Dolyn had proven a threat to the peace he’d found in sharing his life with me.

Because of his upbringing, Jon had always been cautious with others.

Never acted impulsively either. But that situation I’d placed him in was a scenario where there hadn’t been time to plan.

He’d simply reacted on instinct, which called on anger to shield his heart that I’d broken without intending to.

He’d been unkind. Spewed words I hoped to never hear ever again—feared it to the place I’d submitted to him in every way once we’d made amends.

I’d looked to him to make all our decisions which I’d recently learned had almost torn us apart again.

Some would call it codependency or perhaps toxic, but something far beyond natural tied me and my husband together.

My request for space from each other due to the Dolyn incident had simply been for me to gain clarity and lick my wounds from pure embarrassment, but Jon hadn’t taken it as anything but a breakup, considering his abandonment issues.

He’d been heartbroken, as had I, and it hadn’t been more than a handful of days before I’d begged for forgiveness, pleading with him to take me back.

Never had emotions wrecked me so thoroughly, but in that moment, I recognized I faced even sharper heartache, regardless of the assurance both men had offered me.

Jon had basically admitted that his cynicism of all strangers drawing me in atop his asshole ex-boss’s treatment was what had hindered him from giving himself fully to Elijah.

And now this blond douche, as he’d been named by my husband, had to show up and potentially ruin the best thing that had ever happened to us.

Rather than sit back this time, I needed to be proactive.

Connect .

At the voice whispering in my head, I stepped forward to stand behind the men and grasped Jon’s right hand in my own. He clutched at me like a lifeline, and I reached around to wrap my other hand around Elijah’s left fist, which hung at his side.

Both men shuddered as though they’d been desperate for my soothing touch, and I swore gentle energy rippled through the circle I’d created even though they both stood facing away from me.

Shoulders relaxed. Breaths came easier. But most of all, the tension thickening the air lessened, allowing my heartbeat to slow and mind to rest. We were meant to be together, of that, I had no doubt.

Dolyn’s brow furrowed as he watched the three of us intently, and I tilted my chin up while peeking between my men, silently telling Dolyn to do his worst. We three would stand the test of time.

Elijah was our home, our true family, and I could only imagine the struggle of wondering what the fuck was going on inside Jon’s head, the insecurities that must be screaming for him to replace the walls Elijah had recently torn down.

I longed to fight further for what we had found with him, but there was only one person who could assure Jon of his place.

It was Elijah who would need to still the overwhelming upheaval of emotions Jon must be feeling facing Elijah’s ex-lover.

Dolyn gave Elijah his full attention, his amber eyes burning bright with what seemed like golden flames.

“These are the two you claim belong to you? Common humans who bicker on the streets without a care of what others might think? They have no class , Elijah. No proper bearing. Your parents would be ashamed.”

“What the actual fuck, man?” Jon attempted to bolt forward, but Elijah held him steady with his grip on my husband’s forearm, his focus never wavering from Dolyn’s face.

“ I belong to them , Dolyn,” Elijah stated quietly when I’d expected a roar of anger, and strangely, a flash of claws. “My heart, my soul, my mind. Every part of me I would lay at their feet every day until eternity passes if they’ll have me.”