Page 22

Finn

I'd had sex before. I was twenty-seven, and I'd explored all kinds of intimacy in my twenties until now. All, except the one that mattered the most, apparently.

Having sex with someone you were falling in love with was nothing like having sex with someone you'd just met, or a casual acquaintance.

I'd always thought sex with someone you knew felt good because you knew how to make it feel good, because you knew what the other person enjoyed and they knew what you liked.

But it wasn't like that at all.

I barely remembered coming, or the mechanics of the whole thing.

All I remembered was gazing into Levi's eyes and feeling like the whole world had fallen away until it was just us. All I remembered was his skin against mine, sharing the same breath, kissing him as his scent filled my lungs, as the very air I breathed was filled with him.

The orgasm was barely more than an afterthought compared to everything else I felt, and if this was what sex felt like when it was with your mate, it was no wonder my dads kept kicking me out so often.

Even my basilisk side had gone all quiet and peaceful after that, which rarely happened. He was feeling downright giddy, and it was strange but not bad. It would keep him from bothering me for a while, hopefully.

"You okay?" Levi murmured, and I turned my head—more like it lolled over like there were no bones in my neck—to peer at him. He was on his side facing me, his hair sticking to his face, his blue eyes a little hazy as he gazed back at me.

I hummed, then reached over to tangle my fingers with his, the only movement I had the energy to make.

"That was..." I shook my head, a half-smile tilting my lips. "I feel like I got hit by a truck. And like I'd enjoy being hit again."

Levi gave a snort, his lips curving in a smile that I could only describe as fond. "That's about how I feel. Has it ever...?"

"Felt like that? Never."

"Yeah, for me neither. I thought maybe it was because of the whole 'first time bottoming' thing, but it feels like more."

"It was more. It was everything."

Levi smiled, then gave my hand a squeeze. "Yeah, it was."

For a few minutes, we just lay there, coming down from the high and slowly getting the feeling back in our limbs .

When Greta started scratching at the door and demanding we come out, Levi slowly sat up with a sigh.

"Shower?" he asked, and I nodded quickly, starting to feel the cum drying on my skin. Things like that felt great in the moment but got icky real fast. Something to remember for the future.

"Your basilisk side seemed into it," Levi murmured when we were under the warm spray, and I hummed as he rubbed the loofah over my chest, both in reply to his words and how good it felt.

"He likes the closeness."

"I like feeling close to him too. And you. Do you shift often?"

I tried to remember the last time I'd shifted. Shit, had it really been that long?

"Not really. I'm pretty... big in that form, and there's not really a safe place to shift. We used to do it at the packland, but with the ongoing construction nearby, that's not possible anymore. "

Levi's brows furrowed as he rubbed my abdomen, washing off the dried cum. "That sucks. What about the park? I heard it's not open to humans."

I winced as I remembered the last time I'd shifted there, which had been my first shift ever.

"Yeah, I shifted there once. But the trees are far too close together, and I may have felled some, which made the forest spirit who owns the place very unhappy. I can't do that again."

Levi frowned, and I leaned down to kiss his pursed lips.

"It's okay. I don't really need to shift all that often. It doesn't hurt or anything." It just made my basilisk side all fidgety and annoying, but he'd been doing better since Levi came into the picture, so I was hoping his presence would keep him from driving me crazy.

"If you say so," Levi said, giving me a smile, and I smiled back before taking the loofah from him.

"My turn."

We took our time washing up, then returned to the bedroom, where I put on my own underwear—I'd 'remembered' to pack those—and another of Levi's t-shirts, this one with potato chips with sad faces and the words 'the chips are down.'

"Where do you even find these?" I asked with a laugh as I pulled it on, and Levi grinned.

"Online, mostly. Sometimes in gift shops. You really like them, huh?"

"They're very you."

Levi chuckled, then opened the bedroom door.

Greta raced in, hissed at Levi, then hurried over to me, peering at me through her beady black eyes until I picked her up.

She rubbed her head against my jaw and made a chittering sound, and I grinned at Levi.

"I think she believes you locked me in here."

"What? No way. She knows me better than that. Right, Greta?"

Greta paid him no mind as she continued snuggling me, making him frown.

"Greta!" he practically whined, making me laugh.

"Here. Tell her you're sorry for locking her out."

" You would've been sorry if I hadn't," he grumbled as he took Greta from my hands, then peered into her eyes. "Sorry, Greta. There are just some things you don't need to see."

She made a huffy, sneezy sort of sound, and Levi chuckled, then placed her on the floor.

"You wanna cuddle on the couch and watch something for a while?"

"Sounds good."

Walking over to my bag, I grabbed the blanket I'd brought over from my place, then followed Levi to the living room, where we cuddled on the couch and watched a show until lunch time.

Lev i

After lunch, Finn wanted to see my garden, and since the rain had stopped sometime while we were cuddling, we went out to my backyard, where he spent a good while oohing and aahing over my plants. I felt proud of my garden, and I was practically preening as he admired it.

He wanted to see me 'work my magic,' so Greta and I showed him how we worked. It wasn't all that interesting to watch because even with the boost I gave, the plants didn't really grow at a pace that would be visible to someone watching, not unless they checked on the plant every day.

Finn still seemed to enjoy watching me work, though, and I did have to take care of the garden, so we spent some time there, with him watching and asking questions while Greta and I worked.

"I like your powers. You can actually do something with them," Finn said after a while, making me glance up at him.

"You can turn people to stone." I thought that was a much cooler ability to have, but maybe that was just me.

"Who am I gonna turn to stone? Everyone's a good person here, and I have no interest in moving anywhere else."

Well, he wasn't wrong. With the dragon watching over the town, and the number of powerful supes that lived here, only an idiot would try to cause trouble.

"Sorry," I said, because I couldn't think of anything else to say, and he shrugged .

"It is what it is," he said with a shake of his head, then peered at the ground I was working on. "You leave the weeds in? Don't they damage the other plants?"

"Not if you talk nicely to them."

Finn blinked, clearly confused if I meant it literally, and I smiled.

"I give them the nutrition they need if they promise not to steal from the other plants. The land belongs to everyone, and I don't judge who gets to grow here."

"That's so sweet," he said, making me roll my eyes.

"Not really."

"It is! You're a sweetheart."

"Is that my pet name, then? Sweetheart?" I asked, and it seemed to take him a moment to remember our earlier conversation.

"Depends. Do you like it?"

"I'll like whatever name you picked for me, Gin."

Finn eyed me for a moment, then shook his head. "I'll find the perfect nickname for you."

"I'll be waiting." I shot him a wink, making him blush, then went back to my work.

Lightning shot through the sky, and it started pouring. Greta hightailed it inside as I rushed to my feet and jumped up onto the deck.

"I gotta text Ames. Something's going on with Raiden," Finn mumbled as we went inside, and I raised a brow at him.

"He really affects the weather that much? "

Finn nodded emphatically, scrolled through his phone for a moment, then showed me a screenshot of a chat between him and someone named Cam. The dragon's son, I remembered as I scanned the text. It seemed to be a list of rain types and the corresponding feelings of his dad based on his observation.

According to him, today's repeated rains meant Raiden was either anxious about something, or getting ready for a fight.

"I'm betting on anxious. Their eggs are supposed to hatch in two months, but if something went wrong..."

"You should text Amelia," I prompted, then peered out the window. "Would you like some coffee? Or maybe some hot cocoa?"

Finn's eyes lit up when I mentioned hot cocoa, and I grinned. "Two hot cocoas coming right up."

"No marshmallows, please," he said, and I blinked, then shrugged.

"Got it."

Taking his elbow, I led him to the couch since he seemed intent to stand there in the middle of the room as he texted, then went into the kitchen. Greta stayed with him, and I hoped whatever news he got would be good.

I was just pouring the hot cocoa into mugs when Finn exclaimed "Holy fuck!" and almost made me spill the hot liquid all over my hand.

Catching my breath, I finished pouring, then took the mugs to the living room, joining Finn on the couch. Placing the mugs on the table, I turned to him .

"What happened?"

He glanced up from his phone, as if he'd forgotten I was here, then gave me a brilliant smile before shoving his phone in front of my face.

It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing, and when I did, I sucked in a sharp breath, moving the phone away from my face so I could see it properly.

"Is that..."

Finn nodded quickly, his green eyes shining bright. "One of them hatched early. It started cracking this morning, hence the weird rain. Dad's there now. He's the one who sent me the pic. Raiden called him over to make sure the baby was healthy."

"They're so tiny," I murmured as I peered at the small dragon.

They were all flesh and squinty, closed eyes right now, but their skin was a dark gray, which I assumed was the dragons' natural skin color.

They didn't have any scales yet, and I imagined they'd grow as they got older. "Raiden and his mate must be so happy."

"Yeah, nervous too since they're a preemie. Dad will take care of them, though. I'm sure of it," Finn said, and I adored the confidence in his voice. I was so glad he'd met his parents, that they'd given him the life he deserved.

"Do you want kids?" I asked, then blinked, surprised. I hadn't been planning to ask him that, at least not so early in our bonding.

Finn looked equally surprised by my question, but he gathered himself quickly.

"I do, but not anytime soon. I feel like I just got done raising Penny and Dean, and I don't want to do that again," he said, then sucked in a breath and rushed to add, "Not that I don't love them or think raising them was a chore, but I just—I want to live for myself for a while. "

"Gin," I said, waiting until he'd caught his breath and met my eyes before continuing.

"You don't have to justify yourself, not to anyone, and certainly not to me.

Your siblings are the amazing people they are because of you.

I have no doubts about that. You were a wonderful parent to them, and I know you'll be a great dad to any kids we decide to have someday.

It doesn't have to be now, and I won't mind if you changed your mind someday either. "

"But do you want kids?" he asked, and I smiled.

"I do, but I don't need them to feel fulfilled. I have my garden for that, my job, Greta, you. All of it makes me happy. If I ever have kids, it would be because they need me, not because I need them. I won't put that kind of responsibility on them."

Finn stared at me for a long moment, then threw himself at me, his lips slamming into mine as he covered my body with his. I heard something fall, then the splash of liquid, and remembered our drinks a little too late.

But Finn was still kissing me, and the mess slipped my mind as I focused on his lean, strong body covering mine and his lips dancing against mine.

In that moment, no mess in the world was big enough to pull me away from Finn.