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Chapter Four

D imitri let his hand skitter off the end of the golden statue’s erect cock.

The warmth of it still tingled on his skin, a subtle signal that there was more to these statues than Corey believed.

And these two … they were posed so perfectly.

Back-to-back, identical aside from their obvious genders.

The translucent gold of the jade they were made from shimmered in the flickering lights, enticing him to touch them more.

And he would, because he couldn’t resist. The few soft caresses he’d given them earlier had only incited deeper cravings.

Cravings that didn’t help the aching in his balls while he stared at the two of them.

To choose would be impossible. He had to find a way to awaken them both.

“You are two halves of a whole. That’s why I have to wake you up together.

You see, I was like you. A twin. But I lost my other half last year.

And I …” His breath caught in his throat and he stared into the female’s stone eyes, imagining she could see him and was looking back with understanding.

“I lost myself after my brother died. Ever since, I’ve been carrying around this dark emptiness that’s slowly eating me alive.

” The only times he’d managed to come close to finding peace after Alex’s death and Thea’s withdrawal were the random, pointless hookups he’d made late at night with near strangers.

They proved ultimately too fleeting and devoid of meaning.

Standing beside these two figures, for the first time since his initial night with Thea and Alex, his life felt pregnant with possibility.

If he could awaken two creatures like these beautiful dragons and they could find that apex of peace together, he might just be okay.

Even if it only ever amounted to one encounter, he believed he could leave here closer to whole than he was when he’d arrived.

Steadily, Dimitri continued trailing over the surface of their jade skin.

Up the male’s arms, down his lean, sculpted chest, then switching his attention to the female’s breasts, the heft of which he could feel in his palm even though they were stone tipped with hard little peaks.

He experimentally bent his head to one, teasing the smart tip with his tongue.

The texture of it was so close to real it caused a tingle to travel down his spine and his balls tightened.

He was sure he could hear a sigh from somewhere in the room, but when he looked at the statue’s placid face, nothing had changed.

Both were nearly the same height as him, and slender but well-built. They were completely nude, with long, wavy tresses carved from the same jade, draping in perfect thick tendrils over their shoulders. The male also had the hint of a goatee decorating his angular face.

Dimitri circled them, touching by increments as he went, marveling at the warm, smooth texture of their skin.

He paused in front of the male once and leaned in for a kiss.

His lips felt smooth, and he could almost imagine how pliant and inviting they’d be, were the man alive.

His tongue tingled when he grazed it along the crease and over the barely visible hint of teeth.

He let his hand slide down the front of the figure’s torso and come to rest on the rigid cock jutting from between the golden thighs.

It felt warmer now. He must be imagining it.

Surely, it was only his body heat permeating the stone.

Still, it felt so close to lifelike, rendered in minute detail from the sparse texture of carved thatch at the base to the tiny ridges of veins and the slight upward curve.

The entire magnificent arc was capped by the most delicious-looking head, slightly tapered from the thicker shaft.

Dimitri stroked it in one long, languid motion, gripping his own cock at the same time. His living flesh jerked against his palm and a tiny moan escaped his lips.

“Fuck. I’d love to be sandwiched between the two of you. You’re just facing the wrong way right now. So what do you think I should do?”

He slipped back around to face the female and rested his lips against hers now, letting them linger a little longer while his hands traced the curve of her waist and his fingertips trailed up to her breasts. He made tight little circles around her nipples, imagining she were alive and responsive.

All he could think was to touch them. Make love to them as best he could, considering they were mute, solid forms, frozen and beautiful.

He began by falling to his knees before her and pressing his mouth into the intricately carved folds between her jade thighs.