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Aodh didn’t spare Liekki, who had recently been with him on the training turf, a glance as his brother settled his girth into the empty seat beside him at the top of the T-of-the-head table.

Any other tables were fair game, first come, as the hall workers placed family-style food platters and bowls at the center of each.

The difference was the head table was reserved for Mckenna, his family, and their guests.

Since his father stepped down, his parents never came to the hall unless there was a celebration or meeting, so Eilidh, his sister, filled up the table with her friends, which he didn’t mind.

Since Aodh hadn’t claimed a mate and produced offspring, there was plenty of space for others.

“I’m surprised you let her out of your bed and allowed her to be around the thunder unclaimed.” Liekki continued to taunt him while piling food high on his plate.

He grunted in response to his brother, but Aodh continued to nurse his drink. Kai’s slow-moving shoulders had become a fascination for him, a seduction. He wondered if the music tempted her to dance and hoped she didn’t give in. He wasn’t sure how he’d react to the sight before him and his thunder.

“I didn’t let her do anything.” He started in a low tone. “I am surprised Kai allowed her sister to come down.”

Kai had been very adamant that Morlie needed rest. Even though he knew differently, Kai was her guardian, and he’d respected her wishes regarding her sister.

“Eilidh had something to do with it, I am sure.” Liekki consumed a forkful of meat and vegetables before he continued. “Our baby sister could persuade a goat to shed his skin.”

Aodh chuckled at the image. It was true.

Eilidh did have a way with people. He could see her heading Com one day when she became an adult or preternatural council mediator.

Right now, Liekki held that position in the thunder as second.

“Hell, if we are not careful, Eilidh will battle the Fae for the magistrate position over the council.”

“Shit. Since before the humans’ destruction, the fae have held the position strong even when we had to be covert about our dealings.” Liekki shook his head.

“If anyone could do it, Eilidh will be the one.”

Liekki grunted in agreement around the mouthful of food.

Aodh had prepared himself to finish out the night without Kai.

It was one of the reasons he’d radioed his brother to meet him at the arena.

He’d needed to attempt to exhaust himself to the point of only wanting to eat and fall into bed.

It would be the only way he would not knock on the door of his smaller suite and demand she come to him.

An hour ago, while he stood in the shower upstairs, he’d convinced himself that he was tired enough to go directly to sleep after dinner.

He’d even considered radioing Tana to bring him up a platter.

However, he’d decided against disturbing his attendant’s private time, especially with her having extra duties with Morlie now awake. So, he’d come down to the hall only to discover the object of his desire was amid his people.

Now, Aodh grew tired of observing her from afar.

As long as he’d been sitting there and as close as he was to her, Kai would have felt his heat reaching out to her.

He figured the effects of juice in her hand muddled her senses.

The fermented beverage didn’t cause intoxication for his people.

They drank it because they enjoyed the warm sensation it added to their bellies.

Dragon-shifters relished anything that reminded them of fire.

Besides, their beasts hated when they consumed water.

So, they did so sparingly to appease the flesh part of their being.

“Little flame.”

Kai turned her head from left to right quickly, which caused her unruly curls to swing and bounce around her shoulders.

Yeongi, Calida, and more than a few others heard his low tone by the straightening of their spines. However, no one else turned except Kai.

He watched her pause as she scanned the two entrances as if he just walked in and called out for her. Aodh recognized the moment she became aware of their heat connection, and Kai turned slowly in her chair until she could glance over the marble table-top to meet his gaze.

He heard the hitch in her breathing and saw the increase in her pulse along the side of her neck. Her need for him was always right under the surface.

“Come here, Kai.” Once again, he didn’t raise his voice. However, he didn’t need to. After the long days, they spent intertwined with each other, his cock buried deep inside of her as he whispered all sorts of things in her ear—salacious and sweet—Kai knew his voice.

She was in tune with him, even in a noisy crowd of shifters.

Kai rose, only pausing a few seconds to ensure her sister was okay, then she started down the table toward him.

Left. Right. Left Right. Mesmerized, Aodh watched her wide hips swing and her thick thighs’ graceful movements like a clock at the end of a hypnotist chain.

His cock throbbed and began to swell in his pants as he took all of her in.

The dress she wore clung to her full breasts, narrow waist, and curve of her hips.

He wanted to watch the delicate material slide over her body as it drifted to the floor and revealed her nakedness beneath.

The closer she got to him, the more the heat that bonded them intensified. He had the mind of a madman, all incited by the need to grab her by the waist and pull her body against his, feeling those soft curves provide succor to his body.

She stopped a few feet before him. Her eyes held a glaze, and there was a flush to her cheeks, evidence of the juice’s effects. “You wanted me?”

Damn . Did Kai know how those three words affected him? Slowly, Aodh rose to his feet and reveled at her golden-brown eyes, darkening as she consumed him with her gaze. He wasn’t the only one affected by desire.

“Yes.”

“She is lovely.” Liekki’s rough voice was loud enough to be heard across the room. “Don’t be selfish, brother. You don’t have to yield to pressure if she’s not the one. If you’re not planning to breed with her, I’m sure there are a lot of shifters who wouldn’t mind a sample when you’re done.”

Aodh didn’t have to look down to see the cerulean that radiated through his markings flash to a blood orange as he growled and stood to face Liekki. His dragon didn’t care. It was his brother who agitated him. A fire pit was still ready to spew and turn rocks into lava. Kai was his woman.

Even though his beast hadn’t claimed her, the beast was possessive as fuck of his things.

In his peripheral, Aodh could see more than a few male Drahks turn in his direction, their markings glowing yellow with curiosity.

His scent marked her now, but it would simply be a matter of another Drahk fucking her, and it would not even have a lingering trace.

Were they waiting for him to reject or offer her up to another?

The hell I will.

Before he could respond, Kai had stepped around him and placed her small stature between them, standing up to Liekki.

“What makes you think I haven’t conceived?”

Aodh would have laughed at the comical scene if he wasn’t pissed at his brother’s words. There was no way his mate could beat Liekki, but the fact she wasn’t afraid to stand her ground and challenge him was damn striking. Aodh figured it was the juice bolstering her courage.

Aodh understood Kai’s perspective. In her world, as much unprotected sex as they had, there was a significant chance she would have gotten pregnant. For his kind, it didn’t work the same.

“Leave it alone, Liekki,” Aodh bit out. “Mind your damn business.”

However, his brother was too fucking hard-headed to listen. Liekki tipped his head down and cast his violet-flamed gaze on Kai. He chuckled. “Oh, spitfire, if you’d met my brother’s dragon, you wouldn’t have been sitting so comfortably in that chair.”

Kai’s beautiful, full lips parted on a gasp.

Liekki roared with laughter.

“Back the fuck off, Liekki!” Aodh grabbed Kai and shoved her behind him. Rich, gray smoke curled out of his nose and circled his brother’s head.

“My only job is to serve your orders, Mckenna.” Liekki bowed his head, but not low enough that Aodh couldn’t see the broad grin before he walked away.

Aodh watched as a female Drahk stepped in his brother’s path. Liekki barely paused in his stride as he wrapped an arm around the rich, mocha-toned female and strutted out of the hall.

“What did he mean—?”

“We’re leaving.” Aodh faced her, then took hold of her hand and started to turn.

He stopped when he felt Kai’s resistance. He glanced back at her, his brows pinched.

“I can’t. Morlie.”

Shit . Just that quick, he’d forgotten about her worry over her sister.

He stared at the people still moving in a rhythmic mass on the floor, Morlie still in their midst. “Eilidh!”

His sister’s bright-purple gaze shot at him as she flung her long hair over one shoulder and smiled.

He didn’t wait long before she broke away from her dancing friends and crossed to him. “Yes, Aodh?” she asked breathlessly.

“Since this stunt was your idea.” He gave her a sharp look. Letting her know he was aware she’d acted without consulting him. “Ensure that Morlie gets safely to her suite.”

“At your word, Mckenna.”

“Try not to forget that again.”

Eilidh smiled, evidently not feeling the brunt of his chastisement.

Aodh shook his head, pitying the Drahk, who would become Eilidh’s mate one day. He continued making his way out the entrance that led to his suites.

“But, Morlie is my responsibility.”

“No one will harm your sister, Kai. You have my word.” He didn’t pause in his course to get Kai to a place where she was all his. Like his dragon, Aodh didn’t want to share what was his.

Kai was his.

She let him guide her up the stairs and to their suite. He didn’t release her until they were inside with the heavy door sealed.