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A odh leaned to the left of the table and kissed her.

What started as a light brush of his tongue over her bottom lip became a sensual feast. He savored the sauce from the meat and everything that made up Kai.

He loved the taste of his mate and slid his tongue into her mouth.

Her mouth was only second to having his tongue buried between her sweet, silken thighs.

It had been a long day, and he’d missed Kai every moment he dealt with the situation between Fae and Lupine.

Right now, he wanted nothing else than to lift her from her seat and place her on his lap, right on his hard cock, and have it caressed by her heat.

Until he could strip her out of her clothes and guide it inside of her, of course.

When he pulled away and claimed his seat again, he watched her chest rise and fall not once but three times, as if she needed to gain a measure of control before she spoke.

And from the heat radiating in her beautiful, brown eyes, Kai wanted him as much as he desired her right now. First things first.

“What was that for?” She licked her lips and then rolled the plump bottom into her mouth.

He growled. That was his mouth; he was the only one who could devour it.

He felt the intensity of his need for her as he studied not only her mouth but Kai’s face and neck.

He dragged his gaze to her eyes again before he allowed his view to descend any further, his restraint was already at risk. “You had gravy on your lip.”

Aodh couldn’t help admiring how her cheeks darkened to a lovely cherry-brown.

“You know that is what napkins are for.” Kai lifted the cloth she’d set beside her drink after eating.

“Yes. But tasting you is too much fun.”

Heat, on top of heat, exploded in her eyes.

Pull it back, man, for a bit .

When she arched a brow at him, and a flirty smile stretched her beguiling lips, Aodh realized he had not shielded his thoughts from her. The link was still open from him being in his dragon form, and he’d forgotten to monitor it when he shifted with so much going on.

“How are you doing right now?” He reached beside him and placed a hand on her thigh, more for comfort than to start the seduction that he had plans for later that night.

Kai sat still momentarily as she stared down at her hands in her lap.

There was quietness around her, and he could tell she was taking a moment to assess herself before she spoke.

When she looked up, the corners of her eyes were tight, but there was still more peace in her gaze than the hurt that had been there before they made it up to their suite.

“Better.” She glanced toward the dark window; their view wasn’t in the actual direction her sister had gone, but he understood that her glance was more metaphoric.

“I don’t know how I’ll get on without her around daily.

We’ve never been apart if we don’t count the days she lay locked in your glass tank.

” She gave him a side-eye, but the soft curl at one corner of her lip eased the blow that would have been there weeks ago.

He nodded, acknowledging her words but giving her space to process them out loud.

“Will he be good to Morlie?”

Aodh knew this was coming, and he could hear that question in multiple forms rolling around in her mind.

He brushed his thumb along her thigh. “I can’t promise many things outside of my Thunder, but Chanin is an Alpha I respect.

His taking over the Lupines had been beneficial in many ways since the wolves’ last leader.

I’ve no doubt Chanin will care for her and place his mate first in every possible way he can. ”

“That’s good to hear.” She leaned toward him and covered his hand.

He marveled at how much smaller hers was than his.

“May I contact her? Isn’t there a cross-territory radio at the communication center?”

He knew she referred to the various radios that Hugo’s teams monitored. When he’d given her a tour, Comms had been one of the places he’d shown her. He didn’t like to tell his mate no and realized he needed to be delicate in his reasoning around denying her request.

“Not at this time, mate.”

Kai removed her hand from his and linked it with the other one in her lap. It was clear he’d not given her the response she wanted. “Why not?”

Refusing to allow her to place distance between them, he slid his hand up her thigh until he could wrap it around her clasped fingers. “Do you recall how it was for you when I first brought you into our territory?”

“Well, my sister was sick, and her failing health stressed me.”

“And?” he encouraged her to dig deeper.

“Well, it was strange here...” She swallowed, then rushed on, “I mean different. I didn’t know anyone.”

He smiled, letting her see he wasn’t offended by her accurate description.

He couldn’t fully relate to her feelings because even though the humans did many things differently than his kind, they had lived among them for over a century.

Even if only one percent of the population, the world governments knew they existed.

“And how did you feel?”

“Scared. Very scared,” she repeated. “And uncomfortable. Like a honeybee in water, I felt stunned because I didn’t fit in your area and the world outside of the Wall.

Nothing appeared as it did in vids or as described in books and records in the archives.

I didn’t know how to navigate your size, the spaces around me, or the fright in seeing how your kind could breathe fire and smoke at will.

” She turned one of her hands up and laced her fingers with his.

“Also, for a while, I was pretty sure Ninki wanted to kill me.”

Aodh chuckled. “But it’s not the Drahks’ style to harm another’s mate regardless of previous relationships.”

“Thank the Great Spirit for that.” She exhaled dramatically.

“Right. Well, since you all have been here, Morlie, just like you, needed to learn the world around her, who my people were, and the Drahk way of life.” He brought their linked hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles a few times before continuing.

“However, she’ll be the same as you were on day one in the wolf-shifter environment.

Morlie will need time to find her place and adjust.”

“Are you telling me that contact with me will make that more difficult?”

He released her hand only to take her by the waist and haul her from her chair and into his lap.

Kai gasped but settled against him quickly.

“I’m saying it will be harder for her to navigate her way if she can use you as a crutch. A reason to give up if it gets hard and escape back here.”

“Is my sister not welcomed on dragon land since she went with the wolves?” A small crease showed between Kai’s brows as she pushed against his chest and stared at him.

“It’s more complex than that. But, right now, I’m saying Morlie made her choice...the right choice for everyone involved. Still, she needs time to come to terms with all the facets of that decision.”

She sighed and seemed to take in his words. Kai lifted her hand, placed it along his face, and caressed his jawline. “I will see her again, right?”

“I promise you,” he confirmed without a moment of hesitation. “After an appropriate amount of time, I will arrange it personally.”

Kai leaned into him, pressing her large breasts into his chest as she kissed him lightly.

Aodh slid his hands up her back and buried his fingers in her lustrous coils but restrained himself from deepening the kiss. Or from gliding his other hand up her waist to cup her breasts and fondle her until her nipple hardened and begged for his mouth.

“How about you take me to bed, mate?” Her full lips curled into a beguiling smile. “Or the couch...the floor before a fire...”

He didn’t need to read his mate’s mind to know what she wanted.

Needed. With her pregnancy, knowing that his seed was growing inside of her was doing things to him.

There was never a question if he desired his mate, but it had become stronger.

He’d heard discussions about how the connection between mates during pregnancy was intense but never having experienced it before.

He’d mistakenly believed it would be like times in the past when he was incredibly aroused and wanted sex from a partner. It was not.

His need for her became his very blood and air.

And his damn beast wasn’t any help because he egged him on. Urging him earlier to take Kai to his desk or his dragon flying like black-winged demons were on its tail as he rushed to get back to her.

He could easily spend hours thrusting deep inside of her and still not be satisfied.

“Not yet, little flame.” He stood and set Kai on her feet before him.

“Why not?” Her pout was fucking sexy as hell.

And if he didn’t stop staring at her mouth, he’d have his mate on her knees and sliding his cock into it. He groaned and stepped back from her. “Have you forgotten there’s something I want to show you?”

She tipped her head to the side. “Show me?”

Yes.

Wait. Your hoard.

Right . He grabbed Kai’s hand and started toward the bedroom. “Come with me.”

“Wait. I thought you said we weren’t having sex.”

“Yet.” He growled. “Yet. But we still need to go this way.”

Mindful of his mate’s shorter gait, he took the stairs slowly up to the room as he pulled Kai behind him.

“What?” Confusion laced her voice.

He stopped in the center of the room and inhaled deeply, taking the sweetness of her scent as he met her gaze. After a slow exhale, he said, “As I explained, each dragon has a hearth-stone, gem, or precious metals like gold or platinum.”

“Yours is black obsidian like those on your sword.” She gestured toward the front room where his two broad swords hung over the mantle.