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A pollo couldn't look Lachlan in the eyes without blushing like a damn fool. Could he blame the momentary lapse in judgment on being half asleep? Maybe for the handy that Lachlan had given him but not for him purposely going into the bathroom to watch him wank.

Fuck . He couldn't even blame it on his dragon because they had been of one mind when he had followed Lachlan into the bathroom. And he had fucking bit him.

He couldn't help it. He knew Lachlan would be hot as fuck naked, but his excellent imagination hadn't lived up to it.

He was sculpted like a god with a great sized dick that would rearrange his insides and an ass so perky, Apollo wanted to sink his teeth into one of his brown cheeks. Or both of them.

Apollo couldn't believe a man with an ass like that hadn't been topped. He didn't know how anyone could resist it. It was a struggle not to get hard every time he thought about it.

Apollo must have had a dreamy look on his face because as soon as Lachlan had gone out of the apartment to check on security and get some more groceries, Valentine cornered him.

"What's going on with you and Lachie, baby brother," he demanded.

"Nothing? What? It's none of your business," Apollo said, crossing his arms.

Valentine let out a long-suffering sigh. "I knew you had been pining for him for over a year, but it's clear that you've finally acted on it."

Apollo hurried into the kitchen to make another coffee. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Valentine followed him in, refusing to let it go. "Bullshit. Lachie came out of your room this morning, and it looked like his chest had been mauled by a dick-crazy animal."

Apollo's ears burned hot as lava. "I couldn't just leave him to sleep on the couch after he had rushed in to save me the way he did."

"How big and giving your heart is," Valentine said dryly. "A modern Mother Theresa, you are."

"Fuck you," Apollo said with a laugh. "Don't judge me. We didn't even fuck."

"I know you didn't because I'm sure I would have heard it," Valentine replied. "You don't owe him anything for saving you."

"Fuck, Val. It wasn't like that."

Valentine glared at him. "Then tell me what it's like. I know he's your mate, bro. The whole family does. In fact, I think everyone knows except for Lachie himself."

Apollo put his face in his hands. "I know. I don't know what to do or how to tell him. This morning was just like some heavy petting? That's all. I have problems controlling my dragon when we are in close proximity like this. It wants him."

"And what do you want?"

Apollo didn't remove his hands. "I want him too. It's just... I don't think he's the mating-for-life type. I know I need to tell him, but we have bigger things to worry about with these alchemists. I will talk to him about it after they are dealt with."

Valentine snorted, "Well, you've managed to put your feelings off for years. What's another week?"

"I love you, big brother, but sometimes you really are a bitch."

Valentine smirked. "Just telling you how it is. You are both in love with each other. I don't know what the problem is."

"That's because you've never been in love with anyone but yourself."

"True, and I am happiest that way. From where I'm sitting, love looks like too much drama for me," Valentine replied.

"Don't forget to call Dad. He needs to speak with you and hear your voice and shit.

You know, parent stuff. Maybe he can give you advice about Lachie.

As you pointed out, matters of the heart are not my area of expertise. "

Understatement of the fucking year . Apollo bit his tongue and headed upstairs to call Cosimo from the landline.

No matter how many years had passed, the upstairs room would always smell like the lily of the valley perfume that his mother had worn. It used to be her and Cosimo's room, but after the boys had grown up, it was turned into a generic guestroom.

At least, that had been the plan. It didn't matter what furniture it had or what pictures hung on the wall.

Apollo would still see his mother's dressing table with creams and cosmetics lined along it.

He had sat with her more than once when he was little and had learned to put on makeup and do facials and manicures.

Lisa had never been a mother to worry about gender roles or any of the nonsense of 'girls' things and 'boys' things.

Apollo suddenly wished he could sit down with her and do manicures while he talked out all his mixed feelings for Lachlan. She always knew he needed something in his hands to fidget with when he was talking.

Apollo went and sat on the bed. Valentine was the neat one of the family, and the bed had been made with perfect precision, which was just unnatural.

He was the one who always perfected the house cleaning spells because he couldn't handle the mess.

At least he had left everyone's bedroom alone, but it had been a big argument at the time.

They all dealt with their mother's death in different ways, and Val had gone straight to OCD neat freak.

Apollo picked up the cordless phone and pressed the speed dial button for Cosimo's phone.

"This better be Apollo, or I am going to lose my temper," Cosimo answered.

"Hey, Dad, sorry. I've been sleeping."

"And kidnapped!"

Apollo winced. "That too. I'm okay. I swear."

"Valentine said Lachlan got you out. I know he meant well, but he really should have waited for your brother to back him up."

"If he had, I might have been dead or worse," Apollo said. He spent fifteen minutes giving his father a full update, including their plans to crash the masquerade ball that night.

Cosimo muttered some choice curses in Italian under his breath. When he wasn't in Italy, if Cosimo was speaking Italian, it usually meant he was struggling to control his temper.

"I don't understand how they have managed to remain a secret all this time.

From normal humans, I can understand, but from the magical community?

That truly is a feat," he said, switching back to English.

"It doesn't matter now. What matters is that they thought it was okay to kidnap my son and experiment on him. Should I come and handle this?"

Few people outside the direct family knew that Valentine had gotten a lot of his darker traits from Cosimo.

Their father was a multidisciplinary magician like Valentine and had also been the one that people thought would eventually go crazy or dark.

Their Auntie Maria had beaten him to it, and no one had heard from her since before Cosimo had married Lisa.

Magicians tended to go wandering when they were mad, so the Greatdrakes figured she would turn up at some point if she wasn't dead.

"We are going to be fine, Dad. Don't worry about it.

Lachlan is doing the hunting and logistics things, Valentine is taking care of the magical espionage, and I will mix up something in case of emergency.

I'm brewing a spray and some droppers to corrupt my DNA as we speak.

We can handle it," Apollo reassured him.

"And what are you going to corrupt it with?" Cosimo asked because he couldn't help being a teacher as well as a father.

Apollo grinned. "Madame Alarie's Persian cat. You know the one that lives in the building across from us?"

"The one that pisses on everyone's balconies?" Cosimo asked, laughing loudly.

"The very one. I bribed it with some cheese and stole some of its fur."

Still laughing, Cosimo asked, "And how is Lachlan? He was quite inconsolable last time I saw him."

Apollo twisted a lock of his hair nervously. "He was?"

"You were kidnapped in front of him, Apollo. Of course he was."

"I didn't think he cared."

Cosimo snorted. "Don't be dense. That boy is so in love with you, he flew to Paris and rescued you against everyone's orders."

Apollo swallowed hard. "You think he's in love with me? Because I'm pretty sure he's a hump-them-and-dump-them kind of guy."

"Come now, we all know something is going on."

"Dad? He's... He's my mate," Apollo admitted. He hadn't told Cosimo what had happened on Midsummer.

"I know," his father replied. "How long have you known?"

"A while? Maybe a part of me knew when we first met?

But definitely since Midsummer." Apollo pulled a pillow over his face.

"I don't know what to do. The dragon is driving me crazy and doesn't understand human courtship at all.

I may have also hooked up with Lachlan just a tiny bit this morning.

I know he's not the kind of guy to mate for life like dragons, but maybe I can keep him just for a little bit? "

"Are you asking for my advice, or do you just want to talk it out?"

"Advise me, old man. That's your job as my parent."

Cosimo laughed softly. "Talk to him, and tell him how you feel."

"Okay, I'm going to need better advice than that."

"There is no better advice. Can I ask why you are hesitating at all? He's one of the best men I've ever met. He clearly would go to any length to protect you as well."

Apollo growled in frustration. "Because he's a big old man whore, that's why. I can't mate with him and have him decide in a month that I'm too much for him to handle full-time and dump me. He's human! He can just walk away."

Cosimo made a thoughtful sound. "I don't know about that. Bridget is fully human, and she got very possessive of Bas quickly. It was like some dragon instinct rubbed off on her."

"That's not all that..."

"Don't say it," Cosimo interrupted. "I'm being serious, Apollonius. The mating bond goes both ways and changes humans in small ways. I didn't notice such things with your mother, but the magic and my dragon weren't as strong as they are now. Want to hear my hypothesis?"

"Yes, professor," Apollo chimed.

"I think that the magic of the mating bond attaches itself to the human.

It's like…a recognition. They can feel it, maybe not as intensely, but they are drawn to their partners right from the beginning.

Bridget and Charlotte have confirmed that they felt something strong when meeting your brothers.

Bridget said she thought it was her neurodiversity imprinting on Bas like a baby duck.

"Lachlan has been mooning over you, and your ridiculous games of cock blocking each other over the years prove that you both are possessive of each other. This is why you need to talk to him, son. You might be surprised by his answer."

Apollo pushed the pillow off his face again. "Or he might be like, 'I'd like to fuck you, but I'm not going to settle down.' I don't think my dragon or my ego could handle that kind of rejection."

"Fine. Don't tell him." Cosmio clicked his tongue in irritation. "But what makes you think you will be able to hook up with him and let him go afterward? Maybe think about that before you let things go any further."

Apollo hung up a short time later and stared at the fancy moldings and chandelier above him. Could he walk away from Lachlan? Even now? He hadn't had any dates for gods knew how long and couldn't handle the thought of anyone else touching him.

There was no fighting what his dragon had been telling him for months. He belonged with Lachlan Ironwood, and if his dragon had to fly away with him and lock him in a tower to keep him forever, no one would be able to stop it. Not even Apollo.