Page 5 of Tempting Her Dragons (Embracing The Bond #10)

Chapter Five

Maverick

I want to bury myself inside her.

Her power is beautiful and sexy as fuck. I can’t stop staring. I find her fascinating. She thrives in the mission she believes is her purpose. I can relate.

Finding a mate hasn’t been on my list of priorities, but meeting her changed everything about my world in a second. We knew she was ours with a faint scent in the air. It took us only a minute to jump off the roof and storm into the club, following the slight trail. Nothing could have held us back when we saw the man touching her. Hearing what she deals with, we calmed, never wanting to scare her.

I lean against the wall in the fucker’s house of terror and watch my mate teach him a lesson he will take to hell with him. I despise men who use their strength to overpower women. A man who does it to children is nothing but a waste of skin and bones. He deserves everything she is doing to him.

The fire was genius. The bag of blades inspired.

Saphira was anxious to show us this side of her, but I’m glad she decided to bring us along. Our jobs are very similar.

The rage that saturates her scent is normal, yet not. Something else drives her to do this—something that happened to her. I want to know all her secrets and assure her that nothing can affect our dedication to her. We may not have expected a mate and to share her, but the bond is pulling us together.

The universe picks the perfect person for you, and even though I don’t know much about Saphira, they are not wrong. I am thrilled they decided to give Kingston and me the same mate. We are brothers through fate, and there is no one I would rather share with. We will care for her in our own ways, but we are similar in many ways. We will have separate relationships with her, yet we will be partners in caring for our mate and all her needs.

The heat has hit Saphira. I smell the desire to be with us in every way. My dragon is roaring in my head, demanding we take her home, mark her, fuck her, and never let her leave our side. Every shifter has a different relationship with their animal. Mine is demanding, possessive, and angry. The man is as well.

I don’t like people. I don’t understand humans, and I definitely don’t understand men like the one Saphira is currently torturing. I was taught to treasure women and children. Mates are to be respected and loved above all others. Our mom instilled in us values and respect. She has been pushing us to get out, to go somewhere other than just to work. She wants grandchildren and a woman she can spoil and love.

Roxanne is our found mom. She is beautiful and dedicated to her sons, but she is sick of everything male. She wants a female in the family.

I can’t wait to introduce Saphira to her.

“He’s done,” King says softly. Maxwell’s heart has stopped.

“Yes, he is,” Saphira says. “My vampire friend showed me how to get rid of a body, and it works great.” She wipes her knives on the dead man’s shirt and slips them away. “But I found a better way. I was afraid it would smell. Thankfully, the heat is at a temperature that somehow eliminates the scent.” She lays out a garbage bag under his feet.

She’s fucking amazing.

“Show us, mate,” I encourage, and she sends a blinding smile my way. I want to see that smile as we fuck her.

We watch as she uses her fire to burn the body, and it begins to turn to ash. Truly mesmerizing. The particles float into the plastic, and Saphira controls the direction. I’ve never seen anything like it. She breathes on her hands, and the blood disappears. No body left behind. No blood. Nothing for anyone to track.

“Remarkable,” I say and get another smile.

“It saves on clean-up,” she says casually. I wonder if the work she does takes a toll on her.

“Where are you going to put the ashes?” King asks.

“Out the window,” she says, zipping up her bag and grabbing the sack.

“Out the window?” I ask with a startled laugh.

“Yep.” She looks around the room. “It’s so sad.” I see the strain on her face.

“Yes, it is,” I say.

She takes one more look around and moves to the stairs. Kingston takes her tool bag from her as she passes by.

We take the same path back to the car, Saphira between us. Her shoulder bumps mine, and I glance over.

“Sorry, that took too much energy,” she says weakly, and I wrap my arm around her waist.

“I got you,” I say, and she leans heavily against me.

“I’ll drive,” Kingston decides, and she willingly hands over the keys.

I help her into the back seat and follow behind her. The power she wielded would deplete any dragon.

“Tell me where we are going,” King says as he starts the car.

Instead of answering, Saphira pushes between the seats and enters something in the dash. I hold in the groan at the up-close look at her delicious ass. She drops back, and I buckle her seatbelt. The bag is on the floor between her feet. It’s odd to think that it used to be a human.

I share a loaded look with King in the mirror. Our bond has been building for years; we don’t need words to communicate. We don’t have any reservations about our mate and the work she does. What concerns us is the consequences it takes on her body and mind. Knowing she does it alone most of the time raises our protective instincts. If we weren’t here, she would have driven home alone, exhausted. She needs two mates to take care of the aftermath of her missions.

After we travel away from houses and cars, she rolls down the window slightly and hangs the bag out, allowing the dust to blow across the earth. When it’s empty, she uses her fire to burn the bag, and it joins the mysterious dirt floating out of the car.

Once the window is up, she curls into my side and closes her eyes. She takes only a minute to fall asleep.

I allow her warmth and scent to surround me and soak into my skin.

The bond is consuming. I knew the stories of how it worked, and we have met other bonded mates, but it can’t be accurately described unless it happens to you. It’s been hours since I met her, and I would do anything to keep her. I would kill anyone who tried to take her from us. The emotions swirling inside me are powerful; I can’t imagine their strength when we mark her and complete the bond.

Dragons mark their mate with fire. Much like a tattoo, a design appears through the fire to mark the skin, except the universe, not the shifter, picks the design. We will forever be connected to Saphira, mind, body, and soul. We will be able to feel her emotions and location. In our other form, we will be able to speak into her mind. That kind of connection is hard for anyone other than shifters to understand. Having two mates is normal within the shifter community. Affection is needed for our animals. Humans wouldn’t accept the way we live. Our world needs to be protected.

King stops the car in front of a cabin surrounded by woods. We passed another house, and I wonder who lived there. They are far enough away that we can’t see it from her place.

I gather our mate in my arms, and King opens the door. Her eyes don’t open as I carry her up the stairs, and King unlocks the front door, swinging it wide. We don’t bother turning on the lights; I find the bedroom easily. Our sight penetrates the dark.

I chuckle softly when I see her bed. I float in the air beside my brother as he pulls down the covers, and I gently place her on the mattress. I know she would be more comfortable without the leather pants, but we would hate to cause her to distrust us when she is vulnerable. We settle with taking off her boots and tucking her in. We look at our sleeping mate before leaving the room and shutting the door.

Before I can take a step, I sense a vampire. The vampire from the club is here. King’s eyes connect with mine, and we move to the door.

“I didn’t get a message,” the vampire says when we open the door.

“She’s fine. Asleep,” I assure him. He’s ancient, and his power vibrates over us.

“I’ll check for myself,” he says, taking a step. I hold my hand up, and we block the doorway.

“You don’t need to see her sleeping.” I drop my hand as he glares at it. “You can hear her heartbeat.” He backs off, and we leave the doorway and step on the porch.

“I can.” He runs his hand over the knives strapped to his chest and tucks his palm over a wicked-looking blade. “I can appreciate your protectiveness. It’s unnecessary, but a good trait for a mate.” He looks behind him and turns back with a smirk. “I’m Ryker. I’m mated, so you have nothing to fear from me.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” King says.

He lifts a shoulder. “You’re right, but I won’t interfere in your bond. Saphira is family. We want her to be happy and safe.” He shakes his head as he descends the steps. “I feel your power,” he says as he steps on the driveway. “As long as Saphira wants you, we won’t have to test who is stronger.”

“We would never hurt her,” I say.

“I hope not, but I’m not the one you have to convince.”

“We will give Saphira time to trust us,” King says.

Ryker scoffs. “I’m not talking about Saphira.” He tilts his head to the side and down. “The dragons are coming,” he whispers, tips up his lip, and nods at us. “Good luck.” He disappears.

Vampires are fast, but he is on another level. We have confidence in our powers and the ability to win every fight, but taking on a vampire is never easy. With Ryker, it would be very difficult.

“The brothers,” King whispers.

“Yes,” I agree, and we brace ourselves on the porch.

Two men are walking casually across the fields, slow and steady. They show no fear with their pace. Their scent strengthens with every step, and they are both golden dragons. I give my dragon permission to change my eyes from their usual blue to green, with only a sliver of the blue around the edge. He feels irritated with this trial by fire from the men in his mate’s family, but the human side understands it.

“Here we go,” King mutters as they pass the car. I lean against the pole at the top of the stairs, and King stands in the center. He holds his wrist, fiddling with the rough rope, betraying his uneasiness.

“Where’s Saphira?” the one on the right asks.

“Sleeping,” I answer.

Fuck, they’re twins. Their bodies are large, and their golden eyes flare.

“Who are you?” the other one asks.

“Her mates,” Kings says and gets a growl in response. It would be inappropriate to laugh, but sometimes King says things just to get a reaction.

“My name is Maverick.” I motion to my brother. “He’s Kingston.”

“I’m Laken.” The man on the right steps forward, studying King. “You’re a gold dragon,” Laken states.

“Yes.”

“I dreamed about you,” Laken says.

King narrows his eyes. “What?” he asks, dropping his arms.

“I have dreams. I see things in the future. Months ago, I saw your dragon in my dream,” he explains. He looks at his brother. “My first instinct was to kill you for being close to our sister, but Bishop stopped me.”

“Not because I didn’t understand the feeling,” Bishop says. “I didn’t want to deal with our sister being pissed at us. Plus, we don’t have enough dragons in the world.”

“Saphira is deeply loved,” Laken says. “Her past is tragic. She needs men who tread lightly. If I don’t think you can care for her how she needs, we will teach you a lesson.”

“We respect the bond, so we can’t kill you,” Bishop says. “Her pain would devastate us.”

“We will be what she needs,” Kingston grits out.

“I hope so,” Bishop says. Their magic floats around them; it is as rich and colorful as the tattoos on their bodies. It is a warning to us.

“She had a hard night. We brought her home and put her to bed.” These men are going to be family. We have to play nice. “We didn’t expect her, but we won’t give her up,” I say.

“We found her at the club,” King says hesitantly.

“Our sister is a shit waitress,” Bishop grins. “Ryker is being nice.” He loses his smile. “She is the definition of strength.”

“Be the supporter of that strength,” Laken warns, crossing his arms.

“While we were walking here, my anger cooled,” Bishop says.

“Why?” I ask.

“We have built a community. A family of shifters and vampires. We look after each other. Which is great,” he says.

“Until it isn’t,” Laken says.

“Within days—”

“More like hours,” Laken says.

“The whole family will know about you,” Bishop smirks. “The group text will start firing. The shifters with the skills to dig for information will be digging into your life. The people in the family will show up at Saphira’s door.”

“Prepare yourself to be adopted,” Laken states. “We will reserve judgment.”

“Unless you hurt someone in the family,” Bishop adds.

“Then you will wish you never met the family.” Laken grins, but it’s feral. They nod and turn, walking away without a care that we could attack.

“Well,” King starts when they are halfway across the open space. “Our first adoption went well.”

“I wonder if they’ll adopt Mom, too?” I ask, and we share a grin.

“They won’t have a choice,” he says.

No, they won’t because she will storm the place to take her sons’ backs.