Elesian Dragon Mates: Dragon Shifter Reverse Harem Complete Series

by Sammie Joyce

  Asher came up on her other side, probably having noted her dizziness. “You should sit down. How many drinks have you had?”

  “Only two!” Rose said defensively. Asher ushered her to a chair anyway.

  He and Mace left, vanishing quickly among all the other colors in the room. Rose wasn’t entirely surprised when Maria appeared a few minutes later.

  “Asher said you weren’t feeling well?”

  “Asher is neurotic,” Rose muttered sourly. “I just got dizzy for a moment. I don’t have the plague, I swear.”

  “Easy enough to check.” Maria put a hand to Rose’s forehead, frowning. Though Rose couldn’t feel anything, she knew Maria was running a diagnostic on her. It was entirely unnecessary, but letting it happen was easier than arguing.

  “Can we talk alone?”

  That hadn’t been what she was expecting. “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, nothing is wrong,” Maria assured her. “I just want to talk to you privately. Do you think you can convince your dragons to let you out of their sight for a few minutes?”

  “Probably, now that Hellith isn’t a threat anymore, but why would I? They’re my mates. I don’t keep anything from them.”

  “I’m not suggesting you do. I just think you may want to tell them this in your own time.”

  Rose was a little suspicious, but she supposed there wasn’t any harm in allowing Maria her private meeting. The two of them left the party together, and Rose cautiously walled off her current thoughts from her dragons.

  Such small acts of privacy had previously been accepted, though after the disaster of Hellith walling off a part of Gavin’s mind, Rose wasn’t sure if Asher would allow it for much longer.

  No. It wasn’t just Asher’s choice. Rose had a say too, and she would vote for not letting their bad experiences control their lives. Yes, it had ended badly when she didn’t insist that Gavin reveal all of himself to her, but they couldn’t live in fear of something like that happening again. They all deserved their privacy, even if it was only for a short time to reveal something at the right moment.

  Maria led her through several hallways, far enough that even dragon hearing wouldn’t be able to make out what they were saying.

  She sat Rose down on a couch. Rose was becoming more concerned by the moment. Whatever Maria said about everything being fine, this behavior was alarming. “What is it? Am I sick? Tell me.”

  “You’re not sick, Rose. You’re pregnant.”

  Rose ran the words through several times in her head. “Pregnant? Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. It’s still early—too early for human tests to tell, but the diagnostic reveals everything. This is an easy matter for magic to determine, and unlike human tests, my test is one hundred percent reliable. Your dragons will probably be able to smell your changed scent before long.”

  Rose gaped at her. Of all the things she’d expected, this wasn’t one of them. Of course, it shouldn’t exactly have been a surprise. She and her dragons hadn’t used protection. They had vaguely discussed the possibility of children in the future, and it was something they all wanted, so there had been no need for protection. Rose just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.

  She realized she was beaming.

  “Is it a boy or a girl? How far along am I, exactly?”

  “Too soon to tell the gender, but you’re probably only about two weeks along.”

  Rose didn’t know which of her dragons was the sire, and she didn’t care. They would all be the father, regardless of whose genes their baby had. She imagined a child with Asher’s amber eyes, or Mace’s sweet nature. Gavin’s killer hair, or Jagger’s propensity for practical jokes.

  Rose laughed aloud at the thought. If the child was anything like Jagger, he or she would be a handful. She threw her arms around Maria. “Thank you!”

  Maria chuckled as she returned the hug. “I’m just the messenger. Thank your dragons. I’m glad you’re happy. Not all women are.”

  “Of course I’m happy. This is the best news I’ve ever heard! I’m having a baby!” Rose got up, her excitement not allowing her to remain seated. How would she tell her dragons? She wanted the announcement to be special. They’d be delighted no matter how she told them, but she still wanted it to be something that reflected her own joy.

  She suddenly froze, turning back to face Maria. “Maria—I’ve been drinking. I had two glasses of champagne. It—alcohol hurts developing babies… will…?”

  “The baby will be fine. A lot of expectant mothers have a few glasses of wine before realizing they’re pregnant. You should avoid alcohol from now, of course, but I don’t see two glasses of champagne as a problem. Remember, if you were relying on human tests, you’d only know about this in two weeks or so. You have a head start on most women when it comes to stopping drinking.”

  Rose was just glad she didn’t drink much. Two glasses of champagne was all she’d had to drink over the past two weeks. She hugged Maria again, her smile once more firmly on her face.

  “I’d best get back before my guys start getting suspicious. You’re right, I do want to tell them in my own time.” Rose turned her thoughts inward, making sure that this small part of her brain was walled off, for now. She didn’t bother to hide away her resultant joy. Let them wonder about that. It would make the announcement all that much sweeter when she did choose to make it.

  Rose walked back into the ballroom with her head held high. Gavin grabbed her waist almost the moment she stepped inside.

  “You’re going to regret that,” he growled in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers all the way down her spine.

  Rose turned, and they were so close together that their lips were inches apart. “Make me,” she whispered.

  Instead of kissing her as she expected, Gavin started bombarding her mind with images. He undressed her slowly, licking all of her sensitive spots one at a time. He pushed his fingers inside her, slowly pumping in and out. He fingered her clit, first slowly, then with increasing speed as Rose’s urgent moans filled the air.

  Rose stumbled, and it was only Gavin’s arm around her waist keeping her up. She tilted her head up to kiss him, but he pulled away.

  “Oh no you don’t. You are going to be thoroughly punished for your little trick earlier.”

  She could feel his cock against her thigh responding to his thoughts, but Gavin kept her pressed close up against him so that no one else could see.

  Rose glanced at the large clock at the end of the room, only to see that it was at least two hours until the festival ended.

  It was going to be a long night.

  She couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are you sure?” Mace’s face was the picture of concern. “It’ll hurt, you know.”

  “I’m tougher than I look. I’ll be fine.”

  “Mace is right. Even Asher struggled with his first one.” Gavin glanced at Asher, who was stony-faced.

  “Stop being big babies, all of you! I’m perfectly capable of getting a tattoo.”

  Asher glanced worriedly at his tattoos, probably worrying about how much they hurt to get. He wouldn’t have cared in the past, but nothing got to her dragons like the thought of Rose being in pain. “Maybe we should try that pain-blocking spell Maria has…”

  “Not a chance. You heard what she said about it. When one of the other witches used it while getting a tattoo, the magic interacted with the ink in a strange way and ruined it. I’ll be fine.”

  “Sure you will.” Jagger rolled his eyes. “It’s the tattoo artist you should be worried about. How fine do you think he’ll be when Asher rips his head off for hurting you?”

  Rose hadn’t thought of that. She glanced at Asher, noting that he wasn’t immediately denying it. “It’ll be alright. I know it’s going to hurt, but it’s worth it. I want to do this.” She’d just have to make sure she didn’t allow too much of the pain to leak onto her face or into her thoughts. Judging by her dragons’ scowls,
it was time to change the subject.

  “So we’re still set on the rose petals, then?”

  She hadn’t been a fan of the idea at first. Getting a tattoo of her namesake seemed a bit arrogant, but in the end, the dragons had convinced her.

  “Definitely. We’ll have to space them carefully so that we can put our hands together properly to make a whole rose out of them.” Asher knew more about tattoos than she did, so Rose was happy to let him decide the specifics.

  A thought occurred to her. She hadn’t figured out the perfect time to tell them her news yet. There never seemed to be a perfect time to tell them. Why not now?

  “I think we should change the design slightly. We should have the rose split into six pieces.”

  Asher frowned. “It’ll look a bit odd when we try to put it together and there’s a piece missing. What is the sixth one for?”

  Rose hesitated. She had no idea if their child would ever want to get a tattoo to complete the sixth portion of the rose. She wouldn’t want to pressure them, and she certainly wouldn’t want them to do it before they were an adult. A tattoo wasn’t something to regret.

  Still, even if they never got the completing piece, it seemed that they were shown somehow. Though it had only been two weeks since she found out, Rose already loved her baby. She wouldn’t feel complete without them, and the tattoo would feel wrong if it didn’t acknowledge that.

  She should ask Maria again if she could determine the gender yet. Rose couldn’t wait to find out whether it was a girl or a boy. She’d be happy with either, but the not knowing was driving her crazy.

  Gavin’s hand on her cheek pulled her out of her contemplation. “Rose? You blanked out for a moment. Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. More than good. I think it should be six pieces because there’s not just five of us. There are six. I’m pregnant.”

  Nerves were pressing against her chest, but Rose needn’t have worried. Gavin let out a whoop and threw his arms around her. Jagger was next. Mace was laughing as he joined the group hug and Asher barreled into them so hard that they all fell to the ground, though he took the brunt of the fall.

  Mace’s hair was in her face, and for a moment Rose couldn’t tell who was kissing her, but she quickly realized by the feel of his lips that it was Jagger. She got caught up in the laughter, her joy bubbling up as her nerves faded away.

  Eventually, they broke apart, though Asher kept his hand on her stomach. “We should celebrate! Drinks are on—oh no, we can’t do that, can we?”

  “That’s why you stopped drinking halfway through the festival ball,” Mace said quietly. “You found out then, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. I got dizzy and Maria examined me. She told me then. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you at once. I just wanted to find the perfect time.”

  “Good thing you told us now. I was beginning to wonder about your sanity, turning down that champagne at the festival. It was the best I’ve ever tasted. If you decided you didn’t like it, I might have had to forcibly re-educate you.”

  “Shut up, Jagger. You did not think that.”

  “I did.” His eyes were gleaming. “You have restored my faith in your sanity.”

  “We shouldn’t get the tattoo today.”

  “No way, Gavin, you are not backing out again!” Rose shoved him gently with her shoulder. “If I can take the pain, so can you!”

  “I’m not worried about my pain.” He rolled his eyes, as though this should be perfectly obvious. “I just don’t want you to be in pain. You’ve just given us the best news of our lives. We should celebrate it with something fun, not with having needles shoved into our skin.”

  Even Asher looked like he might be won over by that argument. “Perhaps we could go flying, and have a picnic at one of the clan mountain spots. You should see the views there, Rose. It feels like you’re on top of the world.”

  “Not a chance. I’ve spent the past week psyching myself up to do this today. We’re doing it.”

  Rose had never done anything as daring as getting a tattoo—at least, until she met Asher. He was certainly rubbing off on her.

  She laughed as she realized just how much she had changed. When she had first joined the Areva coven, she never would have expected to face down hell beasts and fall in love. Rose couldn’t decide which of those was more incredible.

  “Fine,” Asher grumbled. “But we’re talking to Maria first. If there’s any chance of the tattoo hurting the baby, we’re not doing it.”

  Rose hadn’t thought of that. What if Asher was right? She would have gone right ahead with the tattoo, possibly harming her child, if he hadn’t thought to take precautions.

  Mace led her to a chair, urging her to sit. “You’ve just gone as pale as a ghost. What’s wrong?”

  “What if I’m a terrible mother? What if I hurt our child without meaning to? What if I mess up so badly that there’s no way I can ever fix it?”

  Her eyes turned automatically to Asher. He was the clan leader, and used to soothing others’ fears.

  “You won’t be. Most parents only have two people, but we have five. We’ll work it out, together.”

  “If Gavin isn’t dropping him on his head.”

  “Like I’ll be the greatest danger. Remember the time you tried to paint me blue? I was in the hospital for a week!”

  “How was I supposed to know it was lead paint? I was five.” Jagger’s mock-offended expression didn’t last long. “I would never hurt our child.”

  “Not on purpose,” Gavin muttered sourly.

  “Who says it’s a him, anyway?” Rose was glad that Mace stepped in. She was used to Gavin’s and Jagger’s bickering, but she didn’t want the joy of the moment to end just yet. “It could be a girl.”

  “Or it could be neither,” Jagger pointed out. “Maybe we should just say ‘it’ until it’s old enough to decide its own gender.”

  “We are not calling our child ‘it’ for the first years of its life!” Rose realized what she’d just said and shoved Jagger again. “For the first years of their life. You’re terrible.”

  “You love me.”

  Rose softened. “I do.”

  “’Them until we know the gender.” Asher gave Jagger a stern look. “Which we will find out as soon as possible, if only to shut you up.”

  Rose loved nothing more than talking to her dragons—except maybe sleeping with them, both the sexy and non-sexy versions of the phrase. Still, as much as she would have liked to stay there and chat for hours, they had an appointment.

  “We should get going. We’re going to be late.”

  “Such a pity we don’t have a witch who could teleport us there instantly.”

  “You know I’m not powerful enough to do that on my own yet, Jagger.”

  “Could have fooled me. Without you, Gavin would be dead and Hellith would probably be sieging this place right now.”

  Rose hadn’t gotten many compliments before she met the dragons. Not that she didn’t have people who thought highly of her, but they simply didn’t often express it. Her dragons never hesitated to heap praise on her, no matter how undeserved.

  “Rose is right, we should go.” Asher’s hand was still on her stomach. He didn’t seem to have any intention to take it off.

  “You know, it’s a little too soon to feel the baby kick.” Rose pressed her hand over his, imagining the tiny life inside her.

  “Since when do I need that as an excuse to touch you?”

  He had a good point there.

  Rose took the lead, heading out of the basement and toward the mansion’s huge garage. Asher had recently purchased a car. He lamented that his motorbike would get lonely from misuse, but it was hardly big enough for all five of them.

  He and Jagger argued about who would get to drive as they walked. Rose knew Jagger was just messing with Asher. He wouldn’t let anyone else touch his car.

  Rose settled into the back seat between Mace and Gavin. Jagger was now teasing Asher about loving the car m
ore than Rose. If he wasn’t careful, Asher would kick him out and make him walk. She leaned her head on Mace’s shoulder as she chuckled at Asher’s expression.

  Gavin had taken Asher’s spot in resting his hand on her belly. He stared at it, entranced, as though he could see their baby through Rose’s clothes and insides. “This child is going to be so spoiled. They’ll be a right little terror growing up.”

  “We’re not spoiling them!” Rose protested. “At least, not too much.”

  Jagger turned around in his seat. “Who do you think you’re kidding, Rose? Asher will be constantly hovering around, shooting fire at anyone who even looks like they might hurt her. You’ll have to drag Mace away to stop playing with her, and Gavin will be coming home with toys more expensive than Asher’s car every week.”

  “What about you?”

  “I need to find some blue paint that doesn’t contain lead.”

  “Jagger!” Rose wasn’t really worried; Asher would do much more than paint Jagger blue if he were to follow through on that prank.

  “So it’s a she now? I thought we were using it.” Gavin smirked at Jagger, who scowled back at him.

  “It doesn’t matter. An heir will strengthen our bloodline further, and serve to seal the unity between dragons and witches.”

  Of course Asher would think of that. Rose had been so focused on her joy at having a child with her dragons that she hadn’t really thought of the wider implications. Their child wouldn’t just be important to them—they would be important to everyone.

  Right now, though, Rose wasn’t worried about that. She put her hand over Gavin’s, smiling.

  Hellith was trapped in hell. They were all safe, and she was blissfully happy with her dragons, expecting their child.

  “What are you smiling about?” Mace’s breath was warm in her ear, sending little shivers of pleasure down her spine.

  “Nothing.” Rose’s smile widened. “Just thinking about the future.”

  3

  Chapter One

  Rose leaned back into Jagger’s lap, sipping on her sparkling grape juice. Asher, Jagger, Gavin, and Mace had champagne, but of course, she couldn’t have any of the special drink her dragons were having.