A Dragon's Heart

by Terry Bolryder

  “Ah, so you planned to see me?”

  “I plan everything,” he said. What he didn’t say was sometimes he planned things earlier than later, and sometimes he planned things as he went. Still, when he’d made the sandwiches that morning, he’d hoped to find an excuse to share them with Lexie.

  He had something he wanted to ask her.

  When they were in the spacious kitchen, seated at the table with a large bay window in front of them, overlooking the grounds, and Lexie was quietly chewing and once again looking so right in their house no matter where she was, he decided the time was right.

  “Lexie, I didn’t just come to enjoy your company. There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  “I figured,” she said with a nod. “You looked nervous.”

  “I…” He scratched his head. How to bring this up without sounding like a jerk who wanted her to decide one way or the other? Really, he just wanted to give her the choice. “We’ve talked about you leaving and losing your memory. But I just thought I’d let you know there’s another option.”

  She looked up at him, hope shining in her eyes that it would kill him to take away from her. He should have phrased it differently.

  “Not what you think,” he said. “No, it’s just that if you want to, after we take a mate, if you still want to stay on as secretary, rather than getting your mind wiped…”

  Her eyes widened, and there was a sad expression on her face as she took in what he was offering. “You mean stay in the same house with your mate? Watch you be with another woman?”

  He clutched the mug in front of him until it cracked. “You’re right. It was stupid. No one would choose that.” He shook his head sadly. “It’s unfair to you.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I don’t think I could do it. As much as I’ll miss you.” She grinned ruefully. “Well, I guess I won’t, will I? Because I won’t remember you.” She looked out the window with a vague expression on her face, and he stared at his mug, which now had a line running down the smooth ceramic.

  It was his favorite mug, too.

  “I understand,” he said. “I don’t even know why I offered, except I believe in everyone knowing their options.”

  She turned to him, dark curls escaping from her bun, and then reached out to touch his jaw and pull him closer. She leaned over the table and pressed a kiss to his cheek. It was the most tender, warm thing he’d ever experienced, and for a moment, all of his logic seemed to fly out the window.

  His silver hair rose around him with the power of his thoughts about their future, about a life without her.

  He knew why he’d made the offer to her, though he knew it was futile. He didn’t want to lose her. That would be painful.

  But he didn’t blame her, as they finished lunch and chatted about their day and her plans for when she got back to her world.

  He rather thought that when this was over, he’d wish he could forget as well.

  * * *

  That night, Lexie brushed out her hair and then wound it up on top of her head while sitting in front of the mirror. She was wearing silky pajamas the dragons had ordered in at her request, which she enjoyed sleeping in, with a soft robe over the top.

  And she was thinking about going up to their bedroom.

  The first experience with the dragons had been totally overwhelming, and since none of them had discussed whether they were doing it again, she’d been waiting to see if Tor would bring it up.

  But he’d been a complete gentleman and so had Perry, and she had been hard at work trying to help Jace figure out how to help them.

  And keeping herself distracted from wanting them to take her again. She knew each time they came together, they were risking getting more closely bonded. But then again, she would be able to forget it anyway, wouldn’t she?

  She took a deep breath and let it out as she stared at the mirror. Tor and Perry were under the same roof. Just a staircase away. Were they still up? Were they thinking of her? Did their night together keep them awake sleepless night after night, as it did her?

  She’d enjoyed the past few days together. Talking to Tor and Perry about various things, including what she planned to do when she got out of here. She planned to write a letter to herself so even if she forgot it all, she would have somewhere to start. She wasn’t going to temp anymore. No, that was too dangerous given what had already happened. The dragons had been paying her liberally and she planned to go enroll in school somewhere. In what, she didn’t know. She figured she’d pick a few subjects and start there.

  She’d have a better start at life thanks to them. She’d grown up in the foster system and never really had roots of her own.

  After this, she would try and make some.

  She stood, trying to convince herself to just go to bed, but the ache in her body, the want for the dragons, wasn’t something she could ignore anymore.

  Not knowing exactly what she was doing or why she was doing it, she left her room, shut the door quietly behind her, and started up the steps, trailing her robe as she went.

  She was nearly to the top of the steps when the door swung open, Tor behind it, shirtless under a robe with low-slung pajama pants underneath. His brown hair was mussed. It’d been getting slightly longer since she’d first met him, and there was just enough to put her hands in.

  Perry came into view behind him, and they both waited in silence as she walked up the stairs.

  “Can I come in?” she asked.

  They both nodded, moving aside to let her. When she got inside, she perched on the edge of the bed, and they shut the door behind her. Perry took the chair at the desk in front of the bed and Tor simply stood with folded arms.

  “I just thought… maybe we could pick up where we left off,” she said.

  Tor looked to Perry and the two shared silent communication. She’d been with them long enough to know when it was happening. She wanted more than anything to be inside their heads, be privy to what they were saying and thinking about her. But it wasn’t possible.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Tor said, rubbing the back of his neck as Perry relaxed in his chair in his silver satin pajamas, like his hair.

  Perry nodded. “Once was enough. We’re already bonded more than we thought. That’s what we were thinking to each other just now when you couldn’t hear us.”

  “I’m going to forget all of this,” she said, looking between them. “And if that’s the case, then I want to experience everything I can. I want to have both of you.”

  Perry shook his head. “Both of us at the same time?” he folded his arms. “If we are both inside you, that completes one part of the mating ceremony.”

  She felt blood rush to her face at the thought of it, being filled completely with two such amazing men. Was it even possible?

  “Oh, trust me,” Perry said wryly. “It’s possible.”

  “I guess not both, then, at the same time,” she said. Since she couldn’t. “But I’d at least like to have each of you once. I’d like to be together with Tor.”

  Perry’s face was impassive, but despite his disapproval, she wouldn’t give up her moments with him inside her for anything. And she couldn’t deny how much she wanted the same with Tor.

  Even if she forgot them after this, even if it was over, she couldn’t help feeling she might never be in love with anyone else. She might as well make sure and make love to the men she loved while she could. Even if she didn’t remember it, she liked to think her heart would be satisfied.

  “Dammit,” Tor said, walking forward and lifting her hair in his hand gently. “How am I supposed to say no to you when you think such romantic things?”

  Perry let out an inelegant snort. “I’m going to miss hearing all the mush between you two.”

  Tor turned to his partner. “Per? What do you think?” He turned back to look over her, raking her with a hungry gaze. “I want her. I know it’ll hurt, but I want her for now. But you’re my partner. I have to have yo
ur agreement.”

  “I’ll help you,” Perry said, standing slowly and walking over to the bed. “Apparently, I’m as big a fool as you are, because I too find it impossible to say no.”

  With the two dragons before her, both immensely tall, one beautiful with silver hair and eyes and a knowing look, one broad and masculine with honesty written on every part of him, she felt too lucky for it to be real.

  Perry leaned forward, tilting up her chin. His breath was so close, lighting her up, heating her from head to toe. “Oh, we’re real, sweetheart.” He stepped back, folded his arms, and let Tor step forward. “And now my partner’s going to take real good care of you. And I’m going to sit back and enjoy every gasp.”

  She looked at him in confusion just as she felt herself magically lifted into the air off of her feet and pushed gently backward until she was directly over the bed, where she was slowly lowered until she landed on the plush sheets she could still recall from the other night.

  Without hesitation, Tor followed her onto the bed, throwing off his robe and crawling on top of her until she was completely surrounded by his bulging muscles and masculine, musky scent. Behind him, Lexie could see Perry sitting back in his leather desk chair, folding his hands and watching with his intense, silver gaze.

  Lexie just braced herself for whatever was going to happen in the whirlwind that was making love with dragons.

  9

  Tor’s head was already spinning, beyond eager to pleasure this small woman that had come out of nowhere and landed in the middle of their lives, disrupting everything and changing it for the better.

  As he came over her, he couldn’t help but notice how small, how curvy she was compared to him. In Tor’s line of work, size mattered. And for some reason, being with someone like Lexie, whose body was so soft and feminine, it only felt like a perfect contrast. She was everything he wasn’t, both on the outside and the inside, and he loved that.

  Lexie bit her lower lip, accentuating its voluptuousness, as he reached down to undo the buttons of her satin pajamas. But before he could even undo one, all of them unthreaded through their tiny buttonholes.

  I was going to do that, Tor told Perry.

  Too slow, Perry jeered smugly.

  Rather than fight about it, Tor just enjoyed the view of Lexie’s breasts, the large, soft swells tantalizing him. He reached behind her and undid the clasp before Perry did it himself and removed both her shirt and the bra, leaving her bare from the waist up.

  Damn, was she a sight for sore eyes.

  Using his large hands, Tor slowly kneaded the soft flesh of her breasts, reveling in the feel of them beneath his fingers and the quiet moans Lexie gave out as he did. Then, still holding them both, he placed gentle kisses on each, worshipping her body and savoring every second with her.

  Who knew how long they would have together? Whether it was a day or a year, he wanted to make it last.

  But with every kiss, every touch, his desire burned brighter for this woman by the second. His kisses became longer, and he suckled on her nipples as he applied increasing pressure with his hands, giving her more pleasure and making her heart race. Holding one firmly, he licked a full circle around her nipple until it formed a firm tip, then bit down on it ever so gently, making her gasp with arousal. Then he did the same to the other nipple, making her body writhe beneath him in response as she gasped again.

  Behind them, he could feel Perry’s eyes on them, watching intently. He could sense Perry’s desire to join but also a resistance to losing control again. Wanting to keep his distance.

  But Tor was long past that. He knew he had already fallen for her a long time ago. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the inevitable and dealing with the fallout of when they finally did find a dragon-heart.

  And somehow trying to forget this wonderful, beautiful, amazing woman that had come into their lives with the sad fate of having to leave them one day.

  Leaving Lexie’s breasts, Tor trailed down her body, kissing and massaging her soft stomach, running his tongue along the outer rim of her belly button and diving inside for a moment, then moving to the edge of her hips and going lower.

  The closer he got to her center, the more her body came alive for him, the more response she gave from even the slightest touch, the more his dragon surged beneath him, wanting to claim her right here and right now. He knew a decision like that had to be a conscious one, had to be planned, had to be made between him and Perry and whoever their mate was going to be. But that didn’t change how his dragon felt about her.

  Tor came to her satin pants, and he played along the edge for a moment, running his tongue beneath the hem and underneath her panties, stroking his thumbs down the soft lines of her hips and belly that trailed beneath her clothes.

  Then, with one quick motion, Tor removed what clothes she had left, and she lay bare before him.

  If not for the intense desire to make her come over and over again, Tor could have just sat and took in the sight of her beautiful body for hours. Maybe days.

  But watching wasn’t really his thing. He had something else in mind.

  He wanted to taste her.

  Tor spread her legs slowly, looping his hands around her thighs, and lowered himself over her warm center. Her scent was delicious, floral and unique, and everything about it felt like Lexie.

  He could feel the speed of her breathing, could sense the anticipation on her skin as he exhaled warm air over her soft mound, then ran his tongue up against her clit, making her moan loudly as her back arched from the intensity of it. He did it again, and this time her body settled into the sensation, relaxed as she let the pleasure simply wash over her.

  And as Tor moved into a slow, languorous rhythm, he could feel Perry’s gaze behind them become more and more focused. Could feel his desire seething and becoming stronger by the second.

  If Perry wanted to join, he’d have to speak up for himself. For now, Tor was going to just enjoy having Lexie to himself for a bit.

  The taste of Lexie was delicious, beyond description. The more aroused she became, the wetter she got, the more her slick warmth teased him, making him think of being inside her. Feeling she was near climaxing, he gave a swift flick of his tongue, using the tip to give just the right amount of pressure, and Lexie came apart in his hands.

  Just as she did, Tor wrapped an arm around her and held her close. Lexie’s back arched and her hands dug into his back, holding him tightly as she rode out wave after wave of ecstasy. He loved the feel of her nails, proof of her pleasure as he felt her body convulse and then relax in his arms.

  Nothing was more rewarding than that.

  “You’re overwhelming, you know that?” Lexie said, her voice quiet as she took short, staccato breaths.

  “Just wait and see,” Tor replied playfully as he ran his hands down her delicious thighs, making her quiver slightly. He dipped a finger inside her, making her blush as he explored and stretched slightly.

  More than ready for him.

  “I wish I could take those pants off with my mind,” Lexie said, raising an eyebrow at the pajama pants he still wore, right before she closed her eyes and let out a soft moan as he hooked his finger up inside her, then pulled it out of her slowly.

  “All you have to do is think it, and I’ll do it for you,” Tor said obligingly as he pulled them off while Lexie smiled at him.

  Once they were off, making Tor painfully aware of how hard he was for her, he leaned down to kiss her once on the neck. Then he wrapped one arm around her and whirled deftly to the left, switching positions and bringing her on top of him lying on the bed beneath her.

  “Are you okay with this tonight?” he asked, trying to keep from smiling at how hot she was sitting there above him.

  Normally, he liked to be the one on top. But tonight he wanted the perfect view having Lexie on top would give him. Wanted to see her ecstasy as he thrust into her. Wanted to be able to feel her every curve with his hands while he was inside at the same t
ime.

  “More than okay,” she replied as she ran her hands over his pecs and felt between the crevasses of his abdominal muscles adoringly for a moment. Then, while Tor’s hands held her sides, she sat up a little on her knees, then came down over him, joining them together at the hips with one smooth motion.

  Shit, that felt good.

  For a moment, Tor just let her body accommodate his size while he cupped her breasts with his hands, rubbing his thumbs over her soft nipples while her hands rested on his chest.

  “Why does that feel…?” she said, her voice trailing off as her body was slowly overcome by the sensation of him being inside her.

  “Even better than you imagined?” Tor finished her thought. “Funny how sometimes the real thing is even better than fantasy.”

  Then, using his strength, he lifted her slowly off his cock, then thrust into her from his place below her on the bed, drawing a ragged moan from her lips that was sweeter than any music could ever be to his ears. The feel of it all, the feel of her, was more amazing than words could describe.

  Yet something was missing. And he could sense Lexie felt the same, despite the erotic heat that was quickly building between them by the second, despite her arousal.

  Perry.

  * * *

  Perry could hear their thoughts. Every. Last. One.

  It was driving him crazy. Either because they were so in love it was frustrating, or because it was so hot he couldn’t stand sitting back and not participating.

  His hands writhed in his lap, not knowing if he should stop it or join it.

  Some old adage about “if you can’t beat ‘em” popped into his head, and he dismissed it.

  But the sight of Lexie on top of his partner, breasts full, expression enraptured, and her skin covered in a light sheen of perspiration that reflected the soft moonlight pouring through the window into their room was more than he could bear.

  Something about this woman made him lose all control. Control he had spent centuries building up. Control his life depended on, day in and day out.