by Rinelle Grey
And as a princess, she needed to set a good example for her people and keep things under control.
So she took a deep breath. “Shall we begin?” Her voice only shook a little.
“I think we’d better get a move on,” Taurian agreed. “If you both want to stand up?”
Everyone was silent as Lyrian rose and stood next to Brad. She reached for his hand, needing the connection to him, even if it did increase the desire flowing through her to almost unbearable levels.
Taurian passed Anarian to his mate, sitting beside him, then smiled at both of them, his expression sympathetic. “I’ll make this quick,” he promised.
He’d better. Lyrian wasn’t sure how long she could last.
She focused on her brother, trying not to look at Brad, sure that if she did, her control would slip. Not that she needed to look at him. She was achingly aware of him through their clasped hands.
Taurian looked at them and asked, his voice solemn. “Before we begin, I need to be sure you understand the seriousness of the relationship you are about to enter into. Dragons mate for life. Once you are mated, this bond cannot be broken. If one of you dies, you both do.”
Taurian turned to Brad. “Do you understand this, Brad, doctor of the humans?”
For a moment, Lyrian wished he hadn’t mentioned Brad’s job. What if the reminder was enough to make him reconsider? She couldn’t bear it if he backed out now. If he did, she suspected her body might explode. Or wither and die. She wasn’t sure which.
She needn’t have worried. Brad’s voice was strong and certain as he replied, “I understand, Prince Taurian.” He gave her hand a squeeze, sending waves of emotion through her.
Lyrian felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. She’d never thought this moment would come, but it was here. In a few moments, she’d be mated to the man she loved with all her heart.
Taurian turned to her. “Do you understand, Princess Lyrian?”
“I understand, Prince Taurian,” Lyrian said, a slight shake in her voice.
“Good, then let’s begin.”
Everyone was already seated, except for Nate and Kyrian, still standing nearby, their hands clasped, their bodies stiff with the effort of holding back their own desire. Lyrian understood exactly how they felt.
Verrian stood up and Taurian sat down. “It gives me great pleasure to preside over the mating of my elder sister,” Verrian said formally. Then he gave Lyrian a teasing smile. “We have all known, ever since she arrived home, that this mating was destined, I’m glad the couple realised themselves before it was too late.” This time he included Brad in his smile.
Lyrian dared sneak a look at his profile, the rueful grin that lifted one side of his mouth sending more waves of longing through her.
If Verrian didn’t hurry up, she wasn’t sure she was going to make it to the end of this ceremony, let alone survive through the mating dinner.
*****
Brad sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few moments, trying to calm himself.
It wasn’t nerves about the mating that was affecting him though, it was the overwhelming desire he felt for his would be mate. Was Lyrian somehow affecting him through their clasped hands? His whole body felt like it was on fire. And when she’d kissed him…
“As you know, a mating requires more than love,” Verrian said, his voice serious. “More even than commitment. Especially when one of the couple is a princess.”
Brad forced himself to pay attention. This was important.
The desire retreated, just a little. It still throbbed in the back of his mind, but he could ignore it. For now.
“Are you both sure you can work together for the good of the clan, even if you are angry at each other personally? Are you both willing to put the needs of your relationship, and the clan, above your personal needs?”
Lyrian nodded without hesitation. Of course she did. She was used to this. She’d been born a princess and grown up with the idea that her clan was more important than her personal needs.
Suddenly Brad had an inkling what it had been like for her, with her clan in trouble, no idea where they were or what had happened to them. Then she’d met him, and they’d fallen in love. But that was a personal need, and she had to put it aside until she knew her clan was safe.
That was what being a princess meant.
And it was what he had to accept as well, once he mated with her. Sometimes, his needs would have to wait while they dealt with problems in the clan. Like the police outside.
It was only because they could do nothing that they could take this moment for themselves. If something went wrong, if an emergency interrupted, this moment could be gone in an instant.
Really though, was it so different to his responsibilities as a surgeon? When he was on shift, he had to let his personal responsibilities fade into the distance. It didn’t matter if he’d been up late, or had an argument with someone, when he was at work, his focus needed to be there.
In short, he was perfectly conditioned for this job.
“I think both of them have already demonstrated this ability,” Taurian said in amusement, his words echoing Brad’s thoughts. “I have heard their story of what they went through to get here, and how much they have both put aside in their pursuit to return to the clan. I have no doubts that both of them can be an asset to our clan, while also supporting each other.”
“I will do whatever it takes to support both my clan, and my mate,” Lyrian said with certainty.
“I will support my mate, and her clan, my clan, in any way I can,” Brad said firmly.
Lyrian turned and gave him a shaky smile.
“Then let us share a meal together as a clan before you solidify your personal relationship,” Verrian said with a smile, and sat back down.
Everyone was staring at him in anticipation. Brad knew what he had to do, even without Taurian and Verrian’s voices in his head saying, “Kiss her.”
He just wasn’t sure it was such a good idea.
Oh, he wanted to kiss Lyrian with every cell in his body. He was just worried that once he did, he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. And while the dragons seemed amused at that, he really would rather keep their physical mating private.
Lyrian stared up at him, her eyes wide, obviously thinking the same thing.
Brad sucked in a breath. He could do this. Just a light kiss, nothing more.
He lowered his lips to hers, all willpower deserting him the moment they touched. Desire flooded through him, hot as molten iron, and as strong as the need to breathe air. He could no more pull away from Lyrian than he could stop his heart beating.
And all reasons why he should, fled.
All he was aware of was the feel of her lips, hot and soft beneath his, the combination of texture sending him wild. Heat flooded through his body, and he knew that if he were to survive, he needed to be closer to her.
He pulled her up against his body, kissing her desperately. The clothes between them were a hinderance. They needed to go.
“I know how you feel, bro,” Nate’s amused voice echoed somewhere in the back of Brad’s consciousness. “But really, you’re going to regret it later if you don’t stop.”
Stop? Why would he stop? What was Nate doing here anyway? There should be no one but him and Lyrian.
Reality hit him like a bucket of cold water. The mating. The crowd of humans and dragons around them.
Reluctantly, he pulled back and stared down at Lyrian breathlessly. The temptation to just kiss her again, and keep kissing her, was almost overwhelming. The look in her eyes, dark and filled with the same desire, didn’t help.
But he needed to. They had to eat. Be polite. Socialise.
It would be agony, with every part of his body demanding he make love to Lyrian, but somehow, he’d manage it.
Either that, or the fire running through his body would burn him up.
Chapter 9
The meal seemed endless. Brad was sure all the other dra
gons were conspiring to make it take longer. Many stopped to talk to them, interrupting the eating. They brought them second helpings, and thirds.
Both Brad and Lyrian moved to sit with Nate and Kyrian for desert, and Taurian and Karla joined them. Normally, Brad would have been happy for the chance to catch up with his brother, they saw each other so infrequently. But right now, he had other things on his mind.
Nate would understand. He was in the same boat.
In fact, Brad was tempted to skip desert altogether. Who needed sweets when they had a gorgeous dragon shifter waiting for them. There was just one issue. One he’d never been too deep in desire to consider. “What about Anarian?” he asked Lyrian under his breath.
She looked uncertain too. “If we are deep in the mating bond, we may not be as aware of her as we should be.”
“Do you know anyone who could look after her?”
“We can,” Taurian said firmly. “That’s what aunts and uncles are for, isn’t it, Karla?”
His mate didn’t look quite so sure. “Do you know anything about babies, Taurian? Because I don’t exactly have a lot of experience.”
“There’s nothing to it,” Taurian insisted. “Besides, we need to start practicing, we’ll have our own soon enough.”
Karla didn’t look quite so sure about that either, but she didn’t argue. “What do we need to know?” she asked Lyrian instead.
Lyrian explained Anarian’s care to them, and Brad couldn’t help thinking her advice sounded remarkably similar to what she’d told him, was it really less than a week ago? How much his life had changed in that time. And he didn’t regret one bit of it.
With his one concern taken care of, all Brad could think about was how much longer he had to stay to be polite. He glanced around surreptitiously, to see how much attention was on them, slightly discomforted to find that just about all the dragons and humans were staring back at him. Those who weren’t staring at Nate and Kyrian anyway.
“It’s custom to tease a new couple about how impatient they are to get some time alone,” Lyrian said into his mind. Her tone was half amused, half nervous, all impatient.
Brad groaned. “And I suppose it’s even worse with a double mating. Now they’ll be judging who leaves first, Nate or I.”
“Probably,” Lyrian agreed. “We should be the last to leave, to demonstrate our commitment to the clan as leaders.”
How did Brad know she was going to say that?
“Perhaps you can talk to Kyrian and tell them to get a hurry on then?” he suggested under his breath.
His whole body ached with holding back. Although he knew it wasn’t medically possible, he suspected he might explode if he didn’t mate with Lyrian soon. He swelled and throbbed just thinking about running his hands over her smooth skin and kissing every part of her body.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It really wasn’t fair. Nate had been waiting less than a week for Kyrian, he’d been waiting a year.
Up until now, it hadn’t been that hard. Maybe because he had convinced himself it really wasn’t ever going to happen. When Lyrian had told him that if they slept together again they’d be mated for life, it had thrown a bit of a damper on his desire.
But now, the idea only served to make him hotter under the collar.
What would it feel like, mating for life? Would it change how he felt towards Lyrian? Somehow, he couldn’t imagine that. The love he felt for her was greater than anything he’d ever known. How could it possibly increase?
There was only one way to find out.
Kyrian leaned over to whisper something in Nate’s ear, something that put a grin on his brother’s face. When Nate glanced over at them, Brad suspected that Lyrian had taken his advice, and made a suggestion to them.
Hopefully they’d leave soon, and he and Lyrian could too.
Except they didn’t.
Nate turned to the person next to him and chatted for a while. Then he heaped another serving of desert on his plate. Just what was his brother up to?
When Nate gave him a cheeky grin, Brad realised—he was playing the game. Nate had always been the competitive one. As soon as Kyrian had hinted this was a competition, Nate was determined to outlast his brother.
Brad ground his teeth together in frustration. Surely Nate was as impatient as he was? Didn’t he love his mate? Had he just been pretending to care so deeply for her?
Lyrian put a hand on his arm. “Take a few deep breaths,” she advised. “It helps.”
Brad sucked in his breath through gritted teeth, but the ache of need didn’t diminish at all. It certainly didn’t go away.
Lyrian looked so cool and calm and collected. Was she feeling this need too?
Her fingers tightened on his arm, and she leaned in to kiss him, her lips as hot and desperate as his, reassuring Brad that she wasn’t having an easy time of it either.
He groaned, his arm going around her and pulling her up against his side as he plundered her lips, a desperate need filling him. He needed her. All of her. As archaic as it sounded, he needed to claim her as his own. As his mate.
It was such a primal feeling, one Brad had no experience of. He flattered himself that he was a modern man who considered women his equal in all respects. So where did this bizarre feeling come from?
Then again, he wanted Lyrian to claim him as hers just as much.
Every time he kissed her or touched her, the need grew. He needed the connection between them, needed them to be one.
He’d never felt anything like this before. And he couldn’t help thinking that if he’d realised it would feel like this, he might have given up everything else much sooner.
*****
The princess side of Lyrian’s mind said that she needed to hold out, to wait at least for Brad’s brother to leave, to prove that she was committed to her role in the clan. The womanly side of her mind just kept screaming that she needed to mate. Now.
It was louder than the princess side, and far less controllable. It was hard to even hear the princess under all that demanding.
And the way Brad was kissing her, his lips hot on hers, his fingers brushing the underside of her breast, his thigh pressed up against hers, wasn’t helping.
It wasn’t helping her stay under control anyway. It was helping satisfy the need that she hadn’t even realised had been building for twelve months. Having Anarian, then finding her brothers had distracted her, for a time. Now all that was all done, she could give herself over to this, just for a night.
Yes, there were enemies outside their doors, and dragons working frantically to create a passage out of the caves for them. But right now, there was nothing more she could do.
Tomorrow morning, she’d be a princess again, and put aside her passion and take care of her clan. Tonight, she was going to enjoy herself. Because if she was in the middle of the mating bond, when she could think of nothing else except the need to mate, then what use would she be to her clan?
She was almost at that point now. Her body was hot with need, and it was hard to even think of anything besides Brad, and her need to claim him as her mate.
Lyrian pulled back, out of Brad’s embrace, away from his lips.
His eyes flicked open, staring at her with a mixture of confusion and hurt. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Yes. We need to wait, just a little longer.” Damn a double mating, otherwise she would be free to give into her desires now.
She wasn’t speaking loudly, but her brothers were close enough to hear her words. Taurian winked. “If you can hold out, then you’re stronger than I.” His voice lowered. “No one can resist the mating bond once they’ve accepted it, Lyrian. There’s no shame in admitting that, no matter how much of a game we make of it.”
Of course she’d heard stories of how intense the need to mate was. She could feel the truth of them in her own body now. But nothing had prepared her for the reality.
Taurian was right. It
didn’t matter if she and Brad left the room before Nate and Kyrian. It just showed how much they loved each other.
Brad glanced over at his brother, then back at her. “I won the princess,” he said with a smile. “Nate can win the willpower contest.”
Some of the guilt eased, though it didn’t quite disappear. Lyrian suspected it never would. “Fine,” she agreed. “Let’s get this over with then.”
She didn’t mean it to sound quite so resigned, and was relieved when Brad laughed, and gave her a mock salute. “Your wish is my command, Princess.”
She reached for his hand, and stood up, Brad following her. Neither of them said anything as they wound their way through the crowd. Lyrian tried to ignore the whistles and cheers, ducking her head and trying to pretend her face wasn’t quite burning.
As they passed Brad’s brother, Nate stepped forwards and held out a hand. “Congratulations, Brad,” he said quietly. Then raising his voice he added, “I always thought you had way more willpower than I did, but apparently none of your iron will can stand up to the beautiful princess. I don’t blame you.”
That just increased the cheers. Lyrian’s ears were burning by the time they escaped from the main cave, and into one of the side tunnels.
Her body was burning too, with an urgent need to mate before anything else could interrupt them.
Chapter 10
Though it wasn’t quite dark outside, little light reached the inside of Lyrian’s sleeping cave. The flickering light from the lantern illuminated the room, the shadows dancing over Brad’s bare skin.
Lyrian drank in the sight of him. For a few moments, all the worries of the day filled her mind, clamouring for attention. It was hard to let go of her responsibilities, even though she knew Taurian and Verrian could handle them.
But this moment wouldn’t ever come again. A dragon only mated once in their lifetime. She deserved to enjoy it. So she let the fears and worries be carried away on the wind and focused instead on the man in front of her.
Focusing on Brad made everything else fade into the background. With him she felt safe, protected. She had no doubts in her mind that he’d do anything he could to look after her. Of course her brothers would too, but that was different. They had so many people who needed them. Brad just had her. And Anarian of course.
