Luckily the shop where he worked wasn’t overly crowded since it was nearing dinner time for most people. Roman was behind the sales counter, and he looked like he was struggling to stay awake.
“Are you all right?”
He looked up and blinked. “Holden.”
“You didn’t see me come in?”
He shook his head.
“Wow, you really are out of it.”
“I’m just tired and… yeah. But how are you? I haven’t seen you in way too long.”
“I know and I’m… I’m not doing that great, actually. I miss him.”
“Kymar?
“Yes.” I sighed and leaned on the counter.
“Maybe this is a crazy suggestion, but you could just call him.”
I shook my head. “I’m already obsessed with him. If I see him again…”
“Holden, it’s okay to want to see a man a second time.”
For other people repeats were okay, but keeping most of my encounters to one-offs was how I protected myself.
“You know my rule,” I said.
“I know how you’ve boxed yourself in and kept yourself from getting hurt, and I know why that’s important to you. But do you really want to go the rest of your life without feeling anything for someone?”
Shit. When he put it like that… “I don’t know.”
“There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“How is it that even when you’re sick and exhausted, you can see right through me?”
He grinned, and some color returned to his cheeks. “I’m just that talented.”
“He thinks I’m his mate.” And I want him right now like he’s a cool pool of water in the desert or a warm fire in a blizzard.
Roman’s mouth fell open and a few seconds passed before he spoke. “Holden, that’s… When you said you were missing him…”
“I mean I’m thinking about him every second. I have to fight the urge to pick up my phone and text or call him. I feel restless and cranky. I almost snapped at an elderly woman because she was cooing over her Chihuahua when I really wanted to check her out and leave.
Roman frowned. “That’s really not like you.”
“I know. I felt terrible, but I don’t feel like myself at all right now.”
“Laszlo says that if mates are separated for too long they feel terrible, and they can even get sick.”
“Kymar told me that too, but I didn’t think it would really happen. And it’s not like I could just stay with him. I have my job, my apartment, and my whole life here.”
Roman gave me a soft smile and laid a hand on my arm. “Most days I can hardly believe I just moved in with Laszlo since he practically kidnapped me from the store, but I know that if I left, I would be incredibly miserable.”
“You believe him? About being mates? You said you weren’t sure the last time we talked.”
“I still don’t feel a hundred percent certain, but I know I’ve never felt anything like this, not even close.”
“How do you know it will last?”
“Laszlo says it will, but I can’t know for certain, no one can. And that’s scary, but Holden, if you never take a chance on anything… I know you’ve been hurt so much in the past, but whether or not Laszlo and I really are bound together by fate or whatever, I know he’s a good man and he swears Kymar is too.”
I took a shaky breath. I wanted to believe my friend. I wanted to believe in Kymar, and I wanted to see him so badly I would walk all the way up his mountain just to get to him, but I was still scared. “Are you saying you think I’m stupid to have left him?”
Roman shook his head “Not at all. I was determined to walk away from Laszlo too. I would’ve at least come back to my apartment for a while if it hadn’t been for the baby. What I don’t want is for you to give up something that could be perfect for you because you’re scared. At the very least you should seriously consider seeing him again instead of spending all your time thinking of ways to forget him.”
I laughed, but it sounded bitter. “There’s no way to forget him.”
“Have you been out since you were with him?”
That would’ve been my usual pattern. If I did find myself feeling attached to an alpha, I just fucked him out of my system with someone else. But I didn’t want anyone else. I only wanted Kymar. “I haven’t been anywhere but work and then back home to lie around, wishing he was there.” Just listening to myself, I realized how crazy it was that I was denying myself the one thing I’d spent the last two weeks longing for.
“Talk to him. If you’re mates, he’s going to be suffering too. I’m not saying you have to agree to what he’ll demand. Trust me, I know how overbearing a dragon can be, but give things a chance, Holden. Don’t fight what you’re feeling, not this time when it might actually be real.”
“I’ll think about it. I promise.” I needed to change the subject, or I was going to start crying in the middle of the store. “How are you, really?”
“Other than being insanely tired and wanting to be with Laszlo every minute, I’m truly happy. He’s amazing. I had no idea a man could be so caring.”
We talked for a bit longer. I told him about the latest antics from animals at the clinic, and he shared more about the miseries of pregnancy. When it got close to time for him to close up, I gave him a hug. He squeezed me tight, and we held on for a long time. “Take care of yourself, and call me if you need anything.”
“I will. I promise. I get to go home in a few minutes, and Laszlo will be waiting to spoil me.”
As I left the shop, my head spun with all the things Roman had said. Part of me wanted to call Kymar right that second and beg him to come get me, but I knew it was best to think things through more carefully before breaking my number one rule and seeing him again.
Later that night, I stood at my bedroom window, looking out at the twinkling holiday lights. I’d nearly called Kymar, but my roommates had come home, and after we’d eaten dinner, I hadn’t been able to make myself do it. Every time I picked up my phone, my heart pounded so hard I thought I might pass out.
Suddenly, movement in the sky caught my attention. At first, I thought it was a bird, but as the object moved closer, I saw that it was far too big. Was it…? Would he really take such a risk?
Apparently he would, unless some other dragon was flying right toward my apartment. Kymar was coming for me. He wanted me badly enough to fly right into town. I burst from my room and raced out the front door. My roommates both called after me, but I didn’t bother to respond. I needed to figure out where Kymar was going to land.
I headed to the back of my building, hoping Kymar had more sense than to land in the street. When I looked up, he was descending toward a field that was just a short walk away. I headed there, stopping to watch when I reached the edge of the trees that surrounded the open area. As Kymar came closer, I noticed he was carrying something in his mouth. He dropped it as he neared the ground, and the second he landed several yards from me, he shifted into his human form. He picked up the object he’d dropped, and I saw it was a bag where he’d stored some clothes. Once he was dressed, he looked up and saw me.
I couldn’t stand being apart from him any longer. I started to run toward him, and he ran too. When we reached each other, I flung myself at him and let him lift me and twirl me around. As his arms closed around me, I felt right for the first time in two weeks.
When he set me down, I could see that his eyes had shifted. They were sparkly and filled with magic. He gripped my shoulders. “Angel, tell me you weren’t going to spend your heat with someone else.”
I frowned. “Heat?”
“Your heat is near. I can smell it.”
I shook my head. “It’s not due for another month at least.”
But even as I said that, I thought about the way I’d been feeling: overheated and restless, needing to jerk off multiple times before I could fall asleep and waking in the night horny again. “I thought I was just…”
/> “Missing your mate?”
I’d thought I was obsessed with him, but now that I thought about it, I had been feeling like I did just before my heat. “Why are you here?”
He gripped my hips and yanked me to him. “I came to tell you I can’t stand this. I can’t be apart from you. I don’t want to eat. I can’t sleep. All I do is think about missing you. I need you. I know that you need me too, because you’re my mate, and that’s what is meant to be. I don’t want anyone else to touch you, and they sure as hell can’t have your heat. Dragons are unlikely to conceive with anyone but their mates, and we would never share our mate with anyone else during heat.
“I… I missed you too. But I don’t understand. Don’t you breed with other dragons?”
He shook his head. “All of our mates are human. We only mate in our human form.
“So I could have a dragon baby?” I wasn’t sure why this idea seemed so crazy when having a dragon’s tongue up my ass now seemed like an everyday thing to me, one I very much wished was happening right that moment. I realized I was so slick Kymar would be able to slide right into me. I really was about to start my heat, and there was no way in hell I was spending it with anybody else.
“I just don’t understand how that’s possible.”
“I’m a dragon shifter. As you’ve seen, we have both dragon and human forms, but we evolved to breed only in our human form.”
“I still don’t understand why my heat would come so early. I didn’t start my birth control because I wasn’t expecting this, and now it’s too late for it to be effective. Are you saying that you want… that you want to… to have a baby?”
“Yesss!” he hissed, and I could tell it was his dragon speaking.
“I… This is all so strange.”
He took a long breath, seeming to try to calm himself. “Your heat is probably early because of our mate bond. It’s your body’s way of bringing us together, and you’re my mate, so of course I want to have a baby with you. The very thought of it makes me delirious with joy. Is that what you want?”
Earlier that day, I hadn’t even been sure I was going to see him again, and now… Dear God, having his baby was exactly what I wanted. I was likely insane. Could heat and the presence of a dragon push an omega over the edge? I’d wanted children eventually. I loved watching the kids come into the clinic with their pets, and I longed to eventually have a child—and a puppy—of my own, but now? I wasn’t ready, was I?
You are if you’re with your mate.
“I… I still don’t know whether to trust this whole mate bond thing.”
He leaned close, nuzzling my neck and taking a deep breath. “You smell so good. I can smell your slick and feel your heat growing closer. Please let me take you home with me.”
If I didn’t spend my heat with Kymar, I’d have to spend it alone. Was I willing to risk getting pregnant? Was I willing to risk my heart? Yes!
“I have to call in to work and tell my roommates. I can’t just disappear with you.” Kymar took one more shuddery breath and stepped back.
“Okay, but let’s hurry.”
We practically ran to my building. During the last two weeks, I’d tried to convince myself I hadn’t really been as happy with Kymar as I remembered, but I’d been so wrong. If anything, I’d forgotten just how good it was. Just walking with him, laughing with him, was enough to make me feel giddy. I’d told myself I didn’t want to risk my heart, but I’d already fallen for Kymar. I loved him, and that wasn’t going to change.
What was it going to be like to share my heat with an alpha I was in love with? Heat sex was always incredible, but I’d barely even liked some of the alphas I’d been with. I’d chosen them because they were hot as fuck and knew the best ways to bring me relief from the driving urge of heat. But to actually care for the man that would fuck me through those intense few days and for him to be a very talented dragon… I wasn’t sure I’d survive that level of pleasure.
10
Kymar
My dragon didn’t like other men being so close to my mate, especially not when Holden was in heat. One of Holden’s roommates was an alpha, and I was sure he could detect my mate’s heat scent. I growled, and Holden squeezed my hand. “Calm down. These guys aren’t a threat, okay?”
I glared at both men who were standing in the kitchen in nothing but their underwear. “He’s mine.”
The other omega grinned. “You really do like them possessive, don’t you Holden?”
“He did warn you he’s a one-and-done kind of guy, didn’t he?” the alpha asked.
The omega slapped his arm. “Shut up and let Holden have his fun.”
My dragon urged me to annihilate them or, at the very least, send a warning jet of fire their way.
“Kymar, come on,” Holden urged. I let him pull me into his nest. The smell of him was even stronger here. I breathed deeply, drawing in his musk. The change in his scent that signaled the start of heat swelled my cock and made me want to rip off his clothes and shove him down on the bed.
My thoughts must’ve been obvious to him because he shook his head. “Not here. My roommates will hear, and once we start, I won’t want to stop. I don’t want to be stuck here for days.”
“So you feel your heat now? You agree it’s close?”
He groaned. “So close. It’s like seeing you ramped it up even more.”
All I could do was nod. My mouth was dry, and my whole body thrummed. I had to focus on holding my dragon back. How much longer could I manage to think like a civilized human?
Holden shoved some clothes in a bag, then turned to face me. “Wait here. I’m going to call the practice manager for the clinic while I grab some stuff from the bathroom.”
Follow him, my dragon demanded. Protect him.
The rational human side of me knew Holden was perfectly safe. His alpha roommate wasn’t going to attack him, even though his heat was coming on. From what he’d told me, he’d lived with both these men for several years. But my dragon wanted him under me, pinned down by my body, and he wanted it now. He was desperate to show my mate he belonged to us, and he didn’t know how to be patient. Fortunately, Holden came back quickly.
“Everything is cleared with work for me to have the days off I need for my heat. I told my roommates I’d be with you, and I think I’ve got everything I need, so—”
“Anything you don’t have Claudia or Dan will get for you. Let’s go.” My voice was low and full of my dragon’s hiss.
Holden frowned. “Kymar, are you all right?”
“It’s just my dragon. I can’t hold him back for long. I need to get outside where I can change.”
He must have sensed how close I was to losing control, because he ran from the room, motioning for me to follow him.
“Holden,” his omega roommate called, “are you sure you’re okay with this guy?”
“It’s just heat pheromones affecting him. I promise you I’m fine. He’s the guy I stayed with during the snowstorm.”
“Have fun!” His alpha roommate winked at him, and my dragon snarled inside me, fighting to be free. I started to lunge at him, but Holden pushed me out the door.
“He’s a flirt. There’s nothing for you to worry about. Let’s go.”
I wanted to tell the man that Holden was mine, that no one else was allowed to flirt with him or touch him. My human brain knew that wasn’t fair, but my dragon didn’t give a fuck. I was feeling much too out of control to try to form words anyway, so I headed toward the field where I’d landed.
“Wait,” Holden cried. “We can take my car. I’ll need it to drive to work when my heat is done.”
I shook my head. My dragon needed to be free. “I want you on my back. Dan and Claudia can retrieve the car for you.”
Holden didn’t protest further, and I was glad I didn’t have to form any more words. When we reached the field, I stripped and tossed my clothes toward the bag I’d left there. Holden grabbed them and stuffed them inside. I was thankful he un
derstood what I needed without me having to explain. I transformed and helped my mate onto my back.
I hardly noticed the gorgeous sights below me—dazzling Christmas lights and the shimmer of snow. I couldn’t focus on anything but the feel of my mate on my back and the heat scent pouring off him. When we reached home, I shifted, but I didn’t bother dressing as I hurried us inside. I managed to think clearly enough to text Claudia and Dan, let them know I’d brought Holden back with me, and ask them to get his car. Then I scooped him into my arms and carried him to my nest. He was close enough to being fully gone with his heat not to protest my high-handed behavior.
As I walked up the stairs, Holden ran a hand over my chest, teasing along my collarbone then gripping the side of my neck. I looked down at him and saw that his pupils were blown. He seemed as dragon-struck as he had the first day we’d met.
“Are you all right, angel?”
“I just need to touch you, to get my hands all over you. I’ve wanted you every second since I left. And my heat is… It’s never come on so fast or strong. I can hardly think.”
“I’m going to take care of you, I promise. It’s likely our mate bond making your heat so intense, but I’ll give you the relief you need.”
“I don’t want to wait. I meant to talk to you, to explain about how I felt, to tell you I don’t know if this mate bond is real or what, but I need you too badly to talk now.”
“It’s okay, angel. We’ll talk after your heat calms down. Right now, we can just be in the moment again. You can just let yourself feel and not worry about anything but pleasure.”
He groaned. “I feel like I’ll die if I don’t come soon.”
“I can fix that.” I said
As soon as I’d kicked the door of my room shut, I set Holden on his feet. He swayed, and I steadied him by grabbing the waistband of his pants and pulling him toward me. I had his zipper down and his cock out in seconds. I wrapped one arm around him and gripped both our shafts in my free hand. Right now, we needed some quick relief so we could enjoy the next round more thoroughly.
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