“Just tell me,” I insisted.
Rayce took a deep breath and finally said, “Are you aware that most queens sleep with all their guardsmen before they choose a consort?”
I blinked. “Sleep with? As in, sex?”
Fenwick definitely hadn’t ever mentioned that. I guess he was waiting until he felt comfortable doing so. Or maybe until he thought I was old enough.
Wait a minute.
“Fenwick was one of my mother’s Queen’s Guards. Does that mean they…?”
Rayce nodded. “Oh, yes. In fact, he was the odds-on favorite to be your mother’s choice, apparently. He was very much in love with her.”
My eyes filled with tears. How hard it must have been for him to raise her child—the child she’d had with another man, at that—after she had died. And yet he had never been anything less than kind and loving to me.
“The relationships give the queen a chance to decide which of her guardians she’s truly most compatible with,” Rayce continued. I pulled my mind from the past and focused on what he was telling me. “It also strengthens her power, as well as her connection to all the members of her Queen’s Guard.”
“It sounds like it’s all to her benefit. What do her guardsmen get out of it?”
Rayce shrugged, and his voice turned wry. “Believe me, the guardsmen look forward to it. A lot. As often as possible.”
I glanced out toward the edges of the field, where Draven was practicing his swordsmanship, swinging a heavy blade through the air, and where Lanzo aimed bolts of magical lightning at a target some distance away.
“Are you saying you think I should…” My voice trailed off.
Oh, gods. My guardsmen were absolutely smoking hot. Sometimes literally smoking. And now I was being invited to bring them all into my bed?
“Um. Is this…all at once, or one at a time?”
Rayce’s laughter echoed across the field. “There are legends of queens who insisted upon those kinds of…events. But I think I speak for all your guardsmen when I say that we would prefer the opportunity to focus on only you. One at a time, please.”
Well. There goes that fantasy.
As Rayce watched me, his eyes darkened even more. I could tell I was blushing, but I bit my lip and forced myself to look him in the eyes. For all that my libido was ready to say yes right then and there, really only one part of this equation actually mattered right now. “Doing this will give me more power?”
“It will.”
“Power that I could use against Nico?”
He turned his hands out. “Possibly. Apparently, the power manifests differently from queen to queen. But I would go so far as to say it will probably be of help in the fight against Nico.”
Heat spread through me as I thought of what I could do with all three of my Dragon shifters.
Still, I wasn’t quite ready for that. After all, I had only just met them.
“Does it have to be…” I paused, searching for the right phrase. “Actual consummation? Or could we try something less…”
Rayce laughed. “Eventually, yes, full consummation will probably be the best plan. But we can try something else first.” His eyes swirled with desire the color of smoke. “May I kiss you, my Queen?”
My eyes widened. “Now?” I squeaked.
“Later today. After lunch. After I’ve spoken to Draven and Lanzo.”
I nodded, too nervous to speak.
Yes. I definitely wanted to kiss him.
To kiss all of them.
Soon.
Chapter 8
I’m doing this for the sake of my people. That’s what I told myself, anyway.
I’d left the … um … rotation up to Rayce to figure out while I went inside to take a shower, and he’d decided to go with what he said was a traditional order of rank.
Of course, that meant I was going to kiss him first.
After lunch, Draven and Lanzo disappeared. I had no idea where they’d gone, but I was glad they’d left us alone.
Kissing my guardsmen. A strange energy, both excited and nervous, swirled through me when I thought of my three guardsmen—Rayce, with his kind eyes, gentle voice, and masterful control over any situation; Draven, whose size belied his amazing dexterity and whip-smart intellect; and Lanzo, with his laughing eyes that, I was beginning to believe, covered a dark core that held his magic.
Nothing about any of them frightened me.
Still, when Rayce held out his hand to me, I realized I was shaking.
“Ready?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
With a tilt of his head, he gestured to his bedroom. “Let’s go find out.”
In his room, we sat on his bed across from each other. I stared into Rayce’s eyes, and my lips parted slightly as I drew in a breath to tell him how nervous I was. Before I could blurt out the words, though, Rayce dragged his gaze from my eyes to my mouth, and the heat in his eyes sparked an answering fire deep inside me.
My mouth dried, and my voice disappeared.
With a muttered curse, Rayce reached up behind me with his other hand and tangled his fingers in my hair. Then he bent to claim my mouth with his own, searing away every thought until there was nothing left in me but a desperate need to match the passion of his kiss.
From the moment his lips touched mine, I knew that kissing Rayce was going to be different from anything I’d ever done before.
I was so damn glad to have him here, keeping me safe, that I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to him. By all rights, as the woman he planned to support in a bid to become queen, I should be in charge. I should be the one calling the shots.
As my heated mouth tilted back to open under the onslaught of his kiss, though, I found I couldn’t do any of that. And every time I came into contact with him, this was what happened.
I wanted Rayce to take control.
With a tiny sigh, I melted against him, my soft curves molding to the hard length of his body. Every inch of me pressed against him, and Rayce groaned into my mouth, all of his desire for me expressed in the intensity of his kiss. He fisted his hand in my hair and pulled me even closer as if he could draw me into himself and protect me there.
His tongue tangled with mine, dancing through our mouths and brushing against the roof of mine, sending shivers sparking down my spine. I wrapped both arms around Rayce’s neck, and he responded by wrapping an arm around my waist as if he wanted to get as close to me as I wanted to get to him.
He lifted me up and leaned me gently against the wall beside the door frame leading to the hallway, pressing into me as he deepened the kiss even further.
I should slow this down.
That would be the careful thing to do. The prudent action. Maybe even the behavior most likely to keep us both alive while dealing with Nico’s men.
I didn’t want to slow down. And by all indications, neither did Rayce.
But I had to.
Dragging my mouth away from his far enough to speak, I whispered, “Stop now.”
At that moment, the magic struck. It hit me like fire, rolling through my body in a burning fireball, searing away any doubts that he was mine and I was his—whatever happened with Draven and Lanzo, at least one of my Queen’s Guard was bound to me through the rest of this venture.
When it was over, I collapsed against him, resting my forehead on his shoulder while I caught my breath. And then I leaned in and kissed him again—a long, lingering kiss that I somehow knew sealed the compact our bodies had made.
When he finally set me on my feet again, it was reluctantly.
“Let’s go find the others,” he said.
I blushed when we tracked down Draven and Lanzo in the kitchen. But they both acted like everything was perfectly normal, so I did too, and soon enough, everything seemed just fine.
Except I still couldn’t access any of my dragon abilities.
“How is this supposed to help me?” I asked that afternoon when we were out in the field and I was ag
ain trying to shift—unsuccessfully. “I feel the power of the Diadem when I touch it. I felt something when Rayce kissed me.”
The other two shifters snickered, and I shot them a quelling look. “Something magical. Also.” I waved my hand in the air, and Draven and Lanzo both howled with laughter.
Men. They were all the same—human or dragon shifters.
“Fine. Just wait,” I said. “It’ll be your turn soon enough. And I might be inclined to kiss and tell if you two don’t behave.”
They quieted down but continued to grin.
“I’m not exactly certain how it works to transfer power,” Rayce said. “Just that it does.”
“One of the rumors is that the queen absorbs some of her guardsmen’s abilities.” Draven shot a glance at Rayce. “An alpha’s strengths are in the realm of leadership. Those aren’t necessarily going to show up in the things you’ve been working on recently.”
For once it was Draven making me feel better—and I discovered I liked it.
“That’s why the Queen’s Guard is always made up of several different positions. It allows for different kinds of strengths,” Lanzo added.
I nodded. That made sense, even if I worried that I might not take on my guardsmen’s traits as easily as they all seemed to believe I would.
Nonetheless, I felt better than I had since I’d started this crazy venture.
And I didn’t mention it to any of my guardsmen, but as I was working on popping my wings out, I felt a shiver go through me—a familiar one. The kind I used to have just before I shifted as a child. Right before I transformed into a full-fledged dragon.
I started to say something about it, then decided to refrain until I was sure of what I was feeling.
I was glad I did. Nothing else interesting happened that afternoon.
Not until after dinner, anyway.
Chapter 9
I was sitting in the living room reading an old mystery novel I’d found on one of the shelves in the house when Draven appeared in front of me. I jumped a little. For such a large man, he could be absolutely silent when he walked. I guess it came out of the need to be light on his feet while he wielded a lot of the weapons he used.
“Is it my turn?” He looked almost shy as he asked, and a dull red blush crawled across his cheeks.
“Absolutely,” I said. I glanced around for a bookmark, but when Draven sat down next to me and scooped me up into his arms and onto his lap, I simply folded down a page and dropped the book onto the floor.
I closed my eyes, slipping into the same magic that had bound me to Rayce.
I didn’t have to speak. Draven’s hands, strong and steady, were already gently sliding along the sides of my face. I relaxed, tilting my head back and closing my eyes, letting out a slight sigh.
His mouth lowered to the side of my neck. First his lips, and then the tip of his tongue caressed my skin, trailing kisses down to the hollow of my collarbone. I shivered at the touch of his hot breath and warm tongue.
That combination of strength and gentleness left me aching with desire for him.
I wanted to kiss him on the lips, but he was doing wonderful things to my neck, and I didn’t want that to end. At least not yet.
A low, nearly inaudible moan escaped my throat.
Being with him was so right. Just as being with Rayce had been right.
Most human men would be hard-pressed to allow a woman to be with two other men.
My men aren’t human.
Warmth.
Strength.
Every inch of him seemed to possess both in abundance. I probably shouldn’t have, but I pulled his shirt off over his head, forcing him to stop kissing my neck for a moment. His lips returned, seeking out my face. My cheeks. My chin. My lips.
I pulled away momentarily to look at him. He was chiseled from stone, sheer perfection, with the exception of ropy scars that crisscrossed his skin. I reached up and ran my fingers across his chest. His skin burned under my touch.
“These are from battles?”
“Yes.” His deep voice rumbled in his chest. “Nico has had to fight off contenders for his throne. The last time, he wagered his kingdom on my prowess in single combat.”
I gasped. “That’s…barbaric.”
Draven nodded. “I thought I was going to die.”
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I came close.”
I leaned over to skim my mouth over the scars, the textured skin contrasting to the soft skin of my lips.
Draven let his head fall back with a sound in his throat that was even deeper than usual.
“That’s why you joined Rayce to find me?”
He growled, but the sound didn’t frighten me. “I want to destroy Nico.”
“Then give yourself to me.” My own voice rumbled in my chest now, and I understood—the response was both physical and emotional, and it was as much his as it was mine.
Everywhere his lips touched was like more fire sparking through me, all running down to that hot center of my being, where the pleasure of this moment spooled, waiting to explode—like the power I now held inside me. It was both magical and entirely physical.
He pulled up to take my mouth with his. As my lips parted to welcome him in, I drew in a breath.
Draven smelled like fire, like a whiff of burnt ozone, and I discovered I loved it, the scent of him coiling through me.
At the touch of our lips, the fire inside me exploded, the magic wrapping itself in and around and through the two of us at every point of contact, slamming out of me and into him, then back again. My head swam with it as we cried out into each other’s mouths, the sound echoing between the two of us alone.
When it was over, we leaned our foreheads together, panting.
After a long moment, Draven reached up and ran his hands over his beautiful, bald head.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I think so.” His voice was shaking, and his hands trembled, but he held my gaze steadily. “Let’s go take back your throne.”
“I agree. Let’s do it.”
But first, I had one more guardsman to kiss.
That didn’t happen until the next morning, though. We were all busy pretending that everything was perfectly normal when Lanzo came up behind me in the field to adjust the hand motions I was making for a spell I couldn’t yet cast.
Realizing the other two had left already, I found myself leaning back into him.
He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. “You have a thing about only kissing inside?” he asked.
I shook my head “Not at all.”
“I think we’re all pretty sure you’re not going to cast this spell before you and I get together.” He put his hands on my hips and leaned his face into my neck. “So I say we drop this whole practicing farce.”
Lanzo’s words, spoken directly against my skin, made me want to race to his room. I loved it that all my guardsmen were so direct.
I breathed deeply as I curled into him, my forehead against his chest, my head tucked under his chin.
He smelled like sunshine, like a hot summer day.
Maybe all dragon shifters carried a scent of heat with them. My three certainly did.
My three.
I couldn’t stand the thought that one day I would have to choose among my three guardsmen—just like my mother had chosen before me, and her mother before her.
I would have to walk away from two of the men I was currently binding to me.
“Are you ready?” I asked. “The magic will make sure that you’re not just a guardsman, but that you’re my guardsman.”
I half-expected my comment to cool the heat between us, but even the slight frisson of anxiety I felt when he put his fingers under my chin and tilted my face toward his only served to heighten the anticipation that shuddered up my spine.
“I think,” he whispered, his lips bare centimeters from mine, “that I might be discovering I’m a masochist.”
I grinned, an
d I felt my words flutter against his skin. “I don’t think it’ll hurt.”
“Let’s find out.”
With a last shiver, I captured his mouth with my own, pulling him tight against me. He moaned deep in his throat and opened his lips to me. Our tongues tangled, tiny sparks of electricity flying between us, and I was right—it didn’t hurt.
It felt glorious.
As I stretched up to wrap my arms around his neck, I murmured against his lips, “Oh, gods. You are so warm.”
My hands fluttered up and down his chest as I dove into his mouth, this kiss as different from the ones I’d shared with Rayce and Draven as it was possible to be.
Still, as with those kisses, power flowed between us, rolling through our bodies, back and forth, reaching into all the spaces I would have thought already filled.
I didn’t understand how every time, this energy exchange was like nothing I had ever experienced before, even though it was similar to what had happened with the other two men.
And gods, I wanted more.
After the magic had filled me, I pulled away to gaze at him. His eyes burned into me. The force of the connection between us smoldered in that gaze. And when he ran his fingers up my arms, the fire of his touch threatened to steam away every bit of me. But then the blaze steadied, the power sliding back and forth, finding a balance.
“I don’t want to wait any longer,” I whispered.
“Then don’t,” he rasped.
I shook my head. “We have to. For now.” And then I kissed him again.
Magic coursed through both our bodies, running through me like blood in my veins, and also connecting me to Lanzo.
Someday, I might have to give him up. But for now, he was entirely mine.
The thought frightened me.
But it also made me feel strong.
“So,” said the third dragon shifter to whom I had tied myself when he finally pulled away from our kiss. “You ready to go take down a dragonkin king?” He paused. “After we get something to eat.”
Instead, though, we went straight to practicing magic.
I was disappointed that nothing magical happened—at least not out in the field. But that afternoon, I finally—finally—completed a partial shift.
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