by Kelsey Soliz
Declan had his hands in his robe pockets and was looking a little nervous that I might refuse it. “I love it, Declan. I can’t imagine how long it took to measure and cut all those pieces of wood and to find a way to connect them all like that.”
Declan strode towards me and slid his hands around my neck. He leaned in to kiss me and I felt my dragon stirring within me again urging me to claim my mate. She could sense how close I was to being fully bound to them, and I could feel the ancient energies flowing through the cave that had surrounded so many soul mates before us.
Declan untied my robe as I reached for his, and we made love slowly on the nest that he had built for us. Afterwards, we lay on the mattress wrapped in a soft blanket with my head on his chest and his fingers playing with my hair.
“How many kids do you want?”
“I’m not really sure, I guess it depends on if we have a bunch of boys first or we get a mix. I wouldn’t want to curse the next generation with more than four husbands, that just seems rude.”
I laughed, loving how relaxed we were in this cozy space.
“I guess that makes sense.”
“I love you Isla, and however many children we decide on as a family will be incredibly loved.”
“I know. I’m looking forward to seeing you guys as dads, its kind of hard for me to imagine right now. Not that I doubt you’ll all do it beautifully, I just didn’t grow up with one so I’m intrigued by the ability to see that firsthand.”
“Baby, I hate that you had your parents taken away from you so early, and I promise you our kids will want for nothing. With the four of us? They’ll be entertained all hours of the day. Plus, you know my parents will be trying to watch them every chance they can get.”
“I’m so happy to be a part of you family now. Makes all this upheaval completely worth it.”
“You’ve got us now, Isles. We’re here to stay. Probably time to get you to Atticus though, don’t you think? Otherwise I’m not going to want to give you back at all if we keep laying here like this.”
The door next to the dining room turned out to be a restroom so we were able to use the facilities and clean up a bit before I went to view what Atticus had constructed. Seemed like it would be in poor taste to present myself to my next husband while still displaying the results of my previous encounter with his brother. Damn, my life was weird now.
When we got to Atticus’ build, it was a more traditional platform-type bed, but he had painted it in an array of colors that matched up with his brothers’ and his dragons. It was well done and the pattern he used made an abstract dragon along the side.
“I present to you this nest, as proof of my desire to provide you with a home. I promise to make it a safe place for you to be, and to hopefully one day welcome children into it.”
“I love it, Atticus. I approve of your accommodations and believe you can provide me with shelter.”
Atticus let out a sigh of relief.
“Did you really think I would turn away something you crafted for me with your own hands?”
“I hoped you wouldn’t, but I feel like a fool when I’m around you. You’re too perfect for words and you make me lose my speech sometimes.”
“I’m not sure you’ve got that quite right, but I love you. Thank you for putting so much effort into this. It’s really cool.”
I wandered closer to it and let my hands trail along the design he had painted on.
“I know you’ve been under a lot of stress and your body has been dealing with all kinds of things in the past few weeks, would it be okay with you if we used our bonding time for a massage? I really just want to take care of you and make you feel good.”
“That would actually be incredible. You wouldn’t mind?”
“Would I mind running my hands all over my hot wife’s body? What kind of a question is that? Get your ass out of that robe and lie down.”
And just like that Atticus put me completely at ease and began to work my back and even my limbs into a state of pure zen. I hadn’t realized how sore I was from everything I’d gone through lately, to feel his hands all over me, pushing and kneading on sore muscles and caressing me? Sign me up for weekly sessions.
When Atticus had worked my entire body to perfection, he lay beside me and pulled me into his arms. Sex was great, but nothing quite beat a good cuddle. Atticus kissed the top of my head as he held me, making me realize how sleepy I was getting.
“What time do you think it is? We’ve probably been in these caves most of the day now, yeah?”
“I don’t doubt that it’s late in the evening. You ready to go see Maalik? The sooner you work your way through them the sooner we get to finish our binding and crash.”
“Yes, I am. Thank you for the massage, that was incredibly sweet and super appreciated. My body feels amazing right now.”
“We can make this our thing if you want. You let me know when you need some of my brand of magic and I’ll whisk you away.”
“Deal.”
Atticus pulled me up and we walked hand in hand to meet Maalik. He swept me up in his arms, holding me close as he walked us down to where his nest was.
“I present to you this nest, as proof of my desire to provide you with a home. I promise to make it a safe place for you to be, and to hopefully one day welcome children into it.”
We walked into the room and I immediately could tell that it was Maalik’s creation. It looked kind of like a tree fort, with some sketches on the walls inside. There were soft blankets piled up and small holes drilled all over the top of the ceiling to look like stars with the lantern light glowing through.
“Maalik…”
“Do you like it?”
I turned to him and threw my arms around him, kissing him and pressing our foreheads together.
“I love that the stars is something that we can connect over. This is perfect. So cozy!”
We climbed onto the padded bed together, laying on our backs and simply enjoying being together. He had even thought to put in a couple constellations.
“This must have taken forever. How on earth did you finish in time?”
“I may have enlisted some help from my dad.”
“Okay, you guys are definitely in charge of tree house building when our kids are old enough.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. In fact, can we somehow relocate this? These drawings you did on the wall...I love those.” I spent a few minutes looking at the various drawings, realizing he had sketched in our love story in a very simplistic way. It made my eyes water with how sweet it was.
“This is so sweet. I can’t believe you did all this for me.”
“Isla you woke me up. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. This isn’t a super practical gift but it’s one that truly comes from my heart. I’ve loved every minute of falling in love with you. I am ecstatic that you’re officially mine now.”
“Everything I am agrees with that sentiment. Now shut up and kiss me before you really make me cry.”
Maalik pulled me under him and nudged my knees apart, leaning over me to sear his mouth to mine. He was so possessive and growly and it made me all tingly. My dragon could sense how near the surface his was, his eyes almost looked like they were glowing a little.
“Your eyes…is that your dragon? They look different…”
“My dragon is pleased as hell to have our mate underneath us and is trying his damndest to pull yours out. He wants to play.”
“Should I be worried? You’re not going to shift, are you?”
“No, I’ve got it under control. He’s just very feisty right now and is demanding I claim you.”
“Claim away. My dragon is enjoying the attention.”
Maalik flicked open my robe and immediately descended onto my breasts and pulled a nipple into his mouth. He bit down on it a little, sending sparks down to my clit. My dragon was positively purring and with a satisfied smile she flipped around and went back to her resting position.
Maalik toyed with my breasts for a moment, letting his hands wander to get my body ready for him. After a few strokes I was already soaked for him, so in love with this man who thought to put so many little details into a temporary nest as a show of affection. I really had hit the mate jackpot.
“I’m sorry Isla. I want to drag this out and make it great for you but I just can’t wait any longer I need you now. I’m trying so hard to stay in control but you’re just so damned perfect.”
Maalik slowly slid into me, groaning at the pressure of our joining. After a few hip thrusts he wordlessly twisted me around, putting me on my hands and knees before sliding back into me from behind. This new angle was absolutely amazing.
“Oh God Maalik why haven’t we done this yet? Damn that feels good. Way more intense than the other position. Yes, oh God. Please don’t stop.”
Spurred on by my words, Maalik kept a low frequency growl emanating from his chest as he claimed me. That’s exactly what this was. Declan had made love, Maalik was claiming me for sure. His hips started slamming into me and it was just on the verge of being too intense for me to handle. He felt so deep and was pushing right against my g-spot as he dove into me again and again.
I couldn’t have stopped my climax if I wanted to. With Maalik’s unrelenting tempo I screamed his name which spurred him to move even faster, drawing it out to an impossible length. It just wouldn’t quit sending shockwaves through my body. I felt like a livewire. I was almost relieved when he shouted out his release because my body felt completely spent and tender now.
Maalik pulled out of me and flipped me back over, laying his head on my stomach as he caught his breath. I started running my fingers through his hair, watching is eyelashes flutter as his breathing slowly started normalizing.
“Damn. Sorry, did I hurt you?”
“No, you didin’t hurt me Maalik. Quite the opposite. You used my body beautifully. I’m going to be feeling those little shockwaves the rest of the night I bet.”
“That good? Truly? You’re not just trying to stroke my ego?”
I snorted. “Your ego deserves to be stroked after that performance. It truly was that good.”
“Okay good. My dragon has abated for now.”
“Earlier, you said your dragon was trying to pull mine out? Why? What did you mean when you said he wanted to play?”
“Well when dragons find their mates they want to claim them in their own form as well.”
“You mean…your dragon is going to try and mount mine when she emerges?!”
Maalik’s chest started rumbling with laughter. “No, the dragons don’t do that. They leave that to us. The only thing that can mark dragon skin is dragon fire. When my dragon finally gets to meet yours, he’s going to want to mark you. That sigil you have on your side? He’s pleased it’s already on this form but he is chomping at the bit to put it on your dragon form.”
“He’s going to brand me? Won’t that hurt? How is he even going to get that on me?”
“Another one of those strange dragon magic things. He’ll try and pin you down and then he’ll carefully use his breath to mark your rear hip near your tail. Something about the mate bond makes the brand show up as the sigil. It’s not going to be as precise as the one already on your side, but it should be recognizable at least. It might burn for a minute, but dragons heal much faster than we do. Trust me, your dragon will be doing the same to all of us.”
“She’s going to burn you all? That sounds horrible!”
Maalik laughed at me again. “I forget how little you know about us. It’s going to feel completely normal once you’re in your dragon form. Instinctual even. Don’t worry about it, your dragon will understand what’s happening when we get there.”
I rubbed my hip absentmindedly. “Will it show up in my human body then when I shift back?”
“Yeah, it will just look like a scar though.”
“Tell your dragon he better make it look good then.”
Maalik shook his head at me in mirth. “Okay, he knows. Let’s get you cleaned up, shall we? I’m anxious to feel the bond completed.”
One more lingering kiss and we were headed to the restroom. There was a rainfall shower in the bathroom, and I thought that I was probably going to be taking a hell of a lot more showers now that I had four husbands. Seemed like there was probably going to be lots of excuses to clean my body off.
When we got back to the dining room, lander just stood and grabbed me saying “Finally!” I felt bad he kept having to wait so long for his turn.
When we got to his door, he repeated the same question, word for word that his brothers had all posed before showing me to their nests. I accepted immediately when I saw it, loving the rustic simplicity of it. There were steps carved out of a tree trunk leading up to the somewhat lofty bed, rough hewn wood left in Its natural state. The bark had been carved out in the middle, leaving a smooth place for the bedding to lie.
“Am I correct in assuming that my brothers have all spent their time with you improving your stamina?”
“That’s the nicest way I think you could have asked ‘did you just sleep with all of my brothers?’”
Lander threw his head back and laughed, but I wasn’t wrong.
“Well, two of them. Atticus gave me a massage.”
“Nice. Go Atticus. Okay, seeing as how I knew I was going to be last and I figured you’d probably be a little sore, I thought we could use this time for a different way to bond, if that’s all right? I mean, if you want to jump my bones, then I definitely won’t stop you, but I have a contingency plan.”
“As much as I do want to jump your bones, I am a little sore. It might be best if we wait a bit to put me through another round. I’m interested, what did you plan?”
“Well since you got here, you seem to relax the most and be most comfortable when we’re all just hanging out. Watching movies together seemed like something you really enjoyed, so I had my brothers and a couple of my friends help me out. Climb on up. I’ve got a little compartment up here with junkfood and drinks, and we made a little documentary about life in Nogalia. Thought you might want to learn more about the land you’re inheriting.”
My jaw dropped. Seriously? How did I manage to land the world’s most perfect husbands?
“I don’t even know what to say right now, I’m blown away. I do love watching movies with you guys, it’s that sense of normalcy I crave because I know how crazy things will be with you all set to inherit the throne. I can’t believe you did this!”
“So…good surprise? You’re not offended that I’m not trying to seduce you?”
“This is the best surprise. I’m absolutely not offended, the fact that you thought so hard about what I would need at this point in incredibly telling of your nature. And the fact that you went through so much trouble to make it happen?? I love you. Thank you, really. This is an incredible gift.”
Lander beamed at me, pulling me in for a long kiss before leading me up the platform that his nest was on. He dug into a compartment I couldn’t’ see from below, pulling out a laptop and a basket of snacks. Once we were all cozy and snuggled up amidst the fluffy pillows he had supplied the nest with, he wrapped his arm around me and drew me into him as he pressed play on the video he had made me.
The first shot was a slow drive through town until he got out and started with the camera down the street, interacting with people. Lander approached several people and explained to them who the video was for and asked if they wouldn’t mind introducing themselves to his bride. Everyone he spoke with looked shocked when he addressed them but pleased at his query. Everyone was warm as they waved at the camera, offering a brief introduction and a friendly ‘hello’.
I got to see the insides of a few shops that Lander had pointed out on our first drive through town together, clips of him and one of his buddies sitting at an old fashioned soda shop with milkshakes. Then the camera was being driven through some of the neighborhoods, and Lander got out of the car
at a park where there were a bunch of kids playing.
Lander once again approached people, asking the kids what their favorite part about their country was. They were all so excited to be part of the video and all had incredibly cute answers.
“I love that it’s almost always sunny.”
“I love that my daddy takes me on dragon rides sometimes.”
“I love that everybody here is happy.”
Such simple things but it really spoke to the peace this kingdom had. Next, the camera was in a kitchen, talking with his mother. She was showing me some of the traditional dishes in Nogalia, hinting at which one was Lander’s favorite. It was similar to the Italian lasagna, but instead of red sauce and meat, there was a rich cream sauce and vegetables that had been finely chopped carmelized, but still smothered in melty cheese. Everything looked delicious. Queen Alina told Lander to remind the kitchen at our house that I’d want to try them and offered to teach me how if I ever wanted to learn.
The last frame was footage of dragons soaring above, but it was quickly evident that they weren’t just any dragons. They did a few lazy circles in the sky, happily puffing out a little bit of smoke as they glided down towards whoever was holding the camera and started to transform into the men I loved.
To keep it PG, they dropped behind a row of hedges that were strategically placed so that the camera wasn’t showing any nudity. Watching their bodies twist and compress into human form again was mesmerizing. The video ended with the camera pointed at our home that we shared, all the guys standing on the porch waving as the car circled the fountain out front and slowly pulled away.
“Lander, that was so good! you really thought of everything. I love that you got bystanders involved, made me feel like I was interacting with them myself.”
“Good, that’s what we were going for. I want you to feel comfortable around your people and show you what everyday life is like here. Sure, we’ll be part of some probably boring meetings and negotiations and we’ll have to deal with settling disagreements between people, but at the end of the day this kingdom is about the people that live in it and the unique ability we have. Well, the unique ability some of us have, to shift. I wanted you to see what you’re giving to people so you could see why you matter. We value you more than you can imagine because you’re our mate. You will one day govern the people, and we appreciate you for giving up your quiet life to do so.