Do you love my son?
Holy shit. Seriously? She was going to ask me that now?
I saw Iavo’s body tense out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t dare look away from the queen’s gaze, afraid she’d snap that massive jaw down and bite me in half.
But that wasn’t why I answered the way I did. Something about her compelled me to tell the truth. “Yes. I love them both.”
Take good care of them, Dragonborn, or you will answer to me. Those were the last words she spoke to me before launching straight up into the air. Her guard, or whatever he was, quickly shifted into dragon form, a dark, glistening blue that looked almost black, and his rider leapt onto his back.
To Iavo, she said one final thing. The hatching ceremony will be in three days. Bring your mate. Our new rider may require her presence.
Yes, Mother.
Within seconds we were alone and Zach was reaching for me, his shaking hand trying to touch my face. “You love us?”
“Yes, I love you.” I wrapped my fingers around his and pulled his palm the rest of the way to rest on my cheek. Tears streaked my face, but I didn’t care whether or not he felt them. I was well past the point of hiding anything from these two men—or rather, this man and dragon—that had turned my entire world upside down.
Iavo joined me, kneeling next to both of us. I leaned over and kissed him, gently, on the cheek. “I love you, too, Iavo.”
Let’s get out of here.
“Please.” All I wanted was a hot bath and twelve hours of sleep with my men curled around me. I never wanted to sleep alone again, afraid visions of dead bodies piled high would haunt my nightmares forever.
But I trusted my mates to keep me safe, to always come for me.
I woke up in the morning alone, my arms reaching out to wrap around my mates and finding nothing but cold sheets and an empty bed.
Unhappy about it, I made my way to the bathroom for my morning ritual, and to brush my teeth. I used extra toothpaste, unable to get the remembered taste of the cave’s dirt floor out of my mouth. I knew it was probably all in my head, but the minty burn made me feel better.
I was still naked from my bath last night, and I didn’t bother with clothes. My mates liked me naked, and I found I did, too. Especially when they pressed their warm bodies to mine and cradled me as I fell asleep.
Other than the uncertainty over what was going to happen with my brother, I was happier than I’d ever been in my life. And the objects of my affection were nowhere to be found.
Where the hell were they? I discovered I did not like waking up alone.
Done in the bathroom, I opened the door, walked back into the bedroom and padded barefoot back to bed. I had nowhere to go and nowhere to be, and I wanted to be warm, surrounded by their scents. I buried my face in Iavo’s pillow just as the door opened.
Zach lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Good morning, love.”
The endearment wrapped around me and made me feel even warmer than I already did. I was rested, clean, and my men looked like smoking hot models in their matching black jeans, turtlenecks and leather jackets. It was like I’d woken up in an episode of The Bachelor, with twins. “Kiss me.”
He chuckled and Iavo moved to stand at the end of the bed. He wrapped his hand around my ankle and tugged me toward him. I am happy to kiss you, mate.
I raised an eyebrow at Zach as Iavo pulled me to the end of the bed, teasing him with the fact that I was getting my kiss, and he wasn’t.
“Iavo, seriously? You know if we start we won’t be able to stop.”
Iavo ignored him, lifting me into his arms and kissing me like I was the only woman in the world, like I was his air and he’d never get enough of me. It was hot and wet and never-ending, and I melted into him like he was mine.
Because he was. At least my wet pussy thought so. And my aching breasts. And the heart that beat wildly in my chest.
“Iavo. The surprise first.” Zach laughed when I moaned in protest but tore my lips free of Iavo’s.
“A surprise? You got me something?”
“Yes, love.” Zach sat next to me on the bed and Iavo knelt on the floor at my feet. They surrounded me, touching me, and I felt totally loved. Totally safe.
“What is it?” I loved surprises, probably because I never got them—unless they were the bad kind, the kind that had me toting my belongings around in a trash bag to the next foster home.
Iavo’s eyes were glowing, the amber light making me warm and tingly. Many things are unsaid between us, mate. But I am yours, heart and soul, we are yours, if you’ll have us.
Zach dropped to his knees next to his dragon and held out a small jewelry box. “We love you, Brittany. We will love you, honor you, cherish you and protect you until our dying breath. Please say yes.” He opened the box to reveal a brilliant ruby and diamond ring. The large stone was a deep, rich red that made my heart stutter in my chest.
“Are you asking me to marry you? Both of you? I don’t understand.”
Zach took the ring out of the box as Iavo placed a kiss on my knee. Then my thigh. Totally distracting. “Yes. Dragonborn don’t give diamonds, Brittany. Our mates wear rubies to honor the queen, and the sacrifice we all make to protect the planet. Only our mates are allowed to wear red stones. It is a sign of the highest honor and respect among our kind.”
“Our kind?” I asked. Iavo lips were nibbling on the side of my hip now, working his way up to my waist, and I was having trouble breathing.
You are Dragonborn, mate. The magic of a dragon sire flows in you veins. You are mine. Iavo punctuated the last by taking my already hard nipple into his mouth and suckling until I moaned, burying the fingers of my right hand in his hair to hold him closer, demand more. My pussy was wet and aching, so empty. I wanted them both. Together.
Mine.
“You’re cheating, Iavo.” The words were half laugh, half groan as he flicked my nipple with his tongue.
You are mine.
“Ours, dragon. She’s ours. And she hasn’t said yes, yet.” Zach took my left hand and slipped the beautiful ruby onto my ring finger. It fit perfectly. “Please, Brittany. Say yes. Come with us to Arizona, to our home. Live with us. Be mine forever.”
Ours.
“Now you want to share?”
You are my rider. She is my mate. You are both mine, Zach. I do not share what is mine.
Iavo moved from one breast to the other and I had to cross my legs, squeeze my thighs to prevent myself from opening them and showing them my wet folds in blatant invitation. They were soooo cheating right now, and I didn’t care.
I tilted my head toward Zach and pulled him in for a kiss. I was done messing around. And I knew what I wanted.
Both of them. Inside me. Together. Right now.
“I think I need a sample of what I’ll be agreeing to first.” Pulling Zach’s lips to mine, I smiled as Iavo froze in shock, releasing my nipple from his mouth to look up at me as I kissed Zach.
Being watched was turning me on. And being in control for the first time since I’d met these two powerful, dominant men made me feel edgy and dangerous and very, very sexy. Maybe it was the dragon blood the queen confirmed ran through my veins, maybe it was love, lust, two days of an emotional rollercoaster ride, but whatever it was, I needed them inside me. I needed to know, once and forever, that they were mine.
I knew the bonding of a dragon required Iavo to fill my ass with dragon magic as Zach filled my pussy. I’d had a taste of it, of both of their attentions, but never together.
Never the way they were born to love me. And I wanted everything.
Turning my head away from Zach, he kissed the side of my neck as I held Iavo’s gaze. “I want you both inside me. Now. Right now. I don’t want to wait.” They both seemed frozen in time until I gave my next request. “Take off your clothes.”
They obeyed at once and I leaned back, bracing myself on my hands as I took in the two magnificent men standing before me
. A matching pair, their muscled chests led to defined abs and powerful thighs. And between? Two cocks, rock hard and ready for me.
Moving my hand from Iavo’s hair to his arm, I traced his muscular shoulder, bicep, forearm, lower until I found his hand and wrapped my fingers around his, pulling toward my center as I opened my legs and settled his hand over the wet welcome there. He shuddered, his eyes glowing brighter as I folded my hand over his and slipped both his finger and my own inside my body. The move was wild and naughty, and the look on his face made me want to do it again and again. So I did, gasping as he pushed his finger deeper, stroking the tip of my womb, pressing my hand against my clit.
Zach’s forehead was pressed to my collarbone as he looked down, watching Iavo and I finger fuck me, together. “Brittany.” My name was more groan than word and I knew my laughter was pure seductress as I pushed Iavo away, grabbed Zach and rolled him beneath me on the bed. He allowed it, for I never would have been able to force him anywhere he didn’t want to be. His knees were at the end of the bed, his feet on the floor, and his cock up and at attention.
I didn’t wait, so hot, so ready for him. I climbed over him like a goddess and took his lips as I slid my wet pussy down over his cock, taking him in one long, slow conquest. When he was buried deep, I lifted my lips from his and let him breathe.
“You’re mine, Zach.”
That moment, fingers wrapped in my hair and tugged me gently until I sat up. I knew who wanted my attention, and I was happy to give it to him.
“Iavo.” I sat up, then leaned back, grinding my body down on Zach so that he moaned as I lifted my arms back over my head and searched for my dragon, pulling him down into a kiss. “I want you, too. All three of us. Like it’s supposed to be.”
He kissed me like I was his air, holding my head still for his conquest as his hot palm slid down my back to cup my ass. Then lower still, to the virgin opening he wanted to claim, and slipped the tip of his finger inside. I will take you here, mate. Fill your body with my essence, with dragon magic. You will be mine forever. We will be fully bonded. Live together. Die together. Do you understand what you are offering me?
I kissed him, hard. “Yes. It’s called love, Iavo. And I love you both. I want this.”
One more hard kiss and he pushed me down, into Zach’s waiting embrace. Zach pulled me over into a kiss and I made sure to hold my bottom in the air, where Iavo would have full access, and a clear invitation. I wanted this. I wanted them.
He wasted no time, positioning himself behind me in moments, the warm, hard head of his cock pressing me open slowly.
I’d been expecting cold fingers coated in lubricant, but all I felt was his cock, hard and hot and ready, spreading me open, making me burn.
When the head of his cock popped inside, I gasped and Iavo stopped moving. “Aren’t you going to use something? I don’t think I can take you like this.”
He stroked my back and my ass as Zach chuckled under me, vibrating his hard abs against my clit, making me moan. “Wait for it, mate.”
“What—” The words died on my tongue as something happened, something I wasn’t prepared for and couldn’t explain.
Power. Heat. Magic flowed into me and I could feel something warm and wet coating my insides, preparing the way for Iavo’s hard cock to fill me.
He pressed forward, an inch. No more. But my entire body shuddered with pleasure, my pussy clamping down on Zach’s like a fist. “Iavo.”
My dragon leaned over me, pressing kisses to the space between my shoulder blades, the back of my neck, as his essence continued to fill me up, the pleasure building inside me like a tidal wave about to crash onto shore and destroy everything in its wake.
You’re mine, Brittany. He pulled out just enough to make me moan, then pressed forward, a bit harder, a little deeper, the warm heat flooding me increased, easing his way, making him slide inside without resistance. What you feel is a gift of the Dragonborn, your body and mine, connecting. A dragon knows his mate, and my body knows yours, would never hurt you. My magic provides, mate. I am incapable of harming you, would die to protect you. You’re mine. I love you, Brittany, and I have never loved another.
His voice was full of heartache. Years of pain. And a desperate need for acceptance I wasn’t sure even he was aware of. “Yes, Iavo. Make me yours.”
And then he was inside me, the slight pop of my muscle as it gave way the sign he must have been waiting for as he thrust the rest of the way inside. There was no pain, only heat and fullness and pleasure. Thank God for self-lubricating dragon cocks.
I was so full, stuffed with my men, completely overwhelmed. I started to shake, unable to cope with the pleasure, getting lost in it. It was too much. Too big.
And then they were there, touching me, kissing me, grounding me to the world and to them. I gave myself permission to lose control, to trust them to put me back together if I fell apart. I stopped fighting myself and rocked forward, then back. Fucking them. Making sure they understood that they were mine, that I wanted this. That this was my choice. Taking what they offered for myself, making both of my mates groan.
“You’re mine. These cocks are mine.” I squeezed them both, rocking back and forth on my hands and knees, milking them, pushing them, hoping they’d lose control.
Iavo shuddered, and Zach pulled me down for a kiss just as Iavo’s hands wrapped around my hips and stopped me from moving.
Say yes, Brittany. Marry us. You haven’t said yes.
I couldn’t speak with Zach’s tongue dueling with mine, so I tore my mouth from his. “I want you, but how can I marry two people? I don’t understand.”
Iavo slapped my ass, just hard enough for it to sting…and send a lightning bolt of shocked pleasure to my clit. My pussy fluttered, on the edge of orgasm, and my hands made fists in the bed sheets as Zach answered.
“You will marry me, Brittany. Iavo doesn’t exist in the human world. According to human law, you’ll be mine. But you’re Dragonborn—”
I didn’t let him finish. “Yes. You’re mine. Both of you. Forever.” Zach thrust up from beneath me, lifting his hips off the bed as Iavo thrust into me from behind, cutting off my words, my air. Again. I moaned and buried my face in Zach’s shoulder, more than happy to hold on for the ride. But there was one more thing I needed to say, before things got completely wild. “And I’m not giving the ring back.”
Zach chuckled, but his humor was short-lived as Iavo took control, fucking me harder and faster, rubbing his hard length against the thin layer separating him from Zach inside me.
We were both moaning as Iavo made his claim clear, commanding us to come when he did, his magic filling me, making my skin tingle, my clit burn, my entire body explode into a thousand little pieces.
I screamed as he slammed his body into me, as Zach shifted and fucked me, rubbing my clit. I was surrounded by heat and love and lust. And magic.
Iavo’s seed, his magic, his essence filled me, the power pushing me right back over the edge for a second time as Zach filled me from below, the hard tip of his cock planting his seed in my womb, the dragon essence creating another Dragonborn child.
The knowledge filled me with a joy and peace I’d never known. I wasn’t worried about supporting a baby. For the first time in my life, I was content. Happy. For the first time, I knew I would never be alone again. Never have to fight the battle for survival on my own.
I was loved. Wanted. And the new life stirring inside me would be, too.
When it was over, they wrapped themselves around me in bed, the magic buzzing in the air making us all too lazy to move.
But Iavo couldn’t resist. He pushed me onto my back and lay his head over my womb. Hello, little one. I am your father, Iavo, The Protector, first of my name. And I will protect you. Always.
Beside me, Zach watched with wide eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”
I laughed and threw my arms around my new mates. So happy. My life was a miracle now. So wonderful I never could have im
agined it. “No, he’s not. I felt it happen.”
“Boy or girl?”
I shrugged and looked at Iavo. His grin was worth a thousand years of suffering. It matters not. The baby is mine.
“Ours, Iavo. Ours. We need to work on expanding your vocabulary.” Zach leaned in and kissed me, gently. “I love you, Brittany. But you’re going to have to help me with this. Our dragon can be a bit hard to handle.”
Epilogue
Iavo, Queen’s Lair, Mt. Rainier, Washington State
* * *
I hated flying alone, but Zach and Brittany had been in the metal can of death as we raced to make it to the queen in time for Garrett’s ceremony.
I had to fly high and fast, at altitudes that would kill my mate and my rider. So I’d flown above the jet, so high that I chased the stars.
The experience was soothing, and with my heart and soul firmly sealed with Brittany, I was truly at peace for the first time since I’d left the egg. That peace was gone now, as I led the way through the twisting tunnels of the queen’s lair. I hadn’t been home, really home, in a very long time, not since Zach and I were assigned to Arizona, to the canyons and the river lands that stretched from Colorado to Mexico. There had been no need to return to the cold, rainy northwest. Even when the queen summoned us for a mission, we were given our orders over the internet, or modern cell phones. It had been a long time since I’d been deep beneath the mountain, so deep the heat from Mother Earth’s core pulsed and churned, lava beds long silent waiting to erupt heating the hot stones beneath our feet.
The pulse was like a living heartbeat, and it soothed me as little else could. It was the beating heart of my true mother, the Earth itself, radiating through the soles of my dragon feet as we walked to a place I thought never to see again.
To the hatching grounds.
What I saw filled me with despair.
The once pristine cave was run down, the shimmering magic in the walls—that only dragon eyes could see—faded from their once burning brightness to a faint flickering.
Marked at Midnight--Mark of the Dragon, Book 1 Page 12