Wedding Dragon (Lewiston Dragons Book 3)

by Liv Rider

  Fortunately, most people were too distracted by the food to notice them slipping back in, and the other guests had given up on their assigned seating and were wandering in and out, enjoying the cake.

  Mitchell grabbed a random slice from the buffet table, lining up to get a fork. He felt acutely aware of Shaun right behind him. They stayed in the back of the room, away from the center table where they’d been before, to enjoy their cake.

  Shaun closed his eyes as he took his first bite, letting out a pleased moan that Mitchell planned on making him repeat later. “Oh, this is good. This is amazing cake.”

  Mitchell took his own bite, and oh yes, this was wonderful. The cake was delicious, made with fresh strawberries without that flavor overwhelming the rest.

  Shaun nudged him, offering him a piece of cake on his fork.

  Mitchell laughed before eating it, slicing off a piece of his own to feed to Shaun.

  There was something very satisfying in watching Shaun eat the food he offered, and it wasn’t just Shaun’s very obvious enjoyment. It was the intimacy, the easy trust, and knowing he was taking care of his mate.

  “I know going out to dinner is traditional for dates,” he said, watching Shaun cut off another piece of his cake, “but how about dinner at mine? What’s your favorite food?”

  Shaun’s eyes widened as he swallowed, nodding. “Yes, sure. I’d love to. I like almost anything.”

  That didn’t narrow it down. “Anything you hate? Allergies?”

  While Shaun reassured him that he truly would like whatever Mitchell made him, Dale joined them. He beamed at the both of them.

  “Nice cake,” Shaun told him.

  “I know. Best part of being the groom is that I can have as much as I like. Anyway, you two, um, figured things out?”

  “Yes. You’re sure about the pictures?” Mitchell asked.

  Dale shrugged. “If Emily can be down a bridesmaid and a Maid of Honor, I can do with one less groomsman. I can’t believe you two came back in for the wedding cake, though.”

  “Are you kidding me? This is amazing,” Shaun replied, echoing Mitchell’s thoughts. “Like I would miss out on that.”

  Dale laughed, clapping Shaun on the shoulder. “I’ll tell Emily you said that. I’m glad you two talked things out.” He moved on to the next trio of wedding guests, and Mitchell saw him pick another slice from the table behind him. Well, Dale had a point. After all, he was the groom.

  Mitchell noticed Shaun looking thoughtful and followed his gaze to the table where Natalie, Caroline, and their husbands sat. Unlike everyone else, they didn’t have cake or an empty plate with crumbs in front of them. They were glaring at each other, with Natalie talking while gesturing at Aaron. “What’s the matter?”

  Shaun shrugged. “Is it weird that I feel bad for them? They really care about Emily. I didn’t mean to get them removed from her wedding party.”

  It amazed Mitchell that Shaun felt pity for them after everything they’d put him through. With a stab of guilt, he realized he hadn’t been as supportive as he should have been. All because he hadn’t wanted to interfere with something he thought wasn’t his business. He should have tried to help Shaun instead of wallowing in his own feelings. “They sincerely believe you’re guilty, and you’re right. They care about her. They thought they were doing the right thing. But thinking you’re doing the right thing doesn’t mean you are doing the right thing.” He hadn’t been earlier that afternoon by ignoring Shaun.

  Shaun gave him a wan smile, then finished his cake. “Like me thinking that lying was doing the right thing.”

  “And me thinking that standing there while Natalie and Caroline accused you this afternoon was the right thing to do. That avoiding you as much as possible was the right thing.”

  His dragon preened smugly inside of him. Told you so.

  Shaun looked thoughtful while Mitchell enjoyed the last piece of his cake. “I was disappointed by that.” His voice was quiet, but it cut through Mitchell like a knife. “And then I told myself there was no reason to be so disappointed, because we hardly knew each other. Was that because of….” He looked up at Mitchell uncertainly.

  “Yes.” He’d left his mate struggling with those intense emotions when he could’ve offered an explanation. Guilt churned inside of him. “You feel the bond too, but not as strongly as I do.”

  “That’s good to know.” Then Shaun frowned at him. “Wait, you feel it more strongly than I do?”

  Mitchell nodded. Hadn’t they gone over that last night? “Yes, because of what I am.” They were still surrounded by human guests as well. They needed to take this somewhere more private.

  And not just so they could go back to kissing each other. Mitchell firmly told himself that Shaun still had plenty of questions, which was very understandable, and that they could go as slow as he liked.

  Shaun stared at him. “So, ever since we met, you’ve felt like….” He gestured vaguely at himself, “this, but way worse, and you’ve just been ignoring that?”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do?” He wasn’t sure what his mate wanted to hear.

  Shaun’s eyes softened. “Idiot.”

  “You were with Chris.”

  “I meant both of us.” Shaun took his empty plate, putting it on a table. “Maybe that’s why I feel bad for them. They haven’t realized they’re being idiots about this, so they won’t try to make it right.”

  Mitchell hadn’t thought it was possible to love his mate even more. They had treated Shaun like dirt, but that didn’t stop him from being compassionate. He’d made mistakes and was brave enough to face that. “Maybe this will be a wake-up call for them.”

  “Maybe.” Shaun smiled up at him. “What do you want to do now?”

  His first thought was to turn the question around so Shaun could decide, the way he did with his council. But no, that had been unfair, and he would stop doing that. “We could go up to my room,” he suggested, thinking of all the questions Shaun had to have. He had offered to take Shaun flying, but it was better to wait for it to get darker before he did that.

  “Oh yes, excellent plan.”

  Mitchell caught the suggestive glint in Shaun’s eyes, and heat pooled in his stomach. Maybe the questions and answers could wait.

  The moment he closed his door behind him, he turned to Shaun to reassure him they didn’t have to do anything, but Shaun pushed him against the door and kissed him again.

  Our mate is demanding. His dragon sounded pleased. Mitchell was too. He wanted Shaun to be as impatient as he was.

  He loved the feeling of Shaun’s body against his own. His hands went to Shaun’s sides, grabbing his shirt to pull him closer, while Shaun’s hands were on his shoulders and tugging impatiently to get the jacket off.

  He tried to shrug the jacket off and kiss Shaun at the same time. He’d been wanting to do this ever since laying eyes on the man, and Shaun being just as eager spurred him on.

  Shaun finally gave him enough room to actually get his jacket off, then took hold of his tie to pull him in for another kiss.

  Mitchell deepened the kiss, one hand wrapped around the back of Shaun’s neck while the other tried to return the favor of getting him out of his jacket. Shaun pulled back with an impatient huff, realizing he had to let go of Mitchell for a second to let the jacket fall to the floor.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” Shaun muttered.

  “We don’t need to rush into anything,” Mitchell told him, even as he was tugging Shaun’s shirt free from his pants. “We can go as slow as you like.”

  “Or as fast?” Shaun glanced up at him before opening Mitchell’s belt.

  His cock twitched, and Mitchell wished Shaun’s hands would dip down a few inches. He slid his tie free, then started undoing the top buttons of his shirt.

  Shaun paused, then leaned in to press a quick kiss against Mitchell’s cheek before nuzzling his jaw and neck. Mitchell tilted his head back, his heart racing as he felt Shaun’s lips
against the sensitive skin of his neck. His cock was hardening, and he moaned softly. His mate pressed closer against him.

  “I can’t unbutton my shirt while you keep doing that,” he managed.

  Shaun pulled back, not looking remorseful at all. “Consider it payback for making me watch the world’s worst striptease last night.”

  “Striptease?” Did Shaun mean him taking his shoes and belt off?

  Shaun huffed as he pulled Mitchell’s shirt free. “Yes. You know what you did. Right before you shifted. Opening your buttons just like that.” He nodded at Mitchell’s hands, frozen on the next button. “World’s worst striptease.”

  Mitchell tried not to smile at Shaun’s obvious frustration as he kept unbuttoning. “So now you want a better striptease?” He shrugged out of his shirt.

  “No, I want you out of these clothes!” Shaun started pulling the undershirt over Mitchell’s head. “You can give me a striptease some other time.”

  Mitchell laughed, feeling Shaun’s hands on his bare chest while he was still getting his undershirt off. “You don’t have the patience for it,” he said, when he dropped the shirt on the floor.

  “We’ll see.” Shaun kissed him again, his hands running down Mitchell’s chest and stomach. The touch sent heat coursing through his veins.

  “You’re still wearing too many clothes.” Mitchell tried to focus on the buttons of Shaun’s shirt, but Shaun’s hands touching him were way too distracting.

  “Ah, I rented this, so be careful.” It took some wriggling for Shaun to pull the button-down shirt and the undershirt over his head at the same time, but Mitchell wasn’t complaining at the sight of his flat stomach, or the smattering of curls across his chest, or the biceps he’d been trying not to ogle earlier. All that smooth skin that he could finally touch and kiss and lick, whatever Shaun wanted….

  He slid his hands around Shaun’s waist, pulling him close for another kiss. Shaun let his hands run up Mitchell’s arms and shoulders. He gasped when Mitchell broke the kiss to nuzzle his neck. It was time to see if he could find that sensitive spot on again, the one that made him moan.

  Shaun whimpered, his fingers digging into Mitchell’s back when he let his teeth scrape gently across Shaun’s skin. “Bed!” His ragged voice made Mitchell’s cock harden. “Bed, now.”

  His mate had excellent ideas. Mitchell pulled him over to the bed, intending to sit down.

  “Wait, shoes!” Shaun insisted, before Mitchell could pull him down with him.

  How his mate could think practically was beyond Mitchell, but once he’d removed his shoes and socks, he pulled Shaun into his lap.

  Mitchell smiled up at him, basking in having Shaun on top of him and being able to look his fill. Shaun had a pleased smile on his face too, his eyes dark as his hands rested on Mitchell’s shoulders.

  “Happy now?”

  “Not yet.” Shaun kissed him, caressing Mitchell’s chest again. His own hands ran down Shaun’s back, cupping his ass through his pants. The feel of Shaun’s body against his own. The sparks of desire every time Shaun touched him or just looked at him with need in those dark eyes. It was so much more than he could ever have dreamed of.

  He let himself fall backwards, then rolled the two of them over so he was on top. He leaned on one elbow, using the other to roam up and down Shaun’s chest as they kissed.

  Shaun wrapped both arms around Mitchell’s shoulders, squirming underneath him to get more comfortable and spreading his legs to give Mitchell more space.

  Finally he could touch Shaun’s warm skin, feel the muscle underneath, caress his sides and stomach, and find the spots that made Shaun press back eagerly.

  One of Shaun’s hands ended up in Mitchell’s hair, and it curled into a fist when Mitchell drew circles across his right side.

  He pulled back. “Ticklish?”

  Shaun was breathing hard and shook his head. “One of those spots, apparently.”

  Mitchell smiled, pleased Shaun had sounded surprised. No previous lover had discovered this. He planned on being the first to discover many more things about Shaun and what he liked. “But this is fine?” He kept his touch lighter as he brushed his fingers across Shaun’s skin.

  “Mmm.” Shaun’s eyes fluttered shut as he writhed under Mitchell’s gentle touch.

  Mitchell kissed him once more, then moved back down to his neck. He breathed in the scent of his mate, groaning at how good Shaun smelled. He rested his other hand on Shaun’s chest, feeling the coarse chest hair and muscle, and the rapid beating of his heart.

  Shaun pulled on his hair when Mitchell used his teeth again, whimpering as his hips bucked. “Mitchell….”

  He loved his mate moaning his name like that. “Yes?” He nuzzled Shaun’s neck. Would leaving a hickey be awkward?

  “Condoms,” Shaun managed. “D’you have those with you?”

  Mitchell pulled back, looking up at Shaun. His mate looked glorious, messy curls and his lips still slick from being kissed.

  But Shaun moved out of the way when Mitchell tried to kiss him again. “Ah, answer the question.”

  He tried to think, but doing that with his half-naked mate underneath him was very hard, especially since he could feel how hard Shaun was as well. “I’d have to check my suitcase.”

  “Okay.”

  He got up, but Shaun’s hands tightened their grip. “Which is under the bed.”

  “Oh!” Shaun’s cheeks turned red as he let go of Mitchell. “Right.”

  17

  Shaun

  He stared up at the ceiling for a moment while Mitchell moved to pull his suitcase from underneath the bed.

  He’d hoped that when Mitchell had asked him to go outside, it was to discuss the two of them and do more kissing.

  But it had turned out so much better. So much more.

  Fated mates.

  Mitchell had known the two of them were soul mates the moment they’d met, and he’d done his best to be polite and friendly as if nothing was going on. Shaun tried to remember how Mitchell had treated Chris. He didn’t remember any murderous glares, which was impressive in itself.

  Shaun was sure he still didn’t understand half of what it meant and how it would affect his life, but it didn’t matter. Not right now. Not while he was alone with Mitchell and could touch and kiss him as much as he liked.

  And here he was, staring at the ceiling and listening to Mitchell rifle through his suitcase.

  Idiot.

  Shaun rolled over. Mitchell was lying on his stomach, suitcase zipped open on the floor as he searched through the contents. Shaun caught sight of socks, some t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, and a phone charger. A rolled-up yoga mat was lying next to the suitcase. “This is you packing for a weekend?” He leaned in to kiss Mitchell’s shoulder.

  “No, this is me not having unpacked everything from a previous trip. We better hope I packed condoms and lube back then.”

  “Fingers crossed.” Shaun tugged on the waistband of Mitchell’s pants. He’d loosened the belt earlier, but he hadn’t had time or coordination to do more than that.

  “Those aren’t crossed.” Mitchell laughed, but rolled onto one side so Shaun could unbutton and unzip him. That bulge looked promisingly thick, and Shaun hoped Mitchell had supplies with him. What else were they going to do? Ask Chris if he had something? See if they had something down at reception?

  He kept pulling the pants down Mitchell’s legs as Mitchell kept searching, then straddled his lower back. “Found anything yet?” He kissed Mitchell’s other shoulder, and let his hands slide down Mitchell’s back, feeling the muscle underneath.

  “No, and you’re not helping.” Mitchell frowned when he picked out another pair of socks and threw it on the ground.

  Shaun smiled, pressing another kiss against his shoulder. “I’m very sorry.” He kept running his hands up and down Mitchell’s upper back. “I didn’t mean to distract you.” Another kiss down Mitchell’s back, closer to his spine. “I’ll leave you to your sea
rch.” Another kiss, further down, and Shaun moved his hands low enough so he could give Mitchell’s ass a firm squeeze.

  The resulting yelp made Shaun laugh. He should be nervous, the first time having sex with a new lover, but he only felt excitement.

  “And here I thought you were about to give me a nice back rub,” Mitchell grumbled good-naturedly.

  “All right, but only if you promise to keep looking.” It was an excellent reason to run his hands all over Mitchell’s back.

  Mitchell let out a pleased groan when Shaun dug into a spot just below his shoulder blades. “Oh yeah, keep going.” He relaxed onto the bed, groaning again.

  Shaun found a spot that was a little painful when he put pressure on it, which brought Mitchell’s attention back to what he was supposed to be doing. “When was that previous trip?”

  “Oh, about two years ago with my friends. You’ll meet the both of them in Lewiston, they’re Keepers of the Peace too. It was a quick trip out to Vegas. A meeting with other shifters, and I still don’t get why they chose Vegas of all places.”

  “But you thought you might get lucky?” Shaun was curious about what kinds of meetings shifters had.

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out,” Mitchell told him, then went ‘aha!’ triumphantly.

  Shaun leaned forward, back rub forgotten. He could give Mitchell a proper back rub once Mitchell had given him a proper striptease.

  “Condoms.” Mitchell handed him a few wrappers.

  As he took the wrappers and moved off of Mitchell, Shaun realized there was a lot he didn’t know about shifters. “Is there anything I should know? About having sex with you?” He should have asked that before telling Mitchell to hunt around for condoms.

  “How do you mean?” Mitchell moved closer to kiss him again.

  Shaun let him before pulling back, needing an answer. “Because you’re a shifter.” His eyes dropped to Mitchell’s groin. “Is there anything I need to know beforehand?”