Taming the Fire

FIRE RIDERS 1:

TAMING THE FIRE

Mechele Armstrong

www.loose-id.com

Fire Riders 1: Taming the Fire Copyright © November 2011 by Mechele Armstrong All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

eISBN 978-1-61118-558-4 Editor: Antonia Pearce Cover Artist: April Martinez Printed in the United States of America

Published by Loose Id LLC PO Box 809 San Francisco CA 94104-0809 www.loose-id.com This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Dedication To my family, who puts up with my “Just one more minute” and lack of house cleaning as I work to get a book done.

Chapter One “I’m busting your balls.” Byron and Callum turned at the harsh words as they walked the winding steps up to the aviary platform where all dragon riders came to shift and take off into the night. “What?” Byron stalled for time. After all, he knew what they were being busted for. They’d been flying under the radar for a while now. It was a wonder no one had called them out on it. He’d known who would call them out when the time came too, and he wasn’t disappointed his guess had been right. Geant gave them a finger that showed exactly what he thought of them. “Don’t give me that innocent shit. You know what I’m talking about.” Geant, the leader of all the dragon riders of Eastania, was no dummy, nor was he a slouch. Not that he was chatty, only direct, but his human lover was said to be even quieter than he was. Byron had seen her a few times as she watched them take off from the aviary or greeted Geant when he came home. He lived by rules and regulations. Which Callum and Byron had both been breaking. For months. “Whatever do you mean?” Callum, ever the jokester, batted his lashes at Geant. Certainly not the way to win over the regimented commander. There was no way to win over their imposing leader, but that never stopped Callum from working his wiles. Wiles that would have worked on Byron in a heartbeat. “You two are fucking.” Byron stole a look at Callum. Neither of them denied it. Why? The evidence was there for anyone to see—they hadn’t tried to hide it. And it had been glorious fucking. Though, in a way, it was forbidden. So Geant had noticed their mating tattoos. “Maaaayybeee.” Callum drew out each syllable.

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“You know the rules.” Geant folded his arms across his broad chest. “They don’t say we can’t fuck. Nowhere in dragon rider code does it say we can’t fuck each other.” Byron stopped walking, though they’d be cutting it close to change time if they stayed here too long. With anyone but Geant, pointing out this technicality would have bought them some time before they were confronted on the basic tenets of dragon rider law. He could hope Geant would accept his argument, but he didn’t think things would be that easy. Geant snorted at the pair. “You can fuck, but the rule—the code—that you two seem to follow only when it suits you says a human is needed, especially when two dragon riders form a mating bond. Usually dragon riders get the human in place first before they start fucking. That is the code, as you well know.” Byron pinched the bridge of his nose. “I know.” He’d not thought about breaking the dragon rider code before he’d met Callum. Once he’d met the man, all his good sense and rule following seemed to have gone out the window. “But you can’t mandate who we’re attracted to first. We haven’t met the right human yet.” It would take a special human to be with the two of them. Another reason dragon riders usually met their human before they paired off with each other. Dragon riders pairing was becoming more and more rare. It was intimidating enough to become involved with one dragon, much less two. He’d stopped thinking about that when Callum had fallen into his bed, but now he couldn’t think about anything else. Geant would see it stayed that way. Byron’s glance fell to Callum. The one who’d inspired him to do all this. The one who made his heart flutter. The one he’d already bonded to, despite the code. Callum had long blond hair he tied back in a ponytail and was muscular with rock-hard abs. He was a wet dream’s dream. And Byron still couldn’t believe he was fucking him. He had no idea what had attracted the newest dragon rider to him, but he thanked Gaia for it every day, human in their lives or not. Geant grasped his arm and pushed him farther up the shoddy stairs that barely held them. “Hurry up and get up there. Before we turn scaly on this narrow band of shit, die, and you don’t have to worry about securing a human lover.” No way would the steps take a couple of dragons weighing several stones apiece. Byron walked quickly ahead with Geant on his tail. Callum loped along behind them.

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“‘Right human’? ‘Right human’ he says. If he or she exists, no one has told the likes of me.” Geant walked quickly up the stairs, muttering all the while. “You need to find a human. Any human will do.” The latter was directed at them. Not as easy as it sounded, even disregarding their other issues of even finding a human to be with them. Most of the humans who wanted to be in with the dragon riders were already taken or they were creepy. The weird ones wanted to say they’d had a dragon in their business and didn’t care what dragon rider they went with. Not that Byron had minded being a notch on a belt and had done the zipping-through-beds thing on several occasions, but once the human fucked a dragon rider, he or she moved on to other riders, which wasn’t helpful to his needs. At this point in his life, Byron didn’t want to move from human to human like so many of his kind did. He wanted someone…like Callum. Who he knew inside and out. It was time for something new. “It’s not that easy. You know that.” Not many humans wanted to bond with dragons, or at least not enough on a permanent basis. “You found the right human.” “I’m not the one disregarding code. I will make it easy, pissants.” They reached the top, and Geant swung around to face them. His face turned as serious as a dragon wing hurt in flight. “You need a human. Now. Not later. Not down the road. Now.” “We know.” Callum began to hyperventilate as his heart rate accelerated. The sun was low over the horizon. The change was already starting. They had little time to talk. Maybe they could distract Geant enough he wouldn’t put out the ultimatum yet. That would give them another night’s reprieve. There was one human who had watched them for a while now. A woman. Byron didn’t know much about her, and neither did Callum. Not even the newly installed head of the orphanage where they donated some of their hunting spoils knew much about her. They had bought vegetables from the beauty a time or two. Maybe she could be the answer to their problems if they could avoid her running every time he tried to speak to her about something other than produce. “No, you don’t know, pissants. But you will.” Geant took deep measuring breaths as he gazed at them.

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“Geant. We will try to find one soon. How about that?” Byron felt the wild blood racing through his veins. He tipped his head back. The change always swept in as if it were a stormy summer wind. “How about you either find a human or multiples to be with you two or I ground you until you do.” The last word was roared at them, or rather at Byron. So much for keeping Geant from issuing the ultimatum. Now they didn’t have a choice. Byron didn’t take the roar or the order personally. The sun was now level with the horizon. The change would soon envelop them in its mighty fist. “Ground us? With Wardona breathing down our necks?” They had fought Wardona dragons most every night these past few weeks. “You’d ground us? With Eastania needing every dragon rider it can get?” Adrenaline began pumping through every part of his body. He could feel bones starting the process of elongating. His teeth felt funny in his mouth. His tongue started to tingle. “You bet your arse I would. After all, dragons who can’t control their fire aren’t any good to me. Or fucking Eastania.” Callum snorted, loudly—worthy of a dragon even though you couldn’t tell he was about to turn unless you knew the process, which Byron did. Intimately. “We can control our fire.” Byron rolled his eyes. Callum would have better luck arguing with the sky than with Geant right now, but he’d keep trying. “For now you can. But you two don’t let off any heat being with each other. You need a human to release you…” Geant twisted his head from side to side, stopping his speech. His neck muscles were elongating. Now the change was starting to show in all three of them. Byron had heard the words before, when he’d been trained to exert human control over the beast who shared his body. Dragon riders built up heat from the fire inside, especially after their twenty-fifth year, and Byron would be twenty-five in a week. Apparently after that age, the buildup of heat was ten times worse. Two dragon riders being together naturally increased their heat buildup that much more because they didn’t release it during sex like they did with a human. Having sex with a human would let the powder from the keg, so to speak. If the heat energy wasn’t released, a

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dragon rider could lose control of his or her fire when in dragon form and spontaneously combust. Sex with any human often wasn’t enough. One-night stands didn’t release enough fire. They had to bond to a human to fully release enough fire that they weren’t in any danger. There was a mating ritual that would help increase the amount of fire released when done with a human. It could be done between dragon riders—it was the one he and Callum had already performed with each other—but it didn’t help a dragon rider release any fire. Geant had noticed the tattoos on their wrists connecting them. The tattoos appeared after bonding, and when Byron and Callum bonded with a human, the human would get the same tattoo on his or her matching wrist. Only so many of their kind bonded, but others moved from human to human. Some of the dragon riders didn’t think much of humans, even though they needed them to stay alive. The sun dipped below the horizon. The last of its light outlined the desert that surrounded their little oasis. Eastania. That was what Wardona wanted. Their land. Their water. Their culture. They’d been at war a year and neither side showed signs of negotiating, though there was talk of an alliance cemented by bonding the Lord of Eastania to the Lady of Wardona, which had made Wardona step up the odds. They now attacked most every night. Byron glanced at the lord, the first dragon rider ruler in a century. He couldn’t picture the lanky man as a lord. He knew him more as Rogin, simple dragon rider, than as Lord Rogin. “Think about it, cup…” The last of Geant’s words descended from lips that were almost not human. The three of them were the last to shed their clothes. It was almost too late. When dragon riders didn’t get their clothes off fast enough, they wound up having to go home naked. The change was too far upon Byron for him to even appreciate the naked body of Callum. A shame, because it was a spectacle to behold. The darkness was upon the land, and the change was upon its dragon riders. Bones popped. Muscles shifted. Skin grew into scales. Incisors became even more pointed. Wings sprouted from shoulders like ragged showstoppers. Words turned into roars and growls. Exhilaration filled Byron as he shifted completely into dragon. His lip curled as he sniffed the air. Hundreds of different scents assailed him all at once. The dragon took over the man with a jump from the building into the sky, dodging other dragon riders doing the same thing.

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He looked over the kingdom of Eastania. A fortress rested inside walls that spread out for miles. The fortress sections could be easily loaded with their people and contained. That was only in the case of direct attack, which Wardona would never try. Outlying buildings were protected by the wall. A stream ran through meadows. Gardens gleamed. Livestock bellowed. It was a feudal society run by a lord, who guided them all. I wonder why we are called dragon riders when we are the dragons? A thought he’d had during his evening shift to dragon every time for the past five years. A thought he’d never completed in human form to remember to ask. Tonight would be no different. Callum tapped him midflight with a taloned foot, initiating some large game of tag before the Wardona dragons showed up for a fight. They would defend their land and people from the winged threat, playing in the time where there was no enemy. Up until a few weeks ago, all they’d done was play. Now all they did was fight. All thought left him as he tapped Callum back and dipped down toward the land, pulling up at the last second. Flying was the last coherent thing on his mind until the fight began.

**** Byron raced Callum as he soared into the night sky, looking at the moon and stars in the few quiet moments of his first flight. Ah the easy days when all they’d had to do was race. Now things were very different. As if they’d heard his thoughts, a flock of Wardona dragons soared nearby. One of them roared his battle cry. It shook the night from peaceful to the fight it would become. The Wardona dragons flew near in a tight precision group. They were close together, and it was hard to pick out an individual. Byron glanced to Callum. Callum and he waited effortlessly in the sky with small flaps of their oversize wings. Wardona would make the first move. They always did.

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A dragon broke off from the Wardona formation and launched himself at the two of them. He flew up in between them and fired a giant fireball at Callum, who was expecting it and dodged out of the way. Another dragon broke formation and circled around after Byron. Byron roared at being cut off from Callum. He didn’t like to be away from his mate. His voice echoed through the sky. Another fireball was launched from Callum’s nemesis, and he artfully dodged the flame. The dragon overshot Callum and came up short in front of him in a failed dive attack. The dragon rider advancing on Byron made his attack in a spiral move that carried him under Byron’s belly. Flames poured from his mouth in his attempt to take Byron from the sky. The other Wardona dragons moved on to find other targets. Dodging and feinting, Byron got out of the other dragon’s way. A bellow of frustration sounded before the Wardona opponent gnashed his teeth at Byron. Was Byron supposed to sit there and let the other dragon roast him? Not going to happen. It didn’t work that way. He must be a new dragon if he thought Eastania targets would be so easy. The Wardona dragon turned and blew another stream of flame Byron easily dodged. Another noise of frustration blew from his nose along with smoke. The silvery moon went behind a wisp of a cloud. Or maybe it was smoke from a dragon rider fight? Byron wasn’t sure. He went on the offensive. Before he lost sight of Callum, he could see Callum had his own issues as he couldn’t seem to attack before the other dragons did. They flew through the air at breakneck speed as Byron shifted his focus from them to his opponent. He attacked by swinging in so close his wing almost brushed the other dragon. He spurted fire toward him and hit his target. Unlike the Wardona dragon rider, Byron didn’t overshoot nor think it was going to be easy. Truth be told, he got lucky with the hit of the flame. A different roar struck out into the sky. Pain.

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In the past, Byron would have felt compassion for those he hurt even if he had to hurt them, but the Wardona dragons had disrupted his life so much, he felt good about getting his jabs in. Byron’s fire rose to the brim, building up with fierceness that took his breath away. He almost stumbled in his flight. It was getting worse. The anger didn’t help. It simply stoked the fire within his dragon, making flare-ups happen easily and the fire harder to manage. Especially when in flight and fighting a Wardona dragon. Byron took a deep breath and pressed onward and upward into the sky. There had been no breaks for weeks from the relentless onslaught of the Wardona dragons. When one dragon rider tired, he or she would switch off attacks so Byron would have to deal with an attack from a new dragon, one he hadn’t fought with before. The only saving grace was the Wardona dragon wouldn’t be able to anticipate his moves from having fought him earlier either. So it would be until morning. Flashes from episodes of the night would stay with Byron. He never remembered everything from when he was a dragon. Callum remembered even less. The anger and fire trouble would remain. Until he found a human. Maybe the time had come to meet the woman who sold them vegetables and start there on his search for a human. Maybe Byron’s life would depend on it.

**** Callum hovered over the landing deck. The change had already settled within his tired bones, but he hadn’t begun the shift. The sun peeked over the horizon, starting the transformation in earnest. He fell the last part of the way to the deck, landing on his feet as the human he’d been at nightfall. It never ceased to amaze him. He’d only been doing this for a couple of months. He’d been a late bloomer, unlike Byron, who must have started changing about the time he started

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shaving. Callum was only two years younger than the dark giant, but he was old for a new dragon rider. Most of those his age who were going to turn had done it years before. Byron. His thoughts turned to the man who shared his bed. Lust filled his body as he searched for his lover. From the moment he’d seen Byron, he’d wanted him. He’d come to Eastania a young man in search of his fortune, thinking he was a mere human. He’d finally transformed for the first time and met the dragon riders. He’d thought his ship had come in. Getting Byron was a bonus he hadn’t figured on ever happening, yet it had. Byron stretched out on long limbs not two feet away from him. Limbs that held on tight and wrapped around Callum every day. Callum could hardly wait to get to bed. Their dragons had to interact when they were out. Callum always came back to being human near Byron. They had to do things together, or so Callum speculated. He did have a vague sense of Byron’s dragon and what he looked like. In some ways it was good to be nonverbal for a while. Byron liked to talk too much about things they had no control over. Byron had a serious expression as he turned back into a man. He must have been thinking of Geant’s warning. Byron was almost at the age where the dragon matured to its full adult size. A reason for them to worry. ’Course, what self-respecting human would turn them down? Callum had no worries they could find a human to be with, even though the bond they took was forever. Not that they’d ever discussed it, but if Byron had wanted one-night stands, he would have said so by now. If the worst happened, that was what they would do, but only if they had to. Though once they started on the road of having a different human in their bed every night, they would find it hard to veer off to a bond with a human. Callum knew that for sure. Byron ran his hand across his forehead. He looked tired. All around the dozen dragon riders changed back into humans and slammed down on the roof of the aviary. In human form, they all started putting their clothes back on. It had been a night to make even the strongest among them weary. Luckily they hadn’t lost any of their ranks

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this night, which made it an excellent evening. They weren’t sure how long this attack would go on. They’d had a few months to a year of stalemate up until this encroachment. Or so Callum had been told. He’d forgotten what it was like to be a dragon and not have to fight. He watched Byron put on clothes that covered his magnificence. Too bad they couldn’t wander home naked. But the humans wouldn’t like that. Even though dragon riders were revered for their defense of Eastania, they were also feared because they were part animal. It was a delicate balance to be a dragon rider in the human world. Callum approached Byron, sauntering over as if they had all the time in the world. “Let’s go home.” Byron let out a tight smile and nodded. They headed for the steps. Geant was across the roof. He shot them a dark look but didn’t try and catch up to finish the conversation he’d started yesterday. Thank Gaia. They walked down the steps in silence. It wasn’t until they got about a block away from the aviary that Byron spoke. “Geant is serious.” “I know.” Geant didn’t have a kidding bone in his body. He sometimes seemed to resent the fact Callum did. “He’s got a point.” Callum winced as he shifted to face Byron even as they kept walking. “You think so?” Yes, Byron liked to talk too much. Callum would have been content going home, fucking, and going to sleep. Byron had to talk about whatever was on his mind. “I’ve been feeling the heat.” The admission was so low Callum barely heard it. He swallowed. Okay, maybe Byron did need to talk. This wasn’t good, nor was it anything Byron had admitted before “You have?”

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“Yeah. Especially after we…fuck or right before we turn. In a fight when I’m angry, which is all the time. I feel like I’m being roasted. From the inside out. And…sometimes my dragon isn’t all that accurate with his fire anymore.” Byron’s hand balled into a fist. It was the only indication the stoic man was feeling anything as he relayed the devastating information. “Shit.” Callum blew out a breath. He couldn’t lose the man. Not now after he’d finally found someone who felt so right. He grabbed for Byron’s hand. “That means we gotta find a human.” Surely that wouldn’t be a problem. They were two virile dragon riders. Who wouldn’t want to be with them? Even those who feared them enjoyed the prestige of being with a dragon rider. He looked down at the bonding tattoos that matched them together. “How? How are we going to do that? Most of the ones who want to be with dragon riders are taken. Or they’re dragon whores.” All dragon riders were bisexual. It was a part of their makeup, probably because they needed humans to live and needed to maximize their pool of lovers and both male and female were considered dragon whores for sleeping with dragon after dragon. “Please. Like some human isn’t going to want to be with us. They’ll be clamoring to be our third.” Callum waggled his eyebrows. He wasn’t sure it would be that easy, but Byron would worry enough for both of them, so he wouldn’t. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement in a shadowy doorway in front of a small cottage. He realized they were being watched. A woman watched them. With hungry eyes. He sensed eyes that burned hotter than any dragon fire. Was this the woman who gardened? Coincidence? Hardly. She’d watched them from afar for a while now. Now that they’d been told to find a human, maybe they ought to make more of an effort to interact with her. Considering how she always ran away from their attention— something a dragon whore would never do—getting to know her might be difficult. But influencing others was something Callum was very good at. Look at how he’d convinced Byron into his bed even when it was against the dragon rider code. Byron hadn’t noticed her. Just as well. He wasn’t as wild as Callum could be.

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“You’re incorrigible.” Byron shook his head with a look Callum knew all too well. The look said Byron knew only one thing to do with him. Fuck him. Which was fine with Callum. Would have been fine even if a human woman wasn’t watching. But maybe this would help bring her their way. They’d give her a show she wasn’t likely to forget. He stopped and pulled Byron to a halt. Byron looked at him with a questioning gaze. Callum sidled up to him and let their bodies come within a millimeter of each other. He resisted the urge to mark Byron like a cat. Instead, he licked his lips and brought them close to Byron’s. He moved in slowly, taking advantage of the small height difference to place his lips against Byron’s. He licked around the seam until Byron granted his tongue entrance. Their tongues tangled. Byron let out a moan, and his once-tense body began to relax. Except for one hard part that moved against Callum. His hard cock. Big and beautiful. Byron’s hands moved up to tangle in Callum’s hair. If only he’d let it down after he’d come back from being a dragon. He wanted to be free and naked against Byron right now. Naked for always and forever. It would have been worth a few humans’ disgust to be naked now. Byron’s hands fisted in Callum’s hair as he held Callum so he couldn’t pull away from him. Not that Callum would ever want to. The big lug was stuck with him. Faster and faster they kissed, as their mouths moved in a perfect melding of tongue and lips. Callum’s breath came in sudden, short bursts and stops as he kissed Byron back with all his being. He put his entire soul into his kiss, the way he always did. Byron released him so suddenly he almost fell. He hadn’t realized he’d been leaning on Byron so heavily. “What are you doing to me?” His voice was breathy and wild. Nothing Callum liked better than making Byron lose control. That was usually his goal.

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Callum grinned. He could ask Byron the same question. “If you don’t know, I can’t help you.” He wanted to help him. He wanted to fuck him. Byron let out a loud growl that displayed a deep frustration to Callum’s ears. “I should take you right here and now.” If Byron was trying to threaten him with that, it wouldn’t work. It was what Callum wanted. “Why don’t you?” Callum tried to look defiant enough to make Byron take him. He looked over at the shadows where the girl had stood. Still there. What would be her reaction to watching them fuck in front of her? She had to know what they were going to do, and she hadn’t left yet. He heard an intake of breath from her corner as Byron pulled Callum back against him. Was she enjoying this display? If only he could see her face to be sure. “You want me to take you here?” Byron’s voice was a challenge. “Hell yeah. Right here and now.” Yes, it was a public street where anyone could walk by them. They already had an audience. Good thing Byron didn’t know, or he’d probably call a halt to this project. Byron glanced off to the side where the woman was. It was only a quick look, but Callum saw it. Byron had checked to make sure the woman stood there watching them. There was no other explanation for his glance. Byron had to know they had an audience. Yet he was going ahead with it. That was a surprise. Byron caught Callum’s gaze and winked. How interesting. Just when Callum thought he’d gotten to know Byron, Byron surprised him. Probably why Callum enjoyed being with him so much. Byron’s hand raked down Callum’s body. He lingered along the hard planes of Callum’s chest before easing down Callum’s stomach. Callum sucked in a deep breath. The man’s hands on him could get him going even if he wasn’t already turned on. When he was already aroused, it was like a dragon ingesting gasoline. Fire had to happen.

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Byron reached down to grasp Callum’s erect cock through his pants. Byron was always sure of himself and never timid. Callum shivered. If only those boundaries of clothes between his cock and Byron’s hands had fallen before now. Then Byron’s hand would be on his bare cock, and he would be a happy man. Byron handled him expertly. Tightly. He moved his hand up from the base to the tip, and even through the confines of the pants, it was good. Too good. Heat bubbled up in him like lava trying to escape a volcano. Yes, he felt the dragon move inside him, the heat surging from the dragon’s mouth as his skin rippled. He was still in control, but barely. Yes, Geant had a point. The bubbling up of the dragon, the rippling of heat across him was getting worse since they’d been together. How much worse was it for Byron? He was closer to the age of maturation. He’d said it was bad, which probably meant it was worse than even that. Again, Callum’s gaze drifted to the shadows. She still stood there, watching them. If she wasn’t enjoying this display, surely she would have walked away by now? Maybe she would join them? He could only hope. Then Byron’s hand slipped down his pants, which Callum wasn’t even aware he’d unbuttoned. He shivered as the hand reached around him to cup him. To stroke gently on bare, sensitive skin. Callum stood on tiptoe, enjoying the way the hand caressed him. Byron’s hand went up and down his length, and Callum’s movement gave Byron full access. Up and down the grip swept across him. Byron used the leverage to move them slightly. To a bench. A high bench. It was the right height. Callum let out a breath in waves. This was going to be so damn good. That Byron was doing the unexpected and that they had an audience was titillating as hell.

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Byron pressed him over the bench, lowering his pants at the same time. The cool morning air hit Callum’s arse cheeks. Good thing it wasn’t winter. Byron pulled his hand away. It wasn’t long before Callum felt something working into his anus. Drip. Drop. Oil. Byron was always prepared. He brushed the slippery substance around the hole. His finger swirled in it, spreading it around. The finger pressed deeper within him. Callum’s arse cheeks contracted. Byron slapped the moving globe of Callum’s arse with an open hand. “Relax.” He smacked again, the slight slap stinging Callum’s skin. Like he could relax. He had his lover behind him with a loaded cock in the middle of a street where anyone could come by, and they already had one voyeur. Hardly fair. But Callum cooperated as much as he could. He checked to make sure she was still watching. Yes, she was. The finger pressed down into the hole, setting off a few nerve endings and producing an increase in heart rate. And that wasn’t even Byron’s cock, which was bigger and would set him off that much more. The finger went away. Callum threw back his head, leaning over the bench as much as he could. He tried to give Byron purchase so he could take Callum from this direction. After all, that was what he desperately wanted. Byron spread Callum’s arse cheeks wide. The oil sloshed around between them. He pressed forward, and Callum felt the slide in of Byron’s hot cock. Byron’s skin was so volcanic, it was almost burning.

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Too burning. “Are you okay?” Byron’s voice was as strained as if he reined in a dragon. “Fine.” He pressed forward, and his cock entered Callum’s hole. Bliss. So began the taking. The in and out. The penetration of Callum, which he felt up to his throat by the end. One minute he was riding high, and the next his seed was spitting out in great gushes as his orgasm almost knocked him down in its ferocity. Byron lost control. His body slammed against Callum’s fast and hard. The skin of his balls slapped against Callum’s arse. After a roar, the area behind Callum got damper, moister, as Byron poured his seed into Callum’s all-too-willing hole. They were both panting and covered in a sheen of sweat as Callum turned around. Byron’s body had turned a vibrant red. Not a good sign. It meant the fire was bubbling up. This was the worst it had ever been. Callum had never seen him change colors before. Byron took in air in great gulps. He seemed to be trying to get a hold of his reactions. He shook all over. Callum moved closer to his side. “Don’t. Touch. Me. Hot.” Byron couldn’t seem to bring up words in anything other than choppy orders. “Home.” Callum didn’t touch him but nodded. He glanced back at the woman, who still watched. He’d deal with her later. For now, he had to see to his lover. Now, taking another lover wasn’t only a thought. It was a must. She’d soon come into the dragon’s lair. He’d see to it. Byron depended on it.

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Chapter Two Mira couldn’t stop the heat from rising up in her body every time she thought about the two men. And she wasn’t even a dragon rider with the fire within. Men? They were hardly normal men; they were dragon riders. The elite of her society. The top of the top. The low of the low in her opinion. Something she would have to keep in mind. Not that they were exactly beating down her door looking for her. Had they even known she’d been watching? Probably not. And they definitely didn’t care. They’d cast a couple of glances her way, but they’d been so engaged in each other, she wasn’t sure they were meant for her. Engaged in each other. That was one way of putting it. They’d been having sex with each other six ways to Sunday, and it wasn’t even Sunday. She leaned back and wiped her brow. Sweat dripped upon her hand as it ran across her forehead. Yuck. Did dragon riders sweat with all that heat? She’d never been close enough to one to know. Didn’t intend to be either. Some humans were fascinated with the defenders of their universe. The fighters who kept their fortress from being overrun by their enemies. Some had been captivated even before the major attacks started. There had always been small skirmishes in the skies above them. Humans like her mother had been captivated.

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She wasn’t one of those. She’d seen the damage dragon riders could do, from her parents’ broken marriage to her father’s broken heart to her mother’s broken body. She’d been an orphan far longer than she’d lacked parents. They’d checked out on her mentally long before they’d passed. All because of dragon riders. She might be a mere human—and a poor one to boot—but she’d never compromise by being with one of them. She’d never even been tempted. Until now. Byron and Callum. She’d seen them often before she’d known who they were and what they were. They’d bought vegetables from her a time or two. They’d shared the spoils of their hunts with the orphanage she helped with. They weren’t as insufferable as most of the dragon riders, which was why she hadn’t realized what they were until a man selling bread had pointed it out. Rather gleefully too. They had been fun to watch until that point. They’d been so much in love and so…attractive together. They’d kept her engrossed in their togetherness. They had something she’d never had and never would. Intimacy. Not that they’d noticed her. Mira was good at not being noticed, which was another reason she didn’t think they’d seen her that morning. They’d never noticed her before; why would they notice her now? Their joining had been explosive. Powerful. Lovely. She’d never imagined dragon riders coming together like that. She’d thought it would be animalistic and horrible. But it hadn’t been. It had been a wonder. Byron and Callum confused her. They weren’t arrogant. They helped humans instead of treating people like they were beneath them. They helped out where help was needed. They were tender toward each other. Byron had interacted with the children in the orphanage and was often civil and kind. Not what she’d expect from a part man, part dragon. Good thing they didn’t know about her fascination with them.

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She reached up the other hand to wipe her hot skin. Gardening was hard work. With little reward. Another reason she couldn’t understand their enemies for wanting this harsh ground. Was theirs even worse? Unimaginable. She was dirty, hot, and tired. Maybe it was time for a break. There was a stream within the fortress walls where not many went. It was a great place to cool off on a day like today. Did the dragon riders ever cool off after a long night of fighting? In ways other than getting knackered with humans? Probably not. No wonder most of them used humans only to throw them away. Humans might enter into long-term relationships, but they could be tossed aside at a moment’s notice. She’d known it to happen. Her mother. Who had then tossed her body from the flat roof of the house where Mira had grown up. Thankfully the roof had fallen in and the cottage had been destroyed a few months later. Mira left her basket of vegetables. She’d come back and get it before dinnertime. Right now, she needed the coolness of the water. Maybe that would help her forget the dragon riders who’d been on her mind way too much lately. Just as she’d thought, no one was at the creek bend she frequented. It was a little deeper there than other places and secluded. She was still inside Eastania’s walls though, so she was safe. She reached down and undid the side of her dress. She hated buttons there, but it was all they’d had. Curse dresses anyway. She’d be more comfortable in pants and a shirt, but women who wore men’s clothes were looked down upon. She didn’t want to attract attention, so she never pressed the issue. Only women who were with dragon riders could afford both monetarily and politically to dress any way they wanted. Or those who could sew their clothes. A talent Mira lacked. Her mother had never shown her how—she’d been too busy taking up and running off—and there

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was no one else to teach her. She’d never had anyone to teach her anything. She’d gotten by on her own and would do so forever. Mira wore her underclothes into the water, which was more than some women wore when they swam in bathing gowns. She couldn’t afford those either, but she wasn’t about to go naked when she played in the stream. She’d have to dry off for a while before she went back to her basket. She placed her dress on a rock near the stream. With the giant boulders around, the curve of the stream, and the hot day that kept most inside, it was as private as things got in Eastania. Especially since Wardona had started their campaign a few weeks ago and within days had begun attacking them with dragon riders every night, which had made everyone more vigilant and less likely to go off alone or let others go off alone. The wary truce of the past years had ended. Why? Some said it was to persuade Eastania to go along with plans for their lord to marry Wardona’s lady. She waded into the water, putting politics out of her mind. Didn’t matter to her anyway; she didn’t have any say in them. The stream barely came up to her calves but felt so good. She knelt down and dripped water onto her parched skin. The coolness was a balm, almost to her soul. The two men she’d seen early that morning had been too much heat. She needed to stay away from them. Needed to keep her distance from all dragon riders. Not that they knew she was alive. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and dribbled water from her fingers all down her front. All she could see were the two men even when she closed her eyes. Their bodies moving in time with each other. Nakedness. Sweat. Release. She pinched a nipple through the wet chemise that covered her top half. Their fingers would be stronger. Bigger. More aggressive. This was wrong. She shouldn’t be thinking about dragon riders—no matter how nice they seemed—especially in a sexual way. Maybe she was no better than her mother. A dragon whore.

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A twig snapped nearby. Mira started and opened her eyes. The blond. The big dragon rider stood on the bank, storms brewing in his eyes as though she’d called to him with her thoughts. He was even bigger close up, with meaty arms and a huge chest. His eyes were a blue that rivaled the sea to their west, and they seemed to glow with passion. His hair was loose and blew a bit in the breeze about his shoulder like some golden dance. She swallowed but managed to hold her ground. She didn’t want to take a step back. Her dress lay between them on a rock nearer to him. There was no way she could grab it and run without him catching her. It would make her more like prey to the dragon senses. She’d be like a deer to a wolf if she ran. That thought made her shiver. She wasn’t sure if she’d want to do that or if it would repulse her. It should be the latter. It had to be the latter. For the first time, she also considered her position. She was a peasant farmer. Out alone. In a state of undress. He was a dragon rider. The top of their society. He could do anything to her without question. What a stupid move she’d made in coming here. His gaze continued to blaze as he stared at her. If only he’d talk. Say something. Anything. Give her a clue as to his intentions. She couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “What do you want?” His smile was slow to spread across his face and was as big as the rest of him. “You.” The smile was about as reassuring as a trap. She wrapped her arms around her chest. She’d walked right into that one. “Leave me alone.” Weren’t all dragon riders users? She swallowed, her throat almost closing up. He moved forward and leaned with an easy grace on the boulder that held her dress. “You don’t mean that.” “I do.” He shook his head. “You don’t. I saw you this morning. Watching Byron and me in the street. You never turned away.”

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All the blood drained down as her heart pounded. They had seen her. Not good. Not good. She’d attracted the attention of a dragon rider. That was something she’d never meant to do. “Leave me alone.” Her voice warbled instead of being as strong as she’d wanted it to be. But she stood, feet planted in the rushing water. She tightened her arms around her. He didn’t move. Didn’t say anything else. Instead, he stood there looking at her with those blue fire eyes and that grand physique. She took a step forward, her heart in her throat, not admitting anything. How was she going to get out of this? He obviously thought because she’d watched them that he could do anything to her. Hell, most of the dragon riders had that mentality with peasants, whether the human had watched them or not. She’d always been so careful. Until her lapse that morning. Looked like she was going to be paying for it. “What’s your name?” The change of subject didn’t do anything to ease Mira’s nerves. “What do you care?” She held her chin up, looking him in the eye. She would not bend her head down like so many did when dealing with dragon riders. He seemed amused. Most peasants fell all over themselves in front of a dragon rider. He must not be used to hostility. If he didn’t leave her alone, he’d better get used to it. “So I know what to call you. When we’re talking. And other things.” “There will be no other things.” Her mouth pursed as she took another step forward. “What’s your name?” “Callum. My friend, the dark-haired one, is Byron.” She’d heard their names before but had wanted to hear him say them. Callum. Byron. The men who’d haunted her daydreams. Maybe after this incident, she could put them out of her thoughts for good and focus on the important things, like surviving. She walked slowly up the bank, keeping a wary eye on Callum. He made no move toward her. She reached her dress on the rock, but before she could grab it, he had it in his grip. She’d barely seen him move. He was quick for a big man. He held the tattered piece of fabric in one huge hand.

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She looked around, but nothing useful was there. No one was around, nor would they help her even if she called to them. There was nothing she could use as a weapon. And what good would a weapon be against such a brute? “That’s mine.” He nodded. “So it is. Tell me your name.” “If I tell you my name, will you give me my dress?” He seemed to mull it over. “I suppose I shall.” He looked at her expectantly. Awaiting her name, the one thing her mother had given her. And dragon riders had taken her away from Mira. She had to remember that, even in the presence of this man. She didn’t believe him anyway. Dragon riders never kept their word, but maybe she could distract him and get away with the dress and, more importantly, her life intact. “Mira.” “Mira.” He drawled the word as though testing it out on his tongue. “I like it. It’s pretty. Mira.” Like she cared if he liked it. She ignored the tingle that raced around her synapses at his words as she glanced around, looking for her escape route. He tossed her the dress so quickly she almost lost it to the water. It was only a last-minute effort to catch the garment that saved it. She quickly tugged the dress on, making it moist in places from her soaked underclothes. He hadn’t lied. Unusual for a dragon rider. He clucked his tongue. “You should have dried off first. Now you’re all wet.” That seemed to make him laugh for some odd reason. “What’s so funny?” She glared at him, still unsure of what to do.

Callum couldn’t help a good chuckle. Yes, she was wet. That much his nostrils told him, but not from the water she was thinking of. An innocent. Had she even been with anyone else, human or dragon rider? Did it matter? Byron needed her, so Callum would get her. It was that simple. It helped that Callum was attracted to her already. “It’s nothing.”

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She kept her arms crossed in front of her as if she could shield her body from his gaze. Like that would happen. “Sure seemed like something to you.” Mira had spirit. Backbone. So many humans didn’t where dragon riders were concerned. It was refreshing but bothersome considering the situation. Any other occasion, he would have loved to spar with her, but Byron reached the age of reckoning in a week. Callum didn’t have time to deal with reluctance. He surveyed her. He’d have to find a way to convince her. She kept eyeing him and inching away. The wet parts of her dress clung to the underclothes and her skin, showing off more than she would want. Her breasts were high and firm. Her skin shimmered in the sunshine, tanned. Her palms were rough with calluses; there was dirt under her fingernails. She was a gardener, after all. He’d never liked the smooth hands of those who didn’t toil, be they man or woman. Hard work was nothing to be ashamed of. “I know you.” He effectively blocked her exit. He didn’t want her running away just yet, and from her past behavior and her expression, that was on her mind. “What?” Her voice trembled. “I know you. You’re the one who gardens for the orphanage. Byron and I see you sometimes.” More importantly, she saw them. A rabbit couldn’t have looked any more scared than she did right then. Her bottom lip trembled. “What?” He wasn’t sure why that information would startle her so much, so he asked the question. “Why does that bother you, Mira?” He let her name linger on his lips, liking the sound. “No one notices me.” He snorted, not quite dragonlike, but it sounded good for a dragon rider in human form. “I find that hard to believe.” “It’s true.” He moved closer to her. She gulped but didn’t back away. “You’re too beautiful for people not to notice. Trust me on that.” She shook her head, not saying anything but clearly in disbelief of his words. She still didn’t move away from him but stood her ground.

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“You are beautiful. And Byron and I noticed you. You have eyes that look like jade in a summer sun, sparkling and radiant.” He and Byron had talked about her more than once. She did so much for the children there. The new director had remarked upon her dedication, though he didn’t know much beyond that. “Byron noticed me too? You talked about me?” Her voice wasn’t squeaky but grew hoarse as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Yes, we did talk about you. What a pretty woman you were and how much you do with your gardening.” He was glad they had noticed her before. “And you noticed us. You were watching us before this morning. Peeking at us.” Her breath drew in so far, he worried about her choking. “You saw me looking at you?” He nodded. “Yes, even before this morning. When you definitely watched us.” “You saw me earlier.” Her shoulders slumped almost in defeat as she admitted for the first time it had been her. He let out a small laugh. “I wasn’t sure it was you watching. Until now.” “But you said…” She stared up at him like he’d sprouted another head, but her chin came up and she met his glance head-on instead of looking dejected. She even moved her stance from ready-to-run to a more casual look. Good, she wasn’t preparing to run away. “I wasn’t sure until you just admitted it.” She gaped at him. “You…you’re…” “Incorrigible? Irritating? Mean? A bastard?” He grinned at her. “Feel free to stop when I’ve hit the one you want to say.” Byron always called him incorrigible. “I’ll take all of the above.” Her voice grew dry. Touché. He liked her banter already. “I still can’t believe…” She glanced around at the sun before turning back to him and rocking back on her heels. “I need to go.” She looked as ready-to-run as she had earlier. Something had made her realize how long she’d been talking to him. “Okay.”

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She looked shocked he would acquiesce like that. It was a game. One he intended to win. And sometimes that meant small concessions. He’d put her more at ease, and that was all he could do. Well, save one last thing. He let her take a step, then called her name. “Mira.” Yep, definitely liked the way it flew from his tongue. “Yes?” She half turned toward him. Her eyes sparkled at him. Her nipples were still erect under her wet dress. He moved in quickly, using his dragon faculties to move before she could react. He slid in against her body with finesse, going in before she even knew he’d be there. He lowered his hand to her face and tilted up her head. Her lips parted in a small O shape. “You are beautiful.” He lowered his mouth to hers, taking full advantage of the part. He slowly tasted her, letting his lips brush against hers. She pushed a couple of times against his chest, but she couldn’t separate them, not when he was so deeply entrenched. If she had truly fought him, he would have let her go, but she didn’t put up much resistance. After the initial shock of the embrace and when his lips were on hers, she put up only token protests. He slipped his tongue in to find hers, making the situation his. She tasted sweet like honey, more like a beekeeper than a gardener. He found her tongue and coaxed it out to play with his. After a moment, her mouth opened more under his, and her tongue shyly interacted with him. He went slowly, taking things as gently as he could. After a moment more of the kiss, he pulled her tighter to him and pressed into her. He wanted her to feel how good this felt to him. How beautiful he thought she was. She let out a gasp, and he took the kiss even deeper, imprinting his mouth against hers and staking his claim on her. He slid his touch from her back up to her shoulder. He shifted his weight and slipped his hand down her front to play with a breast.

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She gasped and stiffened, but he didn’t let her go. Instead he pulled her more against him and edged his thumb against an already hard nipple. He brushed his touch across her breast again and again until she leaned back slightly. A shiver rocked her. He moved his hand to her back, keeping his mouth on hers. Was that a noise of protest? Or a noise of pleasure? He’d vote for the latter. He couldn’t help a small smile against her lips. He stroked her with his other hand. Only this time, he went down the front of the dress. He found her skin and tantalized her. Until she started to writhe against him. He could take her there in the grass by the stream. He could push enough that she wouldn’t resist. Not because she wanted him, but because he knew how to maneuver her. And she’d never forgive him. She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet. If he wanted to press this in the future, it was time to back away. With a heavy sigh, he pulled his mouth from hers, leaving his hand where it lay, which was on her breast, under her dress. She looked up at him, eyes glimmering with something akin to wonder. Her lips were swollen and red from his kisses. Her dress was slightly askew on top. She looked like she’d been ravaged, but he hadn’t gone nearly as far as he wanted to. It would be almost painful to pull away now. He could be an honorable man, dammit. Even if it killed him. He released her completely. It was so sudden, her body shifted as though she might topple, but she didn’t. Her strained breathing made her breasts rise and fall. They looked even perkier than they had before. They were probably swollen like her pussy lips and clit. Oh how he ached to find out. He would. Later. He vowed it. She swallowed and brushed at her swollen lips. She rubbed her fingers across her mouth, looking incredulous. It was all he could do not to pull her back in his arms and prove to her that, oh yes, it had happened.

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Her eyes met his. He looked deep into her confused gaze and smiled. He let his face show everything he would do to her when the time came. She obviously received that message, because her eyes widened and she let out a small eep. Her feet were moving almost before her body caught up. She ran from the creek with fast, uneven steps. “Mira,” he whispered. Almost didn’t expect her to turn back around to glance at him. But she did. Which told him so much about her state of mind. Probably more than she wanted him to know. “Byron and I will be seeing you later.” Her breath caught in her throat. She mumbled, “In your dreams.” And left before he could say another word. Yes, he would be seeing her again. Soon. With Byron. She would be their third. Heat moved through his body. Their third. She’d be between them. Ease the heat building up in Byron’s body and keep it from overtaking him. Keep Callum’s heat to a minimum. Take both of them at once. His breath came in spasms. He shouldn’t be this horny. He’d had Byron not too many hours ago. But he was eager to get to know this woman and find out all of her quirks. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy with Byron. On the contrary, he was too happy. It made him all the more willing to share that contentment with someone else. Yes, they’d have fun taking her. He leaned back his head to look at the crystal blue sky. It was hours until sundown. Byron probably wouldn’t be up for another round. Now that he knew what was happening, Callum wanted to avoid asking or provoking Byron for sex. He didn’t want to contribute to the problems Byron was already experiencing. Which meant there was no release later. No release before going off to the war with the dragons of Wardona. Unless…

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He looked down at his big, broad hand. It had worked plenty of times in the past. Before Byron, when he’d not had anyone to play with. No reason it couldn’t work now. He undid the clasp of his trousers. Damn tight-fitting things. He slipped them open as much as he was able to. He slid his hand down into the V made by their opening. Took his cock in firm fingers. Played up and down it, moving his palm around. His breath left his lungs. This wasn’t going to last long. From tip to base, he touched his cock, going one direction, then the other. He increased the speed, taking it as fast as he could pump. He doubled the friction he made on his hard cock, handling his flesh not the least bit gently. He closed his eyes, giving in to the darkness, allowing it to take over his mind and free him from any thoughts that could distract him. Her face came into view like a beacon in the sky to guide dragons on a moonless night or in a storm. Mira. Beautiful lips that would clasp around his cock and suck him until the come ran dry, and still take more of him, deep throating him until he cried for mercy and begged her to do whatever she wanted with him. Byron’s hard body would be behind him. Callum had been with him enough to know without having to see him. He could smell his lover. Knew the body behind him pumping into him with masterful strokes of his cock down into Callum’s anus until he reached that magic point that made the climax that much sweeter. They’d work in tandem to give Callum pleasure, each doing their part to send Callum into the stratosphere, higher than his dragon could fly. Stroking, touching, and claiming. Fire rolled up and flared, licking him from the inside out much as it did to a log at a campfire.

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Come rolled from his cock like lava from a volcano. Taking him over the brink of some high cliff. His sweaty body began to cool in the slight breeze. His come had hit the ground in jagged puddles. He waited a moment, getting his composure back. He took a stick and buried what he could. Wasn’t sure why he did that, but it was a tradition where he came from. Something about sending the life force back to the ground it—and you—came from. He threw the stick away and stuck his hand in the brook, which was where Mira had been soaking, to get the stickiness off his fingers. He could imagine her with a mouthful of him. More than a mouthful of Byron. Could imagine waking up with her between them. Yes, he would convince her to be with them. He had to. And he had never backed down from a challenge.

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Chapter Three Mira sat outside her garden with her head in her hands. She rubbed her aching temples. Normally the garden brought her peace. Respite from the world as the one place she could call hers. She lived in a boardinghouse, so even that room wasn’t her own place. But this plot of land, it was hers. She’d paid for it in blood, sweat, and tears. More tears and sweat than the other, though there had been some of that too. This place had cost her dearly and been worth every penny. But this afternoon, nothing brought her any measure of calm. Not even this place did anything to soothe the racing of her heart and her thoughts. What had she been thinking? She hadn’t been. Or she never would have given in to the kisses Callum had administered. Never would have let him touch places her hand shouldn’t go and didn’t go often. And yet, even now, hours later, she couldn’t get what had happened from her mind or erase the longings in her body. She kept replaying the embrace and the stolen caresses in her brain. Kept seeing them flash before her eyes whenever she closed them. Kept reviewing the events in her mind whenever she opened her eyes. Why had she let him do what he had to her? Worse yet, she had responded to everything he’d done. Callum hadn’t been acting alone. Was she worse than a dragon whore? No better than her mother? That was a sobering thought. She’d wanted her whole life to be different from her mother’s. She’d worked to be the complete opposite type of woman. Now? How different was what had happened between her and Callum than what had happened to her mother?

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One side of her reminded herself she wasn’t already married with a child, and that made a difference. But the other parts, the more honest pieces of her, said those were mere technicalities and she was no different. Why had she let Callum do what he’d done? At first, she’d been too stunned to react. He’d caught her off guard. That had been the last thing she’d been expecting him to do. Then, as his touches had ignited something in her blood, she’d caught fire and hadn’t wanted to stop. She’d given in to that fire. Loosened the bindings she normally kept on her actions and felt for once. She’d rarely given in to something she wanted. But it had felt so good to be in his arms. So right. He’d felt to her like he was home and she belonged there. His scent had been familiar. So had his touch. That was the scariest thing of all. Being with Callum felt right. It felt like something she needed to do. It seemed like something she was supposed to do. Which made no sense. She’d never believed in predetermination or mates, and she wasn’t about to start now. The fact they’d noticed her when so many hadn’t was another thing that both knocked her off-balance and made her more open to their advances. She’d been invisible for so long, she wasn’t sure how to act toward someone who had noticed her. She’d had no use for dragon riders before. Why start liking them at this juncture of her life? Her fascination with them had turned into something she couldn’t control. She wasn’t sure she wanted to control it. Why feel guilty? Because of my mother. She should have sped away from Byron and Callum when they’d first caught her eye and she’d begun watching them. If she had, she never would have seen them acting differently than most dragon riders. They never would have tempted her. She should have run far away from Callum and Byron and never looked back. She wouldn’t have watched them make love. And she

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wouldn’t have stuck around when Callum came to call at the stream. If only she hadn’t started watching the two men, this never would have happened. Byron. Her head came up. Callum had made out with her like there was no tomorrow, and he was with Byron. She’d heard they were in a relationship, actually bonded—and she’d seen his tattoo—which was odd because normally dragon riders were with humans long before they ever took another dragon rider mate. If they ever took a dragon rider mate. She’d never understood why humans would go with dragon riders, but they often did. What kind of bond could there be if Callum could do what he’d done with her? Callum had probably never thought about Byron that whole time. It was the first time she’d seen Callum exhibiting typical dragon rider behavior. She should have known. A dragon rider couldn’t be fine and upstanding. They were scum even if they were considered saviors by the rest of her society. He might have done some nice things, but the acts had to be for ego. Yes, that was it. She tapped a finger on her chin. She still wasn’t calm, but at least the visions of what had happened between Callum and herself had stopped. Byron. He needed to know what his blond friend had been up to. That he’d been making time with someone else, and a woman to boot. A peasant woman. Callum had cheated on Byron with her. Unless… No. That couldn’t be the case. She abandoned that line of thinking. Callum had no interest in her other than getting under her dress, something Byron needed to know about. If he had an ego like the other dragon riders she’d seen, that would not go over well. He’d get pissed at Callum for cheating on him and going behind his back to make out with her in the stream, of all places. He’d confront Callum. She knew enough about Byron to know he wouldn’t ignore this. He’d act on it.

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They’d probably break up or at least have issues for years about Callum’s dalliance. There would be epic fights and long discussions. Arguing. Yelling. Screaming. Maybe even desertion or violence. She’d seen it all before. Just like my parents. Not a nice thing to do to someone who has been nothing but nice to you and wonderful to the orphanage. They’ve never caused you any ill. She hushed that voice. She’d didn’t need to hear the dissent right now, because that would lead her back to the visions of what Callum and she had done. Byron deserved to know what kind of man he was in a relationship with. If it destroyed them, he still needed to know the type of dragon rider he was sleeping with and building a life with. Some commitment. If it were her, she’d want to know, no matter how badly it would hurt. She’d rather know than go on ignorant. Hopefully Byron would be the same way. She checked the direction of the sun. She still had time before dark. She’d find him, somehow get him away from Callum if he was there, and tell Byron what a beast he was making time with. She hopped to her feet and set out to destroy a man’s life.

**** Only it didn’t work out like that. Callum wasn’t there when she encountered Byron, who seemed to be working with leather outside the home he and Callum shared. Callum had moved in with him, from what she’d heard. She lived in a boardinghouse with a dozen other people while most dragon riders lived alone. She strutted over the uneven ground toward him, looking at the outside of the house. It was kept up nicely. The paint looked fresh with white on the main part and black on the trim. The roof was well thatched and looked new. Everything looked immaculate around the house, with only a few flowers surrounded by simple grass and dirt. A little gravel walk led to the steps that

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wound up to the house. It wasn’t what she expected of dragon riders. They normally didn’t take pride in their houses, because all they wanted to be known as were dragon riders, and they only lived in a domicile while they were human. Even with that idea, this place suited Byron, from what she’d seen of him. It didn’t suit Callum, save for one wild rose in the corner by the front steps. It looked almost as if it had been forgotten, but more than likely Callum had directed Byron to leave it there. It hadn’t been trimmed back and had a frenzied look to it. She walked right up to Byron, who turned toward her from his leatherwork as if he’d known she was there. He could probably hear her. After all, he had dragon senses only slightly muted as a human. His gaze surveyed her, taking her in as though he could see through anything she could throw at him. His eyes were the color of the sky at high noon and captivated her. Callum had blue eyes too, but his didn’t shine like this. Didn’t see like this into the recesses of her soul. Her mouth dried even as she tried to summon up spit to moisten it so she could talk. Only somehow, looking into those eyes, she lost the notion of what she was supposed to tell him. It didn’t seem important anymore. “Hello, Mira.” She still couldn’t find any words, especially with her name tumbling from his lips in such a fashion. “What?” He smiled, and it took over his whole face. He was a handsome man. Callum was beautiful; Byron was handsome. The smile made him even more so. She could barely catch her breath. She’d never seen him smile before, nor had he ever smiled at her. At least, not that she’d noticed before she’d dashed away in the opposite direction. If only she’d kept running this time. “I said hello.” He seemed amused. The directed path of that smile was lethal. He should have a license for that thing. Especially as he seemed to have no compunction about using it. She became even more tongue-tied. “Oh.” Now what was it she was there to say? Oh yeah, she needed to tell him about Callum. “I…wanted to let you know something. Something important.” She chose her words carefully. Now that she was there, it didn’t seem such a good

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idea. What if he got mad, not at Callum, but at her? How would she handle that? She should have considered all the possibilities before traipsing over here. She was no good at dealing with people. She hadn’t had the best teachers, nor had she interacted much over the years. “What’s that?” He turned more to face her and put his foot up on a block of wood. He leaned over on that leg. It drew his pants up close to his pelvis. And outlined something she hadn’t been expecting to see. An erection. Her breathing sped up. Her heart started to pound. Keep it together, Mir. You can do this. She had to do this. “Callum came across me this afternoon.” Byron nodded. “He told me he sought you out.” His words that took the wind from her sails. Surely he hadn’t told Byron everything? Not hardly. That he’d mentioned it at all was a surprise. “He did?” “He did.” “Did he tell you…he kissed me? He kissed me, and he groped me.” She sputtered the words out like she couldn’t quite believe them, because she still couldn’t. Maybe he wouldn’t believe them either. Maybe he’d even attack her. But she had to try something and get off their radar so she could go back to the boring life she’d built.

Byron couldn’t help but be entranced by the little woman in front of him. She’d marched up to tell him something wicked about Callum. Like anything Callum did shocked him. Callum had been a little wary when he’d come back from meeting Mira at the creek, but he’d told Byron everything, including that he thought this woman was the solution to their problems. Maybe she was. But she wasn’t looking like it right now. She looked as though she might be ill. “As a matter of fact,” Byron drawled out the words, enunciating each and every syllable, “he told me he kissed you. And touched your breast.” Callum had said she’d been shocked but receptive to his attention, which had given him hope. Maybe it gave Byron hope too. “He did?” She now squeaked as opposed to sputtered. She was cute with her reactions. He liked her liveliness.

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Byron’s cock throbbed. He found he was as attracted to this innocent beauty as he was to Callum, which was quite a feat. “Yes, he did.” He thought he sounded like a parrot, so he moved on. “You didn’t think he would tell me?” She didn’t even have to answer. Her reactions and words were enough to confirm that. “I… Well, I…wouldn’t have thought he would have told you.” Her lips thinned into a hard line. “Aren’t you two supposed to be in a relationship? Bonded or something? Are you okay with him doing stuff to a woman?” He lowered his arm to rest on his knee. “We are in a relationship. We… Well, humans usually come first with that.” She flinched. “I know that.” A bit of a big reaction there. He’d have to figure out why, but now was not the time. “I’m going to be twenty-five next week.” He waited for a response to that statement. She seemed to be waiting on more. She finally responded with, “Happy early birthday?” She tilted her head to the side as if to hear him better. So she obviously didn’t know everything about dragon riders. “Dragons build up fire. After their twenty-fifth year, the ability to let out the fire starts to go…daft. It can lead to a fire buildup in a dragon rider.” “So dragon riders are full of fire after then, huh?” She looked intrigued, as though this was the first time she’d heard of it. “Yeah. Fire control becomes an issue. Internal combustion becomes a worry.” Considering how hot he already got and the problems he’d been having, he couldn’t imagine it getting worse. But he’d read and heard stories from his family about how much worse it could get. “Crispy critters. Interesting. I never imagined…well, that you had any worries at all.” Her voice lowered. No worries at all? What planet was this woman from? The entire fate of Eastania rode on the shoulders of each dragon rider. Some of their ilk were cocky because they had to be to do what they did every night. Of course they’d been even more arrogant before the war had started, but that was a different matter.

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She quickly continued on, probably sensing he didn’t like her comment. “So what does this have to do with Callum…kissing me?” She was obviously uncomfortable with what had happened between Callum and her, which made Byron pause. They needed a human yesterday. If she had so many doubts, how could she be the one to help them? Callum could be a little impatient. Maybe this was his impetuous nature showing? She didn’t know the rest of the dragon rider code either. Not surprising if she didn’t know the first part. “There’s only one way a dragon rider can cool down the fires burning within him or her. Only one known way for a dragon rider to release the heat safely.” “Oh? Well, it’s good there is one at least.” Her face tightened into a small frown. “What is it?” She kept her gaze level with his. “Sex with a human.” Silence reigned for a couple of seconds. The wind was all he heard as it blew softly around them. It made her hair fan out and occasionally tossed a tendril to her face. She pushed back the strand with irritation. “Come again?” “Sex with a human is the only way dragon riders can get the heat off them before they combust.” She glanced around as though she was expecting someone to pop out and tell her that was a joke. “You’re serious?” “Very.” She covered her mouth. “That’s why Callum came to see me. You’re going to be that age and you need…” He nodded. “Yes.” He didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings between them. She needed to hear everything. They needed her. Something she’d have to learn to accept. Did she need them? Only time would tell. That would be the defining factor in her being with them. “Well, it’s not going to be me.” As if for emphasis, she jabbed a finger into her chest. “It’s not. I won’t.”

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A little too much protest and too dramatic, like she might be trying to convince herself as well as him, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he gave her enough awareness he’d heard her by looking straight at her. He wanted her to know he was listening. She waited a minute, seeming to contemplate something. If only dragons had the ability to read minds. Then he could know what she was thinking. He didn’t break the silence. Before Callum, he’d gotten very used to silence. It had always been there. Callum had broken the quiet with his cacophony of talking and jesting. It wasn’t something Byron minded, but he didn’t mind not talking either. “So…if you can’t find a woman? What happens?” She said the words nonchalantly as though she couldn’t care less about the answer, but there was a look on her face that spoke more than those words. Most people spoke with their faces more than they talked. You only had to look, and Byron tried to be adept at reading expressions. “I don’t know. I know dragons will eventually spontaneously combust if they don’t find a human to release them.” He didn’t turn away from her though he desperately wanted to. “My grandfather was a dragon rider. He…never found his human.” That was how the dragon rider lineage had come down to Byron. His grandfather had fallen for his grandmother, also a dragon rider. Maybe breaking those rules was in his blood just as being a dragon rider was. “That’s horrible.” Her voice was sincere enough for him to believe she was serious about the words. “My grandmother said they had a few good years together and that was enough.” His smile turned wry. “She eventually found a human.” Who’d been nice enough, but his mother had always resented that her father was dead, even though the human, whom his grandmother had loved, kept his grandmother from meeting the same fate. “Is that what you hope for Callum and you?” She paused. “A few good years? Would that be enough?” He chuckled. “Hell no. I plan to be around a long time. I want forever with Callum.” Maybe her too. He wasn’t averse to being with her. Only cautious and curious. He needed to see more of her.

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“I’ve seen you and him before. Around.” He hadn’t noticed much of her before the morning with Callum when she’d watched them. He knew who she was but hadn’t been aware of her. Somehow that morning had revved up his senses where she was concerned. “And I you.” He had noticed her peripherally, so that wasn’t a lie, but she seemed to have noticed them a lot more than that. “Why do you do it?” Her voice was almost angry. It sounded rough, as though she was having trouble clearing her emotions. “Do what?” What had he done? He’d never gotten into trouble, at least not before Callum had come into his life. “You…help the orphans. The ones at St. Vincent’s. You bring them meat and other things.” He shrugged. That was one place he remembered seeing her. She brought them vegetables from her gardens. “I don’t help that much.” “You do. You give them hope. You even spend time there, interacting with them. Why do you do that?” “Why not? Anyone would.” They were children after all. Some of them were human and some of them would be dragon riders, and none of them had parents. “You and Callum are the only dragon riders who do anything for them. Why do you care? After all, you’re a big, bad dragon rider.” Her voice turned bitter. There was a chip on her shoulder about dragon riders. Ah. She wanted to think badly of them all but couldn’t because he wasn’t doing what she would expect him to do. “Not so big and bad. And I…know they’re subsisting there. I have to help.” Callum had agreed with him when he’d found out Byron helped out there. He’d helped out there for a long time. He shrugged. She continued to frown, looking at him with a wary gaze. “You don’t care that he kissed me? That he…groped me? You’re a lot more liberal than I would have thought.” “I have my reasons.” “What are your reasons?” She spat out the words like they were a bad taste in her mouth. She wasn’t going to like his answer. He could guarantee that.

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“Because I want to do the same.” He didn’t look away or flinch. His cock had been hard and heavy the whole time she’d been talking to him. He’d never been so attracted to a woman before. He couldn’t get the image of Callum kissing her and touching her breasts through her wet dress out of his mind. If only he’d been there and seen. Would have made him a voyeur, but so be it. Maybe he could have helped. Her mouth parted in a gasp. “You do?” “Yeah. I do.” So there it was. It lay between them like a thunderstorm waiting for a bolt of lightning to ignite his soul. Her tongue came out to moisten those full red lips. It was as if she’d touched him, the current between them was so strong. It was all he could do not to act on the feelings rushing through him. She found her voice but didn’t move away. “I can’t be with you.” “Why not?” He did move closer then, coming into her personal space. He didn’t allow their bodies to touch but suggested they might. A swallow moved down her long throat column. So lovely. He wanted to nibble until he reached even more fun things to kiss. “Because we’re dragon riders? And we’re ‘evil’?” His voice lowered. “Do you see Callum and me as evil? If he was so bad, he wouldn’t have let you go earlier when you pulled away.” Callum could have forced the issue. No one would have questioned him. He could see in her eyes, she knew that. “I could force you right now.” Her head came up, and her eyes went wide. “Are you?” He shook his head. “I’m not that kind of man. But Mira?” “Yes?” “You need to find out what kind of man I am.” “You’re not a man; you’re a dragon rider.” A true point. “Fine. Find out what kind of dragon rider I am. What kind of dragon rider Callum is.” “How would I do that?”

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“Give us a chance.” He did touch her then. He cupped her face and tilted her head up. “Give us a chance to prove to you we are no different from men. Men who could fall in love with you and give you the best pleasure you’ve ever known.” Color rose in her cheeks at that. “You only want me because I’m a human. I can ease your fire. You need me.” He shook his head. “I’ve been with plenty of humans.” At that, she blanched. “I’m not going to lie to you and say I haven’t. I’m a male.” He kept his hands on her, and she didn’t try to get away. “I could have any one of those humans again. I don’t want any one of those humans. I want to see where things go with you.” He wanted permanence in his life. He wanted people in his life who wanted to be there and wouldn’t play games. Could Mira become one of those? “I don’t know what will happen. All I’m asking is to give us a chance.”

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Chapter Four Choices. There had been few times when Mira had been offered a choice in her short life. There’d been no choosing her birth, her parents, her mother’s betrayal of her father for a dragon rider, her mother’s subsequent suicide after said dragon rider had rejected her, her father’s descent into depression. He might not have taken his own life, but it had made no difference. He’d died of despondence, leaving his only child to fend for herself. Thank Gaia for St. Vincent’s. This man, this dragon rider, was offering her a choice, the first one of her life. She had no doubt he was sincere. If she wanted to walk away, he’d let her, even though he had need of her. If she wanted to be with them, he’d try it. He wasn’t guaranteeing her forever, and she liked him all the more for that. Byron was offering her what no human male ever had. A chance and a choice. She’d had a few human males interested in her. They’d wanted to dominate her. Take over her life. That wasn’t what Byron was offering. Gaia help her, she was tempted. How could she not be? She’d been fascinated by them for weeks, and her feelings about dragon riders notwithstanding, they were two beautiful men who stimulated her in ways she’d never even dreamed. He was offering her the world. On a plate. He stroked his thumb along her cheek. “You don’t have to answer me yet. In fact, I don’t want you to answer me.” She shivered with his touch. Parts of her moistened. “But I’m going to give you something to think about.” He held her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

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Callum’s mouth had been greedy. Taking and giving with a ferocity that had left her breathless. Byron’s mouth was gentle. Probing. Soft. It took and gave, but there was sweetness about it. He made her breathless too, but it was a different sort than Callum caused. Byron made her feel like some porcelain doll he didn’t want to break or a fragile flower he must protect. She shivered again in his embrace. Met his mouth with hers. She started out shyly but was soon matching him with her responses. He moaned. And the kisses stepped up. How could she have ever thought this was gentle? He was frenetic, frantic. Kissed her thoroughly and splendidly. His tongue dueled with hers like there was no tomorrow. His mouth turned rough, and it felt like it burned her with the heat contained in those kisses. Her back hit the wall. He’d backed her up into it. She hadn’t even realized she’d been moving, because she’d been so intent on his mouth. He had her pinned, but she didn’t feel trapped; she felt liberated. He moved his touch all over her body, stroking her shoulders and arms and finally centering on her breasts. He stroked her, rubbing and pulling, even while his mouth continued to plunder hers. He pulled his mouth away at the same time he was pulling away the material of her dress from her breasts. She couldn’t move, speak, or even call up a protest. She didn’t want to. She wanted his mouth back on hers. Strange how far she’d come in such a short time. She hadn’t ever thought about changing her mind until now, but the irresistibility of the offer was more than she could take. Not only that, she was intrigued by everything she already knew about them. Maybe she’d been wrong all those years to blame… No, she wouldn’t think about that now. Instead of going back to her mouth, he lowered his mouth to her breast. He licked around the nipple, dragging his tongue across her flesh. She moved as far as she could into his touch, instead of away from it.

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Every place on her entire body felt a snap of lightning from the contact. She’d never been so hot in her life. It felt as if flames were licking her in places she’d never imagined fire. She couldn’t dream what going any further would be like if this was so intense. Maybe she would die or at least feel like she would. He lapped around her nipple before engulfing it with his heated mouth. She felt as though she were sinking into a fire pit and would be consumed by its flames, or more accurately his mouth. Her knees wavered but kept her standing, much to her surprise. She wasn’t sure how she stayed upright. He moved to her other breast, biting down on her nipple hard enough to cause a momentary flash of pain but not enough to hurt her substantially. Instead a wave of pleasure raced through her at the same time. She’d never imagined that would cause her pleasure, yet there it was. He slid back to the other breast and tweaked her nipple with deft fingers that knew what they were doing. Each twist of her nipple made her feel that much more. She panted, leaning back against the wall as much as she could because she felt even weaker than she had before. Her knees were so wobbly it was a wonder they could support her. All she wanted to do was lie down. With him on top of her. Gaia, what was he doing to her? She’d never thought about this that much, but now it was all she could think about. Being with him. Her skin tingled with goose pimples rising up, taking the hair up with them. It was as if she had surges of lightning running up under every one. Her nether regions felt soaked and so ready for whatever he would do. He sucked in her nipple again, going down like she was the best meal he’d had in a while. He was so eager he kept taking her breath away and making her spasm with ecstasy. She’d never imagined that a man kissing her breasts could fire her passion like this. There was so much she wanted to ask for, but she didn’t even know what or how to put it into words. How would she ever go about naming what she wanted when she wasn’t even sure what it was? She only knew she wanted more than he was giving her.

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He drifted his touch to her hip and then stroked her rump, which tantalized her already overstimulated body. He lingered on her cheeks, pulling on them and arching her body forward into him. He left her breast and slid down her body, going down to his knees with a soft plunk on the dirt. He knelt in front of her like she might be some goddess of old or as if he was in prayer before her. Did that hurt him—falling to his knees like that? That was the nonsensical thought that came to mind before she moved on to more important matters. Like what on earth was he up to? And what was he going to do next? She had no idea, having never been this far. She knew what happened between men and women, but it didn’t usually start out with a man on his knees, did it? He pulled up her dress. His hands felt rough. “Spread your legs.” His voice was even rougher, as though he couldn’t control it. She did what he asked without question. It was a position she wasn’t used to assuming, but she managed it by leaning back against the wall. The stone of the house was scratchy against her back. It was cool to her heat. She liked the solid feel of it under her. It gave her purchase. Stability. Maybe it would keep her from falling, because she had a feeling whatever he was about to do was going to set her asunder. He straightened up slightly and went under her skirt. The dress, gauzy in nature, floated over his head, covering him. She could still see him under the material but couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing. Her dress was over a man’s head. This was probably the most surreal event of the day, and she’d had a few of them already. Of all the things she’d thought would happen to her when she got up, this wasn’t one of them. She’d never thought about kissing Callum, nor had she imagined this descent into madness with Byron. Even as she let her senses drift along with her, the voice reminded her it was a dragon rider’s head, not a man’s.

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Her heart pounded. She was dallying with a dragon rider. In her mind, she knew it was different than her mother’s actions, but even so, it caused some hyperventilating moments. Her mother had never asked for anything from the rider she’d been with. The riders. And they hadn’t been willing to give her much. Maybe she should stop this from happening with Byron. Forget it ever happened and go home and about her merry way. Go back to the way things were, with her alone and watching from afar. Only she didn’t want to. She felt more alive right now than she ever had. Callum had made her feel alive too. She’d spent most of her life dead inside. She’d been damaged. Now she felt like she was…precious. Callum had made her feel that way. Byron was making her feel adored too. The only thing she had against them was that they were dragon riders. They hadn’t acted like typical dragon riders she’d known or the ones who’d been with her mother. On the contrary, they’d been forthright and honest with her. They’d given aid when they didn’t have to. They hadn’t been arrogant and overbearing. Why shouldn’t they have this shot, and why shouldn’t she give this a chance? She was attracted to them. Curious about them. Maybe it was time she let go of the past and started looking to a future. Her future, not her parents’ past. At that precise thought, Byron’s tongue found her nether regions and swiped across them with wet warmth. Her pussy. She’d heard the word but never used it. However, right now it seemed so appropriate with his tongue bearing down in ways that might make her scream and definitely drove all thoughts from her head. She’d deal with what she’d done tomorrow, because she couldn’t think about it now with any coherency. His tongue slipped into her folds, and his mouth pressed into her, putting pressure on already excited nerve endings. He licked her up and down and centered on a little bud of nerves that was a little up from center and definitely a place she’d found.

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Her clit. Yes, she knew the name for all these parts of her, hearing them from others, the dragon whores in particular. It was amazing what people would say when they didn’t notice you were there. She’d never had occasion to use them before. He flicked across it quickly and then moved even faster, pushing it up, then down. Her pussy moistened and felt so swollen. So much she still needed. And he was giving it to her slowly but surely. Then he drew her clit into his mouth and suckled on her like she was the most important thing on earth and he had to have her. Her knees almost collapsed. She had to lean back quickly to avoid falling down. Thank Gaia for the wall. Her entire body broke out in a sweat and was rife with anticipation. Her panting increased tenfold. Every muscle in her body tensed like cramps, only it wasn’t. Something was coming. Something wonderful. She’d given her body pleasure, but it had never been like this, this roaring wall that pulsed over every cell of her being. Again and again, he shoved his tongue in places she’d never imagined it to go. He licked, leaving no crevice untouched by that wonderful mouth. She pushed up, trying to join with the heavens or maybe fly into the sky, because that would take her where she craved. He held on to her hips with tight hands, keeping her where he wanted her as he continued to plunder her pussy. He nipped and suckled, and it almost felt like everything she had went into that mouth. Everything centered on her quivering folds. Everything in the whole universe. The world stopped turning for a second. And more pleasure than she’d ever known rolled across her with the intensity of a whirlwind. Fires hotter than any forged on her world licked at her. An orgasm.

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He’d taken her over the edge. Over the precipice. Had she screamed? Her throat felt rough, and her voice was hoarse. She must have. But she hadn’t noticed she’d been doing that. The breeze hit the sweat that coated her body, cooling her down and taking the warmth that filled her away. He leaned over and kissed her thigh, nipping it a little with those wonderful teeth that knew how to be gentle. He flipped the skirt up over his head and emerged. His mouth shone with wetness. His exuberant gaze fell upon her like the man could eat her up again. And he’d not even come yet. He was the one who needed to release to put out some of his fires, and yet he’d given her pleasure instead of coming. Her body shook, still rippling from the force of what he’d done to her. She’d never had the like. He remained on the ground, looking up at her. “You didn’t come.” He shook his head. “Nope.” “Why? You need to.” A smile crinkled up around his lips and made his features look softer. “I wasn’t sure you were ready for that.” He bounded to his feet in one solid motion that made her gasp with the quickness of it. “But you will be.” She ran a hand across her head, pushing back her hair. Was she ready for this? Even more the question, was she ready to be with both of them? Because Byron and Callum would be a package deal. She couldn’t think. Not with what had happened and with her mind spinning like this. She needed to get away and consider her options. Time for a retreat. Funny, she’d come here to do one thing and instead had had an orgasm. She’d been offered a choice and a climax. What a day. “I’d better get back to my garden. My work.” At least there, she could focus. Maybe figure this out.

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Why wouldn’t he have tried to come? That would puzzle her until her dying day. Most dragon riders would have taken advantage of the situation. Gaia, most men would have. “Dinner.” The one word was said with conviction and strength. She had no idea what the relevance was. “Huh?” “Dinner. Here. About two hours before dark.” He smiled, his teeth seeming wide under lips trying to conceal them. “Me? You want me to come to dinner.” Poor choice of words. She’d be going to dinner, not coming. Or maybe she would be coming at dinner. Another shiver rocked her already shaking frame. “Yes. With Callum. Me.” He placed his arms behind his back. “Come.” His tone was rough, not pleading, but she sensed the plea contained within. “Okay. I’ll be back.” She scrambled out of there with wet thighs, a racing heart, and lungs that were on fire without a glance back.

**** Callum rounded the corner to the house he shared with Byron. His greeting died on his lips as he took in Byron, who stood massaging his temples with a look that didn’t seem right. He was almost slumped over and seemed to be in danger of collapsing. His skin had a reddish tinge to it. “Byron.” His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. Passing scents that wouldn’t be detectable to a human nose were perceptible due to his dragon senses. She’d been there. He’d missed her. Her scent hung heavy in the air with the sweetness of a magnolia. He took in the particulates of odor. She’d not only been there, but she’d come. A climax. He could smell the intensity of her musk. A growl bubbled up from deep within his chest. He would have liked to have seen that. Byron must have brought her to climax. With his hands? Or his mouth? She hadn’t been gone from there long. He’d only just missed running into her. What a shame. He could have topped her off. “Callum.” Byron’s voice was as rough as though he was almost a dragon. It was a tone he’d never heard from Byron before, and the sound felt like it sent shards of glass down his

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spine. Byron’s body was coated in sweat. In fact, it was dripping from him. His heart was pounding loud and fast to Callum’s ears. And it hit Callum then what he didn’t smell. Byron’s come. “She came, and you didn’t?” What the hell was up with that? He’d expected upon smelling her climax that Byron must have released, even though he didn’t scent it at first, but there was no trace of it in the air. He took another deep breath. No familiar smell. It was obvious Byron hadn’t taken his pleasure with this woman. He’d brought her to the end but hadn’t gone over. The heat must be building up in him terribly, especially if his current appearance was any indication. Byron took deep breaths and seemed to be trying to calm down from his altered state, but he wasn’t having much luck. “She wasn’t ready.” Callum went to touch him because he didn’t like the look of him, and Byron pulled back without allowing contact. His voice turned shaper than Callum had ever heard it. “Don’t.” Callum stayed away. He had no right to be hurt by that order, but he was. Byron was protecting Callum and himself. Callum’s touch might ignite the fires deep within, but he still felt a twinge of disappointment. He liked touching Byron. Liked easing him. “Why did you do it this way? Bring her and not you?” Byron had to have more fire built up in him than ever before, which wasn’t good. “She wasn’t ready.” Byron repeated the words but seemed to be focusing better. His speech wasn’t as labored. “Needed to give her something.” He took a deep breath, as though trying to collect his thoughts. “She come to. Dinner.” More broken speech. Byron seemed upset by his lack of fluency. His face pinched tight, and he seemed to be concentrating on his words but to no avail. “Good. You can fuck her then and ease your fire.” Callum mentally checked off what they could serve for dinner. They had a lot of stuff around. She’d better like meat, because he and Byron ate a lot of it. “No. Not until. She’s ready for us. There’s something. In her past. With dragon riders.” Byron’s speech seemed to be becoming more human with fewer pauses. He wasn’t as stooped

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over as he had been. His eyes cleared and looked more like Byron’s. “She has to get over that. Before. She can be with. Us.” “You don’t have that kind of time. It’s never been this bad before. Has it?” And Byron was fast approaching a time when it was known to get worse. He had less than a week, and it was already this bad? Not good. “No. I’ll. Live.” He took a deep breath that seemed to turn into a growl. He was warring with his fire, going back and forth, trying to push the fire within him down. Only Byron would now be reassuring him. That was so typical. Only Byron wouldn’t have taken advantage of Mira and released to ease his fire due to some code about her past. Callum didn’t need Byron reassuring him. He needed Byron to live and not implode from his fire buildup. Damn the man’s moral code. “You sit down. Collect yourself. Calm yourself. I’ll fix dinner.” His cock had deflated with Byron’s state of mind anyway. To think he’d been fantasizing about having a quickie before they had to dragon ride tonight. That wasn’t going to happen now. Might not be happening ever again until this was resolved. Callum would never forgive himself if he made this worse for his lover. For once Byron didn’t argue with him, which was a testament to how bad he must be feeling. Byron always fixed dinner and never let Callum order him around. “Fix the deer. And the vegetables. I bet they were from Mira’s garden. She’ll like that.” He sat down and started fanning himself. His speech was much better, and his skin wasn’t so red. His breathing had calmed. He seemed to be cooling down. Maybe this had scared him. Good, because it had sure scared Callum. It had driven home the point that they couldn’t wait much longer. Callum ignited a fire in the fire pit and commenced cooking the meal that Byron told him to. After a few minutes, Byron’s coloring had gone back to normal and sweat had stopped coming from every pore. He continued fanning and didn’t get up to push his way into helping with the meal. “You better?” Callum tried to make the question nonchalant as though he didn’t care about the answer. But truth was, he didn’t want to lose this man, and events tonight had showed him he was close to it. He’d just found Byron. How unfair was it they had to find another lover or Byron would implode? It wasn’t fair at all.

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“Yeah.” Byron blew out a breath. He started fanning again. “It’s never been like that. It was worse with her. I thought…I was going to combust for a while there.” That Byron was admitting it made Callum’s heart wrench. Yes, this must be affecting Byron’s mood. He was never this chatty. Callum didn’t comment. What was there to say? Instead he went in a different direction. “I guess you liked Mira.” He waggled his eyebrows even as he paid attention to braising the deer on the spit. Byron’s grin was big and not forced at all. Yes, he was returning to normal. “She’s pretty. Spirited. I think she’ll give us a run for our dragon wings.” He seemed to get lost in thought. He must be thinking about his time earlier with Mira. “Did you…? Hands or mouth?” Callum had to know. He couldn’t be left wondering about such important events. “I guess you could smell her climax. Mouth.” He brought his fingers up to rub his lips. He could probably still taste her. Smell her. Callum groaned as his cock went as stiff as it had been when he’d first rounded the corner. “And I missed it.” Byron’s breath came labored again. “If. We’re. Lucky. Maybe you’ll. Get another. Chance.” His skin started to rouge again. Not good. “You’re heating up again.” Callum stated the obvious so Byron would know he knew. “Yeah.” Byron’s voice was little more than a growl. He’d gone back to the heating faster than ever before. “Don’t think about her. Think…about Geant in that horrible getup he wore to the festival. That ought to take down your libido.” Byron immediately started laughing. His skin soon went back to being semibrown and not pink. “You’re too much.” Callum chuckled. Byron had said worse. He needed to get Byron’s mind on something other than the oral sex or the fucking that was to come. It had better come. “You think there’s

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something in her past? About dragon riders?” It would make a lot of sense now that Byron had said it. Byron nodded. “Yeah. I think so. I think she’s had something bad happen to her. Caused by dragon riders.” His mouth turned up into a straight line. Byron had never liked the arrogance and disregard for human life some dragon riders showed. He’d always said as dragon riders, they should be the best of the best in everything, including behavior. That was how he had always acted. Until he’d met Callum and gone against the rules. “So that’s why she’s not falling over herself to be with us.” Callum waved as though he was conducting a minstrel with a harp. “I was beginning to think maybe you were losing your touch.” He would keep things light with Byron. He’d keep him from having another meltdown. Byron snorted and shook his head as though he couldn’t believe it. “Because it couldn’t be you losing your touch, could it?” He’d taken Callum’s teasing bait. They’d banter until dinnertime now. “It could never be me.” He tossed Byron a big cheesy grin. “Would have to be you. I’m so charming and all. Your losing your touch would explain it. Maybe I can ask some of the older dragon riders for tips on how to woo or if all old dragon riders lose their touch.” Byron gave him a look that said he was above reproach, and Callum was a little insect. Callum had seen the look before. He always ignored it. “I am one of the older dragon riders, Callum.” “No. You’re just old. I mean the ancient ones. The ones older than dirt. Wooing would have had to have happened a while ago, or you’d know about it.” “Glad you don’t think I’m ancient.” Byron’s voice was so dry he might have been in the desert. Didn’t bother Callum. He was used to it. “Me too. I couldn’t be with someone who’d seen dirt arrive.” Byron shook his head. “You’re incorrigible.” “And ya love me anyway.” “Some days.” Byron leaned back in the chair. His torso stretched out, and his muscles rippled.

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Callum couldn’t help himself. He approached Byron and stood in front of him, staring down at him. Byron arched an eyebrow. “Yes?” Callum leaned down and planted a big kiss on Byron’s opening lips. He delved in with all he had and some more. Byron pulled back. “Don’t.” His breathing sounded ragged and forced. “Not that I don’t like.” He shook his head and rubbed it afterward. “But I’m just starting to cool down.” “I know. I had to.” Callum moved back to cooking. This was going to be harder than he’d thought. Not being physical with Byron was like not turning into a dragon every night. And on that note… “When is she arriving? We’ll be going winged soon enough.” “Guess I’m arriving now.” A voice sounded over by the entrance to the small patio where they were cooking. Mira. She looked as lovely as Callum remembered her. She wore a gauzy, breezy dress that blew in the wind around her. Her brown hair flowed in waves around her. He’d never seen it down before. She’d had it up during their encounter at the stream. “You came.” Byron’s voice was still breathy. Hoarse. But the smile that erupted on his face was huge and vibrant. Something that Callum couldn’t lose. Byron’s smile. He wouldn’t lose it. Not when this woman standing in front of him could save him.

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Chapter Five “Of course I came. I told you I would.” Taking dainty steps, Mira moved over toward Byron. If she was nervous, she didn’t show it. Even though she’d told him, Byron hadn’t been sure she’d make it. After all, she’d taken off pretty fast after their encounter. His cock stiffened as her perfume wafted to his nostrils. He shifted in his seat, trying to keep his libido down. Impossible now with both of them there. How was he going to keep it together without going down in flames? He took a deep breath and tried to keep centered. He would get through this. “I’m glad you came to dinner with us.” She took a seat across from him at the table. She sniffed. “Do I smell venison? And vegetables?” “From your garden.” Callum moved closer to the fire. “Should be done in a minute.” With Callum out of earshot, Byron leaned closer. “Did you have a good rest of the afternoon?” He knew she’d enjoyed being with him. But how had she handled being away from him and thinking about what they’d done together? A blush sprang to life in her cheeks. “Yes. Surprisingly enough I had a good afternoon. Got a lot of thinking done.” “Oh, about what?” Byron had a feeling he knew. He wasn’t sure he was going to like the direction this was moving. “You and Callum.” Her jaw had a definitive set to it that betrayed her stubborn side. What decisions had she made?

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Callum’s attention shifted back to them from the burgeoning meal. “Oh, and what were you thinking about us?” He folded his arms across his chest. He looked as though he was completely relaxed about her comments. Only a light tensing of his jaw betrayed he had a lot invested in this. As did Byron. How had they become so deep in her like this so fast? Maybe some of it was because of Byron’s need. Some of it was her. She’d taken them by storm. “I don’t like dragon riders.” That had been a given. It wasn’t new ground here. “Oh? And why not?” Byron clenched his hand and then forced it open. The motion took his mind off the embers fanning inside him. He’d been learning little tricks over the last few weeks to keep sane. “It’s a long story.” Her jaw jutted out even farther. Didn’t all that jaw tensing hurt? She was going to have aching teeth tonight. Byron stretched out again, trying to keep his mind on the physical and not on her teeth and bed. “We’ve got time. Nowhere to be.” Callum moved over to sit near Byron but did not touch him. A good thing. If either of them touched him, Byron wasn’t sure what would happen. He might implode. “No, you don’t. I know you change at sundown.” She looked determined. She tilted her head after pushing her hair back from her face. “You’re dragon riders. You have no time as humans once night falls.” “Yes, yes, yes, we do change. Then…” Byron continued clenching his hands. Maybe that would help him stay on task. He’d never regretted changing so much before. He wanted to get this resolved. “But we still could listen. We don’t change for a while yet.” “There are more important things for us to talk about than my past.” Mira straightened up in her chair and it made a clanking sound on the floor. Was that particularly loud? Or were Byron’s ears that sensitive? The more the dragon was ruling, the more adept were his senses. The more the fire raged, the closer the dragon stayed. It wasn’t a good sign. “Like?”

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“Like why you two are so focused on me. You could have any human you wanted. There are lots who like dragon riders. Who like to sleep with them. Why would you focus on me when you could have them? Makes no sense.” Her voice cracked on the last part. Maybe she didn’t like them being enthralled by her, but she also could be upset by suggesting they go after someone else. Or at least that was how Byron took it. He’d take the latter argument over the former. He didn’t speak as he tried to think about the answer. He wasn’t sure he knew why. He’d been thinking a few minutes ago about why they were putting all their focus on this woman. Of course Callum plunged right in before Byron got any thinking done. “But they don’t…interest us the way you do.” He tried to take her hand, but she pulled back from him. Maybe she didn’t want to be touched either. Least she wasn’t in danger of blowing up. Byron took his time with his words. He didn’t want to stumble over them, give her any ammunition to shoot them down, and he wanted to say clearly what he was thinking. “You interest us more than the others do. We’re not looking for a temporary fix to my…problem. We want a permanent solution.” Permanent solutions did more to fix the flaring of the fire within than any one-night stands. An oddity but true. And being with a human one bonded with would take away more fire than anything else. “And you think I’m it? That I’m the one who’s going to fix any problems you might have?” Her voice took on heavy skepticism as though she wouldn’t believe anything they told her. Byron nodded. “Yep.” He resisted the urge to walk over and show her how he wanted her to fix this situation. “You could take a different human every night. Fuck them. Throw them away. And that would fix your problem.” She’d made a face when the word fuck came out. She must not curse often. But that statement had led to cursing. Interesting. Yes, dragon riders had done something to her in her past. She’d said as much, but he was still looking for clues. It must have to do with sexual proclivities. “I don’t want that.” Byron looked up into the sky. When the stars came out, there was a dragon constellation. Only he’d never get to see it with Mira. Because he’d always be a dragon at night. Being with Callum was easy because they were on the same schedule. This was going to

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be more difficult. He only vaguely remembered night before changing. “I’ve known dragon riders who reached their maturity and did what you said. Took a human for a while. It did ease them. Made their fires bank down. Somewhat. Someone that stays in the bed longer than a night is better for easing the fires, but it did work.” “Exactly. That’s why I want to know why you’re focusing this energy on me for your solution when anyone could do it.” Her voice grew a little higher in pitch. It hurt Byron’s dragon ears. Callum nodded at him, as if encouraging him to go on. He looked intrigued by what Byron was about to say. Guess he hadn’t explained his logic to Callum either. The more the dragon took over, the less he used speech. Byron shrugged shoulders that were heavier than they’d been earlier. It was going to take more to convince Mira than he’d thought. “They weren’t happy.” Mira snorted. “Really? Is that all you have?” She shook her hand in the air. “Who among us is happy?” Byron held up a hand, the one that bore the marks on his wrist that bonded him to Callum. “Let me try to explain. Their fires cooled down, but their quality of life went down. They became the typical dragon riders with mood swings, pettiness, and arrogance.” He closed his eyes briefly. The memory still ripped at the fabric of Byron’s being because he hadn’t been able to help. He’d never even told Callum this story. “I had a good friend. One who went to maturity but didn’t want a permanent human in his life. He committed suicide after only a year because he was so unhappy. The only dragon riders I’ve seen make it through maturity and who aren’t suicidal are those with permanent human bonds.” Callum looked shocked at first, but Byron could see him ticking off the dragon riders he knew and how they lived. His eyes widened as he nodded. He saw what Byron did too. Good. It must mean Byron wasn’t crazy. “I want to live for a long time. I think a permanent bond would be better for me in the long run.” Byron hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even himself before now. “It’s also a lot better for those I’m with than mucking around with different humans all the time.”

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“My mother was a dragon rider’s whore. She was tossed aside. She never got over that.” Mira held her head high when she spoke, but her face looked as though a part of her had shriveled and died with the revelation. “She committed suicide.” As Asa had when the burden of life had gotten to be too much. The suicide had deeply affected Byron. He couldn’t imagine how strongly it would have had Asa been a parent. “Ah.” Byron now knew what made her so melancholy on the subject of dragon riders. No wonder. He didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry” didn’t seem to convey enough. “That all you can say, ‘Ah’?” Mira batted a fist on the table, making a thump sound. “One of your kind basically killed my mother. Yes, she took her life, but it was because she’d been cast aside so casually. My father never got over her death. He didn’t commit suicide but deteriorated to the point of death. So I lost both my parents thanks to your kind. And all you can say is ‘Ah’?” Callum waved. “Now, whoa. Wait a minute. You can’t blame us for what others did to your parents.” His mouth drew up as it always did when he didn’t like something that was said. “You bet I can.” She snapped the words through ruby lips. “It’s my prerogative.” It was almost as if she dared them to argue with her, a challenge Callum could never turn down. “But that’s not fair. We had nothing to do with that.” Callum could win against anyone on sheer tenacity. But now was not the time. “Shut up, Callum.” Byron’s words were so stiff, it was a wonder he got them past his cracked lips. Callum looked shocked at Byron’s admonition, but he didn’t try to say anything further. Instead, he sat there in a stony silence, which surprised even Byron. Callum wasn’t known for his restraint. Byron had almost been surprised the words came from his mouth too, but he had no time for petty arguments. He’d make up the shortness of the command to Callum later when there was more time for them to talk. “If you truly blamed us for what happened, you wouldn’t have even come tonight. You wouldn’t have let me do what I did to you this afternoon. You would have

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stayed away from us.” He held up a hand, stopping her from arguing. He wasn’t about to let her when he wouldn’t let Callum. “So what do you want?” Her mouth opened and closed, sort of like a fish gasping for air. “You want to know what I want? Really?” Her face conveyed the fact she didn’t think they wanted to hear what she had to say. He could see the emotion perfectly displayed on every feature. She’d made comments about no one noticing her. Maybe no one had listened to her either. Yes, that made sense about why she didn’t believe they’d want to hear her ideas. “Yes. I do.” Byron shifted in his seat. She was even more beautiful when she was angry than she was when she was stoic. He liked her better like this. The more animated she became, the better. Now her eyes flashed, and her hair whipped around. She had color to her cheeks. She looked much as she had while they’d been playing that afternoon. Yes, the reaction to passion was much like the one for anger. “This afternoon, I tried to be angry at you for what happened. But I couldn’t. All I could think about…” Her voice faltered as though she couldn’t go on. She twisted her hands around each other. “Was?” He almost couldn’t get the word out. He didn’t want to falter, needed to stay strong. “How you took me to climax this afternoon and didn’t take yourself. All I could think about was easing you the way you needed. Taking the flame inside you away so you could live your life. All I could think about was having sex with you.” She sounded almost like she was on the verge of tears. He hadn’t thought it would do that. He’d only wanted to give her time, but this was even better than he’d thought it would go. Callum cocked his head to the side. Had he caught what Byron had? “Why would you want to ease someone from a race you hate?” Yes, Callum had caught what Byron had. Callum wasn’t a slouch. A single tear flowed from her eye. “And that’s where I’m lost. I want to ease Byron. I want to take the flame away. The pain away. You two are not like any dragons riders I know. Yet I

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can’t forgive dragon riders for what they did to my family. I’m a traitor to them.” Her voice broke on the last word. This was eating her up inside. “No.” Byron was on his feet in a second and went to her. He knelt down by her, honing his body in to her heat. The touch would cost him, but not touching her would cost him more. He needed to give her that contact. “You’re not a traitor. You’re…human.” She wouldn’t look at him. Her shoulders shook a little as though the weight had gone from him to her. Callum joined them, not touching either one of them but keeping his big body so close to them, Byron could almost feel him. “All too human.” His voice deepened to a pitch Byron had never heard before. “And that’s bad.” Another tear flowed freely. “I should be able to hate you both for what happened. Like I hate all dragon riders. I shouldn’t want to help you do anything. But I do.” “You told us before we weren’t like any dragon riders you’d ever known.” Callum’s hand came near, as if it would touch her but pulled away at the last second. Where was Callum going with this? Callum was the better debater, so Byron didn’t offer up anything. He wouldn’t until he knew what exactly Callum was going to debate. She nodded, swiping a hand across her face. “So?” She closed her eyes for a brief moment. This had been eating her all afternoon. Byron hated to see her so upset. If only he could take away her confusion and pain about being attracted to them. But he couldn’t. All he could do was let it resolve in some way. He only hoped it resolved the way he wanted it to. “So, how many dragon riders, save the bastard who cast your mother aside, have you known? And by known, I mean did more than see them in the public squares or have them buy vegetables from you?” Callum went on his knees and came in front of them. He lowered his head even farther so she was looking at him. “I… What does that matter?” Byron could now see where Callum’s tack was going. “It matters. Answer him. Please.” It wasn’t a word he used often. But he’d use it now to keep them talking.

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“I haven’t known any dragon riders. Not that way. I see them all the time. But you’re the first two…I’ve interacted with.” “Exactly.” Callum sounded triumphant. He’d better tone it down, or she’d get snippy with them. Byron glared at him until Callum noticed him. “Oh, sorry. You haven’t known any dragon riders personally. And we are all different.” “You two sure are.” Byron had to be filled with hope at that comment. She already saw them differently than she did other dragon riders. “Good you see that.” Callum leaned up to pull up her chin. “That’s why you should give us a chance. We’re not like the one who hurt your mother so badly. You see that, and that’s why we tempt you. You know we’re not like that one.” “Maybe.” She didn’t sound convinced. Byron took her cold hand in his. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about being with us. Or about wanting to ease me.” Gaia, please let her do that soon. If she didn’t, he didn’t want to think about what would happen, but it wouldn’t be until she was ready. “You know we aren’t like the ones who tore apart your family. That’s why you do want to try things with us.” “But I should hate you all.” She looked as miserable as one person could be. “Shouldn’t I? For what was done?” Byron quickly shook his head. “That would make you no better than the warmongers who hate us simply because we’re Eastanians.” A good comparison. “Or those dragon riders who look down on humans merely because they are human and not dragon.” Byron managed to get the words out without growling. He managed only because of intense concentration. That made her tilt her head to the side. She glanced away from him. He’d hit a nerve. Callum got up and went to the fire. “Dinner’s ready. Why don’t we eat now?” He began carrying the food to the table. Her shoulders relaxed, and her body slumped. Her frown didn’t go away, but it eased as though she was relieved to stop talking. Byron wasn’t sure if he was or not.

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Mira took another bite of vegetables that had been grilled over an open flame. They were so good. She’d never had her vegetables cooked like this. Most of the time she boiled them in water or ate them raw. She never had the wood for a big fire like this, or the time. The flavor was bursting from each bite. Not to mention, after her day, she’d been hungry. Callum smiled. “Like?” He’d been asking that question since they sat down. He seemed to want to make sure she enjoyed dinner. He’d worked on it quite diligently except when they’d been talking. They’d talked about everything from her hopes and dreams to cooking. They’d seemed interested in what she wanted out of life. She wanted to expand her vegetable growing and help the orphanage. Some would have laughed at that plan. Not Callum and Byron. They’d encouraged her. How could she not like the meal they’d made? “Oh yeah.” The succulent tastes enticed her senses as she took another bite. She didn’t think she’d ever had anything so good. Eating also gave her an excuse not to think about their unfinished conversation. Byron had been mostly quiet as he ate his food and watched her. He had laughed at Callum’s jokes, but even that was subdued. What was he thinking about? If only she could see into that head of his. They hadn’t finished talking, of that much she was sure. However, she wasn’t sure if she was grateful for the reprieve of dinner or upset the conversation wasn’t out of the way. She’d intended to go there, tell them her piece, and leave. She’d figured by the time she got done, they’d be ready for her to leave. Only it hadn’t worked out that way, and here she was eating dinner with two dragon riders. They had a way of knocking her off-balance, of making her lose everything she thought she was, but she was beginning to like the way they made her feel. She didn’t understand that either. She pushed down a suddenly hard-to-swallow piece of venison. Was this how her mom had started out? Had she started by liking the way dragon riders made her feel? Maybe she’d been reluctant in the beginning too.

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“I’m glad you’re enjoying. Eating, that is.” Callum leaned back, and the bench squeaked under him. “Always nice to cook for someone who appreciates it.” He smiled over at Byron. “Byron always does.” “Damn straight.” She pushed away her plate. “I do appreciate the meal. It’s very good. I can’t eat any more. I’m stuffed.” Callum let out a small guffaw, which prompted Byron to shoot him a glare that said Callum was too much. Again. There had been many of those looks in the short time she’d been around them. She wasn’t sure why Byron was looking like that or why Callum had responded that way to her comment. “What…?” “Nothing.” Byron pushed away his plate. “Nothing important. I do have dessert for us. I made it earlier in the day.” He got up and went into the house. It wasn’t long before he came back with little cakes. “They’re pomegranate seed cakes. You’ll love ’em.” He put the pan beside him on the table. So Callum wasn’t the only cook in the family. Byron seemed almost as tickled at them as Callum had been with the meal and as concerned about them liking what he’d fixed. “Well, don’t sit there. Hand me one of those babies. He specializes in making these.” Callum licked his lips as his gaze shot to the cakes, then back to Byron. “They do look good, lover.” It was the first verbal nod to their relationship she’d caught. There hadn’t been any touching, but there had been some looks thrown the other’s way that were blatantly passionate. She was amazed at the ease with which they interacted. They seemed comfortable with each other and with themselves. Her mother and father had never been this casual with each other. Even before the dragon rider, there had been lots of arguing. Glass throwing. Yelling. Curses. They’d never seemed happy with the other. Not like these two. And even as they focused on each other, they included her. She never felt left out. Never felt ignored. She’d never had that with anyone.

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Even at this early juncture, they were fostering something in their relationship with her. Intimacy. Something she’d thought about earlier with them. They seemed to be trying to get to know her. Byron picked up a small cake and smiled naughtily at Callum. “Open up.” His voice came gruffly as though he was still fighting his fire. “Wide.” She saw his other hand clench as his arm rested on the table. He’d been doing lots of small actions like that. She wasn’t sure why. Callum arched a brow. For a moment it seemed like he would comment, but instead, he did what he was told. Byron eased the cake toward Callum’s mouth and then let Callum bite it. Two more nibbles later, and the cake was gone from Byron’s fingertips. Byron didn’t withdraw his fingers before Callum captured one with his mouth. Byron made a strangled sound. Callum looped his tongue around one of Byron’s fingers, presumably cleaning a crumb from it. Only his mouth lingered and leaped at fingers that hadn’t been near Byron’s mouth. “Yum. You are a good cook.” Callum’s voice deepened as his chest rose and fell with heavier breathing. “And a good feeder.” Byron groaned deep within his throat. He seemed enthralled by Callum and what he was doing. His breathing came in rapid pants. Mira bet if she looked down, she’d see his erection. Only she wasn’t going to look. For the first time feeling a bit left out, Mira started to reach for one of the cakes instead of waiting for Byron, tempted like she was with most things of theirs. She wanted to see what the fuss was about. Byron was busy. Only he wasn’t too busy to notice what she was doing. Byron pulled the pan closer to him, out of her reach, and smacked at her. She blinked at him. Was he not going to share with her? Maybe those cakes were all for Callum and him? Maybe she should go and let them dissolve into being lovers. Or maybe…? No, it couldn’t be that. It was. He picked up a cake with nimble fingers and held it out toward her. When she tried to take it, he moved it up and wouldn’t put it back down until she retreated. “Here you go.”

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Chapter Six This must be some sort of joke. “No.” She protested the obvious requirement to eat this piece of pastry from his fingers. He was going to feed her? There was no way. She couldn’t let him come so close to her and do something so intimate. How would she survive that? “Yes.” He smiled at her, showing all his white teeth. When she reached for the cake again, he again pulled it up into the air. Callum shifted his weight again, making the bench creak. “You won’t win. Byron always wins arguments. I wouldn’t even try.” He sounded amused, as if her efforts were making him chuckle. She frowned. Didn’t like this idea at all. “I can feed myself. I don’t need you to feed it to me.” She hadn’t been fed since Gaia knew when. Why would he want to feed her? Intimacy again? Not much was more intimate than being fed by another person. “Oh, but you do.” Byron shifted closer and put the cake nearer to her mouth. She could smell the sweetness. It had a nutty scent too. He knew what he was doing. He knew the smell would help motivate her to let him do what he wanted. Unfair. It smelled too good. Whereas she’d been so full before, suddenly she wanted a bite of that cake more than anything in the world. Byron had known that would happen. He was better at this game of intimacy than she was. She was playing against a master, and there was no way she would win. Or would it be winning? Was it the cake she wanted? Or something else…rather someone else? She wasn’t admitting anything beyond the cake to anyone, not even herself. What harm would playing along cause? Byron didn’t let her protest any more before he continued. “In days of old, dragon riders would make fresh kills every night. They’d prepare the meat and bring it before their human

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lovers. The lover who took away their fire. And they’d feed them until they were sated.” His voice took on a lilt of its own. “Only then would they gorge themselves.” “Hmmm.” She tried to ignore the unrest in her stomach. The butterflies winging their way to the surface. “And they’d feed them until they were sated.” The moisture pooled between her legs. That comment punched her to the point she couldn’t even breathe. Thrilling her? Scaring her? She wasn’t sure. They had probably done all kinds of things to make sure their lovers were sated. And it was obvious Byron and Callum wanted her fulfilled. In all ways. She’d never imagined dragon riders could be so solicitous of someone besides themselves. He offered up the cake again and nodded to her, encouraging her to take a bite. It was the most tempting piece of food there ever was. Why resist? This time she moved and took a little bite from it. The cake melted in her mouth. Deliciousness flooded her senses. It was sweet with a hint of nut, like it smelled. She could barely taste the nut and couldn’t tell what it was. The pomegranate was strong without being overwhelming. It was scrumptious. She closed her eyes and let her mouth concentrate on the vibrant flavor. She didn’t want anything to interfere with her enjoyment of Byron’s cake. Two moans sounded. She opened her eyes and found Byron and Callum both watching her intently with looks of longing. They also had looks of abject pain on their faces. Both of them modified their position. Would she find two erections? She didn’t look down to check. “What’s wrong?” Callum found his voice first. “You have no idea what you look like when you do that, do you?” He placed his hand in his lap. She didn’t follow the movement because she didn’t want to know. Her forehead creased. She’d never thought about what she looked like, especially eating. “What do I look like?” Callum shook his head. “You look like you’re in ecstasy.” “Do I?” Warmth flooded her face. She’d never imagined she could bring strong men to such places by a look.

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“Yes.” Byron sighed. “You look much like you do when you release during a climax.” He held out the cake again for her to take another bite. Would it be punishment or pleasure for them when she did so? Maybe a little of both. A little self-consciously, she took another bite. She couldn’t keep from reacting the same way to the taste, no matter how she tried. She’d never been able to lie about anything. And the cake was that good. Another groan bubbled up from deep within Byron’s throat that sounded like it started all the way at his toes. It was that deep. The bell from the old tower in the middle of town pealed four hard-won rings that climbed all over the fortress. Fifteen minutes until sundown. She knew what the bell meant. Every citizen did. It meant the dragon riders would be taking flight soon. Once the last rays of sun went down behind the inky curtain of night, the beasts would hit the sky. There had been enemies on and off for the past few years, but none as serious as the ones they faced now. She swallowed the suddenly dry piece of cake. “It’s almost time for you to change. To go.” Byron hadn’t had sex with her or any other human. Which would make him vulnerable tonight to the fires within and the attacks of the enemy. Byron sighed and held out the last bite of the small cake. “Yep. Almost time.” He lifted it up more. She hesitated taking the bite, even though she knew they had to hurry. Maybe if she wasted minutes, she could stop time and stay here with them. It was the first time she’d ever felt this…content. “Come on, Mira. Eat the last of it.” Byron encouraged her to take the bit. He was already distracted, probably by the coming darkness and change. She slowly reached with her mouth and took the last of the small nibble. It was as good as the rest of the bites had been. He did know how to make a tasty cake. Callum blew out a breath. He seemed suddenly restless. “Can you feel it? The change?” Every person in the small village hoped to turn dragon rider one day, unless he or she was like Mira and had a grudge against them. She’d never turned.

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She was well past the age of starting now, would never turn into one. She was fully human. But a part of her remained curious about the winged reptiles who breathed fire and flew missions each and every night. What did they feel when the dragon came upon them? Was it overwhelming? Sudden? Gradual? Callum nodded. “I can.” Byron agreed. “Me too.” “What’s it feel like?” Callum considered the question as Mira chewed on her lip. “I feel like…there is a dragon deep inside me. When it gets close to time, he gets restless. So do I. It’s like…I want to shed my skin. I can almost feel the dragon pacing, rippling inside me.” Byron nodded. “Same here. I can feel it lying beneath the surface, waiting for the chance to take flight.” They sat in silence a moment, hearing only the call of some birds and bats, one from the day ending their journey, the other beginning the night. Byron lifted from the bench as though he’d become heavier in the time he’d been sitting there. “We’d better get to…” “Fuck me.” The words were out of her mouth before she could even realize she was uttering them. She touched her mouth but wasn’t sure if she was trying to recall them or stop other words from tumbling out. “I don’t want you to explode.” Not the man who made such good cakes and treated her and orphans so nicely. He made her feel differently than anyone else ever had, like she wasn’t a burden but a treasure. Callum made her feel the same way. Byron’s grin was lopsided while Callum had a stunned expression on his face as if he couldn’t believe Mira had said what she had. “Not tonight.” “But you’ll be in danger. Because you haven’t…” Byron stretched his body out. “I appreciate the offer. I do. But it’s because you fear for me, not because you want to. I need you to want to.” Callum shifted reluctantly to his feet. “A fuck is a fuck, Byron. It would take the danger away tonight…”

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“And leave us nowhere in the morning.” Byron took several steps in the direction of the aviary where they’d take off. “I need her to want this. Not do it because she feels she has to.” He turned his back to them but then turned around. “Mira?” “Yes?” She couldn’t believe he was turning her down again. Again. After that dinner. After her orgasm. But she saw his point. He wanted something permanent. Once she entered into…sex with them, there would be no backing away. She’d not be walking away from them after that. Yes, if she’d had sex with him right now, she would have backed away. She hadn’t fully committed to this, only to the fact she wanted to take away his danger, which wasn’t enough. “Come with us.” “What?” Callum and she both echoed the same sentiment. He looked at her with as much puzzlement as she felt. What was Byron up to? “Watch us change. Come to the rooftop.” He looked as hopeful as a man could be. His eyes shone in the dimming sunlight. She was too stunned to even offer a protest. She’d never been invited to do anything like this before. They’d asked her to share in their world. Her. She’d never imagined to be asked such a thing, nor would she ever have wanted them to before now. Callum sputtered. “Do you think that’s a good idea?” He looked unsure, which in some ways made her want to go. “Geant’s woman comes to watch him all the time.” Byron moved back toward them. He looked determined. His temperature was still high. His cheeks were flushed. The fire was still burning from within. She swallowed. Would he make it through flying tonight if he didn’t fuck? Hard to believe her reluctance might bring down a dragon rider. “Yes, but they’ve been together a long while.” Callum glanced from Mira to Byron. “Do you think it’s a good idea for her to see us in dragon form based on her problems already with what we are?” Byron motioned to them both to start walking as he did. “We’re going to cut it close if we don’t hurry. We need to keep moving.”

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They both fell into line behind him. His steps got more hurried once he realized they followed him. “I think she needs to see us. She’s seen our human form. She needs to experience the dragon form. Maybe that will help her understand us. Come to some…I don’t know…closure with her past.” “Why closure?” Callum struggled to keep up with him. A good question. She wondered that as well. “Because she can see what being a dragon is. That we’re not so big and bad. Well, maybe we’re big, but we’re not evil. We just are.” The “she” who was listening didn’t know what to say. It sounded good in theory, but what would the reality be? Callum shrugged and looked at her. He seemed to be saying without saying it was up to her. Should she be afraid? Or thrilled they’d asked her? Should she accept? Or refuse? Hard to think when she was being hurried down gravel paths and up a set of steps she wasn’t sure would hold her. There wasn’t much time to decide. Nighttime was fast approaching, and they would soon change whether she wanted them to or not. She looked down at the hands that bore their mating marks. They were distinctive coils and kinks along their wrists. The marks lined up in a perfect continuation of the other like they were two halves of a whole. She’d heard they appeared out of nowhere once a bonding ritual was done. She could hardly believe that was true, yet they did have men who changed into dragons, so why not magically appearing tattoos? A gruff man watched as they came up on the ramparts. He nodded something that seemed like approval to them. “That’s Geant.” Byron nodded to him and shared a look with Callum. There seemed to be more to this event with Geant than they were telling her. Geant was the commander of all the dragon riders, but this was her first look at him. The lord should be there as well, though she didn’t see him in the midst of the dozen or so dragon riders all in the process of getting ready to change.

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Byron grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a corner with Callum, following behind them. He took a deep breath and inhaled close to her as if taking in her scent and marking his senses with it. “The dragons won’t hurt you. Stay here and watch.” He pulled back and breathed heavily. Had his voice become more guttural? Men paced the small rooftop and seemed to get more restless with each passing minute. Several growls and sighs were heard. They began stripping their clothes and laying them in piles that would wait for them to return. Would they all come back? Callum began to unbutton his shirt. He caught her eye and winked. He quickly took off all his garments. He was a lithe, tall man. His body was coated with sparse blond hair and roped muscles. His cock stood erect. He caught her looking and grinned, making his face look so boyish. He looked like some god they’d talked about in school, the one of fun and revelry. All she could think about was, was the erection for her? Probably so. Byron had started removing his clothes but didn’t finish until well after Callum. He went slow and deliberate. Each movement was precise. He made sure her gaze fell upon him as he undid the top of his pants. They splayed open, and she could see the tip of his erection peeking through the V. He slipped them down, and his cock sprang free like it was glad to be out of those confines. His body was heavier, more muscular than Callum’s. His cock was thicker. Everything about him was about broadness. He didn’t stop looking at her. She could feel his attention on her long after she turned her gaze away. She’d never seen two more beautiful men. And they wanted her. Her heart pounded. What would happen next? The sun dipped beyond the horizon. The last rays illuminated the village before dipping into darkness. At the precise moment when light met dark, bodies began changing. Muscles stretched. Limbs lengthened. Bones popped as they elongated. Her gaze stayed on Callum and Byron. She wanted to know what they looked like in dragon form. She didn’t want to miss a minute of their change.

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Skin loosened in waves before shriveling and turning to scales that gleamed even in the low light. Two dragons stood where two men had been a moment before. They took up a lot more space. Their massive bodies almost touched now where Callum and Byron had been a lot farther apart. She’d never seen anything so miraculous. Not even the birth of an animal or seed could compare to this. She held both of those things as bona fide miracles, so this was even more spectacular. Byron’s dragon was huge. In the dim light, it was hard to see, but she thought he was a glossy black. He had enormous wings that spread out behind him. They were curved like angel’s wings, only much bigger. They were probably bigger than she was. He was a glorious dragon who emitted power from every fiber of his being. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. Callum’s dragon was as different as the men were from each other. He was much lighter, almost a golden hue in color, and more limber. His wings were smaller but came to a pointed tip as though he could fly fast. His entire body spoke of speed, while Byron’s spoke about fighting. They matched each other as perfectly as dragons as they did in human form. They were magnificent creatures. She’d never imagined such beauty in them. Never paid attention to the dragon part of the dragon riders. Such glory poured from them both. She’d never seen their like and probably never would again. They took her breath away. By asking her there, Byron had given her a great gift. She’d now seen a dragon up close and gotten to see the change. He’d shared with her in an intimate way. A most intimate way. Both Byron and Callum had shared as much as they could of a part of their life that not many knew about. They’d taken her into their lives as much as they could. Such beauty; how could these two creatures be evil? Her heart pounded at the knowledge she’d been given. They weren’t taking off like the rest of the dragons. Wingbeats split the air, making it hard to hear. Soon only the three of them were left on the rooftop. The other dragons had all winged away to find their fights. Why weren’t they taking off? Instead of taking flight, they stood there staring at her as if memorizing every feature.

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She blinked as Byron’s dragon swung his head her way. He dipped down that massive neck and looked her over. His breath blew against her, hot as a summer wind before a forest fire. The breath blew her dress, which billowed around her. He smelled of woods and smoke, not a bad combination. Callum’s head came in for an even closer dip. His face almost touched her body. Instead of the heat of his breath, she could feel the heat from the man. Dragon riders don’t eat people, do they? She tried to think about any stories she’d read on them, but she’d never known of many humans watching their change. She couldn’t think of any stories of dragon riders eating humans, but Callum and Byron wouldn’t hurt her either. She didn’t back away. Both sets of nostrils flared as though they were taking in a scent. Their lips curled as they took their time sniffing the air around her. She felt their breath as they sucked in, and then felt it expel. They were smelling her. Smelling her. Byron had taken one last whiff when he was a human to familiarize his senses with her aroma. Now the two dragons crowded as close to her as they could get, smelling her all the while, as if to get her scent deeper within them. Did they recognize her? They seemed to. How much did they retain of their human selves when they changed? Did they know her? Or was the scent merely triggering something like recognition? Like they knew the scent but not who she was? She was going to have to read up on dragon rider lore and behavior after this experience. Byron’s dragon snorted before lifting that massive head. He caught her gaze and nodded while bringing his head down. The eyes were huge and staring. They were Byron’s eyes. Though bigger, they were still the eyes of the man. In that gaze, she saw recognition. He knew who she was and let her know he knew. She nodded back to him. He lowered his head again as if bowing to her. He dipped his face toward her and stayed there, watching her.

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It should have made her uncomfortable. But it didn’t. She liked his gaze taking her in. Consuming her. She wanted to reach over and stroke his face, but she refrained. She didn’t know if Byron’s dragon liked to be touched as much as Byron the man. Callum’s head bobbed up and down but without the reverence Byron showed to her. He then lowered his head to the other side of her and remained in position like Byron. She could reach out and touch them both at the same time—they were that close, yet they weren’t crowding her. It was oddly comforting, these two large beasts bowing their heads before her and remaining that way. She’d known horses to stand like that when they wanted a rub. Surely the dragons didn’t want her to touch them? Did they? Could they be aching for her touch as much as she desired to touch them? Gingerly, she moved closer to Byron’s head. She took it slow, allowing him the time to pull away. If they bit her, she was never going to forgive them. ’Course, a bite from them would probably end her forgiving days, because it would take her whole hand. Maybe she’d haunt them if they bit her. She touched the nose of the dragon. She could hardly believe she was doing this. It was surreal. The scales were surprisingly soft and flexible. Not wet or unyielding. They felt shiny with a satin edge over something hard, but not too hard to maneuver. She reached out to stroke Callum’s nose at the same time. His scales felt much the same as Byron’s but were smoother. They were smaller and tighter to his skin. Probably went along with everything he seemed to have for fast flying. She was touching dragons, and they appeared to like it. They weren’t eating her, so she thought that was a good sign. They could have swallowed her in one bite. She kept her touch gentle as she rubbed them. Her fingers tingled with warmth and with the knowledge of what she did.

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Something like a purr bubbled up in both of them. The sound echoed from deep within. Callum’s eyes even closed. Byron’s eyes didn’t close, but he tipped his head back, allowing her to get a good rub in. I am touching two dragons. They’re purring at my touch and not making me a bonfire or a snack. A bellow from the skies sounded, breaking whatever spell had been spun around the three still left on the roof. Byron jerked his head up, looked at something moving in the darkness. Another bellow. Something shouted. It sounded like a fight in the Southern quadrant, a problem section before, according to reports. He nodded to her again with a look that said he’d be back and took off. His wings flapped, making flutter sounds. She’d thought he was magnificent on the ground. That was nothing compared to Byron in the air. He glided away, seemingly effortlessly. He soared up, his body becoming one with the wind. “Beautiful.” She wasn’t sure she spoke aloud but thought she had. He was the ultimate example of grace. Callum closely followed him. If Byron was grace, Callum was even more so. He didn’t even seem to need to flap his wings. Instead he looked as though he floated in the air. She watched until they disappeared into the darkness. Had it been light, she could have seen them in flight longer. But then they wouldn’t be dragons, would they? She’d never watched the dragon riders flying, even when others had gone to watch them from the ground. She was the only person she knew who’d been so close to a dragon. It was an experience she’d never forget. She looked at her hands. If she hadn’t been convinced she was awake, she would have thought it was a dream. As it was, she was tempted to pinch her arm to see if she’d wake up and be alone in her bed. If she had only been dreaming, she could ignore the entire day and go back to her old life. Her normal life. The life where she didn’t have any conflicting emotions for dragon riders but instead hated them all.

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She couldn’t summon up her usual hatred for the beasts; rather, she kept picturing them going up into the sky. They could have swallowed her with one bite. However, the big beasts had lingered and longed for her touch. Her touch. No one else’s. No one had ever been that enamored of her before. She’d never felt so wanted. Or so confused. Luckily she had a night to think about them and what she wanted to do. Byron didn’t have long. She owed it to him to make a decision right away. Could she go back to her mundane life as a gardener, alone, unneeded, unloved, and bored? Plod along as she always had? Especially now she knew what she knew? Especially now she’d felt them against her? Seen their beautiful beasts? Truthfully, from this instant on, she didn’t think her life would ever be the same again, no matter which direction she went in. They’d changed her life from the instant they’d noticed her watching them from the alleyway. The path back to her house was lonely and arduous.

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Chapter Seven Byron landed with a thud on the building top. He shook his head at both the harsh landing and the shock to his system at being human again. Breathing heavily, he took in his surroundings. Callum landed with a thump nearby. He had a gash on his shoulder from a particularly nasty fight. A Wardona dragon’s claws had sliced him. Byron had sunk that dragon to the ground. It was all he remembered from the night of flight. He glanced around as others started getting on their clothes. He checked in all four corners of the large, flat rooftop, where someone might think they could hide, especially in the bustle of all the others there. The launching platform was wide, so he had to move around to see all the edges amid the dragon riders landing. No Mira. He’d expected her to be there. She’d looked so starry-eyed when they’d been changing into dragons. He had a memory of ducking his head down as a dragon before her. Was that real? Or had he imagined it? Her gaze had been full of wonder as she’d reached out to touch him. That had to have been real. Only now she wasn’t there. She wasn’t waiting for them to return. Maybe letting her see them had been a bad idea. Callum had said so, but especially after her reaction to them, Byron had thought it might help her deal with what they were. “Damn.” He muttered the words as Callum sauntered up to him. What had he expected? Her to fall into their arms? That was a crock. It would probably take more than a little bit of wonder to cement their relationship.

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“She’s not here.” Callum stated the obvious as he handed Byron his clothes. He looked around much like Byron had a few seconds before. Had Callum expected her to be there too? Was Byron not as much a fool as he thought he was? “Nope.” “I expected her to be.” Callum’s voice was clipped as he began to pull on his clothes. “I did.” So Byron hadn’t been alone in that. He swallowed deeply as he pulled on his pants. “I did too.” Callum put on his shirt but didn’t button it. “She’s close to letting us in. I thought…after the way she reacted to our dragons…well, that she was there.” “So did I. So did I.” Byron pulled on his shirt. “I guess that was too much. She’s not going to be ready for us.” Maybe too, the dragon wonder was something that would wear off. They’d needed her decision to hold fast and first, not be transitory. Callum hemmed for a minute. “You might be right. She might not ever be ready, and if she’s not here…” He trailed off before looking into the sky. “We’ll find someone else. Someone who can be there for us.” Byron spun around so quickly, he almost fell into Callum. “I don’t want anyone else.” He shook his head. “She’s the only one. I feel it in my bones.” He’d only been surer about one other person: Callum. “If she won’t…” Callum shrugged. “Then you need someone else. Much as I want her, and I do, I need your fires quenched.” A determined look came onto Callum’s face as his jaw tightened and set. Callum was trying to protect him from the ultimate truth. Byron didn’t comment but instead looked around the roof. Callum’s gaze followed his. “She’s not here. I’ve looked everywhere. There are no places to hide up here.” “I know.” Byron moved to one side, checking around. “I know she’s not here. But I don’t see Geant.”

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“You probably missed him. He probably threw on some clothes and headed off already.” Callum looked, then paused and looked at something else. His mouth drew down into a frown. Byron followed his gaze. In the middle of several dragon riders, there was a pile of clothes. A pile of clothes not being put on. One of the others pointed to it. “Did anyone see Geant? Did he come back? Did anyone see him as a dragon?” It was Lord Rogin, speaking in tones that meant business. No one had seen him. Not since they’d taken off. “Go to his house. See if he’s there.” The lord looked troubled as he finished buttoning up his shirt. Callum put on shoes. “Let’s go home.” Byron almost said they needed to wait to see if Geant was home, but what was the point? If he’d been captured or worse, there wasn’t much that could be done for him. Any rescue party would have to wait for nighttime and dragons anyway. It was a perfect end to an already shitty day, and it was still morning, so a long time before the day would be over. “Okay.” The dragon riders were filtering down into the streets and talking about Geant and the possibility he’d been captured. No one thought Geant could die, or at least they weren’t talking about that possibility. “Should we wait?” Callum said finally, probably because Byron wasn’t traveling very fast. “He’s gone. He wouldn’t have gone home to change. He would have been on the rooftop. Can’t launch a rescue until tonight.” Byron tried to be pragmatic, but he still felt raw on the inside. “Nothing we can do in this form.” Callum clapped him on the arm. “Geant will be fine. We’ll find him.” He moved off toward their home. “He’s tough.” He didn’t sound convinced. Byron followed him. He didn’t say anything because there was nothing to say that wouldn’t be a lie. Callum walked up to the door. He jiggled the knob. “Did you lock it when we left?” He twisted it, showing the door was unlocked.

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“I don’t remember.” All he could remember was dinner with her. Her coming to the dragon riders’ aviary. The look of pure amazement she’d had in her gaze as they’d changed over their forms. Callum shrugged and leaned over to plant a kiss on Byron’s lips. “It’s all going to be okay, lover.” Callum sounded sure. Byron wasn’t. The woman he wanted to ease him seemed to be going backward instead of forward. Their leader had probably been taken or shot down by the enemy. All he wanted to do was fall into bed. And he couldn’t even make love to Callum without worrying about fire buildup. They walked into the simple living room. It had been Byron’s place before Callum had moved in, and Byron didn’t have much. He’d lived simply. Callum stopped short, and Byron almost ran into him. He stopped just in time. He looked beyond Callum. Mira was sitting on a wooden bench. She wore a gauzy white nightgown, and if he was seeing things right, nothing else. It floated down around her body, clinging, barely concealing parts he wanted to see. “Hi.” She bit her lip and pulled her legs up under her body. Callum started breathing again, as did Byron. “Hi, yourself. How did you get in here?” Callum didn’t take a step forward, and he blocked Byron from doing so. Which was probably a good thing, as Byron wanted to run to her side and throw himself into her body. Lose his consciousness in her body. He still needed to take things slowly. He kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. She’d chosen. She’d known how things would be, and she’d chosen to be with them. No matter what else happened, she’d made her choice. Things could still go awry, but for now… She’d picked being with them. Byron almost couldn’t breathe again. “You know what this means.” She laughed, a light sound in the heavy stillness of the air. “So many questions and comments. You left the door unlocked. Should see to that.”

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At first Byron was confused, and then he realized she was answering Callum’s question and not his. Her gaze shifted to Byron. “And yes, yes, I do know what this means. I know I’m ready to be with you. I want to ease you because I want to, not because I’m worried about you. I want to be with you right now. But you need to understand, I’m not sure it will be forever…only for now—I need this. I want this. I’m not ready to take on the bond. I may never be. I need you to understand that.” “Why? Why do you want to do this?” “Because I need this. I left you and couldn’t stop thinking about you. I need to pursue this for me, not because of any other reason.” It wasn’t all he’d hoped for, but it was something. “Despite what we are?” Byron needed to be sure. He needed her to be sure. Because he never planned to let her go, even with the doubts she was expressing. That was something he’d only realized with her coming to him tonight. She’d do well to escape now if she had misgivings about what he was. The rest they’d work through. “We’re dragon riders. And your mother…father…” He couldn’t say the words, but she’d know what he meant. “I know. You’re not responsible for that. My parents were. I’m here to be with you two and see where this goes. Wherever it goes.” That was all Byron needed to hear. He walked forward in front of Callum and scooped her up in his arms. “First place this goes is in our bedroom.” He tried to continue to breathe so he wouldn’t overheat. “Good plan.” Callum followed behind them. “Very nice plan indeed.” He shut the bedroom door behind them and locked it. They both looked at him. “Nothing is coming in here to interrupt this. Nothing.” His jaw set into a hard line. His cock was hard and ready. Byron chuckled and tossed her onto the mattress. “Point taken.” He moved around to the foot of the bed. “Nothing is.”

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She nodded. “Nothing.” She took a scoot backward on the bed. “I do have to tell you both something.” “What’s that?” Callum pulled off his shirt with ease, letting it fall to the floor with a swoosh. “I’m a virgin.” She sounded nervous, as though she’d never said the words before, and she probably hadn’t. “I’ve never been with one man, much less two. You’re going to have to be…” “Gentle.” Byron finished the sentence. “Of course we will be.” He’d known she was a virgin and they’d have to be as careful as they could be. He looked at Callum pointedly. “We wouldn’t be anything else.” Callum swallowed, and the sound was almost audible. He’d realized what Byron already had. They’d never been with a woman before. Not together. Both of them had separately. She wasn’t the only one going through a first time. He reached over and grasped Callum’s hand. He didn’t say anything, just gave it a squeeze. They could do this. They’d never wanted anything more than being with her right now, and they’d find a way to work through the nervousness. Callum’s smile was wide and back to being cocky. He had a look that said with Byron by his side, he could do anything. Byron liked that look. “Will your shoulder be okay for this?” She pointed to the shoulder with the gash from the earlier fight. “Don’t you worry about me.” Callum grinned at both of them. “I’m more than up for this.” Byron slowly unbuttoned his shirt before letting it fall to the floor, much as Callum had a few minutes ago. He undid the button. She let out a small exclamation. “You’ve seen us naked.” Callum was already pulling down his pants. Byron stopped to watch as Callum’s heavy cock sprang free. “Yeah. But that was…different.”

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“How so?” Callum stepped from his pants and shoes in one fluid motion. He now stood before them flaunting the body he knew turned them on. “Because then it wasn’t going to be followed up by sleeping with us.” Byron took his time unzipping his pants and pulling them down his legs to midthigh and stopping. She nodded, keeping her gaze on him with an occasional glance at Callum. “How did you know that?” She seemed shocked he’d answered for her. “Because I know you.” Or at least he was starting to. He stepped out of his shoes before sliding his pants over his legs. “No one has ever known me so well before.” She watched as he stood before her completely nude. Her gaze seemed to be focused on his erection. Good place. He moved onto the bed, and Callum mirrored his movements, coming up the other side to lie by her. The sheets were cool against his hot body. But not cool enough to do anything about the heat building up inside. Especially with the objects of his desire lying beside him. He leaned over and kissed Mira slowly and thoroughly. He put all his pent-up longing into the kiss. By the time he was done, he was panting and felt even hotter than before. How was he not going to combust before he went inside her? He had to make it to that point to get his release. It was the only thing that would ease his fire. He’d never felt so uneasy about having sex in his life. He didn’t want his two lovers to watch him burn up. He watched as Callum leaned over and put a hand on her chin to tip her face his way. He claimed her lips in a punishing kiss that seemed to go on for decades. Who would have thought watching a would-be lover and a current lover kiss would be hot? Not Byron, but apparently it was the hottest thing ever. He groaned, feeling his cock jerk in response. Sweat poured out from his pores. He growled but doubted they even heard him as they were so caught up in the kiss. Yes, he was going to combust soon if he didn’t get a grip on his emotions. No, he’d come too close to combust now. He had to manage his heat. Somehow he’d find a way to get through this intact. For their sake and his.

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Callum finished up the kiss and pulled back from her. His breathing had grown erratic. His gaze immediately turned to Byron. “You okay, lover?” His eyes had genuine concern reflected in them. Byron nodded but couldn’t talk right then. If he did, he might babble, and Byron didn’t babble. Callum leaned over Mira to plant a kiss on Byron’s lips. It was sweet and gentle, unlike the kiss he’d given to Mira. It was less wild and frantic. It was what Byron needed. It helped him get control of his spiraling warmth. Did Callum taste Mira on Byron’s lips the same way Byron did on Callum’s? It was a sweet taste and not unpleasant. Byron liked recollecting how the taste had gotten there. It had been a hell of a kiss. Callum pulled away. “You sure you can do this? Make it to the end without the fire getting you?” Exactly what Byron was worried about. Guess Callum knew Byron well too. “Yes, lover, I’ll be fine.” He smiled at Mira, who was watching them with glowing eyes. “We all will.” With those words, he felt it would be okay. “So…what happens next?” Her voice was slightly tremulous but got stronger near the end. “You get naked?” Callum sounded hopeful. He waggled his eyebrows at her, keeping the moment light, exactly what she and Byron needed. “I would say that would be next.” Byron nodded. “Definite next step.” He ran a hand along the side of her arm. “Okay.” She sounded a little shyer than even earlier. She slid to the foot of the bed and then to the floor. She put her hands on the bottom of her dress. “Slowly.” Byron settled up beside Callum to watch. He had imagined her naked since the first moment she’d come to their attention. “Take your time.” She blinked at him. “But you need…” He didn’t let her finish. “I need this done right.” While he was in a hurry, he wanted to savor this moment. Tonight would be about only bliss.

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She nodded and began to wrangle her nightdress up in the air. She slid it inch by inch up her body, each tug revealing a new part of flesh. She had two men hanging on each and every upward movement. Did she know what taking that nightdress off would do to them? Of course she would do it. Byron had asked for that, hadn’t he? He’d better be careful asking for things from this point on, because she was only too happy to comply. The fabric reached her middle, and she slowly slid it up above her breasts. She wasn’t wearing underwear, and the thin material had hardly hidden her breasts, but he ached to catch a sight of them without the covering. The garment reached her neck, and she slipped it over her head. She stood before them in all her naked glory. And what glory it was. She had flared hips, long slim legs, and a chest that wouldn’t quit. Her nipples were hard, rosy, and large. Her stomach was flat, and a small covering of hair rested between her thighs. Byron lost the ability to speak or think for several minutes while he gawked at her. He acted like the teenager he’d been what seemed like a lifetime ago. Callum summed it up perfectly. “Hot damn.” Her smile was hesitant but bright. She looked a little unsure still. She had no reason to doubt her body’s effect on them but seemed to. “Beautiful.” Byron finally pulled his tongue back in and spoke the word echoing around his brain, where there was a deficit of blood. The smile widened so he could see all her beautiful white teeth. Her tongue crept out to lick her lips. The sight of it did things unimaginable to Byron. He wanted that tongue wrapped around him. He’d do almost anything to get it. His fire flared up with a burning intensity he hadn’t felt before. His body broke out into a sweat. He took several deep breaths, trying to cool down. Both Mira and Callum looked at him worriedly by the time he had enough breath back to speak.

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“How do we stop that from happening?” She approached the bed and crept upon it on her knees. “Tell me how to stop that from happening.” His voice was so guttural, he almost didn’t recognize it as his. “I need to be inside you.” He didn’t add “now,” but that seemed to be implied. Later, he’d see to it they bonded. This wouldn’t be a one-time deal. “Then forever.” She frowned. “I want to try this…but…” She still wasn’t sure if they’d go through with the bonding ritual that would secure her to them forever. The one he and Callum had already performed. “One step at a time. I know.” A slight smile graced her lips. “Okay. Let’s…” He reached out to touch her arm. “You need to be…prepared for your first time.” He looked hopelessly at Callum. “I…” He wasn’t sure how much he could do without the heat flashing up and engulfing him. Callum smiled widely. “Oh, I think I can handle that.” He nodded toward Byron. “You sit back and relax. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” A voyeur. He’d never been one of those before. Yes, this was a night of firsts for them. He settled in to watch.

Callum had a tasty treat in front of him, and he wanted to be everywhere at once. She was so long-limbed and wonderfully made. There had never been another woman he’d wanted more than he wanted Mira right now. The only other person he’d ever wanted as much was Byron, who had made himself comfortable. Callum was going to drive him nuts. He would make sure they both were ready before the big finish. The finish that would give Byron the human sex he needed to take the edge off the flame. The finish that would be a first time for her having sex, and a first time for Callum having sex with two people. Byron hadn’t had sex with two before either. Not only was it sex with two people, but it was the two people he wanted most. This sex would connect them, and eventually they’d bond forever with a mating ritual as old as time. Even with her doubts, he’d known there

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was no walking away from her after this. Ever. Eventually she’d be ready to take the plunge into mating with them and undertake the ceremony. How had she come to mean so much to him in such a short time? He wasn’t sure. Only maybe it was meant to be her all along, even when he’d had doubts they’d convince her. Funny how Byron had always known it needed to be her. Callum moved toward her and said, “Lie back.” She lay back with her head on the pillow. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes sparkled with a liveliness she hadn’t had when they’d first met. He liked that look. He crept over to her to place his mouth atop hers. She tasted of mint and something wholly Mira. He kissed as deeply as he could until he couldn’t breathe anymore. He sat back to look her over again. Yes, she was his playground he would share with Byron after this day. Good thing he’d always been good at sharing. He reached out to stroke along her face. Her body tensed as his fingers touched her skin. He ran his touch along her jawline and slowly tilted her head so he could taste her in a tantalizing spot under her ear. She let out a low moan as he made contact with her skin. Byron made an answering noise. Callum hadn’t even gotten to the good parts, and they were already going nuts. Yes, this was going to be fun. He worked his way down her neck, nipping and nibbling, until he reached her collarbone. He kissed gently along it under the column of her throat until he reached the other side of her neck. He found the same promising spot on that side and kissed gently. The smell of her musk increased in the air. Shivering, she brought her hand up to clutch at his shoulder without any weight behind it while staying away from his other shoulder with the wound.

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He found her earlobe and nipped at that. He made his way up her ear and then back down again, until he reached her ear canal. He drove his tongue down deep and played much as he or Byron would play with her later—plunging his cock into her pussy. More localized shuddering came from her. After a few moments of keeping his tongue in her ear, he pulled away and worked his way back down her neck. He glanced quickly at Byron, who sat transfixed. He watched as if he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He also fanned himself vigorously. Byron would find a way to hold it together until they all fucked. It was why he’d put Callum in charge of prepping her for their taking. He didn’t want to get too hot in the beginning and not make it to the end. It was a challenge Callum was up for. He turned his attention back to the lovely lady in front of him. He worked his way back across her collarbone and pressed a kiss into the hollow of her throat. He stroked her side. Her skin was like satin. So smooth. It called to him. He moved down and kept his face level with her breasts. She had ample ones. Firm. Globed. Breasts a man could get lost in. Like now. He lowered his head and gently swiped his tongue across a pebbled nipple. He then swung his tongue back and forth across her in rapid succession. She squirmed, almost lifting off the bed. Her hips bucked slightly. More scent of musk filled the air. Yes, exactly what he needed to do. He needed her wet. They had oil for lubricant, but she’d need all the moisture she could get as she’d never been taken that way before. Or any way. It still thrilled him they’d be her first. They’d breach her together. Make her theirs. As Byron had done from the first moment he’d met Callum. He sucked her nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue and treating her like the world’s best meal. She writhed under him, letting him know she was enjoying what he was doing. “Please…”

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What exactly she was begging him to do, he wasn’t sure. He moved to her other side, dropping kisses in that lovely valley between her breasts. He pressed a quick kiss to the side of the breast he hadn’t touched yet and then proceeded to give it equal treatment. Was only fair. After she almost lifted off the bed, he meandered down her torso, pressing scattered kisses in his wake. He found the rise where her pelvis joined her torso and kissed that too. Then he moved down with his feet hanging off the bed and looked down into heaven, otherwise known as her pussy. Now he could smell her strongly. The scent of her arousal. Her hips quaked as she lifted her head. He went into her like he was going to war. All in. He attacked with gusto, tasting her, giving her pleasure, and keeping her from pulling away when the feelings got too good. Couldn’t have her not getting all she was supposed to. He sucked her clit into his mouth and suckled on the flap of skin. He let his teeth graze her, gently, not harshly. Her hips bucked wildly. He backed off and licked up and then down her before sucking her into his mouth again, enjoying the feel and taste of her. Her whole body tightened, and she shivered as though vibrating from within her very self. Her breathing was ragged. A scream rent the air. And still he continued, sucking her until she finally quieted. Only then did he lift his mouth from her. Byron made a strangled sound. Callum had been so into giving Mira pleasure, he’d almost forgotten Byron. Almost but not all the way. He’d made sure Byron could see everything he did. Byron looked hot and bothered. His cock stuck out from his body. He was covered in sweat, and his skin had reddened. Callum looked down at her. She lay as if she were a puddle on the bed. Her body was relaxed and covered in sweat like Byron’s. She didn’t even have a flame inside. She was flushed and looked weak.

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Her eyes fluttered opened, and she glanced at them. “Oh my.” Callum swirled a finger into her pussy, and she jumped. She was coated in her juices, as she should be. He looked back toward Byron as he removed his finger. “Are you ready? Can you take this?” “Shit yeah.” Byron reached over to fumble in a drawer in the nightstand. He took out a sweet-smelling oil that they used as lubricant. “What’s that?” Her voice was quiet and breathy. She seemed to be having trouble catching her breath. “It will help Callum get into you.” Byron looked at her face with an expression Callum had seen many times before. Lust. It made Callum’s legs go weak. Good thing he wasn’t standing up. She blinked up at them with confusion dawning on her face. “Into me?” She paused, still staring up into their faces. “You do know how this works?” Byron asked, moving a little closer. “How taking both of us will work?” She shook her head with a shy smile. “Not exactly. I guess I should ask.” She seemed almost apologetic. That had never occurred to Callum, though it should have. Should have occurred to Byron too, but it must not have. They’d assumed because she’d come to them she knew what they would do to her. “Fuck.” She looked from his face to Callum’s. “That’s what we’re about to do, aren’t we?”

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Chapter Eight It was stupid. She should have lied to cover her ignorance. She knew about one man and one woman, knew where the parts went and what happened. She knew what two men did to each other after watching Callum and Byron that night. But it had never occurred to her how two men took one woman. Unless… No. Surely that couldn’t be right. “One of you is going to take me up the butt?” Her voice went higher, something she couldn’t help. “While one of you takes me from the front?” “There are many ways for men to take a woman.” Byron moved closer on the bed, still holding the oil. “We’ll experiment with many over our lifetime, but yes, today, I’d like to take you from the front, and Callum would like to take you from behind. We want to share you, if that’s okay with you?” At the same time. She gulped. “Will it hurt? Sorry to ask.” “Never worry about asking. You come first. Before anything.” Byron looked at Callum. “It…can, if someone doesn’t do it right.” Callum smiled reassuringly at her. “But I know how to do it right.” “You do?” “Yeah, plenty of lubricant.” He took the vial from Byron and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “And slowness.” He pulled back. “I will do this right, and it will not hurt you. If it does hurt, and you want to stop it, just say the words. We will stop immediately.” Byron took a deep breath. “I’m not sure how slow I can go.” “Which is why you’re in front this round.” Callum turned his attention back to Mira. “I’ll have to match my movements to his. We can do this. But only if you want to. Do you want to do this with us?”

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Odd how much she trusted them. They seemed so sincere, especially Callum. They would make this work. They’d take her together, which filled her with all kinds of thrills. If she ever bonded with them, they’d spend their whole lives doing things like this as a threesome. This was the first step. They knew that and so did she. They wanted to take it and so did she, even if it scared her. Heck, the whole relationship with them scared her, but she wasn’t backing away from this. They’d let her back out, do whatever she wanted. Which gave her even more determination to do this. “Yes, I do want to.” She lay back again and relaxed her body. Or at least as much as she could. “Turn on your side.” Byron’s voice commanded her. He left no room for argument, nor did he seem to expect it. Yes, he was going to be the one in charge here. She had a feeling it wasn’t only because he was the one who needed this the most. Of course they all needed this. They needed to be together. Whatever the future might hold with bonding rituals and danger, they needed this day. She obeyed without questioning him. She lay with her hip pressed to the mattress. She tried to relax but couldn’t help being tense. Did they notice? Byron moved over in front of her. His face was soft, not as rough as his voice. “I’m so glad I get to watch you as I take you.” He was trying to put her at ease. They would do their best for her. She relaxed a little more. “A benefit to being in front.” Callum’s voice came from behind her. He uncorked the bottle. She could hear the pop. “You’ll do front next time.” Byron lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her thoroughly, and she forgot about what Callum was doing. Byron kissed her gently, his tongue swirling around hers. The kiss was slow and easy as though he had all the time in the world. His skin was hot as he moved against her. So scorching. But his kiss remained calm and soft. Callum’s finger entered her backside. There was slipperiness she wasn’t used to. He must have put the oil into her.

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She’d never been touched there. He swirled his finger around her and then pressed in with surprising accuracy. It felt strange and good all at the same time. She tried to decide if she liked it. Sensations swirled across her, enveloping her in their pleasure. Oh yes, she did like this. Her butt cheeks clenched. Byron continued kissing her and fondled her breasts. He was keeping her from focusing on exactly what Callum was doing. And what a good way to do it. She lost her consciousness of anything else in all the touches being laid upon her. She moaned against his heavy lips. Too good. She felt too good. Amazing when she’d already climaxed once. Should that have taken the edge off? She was feeling edgy and in need of something…anything. Things felt tighter in the back. Callum had now gone to three fingers. He kept pressing in, pulling out. It was a rhythmic movement. Tighter still. A fourth finger. He was preparing her. Getting her ready for his cock that would soon be going up a hole that had never been penetrated. Of course neither had her pussy been penetrated, but she’d at least expected that at some point. She had at least explored that part of her with her fingers. The fingers withdrew after several minutes of movement and stretching. They didn’t return, much to her disappointment. Both Byron and Callum moved at the same time. Byron sidled up in front of her. He dipped his hand down to his cock, and then he slipped his other hand to her hip as if to hold her in place. He moved against her. “Damn me, but I can’t…wait.” His words came out in a breathy flourish. He was losing control. He lined them up so they were even with each other and slowly slid his cock into her, not slamming in but easing inside. She was tight around him, her walls being stretched, but it was so slick, it wasn’t painful. He slipped in bit by bit, slowly moving toward her.

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While Byron was doing that, Callum grasped her hip in one hand, his other hand on Byron’s, their mating marks touching. He must have lined his cock up too. She felt a small push into her back hole, not as far in as Byron. Byron’s hand tightened on her hip. Callum was only penetrating a little, and it already felt like it would split her. How would she ever do this? She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Callum paused. More wetness. More pressing. Careful pressing. Callum still didn’t go in as far as Byron had. He took even more time. Byron put his mouth back on hers. He pressed against her too, going in only a little bit deeper. They both stayed the same depth even as they moved back and forth, letting her adjust to their penetration. When Callum would move back, Byron would press forward. When Byron would move back, Callum would press inside her. She had no idea how long they stayed like that. It seemed like hours and minutes at the same time. Her mind was too full of the feel of both of them inside her, no matter how superficial the penetration was. Byron slipped farther. No pain. Only stretching and pleasure. He was inside her, not all the way but enough to feel him. Callum slowly slid a little farther down. Still no pain. More stretching back there. Lots of feelings swirling around. Her entire body felt like it had been put on a lightning rod. Occasionally, she’d feel Callum back off, and more wetness would seem to be there, easing his path. He was a man of his word. He was taking it slow and adding lots of oil as she knew he would.

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She relaxed completely, giving her senses over to the two men who had quickly become invested in her life. Byron seated himself fully in her first. He pressed all the way inside her. Such nerve endings as she’d never felt before exploded all over her pussy. A fireworks show. Her orgasm spread out across her, lights splashing against her eyes as the wave of pleasure shot through her. She realized he held his libido in check, not moving for a second as though to let her feel him. The strain of waiting made his muscles tense and his arms shake. Then he moved one small swipe against her. He went all the way back down, grinding into her. Callum pressed, thrusting in opposition to Byron, and after two thrusts was fully inside her backside. One would bear down in penetration while the other lifted. It was as if they were split into two parts working together. Her world shrank to the two of them and what they were doing to her. The entire planet could have exploded and she never would have known. All that existed for her were the two lovers inside her. Pleasure ebbed and flowed. Occasionally she’d be right at pain, but then one of them would pull back, and the threshold would change. In and out. She could see Byron’s face. His eyes were closed. His forehead crinkled as though he was seriously concentrating. Sweat beaded in the lines. She’d always remember his look right then. The look of concentration. She’d see it in her mind forever. His first time taking her. It wouldn’t be the last. She might not be sure of bonding with them, but she was going to be with them awhile. His speed quickened. His hips jousted furiously against her. He couldn’t seem to get close enough to her. Callum met his speed and picked up the pace. Parts of him slapped against parts of her as he maintained the motions. Nothing hurt. There was so much wetness back there. Each of them was slamming against her. Faster and faster. Deep within her pussy and anus.

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Callum’s shout took them both by surprise. He called her name and let out a wild sound that was neither growl nor yell. He tightened his hand on Byron’s and on her hip to the point of near pain. He seemed lost in the thrusts. Byron was only a second behind him. He shouted her name and an oath to Gaia in a hoarse voice. Byron collapsed against her, his skin sliding toward hers in delicious ways and his sweat merging with hers. Callum pulled away and blew out some deep breaths. She could feel him quivering behind her. She wanted to ask Byron if he was better, but she couldn’t find the voice. She’d never in a million years imagined her life going this way. It had been the best time of her life. She’d become ensnared in the dragon’s lair and would enjoy them for all they were worth.

**** Byron woke up with a slight grunt and a snore. He was in his bed, tangled in his covers. He looked beside him at the beauty lying next to him. She was snuggled up between Callum and him as if she’d always been there. He rolled to look at the ceiling. The heat was gone. He’d felt it last night after they’d had sex before they’d collapsed into each other and fallen asleep. The fire that had been plaguing him for so many months, burning up his insides, was gone. No lasting impression of it. It was just gone. She’d taken it away. Had given him so much. He could get used to waking up like this every damn morning, that was for sure. Almost too easily. Callum’s eyes fluttered open. “Good morning, lover.”

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Before Byron could shush him, Mira’s eyes bolted open. “Oh good. It wasn’t a dream.” She looked from Callum to Byron with a wide smile. “Nope. Not a dream.” Byron’s body sagged with relief. He’d been worried she would find a way to resist them again when she woke up. “Thank Gaia.” She moved and winced. “I need to…” They all had to. They each took turns to do what nature needed them to. She was moving a lot slower than Byron would like. When she came back, he patted the bed between him and Callum again. “Come on.” She shyly climbed in between them and cuddled as closely as she had before. “How are you feeling?” She looked at him anxiously. “Better. Much better.” “It worked?” He nodded. “Yes.” He felt so much better. It made him realize how lousy he’d been feeling these last few months. She snuggled against him, letting out a soft sigh that sounded as contented as a cat lying on a spot warmed by sunshine. His cock slipped against her leg, pressing in with hardness. He’d been hard since he woke up. She gasped and moved backward away from the cock pressing against her thigh. She seemed shocked he’d have an erection. Callum grinned. “Yeah, I’m the same way.” He rocked against her, presumably letting her know how hard he was too. He must have his early-morning boner like Byron did. Something she would have to get used to in their life together. Her voice was hesitant. “I’m not sure I’m up for that now.” She sounded as shy as she had last night. She had looked a little sore when she had walked around this morning. It was to be expected.

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Byron grasped her chin. “I know.” “But I want to be…” She looked upset. Maybe her libido was in overtime too to go along with theirs. He stroked her jawline. “I told you, that’s not the only way to give pleasure. There are lots of other ways. Other orifices. Other penetrations.” “But…” She glanced between them both again. She didn’t look as if she believed him. It was time for showing instead of talking. Some things could only be experienced. He moved backward and grasped the handle to the drawer. He pulled it open and found the lubricant. He didn’t even have to look to find it. “Turn toward me.” She did so. “You like to be bossy.” “You have no idea.” Callum rolled his eyes until Byron gave him a tap on the arm. “What’s the plan?” He took the oil and poured a huge amount between her lovely breasts. They were already swollen and ready for his touch. He liked how ready she was for them. She looked shocked at his action. He laughed at her surprise. She had an ample bosom. He’d thought about doing this since he’d first noticed her and decided she was who he wanted in his life. Callum poked a lip out in a mock pout. “What about me?” Of course he would have ideas as to what to do for pleasure too. Byron tossed him the bottle of lubricant. Callum raised an eyebrow as if to say, “What am I supposed to do with this?” He had an expressive face. “Take me.” Now Callum’s eyes widened a bit, and his face descended into surprise before he went back to being jovial. Callum had never taken Byron in that way before. They’d had sex plenty of ways. Just never that one.

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Byron moved up on the bed and lined up his cock with her breasts. He cupped them on the sides and molded them to create a crevice. She shook her head and moved down in the bed to accommodate him. “You’re sure about this.” He nodded. It would give her a break while her soreness went away. And would give Callum a first with him. He slid his cock between her breasts and used his hands to clasp her around him. He growled a little going into the canyon her breasts created. Not quite as good as her pussy, but he liked the feel of her around him. He grunted. Yes, this was going to be good. And it was not going to take long. Amazing how aroused he was around Callum and Mira. Callum’s hand touched Byron’s arse. Byron tried not to flinch or tense. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. His second thoughts overwhelmed him. He arched up and tried to refocus back on his cock between her globes. Lubricant slipped into Byron’s hole. Fingers danced around him before penetrating him one at a time, then two, then three. Byron lost track of each finger slipping into him as he slid into the warm cavern provided by her ampleness. This was what heaven felt like, surely. At the moment he couldn’t imagine feeling any more pleasure than he did right now. Then a cock slid into his hole. Heaven and hell conjoined. He wanted this to last, but there was no way he’d stave off his pleasure much longer. Not with her around his heavy cock and Callum doing things to him from behind. Lots of pressure. No pain. Lots of oil. No dry spaces. Callum did know what he was doing. Byron’s back arched. He couldn’t focus on any one thing with everything going on around him. The pleasure from the front and the pressure from the back were almost too much for him. His spine arced.

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Nope, he wasn’t going to last long. He couldn’t prolong his pleasure. He’d go along for the ride wherever it took him. He continued to use his hands to press her breasts around him, shoving against her and increasing the pace. In and out. Callum matched his rhythm until he was slapping against Byron. Both them were going as fast as they could. It still wasn’t enough. Byron looked at Mira’s face. Her mouth was slightly open, gaze watching his face and rapture on her visage. He’d never seen her look as though heaven were visiting her until now. She’d begun her journey to orgasm. That look of pleasure took him over the edge. He tumbled over it into oblivion, spasms rocking him to his core. To his soul. She’d become one with them both on a level he didn’t even understand. Nor did he want to try. But moments like this reminded him of how far they’d traveled on the path together, and there was much more to come. He cried out as his seed spilled between her breasts, making her even more slippery for his cock. Aftershocks continued to quake deep within him. His climax took Callum over the edge. Or maybe it was Mira’s. He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was the three of them together. Together, they could take on the world. He felt Callum’s seed spill all over him, which caused more ripples of pleasure to dash along his spine to his spent cock. Inside the dragon’s lair, they spent the rest of the day easing Byron’s heat. It was a good day, the best of the days to come.

Loose Id Titles by Mechele Armstrong Another Dream, Another Reality Another Night, Another Dream Be My Moon Dinah’s Christmas Desire Dinah’s Dark Desire I Heart That City: Body Shots Solstice Spell Veterans: Nothing to Lose

**** The BLOOD LINES Series Blood Kiss Conduit Crimson’s Rose Night’s Journey Bitter Love Surge Currents

**** The FIRE RIDERS Series Taming the Fire

**** The SETTLER’S MINE Series The Rivals The Lovers The Woman The Wolf The Man The Rogue

**** The SIX CURSES Series Six Curses of Christmas The Sixth Curse of Sprint The Sixth Cursed Halloween

Mechele Armstrong Mechele Armstrong lives in Virginia and writes while technoing with a computer geek hubby, chauffeuring two girls, ball throwing to a spaz cat, playing psychiatrist to a neurotic dog, and serving one diva kitty. She loves open bedroom doors and things that go bump in the night, which is why she probably writes what she does. She's always looking for new worlds to play in so she never knows what will come up next. Her world is where sensuality and wonder collide. Find out what’s new with Mechele at http://www.mechelearmstrong.com/.