Chapter 16 Pleasures, maps and secrets
With my heart slamming against my chest, and Rhea posed in nervous curiosity, I pushed my butt up on the shower bench till my back was against the wall.
The Dragon dropped into a squat before me.
“He’s reading your thoughts,” Hale said, moving to lean against the wall with crossed arms.
I turned wide eyes to the Dragon, stunned.
“A quick tip, Wolf-girl.” He leaned closer. “Hale never knows when to be serious.”
My eyes traveled up to the man by the wall again, elegant even in stark nakedness. And he started to laugh. He had been joking.
He was the one reading my thoughts. The one who has always read my thoughts.
I swallowed, and yanked my eyes away from the sight of his now stirring dick.
Despite our history, it was a new sight to me. I saw him completely naked for the first time today after we shifted back from full wolf form.
“You present a puzzle.” The Dragon’s voice sounded oddly calm. And when our eyes met, his face was relaxed.
Where did all that irritation and angst go? Wait a minute. Was this one of their centuries-old strategies to get their woman of the decade to relax?
“We’re used to having women with more experience,” he continued, and my cheeks burned.
Women. Just how many have they been? When did these rituals begin? And if they sacrificed one woman every decade, how many have died so far?
Did they suspect that I plan to protect myself, to not be a viable sacrifice after all this?
“What have you done, and what did you like?” He asked now, and I blushed harder, my mind racing to the past.
But I kept my eyes on my knees.
“I’d hate to have to read your mind.” His voice hardened, and my shoulders shivered. Not from fear.
There was a thrill his high-handedness gave me that was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Right now, the room was hot, too hot, and I ached to shrug my bathrobe off. Lifting my head, I finally met his gaze, and shook my head.
He blinked.
“I don’t know what I like,” I whispered, wondering whether it was a lie.
Because there was that dream this morning. There were several things I liked there. Liked a lot.
“I haven’t.” I paused to run a nervous tongue across my lips. “I haven’t done…”
“Much?” Hale offered, and I couldn’t look at him. If I did, the Dragon would notice.
He would definitely not miss it this time.
I nodded as I stared at the Dragon who was watching me with new interest now.
His hand shot out suddenly, and caressed my bottom lip. My body gave a little tremble as his thumb slowly caressed from left to right.
“Did you like that?” He pulled his hand away. I gave him a nod, and he exhaled.
“Would you say you enjoyed that more than kissing?”
This time, my eyes strayed to Hale, and his eyes were literally on fire. They burned, with possessive need, and perhaps anger from a four-year-old betrayal.
“I’ve not had my first kiss yet,” I whispered, my shoulders tense.
I waited for the Dragon’s disbelieving yell. And I would not even blame him.
What twenty-six-year old hadn’t even had their first kiss? That was almost impossible to believe.
But he remained quiet, and when I dared to steal a glance at him, he was staring with a strange emotion in his eyes.
It was surprisingly not anger. But I couldn’t decide what it was.
“I need a map of your body,” he said finally, graciously avoiding a remark about my last statement.
His head swiveled back, and his face broke open in a smile.
My heart kicked at the sight. He was even more handsome with a full smile.
Now, his eyes were pinned on Hale, who was trying his best to look his normal, playful self again.
“It’s good to see something finally knock you into silence,” The Dragon teased.
Hale smirked and raised his hands in surrender. But he still did not say a word.
And I knew why. I knew that this hot coal in my throat that made me want to cry, whip myself for my stupidity and selfishness in the past, was sitting in his throat too.
“I’ll need your help here.” The Dragon turned to me. Hale moved closer and stood beside him.
“Relax, fairy.” He flashed me a smile finally. A sad smile that made me feel wretched.
Even now, he was still putting his pain aside to make sure I was fine.
“Take the robe off.” The Dragon said quietly, and I was only too happy to.
Tugging the belt, I shrugged off the soft cashmere bathrobe. Immediately, cool air embraced me and my nipples puckered.
Both men had seen my body before. Each of them more than once at this point. But their eyes still lit up with interest.
Where a pulse began to beat in the Dragon’s temple, Hale was grinding his jaw.
It was so damn flattering. But something else was responsible for my flushing skin. I sucked in air at the Dragon’s touch.
His palm, wide, firm and silky, was flat against my shoulder now.
“It’s our duty to please you.” He brought a second hand up to my other shoulder, gently caressing down my arms. “To do a good job of that, we have to understand what you like before anything else.”
A faint tremor ran down my body. It seemed I was not very difficult to please after all.
His touch was bringing alive all sorts of sensations in my body. His gaze dropped to my nipples, staring at the goosebumps that appeared around my areolas.
“You like this?” One eyebrow quirked in surprise. Like I wasn’t supposed to like it.
As if the thought of him being so close, his hands warm and possessive, caressing my naked skin shouldn’t be enough to heat my blood up.
“But she’s quiet.” Hale moved closer to me.
Again, that boyish smile that made my heart jump. “Your Alpha does not like quiet.” The Dragon’s hands stopped on mine, tenderly lacing our fingers together like Finn had done in my dream.
We both stared down at our hands, locked.
A sudden, weird feeling flickered awake in my chest. This felt right. Holding hands together with him felt just right. And when our eyes met, I realized he felt it too.
He stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.
I gasped suddenly, and snapped my mouth shut again. Embarrassed. But Hale, now on his knees before me, did not stop his gentle kisses on my neck.
The sensitive skin Finn had kissed in my dream.
Moon’s mercy! Why could I not stop thinking about him even now? Why could I not push these thoughts away?