Page 67 of Hoarded By the Dragon

Feel-good hormones and bodies. The thoughts come disjointed.

“Does knotting influence attachments? Physically?” I ask but already suspect the answer.

His jaw clenches, and there’s a beat before he finally answers. “Yes, in a similar way that sex does, but it packs a little more of a punch. I apologize, Rina. I didn’t think of that.”

I wave a hand before returning it to touching his back. The stroking motions soothing me as well as causing the dragon on top of me to shiver.

“We’re pretty connected anyway.” In body, in mind, and heart. If only on my end. I blink at my internal revelations. I wasn’t supposed to acquire feelings for Kalos, but I’m not in the practice of guarding my heart. With the way we interact, it was only a matter of time.

I close my eyes. Someday he’s going to break my heart. I thought I could avoid it, but I can’t. I’m not someone who can just stop feelings from happening.

But for this moment, with his knot buried inside of me, I’ll enjoy this.

For this moment, he’s mine.

24

KALOS

My desk smells like sex.Sex and Katarina’s begging.

It’s distracting, but I make no move to remedy it. Pride fills my chest, and the dragon inside me preens every time the scent reminds us of last night.

I shouldn’t have done it. Katarina deserves a lover who can give her their heart. She’d told me she couldn’t separate sex from emotion and still I’d taken her. I couldn’t leave her in such need. My dragon wouldn’t abandon his mate… and we’re a greedy creature in the end.

The reminder of the mating comes with a slight sting. I’ve kept the burden of knowledge that my dragon has claimed Katarina to myself. It won’t make a difference in the end. My inability to bond will eventually break the understanding between us, and it would only cause more hope and eventual pain if I told her of the dragon’s claim.

It’s bad enough that the primal part of my being seeps out and says possessive things during intimacy, but that can be excused as bed play. It doesn’t change the truth.

I can’t keep her, and I’m more disappointed by that than I care to analyze.

I sigh and push away from my desk, needing a break. Ben is in the kitchen working on dinner. It’s Maggie’s night off, and we trade who manages dinner on these days. We’re no chefs, but each of us can make a few meals that are passable.

I’m halfway to the kitchen when my dragon hears Katarina. I can’t make out what she’s saying yet, but her tone is one of panic. I increase my pace and burst through the doors of the kitchen in the next moment.

Katarina and Stella are sitting at the table in front of the window, a mountain of books in front of them, while Ben is at the counter.

“What’s going on?” I demand.

Katarina’s eyes are wide with tears. “I can’t have runny eggs!”

Confusion makes my mind slow. “You can’t have eggs?”

“Runnyeggs and deli meat.” She sniffs and holds up a book with a bright cover.

“Kat, I told you most of this stuff probably doesn’t apply to a magical pregnancy, much less one involving a dragon,” Stella says, casting an uneasy glance at me. We’d come to a truce of sorts after the revelation of her parentage, but she’d still seen my rage and that’s not something to be ignored.

“And you’re crying because you can’t have runny eggs?” I ask, trying to catch up and discover whether there’s anyone who needs to be torched to stop the tears tracking down Rina’s cheeks.

Out of the corner of my eye, Ben shakes his head. Trying to communicate that either I need to proceed with caution or that my misunderstanding of the situation is pitiful.

“I’m crying because there’s all these rules I’ve never heard of. Why didn’t I think to prepare before now? I’m going to be the worst mother in the history of mothers!” The last one ends on a wail, and my eyes widen.

“That’s not true,” Stella says and widens her eyes at me, silently telling me that now it’s my turn. She’s rubbing circles on Katarina’s back.

“Rina,” I say, sliding in on the other side of her. “Please stop crying. You are not going to be a terrible mother. Maggie would have told you if there was anything you needed to be cautious of.”

My words don’t stop her sobbing, but she throws her arms around my neck and presses her face there. Stella and Ben exchange a surprised look, but I ignore them.

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