Page 84 of Hoarded By the Dragon

“Then we have dinner first,” he says.

I blink in surprise, and he explains with a twist of his lips. “If you are mine to care for tonight, I will not have you go hungry just to feel the cradle of your body around me that much sooner.”

Mine to care for.

He must misread my hesitance. “Allow me to romance you, little queen.”

Will I allow him to treat this like an honest-to-god date? Yes. This is the beginning of something I ache for.

The seating for the table is comfortable. We remove our shoes and curl up in low pillows that have a nice amount of back support. The setting is intimate in a way that is usually absent between us even with the hours we’ve spent cuddling together. This is new, and in that newness comes awareness.

The food is a spicy noodle dish that makes my body hum with delight, but that’s only one aspect of our dinner together. We talk about our respective businesses. How my new employee is getting on with projects and how his are reacting to the changes he put in place. Kalos even asks about some of my experiences in my thieving days, and I find I can recount humorous moments without being overcome with guilt.

I was, first and foremost, very good at what I did.

With each topic, the nerves that have wound me tight start to loosen. I really did need a night out. I must glance at the hot water one too many times because Kalos kisses the backs of my fingers and suggests we take some time to soak.

“You didn’t tell me to bring a swimming suit,” I say and feel every one of the years that I spent in the human world when he grins at me.

“You don’t wear swimming suits here, Rina.”

I swallow. “What about the candles?”

He arches a brow. “What about the candles?”

“Shouldn’t we light them? For the sex ritual…” My body hums in anticipation.

“Do you expect me to fuck you as soon as I see you naked?” Kalos asks, his eyes have a teasing glint, and my cheeks get even hotter.

“Maybe,” I admit.

“I do have some self-control.”

I almost wish he didn’t.

“But yes, we should light the candles,” he allows. “There’s no need to rush, but I’d also like to continue our night uninterrupted.”

Kalos takes my hand and helps me stand from my cushion. Our bodies brush, and he steadies me as the blood returns to my legs in a rush of pinpricks. I lean toward his spicy scent. The heat of my body’s arousal isn’t from being hit with a craving for him. No, it’s present in almost all our interactions.

My body wants this dragon almost as much as my heart does.

Kalos brushes a thumb over my lips, and I move to suck the pad of it into my mouth. He moves it away from my lips and smiles, a hint of fang showing.

“Not so fast, sweet queen,” Kalos tsks. “You said you wanted me, and I am not one to be rushed.”

I swallow down the retort that I’ve rushed him plenty of times before because the tension that blooms in my belly at the slow touch of my skin against his is delicious. He takes a step back and leads me to a wall that has an altar of sorts set up with cabinets on either side. There are three thick pillar candles lined up and a stack of long matches to the side.

I select a match and look at the three candles. My brain works through the minimal witchcraft I know and the concept of what we are doing. “Do each of us light one?”

Kalos nods. “And then we light the one in the middle together.”

My heart thuds as I strike my match and carefully light the candle on my side. Kalos pinches the wick of his candle like how someone would snuff out a flame, but when he releases the wick, a flame sputters into existence.

Right. Dragon.

He grins at me and encases my hand holding the match with his before bending his head down to blow softly, purple flame mixes with the orange of the match, before they both light the wick of the third candle. A staticky sensation crackles in the air, but I’m too busy staring in shock.

“You can really breathe fire,” I whisper.

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