Page 57 of Hers to Keep

“Of course not.”Ashdei didn’t look the least bit put out by being the object of the dragon’s questioning gaze.“It shouldn’t have been possible, but apparently when she claimed me, I gave her everything, including control of my nexus.”

Dohal chuffed with amusement.“That’s sweet.”

Mari turned in Ashdei’s arms to look at him.“You didn’t tell me that.”

“I didn’t know until you reached right through me and drew from it.”He touched her face.“But I don’t regret it.”

“And what was the judgment?”Dohal asked.

“They’re waiting to see what happens with the Old One,” Mari responded.“Probably hoping he takes care of the problem for them.”

Ashdei squeezed her.“They can choke on that hope because thatproblemhappens to be very important to me.”

That reminded her of the obnoxious angel in the room.“Are we going to talk about your history with Darveyn?”

“There isn’t anything to tell.She wanted more from me than I was prepared to give anyone before I met you.”He shrugged.“I thought we were having a mutual good time until she made it clear that she wasn’t anymore when she tried to run me through with a Blessed lance.”

Mari searched his face.“You hurt her.”

He met her gaze without shame.“I broke a lot of hearts over the eons, duckling.And I quite enjoyed myself doing it.If you’re going to keep score of that, you will be busy for years.”

“So, there’s a potential ex of yours hiding around every corner who might want to pass on some kind of retribution on to me?”

Ashdei seemed surprised by the question.“Most of them didn’t care enough about me to bother.Darveyn is a notable exception.And I believe she didn’t so much care about me as want to fix me.”His tone was offhanded, but Mari picked up on what he wasn’t saying.

Her heart ached for him.“That’s what you meant the other night.That no one had ever said those things to you.”

“They assumed that, because I was a demon, I couldn’t possibly want that level of intimacy, I suppose.”He sighed.“I’m still not sure they were wrong.I never noticed how much was lacking in my liaisons until you said I felt like yours.”

She tightened her fist in his shirt.“You need to be careful about riling me like you did with her.I wanted blood.”

“No promises.”He grinned sharply.“It was fucking hot.”

Dohal rumbled.“My mate is formidable enough to frighten the angels.”

The arousal pulsing from her dragon was breathtaking.She rubbed her hand over his muzzle, feeling the heat of him soaking into her fingers.Her gaze moved slowly over his massive body.Was there a way she could have him like this?Saints, she was willing to try.

Ashdei chuckled.“Much as I would love to watch you get mounted by a dragon just to see how that works, I’ll remind you of the gargoyle’s request.”

Mari groaned.While she’d played at ignoring Cisco’s orders because it felt naughty, she did want to give him everything he craved from her.“Another time, my beautiful dragon.”

“It would be beyond unwise,” Dohal said, though he sounded amused.

She raked her nails over his scales.“I can’t wait to figure out a way to make it work.”

Dohal bumped her with his nose.“As you will, my insatiable mate.Like him, I can deny you nothing.”

Mari pressed a kiss to his muzzle.“What did you mean when you said you would make her pay for the sins of her ancestors?”

Dohal took a long breath, gathering the strength he needed to answer her question.Across their bond, he felt uncertain, and sad.“The armies of the heavens were the ones who murdered my kin.They claimed we were a threat to this realm, and they might not have been wrong.”His red eyes grew distant.“I escaped only because I’d already been trapped by your father and his allies.”

She smoothed her hand over the scales of his nose, trying to offer whatever comfort she could.He had been through so much, and all of it weighed on him.“When was this?”

“I don’t know how many years ago now.”He shut his eyes as if to block out the memories of what had happened to him since that time.“It felt like hundreds.”

“It was,” Ashdei said.“The people who lived here at the time told stories about it for generations, but even they have long since been forgotten.”

“The Old One had been driven off, and the most powerful who remained here scrambled to fill the void that had been caused by his departure.The Heavens didn’t step in until war broke out between factions, and they deemed my kind too corrupted by their avarice to be allowed to live.”

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