Page 33 of His Greatest Treasure

“I thought dragons were only disowned for the greatest betrayals. What did Morgan do?”

“He mated his instructor.”

“Thecuraidhone?”

“Yeah. I thought Father might have been pleased. Morgan’s obviously in love with him and I think he treats Morgan well. Thecuraidhare really strong, too, so they’re a good alliance to have.”

“You father didn’t see it that way?”

I shook my head and buried my face in Blaze’s chest. He patted my back.

“Morgan’s not alone,” said Blaze at last. “You said he’s mated. He has a clan. A new clan.”

I nodded. I’d known that, obviously, but somehow it didn’t seem real unless someone said it and nobody had spoken to me at all, except for Motherand Aunt Silvia. They hadn’t mentioned Morgan at all.

I could see Mother’s bond with him go tight and brittle, as though it were on the verge of breaking, but it hadn’t snapped. She’d kept hold of it. Tighter and tighter every hour. It was almost as if she were strangling it but really she was feeding it when it wasn’t meant to be there.

Lord Somerville’s bond with Morgan broke completely. I searched and searched for any sign of it but it was gone. Disintegrated.

Even Lord Somerville’s bond with Alexander was still there. It still existed, even if his son was dead. Father still loved him.

The one with Morgan, though? Gone.

It made me feel cold and hollow in a way I’d never experienced before. I didn’t like it. I couldn’t understand it and I wanted to just bury my head in Blaze’s arms and never come out again.

“I can’t call him,” I said.

“Don’t you have a phone?”

“Yes. But Morgan’s number has been wiped from it. All my records are gone. I didn’t learn his number and now I can’t find it.”

I was kicking myself for that. Why hadn’t I learned that number? Why hadn’t I written it down somewhere? Then at least I could call him and find out if he were alright. As it was, I couldn’t even find a single Hoskins’ telephone number in any directory or on any of the records I was given access to. Morgan was officiallycut out.

I snivelled for a while longer, but Blaze kept talking to me in a soft, sympathetic voice. It warmed me more than any fire would.

Eventually, I raised my head and looked him in the eyes. They were warm and kind and so, so pretty. I found myself leaning forwards. I didn’t even realise I was going to do it.

One moment, I was looking into Blaze’s eyes, with his arms wrapped around my shoulders and his scent surrounding me, and the next I was pressing my lips to his in a brief, perfect kiss.

I gasped and pulled back.

The shock of it pinged through my body.

Blaze’s eyes went from sweet, mellow amber to fiery orange and red. The gold flecks in them stood out as his flames began to consume him.

He slid from the arm of the chair onto my lap, and the warm weight of him was perfect. Tooperfect. It made me want to rub myself all over him until I orgasmed.

Blaze’s hands held the sides of my face and he brought our lips together again. His kiss was hot and passionate, and I was startled by the slide of his tongue into my mouth. It felt incredibly good. I wanted more of it, all of it, and something inside me swelled at the sensation, rising up at the taste of Blaze, who wriggled on my lap as he tried to get closer to me.

The physical feeling of Blaze on my lap, pressed against me, should have been my only concern. I was surprised it wasn’t because I’d been desperate for exactly this kiss for days. Weeks, even.

But Blaze’s taste did something to my insides. They were squirming inside me just as much as Blaze was squirming on my lap. In fact, they felt like they were going to burst out of me and I’d explode all over my friend.

Quickly, I yanked my head back and tried to breathe, to calm myself. My insides kept shivering inside me. It was like they were vibrating and I didn’t like it.

Blaze looked into my eyes and his were still that fiery red, so pretty and passionate. And worried.

“Alfie? Did I do that wrong?”

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