Page 21 of Bros Come Before Hordes
"That was horrible. Let’s not do that again, okay?"
“Fair enough.” He wrapped me up in his arms and held me to him, his touch surging the dragon fire to life again, only this time, I liked it. "I know I just asked you this, but how do you feel now?"
I took a breath and thought about it as I melted against him. "Fine."
"Not dead?"
"Not dead." I curled deeper into his arms, feeling his blue hair slide across my face like a silky kiss. "How do you know so much about poison?"
He turned away to stare at the cart of food. "My mom was really into poisons. She had a vision that she would be killed by poison, so she dedicated her life to prevent that from happening. In the end, what killed her was iron-chain poisoning, something that not even dragon fire can fight off. She’d been tied up too long in iron chains." He glanced back at me with a heartbreakingly sad expression on his face. “She was queen at that time instead of human, with her Léas-given queen powers. If she were still human, she would still be alive since iron can’t kill humans.”
“I’m sorry.” It seemed like such a lame thing to say, but I truly was.
“The dragons who hated her flew off with her.” He shrugged and shook his head as he gently pulled away from me. “I’m not sure Calhoun will ever be the same. He was the one who found her. He blames himself for not getting to her in time.”
A sudden memory of his tortured face twisted my already aching heart. “He found her in the Vivix building’s dungeons, didn’t he?”
Tavis nodded.
“Then how can he be so forgiving of dragon shifters and not hate all of them like...” Like I do, I almost said, but I swallowed it back down.
“Because of Vance. He’s the big brother, the one with the logical thinking brain and enough sense to knock some into Calhoun. Sometimes physically, when Calhoun would lash out about his guilt over our mom.” A contemplative look crossed his face. “Maybe I helped him get out of his funk, too, by annoying him, as little brothers are supposed to do.”
A long crack in my soul, something I hadn’t realized was as deep and jagged as it was, smoothed out some, filled up a little with everything Tavis had just told me about the three brothers who were entwined with my life. They were good, better than I could ever be, and the depth of their love for their mom and each other warmed me to the bone. BecauseIknew that kind of love with Asa. That made my harem and I similar, so much more than I’d ever thought, even though I’d never thought of myself as a good person. I was a thief, after all, who lied and cheated my way into their home just to steal from them. The fact that they saw something in me to make them believe in me and fight so fiercely to have my back humbled me. Made me want to be as good as they were.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For poisoning you?”
I looked up at him, taking in how utterly stunning and perfect he was, and then cupped his face between my hands. “For trusting me.”
He grazed my cheek with his fingertips, his gaze following the movement, and I could almost see the embers his touch ignited over my skin. “You’re my queen. Of course I trust you.”
He was all innocence as he said it, so raw and open about everything, no matter what. There was no hiding with Tavis. He portrayed his true self, always, and I loved that about him.
“What are you smiling about?” he asked, his fingertips trailing my lips.
“I didn’t know I was,” I admitted. “You. I’m smiling about you.”
“And this?” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine in a long, searing kiss that pulled every nerve taut and loosened them at the exact same time. My dragon fire danced on all of them until I was burning hot and panting by the time he pulled away.
“Uh-huh,” I breathed, and then I dragged him right back.
His next kiss consumed me, deeper, rougher, and it wasn’t until my ass hit the table in the center of the room that I realized he’d been pushing me backward. Using it as leverage, I ground against him, the heat of his hard cock hidden under his jeans sparking my dragon fire hotter. His, too, because he hefted me up by the ass, sat me on the table, then held me there as he thrust against me in the same rhythm as his tongue fucked my mouth. The table’s legs squeaked across the floor, the piles of painted rocks on top tumbled, and the open paints sloshed in their containers.
Neither of us cared. Tavis pushed me to lay back, and spilled paint seeped through the back of Calhoun’s shirt and wetted the ends of my hair. I’d make it up to Calhoun for ruining his shirt, but right now, Tavis was unraveling me, turning me into nothing more than hot, writhing, desperate need underneath him.
“Tavis,” I begged.
He pulled away from my lips with a huge grin, his face flushed, and slid his finger above my upper lip where my mustache had been. Now, from the feel of it, I had a wet paint one.
When I started to protest, he shook his head. “Hush.”
I whimpered as he worked Calhoun’s shirt up over my head. I wasn’t wearing a bra, so my breasts bounced free. While he took a moment to stare, he bit down hard on his lip and then brought a cold, wet finger to my belly, making me clench and shiver and moan as he drew something on it.
“Are you smiling about this?” he asked.
I glanced down and laughed. He’d drawn a happy face on me. “Yes.”
