Page 14 of Dragon Keeper
There were rooms for reading and rooms for tea and rooms for bathing. There were rooms for company and for playing games and for storage, and he led Sloan up a set of stairs intothe lofted living area wherein they could see all of the cells underneath and appreciate the lovely maze of his home.
He smiled at Sloan, their fingers intertwined. “This is the sleeping area.”
There was a huge, decadent, soft bed, a place to rest and hide from the world, the windows offering an amazing view of the mountains.
“Oh, I like it. Your home is gorgeous.”
“Our home,” he corrected.
“Our home. Lovely. You made a beehive.”
He shrugged. “I’m a beekeeper. I want them to feel at home, and I feel perfectly so here. Do you like it?”Please like it.
It’s fascinating. Do you think there can be rooms for me?
Of course. Of course we can make rooms for you. We can build up or we can build down. We like to build down, especially for the winter. We’ll travel down there later. And you can explore and bring your hoard here.
Right now, he didn’t care about building, or about rooms, or about anything but putting his hands on Sloan’s broad chest and actually getting to feel the beating of the big dragon’s heart.
So that was what Tyr did.
He didn’t ask, he was brave, and he just pressed his hands against Sloan’s bare chest.
That huge heart was right there, pounding, steady and strong. He could feel it all the way up through his arms into his chest.
It took a moment for Tyr to discover the rhythm, but then their hearts began to beat in harmony together, catching one another’s magic and binding.
Tyr looked up into Sloan’s eyes, dazed as the magic rushed through him.Can you feel it?
It was their magic, and it was thrumming through the room, through the house, out into the air where it caught the hives and they began to thrum in conjunction.
All of them, all of the bees, all of the hives buzzed with the two of them.
Tyr couldn’t breathe. He hadn’t believed this was possible, that it could happen so fast, that Sloan could attune to the bees.
But he could.
I can feel it, love. It’s amazing. You’re stunning, and I finally get to touch you.
Yes. Yes, I despaired.He felt sorrow for his lost queens, but this was not the time or place to mourn.
Sloan stroked his braids.I’m so sorry, love. I should have just come to you. I would never want you to lose them because of me.
No, you made a promise to your brother, and that’s important. But I’m so happy you’re here now.
I am too.Sloan put two fingers under his chin to tip it up, then closed those finely shaped lips over his in a kiss.
Tyr’s heart sang, his body lighting up at the contact between their mouths. He’d never seen much sense in kissing, really, his few encounters more messy than anything, but this? This was magic.
Truly magic.
You taste so good. Like honey and spice, Sloan told him.
Tyr hummed, his arms coming up to twine around his mate’s neck.And you taste like rain and clouds and flying.
Tyr…Sloan kissed him again and again, and he had no notion that they were moving until they landed on the bed. The sensation of Sloan’s body pressing down against his eased an ache he thought would never go away, and he shivered, not knowing how to process what he felt.
I’m flying, he said.
