Page 42 of Dragon Flames
One month.
And I’m…happy. I don’t think I had any concept of what that means…until now. The guys treat me like I’m their everything. Every time I walk into a room, they stop whatever they’re doing to give me a kiss. They carve out a schedule so each of them is able to spend an equal amount of time alone with me.
Every day, a new treasure shows up in my room, each of the dragons sharing the best and most beautiful items of their hoards with me. Elias leaves me books, Darius cooks me breakfast every morning, while Preston gives me flowers he’s cultivated in his own personal garden.
And every day, I feel the ties binding us together tighten a little more.
I keep expecting to feel panic or worry or doubt.
I still don’t expect to feel loved…or whole for the first time in my life.
As the secret of my existence becomes known, more and more dragons appear. Instead of just one or two dozen, there are more than a hundred dragons and counting.
They have come to meet the last female dragon.
Some come hoping that being around a female dragon will keep them from falling further into insanity. Others hope that if there’s one female, there might be more.
And they’re right.
That’s where I took over.
The dragons trust me to be their matchmaker.
Three females have been found so far, and I suspect there are even more still in hiding.
My mates have conducted a methodical search and analysis of the documents they’ve collected from Gresky, tracking down every woman sold over the centuries. There were so many stolen women that it still hurts my heart to think about what they suffered. We keep their identities secret, afraid that if other shifters learn of their existence, they might kidnap the women, hoping to find their own mates.
The women deserve to have a choice this time, and I’m going to make sure they get it.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Darius snuggles up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as we gaze out across the valley from the edge of the cliff where we are standing, the wind tugging at our clothes. Elias and Preston stand on either side of us, both wearing only pants.
My men are so ruggedly handsome that they steal my breath.
Every single time.
“I’m sure.” I rest my hands on Darius’s arms, then thread our fingers together. “I know what it’s like to live without hope. After the years I’ve spent with nothing but emptiness, you guys have shown me what it’s like to be loved. Now it’s my turn to give other dragons that same hope for a future.”
Elias leans over and kisses me without restraint, giving me every bit of himself. Then he throws himself off the cliff like a high diver, arms spread wide as he drops. My heart lodges in my throat until I see his glittering green dragon shoot into the sky, spinning as he launches himself straight up in the air.
Preston just rolls his eyes, leans forward, and kisses me like he’s savoring my taste. When he pulls back, my beast lets out a rumble of appreciation for his talented mouth. He runs toward the edge of the cliff and leaps into the air, twisting until he faces the heavens, his arms spread wide, then falling backward into the void. It takes two heartbeats before he bursts back into view, his blue scales matching the color of the sky so closely that he’s almost invisible as he soars high.
Darius releases me and walks to the edge of the cliff. He turns, the wind buffeting him, but he remains unaffected by the elements. He patiently holds his hand out. “Together?”
This will be my maiden flight.
My first shift.
I’m both thrilled and petrified.
Instead of taking his hand, I walk up to him, press my hands against his chest, then go up on tiptoe and kiss him with my whole heart.
I pull away, loving the heated, dazed look in his eyes. I walk backward toward the cliff, a small smile on my face. “I love you.”
The awe on his face is the last thing I see…right before I throw myself off the ledge.
Gravity quickly takes hold, the wind stealing my breath as I plummet to earth.
Fuck!
