Page 12 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
Maya
“So I have to wear this?”I tilted my head curiously, looking over the dress on the bed before examining the current one I wore. The one that not only had Henry’s scent all over it, which I found myself loving, but was far lighter and less elaborate than the dress set out for me. I asked the next question on my mind as I tried to find a way out of this. “Why?”
Call me crazy, but it didn’t look very comfortable.
It was gorgeous… I really shouldn’t complain. Nibbling my lip, I immediately considered taking back my question, not wanting to sound ungrateful, especially since we were going to the Dreki realm, somewhere they didn’t like, to meet someone for me. I frowned, hating Anna’s words from before, only adding to the mounting guilt. I knew that we were going for a larger health concern than mating stuff, something I was truly curious about, but the way they had talked about it had felt not only off-putting but cold and uncomfortable. I attempted to shake myself from that thought process while running my fingers over the material in front of me.
After wearing such an uncomfortable fabric while locked in the basement of the church, I had the urge to continue to wear the soft materials and fabrics the boys had purchased for me. I liked how light and airy the outfits were and the bright colors associated with them. Plus, that wasn’t even including the way they looked at me while wearing them. So you couldn’t blame me completely for not wanting to change when there were so many reasons to stay in the exact outfit I was wearing.
“The Dreki Realm is a bit more… traditional? Stuck in the past? Nearly medieval?” Ledger mused from where he laid out in bed, shirtless and drinking a cup of coffee. The sight of him had my toes curling against the soft carpet of the hotel bedroom and my center tightening, heat covering my body as that insane frustration and lust reared up again. It was only encouraged by the fluttering in my chest caused by my phoenix. I had no idea how after everything I’d done with Henry and how hard I had climaxed I was still turned on, but I was blaming my mates completely. They inspired this, and everything about them left me wanting more and more.
A blush took over my face, thinking about only an hour or so ago and how bold I’d acted with Henry only feet from the restaurant. Close enough that someone could probably not only hear us but easily could have come across us, finding me in his lap and rubbing up against him until he was literally inside of me. Something about that was thrilling, the risk of being caught and how he hadn’t given in fully to what we both wanted. I mean… I very much wanted to be connected to him fully and finish the bond, but the entire experience left me feeling flushed and red in the face.
That wasn’t even including the bold words that had come out of my mouth.
It wasn’t surprising, because I knew how I felt about Henry and my mates, but I had been a bit surprised when the words had left my mouth, knowing that the rejection I could have possibly faced. I had been worried momentarily that I was rushing it, that he would not return the sentiment, but the minute I said it, a softness and affection filled his face that had me knowing I’d said the right thing. Had me knowing that he felt very much the same before he even said the words.
Love. Henry loved me.
That wasn’t, of course, including the way Ledger was looking at me, which was also inspiring heat to my cheeks. I was pretty sure that they had conspired against me to make sure I blushed as much as possible. I narrowed my eyes down at the dress, wondering if there was a way to make them blush as much as possible.
“More traditional?” I questioned curiously. Ledger offered a small yawn, stretching an arm above his head, showing off how muscular he was. I found myself considering crawling into bed with him and ditching this entire idea of going to the Dreki realm. It was a tempting consideration, to say the least.
I was a bit hyped up about going to the realm though, so despite the desire, I wasn’t positive I could relax even if I wanted to, and this dress wasn’t making anything easier. Rather the opposite, actually. It was a beautiful garment, but it reminded me of something that you would see illustrated in a fairytale. The fabric was stiff, expensive, and thick, the pale cream and gold brocade pattern covering the skirt, sleeves, and torso, only interrupted by a light pink in the center that was laced with a gold ribbon that appeared to be used as a corset-type feature. Possibly?
Like I said—beautiful, but not very comfortable.
Plus, with so much of me covered, how was I supposed to feel my mates’ hands on me whenever they touched me? That wasn’t something I wanted to miss out on.
“Extremely so.” Ledger nodded, his orange-tipped curls bouncing slightly as the rest of his dark hair fell messily around his handsome face. His dark indigo eyes, framed by thick lashes, watched me with a lazy, sexy appraisal. It was a bit unfair, wasn’t it? For him to lay there with dark tattoos covering his large muscular frame in just a pair of gray sweatpants that sat low on his hips? It was very distracting.
Also, what was it about those sweatpants? I mean… I knewwhatit was, and his chuckle as my eyes darted away from the hard outline of his cock had me knowing that my attempt to not stare was ultimately a failure. I ran my fingers along the dress, pretending like I hadn’t been gawking at the man.
Then again… he was my mate. My eyes darted back up as I considered just what privileges that included. I mean, did I get to stare at him whenever I wanted? I feel like that was a real possibility. Better yet… What about naked? I feel like I didn’t get to see my mates naked enough.
I just needed to find a solid reason for them to be naked more often. Maybe if they shifted? My smile grew at that concept, wondering how hard it would be to convince them of that. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be very difficult.
Better yet… if I was naked, maybe they would get naked as well? I could do that.
“Firefly.” Ledger’s voice had me looking up at his darkening eyes.
“What?” I teased, offering a small smile.
“You know what.” His voice was a rough, low relaxed tone that had a hint of his dragon’s growl in it, making my entire body break out into pleasurable chills.
“What if we just stayed in the hotel all day instead?” I bargained, putting a knee down on the bed while crawling forward.
Ledger inhaled sharply, his eyes dipping to my cleavage as he took another sip of his coffee, not responding verbally. Although I could tell he wanted to say something because he was literally getting harder—
“Anani!” I squeaked out as a large hand tugged my ankle back and I fell onto my stomach, the soft bedding cushioning my fall as I turned to scowl at my mate. His smile was much more devious than his twin’s, and he seemed to find my expression more amusing than anything else.
“This version of Maya is dangerous.” Anani’s voice was edged in a growl as he met his twin’s gaze over my head.
“We won’t get anything done anymore,” Ledger agreed.
A small sound left my throat as Anani dropped a kiss on my shoulder, leaning over my frame and caging me from behind against the bed. I nearly arched back on instinct, my flimsy dress doing very little to hide from me how hard he was. See? This was just one more reason that this dress was a positive thing!
“What version of me?” My words came out breathless as I expressed my curiosity.
