though she’d never taken one herself, Leyloni understood what was happening with her body. She understood what she was feeling.
Arousal.
She had felt it earlier that morning, had felt her body priming to mate, just like it was now.
And it was doing so for a dragon. Not a man, but a beast.
What is wrong with me?
And yet she remained in place. As the cold rain fell upon her, she pictured Arysteon’s eyes—filled with intelligence, with kindness, with heat—and stroked herself. Her breath quickened as the pleasurable sensations built within her.
Her climax came fast. She bit down on her lips to muffle her cry and squeezed her thighs together around her hand as her body stiffened.
Tilting her head down, she released her lips and panted softly. Water streamed over her head. Her pleasure faded as quickly as it had come, leaving a deep emptiness inside her, just as it always did. There was always something missing. There was always something more she craved.
Or rather…someone more.
With a frown, she parted her thighs and washed away her slick.
Maybe…maybe she’d simply needed this kind of release. Maybe it had nothing to do with Arysteon. Now that’d she’d given her body what it needed, however brief and unfulfilling it had been, she wouldn’t have such devious thoughts about the dragon.
She was shivering when she stepped back into the cavern. She wrung her hair out, wiped excess water from her skin, and dressed. The fabric clung to her damp body, but it would dry as she sat next to the fire.
Arysteon was in the same place he’d been before, facing Serek, who lay on his back with his legs in the air and his hands grasping his little feet. The dragon was motionless but for the restless lashing of the tip of his tail.
As Leyloni neared him, a flush warmed her cheeks. She couldn’t forget what she’d just done while thinking of him. Her heart fluttered when he turned his head toward her and settled one of those vibrant eyes upon her, his tongue slipping out. The heat in his gaze had not diminished—if anything, it had only intensified.
Despite the release she’d granted herself, Leyloni’s core clenched, and her sex flooded with slick.
Oh, Mother Eurynome, what is this?
Ducking her head, she hurried past him and made her way to the blanket upon which the baby lay, where she sat down and pressed her thighs together. Serek babbled happily to himself, seemingly without a care in the world.
Leyloni cleared her throat and—either boldly or foolishly—looked up at Arysteon. “I know I have thanked you many times, but I wish to thank you again. For everything.”
Arysteon’s tongue lapped at the air again, and his slitted pupils expanded and shrank. When he spoke, his voice was a low rumble. “Your thanks are not necessary. It is my pleasure.”
“It will be hard to leave this place behind.” Leyloni frowned and dropped her gaze, absently picking at a loose blanket thread. “It will be hard to...leave you behind.”
At the upper edge of her vision, she saw his head move, and though the details were difficult to discern from her angle, she swore the spikes on his head flattened.
Arysteon released a heavy breath through his nostrils, strong enough to make the fire waver. “You need not leave me behind, Leyloni. If you must bring Serek to the other tribe, I will accompany you. Protect you. And I would like to do so as your mate.”
Leyloni’s head snapped up, and her eyes locked with his. Mate? “Wh-what do you mean?”
The dragon’s tail flicked up and down, and his scaled brows fell low. Moving slowly, Arysteon pushed himself up and shifted closer to her. He extended his neck and leaned his head around the fire, his snout drawing close enough to Leyloni that she could’ve touched it without having to fully extend her arm.
“This forest is too vast and perilous for a lone human and a hatchling to traverse, and I cannot fully protect you if I cannot touch you, Leyloni.” Those glowing eyes roved over her. “I want for nothing more than to provide for you, to safeguard you. I want to claim you.”
“What d-do you mean claim me?”
“As my mate.”
All Leyloni could do for a time was stare at him with wide eyes. He’d said that word before, but she hadn’t been sure if she’d heard him correctly. She gathered her legs beneath her and stood. “But you… You are a dragon!”
Arysteon kept his head low and eyes level with hers. Leyloni understood