the most irrevocable way.
Arysteon smiled at her. Even with his pointed teeth, which should have been as imposing as any predator’s, the expression was alluring on him. It sent a thrill straight to Leyloni’s core, making her wet.
“Is the hatchling asleep?” he asked softly, breaking the spell he had cast upon her. His gaze dipped to Serek.
Leyloni looked down at the baby. Her finger had halted between his delicate little brows. His eyes were closed, his lips parted, and his chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm. “He is.”
With care, she stood and carried him to the little bed she’d made for him—a small ring of stones filled with soft moss and leaves atop which she’d placed his blanket. It was positioned close enough to the fire to keep him warm and would prevent him from rolling too close to the flames in his sleep. She laid him down, covered him up, and leaned down to press her lips to his hair.
She could never replace Atalla, but Leyloni would give her all for Serek. She would be the best mother to him that she could.
Leyloni moved back to the blanket spread on the floor and sat down. Her eyes returned to Arysteon, requiring no conscious command from her to do so—they were as drawn to him as she was.
“So long as the rain does not return, we can leave in the morning,” she said.
He made a soft, thoughtful hum, and trailed his gaze around the cavern. She had no doubt that he could see far better than her in the darkness. What did he see that she could not? How did this place look through his eyes?
The cavern had become a haven to her, but only because of Arysteon. Without him, it would be as cold, empty, and lonely as any other cave.
“I have been here for a great many years.” His eyes returned to hers. “It will be a welcome change to travel again…and to do so with my clan beside me. With my mate beside me.”
My mate.
Leyloni’s cheeks flooded with heat. She wasn’t sure if she would ever tire of hearing those words from him. They instilled her with happiness, with pride, with…pleasure.
Being chosen by a male was a great honor. Leyloni, however, had never been selected as a wife to one of the three young, virile males in her tribe, though they’d each taken many. She recognized that she bore much of the blame for that. She’d always lurked on the outskirts of the crowd, hiding and daydreaming, too shy to step forward and flirt with the men like her tribe sisters so often had.
She had regretted that shyness for a long while, but now…now she was glad for it. She had been chosen.
She had been chosen by a dragon.
Leyloni reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear. The brush of her fingertips over her cheek made her skin tingle, conjuring the memory of Arysteon’s touch. She’d felt the impossible strength in his hand, had marveled at its unbelievable gentleness, had melted for its warmth. She wanted more.
“It will be a long journey,” she said, shifting her legs and easing down on her side to face the fire—and Arysteon beyond it. She dragged her bag closer and laid her head upon it. “We should rest.”
Arysteon nodded, and his eyes lingered on her for a few moments before he moved. She’d expected him to simply lie down across from her like he always had in his dragon form. Instead, he pushed himself onto his feet, rounded the fire—already walking with effortless grace—and stopped behind her. Leyloni turned her head to watch him, eyes widening as he lowered himself onto the floor immediately behind her.
He lay on his side, facing the same direction as her, and draped an arm over her waist. Leyloni’s breath caught in her throat. Without pause, Arysteon drew Leyloni back, hugging her to his chest, and curled around her. His body molded to hers perfectly.
Arysteon’s chest expanded with a deep inhalation. He released the breath with a low rumble that vibrated into her, the flow of air from his nose stirring the strands of her hair. His tail slid over her legs and came to rest atop them, its spiky tip grazing her skin.
Leyloni held still. She’d huddled with her tribe sisters through many cold nights, and such closeness was nothing new to her, but this…this was different. There was an intimacy to his embrace like she’d never experienced.
And she liked it.