The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,42

mates this whole time? In my hazy euphoric state, I seriously questioned why I'd ever run away.

Oh, that's right. Promises to keep, revenge to exact.

Seff gathered me close, tucking my head under his chin and running soothing hands down my back. Levi’s fingers had tangled with mine at my side. I couldn’t decide if I should feel embarrassed about what had just happened or not. Seff had a sticky patch on the front of his trousers that I didn’t think came from me. Not entirely anyway, but he didn’t seem embarrassed. Maybe this was fine.

“How are you feeling, Shira?” Ezra asked from behind me. There was no humor in his tone, nor any anger. He sounded genuinely curious.

“Better,” I mumbled into Seff’s neck. “Sleepy.”

“Seff, take her to bed,” Ezra instructed.

“I kind of need to get cleaned up, boss,” Seff said awkwardly as the other guys snickered.

“I’ll take you, Shira,” Levi said softly, scooping me up in his arms like I weighed nothing.

“Sleep next to me,” I mumbled against his chest. Levi’s arms tightened around me in response.

We definitely still had to talk about the bonding thing, but I felt deliciously relaxed. More relaxed than I’d ever felt in my life. My head lolled against his shoulder and my eyes drifted shut. I felt like I could sleep for a century. We could talk later.

Maybe I could get one of those feel-good boosts every night.

Chapter 10

I woke up with my leg draped over Levi’s hip and Oren’s hand on my ass.

Yes, my face was burning. Yes, I felt awkward.

And yes, yes, yes to all of it. I wanted more of it. Something strange was happening to me. Something that made me feel all needy and achy all the time. The more contact I got from them, the more I wanted. For each kiss, I wanted ten more. Whatever that was that happened with Seff yesterday? I wanted all of those. As many as could exist.

“Go back to sleep,” Oren murmured, his hand flexing before suddenly stilling. He awkwardly shifted his grip up to my waist and I smiled against Levi’s chest. He could have left it where it was, I would have been happy.

“I’m hungry,” I whispered.

“Then I’ll make breakfast if someone else isn’t already on it,” Levi said around a yawn. I startled, not realizing he was awake. “We never got to finish that important conversation yesterday, and I imagine everyone will be awake soon anyway wanting to talk.”

He turned his head to plant a kiss against my forehead before climbing out of bed, his trousers slung low around his hips and the dark skin of his back rippling as he reached up to stretch his muscles.

Gods. Maybe Seff would let me rub myself all over him again.

“How are you feeling, rebel?” Oren asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.

“Great, actually.”

“Do you feel… ready?”

I knew what he was asking. Was I ready for more? Ready to bond, to stay, for the physical side of our relationship to progress.

I rolled over to look at him, tentatively reaching out to cup his sharp jaw. There was so much vulnerability in those icy eyes; it took my breath away.

“I’m ready for everything.”

✽✽✽

By the time I’d freshened up and dressed in a buttery yellow dress that felt far too sunny for my personality, all of my mates were awake and getting food ready. Hiram was on breakfast duty this morning. I watched through the archway between the kitchen and dining room as he had a heated debate with the large pot of porridge on the stove.

“Maybe I should go in and help him,” Seff muttered, looking nervously into the kitchen.

“No. We agreed. Hiram needs to do more for himself,” Ezra said flatly, taking his seat at the head of the table. Apparently I wasn’t the only one punishing Hiram. “It’s good for him.”

“I can hear you,” Hiram sang from his spot at the stove.

“Good,” Ezra grunted.

We all ate the lumpy porridge politely, not bringing up anything that had happened or anything that we’d discussed yesterday afternoon. The air was thick with unspoken words and half-made decisions. It was making me edgy.

Why wasn’t Ezra saying something? As the Alpha, surely he would lead this conversation. I watched him intently as he discreetly prodded at his porridge. He didn’t look like someone who was about to initiate a serious discussion.

Was this what he would be like if we got a seat on the Council? What if there was something important happening that we needed to comment on?