Drake opened his eyes. It took him a moment to remember where he was. When he did, he glanced across the bed and saw Savanna snuggled up to him. Her hair was scattered across the pillow like a dark curtain. Her scent clung to him like a perfumed ink. Wyeth wasn’t anywhere to be found. It didn’t matter that he was gone. Instead, it was nice to enjoy his time alone with Savanna. He replayed the moments the night before where he had been buried inside of her. It had been the most rejoicing experience and the most freeing he had, save flying. Just thinking about her sumptuous flesh rubbing against him as she rode him stirred his cock once more, and he would have taken her there except he didn’t want to wake her. His father had always told him that finding his mate would change his outlook on life. Instead of wanting to do everything just for himself, everything would be for her alone. The happiness he would find luxuriating in her presence would feel as though the sun warmed his scales, although more intense, and that was how he felt.
The dragon inside of him wanted her to see all the glory that was kept underneath his flesh. Savanna rolled over, and her face scrunched up as though she were in pain. A few nonsensical words came from her, but he ran his fingers down her cheek and it calmed her. He couldn’t get enough. Drake wanted to touch her and feel her writhe once more. He leaned over and brushed his lips across hers.
“Are you trying to wake her up?” Wyeth asked.
Wyeth came in pushing a cart. He had an apron tied around his neck and waist. Underneath that was only a pair of sweat pants. Fury rode along his spine again, but Drake pushed it aside into something that was manageable. It had to be manageable. The night before he had experienced Wyeth’s feelings as well as Savanna’s. It had doubled his awareness in a way he had never thought was possible. It made their coupling more intense.
“No. I wasn’t trying to wake her up. What are you doing?” Drake asked.
He stopped by the foot of the bed with the cart. “I made breakfast for everyone. I thought you might be hungry after our...encounter last night.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Should we wake her?” Wyeth gestured toward their sleeping mate.
Drake thought about it. He could let her sleep, but the other man had gone to all the trouble of cooking. He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers in a light kiss and slid his hand underneath the sheet to cup her breast. Her nipple firmed in his palm as he squeezed it gently and deepened the kiss. Savanna groaned and opened her eyes. Drake pulled back as he peered into those deep pools that he knew reflected his own soul and didn’t balk at what she had seen. Once she had given in to what was between them it had all worked out, but he could still feel all those questions bubbling underneath her skin. However, there was also the acceptance, and he wasn’t sure if it was love or not. It was too early for him to discern the emotion.
“Hey,” he whispered to her.
“Hi,” she answered.
He sensed something in her, a bit of conflict, as she pulled the sheet close and looked around the room. “What’s the matter?”
She shrugged. “I’m just a little surprised this isn’t a dream. Last night actually happened.”
“It did,” Wyeth responded. “Is it something you regret?”
Her gaze locked to his. Drake looked at him and then back at her. His heart swelled at the idea that they could easily slip back underneath the sheets and spend hours pleasuring one another.
“No. I mean. Not if you do.” She looked at them both of them with shock and awe as though she was waiting for the moment to disappear.
He trailed his fingers along the line of her shoulder. “Not at all. It was more than words, although I think there’s more today that we can do than just sitting here. Wyeth made breakfast, and after that I’d like to take you into the caves to show you what I truly am. Does that sound manageable?”
“Yes,” Wyeth and Savanna both answered.
Wyeth plucked off the silver domes revealing eggs, sausage, orange slices with strawberries, and biscuits.
“Wow. That’s a spread,” Drake said.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I made a little bit of everything. I woke up early and made a run to the store. I can’t take credit for the biscuits.” Wyeth handed her a plate.
“I’m hungry, but I need something to wear. My dress got pretty torn up and the sheet isn’t exactly my thing.”
“I might have something. Drake, get Savanna some food.”
He was surprised to hear Wyeth order him, but he grabbed his pants and slipped them on. Wyeth went off to look for something for Savanna to put on, and he loaded up her plate with things for her to eat. He sat next to her on the bed and held out a slice of orange.
“I can feed myself,” she said.
“I know. Indulge me.” Drake held out the orange slice until Savanna took it between her lips and bit down on it. His craving for raw meat intensified as he watched her eat what he had given her. The dragon rumbled within. He took another slice of orange and held it between his teeth and leaned into her. Savanna giggled, but she took the other half and met his lips. He kissed her and couldn’t help but swallow the orange and deepen the kiss. His dragon reared and wanted to complete the mating ritual.
“I want you,” he whispered feeling more of the dragon in his personality than he had for a while, as though it had something of its own personality, which was strange.
Savanna pulled away. “I heard you.”
“I was hoping you would. It’s part of the bond that forms between my kind and our mates. We can communicate telepathically and share one another’s emotions. I think we figured that out last night. There is more to it than I can tell you, but if we can...”
“I think I found something for you,” Wyeth returned with the clothes and laid them on the bed. “Is everything okay?”
Savanna smiled. “It’s fine.” She wrapped her arms around Wyeth’s neck and kissed him.
Drake felt the blast of passion well up from her and pass over him as she kissed the other man. Wyeth joined her on the bed. The two of them kissed, and Drake’s cock stiffened. If this kept happening he wasn’t getting out of bed.
Wyeth pulled away. “It’s as scrumptious as you are, I’m starving.”
“Yes, we should eat and then head into the caves,” Drake reminded them.
The three of them ate in silence until they finished their breakfast. Savanna got up with the sheet wrapped around her and slipped on the clothes Wyeth had brought her. The shirt was too tight as it stretched across her chest and clung to all her curves. The pants were big, even on her, so she had to hold them up. It took all of his self-discipline not to wrap his hands around her and learn her body once more. How he never thought that she was his type was beyond him. He had been mistaken.
Drake led them downstairs into the east wing into a great ballroom. The mirrors were dusty now and covered in grime. No one had been here in years. Not even footprints disturbed all the dust.
“The dances we had in here so many years ago.” Drake’s voice echoed through the room.
“What kind of dances?” Savanna asked. Her voice was filled with awe as she looked around the room. He envisioned her in a corset and a fitted gown with her hair piled atop her head so that it fell around her white shoulders in curls. He had always loved the women during those times, although all the undergarments and the cloth that went with the bustle and the hoopskirts had been a bit much sometimes.
He grabbed her hand and twirled her before waltzing around the room. She let go of her pants, and as he moved with her, she stepped out of them until she was pealing with laughter, and he stopped her before the mantle. Savanna was breathless, and the pink about her cheeks made her all the more appealing. Wyeth grabbed her pants and held them out to her. She stepped into them and he folded the waistband enough so they fit tight.
“I don’t think I’ve been in this room since I was a child. The entrance to the caves is here?” Wyeth asked.
Drake ran his fingers along the molding and found the small notch half way up. He pressed it in and heard a click. A whirring sound started as he heard the weights and counter balances, until the whole panel of the wall swung open halfway so that they could step into the passage. The trapped draft blew up from the caves with the smell of the dank and the sea. Within the wall was a torch. He grabbed it, and the warmth of the fire crept up his throat. He released a long breath and the fire caught the torch.
“That was cool,” Wyeth admitted.
“Follow me,” Drake instructed.
Savanna stayed between them as he led them down the tunnel carved out of the stone and deep within the earth. Once upon a time, it had been a ventilation shaft that led down into the cave, but he had whittled it out so that he could come and go into the mansion as he saw fit many years ago. That was when he assisted the original Wyeth build the home. Some of the leftover stone had become the foundation. He hated to admit there was a lot of history he had forgotten being away from this place.
They went downward until they were a hundred feet below the earth. He waited at the opening to the cavern and sniffed. He moved the torch around and didn’t see anything. The entrance to the cave in his time had been easily accessible by the beach, but now it was underwater. And yet this was still dry. The air moved around the large room, but no animal lived within the walls.
“This is where you slept?” Savanna asked.
“Yes.” He threw the torch into a large basin so it lit the entire room. Crystals were embedded in the ceiling of the cave, so it seemed they were gazing up at the stars. Drake took Savanna and Wyeth’s hand and led them into the center of the room. “Stand over there by the fire. You’ll be out of the way enough so I won’t hurt you. It’s been a long time since I have been in my dragon form.”
Savanna took Wyeth’s hand and stepped back toward the large caldron. Once they were far enough away, Drake took a deep breath and stripped off his pants. The cool air wrapped around his skin. The beast underneath his flesh stirred and wanted out. He closed his eyes and reached down to release the dragon. It scratched at the surface, but he couldn’t bring his other half out. He got down on all fours, squeezed his eyes shut, and willed the creature to the surface. It seemed stuck. Drake screamed in frustration and slammed his fist into the ground. He gritted his teeth and focused on shifting his shape once more. His cheekbones shifted and his fingers elongated. All the effort forced him to be out of breath. He looked over at the two and saw their looks of anticipation and felt it coming from Savanna. Knowing he would disappoint her, he looked away in disgust. Everything that he was had been lost, locked inside human flesh. Everything that he thought he could touch was gone. No way could he go home now. He was stuck in this realm forever.
“What’s the matter?” Savanna touched his shoulder.
“I can’t.” He gazed at her and tried to make her understand. What was he if he couldn’t change into a dragon? What was he if he wasn’t able to access the very creature that had been a part of him since the day he was born? He was dragonkin.
She slid her hand underneath his and helped him stand. Everything in him deflated. He turned away, not able to look into her eyes. Savanna trailed her hand along his chin and turned his face back to her. Hot tears pooled in his eyes. He tried to fight the shame, but it crept up his throat like bile. He had promised them a magnificent transformation, but like everything else, this world had stunted his magic and his dragon. “Yes, you can.”
“You don’t...”
She stopped him by putting her lips on his and kissing him. The link between them flared to life. The dragon stirred. Savanna kissed his cheek. “Yes, you can. Believe it. We’re here with you.”
“Yes, we are.” Wyeth squeezed his shoulder. Drake saw acceptance and an out pouring of love in his gaze. Just a few days ago he never would have thought to have seen that in Blackmore’s eyes.
“Okay.”
They backed away. He closed his eyes, focused on his breathing, and tried to quiet his mind. It was the same thing he had done ages ago when he first learned magic. His teacher, his mother, had told him that he needed to listen to the world around him and find the touch that didn’t sound right. Within that touch was the place that the magic happened, where the beast lived, and where he could pull himself out of everything.
He listened to the wind and the crashing of the sea that echoed in the caves. His two mates lent him their strength. As Drake relaxed and listened to the environment, he heard three specific beats. They were the hearts of the two he was connected with. Soon they coalesced into one large beat. He found that place where only the hammering and the power rose within him. The magic within him was so worn down from not being it needed that something had to rekindle it. Drake grabbed onto that magic, and with all his might he forced the fire inside of him.
A roar left him, and he gained weight until he stretched to something beyond humanly possible. It was the first time he had shifted in over fifty years. The last time he had shown himself to Wyeth’s father. It had been difficult then, and now when he opened his eyes he had the weight of his tail. When he looked down, he had claws instead of fingers. His dragon form had grown, all when the thought he was done growing. His scales were not as lustrous as they had been before, and they itched. When he swiped his claws over his left foot a great swathe of skin came away with it. Great. I’m shedding. It means I have to stay this way until the molting is over.
“Holy shit!” Wyeth came closer.
He turned to stare at the other man and saw his reflection his Wyeth’s eyes. It was good to see the fear and respect there, knowing he was as fearsome as ever. He glanced over to Savanna and saw nothing of the fear. She reached out her hand and drew it back.
“You can touch me.” Drake’s voice rumbled in the cavern.
Savanna laid her hand on his snout. Drake shivered with desire from her caress. The soft sensation of her fingers running over his scales fueled his desire for her. Even though he was in dragon form it amplified his emotions. And the dragon within him was more content than it had ever been. The peace of it comforted him and also gave him a purer feeling. He was content to be just with her. And all through that, the desire to be with her was amplified. Savanna moaned, and it electrified him.
“Why do I feel this way?” Savanna muttered.
“It’s because of the bond,” he whispered.
He opened his eyes, and Wyeth had her in his arms, holding her. The other man also experienced the effects of the passion woven between them. Savanna stood on her tiptoes and reached Wyeth’s lips until they were kissing. Drake wanted more than anything to join them, but he didn’t let the jealousy take hold. He basked in their pleasure, but it did little to help ease the feeling of wanting her in him arms. She pulled away from Wyeth when he lifted his wings and stretched them out. How he wanted to fly, but even the cave couldn’t contain everything that he was anymore. In this form, since he had grown he would have to squeeze through the cave opening.
“My God,” Wyeth said. “Drake, I’m sorry I doubted you, man.”
“It’s okay. Although there’s something I have to admit. I need you to watch over Savanna until I’m done molting.” Drake settled his wings on his back once more. Their weight did nothing for the idea of one day having Savanna’s legs wrapped around his flanks as he lifted her into the air and showed her the world from a different perspective. He shook off the thought, because he had no idea if or when that would happen. He had to be happy with the time they had together, because he had the means to go home. He just had to wait.
“You’re shedding your skin. What does that mean?” Savanna asked.
“It means that I need to stay in dragon form. It can take up to two or three weeks, and then my scales will harden. I can’t turn back into human form until I’m done. I can, but it’s excruciating and I tear at my skin. It feels like my insides are on fire and nothing can make it stop until I’m done. Wyeth, I need you to watch over her.”
“I can do that.” He held her closer.
“I can take care of myself. Just because this...thing happened between us doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being me. I don’t need a man to tell me what I can and can’t do. And I don’t need a dragon telling me the same thing either.”
Drake chuckled as her frustration rolled through him. “I wasn’t suggesting that you were going to stop being you, Savanna. Since I can’t be there until this is over, and in case you have any more visitations, I wanted to be sure that Wyeth keeps an eye on you. Is it safe to say that I am a little more than worried about you because you nearly faint after you travel from your body, and I don’t want it to happen, say, when you’re driving a car?”
“It won’t,” she said.
“I’ll keep an eye on her, but what about you? Do you really want to be stuck in this cave?”
“It’s not the first thing I want to be doing, but what choice do I have? If I get hungry I can go out at night when no one sees me and go for a long swim.”
“What would you eat?” Savanna asked.
He smiled and showed her his long, sharp teeth. “A few sharks are in these waters if you go deep enough. And I can swim pretty well. I just have to stay out of the shipping lanes. Although boat propellers don’t do much to my scales, normally. You can come visit me if you want to. I hope you’d want to.”
She nodded. “I will. I hate to say it, but I do have to go. I have appointments today.”
“Me too, I have the crew waiting for me at a couple of sites before I come back here and work on the house.”
Drake butted his head against Savanna and made her giggle. He did the same thing to Wyeth, before flicking his tongue over Savanna’s cheek. “I’ll see you later.” Drake hated to see them go, but it was best. It was good to know that he had been able to switch his shape, and it was still within him. Although he wasn’t sure he could have done it without the help of Savanna and Wyeth.
* * * *
Savanna glanced over at Wyeth as he sat in the car. “Are you sure you want to walk home? You have a long way to walk back to the house.”
He shook his head. “One of the crews I have isn’t too far from here. They can give me a ride. Besides, I need to clear my head. After last night and this morning, I got a lot of shit on my mind.”
“I know the feeling.” She still didn’t believe half the stuff that she had done. Being away from Drake, an emptiness threatened to consume her she had never felt before. When she was close to him, all she could feel was complete and utter joy. It was as though she had found a part of herself that she never knew was missing. And being with Wyeth she felt the same thing, too. She wasn’t sure she could be away from them, but she had a life to live that was independent from the two of them. And yet, as much as she wanted to go she also wanted to stay with both of them.
“I can’t believe he’s a real live fucking dragon. I never would’ve believed it unless I didn’t see him transform into one.” He shook his head.
The disbelief was evident in his voice. “Yeah, I know what you mean. So when do I get to see you again?” Savanna asked.
He sighed and stared out of the window. Savanna sensed his frustration and uncertainty. “After last night...I’d say there isn’t anything that we can’t talk about. I never thought I’d be in bed with another guy. I don’t know where this goes. But I feel this connection between you and Drake. Look, Drake’s in the caves and the only way in is through the house. You can come over whenever you want. I’m not going to stop you. I’d like to get to know you better, date you before maybe falling into the sack again. Although, I’m not sure I can resist the urges I get when I’m around you.” He trailed his fingers along her leg and inner thigh.
Savanna shivered, and a small moan came from her throat before she could stop it. She hated to think that she was put under some spell by this bond they shared. “Thanks for the invite, and yeah, I feel the same way. I’d love to get to know you better, Wyeth.”
“Are you free tonight?” he asked.
“I think I need a night to myself, if you don’t mind. Get my head together after all that’s been happening.”
“Sounds like a plan. If Drake needs anything, I guess I’ll call you. But I need your number.”
Savanna smiled. “Right.” She grabbed one of the business cards she kept in her glove compartment and scribbled her number on the back of it. Savanna brushed the top of his leg and felt his passion as sure as it was hers. The fire crawled up her spine and shot along her nerves. Wyeth grabbed her hand and pulled her to him until their lips met in a hungry kiss. His hands clutched her sides and shimmied up her shirt so his hands connected to her skin. He raked them across her stomach until he brushed her breasts. Her nipples hardened. She forced his arms down.
“I want you,” he breathed.
“I know, but I have to go to work and so do you. I can’t do this in the parking lot. I can’t...we can’t let this desire consume us. Wyeth, it’s not what rational people do. Come on. You know this.” She took a deep breath, but the heat between lingered. In the distance the craving was fueled by Drake. If she focused on it long enough she could feel the fire within him. Savanna pulled her attention away from the dragon before it wrapped around her. If that happened, she didn’t think she could separate from it. She would fuck Wyeth in the car and see what would happen after that.
“Right. Right. I’m going to go take a walk. I’ll call you later to let you know about tomorrow. What do you like to do?” Wyeth asked as he opened the door.
She shrugged. “Movies. Reading. Walks along the beach. Play Frisbee when it’s warmer. Reading cards and talking with the people that are like-minded. There are very few around here. I do ghost tours and séances when it gets to be Halloween. I like history, horror movies, strange things that go bump in the night. I can never really get away from that. I’ve assisted on some ghosts hunts in the past. I like a lot of things. Why?”
He flashed her a smile. “Have to start somewhere.”
She shook her head and headed back up to her apartment. Savanna closed the door and took a deep breath now she was away from both men. She needed a nice warm bath and some time to clear her head. She closed the door and set her keys down on the table. The feelings of both of their hands raked her mind, and she smiled at what had happened the night before.
“Hey, Sav. Did you have fun last night?” Chastity asked.
Wonderful. All I need is to deal with her at the moment. I should’ve listened to my instincts and never let her move in. “Sorry?”
“You went out with someone last night, by the looks of it, because you aren’t wearing what you went out in. And you never go anywhere unless it was with that man the other night that pulled you from the frothing depths. Did you have fun?”
Savanna tried to go past her roommate who blocked the way. “Look, I really have to get in the shower and get to work.”
Chastity plastered a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes was a little crazed. “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, it was fun. Are you happy?”
“I take it you got fucked pretty good.”
She held her breath and counted to ten as her roommate was pushing all the wrong buttons. “Chastity, I’m not having this conversation with you. I don’t ask you how good the sex was with all the different men you parade around.” Savanna pushed the woman’s hand out of the way so she could get into her room and hurried to get ready for the day.
As Savanna was setting up the shop, her thoughts wandered to Drake and Wyeth. Not being wound in the heat of passion so that she nearly drowned, being clear-headed, was a godsend. Getting involved with Drake was risky. He would return home, and she wasn’t going to stop him, not after discovering this was his last chance for another ten thousand years. Although the idea of losing him was like a knife to her heart, twisting and lacerating it until nothing remained except strings of useless flesh. It hurt to even think about it, much less to even contemplate what it would be like if he did leave. However, she had a month until the moon was full. When he left, she figured the bond between all three of them would fade away. It had to, because she wasn’t going to keep continuing her tryst with Wyeth after this was all over. How could she? They were complete opposites.
“Are you the psychic?” someone asked.
Savanna jumped. When she looked over, she saw the man Chastity had brought to the apartment the other night. He reeked of smoke, but he seemed harmless enough. “I am.”
His eyes widened. “Wow, you’re Chastity’s roommate. Look, about the other night, I’m sorry. I didn’t smoke in the house.”
“I know you didn’t because I would’ve smelled it. Can I help you with something?” Savanna asked nicely.
His gaze darted around the shop. The way he fidgeted and stuck by the door, she figured he hadn’t been to a psychic store before. “Actually, yes. I wanted to get a reading.”
She chuckled. “You want to know how your love life is going.”
“Yes. Wow, you’re good, but not in the way you think. I was hoping you could tell me if I was going to...make up with my wife. After last night...”
Wife. Wow. She hadn’t seen that one coming. “Chastity too much for you?”
“You could say that. No offense to your roommate, but she’s insane. We...ahh...you know... and all she could talk about was this other guy that had stood her up. She started hitting me, beating against my chest. I told her I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I wanted some fun, and it pissed her off even more. She threatened to call the cops on me for raping her. I never even got her shirt off, let alone in her pants. I screwed up. I wanted to know...is there any chance that I can make up to my wife?”
Savanna eyed him. “Look, sir, the first thing you can do is not go on dates with women you don’t know.”
“She was the first one. I swear.”
“Mmm...hmmm.” Savanna took his hand and closed her eyes. She honed in on his energy and a flash came into her mind. Shockingly, he was telling the truth. He had never cheated on his wife. She saw a quick glimpse through his eyes of Chastity coming on to him. Touching his shoulder and smiling, twirling her fingers around her hair as she tried to keep up the illusion that she was sweet and innocent. Savanna never had such a strong vision before. She could smell the beer that the man had drunk and that stupid flowery overpowering perfume Chastity always wore. She could smell more of the scents around her the longer she concentrated. Normally, she would get something that came in symbols, and she would have to interpret those symbols that her guides gave her.
“What are you doing?” the man asked.
She opened her eyes and he ripped his hand from hers. “Sorry. You were asking me about your wife and I was getting you the answer.”
“That’s it. You’re not going to have me sit down and do some crazy shit in the back room?”
“Do you want an answer or not, Shawn?” The name slipped from her lips even before she realized she said it.
“Yes.”
“Treat your wife with respect. Stop thinking she doesn’t love you because she’s been busy. You were the one who thought she was sneaking around on you, but she’s been doing other things like getting ready to tell you that’s she’s pregnant.”
“That’s impossible. We always use a condom and...”
“There was that time, two months ago, when you came and found her waiting for you and all you were thinking about was your secretary.”
“How in the hell do you know that?”
How the hell do I know all this? Her answers were never this precise or powerful. It was as though she had tapped into a different power source. It dawned on her it might have something to do with the strange connection she had with Drake. “It doesn’t matter. Just go to the store, buy her something, and don’t be a curmudgeon about it. She’s scared to death to tell you because of all the conversations you’ve had about never wanting children. Deep down you’ve always wanted one, you just never wanted to screw up and be like your father.”
“Do you know if it’s going to be a girl or a boy?” he whispered.
“Sorry. Too early to tell. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“How much do I owe you?”
“Twenty bucks,” Savanna told him.
He didn’t comment further and handed her the money before walking out. When she checked the amount, he had given her fifty instead of a twenty. When she went to chase after him, he was already long gone down the street and out of sight.