“Really?” I blinked up at him, smiling.
“Anything you want,” Marco confirmed, his eyes tracking my expression as I softened between the two of them, making me feel a flush of heat at the fact that they truly felt that way.
Before I could respond, feminine, light laughter filled the space, and my stomach dropped. The council had arrived.
3
Henry
I hadn’t thought it was possible for my hatred regarding the council and its members to grow more than it already had in the past few years. Frankly, with the exception of Lucas, I would be perfectly thrilled if the council as an entirety was removed from existence. They didn’t serve a useful purpose except to rule over those that had chosen to leave the Dreki realm and escape such a toxic environment, but until now they had been an annoying pest that we chose to tolerate. After all, Marco had only joined to make sure that it was a level playing field when it came to dominance upon our arrival.
But now with their attempted interference in our life and our mate’s, they were verging on becoming something far worse. I didn’t think any of them realized just how much of an enemy they risked creating of us if they continued to poke and prod into business that didn’t fucking concern them in the least. They were much safer keeping to their small, self-centered universes. Unfortunately, knowing their personalities, they wouldn’t be able to resist causing a problem.
Anna was a vile, manipulative liar.
Edmund was a cold, egotistical bastard.
Larry was a self-serving narcissistic piece of shit.
All of those were fair reasons to dislike them. But what really got me? The way that Maya’s spine straightened immediately upon hearing their arrival. The way the soft, sweet excitement on her face regarding the concept of a greenhouse faded as she watched the group approaching with a level of caution that had my hatred growing exponentially. Everything about that, about her reaction, was wrong. So wrong.
Maya shouldn’t ever be made to feel anything but happiness, contentment, or desire. It was bullshit that we had to sit through this brunch to begin with since we knew that they would open the portal, so the only thing this was doing was making her uncomfortable, and they no doubt knew it. My hand tightened on her thigh, wishing that I was being tortured by the sweet smell of her lust rather than the uncomfortable sense of caution that seemed to surround her.
It didn’t help that I knew the real reason for this ridiculous brunch was to push further at the concept of Maya meeting with other flights about being their mate. Something that would only happen over my very literal dead body. Maya was absolutely ours, and I would rather claim her now than deal with any misconception of that. My jaw clenched as I considered the other flights that she would meet upon arriving in the Dreki realm. The ones last night had been distant and rather polite, but I didn’t trust bolder factions of our community to act similarly.
I also was positive the council was curious why we wanted to return, even briefly, in the first place. We had kept the appointment we made with the royal physician a secret, not informing her why exactly we wanted to meet, just that it was important. It was funny, because no one had yet to demand a reason for us going back yet despite the fact that I knew without a doubt that they were extremely curious.
A small rumble escaped my throat as Maya sank against my side, her gold eyes flashing up to mine as I realized that they truly had shifted in color. The brown that had been so apparent before was streaked with a metallic gold that shone like her skin, which seemed to glint in the morning sunlight, almost creating the illusion that golden specs of dust were embedded in her soft complexion. It was absolutely stunning and somewhat overwhelming, if we were being honest. Sometimes the woman truly appeared to be burning from within, like a candle flame that not only warmed you but had the potential to burn you if you weren’t careful. Not that it would ever convince me to tread carefully when it came to Maya. I would love to have more of her marks on me, a sign of ownership, even if they were burn marks.
Unfortunately, it was very clear that I wasn’t the only one that noticed this glow that surrounded her. No. Every other motherfucker in this room, mainly the men, couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off our mate. She didn’t realize it, but it was always like this with Maya. Everywhere we went, she immediately drew the attention of those around her, and it was completely unintentional.
It was a mixture of the sweet innocence that poured off her in waves and an innate level of seduction that she didn’t purposefully display but still inhabited. Even the light pink dress she wore, with the way it clung to her tight frame, had everyone, myself included, imagining the curves that were pressed right under that material. A low groan caught in my throat as I imagined peeling it off with my teeth and fucking her on the table to make it clear who she wanted.
At the same time, I was fighting the urge to wrap my suit jacket around her so that no one could see her. No one could imagine just how good she would look laid out like that. Maya’s entire body, from her curved hips and perfect ass, was made to fuck. I desperately wanted to get inside the woman, and the only thing that was holding me back was knowing that I didn’t want to rush it. No quickie would satisfy the amount of tension that I had running through me. When I took Maya, I planned on doing so hard and deep and for a long time until I had worked out every drop of my cum into her tight little channel.
My fingers tightened on her thigh, sliding up slightly, wanting to be closer to my mating mark. Maya’s eyes widened in surprise, a tiny tremble rolling over her. I couldn’t help the small smile that slipped on my lips as her nipples tightened against the pink lace of her dress, barely covered by her thick, dark hair that brushed over the soft skin of her neck and shoulders, showing off her other mating marks. I knew as the others approached they would be able to scent and feel her desire, but I found I didn’t fully care. I wanted them to sense that rather than her caution or concern. The woman had no reason to ever be concerned. That was our job.
Plus, the fact that she didn’t seem averse to me touching her in front of others like this only weakened my self-control. I wanted to see how far she would let me take it. I wanted to run my fingers over the lace panties that were blocking my access to her sweet center, knowing that it was hot and ready for me. What would she do if I pulled her onto my lap in the middle of the restaurant? If I got her off with the eyes of others on us as they watched me make her cum with my fingers?
Fuck. This was going to be a very long brunch.
I knew that Marco and mostly Atlas found my lack of control when it came to Maya amusing, but it was anything but, in truth. I didn’t trust my dragon to not take over and pin her sweet ass to the ground, claiming her hard enough that she would feel it for days after. I didn’t trust that if I let that side out, it wouldn’t terrify her. I knew it was also a waiting game at this point because he wouldn’t let up on the constant reminder that we had truly yet to claim our mate fully.
As a Beta, I was fairly dominant when it came to that side of my personality, but it was something that I rarely let out because that side of me was so drastically different from my normal personality. Well… before Maya. The more time I spent around my mate, the more the two sides seemed to merge into one, that one being a very different aspect of my personality I couldn’t have expected. The level of possessiveness I felt over Maya and urge to claim her was nearly overwhelming. It didn’t help that my dragon insisted she was very much ready for that and that any concern otherwise was unfounded.