And where was he?
The room was so bright that I figured it must already be the middle of the morning. I didn't normally sleep in this late. I bit my lip, holding in the smile that threatened to burst forth as I thought about being kept up all night by Maks. And then I laughed, unable to contain it, because I realized that, one, Maks had turned into a dragon, and two, I was no longer a virgin.
Of the two, I was spending way more time thinking about the sex than the fact that my lover was actually a mythical creature. Not that the dragon thing wasn't amazing, too. But God, the sex was … better than I'd imagined. Incredible.
And I wanted to do it again.
As if my desire had conjured him, Maks walked into the bedroom. He was carrying two steaming cups that smelled like coffee and had a bag in his hand with the name of a bakery on it. He set it all down on the nightstand and kissed me. I tried to pull him back into bed, but he resisted.
"You need to eat something, love," he said, laughing and sitting down next to me as I sat up.
His eyes were doing that glowing-with-fire thing again, which made me think that I could probably talk him into getting back into bed with me pretty easily … except that all of a sudden the coffee smelled really good, and when he opened the bag and pulled out an assortment of pastries, I was suddenly ravenous.
"I've been talking to Dane and Anik," he told me as he handed me one of the cups. "They've been telling me what to expect now that we're fully bonded."
The coffee was sweetened, with cream, and I smiled as I sipped it. I couldn't remember ever telling him how I took my coffee, but he'd obviously noticed and remembered. If I'd ever doubted that he loved me, the way he paid attention to the little things would have proven it.
"Dane and who?" I asked. I'd met Wesley's husband, but I didn't recognize the other name.
"Anik is a mated dragon shifter who lives up north. He's my friend Ben's father."
My eyes widened as I jumped to the obvious conclusion. "Are you saying that Dane is a dragon shifter, too? How many of you are there?" The world had seemed so normal before yesterday. Today I felt as if a curtain had been pulled aside, revealing enchantment and magic and things I'd never dared to dream of, all of which had been hiding in plain sight. "How did I not know that things like this existed?" I whispered, my lips curving up.
"Well, we like to keep it that way," he answered, laughing. "And yes, Dane is also a dragon. There really aren't that many of us. Just four in North America."
"Ben?" I guessed, then smiled when he nodded. "All men? What about Ben's mother? You said the other one … Anik? Is his father? Is his mother a dragon, too?"
Maks's eyes softened, and his smile got even bigger. "That's actually something I needed to talk to you about, baby. It's one of those mating changes that Anik said would make you hungrier than usual today … and for a while."
He was right about the hungry, I suddenly realized, reaching for a croissant. My glasses were next to them on the nightstand, and I grabbed those first out of habit, slipping them on without thinking. And then I blinked, and took them back off. They must have been dirty, because everything had become blurry when I'd put them on.
"I'm warm," I told Maks as I tossed the glasses back on the nightstand and bit into the croissant. "Is that one of these ‘changes?'"
He nodded, and the way he was looking at me was making me even warmer. I always felt warm around him, actually. I'd dismissed it before, but now I realized that it was probably a real thing. That same delicious heat I'd come to associate with him now felt like it was a part of me, and it had flared inside me when he'd fucked me the night before, burning me from the inside out in a way that wasn't painful at all. It had been almost orgasmic.
Okay … not "almost."
Was that a dragon thing? What we had done had felt like more than just sex to me, but I didn't really have anything to compare it to. My memory of arriving at Maks's house the day before was hazy with the desperation I'd felt to finally have him fuck me. It was a blur of his big hands and thick cock and that exquisite heat licking all over me, through me, moving inside me-and then coming so hard that I hadn't been able to remember my own name, much less care about these "changes" he'd been trying to tell me about before we started. And then he'd carried me into the bedroom and fucked me again. And then again. All night long.
And every time, I'd felt like I could feel Maks, inside me-I mean, obviously-but not just in my body … also in my head. In my heart. And there had been …
"Fire? Do you breathe fire?" I asked, certain details suddenly coming into focus. "Did you breathe it … into me?"
"I did, love," he said, cupping my cheek tenderly. "It bonded us together, for life. It lets my dragon's power flow to you. And it made you fertile."
I blinked. "What?"
He slid his hand down my body, flattening it on my stomach, just a couple of inches above my very-happy-to-see-him cock. His touch was much more interesting than croissants or breathing fire and it made me want to get back to what I'd been thinking about before he walked in. What we'd done all night. I put my coffee down and covered his hand with mine, trying to push it lower. He resisted, stroking my taut stomach and ignoring the part of me where I wanted his attention.
"After last night … you should be pregnant, Devin."
He wasn't cooperating, wasn't moving his hand where I wanted it, so I decided to try another strategy. I would have to ask for what I wanted. I pushed the covers off and straddled his lap.
"Maks, please fuck me again."
That seemed to work. He groaned, pulling me against him and giving me a hot kiss. I ground myself against the hard length of his erection, as hungry for him as if he hadn't just been inside me a few hours ago. I had wanted him for so long, and now that I'd had a taste I felt like I would never get enough. I was suddenly desperate to feel the hot rush of him coming inside me again. Just thinking about it made me … Wait. He'd come inside me, filling my body with his seed, and now he was saying-
"Pregnant?" I leaned away from him, going still. "Did you say ‘pregnant?' Me?"
He nodded, looking at me like he wanted to lick me. I'd clearly succeeded in distracting him from whatever he'd been telling me. He was kneading my ass with his big hands as he rocked underneath me, and God, it felt so good that I … but no. First I needed to know whether I'd actually heard him correctly.
"Maks, stop." It didn't sound like I meant it, because I kind of didn't, but this was important. I pulled his hands off me. "Do these dragon powers you keep talking about include getting me … me … a man … pregnant?"
"Yes, love. It's how dragons father children. Human men carry our babies. You asked about my friend Ben … he doesn't have a mother, he has two fathers. Just like Elise has Dane and Wes."
I caught my breath. "Wesley … he's … they're both her fathers? Biologically?" He nodded, and my heart started racing with excitement. "Wes is human, right? Just … normal. Like me? And you're saying that he actually … he was pregnant, with Elise? He gave birth to her?"
The flames in Maks's eyes started to dim, and a look of concern crossed his face. "Yes," he answered me cautiously. "I tried to tell you before I claimed you, Dev. My heat makes you fertile. It's part of being my mate and … I hope you're okay with it, because I'm pretty sure it's already happened. I love you, baby, and I want you to bear my child."
I was almost afraid to let myself believe him. I knew that men couldn't get pregnant. But then again … up until the day before, I'd also known that dragons didn't exist. But Maks was a dragon. I'd seen it, ridden it, felt his fire. And if that could be true, then how could I doubt it when the man I loved told me that he'd gotten me pregnant?
"Devin?" He was looking at me anxiously. "I've seen you with Holly. I thought you liked kids. Are you- oh, shit." I hadn't realized I was crying until he wiped the tears off my cheeks. "I'm sorry, baby," he said softly. "I'll … I don't know. Fuck. We'll figure something out. I'll ask Anik-"
I kissed him.
He pushed me away, his eyes filled with worry. "We can ask Wes about the pregnancy, Dev. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before-"
I kissed him again, the happiness bubbling out of me until I was laughing into his mouth. I pushed against his shoulders until he fell back on the bed, and then I crawled on top of him, smiling so wide that I couldn't talk.