Epilogue 2

Baldric

The quarter-century summits were a necessary evil, but that didn't mean I was happy to be here. It had been bad enough before I'd met Zenira, but now that she was at my side, my instincts demanded that I hide her away and keep her safe.

Instincts didn't care that the other attendees weren't a threat and that even if they were, Zenira could take care of herself. She would always be mine to protect. Dragons who'd been mated for less than a century got a lot of leeway during the summit.

Even so, we had to leave our room sometimes, and I hated it every damn time.

Zenira, however, loved meeting the other dragons and bonded mates. I could refuse her nothing, so I clenched my jaw and glued myself to her side. On the first day, she'd teased me about following her to the bathroom, but I couldn't have pried myself away if I'd wanted to—and I didn't.

We'd made it through half the week and my control was faltering. There were too many threats, too many people, and the desire to snatch and hoard and protect was nearly irresistible.

Zenira chattered happily as she changed into a dress for dinner, and I breathed in her warm scent. She smelled like cozy fires and warm bread and happiness—in a word, she smelled like home.

And I had to share her yet again with everyone else. If I made it through the evening without bloodshed, I'd count it as a win.

I snagged her arm as she fluttered past and drew her close. I nuzzled her temple and fought for control.

"This is really getting to you, huh?" she asked quietly.

"Dragons are solitary for a reason. So many of us together, is… uncomfortable."

She nestled deeper into my arms and some of my roaring anxiety calmed. She was here and safe and mine.

As if she heard my thoughts, she murmured, "You know I'm not going anywhere, right? You're stuck with me, I'm afraid."

I ran a grateful hand down her back. "I know, but it doesn't matter. You'll always be precious to me, and I'll always want to keep you safe."

She pressed a kiss to my jaw, then grinned at me and wiggled her fingers. "Want me to drive them all away?"

"I would like nothing more," I told her honestly, "but it would lead to other problems. I will survive." Probably.

Her brows drew together, but before she could offer to skip dinner—an offer I would be hard pressed to refuse—I brushed my lips across hers. She made a little sound of pleasure and wound her arms around my neck, pressing closer.

She glided her tongue over my bottom lip, then sucked it into the heat of her mouth. I groaned and clutched her tighter. If I lifted the silken fabric of her dress and buried my face between her legs, she would forget all about dinner.

She would stay here, with me.

And miss out on an evening of socializing. I might hate it, but she didn't, and it wasn't often that she got to meet so many other people with magic. I'd already stolen her away more than I should've, but she'd never once complained.

I broke the kiss but couldn't quite force myself to let her go entirely. "Are you finished getting ready?"

She blinked up at me, then nodded. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips glistened and she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I kissed her again, unable to resist, and she moaned into my mouth before reaching down to stroke me through my trousers.

My fractured control snapped.

I spun her around and clamped her back to my chest. I cupped her breast and rolled her tight nipple between my fingers, drawing another moan from her. "We don't have much time, so we'll have to be fast. Will you be fast for me?"

She nodded furiously with another low sound of pleasure, and I dragged her skirt and chemise up only to find the minx wasn't wearing anything else. I instantly went harder than stone. I buried my growl against her neck and fought for restraint.

She reached back and wove her hands in my hair, arching her spine and rubbing against my aching cock. "I thought you might like that," she murmured. "I was going to surprise you after dinner." She peeked at me over her shoulder, and her smile was pure wickedness. "Or maybe at dinner."

My hands clenched. "Witch."

"Dragon." She was unrepentant, glowing with desire and love.

I let go of her clothes and turned us until we faced the mirrored dressing table, then I guided her hands down to the edge. She met my eyes in the mirror and slowly licked her lips.

I unfastened my trousers, then dragged her dress back up. Her breath caught as I ran my hands over the sweet curve of her ass. I dipped my fingers between her legs and she lifted onto her toes with a gasp.

She was slick and already quivering. I nudged her legs farther apart, then took myself in hand and sank into her heat in excruciatingly tiny increments. She was as tight as a fist in this position, and despite her wiggling insistence that I hurry, I would never risk hurting her.

Once I was fully seated, she collapsed to her elbows with a low moan and the change caused my breath to hiss out on a curse.

"I love the way you feel like this," she whispered. She pushed up enough to shift forward before rocking back, fucking herself on my cock.

I groaned and clenched her hips, stilling her. "You had your fun this afternoon. It's my turn."

Before she could complain, I moved, giving her the short, hard thrusts she preferred in this position. Her breathing turned ragged and her eyes squeezed closed as the pleasure built.

Aware that we were already late, I only kept her balanced on the edge for a few precious minutes before driving her past the point of no return. Her body locked and pulsed around me.

Pleasure hit like a hammer, and I roared my claim so all would know she was mine.

Zenira chuckled breathlessly. "So much for being discreet."

I pressed a kiss to the damp nape of her neck. "Dragons have sharp noses. We could've been as quiet as mice and they would still know."

A blush deepened the color in her cheeks, but there was interest there, too. "So every time we…?"

"Yes."

A slow, possessive smile curved over her lips. "Good. That way none of them will doubt you're mine."

* * *

The banquet hallwas filled with long tables draped in pristine white cloth. Seating was not assigned, and nearly all of the seats were already filled by the time we arrived, but there were two chairs available across from Feora and Ansel.

I wasn't the only one who'd noticed Zenira enjoyed chatting with them, and gratitude unknotted some of my lingering tension.

I helped Zenira into her seat, then sat across from Feora with a subtle grimace. Her lips twisted in sympathy, then she took a breath and her smile turned amused, as if her mate hadn't been drowning in her scent all week.

We were at the end of the table, so as long as the seat at the foot of the table remained empty, I'd have a small buffer between Zenira and the rest of the room. Thanks to our pleasurable delay, I was feeling a little less frayed than I had been. Maybe this dinner wouldn't be so bad.

The universe, however, was not on my side. Just as a server placed a bowl of soup in front of me, a dark cloud descended on the empty chair.

Zenira thanked the server, then tilted her head at the dragon dressed in black who'd just sat far too close to her. It was all I could do not to snatch her into the safety of my arms. Feora's hands were fisted on the table, her lip curled.

My witch, however, was fearless. She beamed at the newcomer. "Welcome to our table. I'm Zenira. I don't think we've met…" She trailed off, waiting for Malaki to offer his name.

Malaki's hood shadowed his face, but shadows alone couldn't hide him from dragon eyes, and he wasn't using his magic. Surprise crossed his face for an instant before he dipped his head at Zenira. "I'm Malaki."

He glanced at me and Feora. "Peace," he murmured, low enough that the humans likely couldn't hear him. "I mean no harm."

"Nice to meet you," Zenira said. She hooked her leg around mine, and I realized I was slowly crushing my wine goblet. She touched the goblet, fixing it with her magic, then continued as if nothing was amiss. "You probably know Baldric and Feora already, but that's Ansel, Feora's mate."

Malaki nodded to Ansel.

"This is our first summit."

Malaki nodded again, but didn't respond. Zenira smiled softly at him, then turned her attention to Ansel. "Have you seen the glasshouse arboretum yet?"

Ansel glanced at Feora, and his smile was the tiniest bit playful. "We explored it yesterday." His gaze returned to Zenira. "Gorgeous, isn't it?"

"Yes! I went today while Baldric was in that interminable meeting." Her eyes slid down my body like a caress. "It's a maze, but he didn't have any trouble finding me."

I could find her anywhere on the grounds, and not just because she'd pilfered one of my rocks. She wore it on a necklace, a talisman just for me. The small magical prickle I felt at having a rock outside of my hoard was more than made up for the fact that I could find her anywhere in the world.

But here, I didn't need that sort of magic. I could track her scent through any of the nearby buildings, which I had done just as soon as I'd been released from the latest round of discussions.

My witch had a naughty streak, and she'd led me into the fragile privacy of one of the glasshouse's many hidden nooks before laying me bare in more ways than one.

Most dragons cared little about modesty, and Zenira and I hadn't been the only ones who'd had a pleasant afternoon in the humid warmth of the glasshouse. When I'd warned her she needed to be quiet or risk being overheard, she'd flushed down to her chest and clenched around me tight enough to make me see stars.

Zenira and Ansel chatted while Feora and I kept a close eye on Malaki. Even together we'd be no match for him, but every dragon here would turn on him if he tried anything with another's bonded mate.

But while Malaki was stony and standoffish, he'd never been anything but carefully polite with the few mates who had braved his forbidding presence.

It was cold comfort when the threat sat nearly within reach.

Zenira's leg jostled mine, and she looked at me expectantly. I replayed the last few minutes of conversation, aware that I'd been paying more attention to our surroundings than the table.

"There's a Knights Bandits board in the library, if I recall correctly." I slanted a glance at Ansel. "But don't be fooled by her innocent face. Zenira is dangerously good."

She elbowed me in the side with an exaggerated scowl. "Stop giving away all of my secrets." She tipped her head toward Malaki. "Do you play?"

His hood dipped slightly, and Zenira, being who she was, invited, "Would you like to join us for a game?"

Malaki's gaze flickered over Feora and me, and one corner of his lips pulled up into the shadow of a smile. "Thank you, but no."

* * *

The restof dinner passed peacefully enough, but it was a relief to usher Zenira into the empty library. Feora and Ansel followed us, and while Feora's presence still made me want to bare my teeth, we had grown up together so the impulse was less pressing than it would've been with another dragon.

Through unspoken agreement, Feora and I herded Ansel and Zenira into a protected corner with a quartet of cushioned chairs arranged around a low table. High shelves blocked the rest of the room. Based on Zenira's smile and Ansel's far too innocent look, neither of them was unaware of what we were doing.

Feora left just long enough to retrieve the Knights Bandits board—after giving me a glare that promised a slow death if I so much as looked at Ansel while she was gone.

While Zenira set up the board and reminded Ansel of the rules, Feora relaxed enough to join me by the sole entrance to the corner. She blew out a slow breath. "I'm ready for this week to be over."

"You and me both."

Her smile was small and wry. "I owe a lot of mated dragons apologies for thinking they were too overprotective during the previous summits."

"At least you didn't singe off anyone's eyebrows. Remember Harold's first summit with his mate?"

She chuckled. "His mate looked like he couldn't decide whether to scold Harold for overreacting or to jump him right there in the hall."

"Now that I think about it, Harold might've had the right idea. The others still give them a wide berth, and that was three centuries ago."

When her expression turned contemplative, I chuckled. "Don't do something that will make your mate fuss at you. We only have a few more days to survive, then we can all retreat and recover until the next one."

Feora grimaced, then grumbled, "Ansel would like to visit you and Zenira. Or have you visit us. He's starting to realize he's going to outlive his family, and it's… difficult for him. He loves people so easily, and it would be nice if he had friends who were going to stick around."

I bit back my instinctive denial, then groaned and cursed. I ran a reluctant hand down my face and begrudgingly admitted, "Zenira would love that, too."

Feora's expression was appropriately sympathetic, but a tiny smile played over her lips as she glanced at Ansel. "The things we do for our mates."

I studied Zenira's beaming smile as she took one of Ansel's pieces, and the last of my resistance melted away. "Indeed."

Together, we stared at the most precious people in our worlds and quietly made plans to keep them happy for the rest of our long, long lives.