39. Kisano

Chapter 39

Kisano

A s soon as he was alone, Kisano hid his face against his knees as he wrapped his arms around them. It was pathetic, but he couldn't help but wallow in his misery over what had happened. He couldn't stand the feeling of his dragon pacing inside of him like a restless animal inside a cage. Kisano desperately wished his dragon would go back into hiding again.

When there was a knock on his door, Kisano assumed it was Kitsuki returning to say something he forgot to mention earlier. Much to Kisano's shock, it was a concerned Sephen who approached him with caution.

Kisano immediately tensed as he felt his dragon reacting to the appearance of his heart's desire. "You should go," he warned in a strained voice.

The hurt on Sephen's face physically pained Kisano. "Is it because I did something wrong?"

It horrified Kisano that Sephen would blame himself. "No, I am the one in the wrong who should be apologizing."

Sephen walked a little closer. "I was so worried I hurt you."

"It was not you, Sephen. I lost control and put you in danger." Kisano burned with a shame his dragon did not share.

"But I was never in danger," Sephen protested. He sat on the bed next to Kisano. "I wasn't scared."

"You should have been," Kisano whispered. He surely would have been if he knew the graphic details of what his dragon had intended to do if Kisano hadn't shifted first.

Sephen hesitated before touching Kisano's arm. "I know you would never hurt me, Kisano."

"You say that, but what my dragon wanted to do was unforgivable."

Sephen looked hurt. "Is it because I'm human?"

Appalled by the very thought, Kisano hurriedly reassured him. "No, of course not."

"Then why?"

Kisano owed him the truth. "Because my dragon wanted more than you would ever be willing to give."

"But what if it was what I wanted?"

Kisano suddenly lost the ability to breathe. "Why would you want anything to do with me after I lost control so shamefully?" He didn't understand Sephen's reaction at all.

"Why is it shameful?" Sephen asked in confusion. "Auslin said he's met Kitsuki's dragon lots of times."

"Kitsuki can control his dragon, but this was the first time mine ever surfaced," Kisano explained. "Who knows what my dragon will do next time?"

"I'm not afraid of your dragon. You shouldn't be either." When Kisano looked up at Sephen in confusion, he reached out and caressed the shifter's cheek. "He's a part of you."

Kisano's heart ached with desire for the human who had already given him so much. "Why are you being so understanding?"

"Because I really like you," Sephen shyly confessed before adding, "and I like your dragon, too."

The confession overwhelmed Kisano. He desperately wanted to believe Sephen, but he was too afraid to accept it as the truth. "How can you say that?" Kisano whispered. "A normal human would be repulsed by what happened."

"I thought we had already established I wasn't normal," Sephen joked.

Kisano looked at the human with guarded hope. His heart stopped when Sephen leaned over to kiss him. It was devastatingly perfect, but Kisano forced himself to pull back. "I cannot risk this might happen again."

"Then let it happen," Sephen told him with a shrug. "Even if you turn into a dragon again, I won't mind because you were so cute."

Kisano blushed in embarrassment. He didn't resist when Sephen kissed him again. It left him unprepared for Sephen requesting, "Let your dragon come out, Kisano."

The consequences were too risky. "I cannot do so when I am so fearful of what he might do."

"He won't hurt me," Sephen said with a confidence Kisano wished he could share.

"Even if I wished to do so, I do not know how to summon him."

"Don't be afraid of him." Sephen gave him an encouraging look. "I'm not."

Kisano wanted to resist, but Sephen looked at him with so much trust and affection. He had no choice but to do as requested. Closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling crawling under his skin, it eagerly took control.

When Kisano opened his eyes, they were swirling orange and intently staring at Sephen.

Sephen smiled, not the least bit intimidated. "Good. I want to talk to you because we need to come to an understanding for Kisano's sake."

Kisano's dragon tilted his head to acknowledge he was listening but remained a silent observer.

"I know you will never hurt me because you respect Kisano enough not to go against his wishes for my safety," Sephen told him. He received a nod in response. "If I tell you to stop, you will stop."

"But I will not want to," Kisano's dragon told him in a sensuous rumble. He relished the shudder of desire it sent through Sephen.

Sephen took a steadying breath. "And I promise you there will be plenty of times when I won't want to stop you. I trust you."

To the dragon's surprise, Sephen kissed him. He captured Sephen's lower lip between his fangs, then sucked on it before indulging in a deeper taste.

The scent of Sephen's arousal spurred Kisano's dragon to pin him on the bed. "If you smell this good now, we do not know how we will ever be able to resist you at the height of your heat."

When Sephen didn't reject him, Kisano's dragon pressed his erection against the human while licking his neck. He bit back a growl when Sephen gently stopped him.

Displeased at being denied, Kisano's dragon rubbed his hardness against Stephen's in a bid for reconsideration. "We can feel how much you want us."

"Yes, I do. But I also want to see Kisano because he needs to understand you aren't the only one who gets to enjoy carnal pleasure," Sephen told him. It earned him an angry growl from Kisano's dragon, but Sephen silenced him with a kiss that escalated. "I also like you, and I promise we'll have our time together someday, but Kisano will never let you out again if he is afraid of you."

Kisano's dragon hungrily kissed Sephen in response, but when he pulled back, it was a rather dazed Kisano looking down at him with worry.

Sephen reached up to caress his cheek. "It's okay, Kisano. We haven't done anything I haven't wanted." He arched his body to brush against Kisano's erection, which remained from when his dragon was in control. "It's okay for you to want what your dragon wants."

"Is it truly okay?" Kisano asked in a small voice.

Instead of answering with words, Sephen pulled him down for a passionate kiss. Kisano trembled from the effort to fight back his dragon from taking over.

"I know we haven't known each other that long, and maybe it's because I've adored Reskin my whole life, but I feel like I've known you forever. I want to be allowed to love you, Kisano."

The confession overwhelmed Kisano. Sephen looked so beautiful and vulnerable in that moment. It filled Kisano with an unfamiliar desire to protect the human. "I never thought I would find anyone like you who could move me more than any book had." Kisano's dragon whispered they might already love Sephen, but he wasn't ready to confess those feelings yet.

Embarrassed by his openness, Kisano indulged in a kiss that grew more passionate as Sephen threaded his fingers in Kisano's hair. The shifter kissed down Sephen's jaw before he froze.

"It's okay." Sephen stripped off his shirt in silent encouragement. "I want you to continue."

It was impossible to resist with explicit permission. Kisano showered Sephen in kisses all over. He could smell Sephen's arousal growing stronger, sending his dragon into a frenzied lust. It begged him to take what was so generously being offered to them. Wisps of orange swirls crept into his amber eyes.

"What do you want to do?" Sephen asked. He caressed Kisano's cheek when he refused to answer. "I want you to say it."

Kisano's voice deepened with lust and dark with need. "I want to drink you down, so I may savor your taste."

"Then do it."

Kisano shook his head. "No, I cannot?—"

Sephen shushed his protests. "I'm giving you permission to do what you want because it's what I want, too." He slid his pants and briefs off his hips.

Kisano moved to help before he could even process what he was doing. When Sephen's erection sprung free, Kisano inhaled deeply before hesitantly brushing against it with shy fingers.

Sephen's breath caught in his throat. When Kisano remained motionless, he softly encouraged, "Go on."

Kisano stroked Sephen's erection with a light touch. He watched as Sephen's body moved under his touch, completely captivated by the sight. Kisano repositioned himself to take Sephen's erection into his mouth, moaning at the exquisite taste of the arousal. He enthusiastically worked his length, egged on by his dragon.

Sephen smothered a cry behind his hand when Kisano's fangs touched him. A whine got stuck in his throat as Kisano swallowed around him. The way Sephen whimpered Kisano's name was better than any song a symphony could play.

When Kisano's curious fingers trailed over Sephen's entrance, the human came while gasping the shifter's name. Kisano swallowed the release, burning with a passionate need for Sephen.

"That was amazing," Sephen insisted. "See? You're still in control, not your dragon."

It startled Kisano to realize Sephen was right. His dragon remained close to the surface, but Kisano had been in control the entire time.

"Do you need more proof it's you who wants me and not only your dragon?" Sephen asked as he hugged Kisano. "You should trust yourself more."

"Thank you for having such faith in me," Kisano whispered. How had he gotten so lucky?

It shocked him when Sephen rearranged their positions to end up on top of Kisano. Before he could protest, Sephen removed the shifter's breeches. "There is no need for you—" Kisano interrupted himself with a gasp when Sephen stroked his aching cock.

As the pleasure built up, Kisano struggled to resist his dragon from taking control to push things further. But Kisano was successful. His reward was getting to come in Sephen's mouth. "For such a virtuous mage, you certainly are adventurous," Kisano teased, surprising them both.

Sephen's laughter delighted Kisano. "I can't help it! You make me want to do things I never knew I wanted."

"I understand that all too well." Kisano enjoyed holding Sephen in his arms. It was the best dream come true of Kisano's life to spend the rest of the long night cuddling with Sephen as they talked.