11. Jaega

The hurt in Fersen's voice pained Jaega and his dragon's heart. It frustrated him that Fersen was mistaking his restraint for repulsion when that was the furthest thing from the truth.

Jaega didn't want to confess and burden Fersen with his feelings, but he didn't see any other way of making the unicorn shifter feel better. "It is not just him."

The color in Fersen's cheeks deepened. "Oh?" He looked almost coquettish in an all-too-tempting manner.

"I do not wish for you to think I am selfishly taking advantage of you or your heat, so?—"

Fersen interrupted. "I don't think that at all. There's nothing selfish about you."

"Still, I am quite certain you would find the current thoughts running through mine and my dragon's mind objectionable at best, offensive at worst."

The unicorn shifter bit his lower lip as he looked up at Jaega with a vulnerable expression that made Jaega want to gather Fersen into his arms and never let go. "What if I said I don't object?"

"After everything you've been through, the last thing you need is?—"

"You're what I need," Fersen said in a rush of words. Before Jaega could respond, Fersen continued. "You would actually treat me well and not care only about your personal pleasure. You would take care of me in every way."

See? He wants us as much as we desire him, Jaega's dragon insisted. Stop being so cowardly and show him what a real man can do for him.

"While that is true?—"

"I know you could have anyone you wanted, and there's no reason for you to be interested in me, but I—" Fersen took a deep breath before continuing. "It's not just my heat talking. I've been drawn to you from the very beginning. And being your mate?—"

"Our mate?" Jaega's dragon repeated as he took a stronger hold. "Is that what you truly wish?"

"I know it's foolish when I have literally nothing to offer you. But I want more days like these last two, where I've felt safe and at ease for the first time in my life because I'm with you."

"We would always protect and cherish you." In that, Jaega and his dragon were united. "If you were our mate, we would do everything in our power to make you happy."

"Then why don't you start by coming over here first?" The coy invitation was almost too much to resist.

Jaega struggled to get back in control. "Because if I go over there, my dragon will claim you as our fated mate. You are almost too much temptation normally, but combined with your alluring heat, I would be powerless to resist his urges when it is what I also desire."

He breathed deep, enjoying the spicier notes of Fersen's altered scent from his heat. It was the best thing he had ever smelled since his mate's passing. He wanted to bury his nose in Fersen's neck to drown in his scent. But the temptation to place his mating mark there was too strong. Jaega had to do the honorable thing. "I do not wish you to make a decision influenced by your heat and then regret it later once your calm has returned."