33. Jaiyana

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

JAIYANA

A fter hiding all of Tyson’s toys, I’d hidden myself.

You’re a fucking coward.

I am.

I wasn’t hiding from the nine orgasms.

Fuck me, I didn’t know the human body was even capable of that.

Mostly human.

Really semantics?

Would you rather admit what you’re really hiding from?

I swallowed.

Truths I didn’t want to face filled the space between those nine orgasms. I didn’t like who I’d become. Worse, I let lifetimes slip away, wallowing in my new reality instead of doing anything to change it. I wasn’t Marduk, but Lux had been right. I viewed myself with the same contempt I viewed an evil demon wizard.

You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch.

Great, now I’m going to have that stuck in my head all evening.

I took a deep breath as another realization made my face heat. I’d fallen asleep with Tyson’s dick literally inside me. It wasn’t just my exhaustion. My dragons made me feel safe. Joy and ease I’d forgotten existed had stilled my thoughts so thoroughly I just slipped away.

My little flip phone buzzed in my pocket. I exited the passage tomb I’d been wandering at Hagar Qim, one of the many megalithic stone age temples of Malta. It had grown dark, and I’d pissed the day away, poking around temples and avoiding my guys. What was I doing?

Answering your fucking phone, Jay.

“Caoimhe went with someone,” Lux's voice sounded hollow out of the phone’s cheap earpiece. “She’s inside a fortress.”

My heart skipped a beat. “And you just let her go?”

“I wasn’t there, and Ogden did whatever he felt was right,” Lux responded. “I’m texting you the GPS location.” He hung up without another word.

My heart pinched. This morning, I’d woken in my air dragon’s arms, only to sneak off to hide Tyson’s sex toys before I lost my chance. Of all my mates, Lux was the sweetest and the only one I’d not once let hold me in the morning. I might be dodging my guys, but they were not avoiding each other. Lux had to know. I’d even woken up between Og and Rehan in Ireland in a cuddly ball of sleepiness. Now, I’d singled Lux out.

Fuck me, I should have stayed this morning.

Except, staying meant admitting I wanted not just them but something more for myself.

This isn’t just about you.

I still had my silent phone pressed to my ear. I dropped my hand and violently swore in every language I knew. Caoimhe, who I’d promised nothing would happen to, went with strangers. Or they’d kidnapped her. I didn’t know.

My anger at myself turned on my guys. They were fucking dragon shifters. They were supposed to keep her safe and in sight. They had to have watched her get into a car and stood by doing nothing. The nymph was only supposed to get information about Gorm’s Casket, not go with anyone. In addition, Lux and Og were supposed to be watching her, so they’d talk to each other.

I’d lost control again.

My phone buzzed with the rage of an angry hornet's nest. I looked down to find two texts.

Rehan: 35.9747° N, 14.3429° E

Rehan: We’re all here.

My heart sank. They called me last. Someone kidnapped Caoimhe, and they waited to call me until after they gathered. Flashes of shame, anger, and terror made me stumble as I forced myself to walk to Cikku’s ancient car. My thoughts spun with what ‘ifs’ and ‘whys,’ but the truth was, until I got back to my guys, I didn’t know.

My ass hit the cracked leather of the driver's seat. I looked at my reflection in the review mirror. Hard, determined eyes looked back at me with desperation swirling in their depths. I started the car and sped down the short, turn-filled roads of Matla, following Rehan’s directions.