27. Kitaro

Chapter 27

Kitaro

V anra immediately apologized. "Sorry, I thought I had more time, so I?—"

Kitaro's dragon thrashed in its cage at the sight of so much tempting bare skin on display. It took a concentrated effort to keep his voice calm. "There is no need to apologize, Vanra. I have only just arrived. It is no trouble to wait."

Vanra seemed uncertain. "Is everything okay?"

"All is well. Father simply wanted an update on how things went with the Enchanters yesterday. As you know, there was very little to report on the matter."

The human hesitated for a moment. "I apologize if I'm out of line, but are you okay? You seem agitated."

In truth, Kitaro was agitated by his dragon demanding he do unforgivable things to Vanra. The mage had no idea what he was doing to the shifter by standing there unsuspecting and only a towel away from being naked.

Kitaro wanted to rip off the towel and amulet, then carry Vanra the few steps to the bed to have his way with the human mage. But as much as he wanted to drown in Vanra's heat scent, it couldn't be allowed.

While Kitaro was aware he was forming feelings for Vanra, he couldn't tell how much of his current reaction was his dragon's to the heat. He reminded his unreasonable other half for the millionth time that Vanra intended on returning to his own time. They could never be mates, but Kitaro's dragon would not be deterred.

It made Kitaro irritable from having to suppress such intense desires as he struggled against his normally well-behaved dragon. However, he didn't want Vanra to know about his internal dilemma. "It is nothing to trouble yourself over."

"If I've done something wrong, I want to know," Vanra insisted. "I'm sorry I was bad at practice today, but it wasn't because I wasn't taking it seriously. I really tried, but this pendant is draining me too much."

Kitaro walked over to Vanra and held the human's shoulders. The gesture was meant to comfort, but his dragon howled inside that they should do so much more than touch. "Please rest easy, Vanra. You are not at fault for anything."

The human looked up at him with wide, lilac eyes. "But you would tell me if I had, right? "

"You have my word," Kitaro promised. "You should not assume everything is your fault. It pains me you needlessly live with such constant guilt when there is no reason to do so."

"I'll work on it." Vanra's expression turned sheepish. "I guess I'm used to getting blamed for everything all the time, so I automatically think I've done something wrong."

Kitaro moved one of his hands up to cup Vanra's flushed cheek. "I value you too much to do such a horrible thing." It bothered him he didn't have his normal insight into the human's chaotic shifts in emotions from his scent.

"I wish I could say the same of my companion, but I can't."

Once again going against his better judgment, Kitaro gathered Vanra into an embrace. He deeply regretted that the amulet denied him the pleasure of experiencing Vanra's delightful scent. "If he cannot treat you as the treasure you are, he is a fool who does not deserve you," Kitaro murmured as he rested his head against Vanra's. His dragon railed against the thought of Vanra leaving them to return to someone who treated him so poorly, even though he had claimed to break things off with his companion. Kitaro found it impossible to disagree on the matter.

Vanra returned the hug, and all felt right in Kitaro's world. It was as if the smaller human was made for him to hold. He never wanted to let go. And the more time they spent together, the harder it would be to let Vanra return to his time.

Then convince him to stay here , Kitaro's dragon whispered.

When Vanra drew back, he fidgeted with his hands. "Um, I hate to ask, but would it be possible for me to sleep somewhere else tonight?"

It was not what Kitaro had expected to hear. "Have I upset you?"

"No, nothing like that," Vanra hurriedly assured the shifter. "It's not that at all."

"Then what other reason would you have for wanting to sleep elsewhere?"

Vanra's cheeks flushed a deeper scarlet. "I—well, the thing is, and I'm sorry I have to ask, but…"

When it was clear Vanra had trailed off, Kitaro prompted him. "You have yet to ask anything."

Vanra ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated noise. "I'm at my limits and desperately need a break from wearing this amulet. I don't want to inconvenience you, so sleeping in another room seems like my only option at this point."

Kitaro's dragon was giddy at the promise of such an opportunity, but the prince wasn't about to let anything happen. He gave his dragon a stern warning before telling Vanra, "You may take it off while in our room."

"But won't that cause problems for you?" Vanra uncertainly asked .

"It is the preferable alternative to having you sleep elsewhere." Kitaro was ill at ease with the idea of Vanra sleeping apart from him during his heat. It would leave him vulnerable to other people—especially Mitsuki.

Vanra hesitated for a moment. "Are you sure? I don't want to cause any issues."

"You are not in any danger from me, if that is your concern," Kitaro assured him. "My dragon cannot act against my will. Since my sole desire is to protect you, that is his primary directive as well."

Vanra shifted on his feet. "As long as you're sure…"

"I am. There is no need for you to wear it in our room."

"Thank you."

The instant Vanra took off the amulet, his heat scent unfurled into a tantalizing aroma that beckoned to Kitaro's dragon. It was even stronger now than it had been the day it started. The spicy sweetness of his heat scent made his dragon go into overdrive.

Kitaro had to fight harder than he was willing to admit to stop his dragon from surfacing to meet the call, but he refused to give Vanra a reason to regret trusting him. Despite his noble intentions, Kitaro subtly shifted positions to hide the fact that he was already hard from such a short exposure.

Vanra studied the pendant with a confused look. "How can such a small thing make me so tired?"

"It is a testament to your immense power that you lasted so long with it," Kitaro praised Vanra. "I should have said something earlier about taking breaks from wearing it. Please forgive me for the oversight."

"No, it's totally fine. I feel bad having to ask at all."

"I am glad that you did," Kitaro told him. "I would have felt awful if you had stayed silent and pushed yourself to the point of collapse."

Vanra sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like me."

Kitaro could clearly see how weary Vanra looked. Despite his arousal, his need to take care of the human took precedence. "Perhaps it would be best if you called it a night."

The relief was clear on his face. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Thanks." Vanra put his towel in the lacquer cabinet before getting into bed as fast as he could.

Kitaro knew he should do the polite thing and leave to give Vanra the privacy to fall asleep, but he couldn't make himself do that. It was too tempting to remain in the embrace of Vanra's heat scent. It was surely more heavenly than anything in the Divine Realm. He couldn't believe such a simple thing was so satisfying, but it left him wanting even more.

His dragon pushed him to approach the bed. They wouldn't be able to focus on anything else, so there was no reason not to join Vanra. It also had the added benefit of putting him closer to the source of the delicious smell permeating the room. Once he was safely under the covers, he used magic to make his clothes disappear. It allowed him the dignity to hide the fact he was still rock hard with arousal.

Vanra playfully pouted. "Show-off."

"Occasionally."

"You really don't have to call it an early night just because I am."

"There is nowhere else I would rather be." Kitaro could hear Vanra's heart beat faster in response to his words. It gave him the hope that he wasn't the only one feeling the pull of attraction.

Vanra pulled the covers tighter around him to hide his smile. "Good night."

"Sleep sweet, Vanra." Kitaro used his powers to turn off the lights.

Because of his exhaustion, Vanra fell asleep almost immediately. Kitaro envied the human because he was in for a sleepless night.

Under the cover of darkness, his dragon fully emerged to indulge in Vanra's heat scent. His eyes glowed in the dark as he watched the human sleeping. His dragon wanted to take Vanra in ways that were impossible because of their circumstances. Thoughts of having the mage pinned under him in the throes of passion made his hardness ache with need. It would be crude to take advantage of his position as Vanra's protector, but that didn't make it any less of a challenge to not want to kiss him senseless.

His dragon ached to take himself in hand, to find relief from his building lust for Vanra, but Kitaro refused to allow it to happen. He was not so base as to masturbate next to Vanra while he slept, so Kitaro stoically did his best to ignore his cock's demands for some much-needed attention. They would not give in to their desire for Vanra.