Chapter 20

TWENTY

Samantha

I'm lying awake, unable to sleep, as troubling thoughts move through my mind. For some reason, I think about my romantic life up until this point. There was never anyone special. Never someone who stole my heart. Every man was either a total mistake, or just not someone who made me feel anything. It seems ironically cruel that now I have two men who I think could make me happy.

Except, two is too many.

I know they want me to pick one of them. I know that all logic says that's the way the world works, but I can't bring it in me to do that. Losing one of them would be like losing a piece of my heart.

There's a knock at my door. I hope like hell it's Granger, because he's the only person who wouldn't complicate my night.

I slide out of bed, then go to the door and open it. There, in the doorway, is Aydan, his gaze dark and intense as it moves over my barely dressed form.

"What's up?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

"I just needed to be close to you."

It's probably a mistake, but I step back, giving him room to come in. He does, with careful steps, then turns to look at me as the door shuts. There's a strange energy between us that's hard to read.

"Want to lay down?"

He nods.

We go to the bed and slide in next to each other. I stare up at the ceiling, listening to the sound of his beating heart, and my own. They seem to be in rhythm with each other.

"What do you think the future will be like?" he asks, tangling his fingers with mine.

"The future?" I ask, confused.

"Yeah, how do you picture our future now that we're dragons and dragons exist in the world?"

"I honestly hadn't thought about it," I admit. "I've just been trying to survive day by day, hoping the green dragon won't find me."

His thumb rubs my hand. "I always pictured two possible futures, depending entirely on you."

"On me?" I ask, surprised.

He nods. "One future involved not ending up with you. Fighting fires alone. Avoiding wherever you ended up with your husband and kids."

That sounds sad. "And the other?"

He sighs. "The other involved marrying you, settling down in a house, and having four or five kids."

" Five kids?" I reply in shock.

He's smiling. "Or more."

"I don't know whose vagina you think all these kids are going to come screaming out of, but it isn't going to be mine."

He laughs, and I forgot how much I love his laugh. "I don't know. I just feel like we'd want to have a lot of kids, that's all."

I'm smiling, but I actually think about it. "Three or four kids wouldn't be the worst."

He squeezes my hand again. "I don't think all this dragon stuff has to change anything. We could still have that life."

My smile falters. "Aydan, we talked about this."

He releases my hand and sits up. "I've just been thinking. You and Evander know nothing about each other. You don't have a real connection. I think after what you went through with the dragon, you've just trauma bonded. We learned a lot about that in–"

I roll my eyes. "I know about trauma bonding, and this isn't it."

"Then, explain it to me," he says.

It's hard. I don't know how to explain it to him in a way that makes sense. "You and Granger feel like you're a part of me. Every time I think about you, I can't imagine my life without you. Just the thought of losing you… it kills something inside of me."

"That's how we feel about you."

"The thing is, that's how I feel about Evander too. I know I haven't known him as long. I know he's not exactly the kind of person I saw myself with, but the heart doesn't lie."

He flops back on the bed.

Sitting up, I place a hand on his bare chest. "Are you okay?"

He runs his hands through his hair. "Have you ever had a problem you just couldn't solve?"

I laugh and kiss his chest. "Absolutely."

His gaze finds mine. "You're that to me. A problem I just can't solve."

I kiss him again, this time on the lips.

Suddenly, he turns and rolls me under his body while I shriek. He plants a kiss on my lips and says, "Stop being a problem."

I shove him off of me and roll on top of him. I grab his hands and try to hold his wrists above his head. He gives me a wicked grin and grabs my wrists instead. We wrestle on the bed, laughing and shouting before he pins me down on my stomach.

I wiggle around, wrists held behind my back. "Let go, you turd."

"Turd? Did you call me a turd?"

"Well, if the crap shoe fits!"

"Now you've done it, you brat," he says, sounding breathless.

He grabs ahold of my shorts and underwear and tugs them down in one swift motion. My cheeks heat as he finagles them off my ankles, while still pinning my wrists. He gives my ass a little slap, then another, then another. I want to tell him to stop, but I kind of like it.

I more than kind of like it, actually.

He uses his knees to spread my legs, and then I glance back to see him tugging down his shorts. His hard cock springs free. An absolutely delicious sight. Then he removes his shirt, and I see my name tattooed above his heart. The sight of it does all kinds of things to me.

He nudges between my thighs and slaps his dick on my ass. Heat rushes through me. Unable to help myself, I close my eyes and just release a deep breath, waiting for what I know I'll love.

He nudges between my thighs, and I lift my ass a little to make it easier for me. Using his hard length, he rubs himself inside of me, coating himself in my juices. When he finally positions himself at my opening, I'm aching for it. Dreaming of the way his cock feels inside of me.

As he pushes his way in, inch by inch, I glory in the feeling of my muscles tightening around him. He's so big. So thick. So long. It's like he's capable of scratching an itch that the men in my past could never reach.

He slides in and out of me, and I moan, my hands still trapped behind my back. Lifting up my wrists, he changes the angle, hitting a new spot, a spot that's absolutely delicious. I'm practically purring with pleasure.

My nipples harden. My body winds up. When he thrusts, I push backwards, taking him even deeper. I start chanting his name, and then I can't stop. Every nerve in my body clenches, and my orgasm hits, tearing through me. Making my toes curl and my head feel light. He comes too, and the sensation only serves to draw my orgasm up higher.

This feels good. Right.

He releases me onto the bed and collapses on top of me, still inside of me. Panting, he says, "No knot this time."

He's right. We're not forced to stay together this time. Not that I mind when we're connected like that.

I like him on top of me, but he's heavy, so when he rolls off, I don't mind. We snuggle up together, and I can't help but notice the wide grin on his face. He seems like the happiest man on the planet.

"Don't be too proud of yourself," I tell him, smiling.

He looks down at me. "Why not? Only a real man could make a woman like you come for him."

I laugh. "Well, we do know you're a real man."

"There's no question about it," he says, far too cockily. "And I'll show you again anytime."

I'm about to put him in his place when there's a knock at my door. Instantly, I'm on alert. It'd be nice if that was Granger, but I suspect it'll be Evander, which will be a problem.

"We don't need to answer that," I say.

To my frustration, Aydan sits up, getting out of bed and pulling on his boxers. "No, let's deal with this now. Tonight."

I get up and dress as fast as I can. "Aydan, no, you two will act like idiots. Just ignore the knocking. Get back into bed."

He's heading for the door.

"Seriously! Not tonight!" I grab his arm, trying to haul him back, but he's not a human now, he's a dragon, and there's nothing I can do to hold him back, no matter how much I might want to.

He opens the door. Evander's smile falls away in an instant. Without a word, he shoves Aydan, and he goes flying back, hitting the ground.

"Evander!" I try to get between them, but he moves me out of the way like I weigh nothing at all.

Aydan leaps to his feet, his hands balled into fists. The two square off, circling around each other. Aydan punches out, but Evander ducks out of the way. Evander tries to punch Aydan in the stomach, but Aydan leaps back, avoiding the blow at the last possible second.

I stand, feeling frustrated and lost. At least they're well-matched this time, but that also means they can do some serious damage to each other. "Guys! Just stop! This isn't going to end well for anyone."

Evander catches Aydan across the cheek with his fist. Aydan dives forward and knocks Evander off his feet. He flies back, slamming his head against the side of the bed, then hits the ground. Before Evander can get up, Aydan climbs on top of Evander and starts wailing on Evander's face with his fists.

"Enough!" I shout.

Aydan keeps going.

"Enough!" I say, feeling scared.

Not sure what else to do, I kick Aydan in the side of the head. He falls off of Evander and looks at me in absolute shock. Evander lies on the floor blinking slowly, and I'm worried he might get a concussion.

"Get out, Aydan!"

"What?" he shouts, his expression one of disbelief. "You can't be fucking serious!"

Maybe I'm making the wrong choice. Maybe I'm making the right one. I'm just too exhausted to spend a minute longer like this, and right now, Evander is hurt. He has to be the priority. "Get out!"

He's furious. "He started it!"

I take a step toward him. "If you don't get out right this minute, you're never touching me again. Do you understand me? Never."

Aydan looks outraged as he gets to his feet. He stops in front of me with a pleading look, but I just glance away. His steps are slow and heavy as he heads for the door, but I don't watch him leave. I kneeling down at Evander's side.

"Are you okay?"

"The asshole is fine, because he got just what he wanted," Aydan mutters, and I listen as the door closes behind him.

Evander's gaze focuses on me, and he rubs his head. "Fine, he just sucker punched me."

"Maybe you should go outside and shift. We seem to heal faster after shifting."

He shakes his head. "I'm fine. It'll be healed by morning."

I help him stand and then grab a washcloth. Wiping away the blood rolling down one of his cheeks, I shake my head, knowing Evander is going to be black and blue tomorrow.

"Why are you two such idiots?"

He shrugs. "We can't help it." Then he sighs. "You smell like him."

"You guys and your scents," I mutter.

He smiles. "It's not like you don't understand it."

When I'm finished cleaning his cheek, I stop and meet his gaze. "You two aren't children, so stop acting like it."

He reaches forward and combs the hair back from my face, holding my gaze. "We're not children. We're just two men who are in love with the same woman, and you're a woman who is going to have to make a choice. Eventually."

My stomach flips. A choice? How could I ever do that? "No. I don't think so."

But his expression says he doesn't believe me.