Chapter Thirteen

"Rome snores." Clay giggled, naked body plastered against my side.

I had been asleep, or almost. Did I really snore? How embarrassing. I opened one eye. "I heard that."

Armel grunted. "Who cares? It's not loud, and it's cute."

At least I had one buddy on my side. "Thanks. I think."

Clay gave me a kiss on my nose. "I wasn't being critical, just observational. You're so cute, dragon boy. I still can't believe you're mine."

"And mine," Armel broke in, leaning over my other side and kissing me on the mouth.

A couple of seconds later, we were sharing a three-way kiss. My body responded instantly. We'd done so much last night, but I guess I still wasn't done.

I marveled over this sudden change in my life that started happening the moment I'd put on Dez's light-blue, button up, collared shirt. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be waking up the next day with not one but two loves of my life next to me. Teasing me. Kissing me.

I spoke between kisses. "This is a dream, right?"

Clay tilted his head to show off his claiming bite on his neck. "Is this a dream?" he asked. "Because it feels real to me."

I remembered the power of doing that to him. The bite, the suck. It had given me a high like nothing on Earth.

"And this." Clay put his hand on the side of my neck.

When he touched the mark, it ached, a still-healing bruise, yet made me feel exalted. The skin was tender but smooth since we shifters healed fast.

"And look at Armel. We did that." Clay was smiling.

Armel touched his claim bite, which was red and purple now, wincing while his eyes shone. "You two didn't hold back."

"The claiming instinct runs strong in dragons," I said.

"Same with sugar gliders." Clay leaned over to kiss Armel.

Armel nuzzled him then laughed. "Bears take what they want, too."

"We're all connected now," Clay said. "Bonded. Linked."

"Now all we have to figure out how to do is plan time together. Guys, I work two jobs so it's going to be nearly impossible for me."

My two mates looked at me with raised eyebrows. Had I gone too far? Wasn't that the next step? Spending a lot of time together?

"Sorry, am I moving fast?"

"No." Clay drew out the word under his breath. "It's about you working two jobs. How will you ever find time to be my lover?"

"And mine," Armel echoed.

Clay grabbed my arm and hugged it, hiding his face in my shoulder. "It's too much for you. For us."

Armel pushed his body into mine. "They're part-time, though, right?"

"My job in Old Town is full-time. My job at the bar at night is thirty hours a week."

"Holy smokes, dude. No wonder your dragon was rusty about flying when we shifted last night."

"We need to figure this all out. Together," Clay said.

I laughed. "We haven't even known each other twenty-four hours yet."

"Right. But it feels like I've known you both forever," Clay said. "I love the shifter claiming bites. It needed to happen."

"So, no regrets?" Armel asked.

"No way!" Clay and I chimed in together.

My dragon and I already wanted everything with our mates. A house. A family. Promise rings on our fingers or, even better, wedding rings. But I didn't feel comfortable bringing that up yet.

My jobs and my financial situation made me worry. My hoard was worthless pens.

I lay back, my mates softly talking over my chest, as tension began to overwhelm me. I was the difficult one. Yet again. My flight had let me know it for years. No one would want me. Now I had two mates, and they needed me to find time to build a relationship with them. Time I didn't have.

I shut my eyes, trying to regain the ecstasy I'd had waking with both of them stretched out on either side of me.

Clay's hand strayed to my thigh. My erection had gone down in seconds. Clay reached farther between my legs.

"Rome?"

I opened my eyes and smiled up at him. "Hmm. That's nice." I wanted to encourage him.

"You're okay?"

I nodded. "With you both here, I am."

He leaned in and whispered in my ear. "I can already feel your emotions on deep levels as the claiming bite sets in. Don't worry. We'll figure things out for all of us."

I nodded.

"Hey, no whispering secrets over there," Armel said.

I dragged my arm out from between us and threw it around him, pulling the bear close to my chest.

"Never keeping secrets from each other." I kissed his forehead.

"No, never," Clay agreed. "Rome's just worried because he's always so busy."

"Everything's going to work out." Armel moved his head so our lips brushed. "There's three of us. That's three times the willpower."

"And remember what I told you last night. I have loads of money to spare if you both need it. We're together now." Clay pressed his hand to his heart then placed it over Armel's chest then mine.

My eyes filled with emotion.

"I can't talk about money so soon," I burst out.

Heat washed over my face. It was awful to think that I couldn't be everything to my fated mates. Dragons were taught to be providers and protectors. This was the crossroads of a lifetime. Clay was right. We'd work it out. I needed to relax.

Clay stroked down my chest. "Okay. Later for all of that, my big dragon alpha."

I caught his hand and kissed his fingers. "Thank you."

Excessive pride was a dragon trait. My parents instilled it in me and made me feel shame when I didn't exceed expectations. It was another reason I'd left my flight. Shame. Pride. All those things had made me so tense. The vibe in the flight was toxic to me.

I wanted to feel again what I'd felt last night when Clay and Armel had claimed me and accepted for me for who I was inside and not what I did or owned. They had loved me so hard. I wanted more of that. Now.

"Make love to me," I whispered to them both.

"Rome, yes. Yes." Clay crawled over me and kissed me.

Armel rolled over Clay.

I was now beneath a pile of my mates. Finally, I could relax and enjoy—hopefully for the rest of my life.