CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: CONNIE

"OH DRAGON gods," Connie mumbled. Was Kit saying what he thought he was saying? Because it certainly sounded like it.

"Yes, we do," Hudson confirmed.

"I don't have special powers, unlimited wealth, or special blood that could protect either of you. I'm just me. But that doesn't seem to matter. You keep saying I'm your treasure, and I believe you."

Connie nodded his head frantically. Kit might believe them, but Connie didn't think he truly understood what that meant exactly.

"I really have nothing to give either of you. At least, I didn't think so, then it hit me. I do have something both of you want, and that's me. You want me."

Connie gulped. His dragon was practically doing somersaults. A quick look at Hudson confirmed he was pretty much in the same shape—hopeful, yet scared.

"I want to bond with you both."

Connie's heart soared. To hear Kit agree to become his bonded mate robbed him of words and even the ability to think.

But apparently not Hudson.

A low, growling purr surrounded them as Hudson kissed Kit. Then he reached out, snagged Connie by the front of his shirt, and dragged him into it.

Kit was more priceless than the jewels and antiquities surrounding them. Gold coins clinked and rattled as they settled onto the treasures.

Connie gasped.

Kit giggled.

Hudson plastered his lips to Kit, swallowing the sound. Hopefully, one day soon they'd have his heart too.

Kit ended the kiss and wiggled out of Hudson's arms. "Let's go to our bedroom. That's our territory—all three of us. Unlike here."

Connie breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Kit got it. Hudson might have welcomed Connie into his hoard, just as Connie would welcome Hudson into his, but this place was Hudson's. Just as Connie's hoard was his.

And as much as he wanted Kit in his hoard, he could wait. To bond with Kit, he was more than willing to wait.

Hudson nodded. Standing, he helped Connie up and then Kit. Once they left Hudson's hoard and exited the closet, Kit led them over to the bed and promptly sat down on the edge.

Kit patted the space next to him on each side. Once Connie and Hudson had sat down, Kit rested a hand on the top of both of their thighs.

"Okay, so, I don't think I'm ready to drink blood from the source." Kit took the time to look at them. "How do we get around that?"

Connie was so proud of Kit. His mate was still nervous—Connie could smell it on him—but there wasn't a trace of indecisiveness in his scent. He truly wanted this.

"Red wine," Hudson said. He picked up Kit's hand and played with his fingers. "Connie? Would you go to the kitchen and get a bottle and a couple of wineglasses?"

"Sure," Connie said.

"While you do that, I'm going to duck back into my hoard for a moment and get a ceremonial dagger I have. We'll, ah, use that for the blood." Hudson kissed Kit's fingers. "We'll do it in the living area. That way, you don't have to see."

Connie liked that plan. Plus, if Kit struggled to drink it, they didn't want Kit to associate that with anything having to do with the bedroom.

The trauma of what happened to Kit aside, it was blood. Most paranormals didn't have a problem with it, but Kit was human. Even if the deal with Nox hadn't happened, most humans didn't have a blood fetish.

"I'm totally on board with that," Kit said.

Hudson hesitated before getting up. "Kit?"

Connie had a feeling he knew what was about to come out of Hudson's mouth.

"Yes?"

"As we have told you before, a bond cannot be undone. Once souls are tied together, they cannot be untied. You need to be sure before we take this step," Hudson said. "We can just do the blood sharing."

Connie understood why Hudson had to mention that again. He hated it, of course, but he understood. Still, he huffed. Which Kit heard.

Oops.

"I am. I'm sure." Turning, Kit picked up Connie's hand and stared into his eyes. "I'm very, very sure I want to bond you both, not just share blood."

A sense of rightness flooded Connie, and the bond fluttered in his chest. That made his dragon ecstatic.

Grinning, Kit mashed their joined hands against his chest. "You like that answer."

"I'm very, very sure that I did," Connie said, throwing Kit's words back at him.

Kit nipped Connie's knuckles. "Damn straight."

Could they get on with it now? His dragon was literally thumping his tail in excitement in Connie's head, the overeager creature.

"Is there anything special we need to do?" Kit asked. "Outside of the blood deal?"

"There are words exchanged, yes," Hudson said. "But first, we each drink the wine. After that, I'll say my pledge to you, then Connie will."

"He goes first since he's the oldest," Connie added. "Plus, he's higher ranked."

"After we say our pledge, you say it back to us," Hudson continued. "You see, making love is not what makes the bond official. Certain words need to be said, yes. And there is a blood exchange that's done to tie our souls together and complete the bond."

Then Connie spoke up. "It's not even really the words—the person saying them must truly mean them. They literally have to come from the soul. That's why when dragons in the past forced humans, the bond was incomplete and weak."

Kit released their hands and blew out a breath. Then he rubbed his forehead. "Words? There are certain words?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going to need one of you to write those words down. There's no way I'm going to remember them on such short notice, plus I'm kinda nervous." Kit pointed at Hudson. "Nope. Don't even."

Hudson raised an eyebrow, but he closed his mouth.

"I'm nervous because this is a big deal, not because I have reservations. I understand the seriousness of the situation. This… this is the equivalent of a human wedding—"

Hudson opened his mouth again.

"Oh, for crying out loud, yes, I know it's bigger than that—but I'd be nervous too if we were standing before an officiant." Kit patted Hudson's cheek. "It's happy nerves, okay?"

A human wedding. That was certainly something Connie hadn't thought about, because why should he? Before Kit had entered his life, he had never seriously entertained the thought of having a relationship with a human.

But now that Kit had mentioned a human wedding, he was suddenly burning up with the need to know if that was something Kit wanted.

"Okay, what?" Kit asked, looking at Connie.

"Huh?"

"I mentioned human wedding and suddenly you got this really odd look on your face," Kit said. "Again, I understand what we're doing is a lot more permanent than a—"

"Do you want a human wedding?"

Kit blinked. "Say what now?"

"Oh." Hudson glanced between Connie and Kit. "I didn't think of that. Is that something you would want, Kit? I know some humans put a lot of stock into that."

"Do I want a wedding?" Kit snorted. "Do I want to get dressed up in a fancy suit, at some fancy place, with fancy food, and fancy music? With all my friends and family there also in fancy clothes?"

Suddenly Connie could see it—a ballroom, tables decked out, people dressed in formal attire, flowers everywhere… and Kit the sparkling jewel in the middle.

"Hell yeah, of course I do. Seriously, I've dreamed about this since I was a kid!"

"Then we're going to make it happen," Connie said enthusiastically. The bonding ceremony between them was a very intense but private affair, but he also wanted to show the world Kit was theirs. Okay, he also wanted to show Kit off.

He was a dragon, after all.

Suddenly, Hudson rumbled next to them, and his dragon looked out of his eyes. "Yes," he growled in that distorted voice.

It still amazed Connie how often Hudson's dragon showed up now. In all the years he'd known Hudson, that had rarely happened, and the few times it had? Most times, it was when they'd been having sex.

Although there'd been a time or two when Hudson had been pushed too far by another paranormal and lost his cool. That person usually ended up dead.

Hudson cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. So, you want an elaborate wedding, Kit? Then you will have an elaborate wedding."

Connie pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and made a note. He was Hudson's right hand and organized everything for his king. This was right down his alley, but for once Hudson was going to have to pitch in and help.

"The three of us will need to sit down and have a discussion about human weddings," Connie said, still typing. "I'm going to need a lot of input from you though, Kit. I know nothing about this."

"I've only planned it down to the last detail, so that's not a problem. But I also want you both to be involved. There'll be three of us getting married." Kit bit his lip. "Well, technically, no, we won't be, because that's illegal. Damm, maybe we shouldn't do this because I can't legally marry you both."

"I am unconcerned with human law," Hudson said. "The three of us may not be able to marry, but according to dragon law, we will be bonded," Hudson repeated.

"I won't marry only one of you though," Kit argued.

"You will marry both of us. It just won't be legal by human standard," Connie said, slipping his phone back into his pocket. Like Hudson, he really didn't care about silly human laws because neither one of them was human. A soul bond eclipsed all else.

Kit pursed his lips. "You're only doing this for me, aren't you?"

Hudson shrugged. "If it makes you happy, it makes us happy."

"Agreed," Connie said. "This is a dream of yours, so why wouldn't we? We'll find somebody in the paranormal community to act as our officiant. It won't be legal by human standards, but as our dragon bonded mate, you have access to all that we have."

"Still would have to do the humans paperwork for that too," Connie pointed out.

"True."

"I don't give a damn about your money," Kit said. "I just wanted to throw that out there."

Oddly enough, Connie believed Kit. There had been untold wealth in Hudson's hoard, and Kit hadn't asked for the first trinket. If anything, Connie had a feeling they were going to have trouble decorating Kit with their possessions.

The trying should be fun, though.

"We believe you, but that doesn't change the fact that, as our mate, you have access to what is ours. And you will take advantage of it," Hudson said.

"Oh? I will?"

"Yes, because it would hurt me if I thought you were doing without something I could provide. It would hurt my dragon. It would make him feel as if he could not provide for his bonded," Hudson said. "It could affect his overall well-being. Surely you don't want that."

Connie barely kept from rolling his eyes when Hudson shuddered for added effect. What Hudson said was true, but Connie could smell a guilt trip a mile away.

Kit crossed his arms as he glared at Hudson. "Oh, you're good, I'll give you that. I know perfectly damn well you're manipulating me, but you're sexy while doing it, so…"

"Is it working?"

Amused, Kit rolled his eyes. "What you're basically telling me is that a thousand-year-old dragon is going to pout if he doesn't get his way."

Connie nodded. Hudson totally would if it got him what he wanted.

"Fine! If you want me to spend your money, I will spend your money. We'll see which one of us cries uncle first," Kit threatened.

Connie didn't have the heart to tell Kit that he couldn't go through their wealth in two human lifetimes. "While this has been interesting, let's get back to the subject at hand. For now, let's concentrate on the bonding ceremony. Don't worry about the words. I'll type it out in a text for you. In fact…" Connie did just that. "There."

"Thanks." Kit checked his cell, then returned it to his pocket. "So? That's it? That's all I need to say?"

"Yes. But Connie and I will say it in our native language first," Hudson said. "You'll repeat it back in yours."

Kit threw his hands up in the air. "Wait, you have a native language? Like a dragon's native language? For real?"

"We do, yes."

Kit glared at Hudson when Hudson just sat there. "Oh, come on, don't just blow me off like that. Let's hear something!"

Hudson laughed once he'd gotten a reaction from Kit. "Sure. Iss qereh dsj dikh. It means I adore you, babe."

"Wow." Kit laughed slightly. "Your language is, um, okay, there's no way a human can speak that. It sounds like you have rocks stuck in your throat and you're hissing around them. And I adore you too, but whoa, that was insane."

"Iss musj dikh bihk ssex schrsv hurss," Connie said.

"I heard the word sex in there. At least, I'm pretty sure it was intermixed with all that gravel and hissing." Kit eyed Connie. "What did you say?"

"Roughly translated? I want to hear you scream my name during sex."

"Yup, called it." Kit snickered.

"Our language has several hard consonants and sibilants," Hudson said. "It employs sounds that humans describe as hissing, like the sound sj, ss, and sv, as well as a noise that sounds like a beast clearing its throat—like ach."

"Please don't get offended, but it's really grating on the ears," Kit said.

"It absolutely is," Connie said. "The audible footprint of Draconic is indeed harsh, so no offense taken."

"I will admit that when we're in this form, it does sound like the human equivalent of language, but in our true form, it sounds more like hissing and throat clearing," Hudson said.

"Draconic. That's the name?" Kit asked.

"Yes." Connie patted Kit on the knee and stood up. "I'm going to go get the wine and the wineglasses. I'll be right back."

Hudson also climbed to his feet. "I'm going to duck back into my hoard for a few minutes. There was something I wanted to give you also, Kit."

"Oh?"

Hudson touched the pearl earring still in Kit's ear. "Yes. Be right back."