Three kisses from three utterly amazing mates. A thought that kept him warm all the way home.
/~/~/~/~/
Rux
Rux couldn’t stop grinning, even when Mabon threw a cushion at his head and told him to quit pacing, the smile remained plastered across his face.
“You’re making me dizzy,” Mabon complained from his armchair, his laptop balanced on his knees.
“I don’t care.” Rux spun on his heel and paced back toward the fireplace. “Our Treasure kissed us.”
“We were there,” Urien said dryly from the other sofa. “We even participated.”
“Hewantedto kiss us.” Rux pressed both hands to his chest, where his heart stone blazed warm beneath his shirt. “He smiled afterward. That little smile where his freckles bunch up and his eyes crinkle behind his glasses.”
“We know the smile,” Mabon assured him.
Rux dropped onto the sofa beside Urien with enough force to make the cushions wheeze. His dragon was practically singing - a deep, satisfied rumble that hadn’t stopped since Sam’s lips touched his. Three kisses. One for each of them.
“Does this mean we’re still terrible at dating?” Rux asked.
There was silence for a moment, and then Mabon snorted, and Urien’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter.
“I think we’re still absolutely dismal at it,” Mabon agreed. “Do we really need to list our transgressions again?”
“No,” Rux shook his head. “But you have to admit following him home and hiding in the bushes was a new thing for us as a group activity.”
They looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“We violated approximately fourteen Council protocols,” Mabon said when he caught his breath.
“Got attacked by a twenty-pound cat,” Rux added.
“We nearly scared him away entirely.” Urien’s smile softened. “But Sam stayed.”
“He stayed,” Rux repeated. His dragon purred agreement, content and possessive and impossibly fond. “We’re still learning.”
“With Sam.” Mabon closed his laptop, setting it aside. “Together.”
“Together,” Urien confirmed.
Rux’s phone buzzed. All three dragons lunged for it.
Made it home. Basil didn’t murder me. Thank you for tonight - S
Rux typed back with shaking fingers:Thank YOU. Same time tomorrow?
The response came immediately:Yes
“We’ve got another date!” And just saying it made Rux so happy that he had to grapple his mates into a group hug. Mabon grumbled, because he always did when his hair was mussed, but Rux was too damn happy to care.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sam
Sam sat at his kitchen table with his laptop open, and Basil curled against his hip. The cursor blinked at the end of Chapter Twenty-Three, where Michael stood frozen in the café doorway while three vampires waited for his answer.
Three weeks ago, Sam had no idea how to write the scene. No matter how he spun the idea in his head, he couldn’t work out how an ordinary human could accept something impossible. How did someone bridge the gap between reality and fantasy without it feeling cheap or unearned?
