Page 83 of Tears of Gold

Harper groans, throwing an arm across his face. “It’s elephant in the room.”

“Same difference.”

“What’s the giant animal in this particular room?” I ask warily, fighting a grin.

Skye grins ear to ear, and I know we’re in trouble. “That was fucking hot!”

“Skye!” I whine, covering my face with both hands as my cheeks burn.

He snickers and elbows Harper. “Welcome to the gang, Harps.”

Harper mumbles something incoherent into his arm, and the rest of us laugh. Erritt strokes the sides of my neck, and I consider what comes next. If all three of them decide to play with me at once, what will happen? Suddenly, my stomach gurgles with a different kind of hunger.

“Lunch anyone?” Erritt asks with a low chuckle.

Skye jumps up and offers me a hand. “I’ll feed myself.” He toes Harper. “You guys head in. Don’t want those two white skins to burn to a crisp.”

He catches me grinning as he pulls me upright. “Something good, sweetheart?”

“I have three boyfriends.”

“Damn right, you do,” Harper says with a grin, offering me his hand as Erritt takes the other for the walk up the hill.

Not bad for a girl who couldn’t get a date.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Harper

“Um, Erritt?” Ava’s cautious tone catches my attention instantly as we pack up after lunch.

Looking around, I find the missing dragon stalking into the house. Blood spatters his muzzle and claws, and his slitted amber eyes are hooded with intent. His tail swishes like a pissed-off cat. I keep one eye on him as I wash dishes.

Erritt trails his hand along the beast’s side, and a low rumble sounds through the cabin. “I think Skye’s feeling wild again.”

The dragon wraps himself around the prince once. Then he butts his head against Ava. She takes his snout in her hands and kisses his forehead. His whiskers snuffle around her, and she giggles.

Suddenly, his beady eye fixes on me and he struts into the kitchen. I drop the dishes and move along the bench, trying to regain some personal space—it’s not been that long since this beast bit me. It’s not an easy task with a twenty foot dragon twining through the small kitchen.

Skye stalks me. My pulse quickens, and my shoulder itches as his snake head pushes toward me, breath blasting me with the blood and gore on his breath. There’s even a tuft of fur caught in his teeth.

His eyes narrow, predatory, and sheened with purpose. He’s all over my personal space. Feeling with my hands behind me, I bump into the kitchen table.

“Look, dude, I like you, but I ain’t kissing a giant snake!”

His lips peel back in a feral grin, and I suppress a shudder at those giant incisors. He morphs and grabs the back of my head at the same moment. His eyes darken in color but lose none of their intensity. Yanking my hair, he bends me backward over the table with a loud thud.

Shit, sometimes I forget how strong he is! He leans over me and sinks a heavy kiss onto my lips.

“Guys?” I ask, my voice a bit strangled as he sucks on my mouth. “A little help?”

Erritt laughs, the fucker! Ava’s eyes widen, and she covers her mouth with both hands, hiding a grin.

I push the dragon away, but he’s heavy as a mountain. “Is this an initiation or something?”

“Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you for real,” Erritt says, still chuckling. “He just gets a bit wild sometimes.”

Skye glares at him in a way I’ve never seen, and he growls, dark and threatening, almost as real as when he’s in his dragon body. He tugs on my hair, letting me know he’s in control right now.