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"I didn't mean to be hiding," I said.
Laszlo's head tipped and he turned to the side, revealing more of his face as he checked behind him. "We've been…hounding you a bit."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's not like that. I just…needed some time to think."
Laszlo stared up at me, and in spite of my sudden craving for a little time alone, just looking at him made me want to climb down the ladder and tuck myself against his chest until his wings closed around me.
"May I come up?"
I let out a rough sigh and nodded quickly. "Yes, please."
He didn't need the ladder. He was in the air with a few beats of his wings, grabbing the railing of the loft and stepping into piles of hay. He had to crouch and tuck his wings in close at his back, but we met in a large heap of hay that smelled dry and also a little mildewy, a scent that was relieved by Laszlo's lovely tea and cream fragrance. He gathered me into his arms and then spread his left wing, giving me a downy bed to rest on.
"I think we're all making each other a bit urgent," Laszlo said, his arm cradling me close to his side.
I tipped my head back to study his sharp profile, wanting to trace the lovely hook and line of his nose with my fingertip. "How do you mean?"
"Mmm… A werewolf's mating instincts are more demanding than most. Conall's giving you time—or himself, I'm not sure—but it does create an atmosphere ofneed. And Hywel won't want to be outdone. Are you still…?"
I chewed on the inside of my lip and considered the unvoiced question. "I don't…" Laszlo's arm tensed around my back, just barely. He was bracing, and it broke my heart. I turned, leaning over his chest, and forced myself to meet his gaze. "I don't doubt my ability to love you."
Laszlo's face lit up, and the worry that chewed at my thoughts and the tight ache in my chest unraveled.
"Idolove you, Laszlo," I whispered.
He surged up, joy glowing in his eyes as he dove for my mouth, a sharp cry pressed into the kiss, his free hand holding my face to his. We curled together, twining legs and arms around one another, tongues twisting and ragged breaths laughing.
"How could I not?" I gasped, kissing over his cheeks. "How could I not love you, my sweetest, gentlest, most patient man?"
"Not as patient as you might think," Laszlo rasped, sealing his mouth to mine once more, our faces pressed clumsily together, hands clutching at fabric and flesh.
The kiss was tinged with relief and reverence, deep and drugging strokes of tongue and drags of teeth, but it didn't escalate. We only wanted to enjoy one another, share the gratitude between us. Laszlo's thumb and soft talon brushed over the arch of my cheekbone as his kisses grew long and languid, and then trailed up to the cupid's bow above my lip, over my cheeks, and across the bridge of my nose.
He stared down at me with that liquid gold gaze of his, just a tinge of green in the mix, and offered me a rare and stunning smile. "You don't know how much you honor me."
I flushed and wanted to hide, but this moment and Laszlo were too precious to shrink away. "Is it enough?" I asked.
"Enough?" he laughed.
"Is it…enough to love you? I don't know what else mating needs."
His smile grew brighter, more tender. "Oh, dear one." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Yes, it is enough. You are…" He blinked, eyes glittering briefly before he drew in a deep breath. "You offer me more than enough. As for mating, it's different for every species." He shuffled us, drawing my legs over his lap and scooting back to sit up in the hay.
"I can't deny how I feel about you all, even when I am not sure how I can manage to feel anything at all—or in moments like this morning, when I need to retreat," I admitted, wincing. "But I don't know how to be a mate, to reciprocate everything you offer."
Laszlo caught my hand, and the pad of his thumb stroked a spiral from my wrist into my palm and around again. "You honor me with your trust and your surrender. You took care of my mate, and you took care of me when we couldn't take care of one another, when you needed and deserved so much yourself. You've reciprocated plenty, Evanthia. Would it help if we…looked at mating less in generals and more in specifics? Courting, ceremony, expectations, and the like?"
I softened against Laszlo's chest and nodded. Lists, rules, something more concrete and easier to swallow than the promise of endless devotion. I couldn't say I was still so broken, not when these men had done so much, offered so much, until I was all but overflowing with their affection and strength.
"I know dragons fairly well," Laszlo said lightly, and I smiled, resting my head on his shoulder and nodding. "I told you that it starts with an exchange of gifts, which is true. But Hywel will likely consider your actions while he slept as part of courting, because he's been mated to me so long. Also, Excalibur is rightly yours but you've brought the sword into his hoard, and there are very few items he could've coveted more. So that, not to mention the spectacular sex, is courting managed."
I blushed, but Laszlo only continued.
"As for claiming, he's done so. You recall," he added with a wicked smile, which sobered quickly. "He will want to bite you. That's part of what has him restless at the moment. It will heal quickly, but it will change your scent to other dragons. Having Rolant here while Hywel hasn't bitten you is a bit tricky, but Rolant is behaving in spite of his temperament."
I frowned and leaned back. "I didn't realize. Hywel never said!"
"None of us are going to pressure you to commit to a claiming before you are ready. Before you're asdeterminedas we are, really. We might be monsters with impulses and instincts, but we are also men falling in love with you, dear one. Your wants and wishes are the most imperative of all."
