Page 11 of Sapphire Seas

Mattias flipped me around, and the moment Kes entered him, his arms tightened around me. Ready, mate?

I have been since the moment I woke in your bed.

There was no resistance, my body was made for this. Every inch of me was. Within a few thrusts, the three of us moved in sync. Kes thrust forward, triggering Mattias to do the same. Mattias pulled back, so did Kes.

I’m going to seal the bond, Caspian.

I tilted my head to the side, baring my shoulder. Bite me, Mattias. Mark me as yours. Mattias bit into me and I howled, the water muffling the sound but only just. The heat of his blood thrummed through my veins and the moment it reached my heart, mine lit up as his was, the endorphins triggered my release.

The second Mattias came, his growl echoed through the cave and sent Kes over the edge with him. Mattias knot held us in place, his arms wrapped around me, and I felt Kes’s hands as well. If we were in bed right now, I’d have drifted off. But we still had one mate to complete the ritual with.

Kes, are you ready? Mattias asked him as his knot went down enough he could slide out of me.

Yes, mate.

Mattias pressed his lips to my mate mark before he turned toward Kes. I promise mate, this won’t hurt. Our poor mate, he was more sensitive than he let on. I swam around and took Kes in my arms as Mattias entered him. The second he did, Kes’ lips were on mine in a frantic kiss. His hands gliding along my flesh. Being in heat, the emotions were strong as were our libidos.

I wrapped my hand around both our cocks and stroked. Mattias firmly held Kes’ hips as he bit his shoulder. I swear, I felt every inch of Mattias’ magic entering Kes just as I had when the same happened to me. We were bonded, fully. We shared Mattias’ magic, his life span and Goddess forbid if anything happened to him, we’d enter the afterlife right alongside him.

This was by far the most beautiful night of my life.

Chapter Four

Mattias

Fear woke me as it rolled through the bond I’d forged with my mates. Sharp spikes that grew in intensity as I sat up to check on them and found only one in the bed with me.

How had I missed Kes slipping away?

Not far. Still indoors and restless.

I should have trusted that my dragon would know where our mate was, even while I slept. As gently as I could, I drew Caspian into my embrace and held him close, hoping it would soothe the dreams that plagued him. Both of my mates suffered from nightmares I hoped they would someday share with me but now was not the time to ask what they entailed. He needed rest if he was going to guide us on the long journey back to the rest of his herd.

Yes, you should have.

My dragon’s smug response irked me, the cocky jackass.

Did dreams chase him from the bed, too?

No, fear did.

I’d felt a twinge of it earlier, more than once, now that I thought back on the day we’d shared. The first time I’d felt Kes’ fear was when Caspian requested that we complete the mating bond. The second was right before the actual mating. Had we pushed him too far? I worried now that we had and feared he might regret it. Touching base with him was harder than it should have been. There should be no walls or shields between mates, yet there was one swirling around Kes that kept me from being able to connect as deeply as I longed to.

I couldn’t let that stand. I would have to address it with him before what happened to Ronan happened to Kes, which would not be acceptable. Even after their mating, Ronan had attempted to keep a wall up between himself and my brother. When he’d been snatched from behind the diner he worked at, Odem hadn’t known anything was happening to Ronan until he’d been contacted by Mable.

Precious time wasted. Had Ronan not proven to have the ability to wield lava bombs, the result might have been entirely different…and utterly devastating for us. As they learned of us discovering our mates, the attacks had come more rapidly and with greater ferocity as they tested for weaknesses.

Caspian jerked, a harsh gasp spilling from his lips as he fought the blankets and my hold on him. Instinct said hold tighter, so I did, and pressed my chin against his shoulder so I could speak in his ear without getting headbutted.

“Wake up, sweetheart, you’re having a bad dream, that’s all. No one is trying to hurt you or keep you from getting to your mates, you’re already here, exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

Another sharp intake of breath and he jerked, crying out loud enough that the next sound I heard was the thundering echo of footsteps on the floor rattling the walls. I heard plaster hitting the stone floor, then wood splintered as Kes came through the door mid-shift. Now I understood why the footsteps had grown unusually loud the closer he’d gotten to the room. His dragon roared, icy breath sending a coat of frost over everything in the room.

Caspian opened his arms and Kes nearly knocked us both off the bed in his haste to let Caspian hug him. When I pressed my hand to Kes’ neck I could feel him trembling the same as Caspian was.

“Whatever has you both riled up tonight, it’s time for us to sit and talk about it,” I insisted as I caressed Kes’ scales. “Can you shift back for us? I promise that there is nothing in here that you need to freeze.”

It didn’t happen all at once, Kes was too keyed up for a smooth shift. He returned to his human form in uneven increments before sagging in Caspian’s arms.