Destiny of Dragons (5 page)

“What do they eat?”

“Plankton is good.”

“I’ll get some.” Liang turned on his heel and walked away.

Proteus floated back to the little beasties. Sea dragons by nature weren’t nurturers, but the human half of Proteus insisted on coddling the new babies. He played with them for a while before he could tell they were tiring. They regained some of their joy when food flakes drifted from above. The owners of the house had bought proper aquarium food. Proteus approved. Once he was certain the children needed nothing else, Proteus went to the top of the tank.

“Do you want out?”

Even upset, the dragon shifter remained attentive to Proteus’s needs.

“Yes, please.”

He let Liang scoop him up.

“Where should I set you?”

“On the floor’s fine.”

Liang looked like he might argue for a moment, but he set Proteus down where he requested. “If everyone could give Proteus and me some privacy please?”

Proteus heard footsteps leaving the room. After a deep breath and a bit of focus, Proteus shifted into his human form. It took a moment to relish the sensation of fingers and toes and the crack of his spine as he twisted to one side then the other.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, it’s been a while since I was human.”

“How long?”

He had to think back. Before his parent’s death, his friends attack, the eggs being formed. “Too long.” The days and weeks and hours had blended together until there was no measurable time he could pinpoint.

“I spent centuries as a statue,” Liang confessed.

Proteus nodded. They had both been prisoners in their own way.

He accepted Liang’s offered hand to get back to his feet. “Thank you.”

Without the water between them he could smell his mate’s natural fragrance. Liang smelled of all things good and right in the world as a proper mate should. “You smell great.”

Liang blushed. “You do, too.”

“I had always thought mates were always perfect for each other until Leana. Her mate was a psychotic asshole.” Proteus shuddered remembering everything his friend went through.

“Maybe at one time he wasn’t. I don’t know if there have been any studies about mates changing. But maybe his personality was different when he first matched with her.”

Proteus shook his head. “I don’t think The Fates should get a pass, they’re responsible for her death. If Leana hadn’t thought they were mates she wouldn’t have stayed with him.”

“You have a point, but I think we’re a good match even if you hid your pregnancy from me.”

“I wasn’t pregnant. I was merely holding the eggs.” Proteus scowled at his amused mate. “It’s not funny. I’m not a girl.”

Liang wisely changed the subject. “Are they boys or girls?”

“What?”

“The babies. Are they boys or girls?”

“One boy and one girl.”

“What are you going to name them?”

“Leana picked out names as soon as she discovered she was pregnant. The girl is Kensi and the boy is Tae. She gave me alternate choices if it turned out there were two boys or two girls. She always swore she had a dream of farseeing that told her she’d have a boy and a girl.”

“Kensi and Tae,” Liang said as if enjoying the sound of the words on his tongue. “Those are cute names for adorable little sea creatures.”

“Yes they are. I wish they could meet their mother. Their father is no loss, but their mother was my best friend. She was the most wonderful person I’ve ever met.”

Tears filled Proteus’s eyes. He’d never had a chance to mourn his friend. A happy lady who would never know the joy of her babies.

“Come here.” Liang wrapped Proteus in his arms and held him while Proteus poured out the buckets of grief he’d had shored up inside him.

“I’m. Sorry.” He gasped out between sobs.

“Shh, It’s okay let it all out.” Liang rubbed Proteus’s back.

Proteus leaned into his mate, absorbing the strength his partner could give him. “She was a wonderful person.”

“And she will live on in her children,” Liang’s reassuring voice swept away some of Proteus’s pain.

“Yes, she will.”

“We’ll get through this. I don’t have any experience with children, but we can figure it out. Everyone here will be more than happy to help us. Aden has raised a child before so we have at least one person with experience.”

“I don’t even know where here is besides Seattle.” He’d heard of Seattle, it was somewhere in the United States, but he had no idea where it was located.

“You’re in Washington State at the Gale Mansion. Carey and Aden Gale are the owners. Aden is a dragon king and Carey is his human son. There are a lot of different shifters here. It’ll be safe for you here while I continue my search.”

“Search for what?”

Liang spent the next thirty minutes explaining his history. Proteus couldn’t believe what he’d heard. He knew the emperor was an awful person, but to lock someone into stone went far past anything Proteus could think of. The story of brave dragons and evil magic wielders fascinated him. He dried up his tears and silently vowed to keep his mate from becoming stone again.

“So far three of us have gotten together but Tian and Wei are still missing,” Liang finished the story with that sad news. “We can’t feel them in our heads which is even stranger.”

“Do you think they’ve fallen into the emperor’s clutches?” Proteus hoped that wasn’t the case. The emperor had been responsible for enough death and destruction, he hoped Liang’s friends hadn’t become part of the damage the emperor left behind in his wake.

“Yes, but since we don’t know where the emperor is hiding we can’t go and get them out.”

“Surely he can’t be that hard to find, not someone that intent on gaining more power.”

“You’d think so wouldn’t you? But even the sorcerers weren’t sure he was still alive until recently.”

“What are you going to do?”

Liang’s mouth flattened into a straight line. “Whatever I can to get my friends back.”

A chill shivered down Proteus’s spine. “I just found you, I don’t want to lose you already.”

“You won’t. Despite what you might think, I’m very cautious.”

His words were what Proteus wanted to hear, but the determination in Liang’s eyes told a different story.

“Good. There is much I still need to learn about you.”

Liang pulled Proteus close until Proteus’s naked body pressed against Liang from chest to toe. Overwhelmed, Proteus whimpered when Liang’s lips touched his. It wasn’t even a proper kiss, barely a brush of lips together, but passion exploded through Proteus like someone lit an entire bundle of dynamite.

“Come back to my room,” Liang said once he finally lifted his head.

“Okay.” Proteus had played the field hard and often, but none of those men had ever both melted him and seared him with sexual energy so strong he could be his own power plant.

Liang kissed him again. “You are amazing. Even with green hair you’ll always be a surprise.”

“It’s not green it’s brownish,” Proteus snarled. In human form Proteus’s hair took on the greenish brown hue of his sea dragon color, an odd color in the human world and not one that he could ever successfully bleach out.

“It’s gorgeous, like you. You have nothing to be afraid of.” Liang’s firm tone told Proteus his mate wasn’t just saying the words, he truly meant them.

“Thanks.” His face grew hot as Proteus examined his bare feet. “I’m glad you like how I look.”

“Oh darling, I don’t like it.” Liang lifted Proteus’s chin so he had to meet the water dragon’s eyes. “I love it.”

Proteus grinned. “We should take this back to your room then and you can see what else you might love.”

“Great idea. Only problem is I don’t know where there are any clothes around.”

“No problem.” Proteus concentrated. A soft tug told him he’d reached his goal.

“You can be invisible?” Liang stared at the spot Proteus had been standing in before, astonishment clear on his face.

“Hey, Liang, where’s the new daddy?” Jiang asked, walking over to the tank. “I heard we have babies, where are they?”

“They’re in there somewhere.” Liang said, distracted by Proteus’s disappearance. “How do you do that?” he hissed at his mate.

Proteus grabbed Liang’s wrist and pulled him along until they were out of the room. Once they were clear of the doorway he rematerialized. “Sea dragons can camouflage themselves against predators.”

“So you can essentially make yourself invisible.”

“Pretty much.” Proteus didn’t usually put it that way because it wasn’t entirely accurate, but if Liang wished to label his light bending as invisibility he’d let it slide.

Footsteps had him pulling the reflection around him again. He had no wish to meet the others stark naked.

Liang blindly reached and grabbed Proteus. With amazing deftness considering he couldn’t see him, Liang lifted Proteus into his arms and carried him down the hall.

“Romantic,” Proteus sniggered.

“Practical,” Liang countered.

Proteus laughed when Liang ran down the corridor and slid through an open door at the end. A big bed took over much of the room, the rest was coated with maps, charts and bits of clothing tossed about.

Liang kicked the door closed then tossed Proteus at the bed.

“Not much of a cleaner are you?” He dropped his camouflage and tried to strike a sexy pose on the rumbled comforter.

“I’ll be neater if it makes you happy.” Liang stopped to eye the room. “We’ll have to talk to Carey about getting a bigger space for the children to share.”

“Not for another year. They’ll spend their first year in their sea dragon form.”

“But you said they’re half water dragon. Anything could happen.”

“True.” Liang had a good point. You never knew what could happen with hybrids which was why most shifters stayed with their own kind.

“We’ll cross that problem when we get it,” Liang said. “Right now we’re going to have couple time then we can go back and concentrate on the kids afterward.”

“Sounds fair. You are way too dressed for the occasion,” he pointed out.

“One thing about mating with a water dragon. We can easily shed our clothing.” Liang’s clothes vanished as soon as he finished speaking, revealing a sexy man with an erection big enough to make any lover happy—if he knew how to use it.

“Nice. Come here and show me what you got,” Proteus crooked a finger at the water dragon.

“I certainly will.”

Liang climbed up on the bed and straddled Proteus, letting him feel the strength in his mate’s body. The missing piece in his life snapped together and he sighed as the other half of his soul slid into place with a soft click.

“What was that?” Liang asked.

“What?”

“I heard something.”

Proteus almost didn’t tell him. The denial hovered on his lips, but a stern look from Liang’s piercing eyes had him giving in. “Sea dragons are different.”

“I’ll say.” Liang grinned as he rubbed against Proteus.

Proteus laughed. “No. When we find out mates we literally find the other half of ourselves. Sea dragons are born with only half a soul and The Fates plant the other half in our mates. I now have a complete soul.”

From Liang’s expression he didn’t think he explained it well enough. The dragon had turned from frowning to a panicky expression in his eyes. Instead of the hard shaft pressed against him, Liang’s body had lost its enthusiastic spirit.

“Is there a problem?” Proteus prodded when Liang didn’t speak.

“No. I-I just. I’ve never heard of that. If you didn’t find me you would’ve gone through life with half a soul.” The horror in Liang’s tone resonated with Proteus.

“Hey.” He cupped Liang’s face between his hands. “I never knew the difference. Now I do.”

There weren’t any words to explain the new joy he experienced in Liang’s arms.

“I’ll never abandon you,” Liang vowed.

“I know you won’t.” Soul mates couldn’t leave each other. He wondered if that was why his friend had stayed. Had she been unable to tear herself away from the her mate or were they not truly mates at all and she was making the best of a bad situation. Since both parties were dead it didn’t matter now.

“The Fates have been unkind in their treatment of you, my mate,” Liang said.

His low, tender tone wrapped Proteus up in a bundle of caring he wanted to roll around in and savor like a fine wine. He’d drunk wine once at a human party he’d attended. He’d been tipsy for days. Apparently wine and sea dragons didn’t mix.

“They are doing good now.” Proteus kissed Liang, putting all his pent up passion into the press of lips.

Liang slid his fingers through Proteus’s hair and broke off their kiss to speak. “They sure are.”

Moans, sighs and rubbing friction finished off their conversation.

“Lube,” Proteus groaned.

“What’s that?” Liang asked.

“Lubricant, it’s what you use to make sure I’m not screaming when you shove that thick log into me.” Proteus reached for the drawer in the side table. A new container of lube slid forward. “This!”

He waved the tube at Liang. “Want me to prep myself?”

Liang rolled to the side. “Oh yes, this I want to see.”

The hunger in his mate’s eyes had Proteus slicking up his fingers and pushing them inside his hole. He made a show of it, sliding deep and pushing on his prostate while he loosened himself up.

“Enough!” Liang shouted. His flushed face and glazed expression sent a shaft of pride through Proteus, he’d reduced this man to a ball of need.

“I’m ready.”

“I hope so. I can’t handle any more. If I have to watch you pleasure yourself much longer I’ll spurt all over the blankets, and I’d prefer we enjoy this together.”

“Me, too.” Proteus rolled over to his hands and knees. “I’m all yours.”

“No.” Liang flipped Proteus back over in a stunning show of strength. “I need to see your face. I want to know you are enjoying this as much as I am.”

Proteus almost objected, but Liang’s intense expression changed his mind.

“Sure. Whatever you want.” Proteus hooked his hands beneath his legs and spread himself open for his mate.

“Oh, The Fates must have decided I’m their new favorite,” Liang whispered.