My jaw drops. “You change into a dragon? Are they real?” I squeal out, unable to hold it back. That’s why he had scales on his hands! Everything makes so much more sense now.
“Dragons are extinct,” Donatello offers.
“But dragon shifters aren’t,” Apollo completes, devouring his pancakes like it’s a handful of grapes. “When you visit my place, I can shift for you. It’s spacious enough not to break anything,” and he grins. My stomach flips, more with the promise of visiting his place than seeing him turn into a dragon.
The two fill me in on some things I didn’t know about the supernatural world. How shifters and mages are divided, and the hierarchy in vampire society, and shifter society. Shifter society is a mess. Every kind of shifter has a different way of keeping packs or clans and different ways to choose their leaders. Sometimes, an alpha fights for the right of leading. Others, it’s a blood right, like monarchy, only with small packs of twenty people.
By the time we’re done with the pancakes, I’m full and sluggish, and the natural history lesson is making my brain slow. Donatello stops talking, smiling with understanding. “Let’s get you to bed,bella.”
I nod. “Why do you keep calling me that? My name’s not Bella.”
Donatello laughs, the sound soft, slithering down my neck like a silky scarf. “It’s ‘beautiful’ in Italian.”
My cheeks grow warm. “Why Italian?”
He touches a hand to the small of my back, guiding me into the bathroom. “I was born in Italy. Many years ago.”
This feels like a grain of memory, a peek into his past, and it sounds painful. I keep the questions to myself and drag my feet to the sink, where I wash my mouth. The vampire bastard doesn’t have toothpaste or toothbrush because not even his teeth get sick. Bacteria can’t handle vampires. I roll my eyes at Donatello when he says this, but I envy him hard.
Once in the bedroom, I untie my boots, take off my pants and shirt, and slide under the covers. As soon as I’m tucked in, I open my eyes and catch Donatello and Apollo standing at the door, gaping at me, lust obvious on their faces and in the bulge in their pants.
“Oh. Didn’t see you there,” I say, my voice mushy with sleep.
“We got that much,” Apollo says in a voice thicker than syrup. He kicks off his shoes and sits on the edge of the bed, clasping my foot with a hand. “Go to sleep. We’ll keep watch.”
“Nonsense,” Donatello says. “I don’t need to sleep. You go to sleep too, Apollo.”
I squeal internally that Donatello used his name. Apollo nods and joins me under the duvet. Only one bed, and I don’t even mind. In a moment, Apollo has warmed the undercover like an electric blanket. Guess that’s a perk of being a dragon. I have so much to ask him, but I’m too dozy for that.
Donatello walks into the room and sits next to me. He brushes my hair away from my face, his eyes roaming over my features. The way he looks at me makes my stomach knot, and then Apollo’s hand races across my stomach to curl around my waist, and I’m fighting between affection and lust.
“About tonight, at the club,” I start, two pairs of eyes on me. “I kissed Apollo.”
“I saw it,” Donatello answers in a sultry murmur, his eyes flashing with the memory. There’s no rage on his face. No jealousy. Only desire.
“I’m attracted to you,” I say, staring into Donatello’s eyes before I crane my neck to face Apollo. “But I’m attracted to you too. I don’t want to choose, but I don’t want to break anyone’s heart.”
Apollo smiles and presses his lips to a spot beneath my ear, making me sigh. “Guess what, mate?” he says. “I don’t care.”
“You don’t?” My eyelids flutter shut, his lips caressing my skin.
“No. Dragonesses are rare, so it’s usual for them to have more than one mate. I don’t know if that’s your case, but I was raised expecting it. If you want to have a hundred mates, do as you will. As long as you keep me next to you, I’m fine.”
His words melt my heart. I know nothing about having more mates, and I would definitely avoid having a hundred, but. But he puts his trust in me and it makes me feel like we do belong together. And not only the two of us.
I open my eyes and meet Donatello’s gaze. He leans forward, and our lips brush. I part mine, thirsty for a taste of him, but he doesn’t end the space between us, his golden hair tickling my face, curtaining us.
“I wouldn’t dare to make you choose,” he whispers against my lips, setting my panties on fire, and then he pulls back. Donatello steps away, eyes bright with lust as he watches me. “Good night,bella.”
“Night,” I tremble past my lips, watching him go until he turns the lights off. And even if Apollo fits me snuggly against his hot, muscled body, he doesn’t force anything upon me. I put my head on the space between his shoulder and chest and fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.
CHAPTER14
APOLLO
Suspicion wakes me up sooner than necessary. I’m on my feet, showered and dressed, not long after eight. The sun doesn’t shine through Donatello’s large windows, and that’s the weirdest part of his fancy apartment. I don’t think I could live long in a place like this. Dragons love the night, but we need the sky. I need the stars to guide me and the moon to glint down on my scales as I stretch my wings.
Living underground is not for me, and I’m dying to get back to the surface. Besides, we can’t stay in Hiram for long. After the incident at the club, they’ll be after us soon enough.