Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Really? His king had found Luka and didn’t think to at least drop him a text?
Rude.
Vasily would deal with that later. Right now his full focus was on Luka.
Without tempering his speed much at all, he flew straight for the rooftop. A few hard backflaps made sure he did not crash right into the building, but it was definitely not in his top ten most graceful landings. Vasily did not care. The second he got boots on cement, he started stalking straight toward Luka.
Luka turned his head to watch him come and it was then Vasily realized his lover had been crying. The trail of tears was obvious on his cheeks. At the sight of that face, Vasily’s own heart broke. His ire almost fell by the wayside, forgotten in the face of such obvious pain. There was nothing that upset Vasily more than seeing Luka hurt. It usually put him in a homicidal rage.
Right now, he was torn between comforting his lover and latching on to make sure Luka did not try to run for it again. In this mood of his, Luka might very well try to fly off again. Like hell would Vasily let that happen.
He expected an argument or something, but instead Luka launched himself right at Vasily. Startled, he froze midstride. Instinct had his arms coming up and around Luka’s waist, holding him close. Luka held on to him just as firmly, arms wrapped around Vasily’s shoulders.
Rodrigo gave them a wave, already shifting. “I’ll let you two talk this out. If Amaru asks where you are, I’ll tell him, so make this quick.”
That failed to be reassuring. For that matter, it was not meant to be reassuring. Vasily gave him a nod and focused on Luka.
“You understand you took about a century off my life, right? Beloved, why the hell are you running from me?”
Luka pulled back a little, tilting his chin up to meet Vasily’s eyes. There was still too much of a bright sheen in those ice blue eyes, but Luka strangely did not look upset anymore. In fact, he looked overjoyed? Vasily had no other word for it, but he felt even that was lacking.
“I’m sorry,” Luka said, his words tumbling after each other, each one quicker than the one before. “I’m sorry, I just panicked. I didn’t know how to face you, or myself, or Amaru, and fear sent me running before I even knew what I was doing.”
With the apology, some of Vasily’s ire faded. Luka did not seem interested in running anymore, so he dared to relax his hold a smidgen.
Before he could frame any other words in his mouth, Luka kept going. “But it’s all right, I have my answer now. My dragon finally spoke to me. I know Amaru is my mate. For that matter, I know you are my mate.”
Vasily’s mind went blank, trying to process what Luka had said. When those words did penetrate, relief almost sent him to his knees. He hugged Luka tightly, rocking a little back and forth, so happy he damn near sobbed like a baby.
For all that he had been sure, for all that his dragon had reassured him all three of them were meant to be together, it would not have mattered if Luka had never received the confirmation. Luka had to know for his own sake. Now he had it, it felt like five hundred tons had been lifted off Vasily’s shoulders.
Luka pressed kisses against his shoulder, neck, jaw, and ear, all while whispering reassurances. “I’m so, so sorry. I love you, I love you so damn much. It’s all right. I know you were right, I won’t doubt us ever again. I am so sorry I scared you. To be fair, I was scaring myself.”
Vasily caught him by the nape of the neck and drew him into a hot, hard kiss. Luka kissed him back, lips just as hungry, and for all that he had spent centuries kissing this mouth, right now it felt new. Like he remembered all over again that he could not take Luka for granted.
Dropping back onto his heels, Luka panted for breath, that beautiful smile Vasily had fallen for on his face. “I promise to make this up to you later.”
“You’re damn right you will,” Vasily growled at him. This most definitely called for make-up sex.
“Amaru?”
It was a damn good question. “I don’t know precisely what he thinks of the situation. With the way he flirts with both of us, I am absolutely positive he’s attracted to us both, but I don’t know if he realizes we are his mates.”
Luka nodded as if in agreement, his brows furrowed together in deep thought. “This might be difficult to explain to him. Tricky, at the very least. We should probably start with saying that we both know we are his mates. Though to be honest, I don’t know if there is a good starting place to explain everything.”