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“Oh, good. I mean…I would miss you, if you went away.” Harden’s scales shone in the moonlight.

“I would miss you too.” He stepped closer, hoping he wasn’t reading this wrong. It seemed as if he and Harden had a distinct kind of chemistry.

Harden met his gaze, the master of animals sure and direct. “I wish to lie with you, Brayden, and touch your unclothed body.”

He reached out to take Harden’s hand. “I want that, as well. Should we head back to your house? I can wait to get my things.” There. Now it was all out in the open, and he felt confident again.

“I would like that. You can borrow clothing from me.” Harden gave him a long, pointed look. “We are of a size. You do not mind a larger omega?”

“I don’t mind it at all. In fact, you’re the perfect size, Harden.” He turned, tugging Harden to him, because he needed to prove his point. So he slid one hand into Harden’s feather-woven braids and kissed him deeply, not letting either of them have second thoughts.

The kiss fired across his nerves, and he grunted because he was so shocked at how it felt. It was like every bit of his body had been lit from within by sparks. He thought Harden felt the same way again because that big body swayed, and then Harden pressed against him, one arm coming up around his back to hold him close.

They broke apart, staring at each other as they panted for air. Brayden licked his lips to catch the last bit of flavor of Harden on them. “We need to go back to your house now.”

Harden threw back his head and laughed. “Yes, we do. Right now.”

Harden reached down, cupped his cock and squeezed him, then he moved away, a husky chuckle on the air. “Come get me, Guardian.”

Oh, he did like a chase. Now that they’d established that he didn’t have to take it slow and careful, Brayden was all about the fun. So he took off after Harden, letting the pretty one take him on a wild rush along the river.

Harden stunned him, the jingle of the braids like siren song, the glint of the moon off the dragon’s scales keeping his attention. The bronze ones shone, while the white scales glowed under the moon. He always felt like Harden looked like a wild mustang, one of those pintos from the old west.

The dragon was swift too, this wild, wonderful animal who exuded sex and need. His scent tantalized Brayden, who followed him unerringly.

Harden followed the river until they came to a wide, flat pastureland and then he angled toward the cabin in the distance. Brayden had loved that trip into Harden’s world this morning, and now he wanted to see where Harden laid his head.

Harden led him into the house and up the flight of spiral stairs. The upper floor of the house was all sleeping areas, it seemed, with huge nests for beds and balconies all around. It delighted his sense with the riot of color and texture.

“Show me where, honey.”

“Honey. That is such a silly name for a lover.”

“Why?” Brayden began stripping off his shirt. “It’s sweet. It’s thick. It tastes good…” He wanted another kiss.

Harden beamed at him. “You think I’m sweet?”

He led Brayden into a room that faced the moon. The place was flooded with light. Stones and bits of glass hung from the ceiling, sending prisms all down around the huge, sunken bed, which resembled an amazing nest. The rest of the room seemed to be mostly built-in shelves for books and clothes.

“These are my sleeping quarters. Please. You are welcome here.”

“It’s amazing in here, Harden.” He touched a crystal that dangled from a beaded chain, smiling as it sent rainbows over the floor. “I want to see you naked in all this light.”

Harden reached out to touch Brayden’s bare chest. “You first. I have not been able to think of anything else all day.”

“Really?” Oh, Harden honored him. “This is an amazing end to my birthday.”

“I hope that it will be an amazing beginning to the morrow as well.” Harden winked at him, and this playful dragon was a surprise, a pure joy.

“I like how you think.” He shimmied out of his jeans, then his boxer briefs. He still hadn’t quite gotten used to the rougher clothes that Harden wore. They looked a little medieval to Brayden. But they were hot as fire on Harden.

He’d bet they would be better on the floor.

Harden watched him like a hawk, and he swore he could feel winds swooshing around him, fluttering against him like a thousand butterflies. Not for the first time he wondered what Harden’s talent was. He’d never heard anybody say, besides animal husbandry.

Maybe he controlled things like weather.

Any thought that it mattered disappeared when Harden stripped out of his tunic and his breeches as well, kicking off his boots. That body was stunning and all Brayden could do was stare for a moment, his mouth dry as bone. Harden looked like a pagan god. He was lean, but muscled well, and big enough to really give Brayden a run for his money in a wrestling match.