Chapter 211: Says Who?

Woah.

Woah.

WOAH!

Riley was pretty sure this was the way to hell, but for a completely different reason.

Also, disclaimer: the poor mortal had actually tried his absolute best to resist any and all temptations. He really did. But with a face that godsent (literally) and eyes that smoldered far too much for mere humans to handle, how exactly was he supposed to put up any considerable defenses?

So really, it wasn’t that he didn’t try. It was more like his self-control could only be described as a paper shield—flimsy, tragic, and very, very doomed.

And it went just like this.

In that same study that had witnessed tears, heartbreak, and the unexpected blossoming of a relationship, another entirely pointless conversation was taking place.

Well, pointless because however his conscience tried to frame it, there was really very little wiggle room left for escape.

Moreover, who was supposed to be escaping who?

“Ah, my d-degeneracy? I think that considering all this…” Riley waved his hand around helplessly,

“it’s really not a pressing issue now. Or at least not anymore!”

“B-because now at least I know that I’m not randomly coveting someone against their own will! Surely you won’t charge for the accidental thoughts, right?” Riley laughed nervously, trying to look anywhere but at the dragon whose mere presence seemed to fill the entire room.

“Oh? So that’s it? Because now you’re assured of a possibility of bedding me, it’s not an issue anymore?” Kael asked, his voice calm and deliberate, like a predator waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

“What?! Of course not!” Riley protested, eyes wide. “Maybe I’m still depraved here and there, but at the very least I feel like, as someone in a relationship, thinking about it shouldn’t be considered extreme moral decay! Especially since my thoughts are rather pure!” He huffed and puffed, trying to explain his way through this clearly mortifying ordeal.

“But more than that, I—I actually want this relationship to work!”

“Also, you know why we have to wait to actually act on it, right? With us being different and all, it’ll mainly just be intercourse to consummate the bond! So then we’d just skip through all the steps! So, to preserve your purity, there’s really no need to treat my issue as a pressing problem!”

“I swear I’m all good!” Riley swore in his own heart, hands flailing slightly.

Kael, however, leaned forward. “But what about me? Now that I know about this thing that’s worse than an illness, I now have a label for my issue.”

“Sorry, what?”

“You heard me.”

“No, I did, but you’re saying you’re a… degenerate?” Riley asked weakly.

“Probably,” Kael said without hesitation. “But how can I tell if it’s just that, or extreme depravity and hunger? After all, at our cores, dragons are still beasts. When dragons first came to be, our ancestors were created to reproduce—to ensure a population strong enough to fight our enemies. It didn’t matter who, what, or when. All that mattered was reproduction, like all beasts.”

“And as you now know, the concept of mates only came much later, but even then, the new instinct received by our ancestors didn’t change the purpose of intercourse. Only this time, it could only be done with one mate. Maybe out of desire to control our population after our job has ended, who knows? But in the end procreation was still king.”

“But you said it yourself. It seems I’m experiencing something immoral because I want to mate with you just for the sake of mating. But because of this dubious title, that’s impossible for now.”

“Dubious—Hey! It’s really not that bad!”

“However,” Kael continued, his tone as calm as ever, “since you said this was a precursor to being mates, then that would mean to get to the next step, there must be progress. But if we follow your timeline, we might only be able to reach matehood after the unsealing of the elves.”

Riley gawked at him.

“So I must push for progress,” The dragon concluded firmly.

“What…?” Meanwhile one flabbergasted human just stared at him, horrified.

“And what kind of progress are you talking about?” the mortal asked, already regretting every single thing he had ever said to this dragon about human relationships.

“A monumental one,” Kael replied, golden eyes gleaming. “I just have to make you desire me as much as I desire you.”

Hell. Riley was sure he saw that glint in those slitted eyes.

“Wait! I don’t think that’s necessary! You really don’t have to seduce me any more than this! I’m good! I’m so good that—phew—I feel like you need to rest well after running through my mind the whole day!”

“Mn… is that so?” said the dragon, voice low and unhurried, as those long, stupidly nimble fingers began closing in on the fidgety human.

“No really…! D-don’t you think it would be b-best to rest for the night? So that we have enough energy to see the guardians!” stammered Riley, inching back ever so slowly.

Kael’s golden eyes flicked toward him, the faintest glint of amusement in them. “Hmm… What happened to being worried about growing mold because you haven’t been doing anything other than resting?”

“N-no! That was then and this is now! See, now I think it would be a good time to—Mnnn!”

The protest died on his lips as a sound escaped him, soft and unguarded. His knees weakened when the tip of Kael’s tongue flicked against his lower lip, teasing, as if asking for permission—an opening.

And unlike before, when Riley could still excuse it as blood letting, a necessary thing for survival, this time there was no such excuse.

He was now absolutely certain that Kael, his newly minted boyfriend, was doing this just because he wanted to.

Or maybe for torture. Yes. Likely torture.

Because both of them knew perfectly well that they couldn’t really go all the way at this point. After all, the goal was to make sure they wouldn’t be tied to each other just because someone couldn’t control his libido. And wasn’t the whole point of dating to get to know each other? To see if they were compatible in other ways?

How could the relationship survive if they only proved compatibility with their lips?

Okay, maybe their tongues.

And their hands.

And—

Holy… Mother of Pearl.

WHAT. WAS. THAT.

Just seconds ago, Riley’s eyes fluttered closed, his chest pressed closer to Kael’s as his hands had somehow found their way around the dragon’s neck. His lips even parted for him, warm breath mingling between them.

But then, as if suddenly hit by lightning—he froze.

The human stiffened, pulling back just slightly, earning himself an amused brow raise from one very curious dragon whose lazy expression was far too deceiving for how dangerous it really was.

Riley looked down. Then up. Then down again. Logical reasoning took a nosedive as the mortal’s mind tried, and failed, to process what his senses were telling him.

Kael tilted his head, voice low, teasing. “Do you want to inspect it since you seem awfully bewildered?”

“!!!”

No. Wait.

Riley’s mind whirred, but his mouth betrayed him before his brain could stop it. “Are you saying that wasn’t your leg?”

Kael leaned back lazily, eyes half-lidded and entirely too entertained. “Wouldn’t that be too inconvenient to be my actual leg?”

Obviously, Riley’s face was a mixture of god knows what, and maybe it wasn’t even the type of thing where one should think about god while imagining. But hey!

He was far too scandalized to think straight. His mind blanked, his breath caught, and the only thing that came out was, “Then how?!”

How, indeed.

Because while Riley was trying to understand the science of it all, his brain began running through the most illogical calculations. Maybe they really had to go to the guardians after all. Maybe someone there could help him figure out how on Eryndra this could even be possible.

Because Riley couldn’t unsee it now—not the outline, not the size, not the imprint that had just, very unmistakably, pressed against him.

He’d have to be truly, painfully, willfully ignorant not to at least estimate the minimum size of his big dragon’s dragon.

Then again, point taken. This was no human.

Since Kael could polymorph into one, there was clearly no need to use anything that would just amount to a disgracefully underwhelming package.

But was there really a need for it to be like this?! Did he have to have such overwhelming presence even in this department?!

How would he even take it?!

“Kael…” Riley began carefully, his voice cracking a little, “just in case that we do end up… doing it… do you think maybe I could do you instead?”

There was a pause.

Then a definite eyebrow rose against the poor human, whose wide green eyes were practically glowing with panic.

“No,” Kael said simply.

Riley blinked. “No?”

“Because you might break that,” Kael replied matter-of-factly, looking down for emphasis, “if you try something that dangerous with me.”

“!!!”

Riley instinctively wanted to shut his legs.

But before he could spiral any further, Kael sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “And you already made me like this… I can’t do this and can’t do that. Then what’s even the point if everything would be taken away?”

Riley froze.

Because the dragon—ancient, powerful, terrifying—actually looked like he was about to pout.

“What is even good about being a boyfriend if nothing is allowed?” Kael muttered darkly under his breath.

Riley blinked once. Then twice.

“Huh?”

He finally found his voice, still dazed. “But Kael, who said there’s nothing?”

And just like that, Riley realized something very important.

Okay. Maybe he really wasn’t the only one who needed a vacation.

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