Chapter 214: Hold Your Breath

But apparently, the first order of business was maddening restraint.

One that started because, instead of being able to reciprocate as fast as his instincts were screaming for him to do, the dragon lord couldn’t help but notice Riley’s odd behavior.

His twig was staring at his neck for longer than usual. But it wasn’t the kind of stare Kael usually got when Riley wanted to gut him for saying or doing something he didn’t like. But this was the look of curiosity. Possession.

Heat.

“What?” the dragon lord asked, voice low, almost suspicious.

Riley didn’t answer. He reached up instead, thumb brushing lightly over the faint mark that still stained Kael’s skin. The contact was brief. Almost reverent.

“You actually allowed me,” Riley murmured.

Kael blinked, unmoved. “You realize you asked for permission…”

His tone was flat. Honest. Unbothered. As if it were the most natural thing in the world to grant permission to be marked by a human who used to flinch when dragons so much as blinked at him.

Riley let out a soft, disbelieving laugh—but he didn’t look away.

“I know I asked,” he said, his thumb still tracing that mark. “But back then, even when you told me to hit you, your body would still react on its own. It would defend itself.”

Kael’s brows furrowed, ever so slightly, now curious as to where this was going.

“But now?” Riley’s voice softened, almost awed. “To be able to leave this on you…”

He finally looked Kael in the eye.

And smiled.

A bright, wild thing. Honest, maddening, and so full of emotion that Kael’s breath caught.

“Seems you really like me enough, huh?”

The surprised dragon lord went still.

His body had really allowed the mark.

Actually allowed small blood vessels to shatter for it.

Hah.

He scoffed.

Of course.

Of course, his body would do that and more.

Because even now his body—no, he—was succumbing to that smile, that mouth.

So if Riley really wanted to hurt him, apparently, this was the way to go.

His abysmal defense couldn’t even stop the simplest of mortals, who leaned in to press a kiss on his lips.

It wasn’t demanding. It wasn’t forceful.

In truth, it barely even counted as a kiss.

Just a flutter. A whisper of skin against skin. A butterfly landing—soft, ephemeral—and gone in a breath.

But it destroyed Kael.

Something in him snapped, and an overwhelming, unrelenting need to return the favor arose.

Because sure enough, there were many types of kisses. And while the dragon lord savored every one of them, that one, that fleeting brush of lips?

It almost undid him right there. Like some unruly beast.

So he leaned in before thought could catch up.

Every part of him—the ancient, the primal, the patient—had already given up the idea of restraint. His hand slid up Riley’s arm, fingers tracing the skin that still burned from their last exchange. The way the human trembled beneath his touch only made the urge worse.

He wanted to touch. To taste. To claim.

But before his lips could find that pulse at Riley’s throat, a palm pressed flat against his chest.

Riley.

Eyes wide. Breath uneven. Voice a whisper that still dared to scold.

“Kael… I remember saying learn, not practice.”

The words hit harder than any spell. The golden dragon stilled, muscles taut, pupils narrowing in disbelief. “What?”

The twig’s voice cracked, but he didn’t back down. “There’s still more to learn before you can practice. So if you’d be good and hold on just a little bit longer, then it would be your turn.”

See, Riley knew that lives—or at least his own—were at stake here.

With Kael’s eyes and how his muscles felt so ready to pounce, the fragile aide was sure that it would be impossible to stop him the moment he started.

But Riley couldn’t just let the control he’d worked so hard to build be ground to dust, right?

And when else would he be able to teach this dragon anything else when the guy could very well discover the truths of the universe by himself?

But in truth, beneath it all, it was because Riley couldn’t just let go of that exhilarating feeling he got from watching Kael nearly unravel because of him.

A low growl vibrated from Kael’s chest. Deep. Dangerous to the heart. The kind that should have made Riley stop.

It nearly did.

His knees wobbled. His fingers paused. His will teetered dangerously close to giving in.

But instead of yielding, Riley bit his own lip.

Hard.

The sharp sting brought him back. The taste of blood hit his tongue.

It wasn’t much. Just a slip of the tooth. But the skin broke.

Kael’s gaze snapped to his mouth in an instant. His golden eyes darkened, the way they did when ancient instincts surged to the surface.

Then he moved.

Riley barely had time to breathe before Kael was there. His hand gripped the back of Riley’s neck, pulling him forward. His lips captured Riley’s in a kiss that scorched, that stole the air right out of his lungs.

Kael’s tongue slid across Riley’s lip, licking the blood away. The contact was hot and consuming. Possessive.

When he pulled back, he was panting slightly. His hand stayed where it was.

“Don’t get hurt,” the dragon lord snarled, voice rough with something wild.

Riley blinked up at him. “Okay,” he said, breathless. “Sorry, force of habit. But also—ow.”

Kael’s expression shifted.

It wasn’t just annoyance anymore. As if the act of protecting Riley, even from his own teeth, was infuriating and sacred all at once.

Riley hadn’t meant to get hurt. He really hadn’t.

And maybe before, he would’ve just ignored it. But he remembered what young Kael had gone through—what that protective reaction meant. So this time, he didn’t make a joke.

He leaned in quietly and kissed Kael’s cheek.

It was soft. Barely a brush. But it landed with weight.

“I’m sorry,” Riley whispered.

There it was again.

Something about the kiss to his cheek made him freeze once more, not in tension, but in awareness that the storm would shift.

Because the twig always seemed to do that.

Every time he would kiss Kael like that, the aggression he was born with would settle, then change.

And it was changing again.

Especially when Riley leaned closer and murmured at the shell of his ear.

“And it’s not that you won’t get your turn,” the apparently merciful human whispered, “but if you want to get there faster, could you please make sure that the doors are locked and that no teleportation would be allowed in?”

Kael’s brow went up.

A beat passed.

“What?”

Riley didn’t pull away. He nodded, gently, like he was asking for something completely reasonable and not something incredibly suspicious.

Kael frowned. “Why not move to the room, if it’s like this?”

Riley quickly shook his head.

“No. No, I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He cleared his throat. “It might be a little too dangerous if we go there.”

Kael stared at him.

Riley looked away. His ears were red.

“I mean, if we end up back in the bedroom again, how am I supposed to sleep there like a good person?” he muttered.

Kael’s brows drew tighter. “That makes no sense. Then why is it okay in my study?”

“Because,” Riley said, straightening up, “even you need a break from work sometimes.”

Kael squinted. “That doesn’t answer the question.”

Riley didn’t answer. Not directly.

But the way his fingers moved—fumbling slightly, still trembling, but determined—as they reached for the first button of his silk top, spoke louder than anything else.

If Kael had known what Riley was planning to do in this room, maybe he would’ve fought harder.

Maybe.

But the moment the first button came undone, the dragon lord’s mouth fell silent.

Yeah. Whatever Riley was planning, Kael definitely would’ve let it happen.

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