See, there was logic, and then there was whatever this was.
Logic would’ve pointed towards so internal brain alarm. One that should’ve raised a giant red flag and prompted imdiate avoidance.
Moreover, logic would’ve told him to heed the dragon’s warnings and his magnanimity.
And as soone who had already been given the choice, all he really had to do was to pick the right one—the one where logic says that this could never work.
And yet, sitting there—his pulse racing, his hands shaking, his heart doing sothing deeply illegal—Riley realized that logic had officially abandoned him.
So for the record, this was definitely unfair. So deeply unfair that when that unholy face ca a tad too close to his, all the illogical mortal could do was succumb to temptation.
Ah, dammit.
The air between them shifted. Kael didn’t move fast, didn’t even try to. He simply leaned in, his body language asured and deliberate, like a man giving the illusion of choice when they both already knew how this would end.
Riley’s breath caught when the dragon lord’s shadow fell over him. Kael’s hand rested beside his thigh, his face drawing closer, and those molten-gold eyes stayed fixed on his, unreadable and burning.
Every inch of distance closed felt like the air thinned. The dazed human could feel the faint warmth of Kael’s breath ghosting over his lips, the quiet sound of his heartbeat pounding like a drum inside his ears.
It was maddening—slow and dangerous.
Because the more the infuriating dragon looked at him like that, the more his resolve began to slip.
And when those sharp, quiet words left Kael’s mouth, low and smooth like sin itself, "Riley, be mine," the rest of his control shattered.
He inhaled sharply, the sound almost a plea, and before he could think, he moved.
Their lips t in a clash that felt more like surrender than decision.
The captured prey barely had ti to breathe before the dragon lord responded—no hesitation, no restraint. That strong body pressed forward, receiving him completely, and that single point of contact blood into sothing far more consuming.
Ngh!
What started as a soft, uncertain kiss turned into sothing deep and desperate. Kael recaptured his lips, kissing him back like he was claiming him, his familiar hand finding the small of Riley’s back before sliding up to cradle his neck.
This ti, there was no gentle guidance. The sa hand that had supported him now pulled him in, forcing him closer, until there was nothing left between them but heat and breath.
The dragon lord kissed like a storm—possessive, unyielding, devouring.
A sound—half gasp, half moan—escaped Riley’s throat before he could stop it, his fingers clenching against Kael’s shoulders as his mind blanked.
It felt endless, too much, and not enough all at once.
When Kael finally pulled back, their lips barely parted. Riley’s chest heaved, eyes still closed, and he could feel Kael’s breath brush against his mouth—too close, too teasing, too deliberate.
But the mont the dragon lord gave him that single breath of space, Riley’s hands moved. His arms slid around Kael’s neck, and before reason could intervene, he tugged him back down.
Their lips t again, rougher this ti, the kind of kiss that ca from knowing the risk and doing it anyway.
Riley figured if he was going to die from this, then he might as well see the day Kael Dravaryn, the dragon lord of Eryndra, would be on his knees for him.
Between kisses, he broke the contact just long enough to breathe. His forehead pressed against Kael’s, his lips still tingling, his voice a low pant against the dragon’s mouth.
"You... you didn’t answer my last question."
"..."
Kael’s arms slid down, his palms tracing the sides of Riley’s waist before settling there, holding him in a loose but unyielding embrace.
The shift in touch grounded them both, and for a fleeting mont, Riley’s body tensed, waiting and partially hoping his world wouldn’t collapse.
Kael’s gaze remained focused on him, though his voice had a tinge of confusion when he finally spoke. "I didn’t answer," he said, "because to answer properly, it would require understanding the question."
He paused, his thumb brushing the side of Riley’s waist, tracing absent circles. "But what even is love?"
Riley blinked, montarily thrown off by the simplicity of the question and the weight behind it.
Kael tilted his head slightly, as if genuinely trying to figure it out. "It’s sothing you humans seem to use often," he murmured. "But is it the sa as developing the obsessive need to protect soone you haven’t even t?"
"Is it the sa as suddenly feeling compelled to take soone ho because your body would feel sick if you don’t?"
His words were calm, yet they cut through the air with precision.
"Because that’s what a fated mate is," the dragon continued quietly. "Even if they one day decide to annihilate your family, your body would still yearn to have them."
Riley’s breath caught, his fingers curling weakly against the strong chest as the dragon lord’s tone deepened.
"And when you first think about them," Kael went on, "you don’t even know what you’re thinking about. The feeling would just appear—sudden, uninvited, without rhy or reason. That rush of affection, that inexplicable pull—it would co before thought, before sense, before you even know what it is."
He hesitated, just slightly, his eyes flickering with mory. "I have mories of bonding with the egg. It had thankfully reacted to . It was likely powerful enough to be able to do that."
"But that’s not the case for all eggs."
His hold around Riley tightened just a fraction.
"So what do you think happens when two eggs resonate with each other?" he asked softly. "Do they fall in love? Do they think about how the other’s shell looks good under the light?"
His voice grew quieter, more distant. "Do they have sounds and voices to think about? Sothing that would keep them up at night?"
"Would they be able to list maddening things about soone they hadn’t really known?"
The words lingered, heavy and uncertain.
"What about arousal?" Kael murmured next, his tone dipping low. "Without that distinctive scent, would they yearn to touch and to take?"
His hand stilled on Riley’s waist, as if catching himself before he went too far.
"But more importantly," he said at last, "would I have pined for so long if there had been no resonance?"
The silence that followed was almost suffocating.
Riley looked up at him, eyes wide, lips parted—but before he could form a word, Kael’s voice ca again, quieter, like an echo of sothing fragile.
"I don’t know," he admitted. "But maybe you could tell ."
His eyes t Riley’s, unguarded and searching.
"Did I love the egg?"
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