Chapter 170: Daring Him
Riley couldn’t even think.
Or maybe he didn’t dare to. Because what possible thoughts could he form when everything around him was Kael?
That scent, sharp and warm, filled his senses. It hung thick in the air until it was all he could breathe. He could feel Kael’s breath against his lips, hear the faint sounds of contact and the unsteady rhythm of their breathing, harsh and uneven as they clashed again. The world around him blurred into warmth and sound and motion.
And yet, as if those weren’t enough, he could taste him, as if he even needed undeniable proof that this was real. As if his frail body wasn’t already screaming loud enough as proof.
With his bare back against the cold mirror, he should’ve felt really cold, and yet what made him tremble wasn’t the chill, but the large, searing hand that held him steady, pulling him in so close that his legs managed to instinctively tighten around Kael’s frame.
Close enough that there was no space left between them.
And maybe it was his imagination—or maybe he really was losing it—but Riley could swear he felt something hard against his thigh, a sudden feeling that went through all the haze in his brain.
He gasped softly, startled by the pulse of heat that followed. Maybe it was shock, or instinct, or that maddening curiosity that always got him in trouble, but before he could think better of it, he moved.
A little too close.
A little too deliberate.
The dragon stilled and pulled his lips back a little, golden eyes lowering in disbelief at the false bravery of the trembling human clinging to him.
Kael’s mouth curved faintly as he murmured against his lips, "Not enough that you’re even distracted?"
Riley froze, his whole body turning scarlet. "N-no! I—I’m focused!" he stammered, voice embarrassingly small in the very small space between them.
Kael’s head tilted, his gaze dark and unreadable. "Mn, yes," he said softly, his voice a dangerous rumble. "Focused elsewhere."
Riley’s breath caught as Kael’s hand slid to his lower back, pulling him closer—slowly, deliberately—until every thought in his head scattered like glass. It was to the point that even if his brain was muddled, he couldn’t possibly pretend he hadn’t just confirmed what that was.
"Behave," Kael whispered, his words grazing the shell of his ear, quiet enough to make every nerve in Riley’s body jolt. "Unless you want to end up bedridden again."
The warning wasn’t loud. It didn’t have to be.
Riley’s pulse stuttered, his fingers curling into the dragon’s shirt as he tried to remember how to breathe.
For a second, the aide’s supposedly clean and allegedly innocent mind refused to process what Kael had just said.
Then it did.
And all at once, his face burned hotter than a forge.
He scrambled for words, for anything to save what was left of his dignity. "S-shut up, you’re just all talk," he blurted, his voice somehow both confident and painfully unconvincing.
The words hung between them, and Riley immediately realized what he’d done.
He’d just told that to Kael Dravaryn.
The same man whose temper had leveled cities and melted entire corridors.
And judging by the sharp flash in those golden eyes, Riley might have just booked a one-way ticket straight to his funeral.
Kael’s gaze narrowed, pupils thinning into predatory slits. His hand, which had been steady against Riley’s back, slid upward—slow, deliberate—until it reached his face.
Riley froze.
Kael’s fingers tilted his chin up, and his thumb brushed against his lower lip. The contact was light, almost careful, but it sent a shiver down Riley’s spine all the same.
His voice dropped low, each word a rumble that seemed to vibrate in the air between them. "With you like this, do you intend to test that out today?"
The question wasn’t loud, but it carried the weight of a dare.
Riley’s breath caught. Kael’s hand still cradled the back of his neck, keeping him from turning away, forcing him to meet those glowing eyes. The dragon lord’s thumb stayed against his mouth, tracing the faint smear of red that had been left there earlier.
For a being who could crush stone without effort, Kael’s touch was almost unbearably gentle.
Riley didn’t move. He couldn’t. His pulse was pounding so hard it was all he could hear. It thundered in his ears, in his chest—loud enough, he thought, for Kael or maybe the whole of Eryndra to hear too.
So what was even the point of hiding anything?
Without thinking, Riley’s tongue flicked out to wet his lower lip. A nervous habit, maybe, but the motion dragged across Kael’s thumb instead.
Kael’s gaze darkened instantly.
Those golden eyes flashed, deep and dangerous, and for one fleeting moment, Riley could swear he saw something wild behind them—something old, hungry, and barely restrained.
And the worst part was that he liked it.
He really, really liked it.
He must have lost his mind. Maybe it was the blood, maybe the heat, maybe the way Kael was looking at him like he was something worth devouring, but before his brain could intervene, Riley moved.
"Screw it," he muttered under his breath, barely audible, as his hands reached up to grip Kael’s collar.
Then he pulled him down.
The dragon’s eyes widened in surprise just as Riley’s lips crashed into his—messy, desperate, and far too human for someone who had nearly died days ago.
Kael didn’t resist.
In fact, once the shock passed, he responded in full, meeting Riley halfway with a deep, consuming kiss that sent another wave of heat coursing through them both.
And just like before, the world blurred again into warmth, breath, and heartbeat. Just this time with a full understanding of what he was asking for.
Kael hadn’t expected it.
Riley’s lips—warm, trembling, and determined—had met his with such sudden force that for a heartbeat, even the dragon lord forgot how to breathe.
Then instinct took over.
A low sound escaped him as his hand moved, tilting Riley’s chin just enough to deepen the kiss. The taste of blood lingered faintly between them, and it only made the pull stronger. Riley met him halfway, matching every motion without hesitation now, his hands clutching at the dragon’s face like he was afraid to let go.
The world narrowed to warmth, breath, and pulse. Their bodies moved with a rhythm that wasn’t quite reason, caught somewhere between relief and hunger. Kael’s hand slid to Riley’s back, steadying him as if the human might fall apart if he didn’t.
Riley leaned in harder, answering that unspoken force with equal urgency, until the dragon’s patience finally cracked. His arm moved under Riley, easily lifting him higher. Riley gasped softly, his legs instinctively tightening around Kael’s waist to steady himself.
"Kael—" he managed between breaths.
The dragon didn’t answer. He only looked at him, eyes burning gold, and for a moment, it felt like the whole room had stilled around them. Kael’s hand rested at the small of Riley’s back, the other steady on his thigh, and the air between them felt charged—too heavy, too hot, too close.
Then—
Without rhyme or reason came a small thud that announced doom.
"Uncle—!"
"Brother—!"
The two voices overlapped in perfectly jubilant cheer as the air in the room rippled.
Kael froze.
Riley froze.
And then both turned their heads toward the newcomers—Orien, whose stubby paws were still glowing faintly from teleportation, and Liam, whose expression was mainly all large eyes and wide-eyed surprise.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
For one long, unbearable second, nobody moved.
For one fleeting moment, silence reigned again.
Then, out of nowhere, Orien tilted his head, blinked those bright golden eyes, and said in the most matter-of-fact tone imaginable, "Oh. Little Sprite, it seems we need to come back later. They’re mating."
Riley’s brain short-circuited.
"W-WHAT THE?!"
His voice cracked so hard it could’ve split glass.
Everything after that happened at the speed of catastrophe.
Liam, horrified, immediately lunged forward to cover Orien’s eyes. "No! No, you can’t look! Babies can’t see the birds and the bees, or else the stork won’t deliver their siblings!"
"What’s a stork?" Orien asked, still peeking through Liam’s fingers.
"It’s invisible! Close your eyes before it goes extinct!"
"I’m not a baby!" Orien argued, wriggling like a slippery eel as the younger yet bigger boy tried to smother him with both hands.
"Stop seeing!" Liam cried, accidentally tripping over his own feet and dragging the glowing dragonling halfway down with him.
"Stop touching my face!"
"Then stop looking, Lord Orien! The baby!"
In the middle of the chaos, Riley could only sit there—still in Kael’s arms, still shirtless, still processing the fact that he had apparently just been declared part of a mating ritual—while the two small disasters rolled across the floor in a blur of limbs, wings, and shouting.
"Oh god," Riley croaked weakly.
Kael’s eye twitched. Hard. His expression looked a lot like someone contemplating spontaneous combustion.
He took a slow breath. "Out."
Both boys froze mid-grapple.
One word. That was all it took.
The air pulsed with restrained magic, and in an instant, a faint shimmer of gold surrounded the two intruders. They yelped as they were suddenly teleported right out of the room, their muffled voices echoing faintly through the hall.
"Wait, Uncle Kael, we can explai—"
Silence.
Finally.
Riley groaned and buried his face in his hands, the sound halfway between a mortified laugh and a whimper.
Kael muttered something low and dangerous in a language that definitely predated human civilization, his voice rough with pure fury.
Riley peeked through his fingers and caught just enough of the ancient words to know they were curses.
And for some insane reason, that made him start laughing—really laughing—until his shoulders shook.
Kael shot him a look that could have petrified a wyvern.
"Sorry," Riley managed between wheezes, "I just—oh my god—"
The dragon lord pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dress up, unless you want to explain to everyone how you’re suddenly having a baby."
He was still wheezing when he suddenly realized, "Hey! Who’s having a baby?!