He raised an eyebrow. “But what?”
“I think if you provided the sacrifice candidates with more information ahead of time, then they would be less likely to be scared when they arrive. Knowing about things like the mate frenzy—which I know is rare, but still, it can catch a girl by surprise—and the welcoming ceremony. Stuff like that would’ve helped me set expectations. I might be a bit strong-willed, but to go through what I went through and be an introvert, well, that could crack such a person.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “A ‘bit’ strong-willed? Woman, you nearly put Bram to shame.”
She grinned and his heart skipped a beat at the same time as blood rushed straight to his cock. If it weren’t for Ara needing him right now, he would go over to the human, pin her against the wall, and kiss the ever-loving shit out of her beautiful mouth.
And that was just what his human-half wanted to do with her. His dragon-half was far more interested in caressing her skin, thrusting between her thighs, and making her scream out their name in pleasure. His beast wanted to bury himself in the human to try to forget all about Arabella’s hurt and stress. Yes, they needed to fuck her. That would make them feel better. The sadness would go away.
Before he could stop it, an image of Melanie on her hands and knees in the grass, his hands gripping her beautiful, full arse as he pounded into her tight *, flashed into his mind.
His dragon hummed. Yes. We should fuck her in the grass. Soon. She would like that.
You can’t know that.
She’ll like it.
His cock was now at attention and one-hundred percent on board with that fantasy, but as his sister moved against his side, he felt guilty and mentally said to his dragon, Not now.
He knew his dragon’s need for sex was instinctual, and there was nothing he could do about it. Fighting his dragon’s instinct tended to make things worse in the end, but he could at least delay this particular battle until after his sister was taken care of.
There was a knock on the door and he focused back on the here and now. That would be Bram, and he hoped his leader could do something for Arabella.
He tried to pry Ara’s arms from around his waist, but her arms only tightened around him. He poked his sister in the side. “Let go. I need to answer the door.”
She shook her head against his side. “No. I don’t want Bram. He’ll force me to talk about the dragon hunters or try to talk to my dragon.”
With any luck, yes, he would.
Normally, he’d argue with his sister until she gave in, but right now, she was still half-trapped inside her memories. Otherwise, she’d have fled out the back door by now.
He tightened his grip on Arabella to make sure that didn’t happen and he looked at Melanie. “Can you answer the door and let Bram in?”
She nodded, set down her tea, and went to the door. He tried his hardest not to watch her arse as she walked, but he failed. He was mesmerized by the full plumpness of her hips as they swayed with each step she took. His dragon growled inside his head to slap her arse and pull her close.
His inner beast said, Our female will help erase our sadness. Hold her. Squeeze her. Then you’ll feel better.
Shut it, dragon.
His dragon huffed but went quiet again.
By the time Melanie came into the room with Bram, he had mostly managed to get both himself and his dragon under control. His clan leader kept his distance, but Tristan could see the concern in his eyes for his hurting clan members. “What do you want me to do, Tristan?”
He looked down at Ara and back to his clan leader. “Talk to her and see if you can get her out of her head. Despite what we thought, her dragon-half is still there. I saw her eyes flash to slits twice.”
Surprise flashed in Bram’s eyes before he studied Arabella with his piercing blue gaze. Tristan hoped his friend was coming up with a plan. If anyone could help his sister, it was Stonefire’s leader.
Finally, Bram nodded. “Right. I’ll try. But if I can get her away from you, I think it’s best for you and Melanie to leave while I work my clan leader magic on her.”
Bram was hiding it well as he always did, but Tristan could sense the dragonman’s unease and sadness concerning Arabella. He decided to ease the tension in the room. “And by magic, I hope you don’t mean your dick.”
Bram smiled. “Not that my cock isn’t like magic on a stick, but no, Tristan, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me. After all, I remember Ara as a wee thing. She’s like a sister to me.”
Tristan smiled and nodded. “Right. Sit on the other side of her and take a hold of her shoulders. She’s probably too far gone to run, but I’m not taking any chances.”
He waited to see if Arabella would protest, but she must’ve retreated back into her memories because she didn’t so much as move.