They couldn’t think this way. She didn’t belong to any of them, and he had to stop this jealous nonsense. Each of the princes lifted their head to watch him, but no one spoke.
“She’s a fertility goddess, for goodness sake!” Anthony shrugged, trying to convince himself as much as the others. “Sex is going to be involved in this contest. That’s a given. I think we all knew that going in, and no one here is to shame her.” He glared at each prince in turn. “Do you understand? You will not make her feel bad about this or push her to do anything sexual, or you’ll answer me.”
“Don’t be an idiot.” Killian wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I would never dream of doing that.”
“None of us would,” Zane added, a deadly serious expression on his face as he glared at Anthony. “We care for her too, Anthony.”
Anthony turned his attention to the dragon shifter. “Draven?”
“Tina has no trouble telling me ‘no,’” the prince of the dragons said as he lifted his hands in gentle surrender, “and she’s been the boss from day one. I will always do what she says.”
Though Anthony hated to admit it to himself, every one of these men adored Tina as genuinely as he did. She was safe with each of them, and that simple fact pushed his possessive nature into overdrive.
He headed for the door. “We’re done sparring.”
“Where are you going?” Zane asked.
“To tell Tina what happened.” Anthony glared at the tiger shifter. “I think she’ll want to know, don’t you?”
“Perhaps we should …” Zane’s voice trailed off.
Anthony frowned. “Is anyone going to try to stop me?”
Each of the four princes hesitated a moment, but they slowly shook their heads. They had to have known Anthony had a history with Tina, and they seemed to be respecting his need to protect her by backing off.
“Smart move,” he muttered, pushing open the door as he headed for her room.
43
Tina
“Wow,” Tina said softly as she and Anthony sat in the royal gardens.
Draven’s powers had finally manifested. She had been wondering when it would happen, or if the books and her own high priestess had all been wrong. Yet here they were, and true to the legends and myths about her goddess, Tina could give the men she slept with magical abilities. To be told it would happen was one thing, but to know it was the truth, well, Tina didn’t quite know what to think.
Anthony’s eyebrows tilted upward, wrinkles of worry and sadness in his brow as he studied her face. He looked shattered by the news. It took a moment for Tina to realize he cared less about Flynn’s new powers and more about her.
He was jealous.
Tina sighed, feeling awful. She hated to make him jealous, but she was the living embodiment of a fertility goddess. No apology needed. Quietly, Tina waited to see what he would do.
His gentle grip on her shoulders tightened ever so slightly, and his gaze fell to the floor. “I’m sorry.”
His words surprised her, and she tilted her head a little in confusion.
Anthony continued before she could say a word. “I’ve been so jealous, so possessive of you, but you’re not mine. I don’t share, Tina, I never have, and this contest has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I want you. I want you more than anything, and I can’t imagine losing you. As I much as I hate to admit it out loud, any of these princes would make you incredibly happy. All I can do is hope you choose me. I just … all I can say is … Tina, I’m so sorry.”
Swept away by his sincerity, Tina lost herself in gratitude and love for the wolf shifter. He had only ever tried to protect her, even from the first day they’d met. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.
Anthony held her tight, cradling her head and her waist as though he might lose her at any second. It broke her heart that he had been hurting so deeply, that she had been the cause of any pain at all.
“Do you still want to do this?” she asked softly, setting her forehead against his. “Are you still in the contest?”
“Of course,” he said, cradling the back of her head with his hands. “I will always protect you, Tina, even if you don’t choose me. I just need to know you’re happy. I need to know you’re safe.”
She held him close, savoring the steady pulse of his heartbeat as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. Her beautiful wolf would always protect her, and she loved how cherished he made her feel. No matter what happened, he would always be there for her. With a grateful smile, she gently kissed his temple.
Suddenly, Rose and Lillian’s suggestion to choose all of the princes popped again in Tina’s mind, but each man had a kingdom run. His people would need each of her princes someday, and she wasn’t sure it would be fair of her to choose them all. It hadn’t seemed like a real option, even when the girls had suggested it, but Tina couldn’t deny the simple fact that every prince had stolen a piece of her heart. If she chose just one, she couldn’t imagine the fallout and heartbreak that would follow.
44
Flynn
The flight from Olympus to the dragonlands had been a quick one, and thankfully uneventful. No attacks. No threats. No traitors.
Yet.
Situated somewhere in the royal gardens, Flynn stared out over the sprawling city of Mersarth, elbow resting on one knee. The king had forbidden any of Tina’s suitors from leaving the palace grounds, so Flynn was restricted to the gardens just outside his bedroom suite.
Once they had landed, Draven had whisked Tina away almost instantly to explore the vast lands of Mersarth, leaving Flynn and the others to wait behind in the dragons’ palace.
The castle sat on a cliff overlooking a sprawling city of skyscrapers and mansions. A dense rainforest dotted the horizon, which Flynn had honestly not expected. He’d assumed Australia was all deserts and cacti, but the island’s northern coast was dotted instead with lush woods and ancient trees. A dark storm rumbled over the distant forest, and his skin prickled with the warning of rain.
Boots shuffled over the path nearby, and Flynn tensed as Anthony sat on the ground beside him. It unnerved Flynn that the wolf shifter could get almost right behind him without Flynn’s enhanced senses picking up so much as a sniff of the shifter’s scent.
Without saying a word, Anthony studied the buildings below. He leaned back on his hands, legs outstretched as the two princes sat in silence.
Flynn studied the wolf shifter, wondering why the man had joined him in the gardens. Before Tina, a rival prince joining him usually ended in insults or a fistfight. Lately, however, it had become increasingly difficult to think of the other princes as competitors. Truthfully, they became more and more like brothers every time they sparred. On their days without Tina, that was pretty much all any of them did, and they slowly made each other better fighters with every critique and word of advice.
Rivals didn’t build each other up like this. Friends did. It seemed alien to think of the other princes as anything besides a threat, but Tina had brought them together.
Of them, Anthony was the only one who had a history with Tina. He cared for her, clearly wanted to protect her from anything and everyone. Flynn hated the thought of losing, but he had to think of what would be best for the woman he cared so much about.
“You would be good for her,” Flynn admitted.
Anthony’s brows knit together in confusion, and he didn’t respond.
Flynn felt the need to elaborate. “If I lose this contest, I want to be beaten by someone worthy, someone who will protect her. I like the other princes, but if I lose, it had better be to you.”
Anthony’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s the first compliment you’ve ever given me.”
Flynn nodded. “Don’t get used to me saying nice things.”
The wolf shifter laughed. “Noted.”
Flynn’s eyes glossed over as the distant storm rumbled, and he cracked his knuckles absently. “If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I could leave her even if I lost.”