Sipping an Old Fashioned as she luxuriated in the wide gold and blue-tiled pool, gazing up at the ornate colonnades of white desert stone and towering palm trees whispering in the summer wind, Layla felt truly relaxed in a way she hadn’t for ages. As she thought back, she’d not felt this much peace ever; her entire life pushed by the simmering rage of her Dragon even before it had opened up in the Bind. Her young life had always been seared by that intensity, her collegiate and grad school days – but now, for the first time, her enormous passions and Desert heat felt tempered by all her men.
And understanding herself at last, as a Royal Dragon Bind.
As if feeling her reminisce, Reginald suddenly rose from the lounger he was sunning on naked near the pool, except for his pearl Siren talisman at his wrist. Folding his newspaper, he glanced at Layla from over his chic 1950’s shades, then slapped his newspaper down to his lounger as he took up a sky-blue and gold embroidered silk dressing-robe, slinging it on over his deliciously honed body.
Moving gracefully to the pool, he sat down at the rim, lifting his sunglasses and holding back his wealth of sleek golden hair as he gave her the stunning force of his sea-grey eyes, sparkling with gold in the mid-afternoon. Dangling his high-arched feet in the water, Reginald arranged his robe so Layla couldn’t see anything, only the stark musculature of his creamy white chest where the robe gaped. It was tantalizingly frustrating after she’d been watching him naked on his lounger for the last thirty minutes, and Layla lifted an eyebrow at him as he lifted one right back.
Smiling with an ocean of light sparkling in his eyes.
“What are you thinking about, Layla?” Reginald asked as he reached out, cupping her cheek sweetly and running his thumb over her lower lip.
“You. Obviously.” Layla snorted, loving Reginald’s ridiculously sexy nature and fun teasing when he was relaxed. “I mean, how could I not? Look at you.”
“I look at me all the time. Naked in front of the mirror. Or while I’m fucking.” Reginald smiled deviantly back, sounding almost like Dusk in vacation-mode before smiling more gently. “But really, Layla. I can feel your energy doing this slow, fascinating dance, and it moves me. Care to share what’s going on inside that mind of yours?”
“I was just thinking how calm I feel in my life now.” Layla smiled as she reached out, stroking Reginald’s high-arched foot and sculpted calf, admiring his strength and lean musculature. His ultra-smooth skin was just so nice to touch, she couldn’t help herself. “I used to be so volatile before my drakaina opened, and then when she did, it was chaos until I Bound all of you. Then it was chaos because we didn’t have a moment to breathe, fighting Hunter and planning for his next awfulness. Now… I still feel my passions, but it has this beautiful calm to it finally. And I like it.”
“Some might call that maturation,” Reginald spoke as he stroked her neck now, not seductive but simply sweet. “Not only is your magic finally maturing, Layla, smoothing out in its character and intensity, but you’ve come into your true power as a Royal Dragon Bind at last. Your power isn’t lust or eros or rage, not like I thought at first. It’s love and compassion – two amazingly strong elements that will only increase as our Bind grows over the years.”
“I love being in love with all of you.” Layla spoke, enjoying his touch.
“We love being in love with you, too.” Dusk chimed in now to their conversation as he strode naked out from underneath a shaded veranda, removing sexy modern shades as he came. Setting them aside on a blue-tiled table, he moved cockily to the pool’s edge, lowering down to sit on the rim beside Reginald and kick his feet impudently through the water – making the most of his hard soccer-player’s body with all its intricate lines of midnight-sapphire scales and gold, plus his delicious washboard of rock-hard abs. As Layla blushed at his ostentatiously male display, Dusk laughed. Settling back on his elbows, he waggled his eyebrows.
“So love, right?” He rumbled teasingly, rippling the water of the pool in whitecaps. “I mean, it’s nice and all… but what about sex?”
“Ohmigod! We just had sex an hour ago!” Layla laughed now, slapping his strong, cut thigh teasingly before she changed her mind and ran her hand over his smoothly serrated midnight scales. “Are you always on for a booty call?”
“Basically, yes. With the people I love.” Dusk grinned, his diamond-sapphire eyes flashing in the sunlight as he winked at Layla, then gave one to Reginald.
But before Dusk could continue their fun banter in their decadently relaxing day, a commotion broke the afternoon as a veritable army of Desert Dragon porters began whisking in massive crates and boxes and even Victorian steamer-trunks. Moving everything on their winds, they deposited their burdens along one wall of the veranda as one of the Wahdi Atlamenta King’s Guards orchestrated where to put everything. Blinking at the noise and bustle, the outdoor walkway filling with all kinds of sundry now, Layla bristled at the interruption – until their Head King’s Guard Armaud Ahalwii saw her and her Bind-mates over by the pool and stepped up with a brisk bow.
“Forgive me, my Queen.” Armaud spoke quickly with a professional smile. “I don’t wish to interrupt your quiet afternoon, but the Moroccan Clan First insisted everything be moved in to the King’s apartments today from Riad Rhakvir.”
“Can’t it wait?” Layla blinked, moving close to the side of the pool so Armaud wouldn’t be looking at her naked body in the water.
“It certainly cannot wait.” A lovely alto voice with a Mediterranean accent came into the garden now, as the stately Rachida Rhakvir rounded the colonnades in one of her spring-green caftan gowns, inspecting all the crates and boxes with a critical eye. “No! Don’t put that there, it contains delicate ceramic vases, can’t you see the wordfragileon it?! Over here, where you’ll not pile books atop it. Good. And those are all just clothing, you can put those here.” Shaking her head, Rachida came to the pool, taking up Layla’s embroidered gold and sapphire women’s robe from her lounge chair and extending it. “Here, Layla, you might as well put this on. The porters will be at it for twenty minutes or so.”
“Thanks.” Pushing up out of the pool as Reginald and Dusk stood also, Layla accepted her robe from Adrian’s aunt, putting it on and hooking the front closed. As everyone faced the commotion, Dusk didn’t bother putting anything on, comfortable with his nudist self.
“So what is all this?” Reginald frowned at the boxes now piling up through the quadrangle.
“Adrian’s things from the Riad.” Rachida spoke briskly, waving her hands and directing traffic as the porters tried to pile something heavy upon more delicates. “Now that he’s Desert Dragon King, he’s decided to move into the palace here full-time. So I started moving his things.”
“Without my permission. Which you’ve never given a damn about, apparently, even if it’s now coming from your King.” Adrian chuckled as he exited through a vaulted Moroccan arch from the indoor apartments to the veranda and garden. Tall and regal in a beautifully sculpted silk robe of turquoise and red with gold borders and wind-pattern that hooked up the front, he shook his head at the activity, tousling a hand through his short black hair with a combination of amusement and exasperation. “You and I just spoke about me moving out of the Riadthis morning, Rachida. I didn’t mean for you to chuck my shit out the window today.”
“You know how busy I am remodeling the Riad to make living space for all the clan members who want to come join us there, Adrian!” Rachida returned hotly now, waving her hand at his crates and boxes. “Everyone wants to live closer to the Desert Dragon King now to curry your favor, and since you made me the Moroccan and Mediterranean Clan First at your Kingship ceremony, I have taken the reins. Your life is here now; so your things had to go. This is just the first wave, the rest will be arriving later this evening – along with Dusk and Layla’s belongings.”
“I guess I don’t get a choice, do I?” Adrian chuckled as his eyes flashed with amused turquoise-gold fire. Moving forward, he gripped Rachida’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for organizing all this. Really. You’re right; my life is here now, and I need to just let it happen.”
“Thank you for admitting I’m right.” Rachida reached up, patting Adrian’s cheek with tender fire. As she beamed at Adrian, Emir Tousk rounded the colonnades in one of his military-black suits, his dark eyes watchful upon the commotion. Seeing everyone by the pool, he came over, kissing Rachida and Layla’s cheeks before reaching out to grip Adrian’s shoulder. “That’s the last of the first load.” He spoke in his gruff commander’s growl, though his gaze was kind. “We’ll be back tonight with the rest. Come on, Rachida, leave the boy and his mates in peace. Gods know they’ve had a busy last few days, not to mention last many weeks.”
“Of course.” Rachida spoke with a smile as she patted Adrian’s cheek again, then Layla’s. “You lovebirds take your time getting to know each other now that you have it. Ruling as Desert Dragon King and Queen will demand much out of you – though I daresay we’ll have peace for a while now that that odious Hunter is gone and Desert Dragons around the world are finally coming together under some much-needed leadership. But enough! We’ll get out of your scales. Emir!”
As Emir gave them all a deep nod, his lips quirking at how Rachida ordered everyone around, Rachida gave hugs and kisses, even for the very nude Dusk. Flicking her fingers at the porters and her Greek paramour Soukos, whom Layla saw helping the porters now as if he was one, Rachida had them all bustling out in half a minute, leaving the Bind-mates alone by the pool once more.
A veritable horde of crates and boxes lined up all throughout the King’s quadrangle.
“Good thing it almost never rains out here.” Dusk chuckled as he took it all in. “And they got it mostly stashed beneath the porticos. Jesus, Adrian, I didn’t even know you had so much stuff!”
