Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
He was vaguely aware of Ravi shouting, as well, and a wonderful heat filling him, but it all felt so distant. Everything was blistering joy and pleasure.
A shiver ran through him from head to toe as he collapsed, limp, on the bed. Ravi carefully pulled free and dropped down beside him.
Sora used what little energy he had left to turn his head and take in his lover’s sweat-streaked face and enormous grin.
“Sounds like…I did…okay,” Ravi panted.
Sora laughed. “Incredible. So incredible that we’re going to do it again and again and again.”
He broke off at the sound of Ravi’s wonderful laugh. He loved it. He wanted that sound to fill his days and nights for the rest of his life.
Leaning close, Ravi pressed a sweet kiss to his lips and then the tip of his nose. “Be right back.”
The wind dragon jumped out of bed and darted for the bathroom, because of course Ravi had energy. Sora would have some soon enough. Right now, he just wanted to bask in the glow.
He closed his eyes and listened to the water turning on and off. The bed shifted near his legs, and Ravi was suddenly cleaning him off with a warm, damp cloth. Sora lifted his head enough to look over his shoulder. He saw Ravi was smiling, but his eyes were worried.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I wasn’t too rough?”
Cherished. He was cherished.
Rolling onto his back, Sora held his arms out to the dragon. “Come here.”
Ravi tossed the cloth to the floor and snagged a blanket before sliding into Sora’s waiting arms. They snuggled close under the blanket, becoming a tangle of limbs and smiles.
“You were amazing. Perfect. I’ve never felt anything like that.”
“Really?” Ravi’s nose wrinkled for a second. “Beginner’s luck?”
“No, it was perfect because of what you said. I’m your mage. You’re my dragon.”
Ravi released a happy hum as he settled his head on Sora’s shoulder. “I like that.”
They lay quietly for a moment, Sora listening to the sound of Ravi breathing, feeling their bodies pressed together. He’d missed this connection all day.
“Sora?”
He opened his eyes, smiling. Ravi was not one to sit still for a moment. His mind was always working, and his body was close behind. Ravi had leaned up on his elbow so he could look down into Sora’s eyes.
“Yes.”
“Thank you for inviting the wind dragons here.”
“Of course.”
Ravi’s face twisted a little with an emotion Sora couldn’t quite read.
“No, really. Thank you. I don’t think you understand what this means to me. I didn’t know how important it was until they were standing right there. I didn’t know how much I needed them until they got here.”
His lover paused and sucked in a ragged breath. Sora could feel an answering lump forming in his throat, but he waited, giving Ravi a chance to gather his thoughts.
“Please understand that I love my family here. I’ve been so happy my entire life. I would have continued to be happy as I was, but meeting Balin, Chandi, and Sahan…it was so amazing.
“Balin told me stories about my parents that Alric and Dieter didn’t even know. He told me things I didn’t even know to ask! Like, I’d given up knowing more about my parents, I thought I’d learned all there was to know. I used to lie awake some nights, as a kid, wondering which parts of myself I’d gotten from my mother, which parts from my father. Now, I don’t have to wonder anymore. I know. I have people I can ask if there’s something else I want to know—and all of that is huge.”
Ravi finally sucked in a breath, his eyes burning brightly.
“I’d lost so much without realizing it. And today I gained some of it back. Chandi and Sahan told me about their lives, growing up. They even taught me a few things that I didn’t know about wind dragons.”
Sora cupped Ravi’s cheek and wiped away a stray tear that had slipped from the corner of his eye. He was so glad he’d followed the impulse to call Ravi’s family in to meet him. The joy that radiated from Ravi was infectious.
“No one thinks you’re ungrateful or that you don’t love your family simply because you’ve finally met wind dragons. Because you’ve met blood relatives. We all know your heart is big enough to include the Burkhard Clan as well as the Yamuna Dragons.”
“Thank you,” Ravi whispered against his lips. “Thank you. Thank you. The words don’t seem big enough for what you’ve done.”
“Your smile is all the thanks I need.”
“Still…thank you. I feel like I have a better understanding now of what it means to be me. No one else has ever been able to give me such a gift.”
Sora closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Ravi’s. His heart skipped and jumped in his chest. He would rearrange the heavens to make his dragon happy.