The Triplets Pt. 02

Meredith separated from the women, annoyed with their complaining. Aiden had just passed out and they were indignant over not being allowed to watch him get treated? She doubted any of them would be of any help to the healer who had his own assistants at hand. Even if she was feeling anxious about Aiden, there was little she would be able to do to help him at the moment. Meredith comforted herself with the fact that the healer had said Aiden would be fine in a few moments.

Eventually, the women left and returned to the arena. Meredith sat in an arm-chair and waited impatiently for someone to come out of the room where Aiden was being patched up. Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, Grey stuck his head out and spotted her. He motioned for her to come inside and held the door open until she passed through.

Meredith hurried past, relieved when she saw that Aiden was awake. He was propped up on a small cot; his neck and upper shoulders wrapped with bandages. They hadn't cleaned up all of the blood from his body, but someone had drawn up the covers over his lap. Aiden smiled at her and beckoned her closer.

"I hear I have you to thank for saving my life, Esa Meredith," he said. His voice was a bit weak, but held the usual amount of cheer she had come to expect from him.

Meredith stood speechless for a moment as frustrated tears welled in her eyes. Clenching her hands to try to hold them back, Meredith fought to bring her disconcerting emotions under control. Aiden tilted his head and lifted a hand towards her face in concern. As soon as his hand stroked comfortingly over her cheek, Meredith's tears began streaming down her face. Her breathing turning into great heaving sobs.

"You. . .idiot! I. . . You. . .almost died!" she gasped between breaths.

Aiden's eyes widened and he gaped at her for a moment. She wanted to laugh at his utterly bewildered expression, but could only hiccup around her tears. Then he tried to draw her against his side, but she slapped at his hand. He wince as the motion jerked his arm. A wave of guilt flooded her and she found herself crying harder. He shushed her and pulled her head to his bare chest, slowly running a hand through her hair and muttering low, soothing words. Meredith bowed her head, hiding her face against his warmth, the scent of his blood strong in her nose.

She cried for an eternity, but eventually, Meredith pulled herself together. She tried to pull away from Aiden but his arms held her firmly in place, her wet cheek pressed against his now blood and tear stained chest. Aiden continued to comb his fingers through her hair. It was hypnotizing and was swiftly making her drowsy. At some point in her crying she had ended up on the bed with him, curled into his side.

Meredith bit her lip, completely embarrassed at her uncontrolled display of emotions, but disconcertingly comfortable huddled against Aiden. She breathed in deeply, wiping the tear tracks from her face. Despite the streaks of blood on his body, Aiden had a crisp, earthy scent. It reminded her of spruce needles and fall leaves.

His hand moved from her hair to her chin, lifting her face to his. Meredith tried to turn her face away, but her drew her back and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. Agonizingly slowly, he feathered his lips down to her cheek bone. Meredith held still, afraid to move and uncertain what to do next. Aiden's mouth hovered at the corner of her lips, his breath warm against her skin. She shivered as a bolt of anticipation shot through her.

"May I kiss you, Meredith?" he whispered, lips moving seductively against her skin.

Meredith opened her eyes, hesitating. Simply letting him kiss her would have been easier, but left with the decision, she didn't know if that was the smartest impulse. Most of her wanted to toss sensibility out and kiss Aiden. The other, smaller part of her, argued that Aiden was the type of man who thought of women lightly. He didn't take heed of the majority of the constricting customs the dragon bloods lived by; the rules that she herself lived by. She bit her lip as the tense silence between them stretched uncomfortably.

Meredith looked into his eyes, trying to search for a sign that he at least cared for her in some small way. This close, his eyes were a blue mystery, now tinged with the coveted gold of his family blood line. Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers brushed her hair away from her face. She could feel her chest and face color as she flushed. His eyes were patient, expectant.

Aiden continued to hold himself still, not pressing his advance. Reasoning that it was only a kiss, Meredith closed the minuscule distance between them and placed her lips against his. His lips opened slightly, gently drawing her deeper. Meredith tentatively moved her lips as well, learning from Aiden's soft coaxing. It was then that she realized kissing Aiden was most certainly not just a simple kiss.

As if he had heard the thought, a rumble vibrated through his chest. The sound seem to resonate deep into her bones, warming her insides, awakening something primal within her. Meredith recognized the mating thrum even as her body instinctively responded to it. She could almost feel her insides melting, submitting to the strong pull of his thrum and thickening scent. The combination was intoxicating.

Unconsciously, Meredith pressed her body against Aiden's, moaning as his hands began to stroked over her arms and back. His thrumming grew louder as his mouth devoured hers, his lips hot and hungry. A knock at the door made Meredith jerk away, flushing and panting for breath.

Aiden's rumble died abruptly as he grunted, his face creased slightly with annoyance. Meredith slipped off the bed just as the door opened. Greyson entered, carrying with him a tray of food. He lifted a brow questioningly when he looked at Aiden's expression, but approached the bed anyway, laying the tray over Aiden's lap.

"Well, I'm glad you are okay, Aiden. I'll just. . ." Meredith said, trying to keep her voice even.

"You're leaving?"

Meredith glared at Aiden. She could hear the teasing note beneath the exaggerated, distraught tone.

"Yes. I have other appointments to keep," she lied.

"I'll only forgive you if you promise to visit tomorrow," Aiden said.

Meredith stopped in the doorway, shifting her weight. With a sigh, she looked back at Aiden and nodded.

"I'll come back tomorrow," she whispered.

(Aiden)

Aiden shrugged at Grey's inquiring look. With a single look, Aiden knew that Grey was conveying a multitude of questions. He decided it would just be easier to be truthful, especially since Grey tended not to nag, unlike Kaleb.

"I don't know. I feel like I'm behaving quite strange as well, but I can't help it. When Meredith is near. . . it seems like. . . I can't control these urges I feel towards her."

Grey stayed silent, but Aiden knew he was listening intently by the occasional nods of his head.

"I was thrumming before I even realized it."

That fact frightened him. A mating thrum was reserved for mates, permanent mates. The vibrations and deep sound encouraged females into being more receptive to mating and prepare them for breeding. The last thing Aiden needed was to drag Meredith into an unwanted bonding. His father would be furious and his mother would kill him.

His wound burned from moving his arms so much. He hadn't even noticed until Meredith had left the room. Sighing, Aiden rubbed a hand over the bandages.

"Perhaps. . . you should bond with Esa Meredith. You obviously seem interested and if it is properly done, both mother and father will be happy."

Aiden stared at his brother in disbelief. On one hand, he knew that the suggestion was valid and most definitely worth considering, except that, well, he was Aiden. He was probably the least desirable husband among the dragons. All he really had was his illustrious blood-line to offer. He would not subject himself nor any female to a life married to him. He'd most likely stay long enough to fulfill his duty to sire a child before sailing off to the south again.

"Grey, this is me, remember? I'd sooner take a seat on the council before marrying."

Aiden stabbed at the food on the tray. Grey looked at him disapprovingly.

"Then, what are you doing?" Grey asked.

Aiden sighed. "I don't know."

Without knocking, Kaleb entered the room followed swiftly by their mother. She fussed over him for a moment before scolding him, almost in the same breath. He was infinitely grateful that she had not caught him with Meredith. Aiden smiled at her, trying to reassure her that he was fine. It was Grey who drew her aside and got her to calm down. Once she had been reassured that he wasn't going to die, she left, complaining about being too busy to tend to him. Kaleb only gave him a mock admonishing look, which was eerily similar to their father's.

Aiden grinned at his younger brother, who rolled his eyes and smiled as well.

"Bloodied you good. I heard you didn't even leave a scratch on him," Kaleb said.

"On purpose. Only an amateur draws blood during practice," Aiden sniffed.

Grey chuckled quietly. "That didn't stop Es Dane. He had no qualms drawing first blood."

Aiden shrugged nonchalantly. "He's a red," he said simply.

(Meredith)

"Esa Meredith, you keep touching your lip. Are you alright?"

Meredith flushed in embarrassment and quickly dropped her hand.

"Yes, I'm alright."

She tried to pay attention to the conversation, but her mind kept straying to her kiss with Aiden. Her lips tingled at the vivid memory. Meredith forced her hand to stay in her lap, but the pleasant sensation lingered. Her kiss with Aiden hadn't been her first, but she couldn't really compare it to Aiden's kiss. It had been short and polite. Aiden had given her a sweet and incredibly pleasurable experience.

Though, she felt a stab of jealousy when she thought about how much he had practiced on other women to be so fluent at pleasuring a woman when only their mouths had touched. Meredith still wasn't sure if kissing Aiden had been a mistake. On one hand, she was quite sure another opportunity would never come again, but she doubted she would ever be able to forget the feeling of his kiss.

Abruptly, the women around her rose to their feet as Eta Celia approached their table. Meredith hastily stood as well, smoothing back her hair nervously.

"Ah, Esa Meredith, I've been looking for you. I heard you saved my Aiden today."

Meredith bowed her head respectfully to the woman before politely offering her a seat.

"No, no. I can't stay long. I've only come to ask a favor of you. You see, Aiden is quite impatient and I fear that he'll escape the healers before his wounds have a chance to heal properly. I've come to ask if you'd sit with him for a few hours. Just until he isn't in any danger of reopening his wound."

"I'd be honored, Eta Celia. Only, I'm sure one of his brothers..."

"Oh no, Meredith. His brothers are much too busy to sit with him. Only Greyson is too sweet to actually say so to his face. Kaleb, on the other hand." Eta Celia tutted and shook her head.

Eta Celia left as quickly as she had come, having successfully extracted the promise from Meredith. The ladies around her immediately offered to go along with her. Meredith could see the jealousy beneath their carefully neutral expressions. As delicately as she could, Meredith declined their offers. She lied about how Aiden wouldn't want to show the women his weak side, especially if one of them would end up as his potential mate. She mentally grimaced on that last lie as the women, appeased, chatted excitedly about the brothers.

Despite having left Aiden a few hours ago, she was looking forward to seeing him again. Her belly fluttered anxiously when she thought about the two of them alone once more. Though she'd embarrassed herself by crying in front of him, the memory was quite overshadowed by the kiss that had followed.

Pulling herself from her circling thoughts, Meredith was relieved to find the ladies were drawing their social lunch to a close. Some were arranging to visit a few designer clothing stores afterwards, but luckily she now had an excuse.

It was a long walk back to the arena where she assumed Aiden was still at. She figured that they wouldn't move him for a few days to prevent the wound from accidentally reopening. She was right. The healer that greeted her directed her to the same room.

Meredith knocked on the door. There was no response. Meredith knocked again. When silence answered her again, she cracked the door open slightly and peeked inside. The sight of the empty bed made her wrench open the door. Looking around, she found the room equally empty. The sound of the window shutters tapping against the wall from the wind drew her attention. The window was open. Shocked, she told herself that Aiden couldn't possibly have escaped out the window.

Meredith hurried over and leaned out, looking to either side for any glimpse of Aiden. He had pressed himself against the wall, bandages peeking out from beneath his shirt. He gave her a sheepish grin.

"Knew I should have closed that window."

"Aiden! If you don't get back into this bed I'm going to tell your mother."

"You wouldn't," he said a feigned expression of horror on his face.

"I would. Or worse, I'll tell various ladies that you specifically requested their tender attentions."

"Esa Meredith, you are vicious."

Meredith rested an elbow on the sill and propped her head on her hand. She shrugged at Aiden's comment, but ruined the effect by smiling.

"Well move over then. I can't have a herd of ladies tromping about. I'd never be able to get away."

Meredith raised her eyebrows, having obligingly moved out from the window.

"You think you'd escape from me?"

Aiden swung his leg over and sat on the window sill as he looked at her. His lips quirked up mischievously and his eye narrowed at her challenge.

"Easily."