Billionaire Dragons' Fated: BBW Paranormal Dragon Shifter Menage Romance by Anya Nowlan Page B

head rest on his wide shoulder. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and it was as loud as Jade’s, booming with each beat.
    “You did the right thing, Jade. If you’d gone anywhere else, they would have found you and got rid of you already. We can protect you. And you’re not ruining our lives. You’re making them better.”
    She wanted to ask why, but she didn’t. As if instinctively, they told her anyway.
    “This is not something we’re doing because we have to, Jade,” Apollo said.
    His usual happy grin was wiped off his face, and he looked serious and in control. She could see the resemblance between him and Alexander more than ever now. Her body molded against Alexander’s touch, and her fingers gripped Apollo’s. As he spoke, calm slowly settled in her again – an emotion she had found to be fleeting lately.
    “It’s hard to explain this to you now, but we need this as much as you do. This is not you messing with our lives or changing something we didn’t want changed. When we met you, we knew there was something special about you, and that feeling has only grown. I promise you, we’ll explain everything over time, but for now, just trust us when I say that we couldn’t be happier to do this. I couldn’t think of anyone else as our mate,” Apollo finished.
    His blue eyes drilled into her soul, and she nodded meekly, pushing down the last of her impending sobs. Alexander squeezed her arm, and Apollo’s fingers brushed over the top of her hand, sending a different kind of tingle through her. Her core pulsed as if her body had decided that the emotional turmoil she was going through was something that could be dealt with later. Much later.
    “Okay. I trust you,” she said finally, smiling gently.
    The men relaxed. It was like the air cleared suddenly, and Jade could feel relief flood Alexander. He relaxed his muscles, which had been coiled and hard as iron, and pressed a small kiss on the top of her head. It came out of the blue, but it felt so inexplicably natural that she couldn’t think to be surprised by it.
    Apollo thrust his hand into his pocket and conjured up a small, worn-looking black velvet bag. He turned Jade’s hand around and placed it in her palm.
    “What is it?” Jade asked, opening it gingerly.
    She spilled the contents on her palm and gasped as the heated stone touched her skin. An odd, dark pendant with a simple chain rested on her hand, the stone seeming to both glow under the light and consume it all at the same time. It was hot to the touch, just like the dragons themselves.
    “It’s a dragon stone,” Alexander said, taking it from her hand and carefully putting it around her neck. “If you ever need us or are in danger, you can use this to call for us. You just have to think of us and we will know where you are. We will find you and come to you.”
    “You need to wear this so we know you’re safe. Okay?” Apollo asked.
    Jade thought he looked nervous for that passing moment between him asking and her answering. It made her wonder how much of themselves the Goldplains were truly putting into this – to being there with her.
    “Good. Let’s eat!” Apollo said with a grin, as Katie wobbled to the table, carrying the biggest assortment of fish and other seafood Jade had ever seen.
    You’ll figure everything out later, Jade told herself as Alexander reluctantly let go of her.
    That was something she’d been telling herself a lot lately. But as it often happened, the Goldplains could fill her with hope, and she didn’t have to feel bad about it. She just hoped that they were right – that she could give as much to them as they gave to her.

CHAPTER TWELVE
    Alexander
     
    He hadn’t felt this way since he was a teenager, and frankly, it was a bit unnerving.
    It’s just a walk by the riverside. You’ve been around her countless times already. Just don’t freak her out and everything will be fine.
    But how was Alexander going to keep from freaking