The dream-smoke lingered like a bad aftertaste even after Alex opened his eyes.
He lay motionless in the wide sleeping alcove, the soft furs and woven blankets warm beneath him. Naga's coils were a living blanket—cool, smooth, and heavy around his waist and thighs, one loop curled protectively over the gentle but unmistakable swell of his belly. Lucas pressed against his back, the wolf lord's arm draped possessively across him, palm resting right over the curve where new life grew. Leo had shifted in his sleep; his white ears on his head flicking with each motion in the room. Zale's merman form floated serenely in the shallow basin nearby, the mer-prince's presence a soft, constant coolness that kept the air from growing too warm.
