The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL]-Chapter 337: Occupational Hazard

It started with the ankle.

Or was it the arch of his foot? Riley couldn’t remember which one, but he remembered Kael nearly sending him to the afterlife just by paying attention to the curve of Riley’s ankle.

The spent black dragon lay back against the pillows, his breath hitching as Kael settled between his legs. One of Riley’s legs was hoisted up, his foot held firmly in Kael’s large, warm hand. Riley had opened his mouth to say something—a protest, a joke, anything to break the sudden, heavy tension—but the words died in his throat.

Instead, his brain did that awful thing where it abandoned all dignity and went straight into focusing on the feel of skin on skin.

Gods.

Kael did not simply hold his foot. That would have been too merciful.

No. His dragon lord traced the line of Riley’s heel with his thumb, slow and deliberate, eyes lowered with an attention that felt uncomfortably reverent. It was the kind of focus people reserved for sacred relics, priceless artifacts, or something they were very tempted to keep.

This was, somehow, more intimate than being kissed.

When Kael finally looked up, golden gaze burning with that familiar, quiet possessiveness, Riley’s brain short-circuited.

It was impossible to miss his mate’s point when the argument was delivered by the dragon lord, who was quite literally kissing his feet.

It couldn’t possibly get any better than that. And yet he should have known better.

For the next day, he was asked to model those jammers. Just a little inspection that got Riley’s heart hammering.

What could possibly be wrong with them?

Well, nothing.

But apparently, most people went through life completely unaware of how sensitive the back of the knees could be.

This was information he didn’t need. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He didn’t particularly want this knowledge.

But Kael, in his infinite wisdom, decided the ex-mortal should become intimately familiar with this fact for several hours straight.

A lot of prayers were said that day. And Riley most definitely thought of asking about the whereabouts of that laptop he got.

For just where on Eryndra was he getting all these techniques from?

But just by the time the ex-mortal had started to realize what was really happening, it was too late to skip the square leg.

Yeah, that little slip of fabric that might as well be invisible.

At this point, one could have wondered who was instructing whom, because Riley felt he needed a dip in holy water, given the insane reality that his body seemed to have grown to expect it.

It was like he was expecting Kael’s touch, his gaze, his undivided interest.

Absolutely bonkers, really.

He couldn’t even leave the confines of that changing divider because he was just stiff in more ways than one.

And to make things worse, he knew.

He absolutely knew.

That it would be a bad idea to wear that somewhere that would remind him of his mate. Meaning everywhere. Because it was impossible not to think of the man all day everyday.

__

Riley looked at himself in the mirror, and the sight was nothing short of a disaster.

The square leg swimwear hugged his hips with a precision that felt borderline illegal, but it wasn’t the fit of the fabric that bothered him. It was the reflection of the man before him.

It showed a face so flushed it bordered on a fever dream, his skin a deep, betrayed red that stretched all the way down to his chest. His eyes were glazed, hooded with a hazy, lingering heat that he couldn’t shake off no matter how much he blinked.

Most damning of all, the thin, dark fabric was practically being dented by his own stubborn arousal, a vivid testament to exactly how "memorable" Kael’s recent demonstrations had been.

There was just no way he was going out wearing that.

But just because he wouldn’t go out, didn’t mean the golden dragon couldn’t go in.

The shift came fast, and a presence that felt like a localized heatwave stepped into the suddenly small, cramped space.

"Is something wrong?"

Riley looked up at the mirror and nearly choked on his own breath. Kael was standing right behind him, his massive frame dwarfing Riley’s reflection. The dragon’s eyes were no longer human. They were narrowed, the pupils blown into sharp, vertical slits that tracked every ragged rise and fall of Riley’s chest as he waited for the answer to such a simple question.

Now, see, the sensible answer would have been to say, "nothing."

Because really, everything was fine in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, Thyrran had warned them they would feel changes in their bodies and likely their libido as the bond settled, but other than that, it should have been all good.

But Riley woke up a little insane today.

He couldn’t help but live on the furthest of edges. Instead of pulling away, he reached back, grabbed his mate’s large hand, and guided it firmly over the straining fabric of his hardness. He sagged back against Kael’s solid chest like he hadn’t just done something absolutely reckless.

"Mnn...!"

Of course, he would moan. Who wouldn’t moan when he could feel Kael’s heavy palm tracing the unmistakable outline of his shaft over the thin slip of fabric?

Kael didn’t pull away. Instead, he started stroking him, his thumb catching the ridge of Riley’s length through the square leg swimwear.

"Nngh!"

It felt different with the clothes on. Rougher. Hotter. The friction of the material against his sensitive skin was almost too much, adding a faint drag that made every movement feel sharper than it had any right to be.

The golden dragon didn’t bother taking off his mate’s bottoms. In fact, he wanted them to stay on. He leaned in, his breath hot against Riley’s ear, forcing him to keep his eyes on the mirror. He wanted Riley to see exactly what he looked like. He wanted him to see the wreck he’d become and how the head of his shaft was now peeking out from the edge of the swimwear, slick and desperate.

"Honey. You have to look..."

The words were a low growl, the voice of a demon out for any last semblance of Riley’s innocence.

"Look," he murmured.

Riley swallowed and forced his eyes open.

He barely recognized himself.

Flushed. Tense. Completely undone by the way Kael stood behind him, hand still there, presence overwhelming.

He was so incredibly erect he felt like he could hang something from his own shaft. It was a sight that should have been embarrassing, but with Kael’s hand moving rhythmically against him, it was just intoxicating.

Thankfully, Kael always had ways to meet the ex-mortal’s increasing needs. By the time the night finally wound down, Riley’s inner thighs bore the unmistakable proof of Kael’s attention, flushed and sore in a way that made walking a questionable life choice.

It was practically a testament to his mate’s love.

As for the swimwear, it was ruined.

He knew he couldn’t wear it outside now. Not because it didn’t fit, but because the mere sight of it would trigger intrusive thoughts that would leave him stranded in the middle of somewhere inappropriate, thinking about his mate.

"..."

It sounded insane. But unfortunately, for one black dragon, it was a very real occupational hazard.

__

In fact, it had become such a glaring hazard that Riley couldn’t bring himself to wear swim briefs in the presence of his mate and had stashed them far under the boardshorts he had decided to bring to their trip.

Frankly, he considered a wetsuit, but when he wore it, he saw that passing glint in Kael’s eyes and figured having everything traced would not be good for Riley’s innocent heart (not).

But come to think of it, the ex-mortal had actually forgotten something important. How come Kael was cleared to walk out without at least ten layers of clothing?

Between his twiggy silhouette and the dragon lord’s godsent figure, shouldn’t he be more concerned about his husband, who was now receiving stares from nearly all the available eyes?

"!!!"

__

A resounding yes.

Expensive hair and eye-color-changing potions had allowed for a better, more convenient disguise, given their destination.

But as much as Kael now sported black hair and didn’t particularly look like the dragon lord Riley was very much used to, that man, with his messy ponytail and miraculous stature, was still his mate!

How could Riley forget about this bit in the chaos that preceded this trip?!

Then again, with everything that he had gone through just to get everyone’s glorious behinds in one vehicle, at this point, just arriving in one piece should be considered a miracle.

So this was fine. He could deal with this.

But before he could turn to Kael and stage a one-man protest about the lack of a parka for the man, the automatic glass doors of the lobby hissed open. A wave of cool, jasmine-scented air hit them, immediately followed by the bright smiles of the resort staff that most definitely got two children cooing.

"!"

"Welcome to The Cove Resort!" a young woman in a crisp, tropical-print uniform chirped.

She stepped forward with a silver tray balanced perfectly on one hand. On it sat several tall, frosted glasses filled with a vibrant hibiscus-infused tea, garnished with a sprig of mint and a tiny paper umbrella.

"Thank you so much," Riley said, offering a quick, polite smile as he took a glass.

The condensation felt wonderful against his palm, grounding him after the internal panic of his husband’s public appeal. He took a sip, the tart sweetness cutting through his nerves.

The covert vacationer turned his gaze toward the lobby, letting his eyes wander over the soaring bamboo ceilings and the floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a direct, shimmering view of the turquoise ocean beyond.

It was breathtaking.

If only their destination were that beautiful ocean.

Unfortunately, no.

For off to the other side—close to the pristine beach and somewhere in that giant expanse of a place called HyroWorld—was supposedly the entrance to his clan’s crypt.

Seriously guys?