The Triplets

Thanks again to a_koozie for editing! Also thanks to all the readers as well as people who favorite and comment!

I'd like to apologize in advance to everyone who dislike cliffhangers. . . :D

But don't worry, next part will come soon!

*****

(Aiden)

She narrowed her eyes at him. Slowly, Meredith came closer to where he still sat in the window. Aiden stayed where he was, watching her approach. The slight sway of her hips was hypnotic. A light smile played over her lips and her green eyes were ablaze with mischief. She leaned in close to his ear, her silky, unbound hair brushing against his face.

"Really?" she whispered. Her breath caressed his ear, warm and sultry.

Aiden suppressed the shiver that tingled at the base of his spine. Drawing in a breath, he inhaled her sweet scent before turning his head in her direction. They faced each other, noses a scant inch apart, trading breaths. While Aiden enjoyed sexual tension, in this case he knew that he was treading into dangerous territory. Meredith wasn't a human who he could just seduce and leave.

Sensual curiosity was written brazenly over her expression. He was hit with another inescapable aspect of the tempting Meredith. She was a virgin. Like nearly all dragon women, she was bound by the strict rules of their culture. She wouldn't have had the freedom he had as a male. He'd jump at the chance to teach her himself, but Aiden wasn't sure if he was willing to risk the consequences. He saw her eyes flicker down to his lips. Aiden made the mistake of glancing at her lips as well. Her small pink tongue peeked out and ran lightly over her bottom lip. A jolt of raw desire went through him as he imagined that tongue running over him. Swallowing thickly, Aiden dipped his head down before he could stop himself.

Her mouth met his eagerly. Where their first kiss had started gentle, this one was hungry, needy, tearing greedily at his self control. Aiden lost himself in her scent and the succulence of her lips. Her tantalizingly sweet taste was addictive. His thrumming began again, he couldn't seem to control it. It rumbled deep in his chest as he kissed her harder. It was almost as if he wanted to consume her; as if she fed a craving he hadn't known about until he had a taste of her.

Aiden felt her body lean into his as her hands stole softly around his waist. He could feel the soft globes of her breast pressing into his chest. The tops of her breasts threatened to spill out from her modest neckline. He was nearly overcome with the urge to run his tongue over the exposed portion of her breast.

His shoulder ached and throbbed with every move, but he couldn't stop his hands from tracing over the contours of her slim body. Aiden could feel her body heat through the silky fabric of her dress. His hands itched to feel her bare skin. Her hands slipped softly down his back. He felt himself yearning for her caress, to greedily steal every gasp and exhalation from her mouth. He began to release the buttons on the back of her dress, just enough to free her breasts.

They were surprisingly large, tipped with small dusky nipples. Aiden released her mouth to trail a path down her throat to her chest. Her breath hitched and her fingers dug into the muscles in his back. Aiden ran his tongue over her fragrant, white skin, teasing her by drawing wet swirls around her aureole. She whimpered softly, the sound rousing his feral half.

Aiden latched onto her breast using the tip of his tongue to flick her hardened nipple. He gently kneaded her other breast, massaging the soft flesh. Her back arched thrusting her upper body closer to his mouth. Aiden could hear the soft noises she tried to suppress as his mouth and hands caressed her body.

Suddenly, her knees buckled and her arms clung desperately around his waist. Aiden lifted his head from her breast to swing his other leg into the room. Then he swept her up into his arms and laid her upon the small bed. Despite her height, she weighed very little. Her arms had moved to wrap around his neck. He ignored the slight sting on his shoulder as her arm rubbed against the bandages. She pulled him down with her, not that he was planning on going anywhere else.

Aiden shifted so that he was able to lift the skirts of her dress. Her short underclothes couldn't mask the scent of her arousal. He nearly shook from the intensity of his thrumming. Aiden wanted nothing more than to rip away her clothes, spread her thighs, and lose himself in her body. Running his hands over her legs, Aiden marveled at how soft her skin was. He wondered briefly if his hands were too rough.

Her underclothes were made of thin fabric and trimmed with lace. They were a bit longer than was currently fashionable, stopping near her mid-thigh, but it suited her long legs. The intricate front lacing to her underclothes was daintily tied just below her bellybutton. Aiden dropped a kiss just above the top band before trying to unlace the front opening.

Abruptly, she pressed her knees together and clutched at him nervously. Aiden looked up into her flushed face as she chewed on her bottom lip. Aiden swallowed thickly and stilled his hands.

His voice sounded coarse as it scraped out from his throat. "Do you want me to stop?"

She stared at him, her eyes bewitchingly green and slightly dazed. Her lips were a deep red and there was a soft flush coloring her cheeks. It took a long moment for her to shake her head, but her legs remained locked together. Somewhere in his desire clouded mind, he realized that if he removed the thin barrier there would be nothing to prevent him from stealing something irreplaceable. Aiden removed his hands from the simple tie, instead he stroked the soft curves of her calves and thighs.

"Trust me."

Slowly, her legs relaxed and eventually her hips began to undulate slowly beneath his touch. He kept his hands away from the closure and kissed her warm flesh through the thin cloth. Aiden gently parted her thighs and fitted his shoulder between them. He stretched the fabric tight at the juncture of her legs and used his finger to touch her through the material. She moaned and shifted her hips restlessly.

He desperately wanted to touch and taste her directly. Through the thin fabric, he traced his fingers over her pussy. The material slowly dampened beneath his touch and her scent intensified. Unable to help himself, Aiden dropped his mouth over the seam of her underclothes. He licked her through the fabric, tasting much sweeter than he could have imagined. Her scent and flavor filled his head, threatening his precarious state of mind.

Aiden probed as deeply as the fabric allowed, trying to collect as much of her taste as he could. Meredith's hands clutched at his hair, tugging him closer. Being unable to touch her skin was driving him mad, but neither did he want to stop. She began to utter quiet, little mewling noises as she bucked her hips against his mouth. Aiden lashed at her stiff clitoris with his tongue, using his lips to pull against the small bud through the fabric.

She cried out sharply and gripped his hair tightly before her body began to tremble as her release broke over her. Aiden continued to work his mouth gently over her pussy as she came down from her climax. The grip she had on his hair loosened and eventually dropped from his head. She was sprawled limply over the small bed, her hair and clothing disheveled. Aiden didn't think he'd ever seen any woman more attractive.

Aiden's heartbeat stuttered and twisted painfully in his chest. He inhaled a sharp breath. His cock ached painfully. He didn't think he'd ever been this hard. Unnerved by the barrage of emotions, he drew away from Meredith. Still dazed she merely blinked at him in surprise.

Aiden could see the confusion in her expression, but he was quite suddenly drowning in panic and couldn't seem to get words to form in his mind.

"You should leave. I don't think your future mate will appreciate a deflowered bride."

Aiden tried to ignore the guilt that twisted his guts as Meredith turned away and began to straighten her clothing. Aiden turned away as well to give her a moment of privacy. A sharp slap to the back of his head surprised him into losing his balance. He caught himself against the side of the cot. The wound on his shoulder throbbed painfully from all the jostling, distracting him from the throbbing in his pants.

Well, he deserved that. Grimacing against the pain in both his shoulder and his cock, Aiden straightened and turned back to Meredith. She was scowling at him. He figured that her expression was meant to be intimidating but he found it rather cute. Since she probably wouldn't appreciate that comment, he kept the thought to himself and gave her a questioning smile. If anything his smile appeared to make her even angrier.

"Do you want anything else from me, Esa Meredith? Unless you've decided to have a tousle in the sheets?"

Her face flushed and her eyes narrowed, glittering angrily. She opened her mouth to speak, but abruptly closed it. He could see her struggling to rein in her anger.

"Come, I'll escort you to the door. I'll need to rest if I want to be in fighting condition for the Trials."

She exploded then, her slender frame almost vibrating with her suppressed wrath. "You are not participating in the Trials! Your shoulder has barely been treated. You probably can't even lift your arms!" she shouted shrilly.

Aiden bristled at her tone, which at any other time he would have blithely disregarded.

"I seemed to have no problem carrying you onto that bed. I don't need you treating me like a child. I am quite old enough to make decisions on my own," he replied coldly.

"I will speak to you like a child since you are behaving like one."

"No need to lose your temper. I'm quite capable of handling myself."

Her eyebrows rose mockingly. "Are you then. I find that highly questionable."

Meredith spun on her heel and left the room. She even had the sense of mind to close the door quietly. He envied her control. If it had been him, he would most likely have slammed the door so hard it would have rattled the walls. Aiden sat on the edge of the cot and sighed. His brief spurt of anger had fled with Meredith.

Guilt was back in its place, twisting his guts into knots. Aiden needed to apologize for his behavior, but perhaps it was for the best for him to keep his distance from Meredith. When she was around he couldn't seem to keep his head on straight.

(Meredith)

Meredith sat rigidly in her seat. It had been two days since she had spoken to Aiden or rather yelled at him. The males participating in the Trials were just starting to file into the sand arena. Her eyes scanned over the dragons, unconsciously drawn towards the two golds standing side by side. Aiden and his brother were nearly identical in appearance, but Greyson was slightly smaller and covered in small pale scars all along his body.

Meredith had heard a rumor of Greyson being bullied when the triplets had been much younger, but she hadn't realized how extensive it had been. The scars on Aiden's brother looked more like remnants of torture rather than bullying. She'd also heard that both Aiden and Kaleb had beaten the culprits to bloody messes once they had found out. Unsurprisingly, the bullies had been a few red youths that had been disgruntled with the gold boys' blood status.

Stubbornly, Aiden hadn't even bound his shoulder, his wound still an angry red. Meredith bit her lip, both worried and angry that he had still entered the arena. He was a stubborn, reckless, and entirely impossible man. A sharp smack to her thigh made her flinch. Her guardian, Esa Jaine, glared at her. Meredith released her bottom lip and bowed her head. Esa Jaine hated any form of fidgeting, that included lip biting.

Meredith was silently grateful that Esa Jaine had used her hand rather than an object. Since Esa Jaine disliked pain herself, she usually kept any smacks with her hands light. Still the spot that had been hit stung. She resisted the urge to rub the area since it would only draw her attention again.

The dragons simultaneously bowed their heads to the audience. Then Et Gaven, Aiden's father, began the opening speech.

"Twenty-six dragons will be participating in this round of the Trials. As spectators, we shall observe the efforts of the dragons before us and bear witness to the clash between their abilities. In respect of the audience, the participants agree to conduct themselves with dignity and honor. The matches will be decided once one of the participants concedes or is unable to continue the fight. Under no circumstances will any of the fights end in death. The dragon that inflicts a death blow will be forced to forfeit from the Trials and punished suitably."

The dragons in the arena bowed their heads once more, agreeing to the Trial's etiquette. With the opening completed the dragons exited the arena except for two green dragons. They moved to the center of the arena and unfurled their wings, roaring out their challenges. The two dragons circled each other, their green scales glittering beneath the bright sunlight. One of the greens was significantly lighter than the other.

Meredith wasn't the most informed about bloodlines, but with the current pair of dragons it was clear that the darker green dragon had the advantage. As the darker dragon pushed its opponent towards the edge of the arena, it seemed that this first round would end quickly. Then the lighter dragon reared up and snapped aggressively at the darker one. His teeth merely scraped across the darker dragon's scales. The darker dragon used the opportunity to flip the smaller dragon onto his back and pin him down with a well placed forefoot.

An excited cheer erupted from the crowd as the lighter dragon submitted. The entire match had lasted less than five minutes. The two greens left the arena, replaced by the gold dragon brothers. Aiden and Greyson faced each other in the center of the arena. They both raised their wings in the customary signal of challenge, though Aiden's wings were held much lower than Greyson's. The injury on his shoulder must be hindering his movements already.

The crowd roared as the two brothers began to circle. Golds were a particular favorite, second only to reds during the Trials. While the golds weren't as vicious as reds, their stronger and larger bodies gave them a substantial advantage to the other bloodlines.

Aiden struck out first, but slowed by his shoulder, couldn't quite connect the blow. Greyson easily moved out of range and countered with a shove, nearly toppling his larger brother. Aiden managed to recover and lashed his tail at Greyson. The blow connected with a loud crack as it struck Greyson's shoulder. However, Greyson withstood the blow and managed to latch on to Aiden's tail. Aiden roared out in pain before snapping his teeth at Greyson.

Greyson shifted out of reach, carefully keeping his hold on Aiden's tail. Peals of laughter sounded throughout the audience as the brothers moved about. Finally, Aiden managed to free his tail, loosing a few scales as he whipped it free from Greyson's mouth. Greyson gave him a reptilian grin before charging at his brother.

Caught off guard, they both tumbled into the sand, struggling to pin the other. Greyson rolled and managed to pin Aiden to the ground. Aiden writhed beneath the weight of his brother, but couldn't seem to get his upper limbs to stretch enough to break Greyson's hold. After a few long moments, Aiden submitted. Applause rang through the audience while Greyson let Aiden get back to his feet.

Greyson used a wing to buff Aiden behind the head. She assumed he was berating him from the way they were glaring at one another. As they left the arena, Aiden had a pronounced limp. It looked like his wound had opened up again.

The next pair replaced the brothers. Meredith was too worried about Aiden to pay attention to the rest of the matches. It took all her concentration to keep from fidgeting in her anxiousness. A light tap on her shoulder startled her. Meredith turned, shocked to see that it was Greyson. He gave her a small, polite smile. He looked so much like Aiden, but for the stormy gray of his eyes.

"Esa Meredith, I just wanted to tell you that Aiden is fine and back in his room at the healers."

He was gone as silently as he had arrived. Aiden's brother was a complete mystery to her. He was polite and seemed to keep to himself. Meredith thought he was the most complex of the brothers. With Greyson's reassurance that Aiden was fine, Meredith found that she could now relax and didn't have to concentrate so much on not fidgeting. She caught Esa Jaine's scrutinizing look, but did her best to ignore it.

Meredith didn't think she would be able to explain anything to Jaine even if she had wanted too. She was just as clueless to what was between her and Aiden as anyone else. She knew that out of the three brothers, Aiden was the most reckless and rumored wild child, but he had shown her that he could be considerate and giving as well. Though that time at the healers, he had acted frighteningly cold and had thoroughly angered her with his attitude, but she also knew that, if he had wanted too, he could have taken anything from her with force.

Meredith suppressed the tears gathering in her eyes. Crying would do her no good. She had already indulged herself in tears after Aiden had so directly dismissed her after their intimate moment. After a few hours of feeling sorry for herself, she had been able to calmly analyze the situation and found that Aiden had actually been more considerate of her than she had been to him. While he had given her an incredible experience, all she had done was scream at him and throw a tantrum when he had pushed her away.

She didn't think Aiden would willingly become anyone's mate and Meredith wasn't sure if she was ready to bond with anyone either. Though the attraction she felt towards Aiden was frighteningly strong, she couldn't help but worry about a life with someone who was away more than not. Having grown up as an only child, she knew how lonely an empty house was. She didn't want to live in a home where her only companionship would be with gossiping ladies and household servants.

The last match of the first round came to an end and the audience rose to their feet to applaud all of the contestants. Aiden wasn't the only one missing from the line up. Once the dragons filed out of the arena, Meredith followed Jaine out of the stands. They were stopped occasionally to chat with a few women that were also leaving. Despite her spinster status, Esa Jaine was actually quite connected with many of the upper dragon families.

Meredith answered any questions directed her way, but didn't initiate conversation. She was too preoccupied with her own thoughts. Quite suddenly, she found herself facing Es Dane. He bowed his head politely at both Jaine and Meredith. He didn't seem to be injured in the least. Meredith bowed her head as well, keeping her gaze from his. His penetrating eyes unnerved her.

"Did you enjoy watching the Trials, Esa Meredith?" he asked.

Meredith really didn't know how to answer that question. She hadn't really paid much attention once Aiden had left the arena.

"Yes," she said simply.

He was impeccably dressed in dark trousers and a cream jacket. His hair was slicked back wetly from his high forehead, emphasizing the sharp planes of his face. He must have washed after his fight. Meredith forced herself to meet his icy eyes which nearly crackled with a strange energy. Despite Dane being incredibly attractive, Meredith didn't feel the pull she did when she was with Aiden. Even his fiery hair couldn't warm the chill in his eyes.

"I'd like to personally invite you to a dance my family is holding. Its tomorrow night," he said.