The Draglen Brothers - DRAKEN (BK 1) by Solease Barner Page A

straight for me. His brothers continue eating. “Hello,
Cess. Please forgive me for not being here when you came out for
breakfast. Were my brothers good?” he asks, sitting down at the
head of table, not taking his eyes off me. Oh, this man has me
warming up inside. I glance at Hawken, who is the only one who’s
been rude to me. As I am about to speak, Draken leans in and sniffs
me. Holy crap! What’s that about?
    “Hawken, why did you touch her?” he
asks, narrowing his eyes.
    “Whoa, yeah, umm, brothers, we have
company at the table, lets discuss this later,” Showken says.
Hawken and Draken are having a stare down.
    “It’s not what you think, but I agree
with Showken, later is better,” Hawken snaps.
    “Later,” Draken says, with a
promise.
    “I should head home,” I say, getting
ready to leave. His hand touches my thigh. Oh God, he looks
amazing. He looks at me silently, and I decide maybe a little
longer is not so bad.
    “Thank you,” Draken whispers, rubbing
my thigh in a very slow circle, like he was doing last night. I
know leaving is not an option right now. I catch the flicker of his
eye color from light to dark purple. Never seen that before, but
I’ve never seen a group of brothers like this, either.
    “You’re welcome,” I say, in a whisper.
I feel myself blushing, so I know all these hot men can see it.
Draken is staring at me like he wants me right this moment.
Frankly, being with him again sounds good. I know D is wondering
where I’m at, unlike my parents, who will think that I’m at
Kelly’s. D already knows I’m not there. D and I have a very strong
bond. We are twins, but he is my best friend too, and he will never
tell, but the interrogation when I get home is going to be
annoying. I might as well have fun before my brother brings logic
to me and says, “Cess, you don’t need to be seriously involved with
someone right now, if you were a guy, I would say get all you can,
but you’re not.” I hear his voice clearly; just thinking about it,
I smile to myself. I glance over at Draken, and he’s watching my
every move. Yikes, he looks like an angel. There goes my
promise.
     

 
DRAKEN

    Hawken better keep his claws off Cess,
before I rip them out. He knows the rules, no touching another’s
Giver unless permission is granted by the Taker. Walking in and
seeing Cess eases my worries for just a moment. Purple looks good
on her, I must thank Showken for picking the right attire. Forcing
myself to eat, ignoring her beauty, I can tell her mind is
wandering. I love her eye movement as she is thinking, with those
beautiful milk-chocolate eyes, searching. Breakfast is not moving
fast enough. I’m sure my emergency trip home has all of my brothers
worried. I’m not in love with Cess, but I’m not letting her go
until I’m ready, not because I’m told.
    “What information did you find out on
your run?” Layern asks, narrowing his eyes. I have been thinking of
everything except what I was told back home. That question rushes
everything back.
    “Everything is fine,” I say, glaring
at Hawken. His smirk is really pissing me off. “Anything funny,
Hawken?” I ask.
    “Why, yes, there is my oldest brother.
I have my doubts about the situation at hand. I mean, it’s funny
when you know the truth and still lie to yourself,” Hawken says,
shaking his head.
    “If you two don’t behave like there’s
a lady at the table, the consequences for not complying will be
bad, so just stop this,” Gemi says, running his hand through his
hair. I’m done with this, six months is what I have, and then I
marry. This conversation ends now. Glaring at Layern, I let him
know telepathically to let my brothers understand my feeling on
this issue with Cess. My patience with this topic has grown
thin.
    “I’m done. Cess, have you eaten
enough?” I ask, looking at her now curious face. This is what I’m
trying to avoid. Human women know nothing about Givers, and will
take it as an insult, when,