AnyasDragons (3 page)

“Obviously, if you were indeed a princess,” Cyton said and chuckled. “You’ll have to learn. Talk to the other women.”

“How do you propose I do that? I don’t have wings, like you.”

“Before we leave for the hunt, we’ll fly you down to the courtyard. You can mingle with our women and learn,” Yerith said.

“I need clothing first.”

She watched Cyton go to a crude cupboard and produced a skirt similar to his own. He threw it at her followed by a long piece of fur. “Put these on for now. They were mine when I was a boy.”

Anya quickly stepped into the skirt and pulled it up. It fit her, as did the metal belt. The other scrap looked more like a neck shawl. It wasn’t long enough to wrap around her body so she hung it around her neck, its ends barely covered her nipples. “All right, whenever you leave to go hunting, I’m ready.”

“We’re leaving now. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of my boyhood boots,” Cyton said.

Being picked up by a dragon was something she’d need to get used to. Used to? Damn, there was no way in hell she was going to stay and get used to any of this. And she’d not be a servant to any man, whether they saved her life or not.

After Yerith set her on the ground and reverted to his man, she turned to them both. “I will
not
be your servant. I’m a princess.”

“You’re not
our
princess, darling. If you want to live, you’ll wait on us,” Cyton told her. “Ask Lon to get you some clothes and boots.”

Was that a threat? And who was Lon? She was about to lash out at them but merely watched them stalking away. Forlorn, she scanned her surroundings. Tall women flitted about, carrying buckets or bags. Anya had no idea what to do. A dark-haired woman joined her. Her hair hung below her hips. She was big, making Anya feel puny. “Hello. My name is Lon,” she introduced herself. “I’m Cyton’s woman.”

“Are you?” Anya took in the woman’s appearance. She wore a silver belt and fur wound around her waist. A loincloth made from round metal pieces resembling silver coins covered her pubes. The same metal discs formed some kind of bra that covered her nipples. Around her neck, she had a fur piece, like the one Cyton had given her. Her boots were made of animal hide and so were the braces on her forearms. She was a striking woman with her waist long black hair and flashing green eyes. Anya wouldn’t exactly call her beautiful—she was more handsome, with her strong features, straight nose and full lips.

“Yes. And I advise you to stay away from him or you’ll have me to deal with.”

“I’m a stranger here and Cyton was one of the two men who saved me.”

“Exactly. But now you live with him and his best friend, Yerith. Make sure it’s servitude only, Princess.”

“You know who I am?”

“Of course. Everyone knows who you are. The king’s daughter. The only surviving member of the royal family. Princess Anya.”

“I have no desire for your man. I only wish to return to my home.” It was a lie and Anya felt the woman’s disbelief.

“Oh, baby, I can help you do that. Just stick with Lon.”

“I am to make dinner for them. I don’t know how to cook.”

“Of course you don’t. I’ll teach you.”

“How can they change to dragons and back to men fully clothed? I don’t understand. Where are their clothes when they’re dragons?”

Lon laughed. “You don’t know much about us, do you? We have magical powers.”

“You do?”

“If you’re a royal daughter, surely you’ve heard tales about us?”

“No. Our elders warned us about giants and monsters in the forest. Your men are much taller than the men of my people, but I wouldn’t call them giants.”

“You never heard of the dragons?”

“Yes. Peaceful creatures. I’ve seen them high in the sky, but no one ever told me they were shifters.”

Lon sighed. “You have much to learn.”

Anya thought she’d found a friend in Lon. That whole day, Lon showed her everything, taught her where to shop, showed her how to cook a meal. Until the men returned in the late afternoon, laden with what they called Thrath. Anya thought they looked like large birds.

Within minutes, people thronged around the two men. When Lon walked up to Cyton, and placed her arm possessively around his shoulders, Anya watched him shrug it off. He and Yerith deposited the huge carcasses onto a table, and a loud cheer followed.

“I’ll bring Uleirlel her promised share after the meat is ready,” Yerith said.

Several women set about plucking and dissecting the birds, then took the chunks of meat to a small house at the back of the courtyard. Anya sniffed the aroma of smoking meat.

Lon was constantly at Cyton’s side. A wave of jealousy attacked Anya suddenly. Why should she be jealous? She’d just arrived there, was a stranger in their midst, and even if the two men who’d saved her were hunks to die for, why be jealous of a woman already involved in their lives? After all, they were one of a kind. She was merely a mortal.

He was at her side. “Anya, you need to take meat home for us.”

“Me? I can’t even get up there on my own.”

“That’s fine, but it’s the women who get the most meat. Soon as the smoker is extinguished, go grab as much meat as you can possibly carry,” Cyton told her.

“I have nothing to carry it in.”

“Lon, get a couple of bags for her?” Cyton said casually over his shoulder. “And some clothes and boots.”

Lon glared at her for a moment. Jealousy sparked from her green eyes. She stalked away to one of the small buildings and returned quickly with several bags fashioned from animal skins. One of the bags held some clothing and boots.

“I’d like to bathe. Do you have a bathing house? A pool?”

Lon burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny? You all look clean. There must be a place to bathe.”

“Lon, don’t make fun of the girl. Yes, there is such a place, but you can’t go to it alone. One of us has to go with you to stand guard.”

“Why?”

“It’s a natural pool, Princess. You’re not in a palace here,” Yerith told her.

“Oh. You mean it’s in the forest?”

“Yes. Not far from here is a waterfall. Cyton, do you want to take her? I have some things I need to take care of.”

Cyton nodded. “The meat will take a while. Come, girl. Follow me.”

It was hard to keep up with him. He took such long strides she almost had to jog to keep up. Anya blinked at the bright sunlight when they came to a clearing. The roar from a waterfall was deafening. It cascaded into a crystal-clear pool surrounded by huge trees, large exotic blooms, ferns and white sandy beaches. She gasped. It was beautiful and so tranquil.

“I never knew anything like this existed on our planet,” she said loudly.

“How often did you leave the palace?”

“Never. We weren’t allowed outside the walls.”

“You’ll find special cleansing items inside this tree,” Cyton told her, pointing at a hollow tree.

She bent and looked inside. There was an array of flasks. “How do I know what’s in them?”

Cyton joined her. “This one is to cleanse your hair. The brown flask is to cleanse your body. The other flasks are various oils to use after you bathe.”

“Won’t the soap taint the water?”

“Everything is made from natural ingredients. No, it won’t taint the water. The pool is constantly refreshed by the waterfall and the water rushes down that river.”

Anya walked to the edge of the water. “It’s freezing cold.”

“You really are spoiled.”

“Can you please turn around while I bathe?”

“Sure.”

She waited until he’d turned his back to her, quickly took off the skirt and removed the fur from her neck. Gasping, she walked into the icy water carrying the flask of shampoo. To her surprise, it foamed nicely. After washing and rinsing her hair, she fetched the soap flask from the beach and washed from head to toe. Now that she felt clean and her body was used to the water, she didn’t want to come out. She swam to where the fall cascaded into the pool and frolicked in the spray. When she swam to the other side and turned around, she saw Cyton watching her. It didn’t matter. The water covered her.

To her consternation, he suddenly took off his clothing and walked into the pool. She tried to avert her gaze, but couldn’t help but look at his muscular body, his strong legs, arms, his massive chest and what hung between his thighs. If it was that big when dormant, what size would it be when erect? With strong strokes, he swam toward her.

“You shouldn’t be this far away from shore,” he shouted at her. “The Gonks are not afraid of water. They’re huge. They can reach down from those rocks and pull you out in a second.”

“They come this close to your compound?”

“Yes. Why do you think we built the barricade?”

“It’s strange they’ve never come close to the castle.”

“They don’t leave the forest.”

She continued to tread water. He was very close to her, so close she could almost have touched him. Though she knew what a naked man looked like, what hung between their legs, she’d never been so close to one. Men weren’t allowed in the women’s bathing chamber or the pool. She and her sisters had sometimes secretly spied on the men’s pool. But none of the men looked like Cyton. She tried to imagine what Yerith was like naked. Her pussy ached. Her clit throbbed. Wanton lust spread through her body, a longing to have him touch her.

Trying to set the thoughts aside, she splashed him playfully. He splashed her back, then grabbed and dunked her. She came up spluttering inches away from his face. Her breasts brushed his chest. Something poked against her belly. His flaccid cock was hard and she wished she could see it. None of the men they’d seen naked in the men’s pool had ever had a hard-on. His hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her against him. His cock was between her legs rubbing back and forth. She couldn’t allow it to continue. This was pure animal lust. She tried pulling out of his grip, but she was no match for his strength. “I can’t,” she shouted.

His gaze bored into her as he took a hand full of hair and pressed his lips hard against hers. Forcing her lips apart, his tongue entered her mouth. She forgot to tread water, but he held her steady. His tongue searched, explored, he sucked her tongue into his mouth and she felt as if he was extracting the resistance out of her. Suddenly, he let her go and swam back to shore where he washed his hair and body. His cock was still hard. It jutted out from his body as he walked out of the water. She saw him gazing at her, and was mesmerized as she watched him pull the skin back and forth along his shaft until white spewed from the tip. Slowly, it became limp. He motioned her to come out of the water and dress, his back to her now.

Anya swam to the beach and came out of the water. For a second, she gazed at his naked buttocks, the sack showing between his parted legs, the strong muscles rippling beneath the skin of his thighs and calves. Her clit ached, her pussy lips felt as if they were on fire. Her gaze traveled up to his broad shoulders, wide chest tapering to a slim waist and again rested on what was between his legs. When he bent to pull on his boots, she sucked in her breath. His cock was dormant now, pointing down at the ground, but it was still big and she fantasized touching it.
Wake up, girl!
Her skin was still glistening from the oils with drops of water sparkling in the sunlight. She conquered her libido, but only partially. There was nothing to dry her body with. Opening the bag of clothes, she took out the bra and fastened it between her breasts. It barely covered her nipples. There was a metal loincloth similar to Lon’s, a metal belt and an animal skin. The bottom of the boots were more like sandals and were too big for her. What Lon had gotten her were probably children’s clothes, because none of the women were small.

“Time to return,” Cyton said. “The meat will be done by now, and if we don’t get our share we’ll go hungry tonight. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“I’ve never, I mean, I am—”

“Fresh and innocent, I know. As a princess, you were well protected.”

“I am betrothed, but I don’t know if he—”

“If he lived? I doubt it. Sorry. It’s hard to lose the one you love.”

“Love? We were promised as babies. We had no say in who we were to marry. It was all arranged soon after birth.”

Cyton turned and frowned at her. “Unheard of. Barbaric. In our clan, we only join in marriage for love. We copulate at any time after puberty to satisfy our needs.”

“What about pregnancy?”

“Girl, we have spells to prevent that.”

Chapter Four

Cyton instructed Anya to get meat for them, as much as would fit in the bags and she was able to carry. He watched her small figure squirm to get between the women, all battling to get the best parts of the birds. He wondered what she’d be able to grab and if she even knew which parts of the birds to go for. He couldn’t help but admire her dainty posture, her small waist and rounded buttocks. Now that she was clean, her beauty overwhelmed him. Her violet eyes reminded him of one of the flowers in the forest. Her lips were rosy and full and beautifully shaped. She had an elfin face, a dimple in her small chin, and dimples in her cheeks when she laughed. Her golden hair, not yet combed, hung to her buttocks in waves. When he’d seen her in the water, her body easily visible through the clear surface, he’d desired her. Her breasts were firm, neither too big nor too small. Her rosy nipples had hardened from the cold water, the aureole around them a light brown. Every now and then, he’d caught a glimpse of her pink cleft as she swam. She had no pubic hair at all, unlike the women of his clan. Was it natural or had it been removed?

His desire to touch her, to kiss her, had been so great that he’d lied to her. The Gonks never touched water. They hated it. They’d venture onto the beach to snatch an unsuspecting person, but no one had ever been taken by them out of the water. Kissing her had awakened something within him, in his heart, something that touched and entered his soul. He’d never felt anything like it before. His need for her was great, especially as he’d tasted the sweet nectar of her lips, the honey taste of her mouth and tongue. Pushing his cock between her legs and hard up against her cleft had almost caused him to forget how innocent she was. The temptation to take her right there, in the water, had been great, but he’d fought it and won.