Dragon Fire (Dragons of Perralt Book 1) (7 page)

“Let me,” he continued.

Before she could think to answer, his fingers started to unlace her dress. Slightly brushing against her skin. Her garment fell away, and his fingers returned to messaging her neck and shoulders.

She was lost in the pleasure of his touch. She let her head fall forward, moaning with delight at the way he made her feel.

He reached up and pulled her hair pin, letting her hair fall. He rumbled something deep in his throat as he pushed her hair aside and continued to nibble at her neck.

She didn’t know how much longer she could stand there like that. Her legs were growing weak, her knees turning soft. Her heart raced, and her skin tingled.

Everything about this was soft and wonderful. To have Drake care for her. To sooth her soreness. It was so sweet, and so tender. It made her want him all the more.

She started to turn into him, but he held a hand to stop her, “Not yet my Princess,” he said as he bent and gently removed her shoes, then pulled her stockings down. His strong hands slowly rolling them down each leg.

She began to shake with the shear wonderfulness of his touch. He was so close; he had become part of her universe.

Rising again, he returned to kissing her back as he slipped her shift from her shoulders.

She stood before him, naked, vulnerable. But yet, she didn’t feel in peril. She needn’t fear this man. He would never hurt her.

“Lay down Elsbeth,” he said. “Let me make you forget your pain.”

She swallowed hard and sat on the bed. He was still fully clothed. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to see him. Reaching for him, she wanted to remove his clothes.

He chuckled and shook his head. “On your stomach, dear.”

Her insides clenched in worry. Why? What did he want? She was unfamiliar with what was expected. Why like this? she wondered. Hesitating she gathered her courage and lay down. Her breasts rubbed against the rough blanket.

She could feel him behind her, his gaze traveling over her body. She buried her head in the pillow and refused to look. Surely his eyes were focused on her bottom.

The bed tilted as he sat down next to her. What was he going to do next? she wondered. Whatever it was, please hurry, she thought as her inside grew soft.

He started at her feet, slowly messaging the pain away. His fingers seemed to contain an infinite source of magic. Where they touched, only soothing contentment remained.

His strong hands moved to her calves. Burrowing deep, he washed away any sense of distress.

Her nervous embarrassment at being naked before him disappeared to be replaced with silent wonder at the specialness of his touch.

“Oh Drake,” she moaned as he gently caressed the back of her knees.

She sank into bliss as he circled and caressed, pulling the ache from her bones and sending a burning need to her core.

His hands traveled up her thighs. Biting into her flesh. Rolling and pulling at her muscles until, at last, they relaxed. His touch was magic. His fingers were a gift from God.

She moaned into the pillow and fought to not scream with delight as his hands pushed her legs apart so that he could reach the insides of her thighs.

She felt exposed, but she complied with his silent demand. She needed his touch. Needed him to continue his magic.

His fingers gently caressed as they moved ever closer to her core. She held her breath as she waited for him to touch her there. Her heart raced with anticipation. Every fiber of her soul silently urged him on.

His hand brushed her. She knew that he felt her wetness. She could imagine the smile on his lips as he realized how much she needed him.

His fingers left her as they traveled to her bottom.

Oh, the bastard. He had teased her, then moved on.

His hands continued to knead and fondle. Continued to make every part of her body soft and compliant. He was returning her to normal by taking her someplace new.

When he had once again reached her shoulders, she felt whole again. She could walk a dozen miles more if needed.

His lips brushed her ear as he whispered, “Turn over, I’ll do the other side.”

Her cheeks grew warm for some reason. She was at his mercy, biting her lip, she turned to her back.

He smiled down at her. His eyes as tender as his fingers. Her heart melted. Oh this man, what was he doing to her?

Once again, he started on her feet. Slowly moving up her calves. Caressing, kneading. He bent and brushed a kiss across her knees.

She giggled at his tickling lips.

He smiled and continued on, kissing her thighs. Gently separating her legs to gently kiss the tender parts.

He was close, too close to her center.

What was he doing? Her heart raced. Going forward, he continued to trail kisses upwards, ever upwards.

No, he couldn’t, she thought as she felt his warm breath on her most sensitive of spots.

What was he doing, no ...

“Ohhhhh,” she moaned as his tongue found her.

She arched into him. Her hands instinctively going to his head to hold him in place.

Grinding, she tried for more. Needing that touch. Needing that gentle caress of his tongue.

Her world expanded, her body shook with each kiss, each taste he took.

She thought she could go no higher when his finger entered her. Reaching to rub her very center. She felt herself gush with need. Felt herself swell with want. She needed him, but she could not let him go.

He had set her afire. Her heart raced as he continued to kiss and caress. Her breath stopped, as she focused on reaching her finish.

Still, he caressed, still he teased and taunted her.

She shook her head back and forth, seeking release. Building. Growing, until, at last, her world exploded.

She clamped her legs together. Holding on for dear life. As she fought to regain control of her world.

At last, he stopped and let her free.

Looking up from between her legs he smiled at her. She could only look back. Unable to believe what he had done to her. Unable to believe what he had made her feel.

A burning need flashed through her. She had to have him inside of her. Now.

Reaching, she scrambled to remove his clothes. Only when he stood naked before her, was she able to stop and marvel at the maleness of him.

His strength and size were overwhelming. It made her mouth water and her insides tighten up with desire.

Pulling him down on her, he went willingly and entered her with a quick, sharp thrust.

“Yes,” she said as she wrapped her legs around him. “Yes,” she repeated as he began to move inside of her.

She lost herself in the feeling of him. Her only awareness was the hardness inside of her. Spreading her, filling her every need.

He grumbled and grimaced as he continued to thrust into her. She rose to meet him. Thrust for thrust. Grinding against him.

Searching for that release that only he could give her.

She felt him building. Growing even larger as his forehead creased in concentration.

At last, she melted as she felt him explode inside of her.

His throbbing heat sent her over the cliff as she too was set free to explode.

“This,” she whispered into his ear as he lay atop her. “This,” she repeated.

Drake woke with a grogginess that was unusual for him. He was normally a morning person. A fact that had always driven his family crazy with frustration.

He shifted to pull Elsbeth close. The woman was amazing. She had woke him in the middle of the night with her mouth around him. Urging him on. Once he was awake and aware, she had mounted him and taken what she needed. All the time, giving him what he had desired.

The woman had hidden talents. He wondered if she knew how unusual she was. That sweet combination of cool grace and wanton desire, touched with a beautiful body and a sharp mind. It was enough to make a man forget himself. No! It was enough to make a man realize why he was alive.

Sighing, he pushed himself from the bed. They needed to begin if they were to make his goal by the end of the day.

He looked back down at her. She slept heavily, her mouth slightly open, her hair falling across her face. She was a goddess.

She whimpered in her sleep and pulled his pillow in close, hugging it to her chest.

Give her a little time, he thought. She deserved it. She had been awake half the night. Enjoying him, enjoying the fact that he enjoyed her.

Shaking his head, he made his way out of the huntsman’s cottage and down to the stream. He’d make her breakfast in bed, then they would have to be on their way.

.o0o.

The morning mist had burnt off, and the sun was forcing its way through the green canopy of the forest. The dappled yellow and gold lighting their path.

He stopped and turned to help her through a small ravine and over a trickling stream of water. When they reached the far side, he didn’t release her hand. Instead, he continued to hold it.

She looked up at him and smiled as she squeezed her hand around his.

“You know, for a princess, you are pretty good in bed,” he said. He liked seeing the fire jump into her eyes. It pleased the beast in him.

She halted and stared at him for a moment. “You know,” she said, “for a man, you’re not as dumb as you pretend. Besides, you’ve slept with a lot of princesses?”

He chuckled, the woman had an answer for everything.

What was coming over him? he wondered. The woman was a wizard. She had put a spell on him. He, the mighty Drake, was walking through the woods, holding a woman’s hand like an infatuated school boy.

Shaking his head, he tried to understand. But, he didn’t drop her hand.

They broke through the forest wall and stepped out onto a meadow. An old beaver pond that had filled with sediment and been abandoned long ago.

The ground felt soft under his feet. The tall green grass beaconing. He wondered what she would do if he pulled her down and took her here. He grew hard thinking of it. Imagining being inside of her. Hearing that soft moan of hers.

He looked down at her. She looked back up at him, and he could tell she was thinking the same thing. The woman was insatiable, which meant the woman was wonderful.

Smiling he reached for her, then stopped.

Something tickled the back of his mind. Something was wrong. He shifted away from her and tasted the wind.

No, not now. Not like this. Another beast had arrived. Another beast had invaded his territory.

He searched the sky, turning and twisting until he located the direction.

A burning need to protect burst into him. The beast demanded to be set free. It was the only way. This wasn’t a few weak men. This was another beast. A true danger.

His heart pounded in his chest. A deep fear entered his soul. She would learn the truth. It could not be avoided. There was no other way.

.o0o.

Elsbeth gasped when Drake stepped away from her. She had been sure he would pull her to the ground and have her right there. The burning passion in his eyes had matched her own.

She had felt herself grow ready as she licked her lips in anticipation.

But then, he halted. A new fear had entered his eyes. The sight sent a cold chill down her spine. He looked at her with regret, as if afraid of what she would do.

Her mind whirled with confusion. What was going on? He stopped looking at her. Instead, he searched the sky, then focused on some distant point.

“Drake?” she said as she reached up to touch his shoulder.

He didn’t react. He was gone. Off searching, preparing himself.

“Drake? What is it?” she asked. Her voice hitching with concern. Her own fears were rapidly growing.

He turned to her. His eyes flaming with something new. Something unspeakable. He was a different man.

“Stay here, Elsbeth. Please.”

She swallowed hard. What was it? A bear? Wolves? Had the King’s Guard found them? Suddenly, the thought of the shadow from two nights prior flashed into her mind.

A bolt of terror traveled through her.

He looked down at her. The fear in his eyes scared her to her very soul. He wasn’t afraid for himself, she realized. But, afraid of what she would think.

Stepping away from her, he moved to the center of the clearing.

She watched him as he searched the sky. He looked so strong, so big. What could frighten this man?

Something registered within him as he stiffened. He turned back to her, his eyes begging her for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, Elsbeth,” he said.

She fought to understand. Studying him, when suddenly he burst into green flames.

Elsbeth screamed.

Drake had disappeared into a pillar of fire. It burnt like a thousand suns. She instinctively stepped back, throwing a hand up to block the heat.

The fire morphed and twirled. A great column of green smoke rose into the air. She fought to understand. Drake was gone. Her Drake. The man she was coming to love.

“No,” she screamed again as she began to rush towards him.

Before she had taken two steps though, the fire changed. Dying away to reveal a monster.

She gasped, no, it wasn’t possible.

Where Drake had stood, now a great green dragon came into form. Its leathery wings unfolding. The twin row of sharp spikes down his back rising to point into the air.

The dragon shifted, its tail sweeping through the grass. It’s great horned head turning to focus on her.

She felt her stomach roll over in fear. The monster was huge, towering over her. Its massive head twisting. Faint puffs of smoke rising from his nostrils.

It could devour her in an instant. There was nothing stopping him. He would reach her long before she made the relative safety of the tree line.

Was this how she was to die? Alone? consumed by a dragon? No one would ever know her fate. The sadness of the thought seeped through her.

No child would ever call her mother. No babe would ever nuzzle at her breasts.

The dragon turned to stare up into the sky, then back at her once more. Their eyes met. He has Drake’s eyes. She would know those eyes anywhere, they made her knees weak and her heart pound. Those were Drake’s eyes.

She moaned in disappointment. No, it wasn’t possible. She no longer feared death. Now, she feared her broken heart.

A sense of betrayal passed through her. How could he? Why hadn’t he told her? He couldn’t be what she thought.

But, he was. There was no denying it. Her soul knew. Every part of her knew. Drake was a dragon.

The anger that flashed into her at his betrayal fueled her. Kept her from running.

He saw the anger in her eyes and she thought she might have seen a sorrow cross into those giant orbs of his.

But how could she know? Everything about this man was a lie. It made sense now. The warmth in his chest, the way he couldn’t be hurt by fire. The speed and strength that had demolished five King’s Guardsmen, as if they were a band of shepherds.

She should have known. Chastising herself at her innocent ignorance, she swore at herself. How could she have been so stupid?

The great dragon shook his head, then turned. He took a few steps, then his wings beat the air, sending waves of air washing into her, almost knocking her off her feet.

He jumped, then slowly rose into the sky. His wings pounding a slow drum beat as he fought to gain altitude.

Her heart jumped with him. Was he leaving her? Her anger mixed with loss. No, not like this, she thought.

The giant beast rose. She marveled. How was it possible? He had grown ten times, how could such a beast fly?

As he climbed into the sky, the great green monster, Drake, let loose a mighty roar and then, a stream of fire erupted from its mouth as he claimed the sky.

Elsbeth gasped, holding a hand to her mouth. The beauty of the flames shocked her. The animalistic power, the pure magic of it. All overwhelmed her with wonder.

That was it, she realized. Magic. Drake was a dragon. He could fly and shoot fire. The only answer was magic.

A whimper bubbled at the bottom of her throat. She had let herself be used by a dragon. What did that make her?

A fool, she thought.

He began to circle over her, then turned as something from the west approached.

Elsbeth strained to see as a small dot grew larger and larger.

Another dragon. Her stomach fell. Who? What? Her mind continued to spin as she tried to understand. Up until a few minutes ago, she had never really believed in dragons. They were stories used to scare children into minding their nannies.

But, now. Not one, but two dragons. Her mind fought to regain reality.

The second dragon was gray, equally armored, and equally as large as Drake.

For the first time, a new fear entered her.

She watched in awe as Drake’s wings gave a mighty push, sending him towards this new interloper at breathtaking speed.

The Gray Dragon twisted as well, diving towards Drake.

Elsbeth held her breath as the two dragons came together in a resounding crash. The thunderous roll of sound pushed at her. She swallowed hard as she watched them twist and turn. Each searching for an advantage.

Drake broke away to climb higher.

The Gray followed. Elsbeth could see an old scar across the Gray Dragon’s back. She knew that this was not its first fight. He? It? Was every bit as large as Drake, and just as fierce.

She grit her teeth as they fought.

Drake raked the side of the Gray Dragon with fire, but it was a waste, as it had no effect. It was like trying to burn stone.

She gulped as the Gray dipped under Drake, turned onto his back and raked at Drake’s belly with its claws.

She screamed for Drake to be careful.

What was she doing? she thought with chagrin. She was telling a dragon how to fight. Shaking her head, she continued to watch.

They were like two dogs in the worst alley. Circling, nipping, and scratching at each other. Whatever it took to take the other down.

They separated again, then swooped together, crashing into each other with a resounding burst.

Elsbeth yelped as she saw the Gray sink its teeth into Drake’s shoulder. Where wing met armored side. Her own shoulder screamed in sympathetic pain.

Drake twisted and brought his own mighty jaws into the beast’s neck.

He had purposely sacrificed his wing so that he could reach the animal’s throat. Her insides turned over with fear as the two mighty dragons tumbled in the air. Falling, neither relinquishing control. Latched onto each other for life or death.

She held her breath as she waited for them to break apart. They had to.

“Drake,” she screamed as the two monsters crashed into the earth.

The ground jumped under her feet as a large cloud of brown dust, and green grass exploded into the air.

Still, Drake held onto the beast’s neck while the other worked his shoulder. Neither had been destroyed by the fall.

She laughed to herself. Obviously, they could survive fire. Could beat and scrape each other with mighty claws and massive spear like teeth. A fall wasn’t going to end this.

They twisted and rolled on the ground, their wings beating at each other as feet scrambled to disembowel. Each fighting for purchase.

At last, only when she was sure that it could no longer continue, did they break away from each other.

The Gray roared as he broke free, blood dripping from its neck. A chunk of Drakes shoulder flesh fell from the gray beast’s teeth as he jumped into the air.

Drake jumped into the air after him. His mighty wings beating the air as he chased after him.

Elsbeth watched them disappear. Her heart breaking all the while, her anger rose. How dare he? Lie to her, hide this from her, then leave her. The coward.

Within minutes, the two mighty monsters were lost over the horizon. Slowly, the sounds of the forest began to return. The air smelled of dust and sulfur. Her heart raced. She was unable to believe what she had just seen.

Not one dragon, but two. Fighting.

It wasn’t possible.