Firebreather 1: Firebreather (3 page)

A few hundred years ago, one of their women had been rumored to be the king’s destined mate. Not pleased that the king of all Dracon might marry a mere human, one of Ferin’s kind had, with the help of a human conspirator, killed the woman. Needless to say, the Venlays had taken it personally and vowed vengeance upon the clan. Ever since, Lea’s family had been steadfastedly policing any stray Dracon they might find.

In their defense, the Venlays didn’t persecute the innocent, but they had no problem playing judge and jury for the guilty, a feat that should only belong to the Dracon royal family, namely, Ferin and his brothers.

“Are we getting close?” Lea shouted to be heard over the wind, and Ferin immediately dropped, scaring a small shriek out of her.

Sending her an image of his apology, he gently made his way deeper into the treeline until he skated just above the generous hickories, black birches and oaks still clinging to red and yellow leaves.

Despite what Lea thought she knew, had in fact published, the Dracon had left the underground caves two hundred years ago. Out of necessity more than practicality, they’d moved to avoid being caught vulnerable in their nests. Instead, the Dracon had taken to shallower dwellings, hidden castles and stone dwellings fortified against fire, and always accessible to the sky.

He felt her tense as his home came into view, and he felt a note of pride that she should see his castle in all its glory. Out of loyalty to the royal line, all the Dracon had gathered to build this fortress some five hundred years ago. With the exception of modern conveniences, such as plumbing and electricity, the keep stood as it had those five centuries past. A jewel hidden among the trees.

He landed atop the keep, lowering his neck so Lea could slide to the ground. The minute her feet touched stone, he changed back. Being home always engendered a feeling of calm satisfaction. And having captured S. M. Ryans, the biggest threat to the Dracon at present, should have compounded that satisfaction. But for some reason Ferin felt only a restless ache, a gnawing hunger that grew as he stared at the picture of feminine challenge before him.

The wind blew her coat and dress, exposing more of her long, shapely legs. Her dark red hair danced in the moonlight, and he thought it the color of flames, of the fire burning inside him. Her dark brown eyes flashed with uncertainty and the promise of disobedience, a heady combination, which only fanned her attraction.

Ferin had never been one to shy from a challenge, and Lea Venlay screamed difficulty. He grinned, pleased when she focused on his mouth before blushing and staring into his eyes.

“Are we going to stand here all night in the cold while you stare at my legs? Or can we find some heat?” He planned on giving her more heat than she probably wanted, but what the hell. She was finally here, in his home. And he was the king.

“Forgive my bad manners.” He bowed and fitted his arm around her waist. “Come with me, Lea.”

She shivered, and he knew it was from more than the cold. Taking her down the hidden stairwell, he soon had them inside the royal quarters. Along the way he mentally shot several of his retainers orders not to interfere or make their presence known.

“Where is everyone? It’s late, but not that late.” He smiled. Trust Lea to notice the details. “Though you may think you know everything about the Dracon, in fact you know very little.” Her delicate brows arched. “Really? Funny, then, that someone from your camp decided to trash my house and my work. If it’s all so much of nothing, why bother with me?”

Then entered a large chamber. A fireplace sat in one corner, in front of which his brothers sat playing chess. Lucas, his security advisor and best friend, lingered in the corner, sharpening a wicked-looking saber.

All three men stopped what they were doing to stare fixedly at Lea.

Ferin could feel their curiosity, as well as their desire, and the knowledge flamed his attraction.

“Why bother with you? For obvious reasons, I’d imagine,” he murmured, stroking her waist. “I’m not sure who tore apart your study, but I’ll fix the damage. I regret such action was taken. But like humans, we Dracon are all individuals. Some good, some bad.”

“And which are you?”

He steered her past his startled family into his quarters and shut the door behind him. “Me? I’m very, very good.” He removed her coat and threw it over a chair. But the view of her body in that skin-hugging silk did him in. The hunger that had been building, suddenly burst. His vision flared. Colors rocketed throughout the room, flowing in and around her, until she stood in a glittering, golden view. His treasure, his prize. And he understood what he’d been questioning since the day they’d first met.

“Ferin?” She took a step back. “Are you alright? You look a bit…strange.”

He felt strange. Fitting he should look as such. Never before had he needed so much, to the point of pain. And all for a human with the blood of his enemy.

“Ferin?”

Again she used his name, and the sound of it on her sweet lips sent him over the edge. He cared little for his brothers’ questioning voices inside his head. He only knew he had to have Lea, now and without fail.

He didn’t answer her with words. Instead he stalked her, as he’d been subtly doing for months. That odd, annoying attraction to Lea Venlay, daughter and sister to one of the larger threats to his kind, finally made sense. He didn’t question the knowledge, but accepted it as his forefather should have done so many years ago.

Pulling her into his arms, he gave her no chance to deny him.

Plundering her mouth, he felt like a barbarian of old. A warrior claiming what he’d rightfully waited for with patience and purpose.

As before, the minute their lips met, Lea’s body flowed into his.

Helpless to stop his sigh of satisfaction, Ferin was equally pleased to hear her sigh of surrender.

“Ah, Lea,” he murmured as he kissed his way down her throat.

“The things I’ve dreamed of doing to you.” Fascinated by the racing pulse of her heart, he nipped at the throbbing vein at her neck and sucked hard, marking her.

She moaned and pushed against him, her full breasts straining through the silken fabric of her dress. Not wanting to wait a moment more, he nuzzled the valley between her breasts and inhaled her womanly scent. Sweet yet spicy, a wildness buried beneath the placid scholar teased him to do more.

Fondling the swollen globes, he pinched her nipples and rolled them through his fingers. She arched into him like a cat, her wet panties calling to the dragon within him. Latching onto her nipple through the fabric, he suckled and bit, stinging her with the assurance of future demands.

“Ferin,” she breathed, and threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him close. “More.”

He smiled around her flesh, right in his suspicions that Lea hid a well of fiery passion, a naughty streak that contrasted sharply with the orderly woman she presented to the world.

Like the Dracon, his mate possessed hidden depths, a jewel to be treasured and admired often.

He laved her other breast, plumping her as he went. And as he sucked and licked, he surged against her belly, unable to keep from touching her. The feel of her nipple caused his cock to swell even harder, and he felt himself tightening with the need to thrust inside her.

“I need to feel you,” he panted, and ripped her dress to her waist.

Showcased in snowy lace, her flushed skin taunted him for more. He changed one finger into a claw and sliced easily through the fabric. The treasure that met him made him groan. And without pause, he closed his lips around her nipple.

The feel of her skin on his tongue made colors burst inside his mind, and he felt a similar response from his brothers.
More, Ferin
, they urged.
Bring us to bliss.

Not needing further prodding, he ran his hands along Lea’s waist and down her thighs. Edging under her dress, he quickly sought the panties blocking him from the woman beneath. Slicing through the delicate undergarment, he felt it fall from her body and stilled.

“Ferin?”

“Lea.” He waited until she looked him in the eye, thrilled at the sleepy sexuality clouding her gaze. Fanning her belly, he moved his palm lower, fingering through her curls. And as he traced the moist cleft keeping him from his prize, he watched her eyes flare with excitement, felt the breath she huffed as pleasure raced through her blood.

“You’re mine,” he growled before plunging a finger inside her.

She gasped and groaned, and began riding his hand. “Please. I can’t wait any longer.”

He added another finger, then another, his cock weeping with the need for relief.

Lea decided to take matters into her own hands and reached for his waistband. With shaking fingers, she unsnapped and pushed past his trousers. When her fingers reached his shaft, however, it was he who trembled.

“Lea,” he groaned, needing to be inside her more than his next breath. “Let me love you. Deep inside. Be mine.” Though he knew she was as lost as he, he needed to hear her acceptance. And if some dim part of him questioned the need for her unquavering, verbal approval, his hormones suggested he search for the answer later.

“Yes, now. Right now.” She squirmed in his hold and wrapped her hands around him.

He bucked, unable to help himself, and speared her pussy with his fingers. She clenched tight, and he knew he couldn’t wait another minute. Leaving the delightful warmth of her body, he gripped her hips.

When she wrapped her legs around him, he turned for the nearest wall and shoved her against it, still careful not to harm her. Excitement ate at him as he pushed his trousers farther down his hips.

The tip of his cock brushed her moist slit and he groaned, unable to stop.

“Now, Lea.” Thrusting hard, he pulled her over him as he pushed deep.
Nothing had ever felt so right
.

Her breasts bounced as he fucked her, and he ground against her, wishing he could feel her strawberry nipples against his chest instead of against his shirt.

Next time, he promised himself, and met the demands of his body.

He could feel her channel closing around him, could sense her clitoris was near to bursting by the cries and jerks of her body.

Her eyes were closed, her face and breasts flushed as he took her.

Possession, hot and heavy, claimed him as he thrust deeper.

“Take my seed,” he growled and shifted his pelvis ever so slightly.

She gasped and cried out, “Ferin, oh, God, Ferin.” Her body felt like a vise, her orgasm shattering her and soon him.

The feel of her muscles sucking him deeper into her womb pushed him over the edge. Sensations bombarded him, colors, shocks of light and heat coiled and sprung. He shot hard, coming into Lea with a force more than himself. With this sharing of seed, of life, he began the bonding in a single breath.

As she cried out his name, he shouted hers. And within his voice, the rejoicing of several others was heard throughout the clan.

* * *

Lea could barely catch her breath as she leaned against Ferin. He had joined with her so deeply, she still couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. The feel of his massive penis made her shiver, and when he flexed and groaned, she hugged him tightly. Feelings of possession and tenderness flooded her, startling her with the urge to have him again, and so soon.

Images of sex at its basest, both carnal and pure, swamped her. And she blushed to see Ferin staring straight into her eyes, his a wondrous rainbow glittering within black. Dracon eyes full of repletion.

“Draka,” he murmured, thrusting gently.
My queen.

His pubic hair brushed her thighs, cradling her core as he remained buried within her. She felt moisture trickle down her legs and blinked at the carelessness of her encounter. But then she recalled the Dracon’s inability to conceive disease, as well as the infertility between species.

And though relieved, a small part of her bereaved the fact she would never have children with Ferin.

Which made no sense at all. None whatsoever.
What the hell is
wrong with me? Since when do I equate great sex with babies and
happily-ever-after?

“You’re thinking too hard.”

She glanced at his smiling face, his eyes once again fathomlessly dark. All thought faded but the animalistic need to have him again.

“I feel your pussy squeezing me for more.” His voice had deepened, like a sorcerer weaving a spell. “And I’m going to give you more.

Much, much more. I see you, Lea. I’ve always seen you, known you.” He confused her, but his body encouraged her to believe. Oddly, it wasn’t so difficult to nod her head, to agree. A part of her recognized him as well. Each encounter they’d had before this must have been building to tonight. All the sly innuendoes, the stares and questions about her family that she’d before taken as a personal affront, made sense. Ferin hadn’t been antagonistic, he’d been interested.

His shaft flexed and the base brushed against her stimulated clit.

Hell yes, he was interested.
But not more than I am.

“There’s much you don’t know about the Dracon, Lea.” He seduced with words as much as his body, promising answers. “I would show you more, Lea. More than you’ve ever seen, or felt.” His fingers moved from her hips to her ass, and one digit wormed between her cheeks to rest at her anus.

Ferin grinned, a sinful smile that should have made her pause.

She’d never before been experimental in the bedroom. The dreams and urges she’d had over the years she’d squelched behind academic pursuits, and to fit in with her family. Good old reliable Lea. The steady one. The smart one. The good girl.

Yet here she stood, with Ferin Dekker
inside of
her, a Dracon who knew her secrets, and who could kill so very, very easily. The sense of danger that surrounded him only made him that much more desirable, and even as she felt her attraction deepen, she wondered if she had made a huge mistake.

Sex with the Dracon could be addictive, or so she’d read. But as she remained tied to the captivating man, she could easily deem it true. She still couldn’t quite believe that she, mousy Lea Venlay, was having sex—no,
fucking
—Ferin Dekker. Hell, she couldn’t even think the word “fucking” without blushing.