Firebreather 1: Firebreather (8 page)

Ferin, king? She shook her head, feeling silly. The Dracon kings she’d read about were older, more serious, and decidedly stodgier than Ferin appeared. Despite last night being their first true encounter, she’d kept her ears and eyes open whenever his name was mentioned. And she’d never heard of him as anything other than a successful businessman and playboy. Yet here, he seemed nothing farther from the truth.

He’d not flirted or met any women today with anything but polite familiarity. And though he had enough money to own this place, he didn’t act like the lord of the manor. Instead, he seemed like everyone else. Just another Dracon living with his peers, working his way through life,
who just happened to have a human lover
.

She flushed, and leaned close to smell a blood-red rose.

“Hello, my dear. You must be Lea.” The older man to whom Ferin had been speaking sat next to her on the stone bench and held out a hand. His face was lined with character, still tanned from a lifetime of flying close to the sun, with thin, curling lips, a patrician nose, and blunt chin. Cropped silver hair hugged his scalp, thick and lustrous even in age, and he remained impressively tall, like the others of his kind. Long, graceful fingers that might have belonged to a much younger Dracon grasped her hand in a firm, but gentle hold.

“Yes, hello.”

“My name is Shino Tailstak. And I’ve been a good friend of Ferin and his family for ages.”

Lea smiled. He looked close to seventy, and though Dracon aged at a similar rate to humans, there were a few here and there that lived to almost two hundred years. Perhaps Shino was one. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve been touring the castle. It’s a fascinating place.” Shino chuckled. “I hope the boy’s been keeping you warm enough.

Though most of the buildings are interconnected, a few can only be reached by venturing outside.”

“He’s been more than considerate.”

For a moment she thought she saw calculation darken his eyes, but he blinked and grinned, and she chalked it up to an overactive imagination.

“The Ferin I know has always been a responsible, hardworking individual. A wonderful Dracon and leader.” Shino started when a hand settled over his shoulder. “Ferin.” He smiled, glancing up. “We were just talking about you.”

“Yes. Shino was listing all of your positive attributes.” A sudden image of Ferin making love to her rose in her mind, and she blinked, realizing he’d put it there.

“Ah, Shino. A good man.” Ferin grinned. “Well, we’ve been walking for several hours, Lea. Why don’t we break for lunch. Shino, I’ll see you later this afternoon. We’ll hit those merger reports then.” Shino nodded and stood. Leaning down, he reached for Lea’s hand again. “It was a pleasure, Lea. Hopefully, I’ll see you again.” She stood as well. “Thank you, Shino. And you, too.” Shino walked away, leaving Ferin and Lea alone in the middle of the garden.

“So, trying to find out more about me?” Ferin teased.

She rolled her eyes. “Please. I sat down and Shino arrived, singing your praises. I will agree, though, that you’re a great host. I’ve learned more about the Dracon in this one short morning than I did all of last year perusing volumes upon volumes.”

“For example?” he asked lazily.

“For example, I didn’t know it was possible to still live like a feudal lord, but with computers and the Internet.” He grinned. “We have no serfs, and no knights or lords. Remember, Draka, knights and dragons didn’t often get along. And the castle, well, it won’t burn, and as firebreathers, several of us have need of fortified housing.”

“Right.” She’d almost forgotten that fact. “But a castle? And so many people here. I’d always thought of the Dracon as solitary. But you seem so communal. What does everyone here do?”

“A little of everything. We like to be self-sustaining. So we have an agricultural branch, a financial branch, of which I’m the head. Several of our members excel in crafts, and our trade sect does wonderfully downtown. In fact, we have a very profitable shop on Battery Park.”

“Not Lost Arts?”

“That’s us.”

“Wow. I like that place. I’ve actually bought some things there. So all of the pottery, clothes and crafts are made by the Dracon?” He nodded. “We pretty much do everything here. Like I said, I’m in charge of the financial, but there’s so much more to running this place than money.”

“No kidding.” She stared at the blooming roses, awash in the sensation of community. “It seems almost too good to be true. Like you’re all just one big happy family.” He snorted. “Every family has their struggles. And not all of my

‘brothers and sisters’ here are happy.”

“Oh?”

“Nothing to worry about. Just the same old he-said-she-said things.

I have a few items to take care of later, but nothing worth bothering over.” His eyes heated. “In fact, there’s a particular craving I can’t get enough of lately.”

She flushed and, that easily, her libido raced with want. Just as she rose to meet him, Matthias rounded a bend in the garden, his eyes glowing.

“Could I have a word with you two?” Lea glanced from him to Ferin, wondering at the odd undercurrent.

Matthias seemed to be asking for something more.

Ferin nodded, and they walked quickly, following Matthias. They entered one of the nearest doors and Matthias shocked her, ripping her from Ferin’s arms. Lea caught a glimpse of Ferin shutting the door behind them, of a queen-sized bed and nightstand, a small, violet room with a decidedly feminine feel, and then Matthias was kissing the breath from her.

I’m sorry, Ferin. But you were projecting too loudly. Don’t worry,
I’ll be quick about it.

Ferin huffed, amused.
Be very glad we’ve not fully bonded yet,
brother. Because I’m feeling decidedly mellow in sharing my mate..
But
for all that,
I’m as stiff as a pike, and not wanting to wait overly long.

I’m willing to share if you are. By the fire, this morsel can kiss like
a true Draka
. Matthias moaned and deepened the kiss, his hands clasping Lea’s buttocks, pulling her into his arousal.
Fuck. I want her
now.

Ferin watched, greedily, as Matthias exposed more and more of Lea’s pale, smooth skin. Lea writhed and moaned, caught in the sensual web of a royal Dracon bond. He grinned to himself, glad he had only two brothers. He was, in fact, surprised not to see Adrian as well, but figured Lucas had his brother in hand. Just as his little Draka had Matthias in her hands.

And speaking of hands…Lea had hers pressed between her and Matthias, and Ferin angled for a better look. Everything Lea did had a sensual edge, as if her burgeoning passion simmered too close to the surface to be buried beneath the secret and scholarly S. M. Ryans.

“Oh, Lea,” Matthias gasped, groaning. “More, stroke it harder.” Her fists pumped his brother’s shaft, his arousal gleaming like a wet kiss over her hands. Matthias kissed her again, his hands cupping and rubbing over her breasts, those full breasts that pouted with desire.

Ferin grew harder and shed his clothing, noting that Matthias, in his haste, had not. His jeans were parted, Lea’s clever hands taunting his brother to distraction. And then Matthias had her on the bed, her legs spread wide as he thrust into her. Ferin thought it a most erotic scene.

Lea’s head back, her lips parted in sensual surrender while his beloved brother, Matthias, parted her flesh with his body, the physical essence of his soul.

The Dracon around them listened in wonder as joy lit the room, his future Draka projecting her pleasure clearly, surprising Ferin that she could reach them at all, let alone via a dragon’s link. The knowledge of her mental acuity only made him desire her that much more, and he reached for his cock, ready and needy.

Matthias continued to plunge, his grunts and straining sounding in Lea, as the two raced for a heady climax. Matthias shouted and tensed, his frame shuddering as he spilled within Lea’s vessel, and then she too cried out, clenching his brother fast.

On the verge of pain, Ferin’s arousal needed an outlet. Matthias glanced up, wiping a sweaty brow, and grinned with satisfaction.

“She’s ready for you now, brother.” Ferin grunted and moved painfully into position, showing Lea what he wanted while Matthias helped her to rise.

On her hands and knees on the bed, she met Ferin as he knelt before her, placing his turgid cock at her lips.

“Open for me, Draka. Suckle me. Give me the release I crave,” he growled, his eyes glinting as dragon sight took over. He could feel the need to change, to fly and scorch the earth with his fire. The primal desire to mate consumed him and, as Lea took him inside and began laving him with her tongue, he couldn’t help the flowing Drac that poured from him.

“Love me, little flame, drink of my nectar, and take me into your womb. With my seed, grow new life, and perpetuate the line. And feel the hungers, the needs, of your new people, your kind, the Dracon.” Her mouth grew hotter, his shaft thicker, as he began to pump in earnest, no longer able to keep his thrusts gentle and short. But Lea accommodated him easily, and soon had him gasping as she massaged his balls, her fingers gliding over the velvety sack before she eased her fingers between his cheeks toward his anus. When one finger and then another probed the puckered hole, he saw stars, his breath coming in fits and rasps.

And when she sucked hard and penetrated him without warning, he shot deeply, his soul merging with hers in an unending cacophony of ecstasy. On and on he pulsed, and as his hungers were abated, so, too, were they stoked.

He could hear the Dracon swelling with him, within his mind. And he rejoiced in the completeness of their joining. He could feel Matthias’

love mingling with his, could still sense Adrian and Lucas’ seed within her, swimming in her blood through her skin. And the magical transformation of the Draka had begun.

His eyes swam as he realized the truth in what had just happened, in what he had not meant to happen just yet. He had found and begun the next step of the bonding with the other half of his heart. And she still didn’t know what she meant to him. Nor did he know how she really felt.

“I think you ought to tell her soon,” Matthias drawled in Drac, sounding almost sleepy. “Before she begins breathing fire, that is.”

* * *

Lucas closed his eyes in bliss, no doubt basking in the pleasure streaking through him and every other Dracon around the planet.

Emmaline Tailstak did her best to ignore it, though, too annoyed to revel in the sensual feelings coursing through her blood.

“So you don’t want me any longer.” Emmaline stared at Lucas with narrowed eyes. The bastard. Who was he to sever ties with her, the Dracon destined to be queen?

“Honey, it’s not that I don’t want you. But I have responsibilities to the kingdom.”

“You mean to those bitches Sherel and Moira?” At his wince, she sneered. “By the treasure, you didn’t think I knew? Hell, Lucas, you fuck like a Dracon put out to stud. I knew you were seeing other women. But be honest. It’s that stupid human that’s distracting you.

That rotting piece of meat.’

Lucas’ stare grew decidedly cooler. “That ‘stupid human’ is the king’s future Draka, so take care not to offend. And she, like Ferin, is under my protection. Should anything happen to her, I would be most displeased.”

The red fire in his eyes simultaneously enraged and aroused her.

The strongest and largest Dracon in the land, Lucas could crush her with one hand. But for all his strength, the brute had never once put a bruise on her. And she’d done her level best to entice him.

She stilled, suddenly realizing what else Lucas had said. “Future Draka?”

He smiled through his teeth. “Yes. She’s already queen. She just doesn’t know it yet. Surely you felt the mountain shake under the joining last night?”

She had been too busy fucking Moira to notice, but she said nothing.

“If that’s all then…”

“But Lucas, we can still be friends, can’t we?” She ran her fingernails down his chest, peeved when he only stared at her. She had to maintain this link to Ferin. Without Lucas, she’d be out of some vital information, making it that much harder to gain her rightful seat beside the king. And she hated to go to her other source. He was so damned
moral
, so righteous.

“Emmaline, I have to go.”

“I’ll be quick, Lucas. I promise.”

His eyes narrowed in irritation, and when his hands found her shoulders to put her from him, she quickly knelt. She had him out of his trousers and in her hands in a heartbeat. And his thickening shaft told her he wouldn’t resist.

“Come on, Lucas. We can still be friends, can’t we?” He stared down at her, his fist in her hair, and paused. She blew a hot breath over him, waiting. With a muttered curse, he drew her head to his erection.

She watched him as she took his cock in her mouth and began sucking. He stared at her, assessing her while taking what pleasure she gave. The bastard. So distrustful when he had a willing woman on her knees sucking him deep. Though irritated, the supreme arrogance of the hardened warrior turned her on, and soon she was moaning with her own pleasure as she licked and stroked his thick shaft.

“That’s it, baby. Rub the head. Ah, yeah. Your tongue…” She wanted badly to touch herself, but kept her hands on his balls and the base of his cock, not wanting to let him go. She controlled the pace. She decided how much pressure to give or not give. And when she nipped at the sensitive spot under his crown, she reveled in his shiver.

Unfortunately, Lucas remained careful with his power, thrusting lightly into her mouth. Displeased, she sucked him deep and fondled his balls, squeezing harder. He growled a warning and pushed deeper, touching the back of her throat. Pleased, she raked her teeth lightly around his cock and triumphed when he cursed and tensed, jets of cum sliding down her throat.

Once he finished, he withdrew from her lips and tucked himself back in his trousers. Then he jerked her to her feet and hauled her to her floor length mirror.

“Okay, baby. You want it, too, don’t you? Watch yourself while I fingerfuck you.”