Hidden Dragons (16 page)

“
You’ve got that right,” Bear
confirmed. “Jared and Darian wanted us to fight as a pair on the
morrow, which means you’ve got the night off.”

Robert smiled. “I wonder, how ever shall we
spend it?”

Isabelle blushed and he knew she was both
embarrassed and excited. He loved her innocent reactions to him and
looked forward to seeing if she could be with both he and Bear. If
that last barrier could be crossed, it would be a major step
forward. If she could take them both and enjoy it, she could
finally be their mate. It was all up to her, though Robert prayed
silently to the Mother of All that Isabelle could be convinced to
be their wife. He wanted her with him—with them—forever and
always.

Tonight might prove to be vital in his and
Bear’s campaign to make her theirs.

Chapter Eight

When they returned to the suite after dinner,
Isabelle knew what the men had in mind. Robert’s subtle teasing and
Bear’s molten glances gave away their hopes and excited her senses
at the same time. Could she?

Dare she?

Isabelle thought more and more that she would
at least like to give it a try. She wasn’t sure if she had it in
her to be with both of them at the same time, but if she could… If
she could…her whole world might change. For the better.

If she could love them both—physically as well
as from the heart—then it was becoming clear that they would
welcome her into their life. She knew it was up to her, and she was
trying really hard not to let fear hold her back from reaching for
something she’d thought would be unattainable. Love was within her
grasp. She just had to be brave enough to claim it.

The dragons were in their wallow, their necks
touching as they lay there resting. Little curlicues of
cinnamon-scented smoke wafted toward the vents in the ceiling, and
heat from the dragons made the entire suite warm. It was a homey
atmosphere. Especially when Bear went into the kitchen and came out
with three steaming mugs of tea on a tray.

They sat on the comfortable chairs—a couch and
two big easy chairs that had a low table at their center. They were
on the edge of the sand pit so the entire family could unwind after
the long day—dragons and humans alike—together.

Isabelle was getting more nervous as time went
on. The sweet herbs in her tea calmed her a bit, but the underlying
tension was definitely fraying her nerves.

Were the men not going to make a move? Were
they waiting for her to initiate something? If so, she didn’t think
she could. She didn’t have that kind of courage about her own
femininity yet—if she ever would. Sex was so new. She had enjoyed
it immensely, but she was still very much the novice. She had no
idea how to initiate a sexual encounter. Especially not one that
would involve all three of them.

“
Try to relax, sweetheart,” Robert
said quietly. “I can see the tension in your shoulders from here.
Nothing is going to happen tonight.”

“
What?” she blurted out,
embarrassed a second later by the loud tone of her voice. She’d
made the dragons stir. Four jewel-like eyes blinked open and stared
at her.

“
The four of us discussed this,”
Robert told her. “We are going to war tomorrow. We cannot give you
the kind of experience you deserve—that we all deserve—for our
first time together as a trio. For one thing, we don’t have the
time. It would be irresponsible of Bear and I to stay up all night
for our own selfish purposes when our brethren will be expecting us
to be sharp and ready to fight tomorrow.”

Bear picked up the explanation. “Once we start
something, we probably won’t want to stop for a good long while.
It’s unrealistic to think we could easily turn our passions on and
off like a tap. And you deserve better than some rushed joining.
You are too special to us, Isabelle. We cannot treat you with such
disregard. It goes against our natures, and our need to protect you
in every way.”

Their words impressed her. They overwhelmed her
a bit too. And made her a little angry. There was a certain amount
of taking things for granted included in their reasoning that
annoyed her a bit, but then again, she had given them reason to
believe she’d be up for anything they wanted. Hadn’t she been
sitting there fully expecting to participate in a trio session only
moments before?

She was honest enough with herself
to admit that they had a right to make assumptions about her
participation. She was easy for them, as for no other man. Men.
Although it still boggled her mind to think that she could have
them both, when she didn’t think too hard about it, it was
beginning to feel somewhat natural. It’s only when she had time to
reflect on normal relationships—how
normal
was defined in her
village—that she still had serious misgivings.

But everything was different in the Lair.
Everything seemed possible here, in this magical place. Her nervous
anxiety was being replaced by a sense of both disappointment and
warmth that they would give so much thought to her feelings, as
well as their own safety.

“
We hope you understand,”
Growloranth spoke into their minds.
“It was Tildeth and I that first raised our
concerns with our knights. As much as my mate and I wish to be
together again, we would not see you cheated of the care you
deserve.”

“
Even we can see that you are new
to all of this,”
Tilly put in.
“Some things should not be rushed. And we all
have work to do on the morrow. This time—as it will be many times
in the future—our duty to Draconia must come before our own
desires. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Isabelle, but I also
believe in my heart that there will be time to complete our family
after this battle is over. And I also believe that you will be more
secure in your decisions if you have time to think them through.
You might also benefit from talking more with Lady Silla. She is
one of the most sensible women I know.”

When put that way, it made a lot of sense. Who
was Isabelle to argue with the wisdom of two elder dragons? And
their words also brought home the fact that they would be riding
into danger tomorrow morning. Without her.

She had been so worried about the possible
encounter that night that she had managed not to think about the
danger coming in the morning, when the dragons and their knights
would face a herd of angry, venom-spitting skiths. And once they
were done with the skiths, there was an enemy army to deal with.
Not good.

“
I know this all must sound as if
we are taking your agreement for granted.” Robert addressed the bit
that had annoyed her at first. “Truly, we are not. We will try our
hardest never to take anything for granted if we are granted the
blessing of having you as our mate. You must realize by now that we
are very serious about the fact that you are the woman we want to
complete our circle, to be our mate and join our family. We want
that and our dragon partners want it as well.”

Tilly’s head bobbed up and down in
agreement.
“I can see you nurturing my
offspring as you would your own, and I have the greatest respect
for your courage and tenacity, for having survived all by yourself
for so long out on the edge of the woods. You are a brave and
capable female that I would be proud to call sister. I hope, as we
get to know each other better, you will feel the same about
me.”

Now Isabelle was back to being overwhelmed.
“You do me a great honor, Lady Tildeth. If the Mother of All wills
it, I promise to do my best to be worthy of your faith in
me.”

Tilly nodded deeply as the significant moment
passed between them. It brought home to Isabelle again all that she
would gain if she joined with these knights. She would be able to
live in this incredible place, with these wonderful people, and
have dragons as friends. It was almost too much to
believe.

But the crux of the matter was love. She would
be loved—although they hadn’t spoken the words yet—by two honorable
men. And she would love them in return.

She was pretty sure about her feelings for both
Robert and Bear, but did they love her? Neither of them had said
so. Would they? Did men say such things, or was she supposed to
figure it out on her own?

That would have to be the deciding factor. If
they could love her, and she was more certain of her love for them,
she would say yes. But she wasn’t at that point yet. She needed
time to figure a few things out.

It seemed the men and dragons had been way
ahead of her in knowing what she needed.

“
I thank you all for thinking of
me. You’re right. I do need time to think and process everything
that’s happened. I didn’t quite realize it before, but I see the
sense in what you’ve said. I’ll also admit that the thought of you
all going off to fight tomorrow morning is now at the forefront of
my mind, and I don’t like it one bit.” A little bit of panic bled
into her voice near the end of her statement and she saw Robert and
Bear get up, coming over to sit on either side of her on the wide
couch.

Robert put an arm around her shoulders while
Bear took her hand in his.

“
Take away one worry and another
moves in to take its place,”
Tilly mused
from the sand pit.

“
Lady Isabelle,”
Growloranth said in a serious but gentle
tone.
“This is one of the many things you
must carefully consider. We are soldiers. Knights and dragons, all
of us are sworn to fight on behalf of our country and peoples. If
you agree to join our family unit, this will be part of your life.
The reality is that we go off to fight and you’ll have to stay
here. You can be of help here, as you helped Lady Silla prepare her
remedies for when we or our brethren get hurt.”

“
You can bespeak dragons, so you
can be of great help to those left behind when knights are unable
to interpret for their partners due to injury.”
Growloranth added.

“
It is chaotic in the Lair when we
are called to fight,”
Tilly said.
“I know you can be of great help here. Every
fighting force needs support. You could be part of our support
system, if you so choose. It would help pass the time while waiting
for us to come back, and you could talk to returning dragons and
knights to learn first-hand what is going on at the battle
site.”

Isabelle hadn’t thought of that, though she had
already decided to offer any assistance she could to Lady Silla and
whoever else might be willing to let her do something. Doing
something—anything—was far preferable to just sitting around,
waiting for word.

“
I am more than willing to help in
any way that I can,” Isabelle told them. “And I have every
confidence in you all, but I cannot help but worry. Forgive me. It
is not an indictment of you or your skills, merely my own
insecurity. I would not like to lose any of you.”

“
You won’t,” Robert was quick to
assure her, squeezing her shoulders. “We are two of the best
fighters in the Lair and our partners are seasoned veterans. We
have been through many battles together and we are still here to
tell the tale. Tomorrow will be no different.”

“
I like your confidence, but I will
still worry until I see you safe back here after the battle.” She
hugged Robert with one hand while Bear still held the other. She
released Robert, then turned to hug Bear as well. “Please promise
me you will be careful.”

“
I solemnly swear it, my heart,”
Bear promised as he held her close. “We will take no undue risks.
Not when we know you will be here, awaiting our return.”

She let him go and sat back, reaching for
Robert’s hand. Still holding Bear’s with her other hand, she sat
between them, surrounded by their warmth.

“
Forgive me for worrying. I’ve only
just found you and I don’t want to lose either one of you before we
have a chance to figure out what could be between us.”

“
Then you’re saying there’s a
chance?” Robert asked quickly, a bright smile on his handsome
face.

“
Of course there’s a chance. You
already knew that. I am not the kind of woman to lie with both of
you without being serious about this,” she defended her own honor
with a bit of humor in her tone.

“
Yes, we knew,” Bear agreed. “You
are one in a million, Isabelle. We will give you all the time you
need to be sure.”

They slept together that night, in the huge bed
in the mates’ chamber, but they did not make love. All three were
clothed in soft sleeping clothes and tucked under the blanket,
though the men did spoon Isabelle between them. It was a comforting
feeling, and so very warm. Isabelle had spent too many winter
nights freezing in her cold cottage on the edge of the woods not to
appreciate the warmth two men and two dragons could
generate.

The men and dragons flew off just before dawn
with all-too-brief kisses and words of reassurance. They promised
her to be careful numerous times and their dragons were made to
agree to it as well. Only then would Isabelle let them leave,
though she went to the ledge with them, to see them off. It was
before dawn and she shivered in the cold wind swept in by the
repeated beats of the wings of launching dragons.