Hidden Dragons (21 page)

And then he was there, at her entrance,
stretched impossibly tight. But the pillows under her knees allowed
her to move around a bit, making room for him. He pressed upward,
joining their bodies and she felt the double possession Silla had
told her about for the first time. It was…odd. Odd and incredibly
exciting. Naughty in the best possible way.

“
All right, baby?” Robert whispered
in her ear from behind, the warmth of his moist breath in the shell
of her ear making her shiver. Sensory overload was too mild a
description of what she was feeling.

“
Fine,” she gasped, unable to speak
more than a single syllable. She felt way more than just
fine
, though. She felt
possessed. Taken. Liberated. Loved.

Both men made some adjustments to their
position, moving her limbs and placing their hands at points to
support her body. They took care for her comfort in a way that made
her heart ache with love for them both.

And then they began to move. Bright stars in
heaven! She hadn’t known her body could produce such sensations.
The quivers of desire started in her belly and shimmied up and down
her spine.

She couldn’t move much, but it didn’t matter.
Her men took care of her in the most delightful sort of way. They
moved slow at first, watching her every move before increasing the
pace little by little.

They took their time and made sure she was with
them. She had never experienced such feelings of love, possession
and abject desire before. She was new to lovemaking, but even she
could sense this was something incredibly special. Just for them.
Together.

She began to tremble and two pairs of arms were
immediately there, supporting her. She wanted to cry at the beauty
of the moment when she shattered, her shout of release echoing
around the domed chamber.

But the men didn’t come. They kept at her,
moving incrementally faster, building her desire once again,
driving her higher than she thought she could go. The climaxes
built on each other as her whole body shook.

She was moaning when the pace picked up to a
true frenzy. Her body was going far beyond what she’d ever dreamed
was possible. The climax hit and just…stayed. Multiple orgasms
wracked her body with almost indescribable pleasure. Only dimly did
she hear the groans of her men, but she felt the warmth of their
come when they finally reached their own peaks of pleasure within
her.

Sweet Mother of All, that felt
good.

Even as their frantic motion stilled, they
cared for her. They disengaged carefully, after long moments,
taking care not to strain her body in any way. They were both so
strong, so caring. And they were hers. All hers.

Epilogue

Over the next two weeks, things settled down on
the border. It looked like the enemy had been truly routed, and had
tucked tail and run away. For now, at least.

The village of Halley’s Well had been cleared
of traitors and Isabelle had even been able to get Bear and Robert
to promise to take her back there in a week or two to see what was
left of her former home. They warned her she might not like what
she found there.

She knew the skiths had done a great deal of
damage, but she wanted to see it for herself, to bring herself some
closure. Isabelle planned to make her home at the Lair from now on,
but she wanted to see if there was anything of her former life she
might still be able to salvage and bring back as a keepsake. A
reminder of all that had come before to lead her to this current
state of incredible happiness.

She visited her chickens often and she set up
the kitchen in their suite to her liking. They had eggs for
breakfast a few times each week thanks to the thoughtful gift Bear
had given her all those days ago. Her little flock was doing just
fine in their new environment.

The three of them made love each night,
perfecting their moves and trying new ones. And Silla was helping
Isabelle learn the dances she would need to perform at the mating
ceremony that was being planned for the end of the week.

The dragons would take to the sky then, in
their first mating flight since choosing Bear and Robert as their
knights. Every joining they experienced was working toward that
one—the big one where the dragons’ passion would influence the
knights into something unlike anything that had come before, if
rumors and accounts from married knights were to be
believed.

When the day of the mating celebration finally
came, Isabelle was more than ready. She was primed and able to
perform the required dances—each one more risqué as the night wore
on. When the dragons took to the sky, mated trios all around the
Lair joined their dragon partners in passion, the dragons’
influence over their bonded partners so great, that the knights had
to partake of their mate’s passion, or go mad.

Isabelle was ready. More than ready, if truth
be told. She received her men with enthusiasm and a certain sense
of wellbeing that finally—finally—everyone in the extended family
was made whole. The dragons’ joy and love flared through the
connection with Bear and Robert, and even Isabelle felt the wash of
emotion and passion, sensitive as she was to magic and the two
dragons involved, in particular.

She welcomed her mates into her body and the
dragons’ influence into her soul, and for a moment during the most
incredible pleasure yet, she felt as if she too, was
flying.

A day or two later, when the newlyweds finally
felt like venturing out of their suite, they went to the great hall
for a late dinner and found a somewhat raucous gathering of
knights, their ladies, and even some of the children and workers
who lived in the Lair. May of the dragons loitered nearby as well,
and a many others filled sections of the great hall that had been
cleared of tables and chairs.

Everyone was watching the small gathering by
the hearth on one side of the giant chamber where various stews and
beverages were kept ready at all hours for those on late duty. A
stunning pale orange-peach dragon lay to one side, a bronze-brown
dragon next to her, their sinuous necks entwined. They were clearly
a couple.

But it was the golden-haired knight standing in
front of the dragons holding a lute that really captured Isabelle’s
attention.

“
Ah, I see the newlyweds have come
up for air,” the golden-haired man stated with a smile that lit the
room.

He had a charisma that was familiar to Isabelle
as a path opened up between the trio at the door and the gathering
by the hearth. Robert and Bear seemed to take the loud cheer that
went up from the other knights in stride as they escorted her up to
a place made for them right near the bard. To her surprise, the man
put down his lute and came over to give both Robert and Bear
back-pounding greetings filled with congratulations and good
cheer.

“
I’m sorry we had to miss the
wedding, but I am thrilled to see you two looking so happy. I saw
Tildeth and Growly on the way in and they told me all about your
new addition to the family.” Finally the vocal knight turned to
greet Isabelle, taking her hand and bowing over it, placing a light
kiss on her knuckles. His eyes met hers and she knew instantly she
had met him before.

“
I remember you,” she whispered.
“You were Jinn.”

The man smiled as he raised his head and
winked. “Indeed I am. We were both very young when our paths last
crossed, but you are the image of your mother, and I remember her
well. She taught me the lute fingering style of her people, which I
still use to this day,” he said, surprising Isabelle greatly. “I
was very sad to learn of her passing.” He squeezed the hand he
still held, his expression darkening to convey his true regret and
heartfelt feelings. Isabelle fought the tears she felt building
behind her eyes. “You have my deepest condolences,
milady.”

“
Thank you,” she managed to
whisper. “Are you the one they call Drake?”

His expression brightened slightly. “Indeed. I
was known as Drake of the Five Lands when I traveled as a bard, but
I recently returned to my homeland, and Jenet over there made the
horrid mistake of claiming me as her knight. Can you
imagine?”

He finally let go of Isabelle’s hand to gesture
toward the gorgeous peach dragon behind him. Her head had risen
over his shoulder, untwining with her mate so they could both look
over the new arrivals.

The dragoness’s voice entered
Isabelle’s mind.
“Would you mind telling
me what you know of Drake’s time abroad, sometime? I missed a lot
of his life and I enjoy hearing about how he lived while he was
away.”

Isabelle was surprised by the eager
request, but glad to comply.
“It would be
an honor, Lady Jenet, though I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. I
was very young and my memories of that time may not be the
clearest.”

“
Whatever you remember will be more
than I know now,”
Jenet assured
her.
“Drake was right. Your magic feels of
the fair folk, though you are not full-blooded,”
Jenet observed.
“It is
an honor to make your acquaintance.”

Now that was interesting. Dragons were quite
formal, but the honor of being acquainted, so to speak, usually
went the other way. Something strange was happening here, but
Isabelle had no idea what it was.

“
Likewise, milady,”
Isabelle replied politely.

She looked back to Drake and realized he had
been watching her closely. He had an odd expression on his face as
he drew a tall lady and another knight forward. He introduced his
mate, Lady Krysta, and the third member of their trio, Sir Mace, as
well as the other dragon in the family unit, Sir Nellin. Isabelle
greeted them all as they were introduced, wondering why the
entertainment had ground to a halt simply to make
introductions.

She looked around briefly and realized that
nobody seemed to mind. Everyone gathered in the great hall was
broken into small groups that were sharing food and wine. A general
feeling of relaxed celebration filled the place.

Drake invited Isabelle and her mates to sit at
his table, which was on the far side of the hearth. The rest of the
small gathering of musicians began to play a quiet tune while Drake
took a break and joined his family, escorting Isabelle, Robert and
Bear over to sit. The noise level in the hall was a low hum, with
the music adding a festive air, but not overpowering the
conversation.

Wine was passed around and toasts made to the
newlyweds before Drake pinned Isabelle with his blue gaze once
more. She thought she saw flames in the depths of his eyes, but
that had to be a flight of fancy. He was very intent though, and
she couldn’t really understand why.

“
How much do you remember of your
origins, Lady Isabelle?” Drake asked suddenly, surprising
her.

Isabelle stilled and put her wine goblet back
on the table before answering. “Not much. Mama never spoke about
the past.”

“
She spoke of it at least once,”
Drake said with quiet surety. “To the leader of the Black Dragon
Clan of the Jinn. And the tale was passed to me because I hold a
certain authority, even today, within my adopted Clan.” Isabelle
could see that even Sir Mace and Lady Krysta were intrigued by Sir
Drake’s words. As was Isabelle herself. What could he know that she
didn’t?

“
What did she say?” Isabelle
asked, her hands shaking. Robert put a comforting arm around her
shoulders, while Bear’s arm went around her waist. They were so
good to her. They were her family now.

“
Lady Isabelle, I’m not sure what
you’ll think of the tale I have to tell, but I can assure you that
every word of it is true. The Jinn have the best network of spies
in the world, and the story was checked out after your mother told
it. The Jinn know it to be true, which is good enough for
me.”

“
Sir Drake, you’re scaring me.
What is it that you know?” Isabelle asked.

“
Do not be alarmed, milady. The
news is not bad. Your mother was more than a traveling bard when
she joined the Jinn. She was a woman of noble—royal—blood, banished
for having fallen in love with a human. Your mother was fey. She
gave up her family and home to make a life with a human man, your
father. But the fair folk are the next best thing to immortal,
though as you know, they can die in certain ways. Your mother had
only a few short decades with her true love before he began to grow
old. You were born just before his reign was challenged. He fought
the challenger and died. That’s when Salomar rose to power in the
North. And that’s why your mother fled with you and took on a new
identity, finally hiding you in obscurity here in Draconia. You are
the rightful heir to the Northern throne—only daughter of King
Eovar the Just.”

“
You’ve got to be joking,”
Isabelle protested, though she did remember her mother speaking of
her father, occasionally slipping and calling him by name. On the
rare occasional when she did that, she called him Eov. But there
was no way…

“
It is no joke, milady—or should I
say, my princess,” Drake assured her. “And your mother was of royal
blood as well. She was the youngest daughter of a fey leader. Her
name was Princess Sania and her father is King Teodorus of the
Northern Reach. His lands lie to the north and west, neighboring
the lands your father once ruled. As far as I know, he is still
alive and still in power.”