The Summoning [Dragon's Lair 2] (6 page)

Lilly couldn’t take her eyes off
Remy and Philippe as they turned to face one another. They stepped closer until
their chests touched. Light began to form around them, swirling and undulating.
Tiny pinpricks of flame appeared within the shafts of light, arcing and dancing
wildly. It was hypnotic and terrifying. It didn’t take long before the lights
and flames were so bright she could no longer look directly at them. She
squinted, and she tried shielding her eyes, but it was to no avail. The glowing
wall that had formed between them was impenetrable by the naked eye. It became
so intense she had to turn her face away.

The light began to recede, and,
reluctantly, Lilly turned back to face the field. She was frightened of what
she would see, but she was equally afraid not to look. Knowing that they were
dragon shifters was very different from seeing the indelible proof. The last of
the shimmering light faded and standing at the far end of the field was a
large, winged dragon. Covered in black and gold scales, it was both beautiful
and incredibly frightening. When the large head turned toward her, she could
see eyes that were so familiar to her. The dark pupils were surrounded by two
irises; Remy’s blue eyes and Philippe’s green ones were still present. Meeting
that gaze, she knew that everything she loved about them still existed within
the creature before her. The intelligence, the ruthlessness, even the
gentleness that they so often showed her, it was all there for her to see.

Lilly realized in that moment
that it wasn’t simply their deaths that she had feared but the idea that seeing
them this way would somehow change how she felt for them, how accepting she
could be of them. Even after everything she had seen and felt with them, there
had been a small part of her that doubted. Now, all doubts were gone, firmly eradicated
by the sight before her. Though she was reluctant, she broke that eye contact
and turned to toward Dax and Farron, surveying their dragon form. In their
dragon form, they were not as large, and they lacked the majesty that Remy and
Philippe seemed to exude. Lilly felt that small spark of hope burgeoning inside
her.

A woman wearing an elaborately
embroidered robe stepped up to the edge of the dais and raised an intricately
carved horn, emitting a loud call. As Lilly looked on, the two massive creatures
charged one another, taking flight and meeting in a clash of fire and tearing
claws. Again and again, the creatures clashed. The sound of beating wings and
the roar of flames filled the night sky. Lilly leaned forward in her seat, her
hands gripping the railing in front of her. Her lungs burned, and she realized
she hadn’t actually taken a breath since the fight had begun.

The gold-and-black dragon flew
upward into the night sky and then turned to dive down again. The firelight
glinted on the massive claws as they ripped into the dark scales of the second
dragon. The howl that split the night was harsh and pained, and Lilly knew in
that moment that it was over. The dragon pulled away, once again taking to the
air, the second creature lay on the ground, attempting to move, but it failed
to rise.

Alphonse rose. “Enough! The
challenge has been satisfied!”

The sound of beating wings grew
closer, and the dragon swooped gracefully down, its large talons digging into
the earth directly before the dais. Lilly reached out, her hand gliding over
the scales, testing the texture. They were smoother and harder than she had
anticipated, like warmed marble beneath her fingertips. A shuddering breath
escaped the creature, the heat of it scalding. Drawing away, she watched as the
light once again began to shimmer over them. It was less bright, perhaps
because rather than coalescing into one, the light was separating, forming two
distinct columns. Within those columns, she saw the silhouettes of their bodies
becoming more solid, more real. When the light faded entirely, Remy and
Philippe stood before her, naked, blood seeping from wounds on their chests and
arms. Behind them, Dax and Farron lay on the ground, their bodies bloodied and
ravaged, but their hearts still beating.

Alphonse met their gazes. “We’ve
been here once before, my friends. You chose mercy then, and that decision has
cost you dearly. What is your choice this time?”

“If Dax and Farron will forsake
any claim to Lilly and give their oath to never interfere in our lives again,
we still choose mercy for them,” Remy said.

“And if they refuse?”

“Then they die,” Philippe said,
his voice hard and steely.

Others had moved forward to help
the injured men to their feet, bringing them forward. In the face of their ugly
wounds, Lilly wanted to look away, but forced herself not to. If Remy and
Philippe were willing to fight to protect her, then it would have been
cowardice on her part to be unable to face the consequences of it. Alphonse
asked the questions, being very specific in ascertaining whether or not Dax and
Farron were willing to meet Remy and Philippe’s terms to preserve their lives.

“Yes,” Dax said. “We agree to
the terms.”

“This will not stand!” Jacques
roared.

Alphonse turned to him. “Jacques,
you will not interfere again!”

“They have destroyed my family!
Dishonored all of us!”

“No!” Alphonse shouted, a deep
growl underlying his voice. It made Lilly jump. “You have dishonored us! You
have used your place on this council to indulge your selfish need for vengeance!
Jean-Claude and Alain allowed jealousy and greed to guide them, and your
brother allowed pride to blind him to even the love he had for his own sons!
Now your insatiable need to right these perceived wrongs has jeopardized the
only family you have left! It ends now!”

Jacques moved forward. His speed
was shocking, but with his hands curved into claws, his intent was obvious. He
did not make it very far. Alphonse held up one hand, and as if he were nothing
more than a twig, Jacques simply flew backward across the dais, landing in a
heap amidst broken and overturned chairs. The gasp of the crowd told Lilly that
what she was witnessing was something unusual.

“Your power has faded, Jacques,
because you have cultivated the weakness inside yourself, rather than your
strength,” Alphonse said. “From this point forward, you will step down from the
council and you will join your nephews in exile.”

Jacques didn’t argue but simply
rose and walked away. That he did so without protest was a testament to
whatever metaphysical power Alphonse had just displayed. She would have to ask
Remy and Philippe. As she had the thought, two people rushed forward and draped
robes around Remy and Philippe. They stepped onto the dais and took Lilly’s
hands.

“Let’s go home,” Philippe said.

Lilly stepped closer, leaning
against them, savoring the sweet sensation of once again standing in their
arms. “Yes, let’s go home.”

“I’ll have the jet ready for you
tomorrow,” Alphonse said. “You may return to your lives in New Orleans, and if
Jacques, or Dax and Farron, ever interfere in your lives again, it will be
taken care of by the council.”

“Thank you, Alphonse. You’ve
been a far better friend to us than we’ve deserved,” Remy said.

The older man shook his head. “No.
I should have done this long ago. For the longest time, we’ve allowed the
status quo to stand and allowed Jacques to abuse his power as leader of the
council. I’ve known for a century that it was my time, and I shirked my duty. I
hope that when the two of you feel called to take your place on this council
that you will not make the mistakes I did.”

“We will always serve the clan,
Alphonse. No matter where we are,” Remy said simply.

Alphonse nodded, seemingly
pleased with the answer, and stepped aside to let them pass. They walked back
toward the Main Hall and the suite of rooms waiting for them.

Epilogue

Lilly sat on the back veranda of
their Garden District home, enjoying a strong coffee and a sugarcoated beignet.
It had been months since that fateful night in Colorado when Remy and Philippe
had faced Dax and Farron and Alphonse had taken control of the council. Things
had changed dramatically since then. Remy and Philippe had become more involved
with the clan, to the point that they had considered returning to the compound
on a more permanent basis. They had discussed it the previous evening, but they
all knew it would be some time before they made a decision. The club was
important to them. It had allowed them the freedom to explore the human aspects
of their nature in a way that living at the clan compound never had and never
would.

The isolation was also a factor.
They had come to love New Orleans and thought of it as their home, but duty and
honor were apparently an important aspect of their culture, and having been
accepted back into the fold by Alphonse, they felt compelled and grateful for
the opportunity to take up their place in the clan once again. Taking a sip of
her coffee, Lilly contemplated what life at the compound would be like. She
knew that she would be happy anywhere, as long as they were together.

“You’re deep in thought,”
Philippe said, folding his large frame into one of the wrought iron chairs. He
snatched one of the beignets from her plate and wolfed down the sweet treat.

“Is nothing sacred? You should
know better than to steal pastries from a woman, Philippe.”

He leveled a challenging stare
at her. “Are you going to punish me?”

She might. Their sexual
relationship continued to grow and change. Lilly had always been more
comfortable in a submissive role, but she was learning from them how important
it was to explore the boundaries of pleasure and pain from both sides, to both
give and receive. She had begun to experiment with that, spanking them, binding
them, and taking her pleasure from their bodies while denying them their own,
at least initially. Control was a heady thing, and she’d come to realize that
she liked it.

“Are you putting in a request?”
she challenged back.

“Always. Take me upstairs right
now, tie me up, and show me what a bad boy I’ve been,” he answered playfully
then planted a sugary kiss on her lips.

“Remy won’t be home for hours,”
she protested. “You know the rules. Unless one or the other of you is out of
town, we wait until we can all play together.”

“I have a feeling Remy may be
coming home earlier than you expected.”

Lilly wanted to ask how, but
when she heard the car door, she stopped. Her connection to them was strong,
but having witnessed them take dragon form, she understood now that, while they
may have two human bodies, they were always one being. There was a connection
between Remy and Philippe that would always be stronger than her connection to
them. She’d learned to live with it, as it so often worked in her favor. It was
no wonder that being made love to by both of them was so incredibly satisfying.
Every movement, every stroke was calculated to wring the most pleasure from her
body and from one another.

When the door opened behind her,
she recognized Remy’s footfalls on the floorboards. “Philippe is asking to be
punished,” she said.

“Then by all means, let’s go
upstairs for your next lesson,” Remy answered, leaning down to kiss Lilly’s
neck, his tongue tracing the faint lines of the mark he’d left behind.

“No more lessons, “ she
answered. “I’ll handle the punishment, and you will sit back and enjoy the
show.”

Remy’s cock hardened painfully
at the thought. Watching Lilly dominate Philippe, to spank his perfect ass and
breach every taboo she’d ever held, was unlike any experience he’d ever had. “Gladly,
my darling. I can’t think of anything I’d like more... except perhaps to be the
one who is being punished. But there’s always tomorrow.”

Lilly smiled. “And the day
after. What we have has no expiration date.”

“Let’s not go upstairs,” Remy
said. “I want to see your gorgeous body here in the light. I want the entire world
to hear you screaming when we make you come.”

“That’s an offer I can’t
refuse... but don’t think that allows you to avoid your spanking later,
Philippe.”

Philippe lunged forward,
capturing her lips in a hard, bruising kiss. When he pulled back, he said, “I
don’t want to avoid it; I want to earn it.”

Lilly gasped as he gripped her
thighs and pulled her to edge of the chair. He slid two fingers inside her,
parting her slick folds easily and without hesitation. He drove her mercilessly
toward the edge, the callused pads of his fingers stroking unerringly over her
G-spot while his thumb circled the hard bud of her clit. She was panting within
seconds, moaning his name loudly.

“Fuck me, Philippe! Please. I
need your cock inside me!” she said, her body clenching tightly.

Philippe dropped to his knees on
the porch and tugged her from the chair until she straddled his lap, the
heavily veined underside of his cock nudging at her clit. Unable to wait for
him, Lilly reached between their bodies and grasped his cock, guiding it to her
entrance before sinking slowly down on him, impaled on his cock. She arched her
hips, drawing him deeper, even as she felt Remy kneeling behind her, fitting
the hard ridge of his cock against her ass. She felt the first drop of oil and
even the second as Remy massaged the cheeks of her ass and the cleft between.
As he breeched the tight hole, Lilly moaned eagerly.

“That’s it! I want you both
fucking me!” she demanded, but her wish was almost instantly granted. Remy
pushed inside her, his cock filling her ass while Philippe’s cock pressed in
her sheath, sparking every nerve ending with pleasure.

They moved in tandem, each one
thrusting at the same time, withdrawing at the same time. Her gasps and screams
echoed around the small garden and were undoubtedly heard by all their
neighbors. She was past the point of caring.