Dragons Don't Love Read online

  How can I not laugh?

  I’m laughing so hard now that I can barely breathe. I can’t stop even when he lifts me and tosses me over the side. I laugh the entire way down. What does it matter if my guts splatter on the earth? I didn’t manage to do the one thing I swore my entire life that I would accomplish. I didn’t even say goodbye to my parents because of the course I was set on.

  I have no idea when my laughter turns to sobs. Of course Laryn catches me. He doesn’t carry me back to the tower, though. Inside his talons, I can’t see where we’re going. When I tumble to the ground, he carefully nudges me with one sharp claw. I come to my feet and the shock of what I see stops my tears.

  I stand at the edge of a cliff overlooking water. I’ve never seen anything like it. The water goes on for as far as I can see. The water laps against jagged rocks far below us. A breeze hits my face and I inhale deeply. It’s such a strange scent. The dragon places his legs to either side of me and I snuggle between them.

  “This is where I come when the world is just too much,” he whispers into my mind.

  How does he know? I sink back against his belly and stare out over the amazing sight. “Thank you,” I reply softly. I wipe tears from my eyes. “I never told my parents goodbye.”

  “Both of mine died in one wretched day.”

  He hurts too. I have no idea why that makes me feel better. “I truly meant to kill you yesterday,” I sniff.

  I feel his chest rumble. “You are incapable of killing me. I was surprised, though. It made for an interesting claiming ceremony.”

  “It did, didn’t it?”

  I start laughing again and he breathes fire over my head. Some of the sparks float away on the breeze and slowly sink into the water.

  “Would you like to ride on my back? No bride has ever ridden me without a saddle until you.”

  I tip my head and gaze up his long dragon’s throat to the underside of his chin. His top teeth protrude slightly over his bottom jaw. They are incredibly sharp and I should be terrified. “I would love to ride back. Have I ruined all chances of you training me in the ways of war?”

  “A promise is a promise.”

  One full day has passed and I have feelings for this dragon. Or maybe they are for the man. I grin. It’s hard to have feelings for a dragon with a blue member.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Laryn

  “Bring your guard up and protect your left side, human,” I shout as she drops her shoulder again. If I hadn’t pulled back, she’d have a gaping wound.

  “I’m trying, you blue demon,” she says while gasping for air. “And you’re human too.”

  I give her my finest smirk. “Don’t let this outstanding human body fool you. I’m all dragon, sweetheart.” I twist my wrist and her sword flies over the side of the tower.

  We’ve trained each day for a week and spend hours building her endurance. Then, an hour with swords and a final hour in flight, though the flying is for the sheer fun of it. When I arrive at her room to begin our training sessions, she’s all business and never complains about the muscle-aching work I have her do. She runs, lifts heavy bags of grain, and runs some more. Her eyes light up when it’s time for sword practice. I’ve made her start over and reverse her bad habits. She’s frustrated yet follows my instruction to the letter. I’ve worked with Ashrac many times. He complains and loses interest quickly. Not my bride.

  I feel bad that she is locked inside her room at night. It’s for the best, or so I tell myself.

  I bring her a breakfast meal each day because I can’t wait until mid-morning training to see her. Sharing the meal goes against my personal rules for my new bride, but some rules are just made to be broken.

  At the end of the day, we also share the evening meal in my rooms. There is a greater purpose for this interaction. I always begin with very few words and act aloof. She hates it. Slowly, as the evening progresses, I touch her in small ways and move closer as we relax after the meal.

  At the lightest brush of my skin, I hear her sudden indrawn breaths and see the shivers that cross her flesh. I caress her with my eyes and when she can take no more and her gaze begs me to continue, I pull her closer. She will eventually vocalize her needs to me and I will be the winner of this sexual game we play. I slowly kiss my way across her neck and the tops of her breasts. Her hands wrap in my hair when she can no longer resist touching me. Only my lips graze the places I have deemed the most sensual for her. Yes, I suffer too, but it’s the end game that entices me to continue.

  My marks cover her neck and the tops of her breasts. Her sweet sighs as I make them fill me with a feeling so strong it’s hard to breathe. It’s not love, though. It’s possessiveness. She’s mine and I want the world to know it. The other dragons forever teased me for marking my brides. Let them tease; I want to see this bride covered in the suction bites and kisses I place on her flesh. At last, when I have her deeply within my spell, I ask her to beg for more.

  Her muscles go tight and her dreamy eyes fill with gold sparks. And each night, I know she’s the most stubborn human I’ve ever encountered. She rivals a dragon’s pigheadedness when it comes to begging me for what her body craves.

  Right now, we’re standing on the perch, her breasts are heaving and my marks are quite visible with the sun shining upon us. I truly can’t help my smirk. “You know what this means, human.” I begin removing my clothes and when I drop the last item on the ledge, I shift. She spends the time catching her breath and gazing at my magnificence. Stubborn woman could have every inch of me with only a little begging.

  I’m beyond proud that she never complains about what we do next. With sweat pouring off her glorious body and her limbs quivering, she runs up my tail and leaps upon my back. We fly to the bottom of the tower where she springs off before I have a chance to properly land. Then her punishment for losing the sword begins and she starts running up the stairs. A few days ago she barely made it to the top. Today she doesn’t stop. When she reaches the upper most ledge, I’m waiting. She charges up my tail and finds her seat again. I love that she doesn’t use a saddle and her bare thighs squeeze tight against my neck. It’s torture of the most erotic kind.

  I’ve had several new outfits made for her. The one she’s wearing today is particularly revealing. A bronze clasp holds the leather hip straps and small twines of supple leather secure to the bronze and cover her pussy. Barely. She uttered not one complaint when I opened her door so she could follow me to the practice perch. I rebuke myself for having such a revealing outfit made. Again, torture.

  With her riding me, I ease my cock’s forescales back and give the swelling a bit of relief. It’s how I’ve controlled myself each day. In her current state of attire, I need additional therapy and I’m hoping cold water will help. “Would you like to swim?”

  Her body is usually relaxed while riding, but now it stiffens. “I don’t swim, dragon.”

  This surprises me. “You cannot?”

  Her ire rises again. “I wouldn’t say it if it were not true. I never learned to swim. When the village children went swimming, I went hunting.”

  Hmmm. “Why would a female hunt?” I don’t know all the ways of the human village, but I know the men provide meat for their families.

  She doesn’t speak for a few minutes. This is quite strange because she always has a ready comeback to my inquiries. “A wall collapsed on my father’s legs and he could no longer walk. I learned to hunt so we wouldn’t go hungry.”

  “No one offered your family aid?” I bristled and she squeezed her legs tighter. Exquisite torture.

  “The village had lean years and no one could afford to help us.”

  I knew of these years in the village and remember delivering many large sacks of grain. It was almost too late that time. It’s easy for us dragons to forget the human realm exists. At least until the claiming is eminent. The drought about fifteen years ago was bad and completely slipped by our magic realms. I think it was Sarn who suggested we check
on the village. “How old were you when you began hunting?”

  “Six.”

  She practiced her sword skills while hunting. “Is that when you decided to kill me?”

  She whispers honestly, “Yes.”

  So young and so incredibly foolish.

  It matters not. For some reason her attempt to kill me makes me proud. Not that I will tell her that. She has yet to beg and I really need that cold water. “I’ll teach you to swim. It’s much like leaping from the tower. If you trust me you will learn.”

  She hesitates for only a few seconds. “Then let’s go swimming.”

  “Hold on.” I’m excited to teach her something new and I add a burst of speed.

  When we fly over the water, she does the exact opposite of holding on. She moves around until her small feet dig into my scales. She stands upon my back completely fearless.

  I love her. No. I do not. I barely like her. We haven’t even fucked.

  “We’re going in.” I don’t give her time to respond. I lift my nose and buck my body. She flies over my head and I shift to human mid-dive. I hear her splash before I hit the water. It takes me a moment to spot her. Panic shows in her eyes, but she isn’t struggling. I gather her in my arms, kick my feet, and push us upward.

  She coughs between smiles as she draws air into her lungs. “I guess my first lesson will be not to suck in a breath after I go under,” she says as soon as she can speak.

  The water does nothing to relieve my aching cock. She’s never looked more beautiful. “Here’s another lesson.” I tip my head down. “Breathe through your nose,” I say huskily. I’ve never actually kissed her mouth. I’ve been saving myself from this particular torture. It’s time.

  Salty, cold sweetness fills my senses as I take her lips in a deep kiss. I wrap her ponytail around my wrist and hold her head still. Not that she’s going anywhere. Her lips melt against mine and I increase the pressure. She opens her succulent lips and my tongue slides in. My tongue swirls and glides along her teeth and her tongue. Her taste rolls over me and my cock becomes a pole of pure iron. It would be so easy to take her here—slide that small bit of cloth aside and pierce my bride for the first time.

  No. She must beg first. I will win our challenge because I am dragon and far more stubborn than any human female. I withdraw my lips and she slowly opens her eyes. I read desire in their depths. She wants me. A few simple words and she can have me.

  Her eyes come back into focus. “Will you teach me to swim now?”

  Not anywhere near the words I want to hear. It makes me quite disgruntled.

  I teach her to swim with a complete lack of enthusiasm. She doesn’t seem to notice. Her lips are quivering and her teeth are clacking when I halt the lesson. “Put your arms around my neck and circle your legs about my hips.” I turn so my back faces her in the water. “If you fall when I shift, I will grab you with my talons.”

  “Oooo kkkk ay.”

  I shift and using my wings, I push from the water and shoot up to the sky. Somehow she remains on my back. Some of my irritation dissipates. She is such a warrior. I don’t fly far. She is freezing. She wisely leans in low and absorbs some of my body heat, but I can still feel her shivering.

  I head to a small cove. There’s a large log at the edge of the water. I breathe fire and it blazes. With another breath of fire, it rolls farther into the cove and continues burning. I land on the beach and I’m surprised when she doesn’t immediately jump down.

  “Iiiim tttttooo cooold.”

  “Allow your body to relax and don’t fight this.” I rear back and immediately lift my tail and buck as I lower my head. My bride flies up, I shift to human and catch her.

  I get a small giggle for this extraordinary feat.

  “You’re freezing.” I carry her to the fire and set her on her feet. I begin unbuckling her arm guards. Next, I kneel and remove her boots. She remains silent until I unclasp the front hook of her lower garment.

  “No, please,” her concern stops her from stuttering.

  “Yes,” I say in my firmest voice. “You have nothing to hide from me and I will not allow you to take a chill. I’ll wait until you beg before fucking you, but I will not be stopped from seeing your body. Close your eyes.”

  Against her exacting nature and without argument, her eyes slam shut. I continue removing the cloth. Every inch of her is exquisite, made for me and pleasing to my every fantasy. Her breasts full, waist small, hips wide, and skin so incredibly soft I want to mark her everywhere. When I finish removing her top and lower garments, I run my hands briskly over her flesh to warm her. Her eyes remain shut tight, which scrunches her face just a bit and purses her very kissable lips. Finally, I pull her close against me. Her back is to the fire, so my body warms her front. It’s the best I can do. And the best is killing me. My cock is between us. It aches to find its home. Her shivering lessens as I untie the band holding her hair and thread it out behind her so the fire heats it. I can see over her back and the round globes of her ass are almost my undoing.

  “My fighting clothes are ruined,” she says against my chest.

  “I will have twenty made in their exact image within the month. This one is my favorite.” It’s also been driving me wild all day.

  Her cheek wiggles a bit against my chest. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that each one delivered is more revealing than the last.”

  I smile above her head. “You have no need to worry that the trend will continue. If there is any less material, you will be naked.”

  She giggles now and I like it. Her voice drops when she says, “Dragon?”

  “Yes?”

  “I don’t wish to beg.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Roxanne

  He flew me back to his castle and deposited me in my room without comment to my statement.

  I want him. I have for days. My heartbeat accelerates and warmth floods me whenever he comes near. And when he touches me… my body burns. The damn dragon knows this too. I see it in his eyes—a flash of silver that turns me into a quivering mess.

  I think of the unclaimed brides. When they are not chosen, most willingly give up their virginity the night of the claiming. It’s a huge event in the village, or so I’ve been told. Thinking I would kill the dragon, I planned to die a virgin. If not by the hand of the dragon, the people of my village would have no choice but to do it themselves. This would be their only chance to reduce the vengeance from the other dragons.

  Now, my virginity is the last thing I want.

  He’s incredibly arrogant and at the same time, absolute perfection. He knows it and I feel drab in comparison. Then his blue eyes spark with silver light as he looks at me. His desire ignites my soul and his gaze says he wants me regardless of my imperfections. At night, I dream he holds me in his arms and we make slow, tender love. I run my fingers across my skin, but it’s his hands I want touching me. These feelings are quite frustrating because my imagination can only do so much. I have no idea what my body needs. To touch myself in certain places has been forbidden to me since I was a child. Those rules continue to hold me back. I am the bride of a dragon and his to do with as he pleases. With only a very light stroke, he ignites a heat between my thighs. His touch appears casual, but it’s not. Each brush against me is calculated so my heart races and shivers run across my skin. Then his lips travel my neck and tops of my breasts. My breath expels in small gasps and the secret place between my legs longs for more. I have no control over myself. More than anything, I truly want to beg.

  Then he whispers something about fucking and begging. My clearer thoughts come back into focus. He has no idea that the word he uses disgruntles me so. I’ve heard the village boys say it when they didn’t know I was around. I think of the word as something dirty that the brides were expressly forbidden to do, or even speak of. I want my union with the dragon to be extraordinary. It was Acasia’s story that started me on the path I’m now on, but it’s the dragon who has completely captivated me. H
e can be good and kind, irritating and mean. But most of all, he’s… special. Fucking is not special in my mind.

  As the days pass, I grow resentful and even more confused. He locks me in my room each night and I sleep alone. It’s the loneliest I’ve ever been. In my village, I ran free for hours through the forest. Now, I’m trapped within these walls and I hate it.

  Then today in the water, he kissed my lips for the first time. His taste intoxicated me and my head went dizzy. The minute his mouth pressed against mine, I knew. I knew I would beg. On claiming day when I tried to kill him, I had no intention of begging for my life. Begging for his body is somehow worse and goes against everything I stand for. Even so, I will give in.

  Each night after the door to my room is barred seems endless with so many thoughts keeping me from sleep. I think about the years ahead of me. I will never see my parents again and the sadness is a dull ache. As the claimed bride, at least I know they will be cared for. But I will grow old and the dragon will stay as he is now. This thought terrifies me.

  My parents love one another. My mother could have left my father and found another man to support us when he was injured. She refused. I remember how beautiful she was back then. A hard life of doing my father’s work as well as her own makes her appear older than she is. Then she smiles at my father and the years fall away.

  I want that kind of love. I can’t fool myself, though. Two haggard humans a few years apart in age are one thing—fifty years between a human and a dragon completely different once I’m wrinkled and gray. How did his previous brides stand it? I wonder if they became a burden to him.

  Then there’s the fact that he won’t use my name. For this reason, I refuse to use his. I sometimes use the term ‘sir’ when we train. My go-to is simply ‘dragon’. I can’t help a small sigh escaping as I think of our daily training sessions. He never wears a shirt. His chest and arms are magnificent as he wields a sword. It’s quite hard to concentrate while his muscles flex and ripple with each movement. I’ve had several near-fatal accidents when my daydreams take me away from the sword play. He gets so angry even though it’s entirely his fault.