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  It makes sense because when I look at him I see the dragon too. He waits patiently as I finish the last bites of my food. I give him a mischievous smile when I’m done. “Let’s hurry and clean up so I can admire your dragon form sooner.” Sarn grumbles a bit, but he helps me clean. His wandering hands make me laugh until I finally run out the door and he gives chase. I sprint through the trees, feeling him close behind me. I almost shift, but decide my wolf doesn’t deserve it. Sarn finally tackles me at the clearing and we roll and laugh on the spiky pine needles. Small pricks enter my skin, though I stop noticing when his lips claim mine.

  I love his taste—a mix of sweetness and the most intoxicating musk. I wish I could bottle it so even when he’s gone I could taste him. I wipe the thought from my head as soon as it escapes. I will enjoy every minute we have.

  “Will you ride me, my lady?” He rolls so I’m astride him with his cock resting against my backside. I lift up and position myself so he pokes at my entrance. His eyes turn the brightest bright violet I’ve seen as I lower myself until he’s fully seated within me.

  “Riding a dragon just became my very favorite activity,” I manage to rasp as I catch my breath at the sensations inundating me. He thrusts upward and my hands fall to his chest. I stop thinking about anything but the growing energy between us as my body tightens around him. I move myself up and lower back down. The sweet friction of his cock heats me up inside. Out of the water I notice how his skin heats up with his desire too. I swear I should hear a sizzling noise as our bodies touch in the most intimate way. My wolf gives a small, reticent growl inside of me. It must be his dragon that intimidates her. She only wanted him until she felt his unknown magic. I don’t care. I don’t need her cooperation to feel pleasure. He thrusts upward with a powerful buck of his hips and I forget all thought of my wolf. I want him slowly with long strokes and sensual nipping kisses. I lean down and lick the corner of his mouth as my lower body rises up and lowers onto his stiff cock. Pressure builds between my thighs and curls in sensitive waves that spread through my entire body. His eyes are the deepest purple I’ve seen them. I place quick kisses over his face and don’t allow his searching lips to find mine. He groans in frustration and I laugh with the joy of driving him mad.

  “Fuck me, wolf. I can no longer take your teasing,” he rasps out between clenched teeth.

  “Make me,” I offer in challenge repeating the words from the first day I went to his cabin.

  He’s above me almost before I’ve finished speaking. “I was acting the gentleman and taking the pine needles from your backside,” he groans as he pushes me into those same prickly needles.

  I don’t care; I love that I can drive him mad with need. His pace increases and my body reacts. “I don’t want a gentleman, I want a dragon,” I whisper into his ear.

  Neither of us is capable of talking any longer and we let our bodies tell the story of our need. He pistons into me and I lift my pelvis up to meet him. The slap of our joining bodies is loud, our breathing ragged, and our flesh ignites everywhere we touch. I would swear the earth stops rotating when the fire down below explodes in crashing waves that make me scream out my release.

  “Fuck,” he yells as the cords in his neck strain and he thrusts harder until his warm seed shoots inside me and he shouts against my neck.

  We hold onto each other long after the energy of our joining fades. This is what love is. And with this much love comes greater heartache. I know I’m not ready.

  Chapter Nine

  Sarn

  Even with a bride I’ve never felt such a powerful connection of energy during my release. My violet light should have exploded and wrapped Sierra within its warmth. Like the last time, it remained elusive. I don’t wish to feel this dejected sensation I’ve had both times we’ve made love. It brings all the reasons I’m here to the forefront.

  Unleashing my dragon and soaring through the sky helps. I love the sound of Sierra’s laughter. I fly us over the main collection of bear cabins and hear her shout greetings to the children and females who stop what they’re doing and watch.

  I’ve never relished having people see a bride riding me. It’s always been a personal, somewhat intimate experience. I’m sure the humans at my castle have caught sight of me with a bride from time to time, though it’s never acknowledged. The last thing a bride would do is wave to them. Sierra is different, and I’m delighted to see smiling faces on these children. One day, when all the dragons gain transcended mates, maybe we can share the joy with the village that supplies our brides. Quickly, I stop myself from this type of thought. I don’t deserve a mate. My sins are unredeemable. If I thought I had even a small chance, the yearning for a mate would drive me crazier than I already am. Dragons don’t forgive and I will never forgive myself.

  “Take us over the lake, dragon. I would like to see it as the sun drops behind the trees.”

  “As you wish,” I respond inside her mind.

  She’s fearless and holds tight as I head almost straight up and clear the tree line. I swoop between hills and glide on the wind.

  “Remain steady,” she says. “I wish to stand.”

  And she does. She walks my neck like it’s a balance beam. I feel a very slight lag and know she has placed her hands out. She would make an incredible bride and a mate who I could carry through eternity. The cruelness of my life pushes its way inside me again.

  “If I fall, would you catch me, dragon?” she yells.

  Of course I would catch her. “No,” I tell her as her joy encroaches on my sadness.

  “We shall see,” she shouts as she heads further along my body and begins walking over the spikes of my tail.

  Crazy wolf and even crazier that she manages to stay on. I’ve reached the water and once I’m over the center where it’s deepest, I dive almost straight down. My tail whips up and I send her into the water ahead of me with a loud splash. Once I pass where she went in, I skim my talons along the surface, which sends water spraying around me until I reach shore. I turn around and head back toward the sounds of her laughter. I pluck her from the water so she rests in my talons.

  “No fair,” she shouts. I release her and she splashes again.

  This time when I head back to Sierra, I shift about twenty feet up and enter the water as human. I streamline straight to her kicking legs, lift her high, and toss her once more and watch as she flies up and then goes under.

  “Enough, enough,” she coughs while laughing when she comes up for air.

  I swim over and bring her in close so she’s settled against me as she catches her breath. “I love you, Sierra,” I whisper against her wet hair.

  Her arms tighten around me. “Oh, Sarn, I love you too.”

  Lightning doesn’t strike and the earth doesn’t open up and swallow us. She loves me even knowing my sins. I will steal every minute possible with her so she soothes away the pain as only she can do.

  We swim to the bank and watch the sun go down over the trees and the mirror of the lake absorb the colors. When the last rays of light go dark, I begin kissing Sierra’s throat and down lower until I stop at her breasts. I lay my head against her for a moment and listen to her heart beat. She will live forever and her heart will never stop. Longing travels through me—the longing to hold her throughout eternity. A dream that is far from reality, but I can’t help it.

  I finally pull away and run my hand over her soft flesh and hardened nipple. I taste one with a quick lick then watch the peak tighten further. Sierra’s fingers sink into my hair as she draws me closer. I apply harder suction this time and she writhes beneath me.

  “Love me, Sarn, please.”

  I worship her body with kisses and finally enter her in a long, slow stroke. We keep up this pace as our gazes meet in the dark, both having the gift of night vision. We share a connection until neither of us can fight the need of a faster and deeper joining.

  I love her. I don’t deserve her—my little wolf with the heart of the lion and the soul of an
angel. I find peace in her arms and ecstasy in her warmth. She chases away my demons as her sighs and moans echo into the night.

  I can’t help silently bargaining with the Goddess. “Please, I will do anything…”

  Sierra pulses around me and I can’t hold back my orgasm. She’s beautiful. She’s sensual. She’s fierce. She’s perfect.

  We hold hands as we walk back to the cabin. We aren’t willing to stop the energy that binds us. She sleeps in my bed and we do more loving than actual sleeping. It is the most peaceful and whimsical night I’ve spent since leaving the dragon realm.

  “What about your work at the nightclub?” I ask her the next morning after taking my fill of her body again. Her hair is in disarray, she smells like sex, and I’ve never seen her more alluring.

  Her fingers skim over my abs. She’s fascinated with them and proved it more than once during the night. “I’m not going back. Dmitri knows…” Her fingers stop moving and she gives me a look that says she doesn’t want to finish the sentence.

  “Go ahead,” I tell her as I tap her chin with my fingertip.

  She appears so worried, but she tells me anyway. “He has banned you from his club and every other club in the city.”

  This bothers me not at all and I offer a smile. “I deserve it. Don’t fret. The craving for alcohol creeps up on me every so often and it’s better I stay away.”

  “Is it bad?” She places peppered kisses over my chest where her fingers were before.

  I tug a few strands of her hair. “With you here, it’s not bad at all.”

  She peers from beneath her incredible lashes. I lift her up and bring her higher onto my chest so I can reach her lips. “I’ll drink you instead.”

  It’s another hour before we leave the bed and only because we are wasting away to nothing without food. A basket waits on the doorstep that apparently Sierra expected. “They will restock the fridge and cupboards today while we’re out,” she tells me. “They honor you with gifts of food.”

  “I pay for the food,” I tell her because it’s true.

  She smiles as she shakes her head. “No, silly dragon, you pay Dmitri. The bears couldn’t care less about money. They take care of me when I’m here. Nikka, Dmitri’s mate, says it’s because I spread happiness. Bears are different from other beastkind. Their way’s older. Small changes occurred for a while, but with peace within the beastkind world, most have gone back to caring for their men and enjoying it. The only difference is now their females have the option to do more. The help they’ve given me proves it isn’t just the men they care for. I think the bears are special and often misunderstood.”

  I can only give her a slight grunt. I don’t explain that being waited on is normal for me. It’s a dragon thing. We have loyal servants who take care of us from before sunrise to long after the sun goes down. They make a dragon’s life easy when it comes to food and clothing. Anything they cannot provide, we steal from other realms. It’s the way of dragons. I have enough to feel guilty about without worrying why the bears choose to help me.

  I help Sierra fix breakfast. Not by actually preparing anything but by stealing kisses and tickling her so her laughter fills the kitchen. She slaps my hands away but never tells me to stop. We eat at the small table and the food is much more delicious than I cooked the previous morning for her brother.

  I can’t believe this is only the beginning of day two with Sierra in my bed. I feel as if she’s been part of my life for years. Much more satisfying than the first years with a bride. Sierra doesn’t hide from me or shake in fright whenever I’m near. She’s the combination of every bride once they’ve settled in. She represents the perfect years—sex and companionship. What is it about her that attracts me so? I’ve been aware of her for a year. Secretly longed for everything she offered when she thought I wasn’t looking. She wears her heart on her sleeve and it’s never been hard to decipher the hot need in her eyes. I never took her up on the silent offer of her body and that’s very strange for me.

  Another thought takes hold and the happiness of a moment ago disappears. We’re lying in tall grass resting after making love yet again. Thinking about her lack of virginity is what changes my mood.

  “Who was he?” I ask as the air around us heats with my ire. I use everything I have to tamp it down.

  “Who was who?” she replies in a dreamy voice that only causes my anger to rise against my will.

  “The man who stole your virginity. The men who came after him,” I spit out as I take a deep breath and suck the hot air back down my throat.

  She rolls my way and places her small hand on my upper arm. “You’re not serious.”

  I grumble low under my breath. I cannot look at her. “I wish to know about this man and the others.”

  She sits up so she’s gazing directly into my eyes. “Okay… but first you will remove that tone from your voice. You are not a dictator and you will respect the rules of this realm that allow women to have the same sexual freedom as men. If you can do that, I will tell you of him.”

  I’m so angry I want to burn something. I can feel my control disintegrating. “You need to leave now,” I shout as I roll over and dislodge her hand while going to my knees. The fire builds inside me with hot wrath and the need to destroy.

  “Sarn,” her voice whispers past the roaring in my ears. “Do not do this. You are stronger than you think. You do not want to hurt me. You hurt Roxanne because of grief. You love me.” Her hands soothe my back and her voice breaks into my thoughts. The fire dies down a bit as she continues speaking. “I love you. The man I gave my virginity to was a friend. We were together intimately for a while as he taught me the ways of my body. Only friends and I haven’t seen him in a long time. I didn’t care enough to keep up with where he went or who he went with. No man has come after him but you.” Her hands drift over me as I listen. “I never loved him. I have only loved once and that man is you. Now calm down and take me in your arms. I need them about me.”

  I collapse facedown into the grass. My little wolf covers me with her body and spreads herself along my hot flesh. Her heart thuds against my back as her soft, naked breasts push against me. Everything. All the pain. The heartache. The misery. The shame. It bursts from me in a torrent of tears that no man should ever release.

  And my brave wolf takes it all. She speaks of her love. And of mine. She describes her loneliness while she waited for me. I hear every word—need it to survive my wretched memories. I think of Roxanne’s charred flesh. The pain I caused to so many because I let my anger unleash. Ashrac’s fear of me, his Uncle Sarn whom he loved. My last kiss with Calista and Beth before her. All my brides—their sweetness and giving natures. The years of loneliness after each left me. The loneliness of my brother dragons while they suffered too. How glad I was at those times that it was not me and I still had a bride to hold onto. My life has been thousands of years of heartache that I’ve tried to bury. It’s stripped from me now. Stripped from my heart, my flesh, my soul. I cry for it all and my wolf takes my shame and weaves her magic and separates it from the memories.

  Long after the tears subside, she holds and comforts me. I’ve never needed anyone as badly as I need her. I turn and bring her into my chest. My fingers thread through her hair as I inhale her scent.

  I cast another prayer silently out into the wind. “Please, Goddess, I only ask that you give me as much time as possible. I will do your bidding and abide by the curse. But I need this woman for as long as possible.”

  Chapter Ten

  Sierra

  It’s been two months since the day in the meadow. The day I fell even more in love with my dragon. I know he’s ashamed that I watched him break down. I also know it’s the best thing he could ever do for himself. He holds so much pain inside.

  And speaking of inside. My wolf remains silent. She hasn’t poked her wild impulses into me once during the past two months. I can shift, but it takes an extra bit of concentration and it no longer feels as natural. I’m b
eyond worried and it’s the reason I’m making this trip today.

  Veda and Tyboll’s cabin is far from the bear clan. They choose to live way out here and have for more than twenty years. The bears whisper of them when they think I’m not paying attention. They love these two and respect them greatly. They’re bear shifting witches. Something I’ve never heard of before.

  Nikka told me more about them with the help of a she-bear to speak for her. She said the witches are expecting me. When I asked why, her reply was that they contacted her and said I had need of them. I didn’t quite believe the whispers among the clan, but I trust Nikka. Bears are so strange and to learn a pair of witch shifters is part of their clan is astonishing. But as I think on it, so are dragons.

  I’ve spent each day and night with Sarn. We are practically inseparable, which is how we prefer it. I asked Nikka if Sarn was expected too and she told me no. This information caused a dilemma. I didn’t want Sarn to know about the absence of my wolf. He could take something quite simple and find a way to blame himself. The emptiness I feel inside because my wolf refuses to show herself is not simple. I can’t hurt my dragon with this knowledge yet and I’m praying to the Goddess that the witches will help.

  I went back to our cabin to try to decide how to handle my absence the following day. Soon after returning to the cabin, Roland sent me a telepathic message that the nightclub was shut down for a day because of a water leak. Most of the bears of the clan decided to take a fishing trip high into the mountains and they wanted Sarn to go with them. Sarn grumped around making excuses not to go until I promised to love him late into the night after his return and fix him a chocolate cake. He knows I would have made love with him anyway, so the cake proved the deciding factor. Silly dragon.

  I know why the witches want to see me. The disappearance of my wolf is a problem and one I’ve never heard of before. I’m ready to have some answers, and I run through the forest on four legs following a well-used trail. Nikka told me that Veda and Tyboll’s guidance in matters of shifter magic is revered.