Dragons Among Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice) (21 page)

She stared at him in awe. As a man, he was chiseled like a Greek god. As a dragon, well, he was spectacular. One golden brow rose as he stared back at her.

“Right. We fly.” She swung his pack over her shoulder and stepped forward while trying to tell herself this was all perfectly normal. Her, mounting a mythical creature to go for a spin in this fairy-tale world.

All. Perfectly. Normal.

Zayne’s head snaked downward, his warm breath washing steam over her as it drew close.

“Oh, nuh-uh. Don’t you even think about picking me up by your teeth and dropping me onto your back like some giant mama cat.” She shoved his muzzle away. “Just kneel down or something. I can climb.”

Zayne snorted but complied. Spreading his long, golden talons wide, he lowered himself to the ground, then used his nose to give her a careful nudge onto his back. The golden scales looked smooth as glass but had enough texture to offer her a foothold. She hiked up the skirt of her dress—Lord, she missed her jeans back home—and shimmied forward so she sat ahead of his wings. In place of a mane, Zayne had a row of golden, jagged spikes. With no reins, they would have to do. She took hold of the nearest two and cast his watchful eyes a worried look.

“I’m…I’m not hurting you, am I?”

Zayne snorted, louder this time, then rose to his feet. Addie gripped the spikes as tightly as possible, sure she’d slip right off, but found herself surprisingly stable on his broad, sleek back. She drew in a deep breath and reminded herself that no matter how scary this might get, one way or another Zayne would keep her safe. Hadn’t he proven that enough times by now?

The dragon beneath her stepped toward the center of the clearing, turned his face skyward, and spread his wings.

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered as she clamped her eyes shut and braced herself for whatever would come next.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Queen Helena’s eyelids felt heavy as bricks. She stirred at the pounding on her chamber doors. Tried to form the words to tell their servants to go away, to leave her and the king be, but they refused to come.

“Your Majesty,” Thomasina called. “Please, it is time for your breakfast. Are you not well?”

“No,” she finally managed. With great difficulty, she opened her eyes and spied Robert lying utterly still, his mouth fallen slack. Panic pricked the queen’s heart. What had Berinon done? She’d trusted him to make things right, but killing the king would surely result in her beheading.

A soft snore escaped the bull of a man beside her, and Helena relaxed. Her plan had worked after all. She’d sipped at the wine, while Robert drank deeply to quench his thirst.

But one question remained: how long would he sleep?

“I— We’re both here. Ill.”

“Shall I call the nurse?” Thomasina asked from the hall.

“No, child. We need time to rest, nothing more.”

Helena’s lids slid shut again. The queen silently prayed she’d bought Berinon enough time to work his magic.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Addie pranced ahead of Zayne toward a cluster of purple wildflowers growing among a snowy sea of white ones, a sound of awe escaping her as she went. They’d roamed the countryside for over an hour, yet her steps had never slowed. While the woman could be stubborn as an ox, her kind, pure heart enabled her to be gleeful and giggly as a small child. It was in those moments her true beauty shone and took the prince’s very breath away.

How long must the line of suitors be for this woman in the land from which she came? Jealousy surged within Zayne as he pictured her with another, for surely his fair maiden had been—she hadn’t come to him a virgin. Had their encounter been born out of pure lust, or had her lover been as smitten with her as he?

Jealousy flared brighter within him, and the prince bit back a growl. Strange, he’d never been the jealous type before. Nor had he ever wanted a woman so badly, especially one he’d already bedded. Multiple times.

No, the feeling which surged inside him now exceeded a simple want or desire. It was something entirely different, something he’d never experienced to this level before.

Need.

Addie twirled away from another cluster of flowers, and Zayne stepped forward to catch her in his arms. In one smooth motion, he rolled them both to the ground, him atop of her, a cushion of sweet clover softening the fall.

“Zayne? What are you—” The question died on her lips as she took in his look with a smirk. “Just can’t help yourself, can you?”

He wanted to ravage her right then and there. Kiss her senseless. But today was all about Addie and showing her how much he wanted her to stay.

“We really shouldn’t, you know.” She set her freshly picked bouquet down carefully.

“Shouldn’t what?”

“Do what that look in your eyes is telling me you want to do.”

“Why not?” He lowered his lips to the base of her throat. She swallowed hard beneath his touch, and he couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, for one, we’re out in the middle of a field, for crying out loud. Somebody could, um, walk up on us.”

“There’s no one for miles and miles,” he murmured, refusing to lift his lips from her delicious skin. “And the lone way to arrive here is by wing.”

“Convenient. But then there’s the whole…”

Her voice wavered, and now he did raise his head to seek her crystalline gaze. There was a sorrow there, so sharp and unexpected that he would have done anything to relieve her of the pain. “What is it, Adelaide?”

“Well,” she said, the word barely a rough whisper. She cleared her throat and tried again. “It’s just that I’ll be going home soon. And if we keep doing this, it’s going to make leaving you hurt that much more.”

Hope filled his chest so swiftly that he nearly burst. In all the time they’d spent together, this was the first she’d spoken of her feelings toward him. Until now, only her actions had betrayed the song of her heart. “There’s a simple solution to that.”

Her brows drew down in that adorable V of hers. “Which is?”

“Remain here.”

Addie blinked. Blinked twice more. “What?”

“Do not return to your lands.” Zayne cast a fiery gaze upon her and wished it alone could sway her. But this was Adelaide, and he knew better. He brushed a thumb across her beautiful cheek. “Have you not on several occasions commented about the beauty of my kingdom?”

She frowned. “Well, yeah. I said England was pretty too, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pack up and move there any time soon. I have a life back in the States, Zayne. And a job. And, and appliances! Do you have any idea how much I miss my appliances?” She blew out a frustrated breath. “No, of course you don’t, because you don’t have them here.”

“Whatever your heart desires, I shall bring it to you. Whatever you ask, ’tis yours.”

She barked a laugh. “Spoken like a true royal.”

“Whatever is that to mean?” he asked, leaning back to sit on his heels.

“It means you think you can go around fixing everything by a wave of your hand or a flick of your money. I can’t be
bought
, Zayne. I’m not some cow at the market.” Tears welled up in her eyes. She pushed him away and rose to her feet. “Besides, a cow would be worth more.”

“Your words make no sense, my lady.” Zayne stood as well and took a step toward her, but she held a hand out to ward him off. He growled in frustration.

“Don’t you see?” she cried. “I’m not a
lady
. I’m just some girl, some dumb girl from Indiana with a screwed-up life because of a screwed-up childhood.”

Addie spun as a sob bubbled out from her lips. Against her wishes, he closed the distance between them, grabbed her by the arms, and turned her to face him. Like a stubborn child she kept her face turned from his, her eyes clamped shut as tears trickled down her soft cheeks.

“Addie. Adelaide. Look at me.” He softened his voice. “Please.”

Her lids fluttered open, but still her gaze refused to meet his.

“I know not of your upbringing, nor the life you lead in this other world, merely of the kindness and exuberance you display here, with me.”

He released her arms and lifted one of her hands to place it over his heart. “No one in all my years has touched me here the way you do. No man, no woman, and certainly no cattle.”

That elicited a soft laugh from her, though her gaze remained on the ground.

“I desire no other, Addie. ’Tis you who has claimed my heart and soul. Only you.”

“But you deserve better.” She extracted her hand from his chest. “So just drop it, okay?”

Zayne stared at his woodland nymph in disbelief. He’d just professed his love to her, and still she would turn him away? What would it take to prove to this woman how deeply his feelings for her ran?

“No.” Growling, he snagged her waist and pulled Addie into his chest. She let out a surprised breath as her eyes widened. Before she could order him away, his mouth claimed hers, his fury driving him nearly to madness. He had to make her believe him, had to make her want to stay.

The kiss deepened, and the hand she’d thrust out to push him away faltered. He drove his free hand up into her hair and tugged her head back, exposing the delicate flesh of her neck once more. He kissed and nipped at her skin, his mouth trailing from her chin to the swell of her breasts.

“No, Zayne—”

He brought his mouth to hers and silenced her again, kissing her until they were both left gasping for air. Then, in one swift motion, he had her below him on the ground once more, his body stretched carefully above hers. He returned to kissing her neck, her shoulder.

One of her cool hands came to rest against his fiery cheek. “Zayne,” she whispered.

He froze. If she told him to stop, he would, though it might nearly kill him to do so. Reluctantly, he raised his head and met her gaze. But the anger from before was gone, replaced by a weary uncertainty. “How can you possibly want this? Want me? I’m nothing in your world.”

“You’re everything in my world,” he confessed as much to himself as to her. “Everything.”

Her perfect pink lips parted in surprise, and he pressed his own to them. Addie’s fingers laced into his hair, pulling him tighter against her. Zayne opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, and she readily complied. Her tongue was sweet from this morning’s tea, yet cool against his own. He ran his arms around her body, wanting to be closer to her, needing to be. But the summer dress that Emeline had insisted Addie wear was keeping her from him, and that simply wouldn’t do. With a growl, he pulled back, untied its laces, and tugged the infernal fabric up and over her shoulders. But still he couldn’t see all of her, as his clever servant had thought to dress Addie in frilly undergarments this day as well.

A wasted effort, Zayne thought with a grin as he summoned a single talon and carefully ripped the fabric from top to bottom in one swift movement. The linens fell aside, revealing the object of his desire in all her full glory. He drank in the view, letting his gaze trail from her head to her painted pink toes and back up again. She was perfect in every way, and in that moment, all pretense was gone. Honesty welled up inside of him, nearly taking his breath away as the realization rose to his lips. “Never has another made me feel so complete. I need you, Addie. I…need you.”

* * * * *

“I need you.”

Addie stared up at Zayne and saw the raw emotion on his face. These weren’t simply words; they were a window to his very soul. Whatever experiences he’d had in his princely reign with the women before her clearly had never been anything more than superficial flings. And never in Addie’s prior experiences had a man looked at her the way Zayne did now and say he needed her.

He needed
her
.

The air in her lungs escaped in a slow whoosh as the gravity of his words sank in. How could she deny him something he clearly wanted—he
needed
—so badly, when she wanted the same thing? In all her time in Edana, he’d been nothing but protective and giving. How many times had he risked his life to save her? He could have easily cast her out that first night, abandoned her. But he hadn’t. In all things, Zayne had put her needs above his own, a type of treatment Addie had never experienced.

His golden eyes took on a pleading look, and the last wall around her fragile heart crumbled. She had nothing waiting for her back home but a pseudo-vagabond life and a so-so career. It wasn’t modern appliances she truly desired. It was to be loved.

To be loved like no one had loved her before.

“Show me,” she whispered.

He regarded her in silence, his eyes uncertain. She raised one brow at his hesitancy—an act so unlike him. Slowly his mouth lowered to hers, the kiss at first sweet and gentle, but soon growing in intensity. He rolled to his back, pulling her atop him as he went, and Addie drew in a sharp breath as her naked body came to settle upon the erection bulging from within his pants. But still his mouth refused to release hers. His hands went in motion, weaving through her hair, tracing up and down her back, grasping her butt, the movements growing more and more fevered with each passing moment.