Ice Dragon (9 page)

He kissed her deeply then, squeezing her close, aligning their bodies and stroking his hips against hers. He slid his hard rod between her thighs, teasing her folds but taking it no further. He’d be damned if he would take her virginity in such a public place.

Still, he could show her a bit of what she was in for later that night.

He wouldn’t wait longer than that to make her completely his.

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Roland moved back near the edge of the pool. Indentations had been cut into the rock at different levels, leaving convenient little ledges below the water so people could sit and relax. He led her to the highest of them still beneath the water and sat her down, facing him. Holding her gaze, he swept one large hand down to settle between her legs, spreading her gently as he coaxed her with his fingers and encouraged her with his smile.

“Let me give you pleasure, little one. Let me give you joy.” He moved close and claimed her lips and she melted against him, squirming closer as he insinuated his fingers into her virgin tightness.

The ledge he had her on was about a foot deep in the water. Her beautiful breasts bobbed above the surface, tempting him. With a harsh groan, he moved his head down to lick the tender globes, stroking his tongue downward to circle around the taut nipple as she gasped.

He sucked her nipple in deep, teasing gently with his teeth as he allowed one long finger to slide inside her tight warmth. She squirmed as he prepared her for what would come later that night. She was virgin, but she was willing—more than willing, in fact, if her half-wild responses were anything to go by. He would savor the moments to come when he breached her for the first time. He would take her again and again, and right now he wasn’t quite sure if he would ever be able to take his fill from her.

He moved to her other breast, sucking her deep and expertly flicking his tongue, all the while plying her clit with his fingers, until he knew she was on the very precipice, ready to tumble over. Her little body was shaking with need as he eased up from her breasts, seeking her gaze.

But she wasn’t looking at him. Her wide green eyes were focused on something over his shoulder. Curious, he turned to find several of the knights watching them from a small pool just a few yards away.

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Growling, he saw her effect on them. Half of them were already stroking their cocks under the water, watching his woman near her climax. At least they knew enough not to come too near him when he was in this state. A dragon interrupted in the middle of pleasure was a dangerous animal indeed.

The knights kept a respectful distance from him, but their eyes followed Lana’s supple movements as she writhed in his arms. That she wasn’t screaming bloody murder surprised him. She was shocked, he could tell by her wide eyes, but whether she was shocked at the knights watching or at her own response to their lustful eyes on her bare body, he wasn’t sure.

When dragons mated, it was out in the open and most dragons had an exhibitionist streak in their nature. Perhaps the dragon part of her soul was shining through, Roland mused as Lana whimpered and moaned, nearing ecstasy from his touch.

“Do you like that?” he growled next to her ear, pitching his voice so only she could hear as he stroked lightly in and out of her delicate channel with his finger. “Do you like knowing that they’re watching you?

Fantasizing about being the one sliding into your warm heat? Giving you pleasure?”

She moaned softly as he increased his pace. Looking up, he caught her eyes. “They can look, but none of them will ever touch you, my Lana.

Only me.”

Driven, he moved swiftly, lifting her out of the water and positioning her on the smooth stone ledge to his satisfaction. She gasped as he spread her legs and settled his head between them, licking her from anus to clit with his exceptionally hot tongue.

“Come up on your elbows, sweetling,” he ordered. When she met his gaze, down in the V of her spread legs, she blushed deep and hot. He www.samhainpublishing.com 83

liked that. “Now look at them, Lana. Watch them watching you. Watching us. Tug on your nipples for me.”

She did as he ordered, moving her eyes up to the men across the way. They were all stroking their cocks aggressively now, he saw out of the corner of his eye. He focused on her as her limbs trembled, her fire spiking higher as he sucked her little clit, moving his finger back to tease her pussy and adding a slight pressure with his thumb on the tight rosette of her ass. She gasped as her gaze jumped back to his.

“Watch them, Lana. Let them see your pleasure.”

He pushed in with both fingers while sucking gently on her clit. He rubbed his agile tongue over her most sensitive part, sending her to the stars with pleasure that shot through her trembling body. She spasmed against him, moaning, then giving him little panting cries that fired his blood. He heard groans from a few yards distant and knew the knights were finding their own completion as they watched him pleasure his woman. They were single men with little hope of finding a compatible mate anytime soon, so he didn’t begrudge them this small glimpse of their passion. Still, if any one of them even thought of touching his woman, he’d fry them where they stood.

The lines were clear. He was a black dragon and this was his woman.

None of them would cross that line. The code of honor among knights and dragons was too strong to allow otherwise.

With a triumphant grin, he swept Lana into his arms as she spiraled down from the peak she’d discovered at his hands. He felt good knowing his woman was so responsive to his touch and even a little more daring than he would have guessed. He liked that about her and he’d find infinite ways to give her pleasure once he breached her maidenhead.

After that, he would welcome the opportunity to explore all kinds of 84

delights with her, and after this little display, he realized she’d be up for almost anything he could dream up.

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Lana could hardly stop blushing long enough to dress in the gorgeous, green satin dress Candis had given her after that scandalous bath. The other knights left after Roland shot them a telling look, but Lana was still embarrassed by her total lack of inhibition. She couldn’t believe she’d been so brazen, but Roland seemed to approve, so she tried to come to terms with the hussy she had surprisingly discovered within herself.

Smoothing the full skirt down her midriff and thighs, Lana looked up to find Roland watching her with hungry eyes. There was little doubt he liked what he saw. She was still apprehensive about what came next.

She didn’t quite know if she could handle what he would demand from her when Roland finally claimed her body with his. She was a virgin, after all, and she supposed almost all virgins had some fear of the unknown. But she trusted Roland. She trusted him with her life and would soon trust him fully with her pleasure. She was apprehensive, yes, but also eager for that final lesson, that initiation into the ways of love between a man and woman.

Would he want her now? Would he rush her to the nearest bedchamber and take his ease from her body? Or would he drag out her anticipation, tormenting her in this sharply exciting way, making her wonder when and where he would claim her body fully?

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Roland kissed her lightly, and she knew it was the latter. Ushering her from the anteroom and into the hall, he touched her with polite hands that put her instantly more at ease. He was good that way, sensing when she was uncomfortable and doing what he could to make her feel more secure. He had a good heart, she realized, and didn’t like to see her uncertain or embarrassed in front of others.

He was also the most handsome man she had ever seen. Tall, muscular and strong, his flashing green eyes heated her through and through. His dark hair had just a hint of wave to it, hanging long and healthy just above his shoulders. His face was angular and so masculinely beautiful, she had to stop herself from just staring at him and sighing. His wide shoulders and massive arms made her want to run her fingers all over him, learning his hard dips and valleys. The slight swirl of dark hair on his powerful chest made her want to explore his flat nipples and farther down his chiseled abdomen, down to the fascinating, mysterious hardness between his thighs.

She’d never seen a more magnificent male, not that she’d seen all that many cocks in her life, but she had glimpsed a few as the crude warriors of Salomar’s house went about their business in public. None of those slovenly men had anywhere near the physique or massive man parts Roland boasted. His cock was thick and long, making her wonder just how he intended to fit it inside her untried body. The idea made her squirm in both fear and longing. She wanted to know, finally, what it felt like to be possessed by a man. By Roland. She knew she would never find any better man to take her virginity than Roland, and she looked forward to the event with both trepidation and a sort of hopeful anxiety.

Would it hurt? Would he be gentle and kind, or rough and impatient?

She was betting he’d be as gentle as possible, judging by the way he’d already given her pleasure twice now, so unselfishly. She knew he had www.samhainpublishing.com 87

been left hard and wanting both times, but he’d made nothing of it, letting her know through his actions that all was well. He told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted her, but was showing her by his actions that he was a patient man who could wait for his pleasure until the time was right. He was like no man she’d ever known before and she counted herself lucky to know that sooner or later, this special man would be her first lover.

“I asked Hal, Jures and Candis to meet us in the great hall for an early supper.” Roland spoke at her side as they walked down the wide hallway. “I want you to see the main hall and how we use it for meals and different events in the Lair, but I don’t want to get bogged down in the ceremony of a formal state dinner—which we will if we don’t sneak in before the crowd gathers. I hope you don’t mind.” He tucked her small hand into his arm, guiding her forward as he spoke.

“I prefer it, I think,” she admitted. “Everyone’s been staring at us and it’s making me a little uncomfortable.”

He shrugged. “You’ll get used to it after a while, but I understand.

You’re new and puzzling to the knights, Lana. There are no female dragon riders here, and no Ice Dragons that I know of in the whole of the land. You’ll have to get used to the attention. It should help to realize that they look on you and Tor with wonder, not enmity. You fascinate them, as you do me.” He paused, running a light hand over her hair as he stared down into her eyes.

Moving closer, he made her feel like they were the only two beings in the entire world, so intimate did his caress feel on her hair. He bent to kiss her and the world narrowed even further to just the two of them, locked together in an embrace that felt so right, so pure, so loving, she couldn’t question it. She could only revel in it as she returned his kiss wholeheartedly.

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“Sire, don’t you think you should do your courting in private?”

Hal’s laughing voice came to her from out of the fog of sensual pleasure Roland had wrapped around her. She pulled back the little bit Roland would allow, her head clearing as she realized with shock they were in the middle of the crowded hall, people watching them from all sides. She found Hal, Jures and Candis smiling at them from just a few feet away and she just knew she was blushing furiously, but couldn’t help it. Roland seemed not to mind at all. He just smiled and pulled her tight against his side.

“Mind your own business, Hal. Couldn’t you see we were busy?”

Roland’s tone was stern, but his expression teased with good-natured humor.

“Any
busier
and we’d have found you pinning the poor girl to the wall.” Hal’s muttered observation made Roland’s arm tighten around her waist, and she worried for a moment the knight had gone too far, but after just a few seconds, Roland relaxed and shook his head.

“Don’t expect me to thank you for the interruption.”

“You might not, but I bet your lady would.” Hal winked at her and Lana couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped her throat. The man was a true rogue. “Being older and wiser—and married—sire, I’ve learned a thing or two about the fairer sex. One being they don’t always like being groped in a public hallway.”

Sir Jures chimed in, tugging Lady Candis against his chest as he rested his head atop her soft curls. “And females have nasty ways of retaliating for any misstep on the part of their hapless mates, sire. Take it from one who knows.”

Candis tried to reach around to pinch him, but Jures had her arms secured at her waist as she wriggled and giggled like a young girl. Lana was surprised by the change in the usually regal woman, being teased www.samhainpublishing.com 89

like a maid by her playful mates, and Lana knew there was deep and abiding love there, between all three partners to the odd union.

Roland laughed outright as Hal and Jures ducked in and kissed their woman, one on each cheek. Candis ceased to struggle and Jures let her go with another quick peck.

“I, for one, am rather hungry,” Candis announced. “Shall we go in to dinner, Lana, and leave these men to loiter in the hall?” A conspiratorial wink accompanied her playful words and Roland let Lana slip from his grasp as she took Candis’ hand. Daring greatly, Lana sent Roland a saucy wink over her shoulder as she and Lady Candis made their way, arm in arm, into the great hall.

The early dinner shared with the two knights and their mate was companionable and much less frightening than Lana had feared. Lady Candis made an effort to engage Lana in conversation and the knights seemed to truly respect her thoughts on the new weapons Salomar was using, once they put her at ease and broached the subject. Lana realized only after the meal was over that the knights were deeply worried about facing the weapons she and Tor had been learning to evade these past few seasons.

They agreed to meet in an hour, along with the weapons masters of the Lair to discuss the weapons in greater detail. Lana was glad for the chance to tell them what she knew. She feared Salomar would move before these knights and dragons were prepared. The sooner she told them everything she knew about the weapons, the more time they would have to train and equip themselves.

Roland put his arm around her as they walked together down the corridor after dinner. Most of the other knights in the Lair were just heading to the great hall, making little nodding bows to Roland as they 90

passed. Farther away from the great hall, they encountered fewer and fewer people until finally they were alone in a suite of rooms she had never seen before.

“Aren’t we staying with your friends tonight?”

“No, my dear. I asked Candis to arrange for us to have our own suite.

Tilden and Rue will show Tor where we are when he’s ready to come in.

He should be here for the meeting as well. Some of the elder dragons will attend too, but I thought it might be easier for us, after our strategy session is out of the way, to be on our own.”

So it would happen tonight. He would make love to her fully.

A thrill of anticipation laced with fear shot through her core, but she was ready. She wanted to know this man in every way, though fear of the unknown still plagued the recesses of her mind.

Lana shrugged, feeling just a bit shy, knowing what was to come later that night, though it remained unspoken. Better to concentrate on the more immediate future and the meeting that had been arranged. “I’m not used to being around so many people. Not to mention dragons.”

“I know.” He leaned down to place a kiss on the crown of her head.

“You’ll have to ease into it, and I know Tor will enjoy having the whole wallow to himself. He’s such a big fellow, he needs the room.”

She laughed lightly, feeling warm inside that he would take Tor’s comfort into consideration. For that matter, she was warmed straight through to know he had given her feelings some thought as well. Roland showed her around the circular suite, explaining the uses of the various rooms, and before she knew it, the others were arriving for their little strategy session.

Roland stepped back to transform.

For Tor’s benefit,
he told her.
I’ll stay near though, should you need
me.

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Of the dragons, Tor bounded in first, plopping down in the center of the heated wallow and kicking up a little whirlwind of sand. Roland nodded toward a broom leaning against the curved wall and Lana took hold of it with a grin, sweeping the sand back into the pit indulgently as the baby dragon basked in its warmth. Rue and Tilden followed at a more sedate pace, taking the far end of the sand pit and sitting quietly while they welcomed two other adult dragons, one a deep, almost burgundy red, and the other with bright yellow gold scales.

Once Tor settled down and the sand was back where it belonged in the wallow, Roland, in dragon form, led Lana around to a grouping of chairs set by the widest part of the wallow. All the dragons craned their long necks to settle nearby, and it was quite obvious that was the place the meeting would be held so all present could participate—human and dragon alike.

Of the dragons, Roland was the most compact and well able to settle on the ledge with the human company, taking up a position just behind Lana’s chair. It was clear both humans and dragons looked to him to lead this little get-together. He didn’t disappoint.

Lana, may I present Ires and Kann,
Roland indicated the dark red and golden yellow dragons in turn,
they are partners to Samnel and Josh,
the weapons masters of this Lair.
As if on cue, two strange knights entered, making their way to the chairs and bowing respectfully to Roland. He extended the introductions to Tor and the newly arrived knights, and soon the group was assembled. Hal and Jures rounded out the group, and the meeting was underway.

Lana tried her best to answer all their questions about the various weapons she’d seen, evaded and fought against. The weapons masters asked astute questions, which Tor helped answer when she got stuck.

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She even found herself drawing pictures of some of the weapons, as best she could, on parchment the men had brought with them.

Tor took part too, explaining how each weapon performed and how he had managed to evade them. The dragons asked him detailed questions about his flight patterns and evasive maneuvers, and Lana was proud of the way he answered. She knew he was smart, but she was coming to realize just how intelligent he was for his age as she watched the older dragons and the way he so obviously impressed them. Roland rubbed up against her and she felt his warmth as they shared the special moment.

After more than an hour, the weapons masters seemed grimly content with the amount of information they’d been able to elicit. Lana was tired and thinking about the threat Salomar posed to these good knights and dragons worried her. Tor, she saw, was nearly asleep as the last of the dragons left, followed closely by the knights. As only the young can, he fell sound asleep between one breath and the next, and Lana was truly alone with Roland.

Her moment of truth had arrived at last. Lana knew what would probably come next and welcomed it. She felt like she’d waited forever for Roland and now he would be hers in every sense of the word—if only for that one moment in time when he joined his body to hers.