Sold To The Dragons (A BBW Paranormal Romance Book 1) (10 page)

These thoughts, combined with a few little semi-rough tugs on my hair while Steven drove his thick shaft deeper and deeper inside of me, grunting, were more than enough to send me over the edge. I cried out while my whole body shuddered with release, my muscles clenching and relaxing over and over. Before my half-closed eyes, little golden flecks in the granite counter top shimmered in the sunlight.

Soon after mine, Steven groaned with his own climax, covering my whole body with his while he filled me with the warmth of his essence. After, we remained in position for a short while, catching our breath.

With his large hands on mine, Steven planted sweet, slow kisses along the side of my face and neck before speaking near my ear in a low voice. "You're so unbelievably beautiful and radiant in this bright sun, but you don't even need the sun to glow. You just do, and you would, even in complete darkness."

We soon reheated our breakfast and ate while joking, laughing, and cuddling.

Later, after washing each other in the shower, we rested in embrace on my bed, naked, and Steven spoke in a low voice once again.

"I can't deny that you're the most gorgeous woman I've ever laid eyes on. I also can't deny that I love your 'greediness' and passion when it comes to our intimacy. But I also love your strength, and your kindness, and your heart just as much. I love the look of joy you get on your face when you're playing with Ava. It's a look that makes me desperately want you to be the mother of my child. It's a look that makes me desperately hope that I'm the one who gets you pregnant."

At that moment, I wished that he
would
be the one who would get me pregnant, too. However, I knew that the next day, I'd probably feel the same about Blake. I knew it was best that fate would ultimately decide who'd be the father of my child and my eventual husband. Because with each visit from Blake and Steven, I was falling harder and harder in love with both of them.

Later that morning, after Steven had left to meet up with Blake and get caught up to speed on the scouting report, I left the castle, accompanied by two guards, and went to visit Marielle and Ava at their single-story stone home in the city. Although I would have preferred to move about the bustling, sparkling city on my own, the guards were on orders of Blake and Steven, who had both become increasingly worried about my safety since Tom had been taken hostage.

I knew the guards were necessary, and I knew it was a wise move to have them accompany me. However, I still couldn't help but feel a little silly with a security detail of two shifters following close behind me every move I made.

Steven had playfully told me to get used to being surrounded by guards, because whether I married him or Blake, I'd be a Lord's wife and would be surrounded by guards most of the time for the rest of my life. After saying this, Steven had added that he hoped it was him I'd be marrying, and his expression was so tender and his words so soft while he said this, that I developed a sudden, strong ache in my chest.

Marielle was at home with Ava and not at the castle, because although she was technically employed as my "maid," she'd decidedly become more of a friend; and I'd insisted that she start taking Fridays off to spend more time with Ava, with no reduction in pay.

She'd told me she genuinely loved her job as a "lady's maid," and she'd worked for Tom's wife for a few years before she'd passed. She'd also worked hard to get the job as top maid, which was the job that every female service worker in the castle seemed to be envious of. Marielle had started as a maid to several of the wives of Lord Ashcrest's council members literally within days of being purchased at auction and arriving at Ashcrest.

"I like having a purpose within the castle, and serving the royal family makes me happy. It's truly a high honor," she'd said.  I was happy that
she
seemed to be happy in her job, and I liked having someone to help me with day-to-day tasks who was also a friend.

However, I couldn't help but feel that she should have more time off each week, so that she could relax, do what she wanted to around her own home, or spend more time with Ava. And after I'd insisted that I really could take care of myself just fine on Fridays, she'd finally agreed to take an additional day off and had thanked me for it.

"Kicking my feet up every once in a while might feel strange to me, though," she'd said with a smile.

Now, we were both metaphorically kicking up our feet, sipping coffee on a stone bench in the backyard while Ava cartwheeled around in the grass nearby. My two guards were on patrol at the front of the house. They probably would have been standing right beside Marielle and me on the stone bench if I hadn't specifically asked for a little privacy to visit. I knew they were just doing their jobs, but it was definitely going to take me some time to get used to this whole guard thing.

Almost right away, Marielle asked if I'd officially dropped my whole idea to be the one to free Tom, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I officially gave up on the idea last night. Blake basically said it's not happening, and he said it with what I can only describe as very firm finality. And I know there's nothing that could change his mind at this point. Steven’s, either. They're both pretty determined to keep me safe at all costs, which...." After heaving a sigh, I took a sip of my coffee before continuing. "I know it's just because they both love me. It felt kind of like being controlled at first, but now I know that's not their real motivation; my safety is.

“So...yeah. I won't be making any attempt to free Tom. No bravery, no heroism, no amazing feat of daring to tell my future child or children about. Which...whatever, I guess. And I'm fully aware that this whole thing isn't even about me, of course; it's about Tom, obviously. Tom, and how we're going to get him back home safely. I'm pretty interested to hear what the plan is going to be after the council meeting this afternoon."

Marielle tucked a strand of her long, pale blonde hair behind one ear with a coy little smile curving her mouth. "I might have a hint about what the plan is going to be. And although I'm not sure if any acts of bravery, per se, will be required on our parts, I think it might at least involve a little adventure for us both."

CHAPTER SIX

I immediately set my coffee cup beside me on the stone bench, my gaze on Marielle. "What do you know that I don't? Please, please fill me in. Though whatever little adventure might be in store for us, you can already count me in."

She laughed, tipping her head back, revealing her long, slender neck. "Now, I said I had a
hint
about what the plan to free Tom might be. And I said it
might
involve a little adventure for us both. But before I spill, something tells me I should probably wait until things are set in stone first, before you get your hopes-”

"Completely too late. My hopes are already very up. Because this sounds like it may be just what I need. I can't help free Tom; I can't attempt to show any bravery like the men. But maybe a little adventure before I settle down into impending motherhood, which will hopefully be soon, is just what I need to fulfill this...whatever strange desire I've had lately. Whatever it is that's making me feel like I have something to prove to myself lately. So, please, Marielle. Spill. Spill your guts."

She laughed again, except it was actually more of a little giggle, a pleasantly surprising sound to hear from a woman normally so refined and dignified. "Okay. I'll 'spill my guts.' But remember, this is just what I
think
the plan to free Tom will be. Just based on a few conversations I've had with Alec, and a conversation Alec told me he had with Blake earlier this morning."

Alec was Marielle's husband, and also a soldier in Tom's shifter army.

I nodded. "Okay. I promise not to think of anything you say as set in stone, then, but I do definitely want to hear your thoughts."

"All right, then. I guess I'll start with Alec, and the interesting skill he's developed lately. Interesting and maybe a little unbelievable. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"What is it?"

"Well, lately, Alec has developed an incredibly rare shifter gift. The gift of being able to become invisible for short periods of time, both while in shifter form and in human form. For a while, he's had some clues that he might have this gift. Just little things like once during a fight with a few Destroyers, he thought he might have become invisible for a second or two. But he wasn't quite sure. He thought it might have been a very strange trick of the sunlight.

“Then, a few months ago, the same thing happened, and this time, he was sure of it. So, he started trying to develop this new skill in earnest. He started trying to practice becoming invisible just by using his mind and willing it to happen. But he wasn't very successful. At least not until this past week. When Tom was taken hostage, Alec really set to work trying to develop his gift, knowing that it might help in a rescue. He didn't tell Blake and Steven about his efforts, though, not wanting to disappoint them if he couldn't develop his gift to a point that it could be helpful.

“But then yesterday, when it was decided that some plan to free Tom must be set in stone, and that a council meeting to do this would happen today, Alec knew it was now or never. He went to a very secluded forested area just outside of town, so he could focus completely and concentrate, and he worked all night trying different mental techniques that might help him achieve invisibility at will. And by morning, one of his techniques was successful. He was able to become invisible for several minutes at a time, just as invisible as air. Though still able to walk, and run, and move things, and so on, just like when not invisible."

"That's incredible."

With her green eyes sparkling in the bright sun, Marielle smiled. "It really is. Alec raced home to show me, and I truly almost fainted when I saw him do it. Now finally sure that he might be able to really help in a mission to free Tom, he found Blake and told him, and Blake invited him to the council meeting this afternoon. They also had a brief conversation about how this invisibility gift might be used in a rescue, and based on what was said, something just tells me that Blake, Steven, and the council members are going to decide later today that Alec is to be front and center in the mission to free Tom.

“I think Blake, Steven, and at least several hundred of their father's strongest shifters will storm Dimwood and engage their shifters in a fight. While this is going on, Alec will make himself invisible and slip into a place they call The Gray Tower, which is a tall, concrete-and-steel structure maybe ten stories high, and it's where Cain, The Destroyers' new leader, lives.

“It's their Ashcrest Castle, I suppose, though not nearly as beautiful, I've been told. Ugly, even, it's been described to me."

With a faint smile playing around the corners of her mouth, Marielle paused, watching Ava do an impressive forward roll-into-cartwheel combination, before turning her gaze back to me.

"But back to Alec's role, or what I
think
his role will be, he'll become invisible and slip into The Gray Tower, where Blake, Steven, and the council think Tom is likely being held. They know from previous hostages that have been taken that The Gray Tower is the only structure in Dimwood reinforced with enough steel to contain a shifter in dragon form.

“The basement floor is said to have walls, floor, and ceiling all made of steel several feet thick, and that's almost sure to be where Tom's being held. He's a strong shifter, even though he's getting on in years, and held anywhere else, he could probably break free."

"But won't this basement prison place be locked or something? And if so, how will Alec get Tom released?"

"Well, from what other former hostages have reported, the door is only locked from the outside, and just with a bolt, not a key. And as long as this is still the case, it should be no problem for Alec to slip past any guards, release Tom, and then the two of them can fight their way out of the tower. And then, they will rejoin the other shifters on our side, and all fly away from Dimwood."

"But what if The Destroyers chase them?"

"If they do, then they're in for a fight. But it doesn't seem likely they will. They'll hopefully be taken off-guard by all this, and they're not going to want to get too close to our city, here, where the rest of our shifters will be, outnumbering them by about a thousand.

“Alec's guess, and my guess, is that at this point, they might not want a full war. They at least might want to regroup a bit. They only wanted Tom in the first place because they wanted you, and for some reason, they seemed to think that Blake and Steven wouldn't think anything about handing you over in exchange for their father. How wrong they were about that."

Reflecting on all the new developments and possible plans, I turned my focus to Ava playing in the grass and watched her for a few moments before turning back to Marielle.

"This is all so wonderful about Alec’s new gift, and how he might be able to easily free Tom. And now I'm really glad Blake and Steven didn't agree to let me try to free Tom myself. In fact, I really feel like a complete ass, frankly, because I can see that my plan probably wouldn't have succeeded. And by
probably
, I guess I mean
most definitely
. I guess it
was
kind of half-baked."

Green eyes twinkling, Marielle cocked an arched blonde brow at me. "Kind of?"

I cracked a smile. "Okay. Completely half-baked. Probably pretty silly, and it probably would have just led to more complication and problems, like Blake and Steven told me numerous times. I guess wanting to play the hero just overrode my common sense."

Marielle smiled in return. "I more than understand. And although I'm pretty content in my life most of the time, and I really don't have many regrets, I can relate on some level to wanting to do something really gutsy and great. Or, maybe, in my case, it's less about wanting to
do
something great, and more about wanting to
go
somewhere great.

“And even not
great
, but just somewhere new, period. Just for a short trip or something. Just to get out in the world and travel. Not  that Ashcrest isn't a beautiful city, and much, much more beautiful than the city I came from, and not that I'm not happy here, but sometimes I just get the urge for a little adventure, a little step outside the city.

“Although, with The Destroyers' ramping up their spying and little attacks in recent years, making it not very safe to leave Ashcrest, this hasn't exactly happened. I actually haven't even stepped foot outside the city limits since the day I arrived, eight years ago. But...."

Smiling again, Marielle paused. "Maybe I'll get my chance for a little adventure
now
. Maybe you and I both will."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if Tom's rescue goes off how I think it will, Blake, Steven, and the other men won't just set out from here, fly the several hundred miles south straight to Dimwood, and then attack. They'd be too tired to attack after a direct flight with no break.

“They'll probably want to use spy-sweepers to clear a path to Dimwood, and then set up an encampment and rest a bit when they're maybe a hundred or so miles away."

"What are spy-sweepers?”

"They're shifters specially trained in spotting Destroyer spies and taking them out quickly and efficiently, and also as quietly as possible, so as to not alert other spies or patrol shifters that may be near. Often, spy-sweepers are shifters with very muted eye colors and the corresponding hide colors...usually medium shades of brown or mossy green, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. Gray-hided shifters aren't chosen as spy-sweepers quite as often, and blue-hided shifters are never chosen. Or, at least, there haven't been any since I've been here. Spy-sweepers are also chosen for their strength relative to their size.

“Again, it helps them to be stealthier and remain hidden better. And spy-sweepers surely aren't infallible, but they're very good at what they do, which is why I think they'll be used to clear a path to Dimwood, hopefully killing all the spies and patrolmen in their way. I imagine Blake, Steven, and the men will be some ways behind them, advancing somewhat slowly, and then probably about a hundred miles or so from Dimwood, they'll set up an encampment, rest a bit, and then charge. And then, with a bit of luck and help from Alec, Tom will be freed fairly easily."

"Which would be wonderful. But where does our little bit of travel and adventure come into play?"

"Well, right at the beginning of the whole trip. And it would last right up until we all come home. See, with our men around us and our spy-sweepers ahead of us, I don't think it would be terribly dangerous for us to come along. At least until the final encampment, where we'd then wait with some guards. And when the mission to free Tom is complete, and our shifters return, I hop right on Alec's back, and you hop right on Blake or Steven's back, and we all go home."

I stifled a sudden, short chuckle. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. Blake and Steven will never go for this in a thousand, million years. My experience in asking them if I could personally help free Tom taught me that there is no way they will let me be in any sort of danger."

"But, see, here's the thing. I honestly don't think we'd be in any more danger being brought along on the trip than we would be if we stayed here. For one thing, there's always the possibility of some Destroyers coming in from the north and doing some sort of small-scale attack on the town while Blake, Steven, and the other men are gone. They try this on a regular basis anyway, trying to kidnap fertile women, even when all the men are home. But there's also another 'danger' that might make our men think we're safer with them."

  "What is it?"

"Well, let's just say it's the danger of other men who will still be left in the city. See, Alec trusts me, but he doesn't trust other men
around
me. It drives him absolutely nuts when he hears about other men making passes at me or even looking at me in an obviously lustful way when he isn't around, even though he knows I'd never do anything to encourage this. This makes him hate leaving me alone for any length of time. It just gets his mind wandering and his anxieties all worked up. And considering the looks you get from some of the men who work in the castle...I'm just guessing Blake and Steven may feel the same way. They may actually consider you 'safer' with them than back here."