The Draglen Brothers - DRAKEN (BK 1) (11 page)

“CATI!” he yells, standing. I’ve just
been called a fool. I glance up, meeting my father’s eyes with a
stare. I will not back down, if I want her as a Giver, I will have
her. “You will stop this disgrace.”

“I will return to earth,” I say,
letting him and my mother know I’m not backing down.

“My son, please, you are to be married
in six months. This Cess I see is interfering with our world.
Choose another human if you must have one, but not her, she will
pierce your heart,” my mother pleads. My father glares at her as if
she’s said something wrong.

“The law states, any descendant of
Draglen blood may choose his Giver without interference from
another. I choose Cess. Now that we have that settled, I’m going
back to Earth, to lie with my Giver,” I say, snapping each word out
of my mouth.

“Your bride? Ravla?” my mother asks.
My father is just watching me. I can only assume if I had not been
his son, I would be dead right at this moment. He turns and walks
back into the castle, and everyone can sense his mood. He speaks,
in old language, cursing me. I glare at his back and turn to look
at my mother, now looking saddened. “I see. You will change our
land, Draken. Please reconsider.”

“I will marry my bride,
and Ravla is still my Giver. I just don’t need her at this time. I
choose Cess, and Cess I will have,” I say, going over to the bench
and
pressing a gentle a gentle kiss on my
mother’s hand. She holds her hand and rubs my head. “My son, always
so determined. Look, I have a portal waiting for you,” she says. I
turn around and there is a portal back to earth waiting. I look
into her eyes.

“I will return in six months to
marry,” I say, walking to the portal. My need for Cess is becoming
painful.

As I walk through the portal, I hear
my mother say “With whom will you marry, is the question.” The
portal closes as I make my way back to Cess. I need her
badly.

That was the best bath ever. I feel so
refreshed. Yet I’m hungry, as well. I’m so afraid to leave this
room. I know his brothers heard my screaming. This is going to be
embarrassing. Oh well, it happens. Draken is a wonderful lover, and
I might want to have another round. One-night stands do not even
seem logical for a man who can make you scream like that. I find my
clothes in the bathroom, like he said. He had them bring me a
summer dress. It’s a light purple one that ties around my neck,
with a split up to my thigh on the left side. This dress is one of
my favorites. I put on all my lotion and girly things, and slip
into my dress, noticing a pair of shoes to match. Those are not
mine. Why did he give me these shoes? Are they for me? I’m not
going to risk it, they may be some other woman’s. I hate even
thinking about someone else receiving all that Draken can bring to
the bed. I think he was holding back on me, too, and I’m glad. I
take a deep breath and open the door to his room. There is a
beautiful man standing there waiting. He scares me and I
yell.

“Ahhh!” I yell, in a state of shock.
He just stands there and smiles. Oh my, he is just as handsome as
the others. He is beautiful. He must be related somehow to the
others, they all share that gorgeous smile. I stop screaming, and
we just stare at each other. He is about 6’5”, with light brown
hair. His eyes are light brown, as well. He finally
speaks.

“I see why my brother wants you, Cess.
You are beautiful,” he says. I begin walking backwards, going back
into Draken’s room.

“You’re Draken’s brother, I didn’t
meet you,” I say, remembering my defense classes. This guy looks
really scary.

“Oh, I just came into town. Now,
breakfast is waiting for you. Come, let’s go eat, as the others are
waiting,” he says, turning to leave without giving me his name.
What kind of family is this?

“What is your name?” I ask, watching
him walk away.

“Hawken is my name, but you can call
me Hawk,” he says, stopping. “Come, Cess, we are all hungry, and
you’re holding us up from eating,” he snaps. Shit, they can eat
without me. Why didn’t Draken come and get me himself? You are not
allowed to have sex with me and leave your brother to come fetch me
like a pet. I’m leaving. I feel Hawk pulling me down the hall. “I
see you’re not good at taking orders, if you plan on “dating” my
brother, orders you will be given, and orders you will take,” Hawk
says, walking me quickly to the white dining room. Showken, Gemi,
and Layern are all sitting waiting, I assume for me.

“Yes, she is here, now, let’s eat,”
Gemi says, and begins to dig into a very lavish breakfast. It’s
just Saturday, not a special occasion, yet the food laid out is in
huge amounts. Why do they eat so much? And where the hell is
Draken? Why is he not at the table?

“Draken had to make a run, Cess, he
will be joining us soon,” Layern says, to my unspoken concern.
Layern has such pain behind his eyes. I never noticed it before,
but he seems sad, lost even. I wonder why?

“Why don’t you wait for him? You
waited for me,” I say, still standing. I’m not sure about being
here with all of these sexy, good-looking men. I notice Showken’s
huge smile, and relax instantly. He knows how to make you feel
comfortable.

“We always wait for the lady in the
house, Cess. Please, come sit and eat,” Showken says, waving his
hand for me to sit across from him. I go and sit, and he fixes my
plate for me. These men take my breath away with all this
attention. I could get used to this.

“Thank you for fixing my plate,” I
say, grabbing a fork and eating the eggs. They are so good. All
this food, if I eat with them I’m going to be huge. We eat in
silence a few minutes, before Hawk speaks.

“So, Cess, I would love to know how
you - I mean, I would love to know about you,” Hawken
says.

“Well, umm, Hawken. I don’t have much
to say about myself, except, I’m very wealthy, the first daughter
and granddaughter to some very powerful men. Perhaps you have heard
of my family name, Lamil?” I say, with a glare. I don’t like
Hawken, and he doesn’t like me either. If using my family name gets
him to think twice about upsetting me, then I will.

“As a matter of fact, I have heard of
Lamil. Powerful, you say they are?” He smirks. What is it with him?
I put on my best smile and continue to eat. I can’t wait until
Draken comes back from his run.

“Hawken, enough,” Layern says, and I
notice them all staring at him. He smiles, and yikes, he is
gorgeous too. This gene pool of brothers is unreal. How many
brothers are there, I wonder?

“Cess, I apologize for my mouth, it
gets me into trouble often. I would hate such a beautiful lady as
yourself to be angry with me. Do you accept my apology?” Hawken
asks.

“You’re fine, Hawken, there is no harm
done,” I say, wondering is it my name that made him squirm, or the
looks from his brothers.

We eat the rest of the meal in
silence. I can’t eat much, as I continue to think about my night
with Draken. “Umm”, I moan out loud, “Hmmm,” closing my eyes. I
open one eye and notice everyone is staring at me. Damn, I didn’t
mean to do that out loud. Everyone is staring at me, with smiles
and smirks.

“Have a good night, Cess?” Showken
asks, taking a huge forkful of food.

“Umm, yes. I slept well,” I say,
blushing.

“You were in my brother’s room all
night, Cess, sleep is not what you got, I’m sure,” Showken says,
laughing and stuffing his mouth with more food.

“Huh?”

“Huh, Cess, we all know our brother
and you were in his bed last night,” Hawken says, stuffing food in
his mouth, too. They all eat as much as twenty men.

“Well, umm, can we change the subject,
please?” I say feeling the blush over my face again. I really wish
you were here now, Draken, your brothers would behave for you. Just
as I have that thought Draken walks in, looking fabulous, I want
him.

“Stop asking questions,” he says,
heading straight for me. His brothers continue eating. “Hello,
Cess. Please forgive me for not being here when you came out for
breakfast. Were my brothers good?” he asks, sitting down at the
head of table, not taking his eyes off me. Oh, this man has me
warming up inside. I glance at Hawken, who is the only one who’s
been rude to me. As I am about to speak, Draken leans in and sniffs
me. Holy crap! What’s that about?

“Hawken, why did you touch her?” he
asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Whoa, yeah, umm, brothers, we have
company at the table, lets discuss this later,” Showken says.
Hawken and Draken are having a stare down.

“It’s not what you think, but I agree
with Showken, later is better,” Hawken snaps.

“Later,” Draken says, with a
promise.

“I should head home,” I say, getting
ready to leave. His hand touches my thigh. Oh God, he looks
amazing. He looks at me silently, and I decide maybe a little
longer is not so bad.

“Thank you,” Draken whispers, rubbing
my thigh in a very slow circle, like he was doing last night. I
know leaving is not an option right now. I catch the flicker of his
eye color from light to dark purple. Never seen that before, but
I’ve never seen a group of brothers like this, either.

“You’re welcome,” I say, in a whisper.
I feel myself blushing, so I know all these hot men can see it.
Draken is staring at me like he wants me right this moment.
Frankly, being with him again sounds good. I know D is wondering
where I’m at, unlike my parents, who will think that I’m at
Kelly’s. D already knows I’m not there. D and I have a very strong
bond. We are twins, but he is my best friend too, and he will never
tell, but the interrogation when I get home is going to be
annoying. I might as well have fun before my brother brings logic
to me and says, “Cess, you don’t need to be seriously involved with
someone right now, if you were a guy, I would say get all you can,
but you’re not.” I hear his voice clearly; just thinking about it,
I smile to myself. I glance over at Draken, and he’s watching my
every move. Yikes, he looks like an angel. There goes my
promise.

Hawken better keep his claws off Cess,
before I rip them out. He knows the rules, no touching another’s
Giver unless permission is granted by the Taker. Walking in and
seeing Cess eases my worries for just a moment. Purple looks good
on her, I must thank Showken for picking the right attire. Forcing
myself to eat, ignoring her beauty, I can tell her mind is
wandering. I love her eye movement as she is thinking, with those
beautiful milk-chocolate eyes, searching. Breakfast is not moving
fast enough. I’m sure my emergency trip home has all of my brothers
worried. I’m not in love with Cess, but I’m not letting her go
until I’m ready, not because I’m told.

“What information did you find out on
your run?” Layern asks, narrowing his eyes. I have been thinking of
everything except what I was told back home. That question rushes
everything back.

“Everything is fine,” I say, glaring
at Hawken. His smirk is really pissing me off. “Anything funny,
Hawken?” I ask.

“Why, yes, there is my oldest brother.
I have my doubts about the situation at hand. I mean, it’s funny
when you know the truth and still lie to yourself,” Hawken says,
shaking his head.

“If you two don’t behave like there’s
a lady at the table, the consequences for not complying will be
bad, so just stop this,” Gemi says, running his hand through his
hair. I’m done with this, six months is what I have, and then I
marry. This conversation ends now. Glaring at Layern, I let him
know telepathically to let my brothers understand my feeling on
this issue with Cess. My patience with this topic has grown
thin.

“I’m done. Cess, have you eaten
enough?” I ask, looking at her now curious face. This is what I’m
trying to avoid. Human women know nothing about Givers, and will
take it as an insult, when, in fact, many women in Cortamagen would
love this title. I feel her hesitation, so I lean down, giving her
a gentle kiss to reassure her everything is fine. It’s just what
she needs. She gave me her precious smile, and all my anger slips
away.

“Yes, I can’t eat another bite,” Cess
says, “I was wondering if I could see the rest of your house. It’s
very beautiful, and the art in here is museum-worthy.” Damn, I just
want to lick her thighs, belly, and oh yes, that sweet treasure. I
wish she knew the Givers’ rules, and then I could march her into my
room for a day or two.

“If you want a tour of the house, then
let’s get started, we have a lot of ground to cover,” I say,
holding out my hand to her. Feeling the soft hand she places in
mine is amazing, knowing it’s like a feather to me, so easily
broken if I choose. Yet it could make me feel really good if this
feather is rubbed the right way.

We start our walk down the expansive
hall, which has many portraits of my family in both human and
dragon form. There is also a picture of our castle. Its history
goes back thousands of years. We are always allowed to take this to
Earth to keep us grounded, and besides, legend has it that the
paintings can come to life.

“Draken, this is so beautiful, who
painted these portraits?” Cess asks, gazing at the pictures. It’s
really nice to meet someone who likes history. Although she thinks
it’s just a painting, it’s much more.