by Tamsin Baker
“Prince…”
Tattiena staggered forward, a part of her hoping that Nargoya would bite his head off and that would cease this ridiculous urge to mate with him.
Concentrating, she glared at him, then swallowed hard. Her nipples hurt beneath the cloth, her fingers had curled into her palms so that she could feel the bite of her sharp fingernails. There had to be a way to make him leave the barn before this took hold of her. “You better retreat before my Dragon hurts you. She doesn’t like people in her home she doesn’t know.”
In answer, Nargoya turned her head toward them, took a deep breath, and blew fire from her open mouth.
Red and yellow flames waist high encircled them and the prince froze.
Good instincts.
Her relief was short lived, as she was now too close to the prince, and the flames didn’t touch him like she’d expected, nor did they push him back. They circled them both, licking at her arse so she staggered forward into his arms.
Oh fuck…no… Nargoya help…
The heat in her blood rose as her Dragon’s actions forced her to accept the thing that she had been fighting for almost a year now. Her heat was upon her and the man she was meant to mate was here. The man that was destined to sire the next Dragon rider… A prince just like her father had been. And he was…
Here…
In my arms.
“Are you all right?” His deep voice echoed in her ears and she whimpered at the sensations racing through her.
Her skin burned where he held her and the pulsing between her thighs grew so insistent, so loud, she could hear it above the raging of her own rapid heart-beat.
“I need… I need.”
She gave up the fight with one final whimper and she began to tear at her clothes, every part of her burning up with a need she’d stifled and ignored for too long.
“What are you…”
The prince stared with wide eyes as she tore at her dress, freeing her aching breasts, her nipples tight and hard despite the heat of the room.
“I need you…” She hated the sound of her own voice. But the weakness she regretted showing him disappeared as soon as he reached for his pants, tugging them down and exposing a cock so long and erect she knew she could climb straight onto it.
She dropped her dress and leggings to the floor and pushed her underwear away, her thighs dripping wet with her need. She staggered back to him and grabbed for his wide shoulders. He was naked and hot, his muscles bulging beneath her hands as she jumped up onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He grabbed her arse hard and opened her up to him. His blue eyes stared into her eyes, and the connection between them sizzled like the fire that burned inside her. The prince lined up the head of his cock against her aching pussy and pulled her down onto it, hard.
She screamed out as he filled her up, her head falling back as that ache that had tortured her for months finally quieted. Her eyes slid closed and she began to chant, “Oh fuck… Oh fuck…”
His hands were strong, brutal in their grip on her hips. He pulled her up and down on his long shaft, the strength and hardness of his cock splitting her apart, opening her, creating a void of longing where the heat had been.
Pleasure crashed into her like a storm and she screamed again. Another burst of flames from Nargoya surrounded them, shielding them and encapsulating them.
Tattiena couldn’t cope with the intensity of feelings forcing their way through her mind. She cried out, tears streaming down her face as over and over the orgasms crashed through her.
He pulled her off his still hard cock and dropped her to the heated floor.
She shook her head at him, trying to grab hold of him again. Why was he pushing her away? She needed more. She had to have his seed.
“Get on your knees.”
A part of her hated the way he spoke to her, with too much authority and demand. But her need for him and what he could do for her body made her obey. She turned around for him, dropping to the ground and enjoying the softness of the hay-lined floor that cushioned her knees.
He knelt behind her, his strong hands opening her up once more, and a sigh of relief left her aching throat. She spread her legs wider and reached out in front of her for an anchor and finding none, dug her fingers into the ground.
A growl rolled over her from the prince’s lips as he lined up that thick cock again and plunged deep into her waiting pussy. Ecstasy exploded inside of her and she rippled around him, her pussy milking him as she cried out while another orgasm hit her. He thrust into her harder and harder, riding her like a common slut. And that was how she felt. Despite her untouched state, she’d never needed anything so much as she did his cock driving into her, and his sperm.
Oh damn… that was what the heat was for. A baby… I can’t have that. It would change everything.
He began to grunt and groan louder, his hands pinning her in place as he thrust deep inside of her. She needed to stop him before he completed a legacy she was afraid of…
He cried out, his cock jerking inside her as his seed exploded up into her. She screamed out again, her traitorous body convulsing in raptures, throwing her into an orgasm that shut down her brain and turned her into a spasming, uncontrollable earthquake. Lights and fire flashed inside her mind, and pure pleasure took up every inch of her body until he slumped on top of her.
She slid to the floor and rolled out from beneath him, lying down next to him. Their gasping breathing echoed in the room, and for the first time in a long time, her body was sated. Quiet. Happy.
Nargoya still lay where she was, her eyes closed as she slept.
Damn it all to Hades.
This was not meant to happen yet! She wasn’t ready!
Tattiena jumped to her feet and grabbed for her dress, the prince’s cum joining her own juices and slicking her already drenched legs.
“Ah. What the hell was that?” he asked from his place on the floor. He looked slightly ridiculous lying on the ground, naked and flushed, still wearing his shoes. His wet cock hung limp against his thigh.
She turned away, unable to process everything that had just happened. It had been too much like her dreams. She’d been told by the healer that her heat would be uncontrollable. She’d never given it enough credit. They’d been right. It was all consuming and fucking ridiculous.
She tugged on her dress and pulled on her underwear. A shower was desperately needed. Now.
The prince had a smile on his face that made her want to shake the living shit out of him.
“I’m going back to the castle.”
She walked over to Nargoya and stroked her head, giving her a look. The Dragon opened her eyes and made a bobbing motion that indicated she was happy.
“You could have told me,” she accused, though there was no heat in her words. Though they communicated, there were no words spoken between them.
The Dragon simply purred, as she did when she was content. They were connected on so many levels, and it seemed that she was in this one too.
Tattiena turned and stormed through the stable, the prince jumping up and running after her.
“Tattiena! Wait! What was that?”
Despite her frantic pace, he caught up to her and only then did she notice how tall and strong he actually was. Not a weak prince like her horrible half-brother, but a warrior.
“That was my heat.”
Designed to drive me crazy and make me produce the next Dragon rider. I think…
She didn’t look at him as they stormed across the grass. She needed to keep walking. Now that the heat had passed, she was sore from being taken so hard, and for the first time. Though, he didn’t need to know that either.
“What is a heat? It was hot, I must admit. I’ve never been jumped by a woman like that.”
“Well, you won’t be again,” she ground out between her clenched teeth, her hands tightening into fists. He’d liked it, had he? Well, she hadn’t! She was humiliated.
And the wo
rst part of it was, that she was almost certainly lying when she said that the heat was gone. She had no idea if the heat had passed or not.
“Hey. Hang on a minute.” He grabbed her arm to slow her down, and she pulled her other arm back and punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder, her frustration now clawing at her as hard as the heat had.
He groaned and spun away from the blow. She kept on walking forward.
Serves him right. Doesn’t he know not to touch me like that?
She rolled her eyes at herself, and the anxiety grew until she couldn’t stand it any longer and it raced along her legs. She took off and ran the last minute to the castle. Her face burned with shame. She’d mounted him and kneeled for him in the hay. How would he know not to grab her like that?
Tattiena kept running until she found her rooms, locked the door, and threw her soiled clothes into the bin. They smelled of his seed and a smudge of blood. Salty, metallic, and down-right vomit worthy.
Years of discipline and denying all her urges so that she could be strong. In control. The warrior her father and the kingdom needed. All of it, gone up in smoke in a matter of seconds.
Disgusting.
She walked into the shower, punched in a code, and water streamed into the bathroom from three different heads. Scalding hot, just how she liked it.
Standing beneath the shower heads, she twisted left and right, letting the water wash away the smells of the man who’d been all over her. Inside her.
The scented soap squirted into her hand and she reached down and scrubbed herself where he’d been. A frown lowered her eyebrows as she felt the tenderness of her lips, the swollen insides of her body.
She clenched her jaw tight and groaned as she lifted her arms and legs, scrubbing every bit of muscle and skin she could reach. Nothing, not the hot water, nor the uncomfortable tingling, stopped the images that flooded her mind as she scrubbed. The intense pleasure that she’d felt in the stable now imprinted on her brain.
“Damn… Fucking… Shit!”
She switched off the water and dried herself with one of the fluffy towels. She looked inside her wardrobe and something caught her eye. An unusual choice, but her blood ran hot at the moment. She took it down and wrapped the flame red dress around her sore body, then twisted her hair into a tight knot on top of her head.
She didn’t know who this prince was, nor why he sought her out, alone. But she needed to get rid of him.
Her whole world was based around her Dragon riding skills. She could not be the warrior of her people if she was consumed by her needs, nor if she had the babe she was terrified would eventuate from such a mating.
Not to mention the fear that clawed at her if her role changed. Her father’s appreciation for her, their whole relationship. It was all built around her skills and role as Dragon rider. What would happen to her if that was to change?
Tears gathered in her eyes as she recalled the early demise of her mother, a powerful and strong Dragon rider. Her father, and those around her, had told Tattiena that having a child had made her mother soft. She hesitated when she should have struck, falling prey to an attack that should never have happened.
She cleared her throat and fought off the wave of sadness and regret that came with knowing you were the reason your mother was dead.
Would that happen to her also? Would she sacrifice her own life for a child? Was that her fate?
No! I won’t let that happen! It simply…won’t.
She clenched her jaw tight and prepared herself for her speech with the king. Surely after everything they’d been through, and supposedly meant to each other, he would give her this one thing.
Prince Leonide was a threat to her life. All her goals. He could destroy everything she’d worked hard to attain, and there was no way she could let him stay close to her. Especially now that she’d felt the intensity of their link.
Her heat recognized him as its other half; her pairing. A man who would give her a baby, strip her of her Dragon riding duties, and perhaps leave all of Gregorick unprotected, was a man she did not want.
3
“Thank you, King Taneel. I think this treaty will benefit both of our great cities.”
The king finished signing the contract Leo’s scholars had written up. He ended up offering more to the king than he’d expected. In money and men. But that was because, now that he’d seen the city, he knew it’s worth. And his father had underestimated the value of Gregorick. It’s people and its Dragon.
“I would like to stay on longer, if that is possible. I can send this treaty with my best men tomorrow so that my father can see it. But I believe I could learn a lot from what you have created here.”
Taneel rolled up the treaty into a scroll and slid it into a hard case, clicking the lock into place.
My father will be pleased.
“Of course, you may stay. As long as you want. I believe that would be to both of our advantages. I have heard you are quite an expert swordsman.”
He shrugged, not wanting to appear vain. “I like to lead by example in all things.”
“As do I, but I am old now. Things change.”
Leo shook his head. “I don’t believe that for a moment. You are stronger than any king I’ve ever seen.”
Taneel shook his head quietly. “I have had a long life. I am proud of what has been achieved in my kingdom. My people are happy, safe. We have Tattiena and her Dragon to thank for a lot of our security. Without her, I would not be the king I am today.”
Leo heard the tones of affection and knew he needed to tread carefully into this conversation. He didn’t know what sort of relationship Tattiena had with her father, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset either of them. It would lead to disaster, for him, and perhaps Davuno as well.
“I met Tattiena and her Dragon this morning.”
The king’s old face lit up. “She is a beauty, is she not? Just like her mother.”
In his ears, Leo could hear her cries of pleasure, and struggled to concentrate on the conversation at hand. “Ah… yes. She is. Although I have not met her mother.”
The king’s face clouded over with sadness, and the regret was obvious. “I met Tattiena’s mother after I had already married and resumed rule over Gregorick. The passion between us was unsurpassed, but I could not un-do what had already been done. My son was born, and a few months later, Tattiena.”
Taneel’s gaze met him, and Leo nodded in understanding. “And your wife… is she still living?” Leo asked gently.
He knew he shouldn’t pry into the private life of the king but considering what had happened in the Dragon’s stables this morning, he felt the need to know more. Tattiena herself certainly wasn’t going to reveal much.
“No. In a cruel twist of fate, she died giving birth to my second son, several years after the first.”
Leo waited. What wasn’t he being told?
“A mere month after Tattiena’s mother died.”
He couldn’t hold the gasp that rose. “How old was she?”
“Barely five. Her mother was also a Dragon rider, though once she became pregnant, Roselle didn’t continue to ride. Having Tattiena changed her, made her afraid to go into battle. Which was what killed her, and soon after, her male Dragon also.”
For some reason, Leo’s heart was thudding against his ribs. These were royal secrets and he was being confessor for the king. A part of him was honored, the other part sick for the loss of life and love that occurred.
“So…Tattiena is…spoken for?”
He held his breath, every beat of his heart ricocheting in his ear drums.
The king cocked his head to the side and surveyed Leo. Despite the intense gaze, Leo resolutely kept his head upright. He had nothing to be ashamed for, and as single woman of breeding age, what they’d done in the barn was neither a bad thing, nor uncommon.
“No. Tattiena is not legally my daughter, so I cannot organize a suitor for her. And as she is the Dragon rider…her mate
will have to be one with nerves of steel. There is very little known about Dragon riders and their mates. Roselle herself knew very little about her own line.”
“Yes…we have a book on Dragons back in Davuno, and yet, no one can read the ancient text.”
Taneel wave his hand dismissively. “We have dozens also. To no avail. Tattiena will be on her own to find her mate, and I can only hope he is a man who will not abandon her…as I did her mother.”
This time, Leo looked away, guilt and fear creeping into his gut. He was not ready for marriage, nor did he want to be tied down in any way.
But if he ever were to marry, which he must one day, it would be a dream indeed to have a woman like Tattiena. Who would warm your bed every night and fight on the battle field next to you?
“Thank you, King Taneel. I will get this agreement off to a courier.”
“Good day, Prince Leo.”
Leo walked away from the meeting with his thoughts whirling. Did the king know of the attraction between Tattiena and himself? Did he have an inkling of what had gone on with them the moment Leo stepped into the barn this morning?
One this was for certain. There was a long legacy of male betrayal and abandonment going on in this family, and since Leo himself didn’t know what he wanted, he’d have to have a plan if he went to Tattiena again, or he’d end up charred like the wood in a fireplace in no time.
“You need to help me, Mia. Please.”
Tattiena lay on the healer’s table, her hand to her forehead. Mia had been treating her since she was a child and she trusted the older woman with all her secrets.
“Why didn’t you come to me sooner, Tattiena?”
“I don’t know. I just thought…” She groaned, unable to give a good enough excuse for her stupid behavior. Why hadn’t she asked for help earlier? This could have been avoided.
Mia sighed. “You thought you could handle it yourself, as always, I know. But I have knowledge too. I can help you.”
Tattiena sat up and swung her legs off to the side, sitting up on the table. “I know, Mia. And I’m sorry. Can you help me?”
