The Dragon God's Kiss

by Ana Lee Kennedy

  “We should eat within the hour,” the young man hollered back.

  King Zeadren rose and placed a saddle blanket over a stump close to the fire. “Come, good princess. Sit here.”

  She lowered herself onto the stump, and Sarenkesh rolled a large stone over next to it and sat beside her.

  “I want to thank you for offering me a home in Verdfauna,” the king began. “I feel lost without a city to govern and people to guide.”

  An owl hooted deep within the woods, followed by the answer of another in the opposite direction.

  “Be at ease,” Ember replied. “You are welcome in my father’s city for as long as you find the need to say with us.”

  “My hope is that we will learn the identity of Hellembr’s leader and defeat him.” The king sighed heavily, the weight of his worry hanging over the campsite.

  Ember sympathized with him. She could only imagine how she would feel if she saw Verdfauna fall as Galen had. “Be of good cheer. The next part of our quest may be difficult, but Torr has seen fit to aid us.”

  “The princess is right,” Sarenkesh added with conviction.

  “What worries me,” Kaedric interjected, “is what does Hellembr have to help them conquer us?”

  Ember shot a startled glance over at the Mortal. What indeed?

  “Aye,” Sir Hestbone agreed. “Even the gods fight and argue among themselves. What if we are dealing with a divine battle?”

  Dread stomped through Ember. She looked from Kaedric to the dwarf and then over to her brother. “Are you saying that other cities and towns may succumb to this new leader?”

  “You have to admit it is a possibility.” Sarenkesh patted her knee. “You said even the gods were surprised by the knowledge of Muspell and Drakyrr’s involvement.”

  The dread Ember felt grew into a blanket of fear that nearly smothered her. She gulped and focused on the flames dancing in the circle of stones.

  Faraway in the darkness, a banshee screeched. The ghostly sound echoed in the forest, trailing off into a terrifying wail.

  “Ach! I wish Lady Evanesce was here with her protection charms,” the dwarf muttered to himself.

  The eerie twilight deepened. A coal in the fire popped loudly, startling the group.

  “We must gather all leaders who are willing to fight,” King Zeadren suggested, “and invite them to Verdfauna for a meeting and decide what the next course of action shall be.” He met Ember’s gaze. “What say you, Princess?”

  She leaned forward, bracing her forearm across her right knee. “Aye, it is a sound idea. I am sure Father will agree.”

  Beron turned the doves, which were skewered on a long wooden stick above the flames, and then marched back to his seat. “How do we fight a person we cannot see?”

  “I think I have seen this leader of Hellembr,” Ember stated.

  Sir Hestbone paused as he handed her the water skin. “You saw him?”

  “Aye.” She accepted the skin, drank, and then passed it to Sarenkesh. “He was the one I battled in the meadows, the one who wore the great helmet with the horns”—she gestured to show the shape of it—“that crossed beneath his chin.”

  She waited as the others sat contemplating her words. The fire snapped and popped, and for a moment the flames brightened as a log rolled out of the stone ring. Quickly, Beron moved forward and used his sword to push the wood back into the fire.

  “Mayhap your father will have news when we reach the palace,” the dwarf mused.

  “And when I return to Verdfauna,” Kaedric added, “I may have more details that will help too.”

  King Zeadren rose and rummaged in his saddlebags. He returned to the campfire with a clay jug in his hands. “My servant packed a jug of mead for me. Tonight it shall serve us well.”

  As the evening progressed, Ember couldn’t help noticing the subdued mood of the group. She too feared the worst in the days and weeks ahead. Had she finally found love only to have war separate her and Sarenkesh? Her father would insist she remain at the castle with her mother, but there was no way she could stay behind when her new love and her friends were about to embark on another perilous journey, one that would lead them straight into the maw of evil.

  They each had a portion of cooked dove, the meat fatty and good. Ember sliced cheese and the last of the Southlander bread and handed it out to her comrades. King Zeadren passed the jug of mead around the campfire again and again.

  Sated, Sir Hestbone, Kaedric, and King Zeadren crawled onto their bedrolls. Soon, their snores drifted around the campsite.

  “I am tired too,” Beron announced. “Good night, Sister.”

  “Good night,” she replied.

  “Come.” Sarenkesh struggled to his feet and held out his hand. “Let us find a secluded place.”

  A wild, hot feeling wound its way from the center of Ember’s chest and down her abdomen to settle between her legs. She stood, her legs wobbling under her, and took Sarenkesh’s hand to follow him back through the bushes to where Hoggr had been posted. He halted long enough to retrieve the huge blanket used beneath the horse’s saddle.

  “Where are we going?” she questioned.

  “When I was scouting earlier, I found a sheltered place where we can be together,” he replied as he led her across the leafy enclosure.

  “Oh?” She ducked under a limb. “Were you scouting for a place to pleasure one another or for dangers?”

  “Both.” He laughed.

  He didn’t take her far. Only a few yards from Hoggr’s watchful eyes stood a huge, hollow tree. A jagged hole in the trunk led into the tree’s vacant center. Ember looked above her and saw the faint twinkle of stars at the top of the hollow trunk.

  Sarenkesh spread the big blanket on the ground. Turning, he held his arms out to her. She released a pent-up breath and fell against him, nestling her head under his chin.

  “I thought this moment would never come.” She melted in his embrace, relishing every inch of his body touching hers.

  “I plan on loving you for much longer than just one night.” He stroked his hand down the back of her head, the action both sweet and comforting. “How does eternity sound?”

  “It sounds divine.” She sighed and kissed his neck. “I never thought I’d ever fall in love, and then when I realized I had, it nearly killed me knowing I couldn’t be with you because of my power.”

  “I would have been willing to lie in your magical, fiery embrace.”

  She snorted in amusement. “You’ve stolen my heart, Sarenkesh. I am yours forever.”

  “And I am yours, Ember.” He stepped back, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You must be certain I will make you happy for all eternity.”

  “I am.”

  He leaned forward, and she watched transfixed as his head dipped toward her and their lips met. A tiny spark leaped between them. She gasped, fearing the worst and pulling away. However, Sarenkesh hooked his arms behind her and drew her against him again.

  “Easy, my love. It’s not fire but only the magic of our souls uniting.”

  Relief and happiness blew through her. She grinned at him, her heart singing with joy. He claimed her lips again, kissing her hard, passionately. Ember turned lax in his arms and kissed him back as her heart beat out a crazy rhythm. She wanted him so badly and needed to feel him straining against her, their bodies as one.

  He let go of her long enough to strip out of his clothes. Ember yanked her tunic over her head and wiggled out of her breeches and boots. Sarenkesh stood before her naked, the moon and starlight trickling down into the hollow tree, washing his body in milky illumination. His cock, eager and aroused, bumped against his abdomen. Sarenkesh untied the knots on either side of her undergarment and let it fall to the ground.

  “You are beautiful,” he murmured. “I almost fear touching you.”

  “Why?” She frowned.

  “You are as beautiful as a goddess. If you vanish, my heart will be broken.”

  She pressed her naked body again
st him, his cock hard and unyielding where it rubbed her belly. He sucked in a startled breath and ran his hands down her sides, over her hips, and then palmed her ass, his fingers digging into the muscles.

  “Make love to me, Sarenkesh. Make me yours.”

  He drew her down on to the blanket next to him. Slowly, he trailed his fingers over her breasts, her nipples hardening, and across the taut planes of her stomach. Ember needed him inside her. There was plenty of time for sweet words, touches, and kisses later. Right now she had to become his forever and had to be his mate for all of eternity.

  “Ember,” he said, looking into her eyes. “Will you be my wife?”

  “Aye.” She spread her legs, letting her knees fall open. With one hand, she touched herself.

  Sarenkesh’s breath hitched as he followed her movements, his eyes glimmering with desire.

  “I will be your wife, and I will fight at your side. No matter what happens, my love, we will be together.”

  Hand shaking, he placed it over hers between her legs. She moved her hand and pressed his to her folds, arching her hips. Sarenkesh licked his lips, his breath quickening.

  “Make love to me,” she whispered. “Please. I do not think I can wait any longer. We have plenty of time for pleasuring one another, but right now, I need to be one with you. I want you to claim me so that no other may have me.”

  “You are not ready to receive me,” he whispered back.

  She smiled at the desire thickening his voice. “I have been ready for you since that first night by the creek. Give me your love and your seed, Sarenkesh.” Pulling him toward her, she kissed him and then met his dark, dreamy gaze. “Take me now.”

  He rolled on top of her and settled between her thighs. Pinned by his weight, she gasped as his cock brushed her tingling folds. He drew in an excited breath and shifted his weight so he could slide his arms beneath her shoulders. His member pushed into her gently, but Ember was desperate to have him. She arched her hips, forcing him into her even deeper.

  “Ugh,” he groaned. “You are so hot, so tight.”

  “Give me all of you. Now, Sarenkesh.”

  He pushed all the way into her. The root of him firmly touched her pussy. Filled and stretched, Ember gasped and clutched him to her. He lay still, his breathing rapid as she adjusted to having him inside her. The knot within her core tightened and grew harder. Oh, how she needed him, how she wanted him to thrust and pummel her cunt until she screamed for mercy. She could lie beneath Sarenkesh and make love forever. Her heart soared with emotion, and her pussy throbbed and pulsed with fiery need.

  He groaned into her neck. “By the gods, you feel wondrous. I fear I will disappoint you.”

  “No, never.” She moved her hips up, down, and then up again. At his hiss of desire, she smiled. “Make love to me now.”

  He began pumping into her. With each stroke, his cock stretched her, the head of it brushing against her womb. She murmured in pleasure, running her hands up and down his back, meeting every thrust with one of her own. She wanted him to push deeper and harder. Bucking against him, she hooked her feet behind his knees, locking them together.

  “Ugh!” He thrust faster, his cock parting her folds and piercing her over and over.

  “Aye!” she cried. “Oh, my love!”

  He kept pumping, his cock thickening more, the head brushing the door to her womb in such a delicious way Ember began a low keening noise of delight. No lover had ever sent such spirals of pleasure through her like Sarenkesh was doing. Each time he pushed into her, she thought she would scream, cry, and explode all at the same moment.

  “You are”—he thrust into her forcefully and lay still—“mine, Ember, Daughter of Trinity.” Withdrawing, he poised his cock on the rip of her opening and then looked into her eyes. “You are my woman”—he shoved into her with such force she gasped—“for all of eternity. No other shall ever have you.”

  “Oh!” She bucked again, driving him deeper, and pulled him closer with her feet so he couldn’t move back from her again so quickly. “I want you, Sarenkesh. Give me your essence. Seal our marriage.”

  He drove into her harder and harder. Ember met his every thrust, reveled in the way his cock stretched her, pummeled her, prompted her to reach for that ever elusive star from which she would leap. He kept thrusting, his moans turning into throaty cries. The tightness inside Ember increased a hundred times more. She gasped and cried out, wanting that special feeling, needing it, but it proved just out of reach.

  Sarenkesh quickened his thrusts. Ember slid her hands along his sides to his ass where she palmed his buttocks, urging him to come inside her and consummate their love. He stiffened suddenly and let out a shout of desire and release so intense it echoed inside the tree. The moment she felt hot liquid spurt along her insides, the spring within her snapped, and wave after glorious wave of beautiful sensation cascaded through her. She screamed her release, arching her hips repeatedly, driving him even deeper into her recesses.

  Gradually, she drifted down from their personal heaven and lay panting beneath him. Sarenkesh slipped out of her and rolled to the side, drawing her to lie together on their sides.

  “I love you, Ember.”

  She sucked in a lungful of air, held it, and then released it with total contentment. “I love you as well. Always.”

  Ember lay quietly with him for a long time. She hated to leave their hideaway but knew they should return to the camp before someone roused and realized they were gone. There was no use in causing worry or panic for the others.

  As if sensing her thoughts, Sarenkesh kissed her shoulder and murmured, “We should return to the camp, my love.”

  “I know.” Disappointment rippled through her. “But I hate to let this moment go.”

  “So do I, but we have countless nights to be together.”

  “Aye.” She rose on one arm and rolled away. “That we do.”

  Quickly, she dressed but kept glancing over at her new mate to admire the muscles and planes of his body.

  Arm in arm, they wandered back to the camp site. Sir Hestbone heard them and looked up as they settled on their bedrolls side by side near the fire. He caught Ember’s gaze and offered her a knowing smile. She grinned back.

  Rolling over, the dwarf returned to snoring within minutes.

  “Come here,” said Sarenkesh. “Let us sleep beneath my cape.”

  She snuggled against his body. Something hard nestled between her ass cheeks. With a soft chuckle, she closed her eyes.

  It wasn’t long before Sarenkesh’s arm grew heavy over her waist and his breathing deepened. Ember lay for a long time thinking over their journey to Flame Mountain and how she came to be in the arms of her Gloaming Elf. The love she felt swelled until she thought might blow apart like a coal in the fire. If loving a mate was this strong, what must having a babe to her breast and children at her feet feel like?

  The threat of Hellembr rose suddenly in her mind, and her sweet thoughts of the future shattered. What if the man with the horned war helmet prevented Fae and Mortals alike from living, loving, and dreaming as people and families should?

  Ember knew with Torr’s aid they’d succeed in thwarting the Hellembr king. As long as Sarenkesh was at her side, they could overcome anything.

  With resolve in her heart, she snuggled deeper into her new mate’s embrace, and offered a prayer to Torr.

  Behind her, Sarenkesh stirred. “Is all well, my love?”

  She sighed. “I am awake worrying.”

  “Did not our lovemaking tire you?” Humor lurked in his voice.

  Smiling, she replied, “Aye, but my mind will not rest.”

  “What worries my wife?”

  “What if we are separated? What if, in the weeks and months to come, no one can have love, life, or a family? We have no idea what is coming. Beron’s gift is still developing, and even then his visions are spotty at best.” She rolled onto her back and met his gaze. “I do not want to lose you, and I do not want my
family or anyone else to suffer, either.”

  He studied her for a long moment and then brushed the backside of his fingers across her cheek. “We can only take one day at a time, my love. The choices others make, such as Hellembr’s leader, are beyond our control. The gods will aid us.”

  “And if the gods are pitted against one another?” Just voicing the words gave credence to her worry.

  “Then we will fight on the side of the gods who protect Fae and Mortals alike.”

  She lowered her voice, her gaze darting briefly to the canopy above them. “I fear Raya has already set things into motion.”

  “Aye, it appears so, but Torr is angry with her, so let him handle the goddess.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, willing her misgivings to melt into the ground beneath her.

  His lips touched hers. She responded and wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck. When Sarenkesh released her, she felt calmer.

  “I love you, Ember. No matter what happens, no matter if death takes me from you too early or you from me, our love will endure.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Do you believe me?”

  “Aye, I do.”

  “Ach, the sugary words of lovebirds makes for a fitful night of sleep,” the dwarf grumbled a few feet away.

  Ember giggled, and Sarenkesh chuckled as he drew her against him again.

  “Tomorrow we begin our lives together,” he whispered into her ear, “and I will revel in the sun that glows within your magic.”

  “Tomorrow,” she said and closed her eyes.

  Other Riverdale Avenue Books By Ana Lee Kennedy

  Seduced by the King

  Volume One of the Valhalla Skies Saga

  The Sorcerer King and the Fire Queen

  Invasion of Her Heart:

  Book One of the Lovers of the Galaxy Series

  Bounty Hunters of the Heart:

  Book Two of the Lovers of the Galaxy Series

  Raiders of the Lost Heart:

  Book Three of the Lovers of Galaxy Series

  Wrapped Around Your Handlebars