Tempting the Dragon King

by Kiersten Fay

  June could scarcely believe she was miles above the ground, gliding under a double full moon. The wind rushed past, skimming around her new body. The sensation was exhilarating, freeing, and fucking terrifying. She had no idea what she was doing. And yet, she was doing it.

  She was flying! Mother-freaking, honest-to-goodness, balls-to-the-wall, flying!

  Tristan was with her in all his glory, showboating. He dipped and dove and spun around her while she concentrated on not falling out of the sky. His defiance of gravity helped ease her nerves…until she thought about what would happen when she tried to land.

  Tristan must have sensed her trepidation because he quit dancing through the air like a twitterpated Disney character and slid up on her right until she dared a glance at him.

  He jerked his head toward the ground. “Land. Watch me.” His words were clipped and gruff. When she tried to respond, only cool air bubbled up her throat. She suspected speaking in dragon form was a learned talent.

  He banked right and dove toward a lake that offered a patch of open land along the shore. She circled, keeping her eye on him, studying how his wings moved, how his body slowed and readied to meet the ground. His landing was elegant and flawless.

  Looks easy enough.

  She dove, trying to mimic his movements, but her body wasn’t used to…any of this. As she approached the ground, her wings teetered and she lost her nerve and pulled up…but it was too late. She was going to crash! At the last second, she skidded into the water, liquid splashing all around her. If she were in human form, her cheeks would be fire-truck-red with embarrassment.

  Her paws met the squishy bottom, and as the surface settled, she caught sight of the unfamiliar reflection staring back at her. She was winter-white, her eyes a pale lavender with long black slits. Her snout was just a shade pink. Two horns protruded from her temples, peeking out of her pale-white mane. She blinked, turning her head this way and that, finding it hard to believe this was her.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  She turned to face Tristan on the shore. He was in his two-legged form. She moved to approach him, but she slipped on the slimy lake-bottom, and nearly dunked under the water.

  He looked as though he was wheezing out a laugh. She was instantly offended and wanted to howl at him for finding humor in her awkward transition. Instead of words, an icy force bubbled up from somewhere deep within her and as she roared into the sky—

  Blue flames shot from her lungs.

  She clamped her mouth shut, alarm skittering through her. That didn’t seem right. Another glance at Tristan told her he was equally surprised, his mouth agape, even as crystals of ice sparkled down around her.

  “Come,” he grated.

  Almost in a daze, she sloshed through the lake toward the shore. Her body felt heavier as she waded out of the water.

  Tristan met her at the edge. He looked so tiny and fragile to her reptilian eyes. But he had no fear of her. He nuzzled her nose before sliding his cheek along hers. “Mine.”

  That single rasped word was like a warm blanket around her heart.

  He gazed up at her with a coaxing smile. “Change for me, love.”

  Change. How the hell was she supposed to do that?

  “Just think about your arms and legs and how much you want to wrap them around me.”

  She snorted out a laugh, but then she got the visual, her newly healed body plastered around his. So much had happened in the last hour. Only moments ago, she was on the verge of death. Before that, she feared those traitors were going to kill him. She was still rattled from the traces of terror and adrenaline in her system. Now they were both alive and relatively safe, the danger gone. She wanted to touch him. Kiss him. Hold him and make sure he was really there, and this wasn’t a dream. She needed to prove she was alive.

  “That’s it, baby,” he said, a warm sensation tickling the base of her belly. The world around her seemed to bloat and expand, growing all around her. She felt like Alice after drinking the shrinking potion until finally everything was normal size again, herself included.

  The cool breeze swept over her skin…her naked skin. She glanced at her nude body and then at Tristan’s clothed body. Why—

  Tristan scooped her up in his arms and twirled her around. His shout of joy was so contagious that for the moment it didn’t matter that she was inexplicably exposed. Then he let her body slide down his, yet still holding her aloft, he slanted his lips over hers. She melted for him instantly, like butter in a microwave. Her hands flew across his shoulders, his back, through his hair, needing the sensation of his skin under her fingers.

  “Are you well?” he panted between kisses, pulling back every so often as if he wanted to stop and assess her fully but couldn’t bring himself to let her go. “How do you feel? Do you hurt?”

  “I am so good,” she assured him. One could have never guessed that only twenty minutes ago there’d been a two-inch-wide hole in her torso and a to-the-bone gash in her leg. Her body felt amazing. And a slow fire was blooming in her gut, sparked by Tristan’s lips, his smell, sweat and spice and all man. She wanted nothing more than to shove him to the ground and ride him harder than a carousel horse, but a question kicked at the back of her mind. “Did I just breathe ice?”

  “Appears so.” Letting her feet meet the ground, he kissed her shoulder, trailing his lips along the line of her neck. Meanwhile his hands dipped south to cup her ass and give her a possessive squeeze.

  That sent shivers along her skin. “How is that possible?”

  “Can’t say.” More kiss. More squeezing.

  “Also, why am I naked?”

  He lightly nipped her neck. “Because you turned into a dragon.”

  “But you were never naked after you turned.”

  “Because a king canna be caught with his pants down.”

  “How do you do it, though?”

  “Love. You just came back from the dead. Can we do questions after I’ve made love to you?”

  She smiled up at him. “What, you can’t multitask?”

  He gave her a toothy grin. “Blood’s no’ in the right bits for that.”

  She reached down to cup his engorged crotch. His thick member jerked against his pants as though it was trying to rip through the fabric to get to her.

  It took them only seconds to get his clothes off and then they were rolling on the beach, kissing and losing themselves in each other’s body. Positioning himself between her legs, he snatched her to him as he thrust forward. She cried out at his invitation, and pure ecstasy lit her from within.

  “I thought I lost you,” he grunted, shoving into her again and again at a punishing pace.

  “I’m here, baby. Ahh, God, you feel so good.”

  “Tell me you’ll stay with me. I need to hear it.” The desperation in his voice filled her with the need to ease him.

  “I’ll stay with you. I’ll marry you. I love you so much.” He fell over her, claiming her lips with his in such a fierce kiss, June lost her breath. When she broke away, she blurted, “I can’t believe all that’s happened.” His body found a rhythm that drew a moan from her. “How is any of this even possible?”

  Tristan merely grunted, his hips pistoning between her legs. Pleasure bloomed in her belly.

  “Seriously, though. How does the keep-your-clothes thing work?”

  He grumbled. “Your mind is not on the task at hand.”

  “Sure it is.” She groaned when he found a spot that lit her up. “But to be fair, much has happened in the last hour that requires rumination.”

  “If I tell you, will you turn your brain off with me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He sighed, hesitating. Then he muttered, “The clothes are…bespelled.”

  She gasped. “By witches?”

  “Aye. There is a small coven we trade with. They have gained a modicum of our trust.”

  “I would like to meet them.”

  “I’m sure you will, but for now, you have
much more important business to contend with. Namely my throbbing—”

  She silenced him with a kiss. “Oh, we’re both going to feel very good soon.” Pushing him to his back, she straddled him and rocked her hips in a way that made his eyes roll back in his head.

  “Unh…so good. So damn beautiful.” He reached up to fondle her breasts, lovingly tweaking her left nipple with his thumb. She cried out, working her body until a frenzy took them both. He gripped her hips with his big hands and guided her up and down his shaft, making her chest jiggle as she bounced atop him. “Fuck,” he groaned. “You’re going to make me…unh…”

  Suddenly she found her back against sand as he shoved himself in her again and again with a maddening pace that sparked the start of her orgasm. “Oh God! Oh God! Yes!

  His torso went stiff, yet his pace increased, his big body driving her into the sand, his grunts in her ear, his breath fanning her neck. Then she felt the heat of his release just as her orgasm streaked through her. “Aaahh!”

  He took her lips, swallowing the sound with his kiss as their bodies soared on the wings of ecstasy until they both shattered under the weight of a pleasure so intense, there was no discerning where his began and hers ended.

  Finally the sensations ebbed, and after several long moments, Tristan rolled off her, his back landing on the silky sand, his breaths staggered. “You have my heart, June. Now and forever. It’s just resting in the palm of your hand. Mind it well.”

  “Tristan.” She shifted to lie half across his chest, gazing up at him. “I want magical stay-on-you-after-you-shift-into-a-dragon clothes.”

  “Is that all you were thinking about?”

  “That was part of what I was thinking about. The other part of me was marveling at how wonderful you are, and how much I love you, and how happy I am with you, and how you also have my heart in the palm of your hand so you had better be fucking gentle with it…and I want magical clothes.”

  He laughed. “I will get you the all the magic clothes you could ever wear.”

  26

  June was quickly gaining the title of Ice Queen. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that since she’d thought she projected a rather warm demeanor. But then, the moniker had nothing to do with her personality. The night of her transformation, many in the village had spotted her return trip to the castle—a pure white dragon in the sky. A rarity, apparently.

  To top it off, the rumor of her breathing ice had spread, ironically, like wildfire, along with her unique dragon appearance. She supposed Ice Queen had a certain ring to it. It certainly didn’t sound weak. And in a culture obsessed with strength and power, it could only help her cause.

  No one could quite explain how she’d been brought back from the brink of death but to say it surely was a mighty bit of powerful magic—there were whispers of black magic—that could take a dragon’s soul and meld it with another to form something new. She didn’t subscribe to the idea that she had been saved by black magic. As far as her own philosophy was concerned, black magic didn’t save lives, but, admittedly, she didn’t understand much about how magic in general, so she kept her opinions to herself.

  Whatever kind of magic it was, there was no doubt she was changed…right down to her DNA. According to the physicians that had been brought in to examine her, she was no different than a born dragon. She could live just as long as Tristan. Yet she didn’t feel all that different than before. I’m still me. She was just a stronger, less mortal version of herself. But it was weird to think her soul had been altered.

  She couldn’t be sure—there had been two slain dragons to pull a soul from that night—but it would be the ultimate irony if it had been Belinda’s soul that had saved her in the end. There’d been no way to verify if June’s sword had ended Belinda as quickly as Tristan had ruthlessly dispatched the soldier he’d fought.

  Luckily—as of yet—there was no whispering voices in her head from, say, a vengeful shield maiden.

  No one had seen the white-haired witch since that night. While everyone had been distracted by June’s dramatic transformation, she had apparently slipped out of the castle unseen. June would love to thank the woman and offer her sanctuary under her own royal protection, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever see the woman again. It didn’t help that Tristan had repeatedly threatened her savior’s life. There was a lot of mistrust between the witches and the dragons. June hoped to remedy that somehow, or at least ease the tension. Peace had to start somewhere.

  Her wedding to Tristan had been an absolute dream. Though the ceremony had been a shockingly quick affair—so quick, June’s head had spun. The officiant had simply tied their hands together with a swath of something that resembled silk and declared them husband and wife.

  But the aftermath was what really blew her away. The entire kingdom had attended the ceremony. Tried to, anyway. The crowd had leaked out into the streets surrounding the palace. Everyone cheered when she and Tristan had raised their entangled hands. Then she had pulled him in for a searing kiss that seemed to shock the onlookers. He, however, had speared her with a molten gaze that promised delicious satisfaction later. He had not disappointed.

  Not everyone had believed the rumor about Tristan and his father. In fact, most of his subjects—now her subjects…gut clench—had disregarded the notion as nonsense. Still, once everything had settled down June meant to keep it that way. Her first venture had been to secretly enlist the help of Orik, who was swiftly becoming one of her favorite subjects. Though he was really more like family to Tristan. She’d learned that Orik had practically been adopted by the old king at a young age and had grown up with Tristan and his biological brothers…only one of whom she’d met on her wedding day.

  Tristan’s older brother, Gavin, had the same warrior build and similar features. He’d been nice enough, complimenting her on a wonderful ceremony—though the credit was due mostly to their mother—and merrily ribbing his brother on having the good sense to trap a woman who was clearly far too good for him, but there was something forlorn about the man. She wondered if he, too, blamed himself for his father’s death.

  Shortly after the wedding, Gavin had flown back to the island he’d sequestered himself on, according to Tristan. A self-imposed purgatory?

  Tristan’s younger brother, Prince Lear, had, unfortunately, been unable to attend. He was off in space somewhere gearing up for a grand, intergalactic space race called Phase Nine. It sounded terribly exciting. He did manage to make time for a long-distance transmission so that he could introduce himself to his new sister. Lear had an easygoing and fun-loving manner that reminded her of Jordan. When he’d called her sister, a shiver had coursed through her, the realization hitting her that she once more had…a family. A fierce joy had settled in her heart, and an equally fierce protectiveness had spouted within her. She would do anything to keep her new family safe. She loved them all already. As for Earth, there was nothing for her there. Everything she wanted was here.

  At the moment, she was eagerly awaiting her husband—husband! Sparkling butterflies danced in her stomach every time she thought of him that way—under the courtyard terrace. The two moons glittered in the clear sky. She was impatient to reveal her wedding present to him. She was dressed in a powder-blue princess gown with a sweetheart neckline—he was right, his mother was going overboard on the dresses. Already she might never have to wear the same one twice. Her new mother-in-law was delighted to finally have another female in the family, and it didn’t matter one bit that June had originated on Earth.

  The other day, Edel had ushered June into an elegantly lit room guarded by no less than four heavily armed guards and secured by an honest-to-god Scrooge McDuck style vault where the royal jewels were kept.

  Wearing a self-satisfied expression, Edel had spread her arms out and instructed June to pick out whatever she liked. Jewels of every color and shade sat sparkling under the soft display lights; necklaces and earrings and rings and every other adornment one could imagine. She could be dr
ipping in ice for the rest of her life if that was what she wanted. Tonight she wore the simple white-gold snowflake charm necklace Tristan had had made for her.

  She spotted him then, across the courtyard, exiting the castle. As he approached, a contagious smile spread over her lips. She twirled for him, showing off her figure in the dress. In the next moment, she was in his arms, his lips slanting over hers. “You look gorgeous tonight, my love.”

  “Thank you,” she returned.

  “Why have you summoned me here instead of our room where I can strip you of this gown with my teeth?”

  She shivered at the image he provoked. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “The surprise had better be that you banished everyone within viewing distance, otherwise many of our servants are about to get a show.”

  “Try to contain yourself, husband.” Sparkling butterflies.

  “Try not to look so irresistible, wife.” Sigh.

  Pulling away, she situated him so that he was facing the perfect direction. “Do you remember our Faieara friends?”

  One suspicious brown rose.

  “I asked them for a couple of favors. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Oh?”

  She bit her lip, suddenly nervous that her idea wasn’t as grand as she’d first imagined. Still, nothing to do about it now. She turned to signal for the lights and in the next moment the entire courtyard was illuminated.

  Tristan glanced past her, his expression curious at first, then a little stunned. Situated at the center of everything was an intricate statue of two dragons tangled in mid-flight, one pure white marble, the other deep jade, their tails intertwined in a loving embrace. When June had first seen it, she’d been absolutely blown away by the flawless detail and accuracy translated from a handful of still photos that Orik had help her to gather of Tristan and a few he’d snapped of her in her dragon form.

  Tristan approached the sculpture, which stood just a few feet taller than he did, and peered up at it with thin-pressed lips.

  June ran a self-conscious hand over the back of her neck. “I know I’m not adept at flying yet, and my landings still leave something to be desired, but one day I hope to dance with you in the sky.”