Dragons Don't Forgive

by D'Elen McClain

  Now his firm chin rises in a jaunty manner. “We are defined by the striking colors of our dragon scales. This identifies our family line even though only four mature male dragons remain. I’m the last of the purple dragons.” His eyes go black again as his suffering reaches clear to my soul. Even my wolf whines softly. He’s such a disturbed man with so much pain held tightly inside. I wish he would cry again so I could pull his head to my breast. He needs to let the pain escape.

  I cup his chin in my palm and lean forward to brush my lips across his cheek. “I’m sorry, Sarn. I’ve grown up with the pain of having no mother. I cannot comprehend losing everyone.”

  His eyes move away and I know he’s uncomfortable with words of sympathy. I release him and concentrate on the tangles in his hair once more. When I finally have it all untangled, I begin snipping away at the strands. Not too short and not too long, I know exactly how I want it cut. We remain silent until I take his chin and tip his head to the right and then left. “It won’t fall across your eyes for a while. I’ll cut it again when it grows out.”

  He grabs my wrist with his large hand. “What makes you think I’ll be here?”

  I like having him touch me. I feel a buzz where we connect and wonder if it’s our magic. “I hope you will stay around. It’s hard for me to make friends quickly. I’d like a chance to know you better.”

  His fingers squeeze a little more firmly. “It will be hard for us to keep our hands off each other, but it would be wise to do so.” He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. I can see the uncertainty in his eyes when he speaks again, “I find myself in need of a friend too.”

  ***

  The following morning, in my wolf form, I charge through the forest at breakneck speed. An angry dragon is one thing—a dragon without hope quite another. I escaped the cabin yesterday as soon as I could. I didn’t want to love Sarn, though it may be impossible not to. I’m now running to try to take the spunk out of my wolf who wants the dragon in our bed. I want him there too, but it’s easier to deny if my wolf is tired. So I run.

  In front of me there’s a thick copse of trees and I make a sudden turn and leap over a broken tree branch. I’m not expecting to run into the dragon out here, but that’s exactly what happens. My claws dig into the pine needles and earth, but I can’t stop in time and literally knock Sarn off his feet. I roll away and shift to human at the same time. “I’m sorry,” I say as I try to help him stand. He brushes away my hands and gains his feet on his own. His stunned look turns into a smirk as his eyes run over my naked form. Crap, this is the last thing I need.

  “I’m afraid to ask why you’re running so fast that you could break your neck or someone else’s—case in point, mine,” he says as the smirk grows larger. He examines me from head to toe with a slow, warm gaze that seems to be growing hotter the longer he stares.

  He’s wearing sweatpants without a shirt. I glance down and see his feet are bare too. “I’m out for a morning run. What’s your excuse?” I snap back a little more harshly than I intend. He always seems to throw me for a loop in some way or another. Usually I’m calm and collected. But whenever I’m around him, my thoughts scatter. I noticed it while working the nightclub. I spilled so many drinks when he walked near the bar that I had to offer to replace the shattered glasses. The female cocktail waitresses gave me knowing looks. They knew exactly why I was unsettled in his presence. The man is gorgeous.

  Right now I want to run my fingers over his rippled abs just for the hell of it. I’ve seen plenty of six-pack abs, but Sarn’s is an eight-pack that puts most men to shame. Even after the gallons of alcohol he has consumed this past year, there isn’t an ounce of extra flesh on him.

  I realize he’s staring back at me and he knows I’ve been lusting on his body the same way he has mine. I shift my eyes away because I can’t handle his powerful gaze with those stunning violet eyes. The color does things to my insides. Things that friends shouldn’t feel.

  “I was thinking about shifting,” he says, which startles me.

  My gaze jerks back to his. “Into a dragon?” Please, please, please say yes.

  A genuine smile replaces his smirk. “My platypus form isn’t very useful out of the water.”

  I can’t believe he’s teasing me. I want to see his dragon more than I want my next breath. And not just any dragon. I want my purple dragon. “At least a platypus is soft and cuddly.” I respond like an idiot because I’m so enthralled with him.

  His eyes sparkle in the sunlight and light amethyst streaks through the deep violet. His teeth flash with another smile and small laugh lines show around his lips. It actually hurts to think that this sad, sad man has laughed a lot during his many lifetimes. With his brides. And that thought makes me jealous which also makes me completely reprehensible. To love and lose that love again and again is heartbreaking. I shouldn’t feel jealous about his tragic life.

  I put these crazy thoughts aside. “Show me,” I whisper almost afraid he will deny me this.

  Now the smirk returns. “There’s a good chance your beastkind blood will heat up to the point of exploding if you see my amazing dragon physique.”

  An actual giggle escapes me. “Modesty doesn’t suit you.” My heart is pumping so fast with the excitement of seeing something no one on earth has seen. Dmitri told me he doesn’t know of anyone, including himself, who has seen a dragon in their true form.

  Sarn’s hands go to his waistband and he shoves his pants down. His cock is growing, which seems to be its natural state whenever I see it. Is it because of me or is the man just turned on by women in general? I know which way I want it.

  When he’s naked, he grabs my hand, leads me to a large clearing, and releases me at the tree line. “Last chance. Once you see this I’ll ruin all other men for you.”

  He already has. He winks one beautiful violet eye and it completely seals the deal. I want him so fucking bad. “I’ll chance it. Dragons are fantasy and I actually think everyone’s been pulling my leg for over a year now.”

  The smirk comes back. “In your dreams, sweet wolf.”

  My dreams have all been about him since the day he stumbled through the bar a year ago. I had no idea who he was. I even noticed my brother gape as we both watched the most gorgeous man alive fall down in a drunken stupor. It was six in the morning and we’d come in early to help with inventory. Dmitri easily picked him up and carried him downstairs to the living quarters. When I inquired about the strange man to Dmitri, he told me about dragons. A few weeks later, he told Roland because the crazy idiot was close to challenging Sarn. My brother did not like the interest I took in the disturbed dragon. And truly I couldn’t care less. Roland needed to worry more about his own love life and worry less about mine.

  Now, I watch in anticipation as Sarn walks to the center of the clearing. He looks to the sky and his magic builds quickly. It isn’t the same as mine. This is violent and wild. Hot and steamy. The entire clearing explodes into light with his shift. I almost fall to my knees when his dragon’s body fills the large, empty space. Beastkind shift to about double our human size. We are no comparison to Sarn. He stands at least thirty feet high. His mouth and jaws are bigger than my entire body. His wings unfurl and scrape the trees on either side of him. Fifty feet of pure exquisite beauty. He was right. No one will ever measure up. And the color of his scales. They ripple with different shades of purple that catch the sun just like his eyes. His violet pupils are much larger and their color more vibrant. I stand in absolute awe unable to move as my heart almost beats from my chest.

  Chapter Five

  Sarn

  She truly sees me. Not just my pretty human face, but my dragon in all its glory. Her eyes shine and she doesn’t back away or even tremble. Her gaze eats me up like I’m the finest dessert. Her tongue runs over her lips and I watch all of this from three stories above her. I want her so bad it hurts. I could love her as I’ve loved my brides. It would be so incredibly easy.

  With a powerful flap
of my wings, I rise into the sky. Dmitri assured me this morning that I could fly freely within his territory. Right now, I must get away from Sierra and contain my thoughts of having her as a bride. I am such a pathetic excuse for a dragon. My answer for everything is to run. Usually straight to a bottle. Right now I want a drink like nothing else. No, that’s not true. I want Sierra as my bride more.

  She shifts and follows me for an hour. I lose her in a mountain range where I land and hide behind a high group of rocks until I sense she’s gone. What the hell is wrong with me? Maybe it’s because I’ve been away from my realm too long. Drowned myself in enough alcohol to flood a small city then wallowed in self-pity for an entire year.

  I woke up this morning without a fuzzy head. The slight ache was still there but not as overpowering as it had been the previous four days. It’s my shifter blood that has the withdrawals fading so quickly. While I assessed myself, Dmitri entered the cabin without knocking. At least he didn’t do his now you don’t see me now you do magic routine. It throws me off balance every time he instantly appears in front of me. This morning he whistled cheerfully and walked straight to the coffeemaker and prepared a pot. It was the only reason I didn’t kill him. He kept up the ridiculous whistling tune the entire time. When the coffee had finished brewing, he brought me a cup. I sat up in bed and cast a glare his way.

  “Don’t do it again, Dmitri. I understand you had little choice, but it goes against everything I am to feed a blood sucker.”

  Just a hint of amber flashed in his eyes even though he knew I partially jested. He shrugged. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it. Dragon blood is the nastiest thing I ever tasted.”

  Yeah right. I know how powerful dragon blood is. “Well you didn’t expire, so it couldn’t be all bad.”

  He didn’t give me the smartass comeback I expected. “How do you feel?”

  Ashamed, sad, and homesick. “Better.”

  “How are the cravings for alcohol?”

  At this question it was hard not to snap his head off. “I want a drink. No, actually a bottle.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “That won’t go away for a long time. Everything else will probably fade within the next few days.”

  The nausea, headaches, and trembling were almost gone, though I had no intention of telling the vampire that. Dmitri made me uncomfortable at times with his strong interest in dragons. His nightclub was a safe haven for beastkind and now dragons too. He kept his finger on the pulse of the shifter worlds. I have no doubt he does it to protect his own. If push ever comes to shove, Dmitri’s clan comes first and I admire him for it. But there is no comparison in the magic of our worlds and he doesn’t need to know everything. I owe him a debt and I always pay up. The time will come and he will be thankful he put up with me for as long as he has. My debt to him is overly large.

  We drank coffee and spoke of things that had nothing to do with the main issue, which happened to be me and my future plans. I expected him to want me gone or at least know my intentions. He didn’t seem at all interested in anything but making sure I was comfortable. I didn’t tell him that guilt ate away at me or that I longed to go home and couldn’t.

  He left an hour later and now I’m here, hiding behind stone and escaping from guilt and internal pain that I can no longer bear. Lost in thought, I don’t realize Sierra is near until her human hand rubs along the scales of my lower leg. I look down at the top of her head as she examines me.

  “They’re beautiful and soft. Not at all what I expected,” she whispers.

  Of course she’s naked. I’ve had too many women to count, but I can’t think of a single one who compares to Sierra’s natural beauty. I could easily shift and mold my hands to her lovely breasts. I want to taste her nipples and nibble the soft skin of her throat. I want. I want. I want. Somehow, even though she’s admitted to having sex, her innocence is what keeps me from doing what I want so badly to do. To take my mind off thoughts of sex with Sierra, I decide to let her in on one of my secrets. “Strike me with your fist,” I say telepathically.

  She jumps at least a foot, which is delightfully funny. Her head arches back as she looks up in astonishment and meets my eyes. “You spoke into my mind.”

  I grunt before continuing. “Can we keep that between the two of us? I already feel I’m under a microscope when Dmitri is around.”

  She laughs and places her hand on my scales and rubs them gently. It feels too damn good. My brides always preferred me in human form. My dragon was very intimidating to them even after they became accustomed to it. My very nature as a dragon was almost more than they could handle. Sierra is so different. She’s a shifter too and understands and appreciates my natural form. And the dragon is more natural to me than breathing.

  She brings me out of my thoughts with her sweet voice. “You don’t know the half of it. Dmitri is all vampire and they always have nefarious plans in the works. We need them as much as they need us, and Dmitri is extremely loyal to the bears, so he doesn’t bother me. Being raised by vamps helps too. I learned not to fear them in the slightest.” Her eyes sweep over me again. “I can understand his fascination with you, though. Has he seen your dragon form?”

  She stands naked and proud—nothing like a bride. The brides of the dragon realms are raised as virgin sacrifices and sheltered from men until they fulfill their destiny. One special bride becomes the property of a dragon and we covet them through their human lifespan. Once they’re in our lair, they seldom remain virgins for long. Dragons are insatiable beasts and men. The sexual aspect of our relationship with brides lasts for years until the bride is too fragile.

  In the beginning, a bride’s modesty is quite difficult to overcome. For many of my brides, impossible. It took years before Calista would run naked through the castle as we played titillating games of hide and seek.

  I scan Sierra’s body and appreciate that she is so comfortable with her beautiful nakedness. I almost forget her question. “Not unless he saw me flying overhead this past hour,” I finally answer.

  Her nose is almost touching my scales as if she gets close enough she will discover some great secret. “You asked me to strike you. Why?”

  She’s such a curious little thing. “Just do it and you will find out.”

  There is nothing tentative about her fist when she punches my scales. “Ouch, damn,” she complains as she shakes her hand.

  I snort and flame rumbles up from my throat.

  “That wasn’t very nice.” She’s back to running her fingers over my scales trying to figure out how they work, I presume.

  I hold back the flames by locking them tightly in my throat, and I try not to think about the horror my fire caused. No, not my fire… me. “The scales turn to armor when needed. It’s easier to show someone than explain,” I say in order to take my mind off what I did to Laryn’s bride. I have no idea why I offer, but the words tumble out before I can stop them. “Would you like to ride?” Only brides have ever ridden me, and riding is considered sacred in the dragon realms.

  “Truly?” Her eyes gleam with anticipation. I’m surprised she isn’t jumping up and down.

  I sigh. I’m going to have her in my bed and I made sure of it by offering her a ride. What is it about her that turns my tongue into a word vomit machine when she is near? I look over her delicate frame. “Without clothing or at least a saddle, I don’t imagine it will be entirely comfortable, but a short ride shouldn’t hurt too badly.” A short ride is all I can possibly handle.

  “I’m tougher than I look.” Her gaze travels quickly over me. Without time for another breath, she steps back a few feet then launches herself up. Her feet bounce off one of my legs then my neck, and with a strong push against my side, she’s on my back.

  “I would have circled my tail around to help you,” I say grumpily. Only because watching her in action is glorious and my cock is throbbing. And most of all because I need to possess her.

  “I’m beastkind, silly dragon. I could climb up if
you were double this height.”

  She’s laughing at me and I don’t care. The silly dragon comment bothers me not at all. I guess being away from home has turned me into a complete wimp. She settles down and I enjoy the feel of her thighs gripping my neck, though she keeps her bare pussy off of me. Having a naked woman on my back is a first for me and complete torture. I can’t even imagine one of my brides riding me naked if we weren’t in bed. “Hold on,” I say as my wings expand and I lift into the sky. With a mighty flap, I shoot forward. Her shrill cry is pure joy and not the primal scream of a bride’s first ride. Not that she’s a bride, and I must remember that.

  She continues laughing as we burst over the treetops. If she were only a true bride, I’d be in heaven right now.

  Chapter Six

  Sierra

  I’ve always loved the sense of freedom I get when I’m in wolf form. No human could ever understand. Now, I’m on the back of a dragon as we shoot through the sky and I’m envious of what Sarn can do. My freedom is nothing compared to this. The wind swipes my hair back and causes my eyes to water. Everything about flying is magnificent. My beastkind blood keeps me warm, and I could fly on Sarn for hours without tiring.

  He performs a quick roll and I manage to hold on with my stronger-than-human legs and arms. I yell with the gloriousness of what he is capable of doing. My wolf needs to feel the full effect of what is happening. “May I shift, dragon?”

  He gives me one of his grunts again before answering. “Can you shift and remain on my back?” he asks.

  I can’t believe he’s going to allow it. “No more somersaults, but yes I think I can.” I gain my knees, resting against his neck where it joins the larger section of his body. I pull in the magic and instantly I’m on four legs instead of two. I crouch down in order to maintain my balance. My wolf loves it. The wind ruffles my fur and my heightened smell appreciates the pure, clean scent of Father Sky. Even as wolf I’m envious of my dragon’s marvelous flight. What would it be like to be dragon and have this ability?