He drove her forward, shoulders planted on the bed. His hand was still in her hair, and he pushed her face into the mattress. She pushed back against him and wouldn’t stop until she felt him nestled deep inside her.
Raif released her hair and gripped her shoulder to hold her in place. He surged forward again and again, establishing a rough rhythm she was only happy to accept. She loved his violence, and knew somehow that he had been denied this release. She was a breath of freedom for him, as he was for her. They could finally let go and fulfill each other’s desires.
His rhythm was losing recognizable pattern, becoming more erratic with each thrust. He felt impossibly thick inside her at the lowered angle, and her breath was forced out in a pant with each powerful thrust. She could hear Raif gulping in air behind her, and the sound built on the sensations inside her.
Ragged moans escaped her lips. Raif still thrust into her with forceful pumps. His fingers moved again on her clit, and her hips almost gave out under him. He held her to him, not allowing her to leave him. Despite her efforts to remain still, her body shook. Her thighs quivered, threatening to topple her over.
She fractured at his insistent touch and his hot breath blowing like a hot wind across the desert of her skin. Splinters of pleasure struck at her from all sides. Raif smacked her ass one final time, and her cunt clenched violently around him. As she convulsed, she felt him thicken in his own release, and he called out loudly enough that she feared the entire hall would hear them over the celebrations.
He collapsed bonelessly next to her. Before she could protest, his fingers worked at the knots around her wrist. He pulled her gently against him. His lips brushed over her neck and soothed the bite marks he’d left. When her arms were released, he loosed the blindfold over her eyes.
Layla blinked against the sudden light. She rolled her shoulders to release the tension from being bound before she relaxed in Raif’s arms. She didn’t want to leave the bed again. She rolled into him to rest her head on his shoulder. He still held her, and stroked her hair back from her face.
“I hope I wasn’t too rough for you,” he whispered finally.
Layla felt a smile warming her body before it reached her lips. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Trust that I’ll let you know if you ever are.”
The words surprised her even as they left her mouth. They spoke of more than just one night. Even as she thought she should feel panic building inside her at a hint of permanence, it was brushed aside. She wasn’t meant to be the wife of the Dragon Lord. But she was meant to be something to Raif Lowry. Damn her family should they try to stop her.
Bonded to the Dragon Captain
The Dragon Lords #4
Lyra Valentine
Following their sizzling meeting, Layla McAlister and Raif Lowry spend the remainder of the Mating Moon Run celebrations dodging Layla’s brothers and in each other’s arms. Their fledgling romance is about to change when Layla discovers the secret Raif has been hiding from her.
Layla, forced to confront her complicated feelings on her rank, status, and family, lashes out at Raif. She has no one to blame but herself when her lover abandons her to her brother’s plans.
When her brother Boyd schemes to marry Layla to the Dragon Lord, Layla receives help and hope from an unexpected source. To keep his sister and her lover apart, Boyd challenges Raif to a fight to the death. Will Raif and Layla’s steamy love survive?
Chapter One
The castle had become a giant game of cat and mouse. Layla McAlister wasn’t certain if she was the cat or the mouse, but she knew she needed to avoid her brothers, Boyd and Graeme. Sometimes she felt like the cat, stalking her brothers as they hurried from council meetings to celebrations in the great hall. Sometimes she felt like the mouse, scurrying around the corner or ducking into the nearest room to avoid the men and their plans for her.
After a close call with discovery, Raif Lowry offered his newly assigned chamber as their meeting place. A rare thing, a flight group visiting from another castle, Layla had been warned by her brother to stay away. Instead, she and Raif spent more time in bed than attending the festivities for the Mating Moon Run over the following days.
The culmination of the Mating Moon Run was the dragon bonding. Children in their minority, from toddlers just barely able to walk to young girls and boys just shy of marriage age, were eligible to walk past the dragon eggs maturing on the sands beneath the castle. Layla always loved the commotion. She couldn’t sit still on the days leading up to the walk, and she looked forward to the following spring even after suffering the disappointment of not being bonded. Now that she had a dragon of her own, she empathized even more with those who didn’t hear a dragon call to them.
The flight groups jostled for positions as they gathered. They would enter together, with the larger and higher ranking groups closer to the center. Layla’s group was one of the last to enter, as they weren’t full dragon riders yet. She tapped her foot impatiently while the others found their positions and then their seats. Finally, her group was allowed to enter.
She smiled as she caught a glimpse of the eggs. All colors of the rainbow, the eggs nearly vibrated with excitement. It wouldn’t be long before they hatched, and the young dragons inside were as anxious to meet their riders as the children being readied to parade by them. Those eggs meant possibility to her—possibility to start a fresh life, possibility to detach from family expectations.
All riders were expected to witness the ceremony, excepting those that participated in the Run. Their chosen bedfellows would have a chance to walk by the eggs once they were ready to leave the castle to go home to their crofts. Those young men and women had been passed over repeatedly as children, and didn’t need another dose of public disappointment. Layla thanked the gods Garra had called to her during her commiserate walk, but she knew the chances were slim.
Raif’s visiting flight group entered behind all the others. She tried to catch his eye as they filed past, but he scowled darkly at the warm sand under his feet. She wondered if Boyd had caught on and said anything. Layla fidgeted uncomfortably at the thought, and drew her thick blonde braid over her shoulder. Boyd wasn’t known for his even temper, and she was a sore subject for him on the best of days. He wouldn’t take kindly to her disobeying his order to remain unattached and proper.
They took their seats, and Layla was surprised to see Raif wait until all the others were seated. She was even more shocked when he stepped around the others to take the customary seat of the flight group’s Captain. Her mouth hung agape and she felt as if she’d been dunked in the cold loch. He had said nothing of his position.
Her flight group was in the awkward in-between space of fresh hatchlings and fully graduated riders. They served as babysitters and advisors to the youngest, but were still seen as untrusted children to the full riders. She knew she ran a risk for fooling around with a full rider, but such relations usually were overlooked. It was improper for a captain to be involved with someone of her rank.
She doubly hoped her brother Boyd didn’t discover them. Throwing a fit would be the kindest gesture she could expect. She pinned her hopes on Raif being a visitor and the son of a Dragon Lord to minimize any damage. Fearing the worst, she tried to spot Boyd in the crowd. He clapped the back of some visiting crofter and member of the council, though she couldn’t quite tell because of the distance. They quieted down once the first children appeared at the edge of the hot sands.
Dungan Rutherford, the Dragon Lord, sat in the middle of the surrounding seats. His enormous red dragon, Birro, rested his head near the eggs. His female for this clutch, a dainty blue, curled a tail protectively around the eggs resting in the middle of the hot sands. Her rider sat next to Dungan, and nearly jumped with pride. Marnie Allaway, Dungan’s woman, sat on his other side.
The children were led in by the hatchling instructor. Layla knew from her own experience that they were instructed to walk slowly past each speckled egg. There were far more children than eggs, and eac
h child was given a chance to listen for the call of the dragon. She grinned each time a chubby face lit up at the resonance they heard in their head.
At the end of the loop around, most of the eggs were bonded to a child. They would move into the dorm reserved for hatchlings, and begin their studies before the dragons hatched in just a few short days. Some eggs were untouched, and would pair with one of the young men and women chosen during the Mating Moon Run. The unchosen children hung their heads, and more than a few openly cried in disappointment. Many would return the following spring to try their chances again.
Suddenly, Marnie sat up straight. She held a hand to her head and looked at Dungan with concern in her eyes. A murmur started in the crowd of dragon riders. Marnie hopped out of her seat, and walked onto the hot sand. Birro lifted his large head, and snuffled at her skirts before settling back.
She approached a small green egg that lingered on the edge, slightly away from the others. Layla’s hand went to her mouth. Marnie was well past the age when she should be selected, and had heard nothing during her own walk last spring after Dungan chose her during the Run. She shouldn’t have heard a peep from a dragon.
But the woman brushed her hand lovingly over the green shell. She looked to Dungan, and Layla imagined she could see tears in her eyes. She’d been bonded to a dragon, as unlikely as it was. She knew the relief and ecstasy and worry the sudden resonance could bring.
It relieved her that Marnie was able to attain dragon rider status. Layla saw her prospects open wide. There was no way Dungan wouldn’t marry Marnie as soon as she finished her training. Boyd and Graeme would be forced to give up their dream of attaching Layla to the Dragon Lord.
Layla found herself searching out Raif. With the largest complication in her life suddenly minimized, she wondered what it meant for the budding romance with Raif. She still saw a need to step carefully, but options were opened to her. She chewed her lip, urging him to look her way.
Chapter Two
Raif caught her wrist and tugged her around a wall. Layla bit back her startled laugh. The rest of her flight group swept past, amidst the jumble of the cavern emptying. She pressed herself small behind Raif when she caught sight of her brothers walking by. She wondered what they were discussing so quietly with the man between them.
Raif’s lips pressed against hers, and all wonder left her mind. She could only breathe in Raif. He was ravenous, as if he needed to draw her warmth into him. She was more than happy to provide it.
She moaned against his lips, her tongue slipping past the seam and running over his teeth. She reached up to tangle her hand in his hair. Desire ignited and blazed down her spine.
Her cheeks were flushed with relief. She wouldn’t need to worry about being forced to marry the Dragon Lord. Boyd had lost no small amount of power over her. She pressed bruised kissed lips together to hold back a shuddering sigh.
She didn’t want the moment to end.
She didn’t want him to ever part from him.
Raif reached down to cup her jaw. His thumb brushed over her lower lip, and she turned her head to catch it between her teeth.
“I should walk away right now,” he teased in her ear.
A surge of excitement tightened her thighs. He loved to tease her and make her beg for his touch. She loved it, too. “Don’t you dare.”
Raif raised a finger to his lips to shush her, then pulled her further away from the corridor. Layla looked cautiously over her shoulder before following him into a small room. It was a storage room for older dragon gear. She was surprised at how little dust covered the surfaces, given how old the broken saddles appeared. Raif settled himself on a wooden box and motioned for her to shut the door behind them.
He held her at arm’s length, and she could feel his eyes caressing her body. He could see right through her dress, she imagined. She certainly felt like his hands were on her skin as his eyes traveled down her curves. Her skin was flushed from excitement, and lightly scented from her early morning bath. Her hair hung over her shoulder and was bound in a braid, but messy from his hands.
His eyes kissed her collarbone peeking out from the square neck of her dress. They smoothed over the plump swell of her breasts, before nipping in at her waist. He lit on her wide hips, and motioned for her to spin so he could get an equal eyeful of her rounded ass.
She settled herself on her knees in front of him. Skimming her fingertips along his waistband. Her fingers threatened to pluck at the laces of his pants, and he sucked in a breath. She looked up at him and saw his eyes flamed with pure mischievousness, a sign that he had some scheme in mind of her. A hot thrill coiled in her belly at the look.
The skin of his belly was warm when she brushed the backs of her fingers against him. She pulled at the laces, uncinching him from the bindings he strained against. Raif’s muscles quivered with each pull of the laces, and his hips twitched toward her.
Raif’s cock surged out of his pants before she was finished, and she hurried to flay the edges of the leather to reveal all of him. Her hands gripped the hard length of him and she stroked a slow circle around the huge velvety bulb.
Raif growled her name, and the heat inside Layla intensified until she couldn’t hold back a little meep of satisfaction. His cock jutted toward her, the thick vein throbbing and a bead already on the tip. She feathered her fingers over him, smearing the wet pearl across his skin and down his shaft with her hand.
He forced her to stand, then started undoing the laces at the top of her dress. “Strip,” he ordered.
“Raif!” She gasped. “Here?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. They were out of the way, and most everyone would be filing into the great hall for food and drinks, but anyone could walk in on them. She chewed her lip.
“Here. Now.” He said again. His tone gave her no room for compromise. She stripped, or they stopped playing for the time.
The time since he arrived had seemed like a dream. She kept expecting herself to wake, rather than feel new desires wake inside her. She responded to his every touch, and craved even more. The damp heat between her thighs drove her fingers on. She pushed her dress down over her hips, and let it pool at her feet. When she pulled off her boots, she saw Raif had stripped as well.
Her breath caught as it always did at the sight of his body. The planes of his chest and bulges of his arms were made of strong stuff from years of hauling on the reins of a dragon. The muscles of his abdomen were defined by hard lines. A deep vee carved of rock directed her gaze straight to the hard length of his cock. Layla ran her tongue over her lower lip and drank him in deeply.
She knelt before him again, and huffed in the scent of pure man. Musky and powerful, her head swam for a moment before she collected herself. Her hands rested on his muscled thighs, and she teasingly flicked her tongue against his tip.
The wild light in his eyes let her know how much he enjoyed it.
She took his tip in her mouth, sliding the velvety head over her lips in one smooth, slow stroke. She let him fill her with an approving moan.
He swelled against her tongue, and she set to roaming over his thick ridges. His thighs shuddered under her. She stroked his length with one hand, and slid her other inward to caress his sac drawn tight against his body.
With a low hum, she plunged herself as far down as she could, until his cock bumped the back of her throat. Her hum turned to a chuckle at the groan that Raif let loose. Knowing what he liked, she eased away, then took him again, setting a quickening rhythm until his hips joined their dance.
He tried to push her away as his hips jerked erratically against her, but she resisted with a rebellious look in her eyes. She let her lower teeth graze gently against the bottom of his cock, then swallowed him down again. He strangled a sound in the back of his throat and burst hot in her mouth. Layla sucked extra hard to tease out the last drop of his pleasure.
He brushed his lips over hers, then pressed harder against her. She opened for him,
and her breath was sucked down with his. He groaned, low and deep in the back of his throat, and breathed back into her. It vibrated against her, in her, through her, until she trembled against his solid form.
He whirled her then, picking her up and settling her where he had been. Her legs clenched around his waist, and she squirmed against him. His hot length was so close, but the wasn’t what he wanted to give her. She noticed, too, there was space behind the box, made up as a bed. A thrill ran through her again as he nudged her over the side and out of sight. They could have been seen by anyone walking into the room, and he had a spot picked out for them. He was full of mischief, this one.
Layla gasped when he locked her wrists in one hand and raised them above her head. She stretched out long on the blankets piled beneath them. It reminded her of their first night together, bound and blind and willing to give him anything he wanted. Her back arched, and she offered herself to him once more.
He kissed her briefly, then trailed hot kisses over her jaw and behind her ear. Her pulse pounded under his lips. She let him know with ragged breaths how much she liked the spot being touched.
He was careful not to suck at her skin, even though she desperately wanted him to taste her. He touched her and used her body in ways that made her moan, but he was careful not to leave a mark where anyone could see. The gentle thoughtfulness made her heart melt for him.
She writhed beneath him, craving more than the slow kisses he gave her.
“Are you saying no to me?” He asked, with a darkly delicious laugh.
“Don’t stop,” she pleaded with him.
He nuzzled his way down her throat to her collarbone. “But you’re too fun to tease.”
He stroked down her arm, and over the collarbone he just kissed. His fingers traced the swell of her breast, and across her navel. Layla squirmed against him, and he chuckled low again.
He followed the path blazed by his hand with his mouth, trailing lazy kisses and licks over her skin and inflaming every nerve along the way. He kissed the swell of her breasts, but avoided the pink peaks of her nipples that pouted for attention. She didn’t know if she would cry from frustration when his mouth finally sucked in a swollen tip.
Dragon Lords Volume 1: BBW Fantasy Romance Bundle Page 7
