Dragon Flight

by Caitlin Ricci

  She looked over her shoulder at her brother. He had his head back, his forehead tilted toward the bright sunlight, his eyes closed. He was still so small for his age. But he was no longer the pale, sunken-eyed boy she had cared for and prayed over so many nights. She missed Faolan and her heart ached for what she would never have with Sebastian, but having Caden alive and whole made it worth it.

  Caden caught her watching him and gave her a look. “What?”

  She grinned. “I love you. I’m glad we’ve got a home of our own now.”

  He rolled his eyes, but did smile back. “You’re a mush.”

  Isabelle blew him a kiss and turned back to the manor. She saw a few maids busily getting their new home ready and she smiled and waved at them all. There was a small orchard lining the house and she could see apples beginning to form on their branches.

  “I want to plant vegetables,” she told Caden without looking over her shoulder.

  He snorted inelegantly. “You’ve never planted anything. Next you’ll be telling me that you want to milk your own cows and slaughter your own pigs.”

  She turned around and gave him a light shove. “And so what if I do?”

  “You’re now the queen, Izzy,” he reminded her. “You can’t plant, you can’t milk and you can’t get bloody.”

  “Says you.”

  Caden humphed at her.

  “Then what do you do all day besides study? Don’t you get bored? Don’t you ever just want to do something else?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “I enjoy studying. I asked for a few of the books I’m working on to be brought over. I hope they remembered.”

  “No,” Isabelle told him. “We’re going for a walk first. You are not staying inside all day.” He began to protest, but a look from her quickly silenced him into sulking.

  The carriage rolled to a slow stop and Isabelle hopped out, the layers of her dress swirling around her feet as she practically skipped over to Caden. She took his hand tightly in her own and began pulling him along as she eagerly took in all of their new home.

  Chapter Nine

  That night Isabelle stood braced against the cold wall, the air from the open window behind her licking the skin of her bare arms and shoulders. She had goosebumps, but whether it was from the chilly breeze or her own dread of what the night would bring, she couldn’t tell. She was dressed in only a sheet wrapped tightly around her nude frame. She couldn’t help but remember how similar this night seemed to her first night with Faolan. The sun had set hours ago and they only had until midnight and damn him he had to be late.

  Though she supposed she couldn’t blame Zorin. Meeting the requirements of their marriage must not rate highly with him. He was attractive, she could admit even that much, and she was sure that he had plenty of beautiful women willing to share his bed. Not that she cared though. She just realized that he didn’t have to waste time sleeping with her. She hadn’t even started to forget about Faolan, she was hardly excited about the prospect of sleeping with Zorin and she still had a little extra weight from her pregnancy rounding out her stomach and thighs. She was hardly the greatest catch and—

  “You’re tense,” came Zorin’s soft voice from the open window.

  She refused to look at him as he gracefully came inside, folding his midnight wings behind his back. “You’re late,” she mumbled.

  “And?”

  Annoyance colored her cheeks and she shook her head roughly. “Nothing. Let’s just get this over with.”

  “No,” he said from directly behind her as his fingers closed tightly around her upper arms.

  “What?” she asked, incredulous.

  Zorin shrugged and slid his arms to her stomach, encircling her and holding her against him. He was openly surprised she didn’t resist. “I want to make this good for you.”

  “No,” she said flatly.

  He bowed his head and rested it on the curve of her shoulder. “Not your choice. You need me and I’m going to do this my way.”

  She shuddered. “I will not make love to you.”

  “And I’m not asking you to.”

  She turned toward him. “Then what are you asking for?”

  He smiled softly. “Just listen. Faolan was your first and Thadius told me that you were Faolan’s.”

  “He’s a nosy old bastard,” Isabelle snorted.

  Zorin nodded. “Yes he is. But as I was saying, unlike you two I’ve been with lots of women. And I know what I’m doing. So I’m asking you to trust me and let yourself feel. Stop thinking so much.”

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. He probably wasn’t even exaggerating about his promiscuity. He even seemed proud of it. But she couldn’t just let him have his way. This wasn’t lust and it certainly wasn’t love. She had to keep something of it for herself at least. “Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered pitifully.

  He grinned and pulled her tighter to him. “Not unless you want me to. So is that a yes?”

  “I suppose I don’t really have much of a choice,” she grumbled.

  “No, you don’t.”

  The light kiss he placed along her shoulder made her shiver. He kept his full lips pressed against her warm skin as he began pushing her towards the bed. Her legs hit the edge and she gave a little cry of surprise.

  His hand moved to her hip, his fingers pressing not so gently into the cloth of the sheet. She turned slightly toward him, her chin tilted slightly as she considered the dark man behind her. He smiled, his lips curving in a way most women would have found tempting. She only felt chills. He produced a long length of black cloth from a pouch around his belt. Before she could react, he had slipped it over her eyes and swiftly tied it behind her head.

  “What—”

  “Shhh,” he whispered, his fingers teasing the curve of her ear. “Just try to imagine Faolan here with you instead,” he whispered softly.

  Isabelle nodded and lay down on the bed with her face pressed against the soft sheets. Although the blindfold made it impossible for her to see anything, and thankfully so, she could still feel him. He didn’t feel like Faolan and he certainly didn’t smell anything like her husband’s strong mountain scent. Zorin smelled like the ocean breeze on a clear day. And his hands. Faolan’s hands were rough with thin callouses over his palms and thumbs. Zorin’s hands were as soft and smooth as if he had never even carried a sword. She knew better than to believe that though. She knew how dangerous he could really be and it didn’t help her relax any.

  His hands moved over her pale skin, his fingertips lightly tracing the lines of her shoulders and gently running down her spine. She knew he was trying and she couldn’t deny he did know what he was doing. But her stomach twisted at the thought of this man touching her.

  He felt her tense before she even realized she had. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his breath warm against the nape of her elegant neck.

  “This is hard,” she whispered back, shutting her eyes tightly despite not being able to see him through the blindfold.

  * * * *

  He sighed and pressed his forehead to her cool shoulder. He knew it was hard for her. It was hard for him, too. He didn’t need this and certainly didn’t want to be with a woman that had no interest in sharing her bed with him. He would certainly never have forced any woman to sleep with him. But she was acting like he had. Not that he could blame her much for it. It just made this much more difficult than it had to be.

  “Try to enjoy it,” he replied.

  She sighed and shook her head no, but relaxed into his hands anyway. He supposed it would be as good as it would get tonight. He turned her over quickly, delighting in her soft cry of surprise and outrage at being handled by him. She had agreed to this. That was all he really needed. But he had promised himself that it would be good for her. That she would remember this time as something her body enjoyed. If nothing else. And she would not hate him or regret this afterward. Of that he was very sure.

  Slowly, w
atching her face, he pulled apart her sheet. For a moment she tried futilely to cover herself up, but he quickly yanked the rest of the sheet away, revealing her body to his eager eyes. A faint blush crept over her pale skin. He smiled as the soft breeze caressed her skin, puckering her soft flesh in all the right places. He traced the line of her ribs, delighting in her soft whimper as she shivered under his touch. Slowly his gaze drifted downward over her breasts, still swollen from giving birth to the soft curves of her hips and the thatch of hair between her legs.

  “Stop fidgeting. You’re beautiful,” he told her as he placed his hands on her inner thighs and began to knead the soft flesh he found there. She held still as he had told her to, but said nothing. He did notice however how she licked her full lips and how a delicate blush had begun to form under the blindfold.

  He released her for a moment to quickly disrobe, letting his clothes fall where they would over the floor. He joined her on the bed, ignoring the way she trembled as he pulled her close to him. He kissed her neck, ignoring her lips for now, knowing she would refuse to kiss him back. His kisses began a fiery trail over her collarbone and down between the valley of her breasts. She wouldn’t refuse him. She couldn’t. And so he took what he wanted from her, pulling one pert nipple into his mouth as his fingers began to roughly play with the other. She was shivering and whimpering slightly. He bit her, gently of course, but enough to leave bruises in the morning. He knew she would remember this when she saw them, whether she wanted to or not. She instantly rewarded him with soft mewing noises.

  He knew this would be the one and only time she would be with him and as much as he wanted to explore the rest of her body, he knew she wouldn’t be happy about it. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have a bit of fun, too. He kept his mouth over her breast, hoping to distract her, as he ran his hand down over her ribs and curves of her stomach to the space between her legs. She resisted slightly as his fingers began to play in her soft curls, but she didn’t push him away like he thought she might. He slipped his fingers between her legs, stroking her moist folds. Against her will she arched her back, moving into his touch as a soft moan escaped her lips.

  Satisfied with teasing her he moved up her body, slowly spreading her thighs over his hips. She was tense, grabbing onto the blankets beneath her as she bit into her lower lip. But that just wouldn’t do. He grabbed her chin, more roughly than he meant to, and kissed her lips. She resisted at first, refusing to open her mouth for him, but at least it distracted her enough to allow him to press against her. She cringed as he entered her, slowly at first, but gaining speed as her body began reacting to his.

  She arched her back as he dove into her willing body and moaned softly into her neck. He kissed her again, loving the feel of her lips moving beneath his. A flush began to cover her neck and breasts. He grabbed at her desperately, pulling at her flesh as she moved beneath him.

  It took a few minutes. He knew she was trying to fight her own pleasure with everything she could muster. But he felt her nails bite into his shoulders and back and he knew the instant she tightened her legs around his waist. He grinned at her, triumphant in his conquest. She may never want him in her bed again, but he had been able to make her want him there now.

  He leaned in toward her, pressing his lips against her neck. He brushed his teeth against her delicate skin, feeling her hot breath brush over his shoulder in gasps as he drove into her.

  Much too soon for either of their sakes his pleasure began to crash through him. And she, to his surprise, met him there at his peak as he cried her name and his fingers dug painfully into her thighs. She fell limp under him, her breath coming in short gasps as the heat began to leave her sweat dampened skin. He pulled back, stepping around the bed to gently untie the blindfold from her eyes.

  She stared up at him, tears already pooling in those depths. He grabbed her chin and held her in place as he kissed her, deeper and more possessively than she had ever been kissed before. He stood up, knowing that he had bruised her lips to the point of pain and that he had been cruel for it. He leaned down again and brushed his lips against hers, much more gently this time. But she had found the strength to fight back and pushed him as hard as she could. He barely budged, but at least he did release her.

  “I love Faolan,” she whispered pitifully as he began to dress. It was so quiet he wasn’t even sure if he was meant to hear it or if she was just reassuring herself.

  Hot anger seared through him. How dare she mention him after he had given her what that boy could not. His fists tightened at his sides. “And I’m sure he’s loving having her in his bed now instead of you. A woman that wants him. That knows what she’s doing. Not you. Not just a cold fish to be pounded and discarded. I’ve gotten more from whores than I did from you. No wonder he was so quick to replace you in his bed,” he spat. He saw how she cringed from his words as if whipped, but he didn’t care. And he hated himself all the more for it. He threw his shirt over his head and leaped from the window. He tried his best to ignore her sobs as they followed him into the inky darkness.

  Chapter Ten

  The night sky was freezing as Faolan flew high above the sparse grass and rocky terrain close to the mountains. He was nearing the end of his flight and thankfully the night had been quiet and uneventful. He had even managed to find a large elk to feast on earlier. He was full and comfortable and looking forward to getting home and sleeping in the following morning.

  Suddenly a sharp blinding pain sliced through his ribs and quickly traveled through his chest and up his long neck to settle, throbbing at the base of his skull. To his horror, Faolan felt his muscles seize and the air rushed from his already pained lungs. He felt himself begin to fall, spiraling to the rocky ground many hundreds of feet below. He could hear his father screaming into his mind, but he couldn’t focus past the pain to answer him.

  Sebastian.

  Faolan’s mind cleared as his tiny infant filled his thoughts. His son needed him. And there was certainly no honor in dying by dropping out of the sky like some rock. He wouldn’t let Sebastian know him like that.

  He closed his eyes, focusing on the image of his son as he had held him only a few hours before, and forced his aching wings to obey his silent demands. Seconds before he would have connected with the ground his large leather wings flapped open, stopping his fall.

  Faolan whooped a cry of relief, or as close to one as his dragon throat could manage, before he pushed his wings in great downward strokes that took him increasingly higher into the sky. His mind was clear once more and although his body ached at least he had control of it. He checked his long claws just to be sure. His body seemed back to normal. Whatever had happened wasn’t lasting then though he would be sure to speak to Kylin when he returned home. If there was something wrong with him it would be dealt with immediately. He wouldn’t risk his life again.

  Unbidden images began swirling through his mind. He could see Isabelle laying against rumpled sheets in a bed he didn’t recognize. He had just a second to ponder this before he saw Zorin join her. He shut his eyes tightly in a futile attempt to stop the images, but they continued despite his protests. His could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he saw Zorin begin to move against her. He shook his head violently. Nothing worked. He was continually subjected to the image as if he was standing in the room with them, unable to turn away. Every heartbreaking detail was laid out for him in perfect, brilliant color. And although there was no sound, Faolan knew the moment Isabelle climaxed in Zorin’s arms.

  Hot, angry tears began to prick his eyes. Faolan knew what this was. He knew he was watching the present and not some twisted nightmare his mind had created to punish him. As the vision cleared, his breath came in painful, choking gasps. He wasn’t surprised at how much the knowledge she had been with someone else hurt. He knew that when the day came for her to move on it would nearly break him.

  Faolan, answer me boy!

  He pushed aside his pain and b
lew out an angry breath. Of course his father was upset. He would have been able to feel his terror at almost dying and he had yet to answer his almost constant mind speak.

  I’m here, he replied tiredly.

  Took you long enough. I want a full report once you get back. And the next time you ignore my calls I will skin you.

  Faolan ground his teeth. His mind was much clearer now, but he still wanted to turn around and fly straight into Isabelle’s bedroom and claim her for his own. Again. He knew it was irrational and that she was no longer bound to him and as a free woman she could choose who she chose to invite to her bed. But Zorin? Faolan shook his head. It was impossible to fathom that there could have ever been more than a simple, albeit odd, friendship between them. People married all the time without love. She had married him without even knowing him after all. But what he had seen wasn’t simple consummation as she had with him. There was passion there. And Zorin wasn’t worthy of her. Not by a long shot.

  Faolan, answer me.

  He was angry now. How could she feel passion with Zorin, but not with him? Zorin who was a murderer. Who was ancient and had a slew of secrets and lovers behind him. Faolan had never even heard of him being faithful to anyone. And didn’t Isabelle say that he was interested in someone that was a friend of his mother’s? Zorin had to have tricked her. Or lied to her. But Faolan knew that wasn’t true. He saw the honesty in her actions. In the way she held him. And even with the blindfold he knew it was her. It didn’t make sense.

  Faolan!

  Go away, Father.