by Dahlia Rose
Raven winked. “Trust me, big guy. I can give you a run for your money. My mother is known for hers and I learned from the best.”
Orin laughed as he led them back out to the entrance of the palace that faced the outdoor market. Raul took her hand and they descended the stone steps. They walked through the marketplace, looking through the wares the merchant’s had to offer. Under one merchant’s tent she saw over twenty or so birds in cages and some on perches. They were all many different colors. Some birds she recognized from home and some were a completely new species to her which made her stop and stare. The bird she could not take her eyes off of reminded her of a smaller version of a peacock except it was fire red with black tips on the end of its feathers. Raven gasped as it began to sing in such a melodious way that she could listen to it forever.
“What kind of bird is that?” Raven pointed, asking Raul.
“It is a phoenix, named for its feathers. They breed on the volcanic side of Paladin near the lava tubes for heat. One must be very careful to catch one because the crust of the ground there can be thin and you could plunge to your death into the chamber of molten rock,” Raul explained. He held out his finger and the bird hopped from its perch to his hand. “They are rather tame, and it is said that the female lays her eggs in the ash so her chicks can be born of the flame.”
“The phoenix rising from the ashes,” Raven said, thinking of the lore.
“You know, we have Ravens here on Paladin—like your name,” Raul smiled.
The merchant smiled when Raul went to put the bird back on its perch. “Warrior, please keep the bird; a gift for you and your beautiful woman.”
“We couldn’t possibly take—” Raven began.
“Our warriors protect the life we have here. One bird is just a small token of our appreciation,” the merchant said.
Raul inclined his head. “Thank you.” The bird then hopped from the perch to his finger once more and he presented the gift to Raven. “What should we call him?”
“How about Poe?” she said with a grin.
“Ah, after Edgar Allan Poe, I take it. His work was sometimes macabre. Are you sure you want to give such a name to a such beautiful creature?” Raul asked.
“But Poe’s words were filled with such passion. And, just like this guy, he had a hard beginning, but survived,” Raven said and stroked the feathers of the bird’s back. “Poe is a very apt name for him.”
“Then Poe it is,” Raul said with a smile.
He arranged for the bird, a large cage, seed and supplies to be delivered to his home in Paladin later that evening. Raul explained that each dragon has a keeper who looks after his assets when they were not on Paladin. Poe would be well taken care of even when he was not around. By keeping the bird, she felt it was his way of saying she would be there with him, some kind of permanence. The thought of that warmed her. After the marketplace, he showed her the meadows where she saw different types of flowers indigenous to Paladin. She saw the boyish side of Raul when he climbed a golden apple tree to pick her the fruit. He hung upside down and refused to give her the apple that he held in his hand until she gave him a kiss. The kiss was so passionate he forgot about the apple and it fell from his hand into the grass. From there, they shared the sweet fruit and watched the sun set before he took her to see his house.
The outside of the two-story structure was all stone and a wooden fence went around the property. Green grass, roses, and wild flowers were everywhere and fruit trees stood close by. The inside of his home was again eye opening. It was open concept, so you could see from the living room to the kitchen to the dining room. The floors were a gorgeous light-colored bamboo hardwood. The walls were white, but held tapestries of his family’s coat of arms and other portraits and pictures his mother had made that Hawke saved for him. A carved chair that looked like it could seat two and a tan leather sectional sofa with plush pillows graced the living room. It felt homey and comfortable, especially when he lit the fireplace and candles around the room.
Poe was delivered soon after they arrived and they set his cage near one of the windows so he could look outside. The bird seemed to approve of his new home because shortly after he arrived he began to sing his melodious tune and it made her smile. Everything was so perfect, magical and beautiful. Raul told her he had to run out to find them some dinner since this was an impromptu visit. While he was gone she sat at the window seat of the big bay window. Even in the twilight, the dragons that graced the sky seemed to catch what little light was left and their scales glittered in the night.
When Raul came back he was holding a basket covered with white linen. “Dinner courtesy of Lleau’s sister Larissa. We have roasted meat, bread, rosemary lemon potatoes, vegetables, and a star fruit pie for dessert.”
Raven peeked into the basket. “That’s a lot of food for the both of us.”
“I don’t think anyone knows how to cook small in Paladin,” he replied and began to unpack the basket on the large dining room table. “What we are not able to eat I will return to her and she will put it to good use. As I said, no one goes hungry here. Each day a community kitchen makes hundreds of meals. If a family doesn’t want to cook at home or does not have the funds to do so, they can cook there and share if need be or they can take a basket like this home to eat quietly with their loved ones. Valencia, Ginna and Daisye go there sometimes to volunteer and help out. We are a community that celebrates each other’s joys and mourns our sorrows together. Sit and enjoy.”
“I’d like to go there sometime. It sounds wonderful.” Their social structure seemed almost like nirvana. Human’s strived for that kind of peace while Paladin had already found it. Raven took a slice of the meat and found it succulent and flavorful. They certainly didn’t use Mrs. Dash in Paladin. Everything tasted so fresh and moist as if it had just been picked from the garden.
She let her curiosity win over and began asking questions as they ate. “Orin said the people of Paladin know who carries the dragon shifter inside them from eye color, so does that mean some of the people in Paladin are not dragon natured?”
“That’s correct. Take Lleau and Larissa; they are twins, but only he received the gift of the dragon,” Raul explained.
“So women can be dragon?”
“Yes, Kalv’s first wife was a warrior and she was a dragon. She fought beside him and died with their babe in her belly during the first Shen war.” Raul frowned. “I was not even born yet, but I’ve heard the stories and read the scrolls. We lost a lot of warriors, including the king’s wife who took up arms that day to fight.”
“Would it be okay if one day I read the scrolls?” Raven asked hesitantly. “I may be able to transcribe them in such a way that they would never be lost to time. Like a digital library.”
“I can ask the king. He has spoke before of trying to be more contemporary about things in Paladin, yet retain our way of life. You would intrigue him.” Raul took a bite of potatoes. “So you plan to visit again, with me, maybe?”
“If you let me…” Raven sighed. “I want to be with you, Raul, more than just sex, but I won’t pin you down or try to be controlling…”
“You’d better because if another man or dragon looks at you with nothing but pure intentions I will have to fight them,” he said seriously. “I want to say the words you need to hear, but for now will Shaloh be enough?”
Raven nodded. “I can accept that if you know that I am falling in love with you, and I plan to be around for a long time. You better get used to it, buddy.”
His lips twitched. “I think I can manage that. It will be a trial since you are such a precocious female.”
Raven threw a piece of bread at him and he roared with laughter. He drank down the rest of his wine and lunged at her, picking her up from her chair while she squealed.
“Put me down, Raul. What are you doing?” He began to clear the table putting everything back in the basket with one hand while securing her over his shoulder with the other.
&nbs
p; “You threw bread at me. That’s the beginning of foreplay on Paladin,” he explained.
“It is not… Is it?” Raven asked suspiciously.
He finished his task and when the table was cleared off, he sat her on it with a wicked grin. “No, I’m being dishonest, but are you going to stop me from ravishing you?”
“Hell no,” she replied and kissed him with delight.
His laugh broke off into a moan as her tongue twined into his mouth and passion began to burn inside her. He undressed her slowly as if savoring every dip and curve of her body and she did the same to him. She loved the feel of him, his hardness and the feel of steel in the body of a man. His big hands were on her waist and the heat of his palms seared her skin. Raul cupped the back of her neck and drew her into his kiss; his tongue played and dueled with hers until she was lost in the midst of a sensual storm. He pulled roughly away from her mouth, breathing harshly and his eyes were deep emerald with intensity. With one fierce growl, Raul’s mouth was on her breasts, tasting and sucking her nipples. He massaged the globes with urgency, wringing a wanton cry from her and she arched so he could take more of the mound into his mouth. He groaned and lifted her higher up on the table.
Raven gave him a sultry smile. “Taste me, dragon, take your fill.”
One big hand splayed across her stomach, pressing her back onto the table. Raven lay back in anticipation and gave a low whimper. She felt his breath on her pussy before he grabbed her hips and buried his mouth against her sex. Raven cried out in shock as immense pleasure coursed through her. The feeling was so intense that her skin had goose bumps. She brought her legs up, knees bent, placing her feet on the edge of the table. His tongue licked at every fold before she felt him suck at her clit, making it so sensitive it was almost unbearable. He slipped a finger inside her and she bucked against him, seeking more of the delicious sensation he was creating.
“Don’t stop. Oh, Raul, how are you making me feel so amazing?” she gasped.
He lifted his head and said in a guttural voice, “My God, your taste is amazing. I need more of you!”
The wood of the table was smooth and cool on her back. Each flick of his tongue brought her closer to the edge. The movement of his tongue was frantic between her legs, between the folds of her sex. Raven couldn’t help but cry out as he did it again and again before spearing his tongue deep inside to catch her essence, penetrating her deeper and deeper. Raven began to pant and moan as Raul played with her nipples while he tasted her. The sweet ache building inside her was so strong it stole her breath from the intense feeling of it. He pressed his face hard against her and sucked at her clit once more, but this time he penetrated her with his fingers at the same time until she screamed and gave into the intense orgasm that raged inside her. She felt her body release its essence and Raul lapped at her greedily.
Raul moaned his pleasure at her response. “Oh, I do so love how you come. Your body quakes when you do. Your pussy is so wet; I want to make you come again. Will you let go for me, Shaloh?”
“Oh, yes, oh, yes!” she practically screamed.
He excited her, enflamed her senses and she wanted to feel every naughty thing he was offering. Raul spread the tender lips of her sex with his fingers and blew gently and she shivered.
“I want to see your essence flow,” he whispered. “You’re so pink, so soft, like the petals of a flower.”
“Oh, Raul, don’t tease me. Please make me…”
Raven couldn’t finish the words when she felt his thick finger enter her slowly and go deep. She moaned and raised her hips to meet the insertion of his finger. He withdrew the lone digit and when he penetrated her again she could tell it was two fingers inside her. Raul moved them at a steady pace, each time going a little deeper until she could feel the coil tightening in her once more. “Harder,” she gasped. She wanted it all, craved it like she never thought possible. Her heartbeat raged in time to the carnal movement of his fingers inside her, furiously taking her to the edge as she writhed in earnest.
“Oh, God, I’m going to come!”
“Yes, baby, let me see you give yourself over to it,” Raul said.
He moved his fingers faster, in and out of her wet sex, wringing a long cry from her. Raul pressed his mouth against her clit and sucked hard. His fingers buried inside her once more and he gave her exactly what she asked for until she screamed his name. Her body bucked with her release and she whispered his name over and over again. He grabbed her waist and brought her off the table in one smooth motion until she was straddling his lap and they were both on the floor. She told him to lie back and she kissed her way down his body until she came to his erect cock.
Raven heard him say something in his native tongue as she stroked him before she wrapped her lips around the engorged tip of his rod. Raul’s groan was long and deep and she felt him bury his fingers in her hair and urged her head to move up and down. She caught the rhythm and soon she was using her lips and tongue to suck him deeply between her lips. Raven heard him call her name and she raised her eyes to look at him. His head was thrown back in pleasure and his muscles were tense beneath her. Suddenly, he pulled her up onto his body so she was straddled across his wide thighs before he positioned his cock at the entrance of her sex and impaled her onto his rod. She braced her hands on his chest and rode him with abandon. He called her name harshly and gripped her hips tightly as he pistoned into her each time her hips came down.
“By the gods, yes!”
Raul groaned and reached up to grab her neck to bring her down to his kiss. He grabbed her hips and pumped into her hard and her cries were muffled against his mouth. Raul moved so quickly she didn’t have time to think before she was beneath him and he was buried inside her once more. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder and began to move once more with urgency, taking them both over the edge. It was as if the last vestige of control left him and he became a primal sexual being. His mouth moved from her lips to her neck to her breasts to suck at them in a frenzied way. When her orgasm took hold, she screamed his name between loud moans. Raul’s harsh cry signaled his release before she felt his seed fill her. She felt so relaxed and languid she didn’t know if she could move and when Raul slumped over her, she knew he was as shaken by the experience as she was.
After they had been lying together a while, cuddling, still on the floor next to the massive table, Raul said, “You need dessert.”
Raven laughed. “I’d offer to get it, but I think I lost all feeling in my body. There are no words to describe that experience.”
“Well, then, let me care for you the way a dragon should take care of his mate.” Raul lifted her into his arms and walked towards his bedroom.
“Am I your mate?” she asked and her heart leapt in her chest.
“You are mine, Raven. No one has made me feel the way you make me feel,” Raul replied.
He filled the marble bathtub with warm water, poured a couple of drops of jasmine oil in, and then helped her in. He washed and scrubbed every part of her gently, even washing her hair for her, and after drying off, got her settled in bed before going back to get her dessert. He fed her, refusing to give her the fork to feed herself. Each time he cut a piece of the pie and placed it to her lips, he then would cut himself a piece. After the two pieces of pie had been devoured, he built a fire in the hearth at the foot of the bed and opened a window. She could smell the sweet Paladin night air. He slid into bed with her and pulled her into his arms. He hadn’t said the words I love you or called her his mate outright, but she knew these things came in stages. While she had controlled her life by staying as far away relationships as she could, he held his emotions under lock and key. It would take time for him to let go and she was willing to wait. In her heart, Raven knew he was the one. Her life had led her straight to him. Some things were not coincidences, and finding him that night while she was on her dig site was not a coincidence. He was her dragon warrior, he was her Shaloh.
Chapter Eight
Raven was sad to leave Paladin, but was even more surprised when they returned to the hotel in Madison and only eighteen hours had passed. She couldn’t describe how happy she was. Her body was blissfully pleased and while she recalled other women saying sex was not good the first time, Raven couldn’t disagree more. Just thinking about Raul touching her made her stomach clench with delight. She’d never felt like this. Raven had been taught to use logic and cold, hard facts, not imagination and fantasy. Maybe that was why she embraced him and his world of dragons and magic so strongly. But it was also more than that. She found herself head over heels in love with a dragon shifter, his life and his home. She wanted to drink in his culture, talk to the elders in Paladin, and document their lives and memories. She wanted to learn the language, and instead of searching for a dead tribe, she wanted to memorialize the one she found, one that was rare and truly real.
Back in the penthouse, Raul left her with a soul-searing kiss and went back out to search the night, looking for signs of the Shen cell stronghold. She watched through the window, hoping to spot him in the cold, dark night. She was worried that he would be ambushed again and she would not be there to help. Raven was so caught up in her watch that she didn’t hear anyone come in until someone cleared their throat behind her. She yelped and turned quickly, grabbing the vase off the accent table close to the window and letting it fly. The tall, dark haired man ducked and the woman standing next to him smirked. Raven didn’t hear the crystal vase shatter because the man behind Hawke caught the vase, causing another man beside him to grin. Holy shit, I almost beaned them! she thought and placed her hand against her chest where her heart raced.
“I told you we should have announced ourselves.” Raven recognized Daisye’s Southern drawl. In person, the woman was a tad lighter in color than her and a few heads shorter. Laughter danced in warm chocolate eyes and she was holding Hawke’s hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I almost bonked you on the head,” Raven said apologetically.
