Burn

by Penelope Fletcher

  ‘That wild one is out of control.’ Daniil's voice was more controlled, but even he sounded furious. ‘They know not to come here, know not to attack in our territory. The dragoness is mad. She must be put down.’

  ‘Viktor has spoken to me of this female.’ Smoke billowed from Mikhail’s nose. His eyes flashed with worry. There was protectiveness, a hesitation that was pronounced in his manner. ‘Council Mon Leonid has come from AshMount to speak with us.’

  Daniil eased back in confusion.

  ‘I will see to the female’s care,’ Mikhail finished firmly. ‘Be gone. Leonid waits in the throne room. I will join you later.’

  Unnoticed, Maksim scrambled up from the crook he hid in then took silently to the skies.

  Horns angled forward, Koen Raad crouched in preparation of a pounce. ‘This is our duty, Council Mon.’

  ‘Think you that I, one who lost his Treasure, do not know what you feel? That you crave violence soothe the beast?’ Mikhail snorted, contemptuous. ‘You would take your pain out on this creature?’

  Blood cooling, Daniil appeared suitably ashamed.

  Prowling, hackles raised, Koen advanced. All bloodthirsty, and bunched muscles as he prepared to go for the older Phoenix’s throat.

  Flattened under the silver male, Marina trembled. Fury leeched from her body at the sight of her mate. The otherness purred, and the overpowering wildness of its spirit dimmed. Her original shape anchored this new terrible form into existence.

  With this knowledge came the understanding of how to expand past it, and contain it. She pushed past the scales, fangs, and claws to become a swirl of brilliant, kaleidoscope light.

  When she looked down, she was naked on all fours. Her bloodied fingers burrowed into the muck, and her bruised skin was covered in filth. Cold wind buffeted her bare ass and made her nipples harden. Her mouth was full of ash. It tasted bitter. Her chest constricted, her lungs convulsed, and she vomited flecks of glowing ember. The cinders tasted worse than the ash. They burned her throat coming up too, and when her stomach grumbled and dropped, she made an absurd vow to never again to defecate. Ever. Her ankle throbbed, and she was sure there was fur and gristle between her teeth.

  Blinking slowly, Marina had a moment of blind panic.

  What if she hadn’t transformed into a Dragon? What if she had buckled under the pressure of Aver resulting in a psychotic break? What if she had spent the day running around the market place totally human, buck-naked, growling, and attacking people?

  Dropping her head back, her rounded eyes met the shocked ones of the Dragon covering her. “Am I crazy, Jak?”

  Jakob held absolutely still. He was paranoid the slightest movement of his extended wings or curled tail would hurt her.

  ‘No,’ he replied at length.

  It was said in a tone so humdrum it surprised even him, because there was nothing trite about the moment. The exchange was not profound, nor was their behavior stately, and the history books would just have to deal with being underwhelmed when this legend was retold.

  Ground shaking footsteps drew closer. Heavy breath blew over his horns. Jakob lifted his snout to stare at the Dragon King looming above.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Everyone froze.

  They struggled to believe, but not Koen. The instant her transformation occurred his beast calmed, emoting smug approval, as if it expected his mate to return from the dead.

  The world righted itself.

  Debris from the destroyed souk crushed beneath his feet as he moved.

  He wanted to feel relief – joy at his beloved’s return. All he mustered in this form was a sense of impatience.

  With a hard glance at the male covering her, Koen acknowledged Jakob saved him from destroying his own life. ‘Lord Jakob of House Lin. Each year may you ask a boon of me.’

  He closed his claws around Marina’s shaking body and launched into the inky, star-cluttered sky.

  Riding the thermal air currents, skimming beneath wispy clouds yet above jungles, volcanoes and lagoons, he took her to his lair. A haven. A secret place he knew was safe, and unmolested by wild ones of his kind. Laying her out in the cool enclosure of the cave situated on the beachfront of an islet, Koen reclined, and simply watched her watch him.

  Hair wind-tousled, diamond face grubby, and naked, moon-kissed skin smeared with mud and blood, she was beautiful.

  Alive.

  She is alive.

  He would never forget the hell of living without her. He would remember each moment with her was rare and precious.

  Keeping his emotions under control proved difficult. He wanted to force her over and shove inside her, but that would not be polite, so he waited, watched, and desired her intensely with each love-soaked beat of his great heart.

  Frustration burned brightly in her eyes. Her beast was too close to the surface, heightening her responses. Toes curling, Marina’s hands clenched rhythmically on her upper thighs, and her oversensitive flesh goose pimpled.

  “Shift.”

  He found it amusing when they first met she only wanted the Dragon. Now she demanded the man.

  He would deny her nothing.

  Keeping his beast at the fore, he shrank into his smaller shape.

  Their eyes locked.

  Desire crackled between them like bolts of lightning, sizzling, exhilarating implosions of sensation born from a mere look.

  Teeth snagging her lip, Marina crawled, slinking until she draped over his kneeling form, arms encircling his shoulders, thighs parting to bracket his. Groin to groin and breast to chest, she smiled wickedly. Her silken hair brushed under his chin as she sniffed his throat. Becoming increasingly interested in the jumping vein at his neck, a contented purr rumbled from her throat.

  Aroused by the sound his body tensed.

  Lips parted against his heated skin. She nibbled then bit him hard, a deeper, darker growl breaking free from her chest.

  Shifting forward with unmatched speed, his arms crossed Marina’s back to break her fall when he pinned her. Confident his hold was secure, she could not squirm loose and flee, Koen ran his nose down the slender length of her throat.

  Her legs lifted to cradle his hips as she gyrated against him, panting in anticipation. “Please.”

  His erection glided through her cream, paused to slowly draw circles on her clit, then dropped to press firmly against the nucleus of her heat.

  His eyeballs rolled into the back of his head.

  Pink flesh was drenched, ready for him.

  A thrust of his hips and he would be sliding home.

  The hard points of her nipples rasped against his chest, and her hot mouth sucked a trail across his shoulder. She dug her heels into the meat of his ass, had the gall to kick him, as if encouraging a stud.

  “Now, Koen.”

  He snarled. Primal instinct forced him to take control and assert dominance.

  She was strong, but he was stronger.

  Braced on his knees, he used his weight to trap her beneath him. Her hands gripped the rounds of his shoulders to urge him on. The pressure of her soft palms smoothing over his sweat-slicked flesh drove him wild.

  He grabbed her hands and pulled them over her head, restraining her with one hand as the other pushed one side of her rolling hips.

  “I swear, Koen, if you don’t move I will do something drastic.”

  He shut his eyes and breathed deeply.

  It did not help.

  The vision of her flushed, dewy, and spread for his pleasure played in glorious colour upon the membranes of his eyelids. The musky scent of her sex seeped into the air, and his nostrils flared, mouth watered.

  His cock throbbed, and his balls ached.

  He was a starving mess.

  Eyes sparking at the hold up, Marina’s struggles increased.

  Whimpers and pleas for release was a harmony of seduction. The breathy sounds stoked his blazing need.

  Koen released his Treasure and flipped her over before her eager fi
st grabbed a hold of his manhood.

  Flat on her stomach, his eyes raked down her strong shoulders, smooth back, and flared hips.

  Leaning over, he bared his teeth, and sank them into firm curve of her ass. He ran a calloused palm along the indent of her spine to keep her prone when she pushed onto all fours. He let his teeth mark a path across her lower back as his strong fingers kneaded the lush swells of her buttocks.

  Fresh wetness slicked her core and glistened on her inner thighs.

  The heady musk taunted, shoved ice picks of desire through his nose and into his brain while strangling the engorged head of his cock.

  Besieged and under pressure upon remembering he needed to see her pleasure, Koen licked his lips.

  If he had the strength of will to pull away he would have signed an oath in blood promising to bury his face in her lap after he took what he needed.

  Hoisting her hips in the air, he growled warningly when she rocked back to grind her ass against his groin.

  Koen latched onto the back of her neck to keep her still.

  Fulfillment bloomed within the radiant core of his animalistic consciousness. She was like him. Her beast would intuitively understand he possessed the upper hand, and therefore, commanded her submission.

  Panting, she stiffened, hunting-quiet.

  He thrust, swollen shaft a savage, cutting thickness that impaled more than her body.

  It split her soul open wide.

  He speared half his length into the molten heat, snarled, and jerked his hips demanding more. Hungry. Need. More. It took another push for her to hold him at his root.

  Jolting when his hips butted her ass, Marina shuddered, threw her head back, bereft of air.

  Releasing her neck, he rose up gripping her hips and pounded into her as if trying to forge them into one being. Too tight, too hot, too perfect, control slipped its reins. The explosion of his release tore a thunderous roar from the bottom of his soul. He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her still as he spurted into her, powerful body shaking.

  Winded, blinking to vanquish the blotches skittering across his vision, he wound his other arm around her and collapsed onto his side.

  Still intimately joined, he hauled her closer to his chest, letting her feel his thumping heart between her shoulder blades.

  The fires within dimmed enough for him to focus. His eyes closed, pulse slowed. “Why did you not come to me?”

  She tensed. Small hands rubbed his forearm. “I was lost,” she admitted. “For a while I didn’t have a goddamned clue what was going on. Who I was.” Marina tilted her head, turned it so she could see him. In the moonlight, her dark brown eyes appeared black. “Viktor found me.” She laughed quietly, head shaking in disbelief. “Lugged my irrational ass up the mountain, and hid me in an abandoned cave off the quest trail. Then he brought Jak. I’m in awe of him.”

  “Lin has his uses,” Koen grated.

  That was all the praise he could muster. He had granted the male an annual boon.

  What was that if not gratitude?

  “My Second is a worthy male, but I was talking about Viktor. The strength of his will is unbelievable. He found a wounded female wild one and she spoke to him with my voice. Just once. He looked into my eyes, saw past the flesh, and he believed.” She sighed. “He was afraid more for me than himself.”

  A memory floated to the surface of Viktor arguing with Daniil and Sevastyan.

  “Brave,” Koen murmured, silently swearing to personally thank and reward the young male.

  It would have taken a great amount of courage to approach his elders knowing how negatively they would react. If the youngling had come to him with a story of his Treasure being alive and in dragonskin, he would have lost control and beat his hide black and blue for daring to utter the hurtful lies.

  “Yeah. Crazy brave. He kept me safe until I could get back to you.” She paused. Tension spread through her frame. “What happened to Maksim?”

  “Maksim?”

  “Jakob’s brother. The white Dragon I mauled before you kicked the shit out of me.”

  She rubbed his chest, amazed by the texture, enjoying the way his skin tightened under her touch. Flat nipples rusched tantalizingly. It was a while before she could drag her gaze away. Beginning to understand why males stare at breasts. Cause and effect was a powerful thing. Multiplied when you saw the effect you caused.

  “He conspired to kill you while the Courts were in confusion,” she managed while her tongue ran over her bottom lip. “I got angry.”

  Koen’s heart warmed. The side of his mouth curved. “You were protecting me.” Guilt speared him again, and the smile died. “I nearly killed you.” His voice was the barest of whispers. “You did not fight back when I had you pinned.”

  “My Dragon went loopy. We were so happy to see you.” She gnawed her lip, an epiphany making her feel ill. “I don’t think we could ever hurt you.”

  And that was a serious problem.

  How would she defeat him during the Hunt if she couldn’t even harm him to defend herself when he tried to kill her?

  Marina the woman would fight him if she needed to, but her Dragon seemed all too happy to lie back and take whatever he dished out.

  She remembered what Council Mon Leonid said about High Princess Solaria and her struggle with her Dragon soul.

  Our males are trained from birth to control the beast within. When she shifted, there was no memory of who she truly was. The beast had no deeper connection with humanity. It was a creature of pure instinct.

  The otherness had wrenched away control of Marina’s body during the second quest, and the moment it decided Galina was about to try and kill her, again it had taken the power out of Marina’s hands.

  Yes, shifting had saved her, but the experience itself was terrifying.

  Disconnected at a fundamental stage of development, Marina and her Dragon had split her personality into two. Two sides fought bitterly for supremacy. Their opposing will clashed, and created confusion within the whole.

  Marina’s Dragon was entirely submissive to Koen Raad.

  Just considering fighting him during the Hunt with the intention of breaking him made her feel physically sick.

  Hell, it made her feel unstable.

  She thought back to the throne room when she, Koen, Daniil and the Regent discussed what to do about the Mage attack. Her Dragon had risen in defence of Elder Khan letting the males know she was superior and to be obeyed.

  Though not comprehending the source of her aggression, Daniil and Myron had immediately yielded.

  Because he bowed to no one, Koen had refused.

  Sensing he was stronger, more dominant, she had surrendered.

  Had she already ruined her chances at beating the Dragon King during the Hunt? Did her Dragon soul actually hinder her chances?

  As a human, mind controlled body. The beast was all about instinct.

  With her two halves working in harmony, she would be an unstoppable force. Split as they were, she was vulnerable.

  Feeling his Treasure’s mental distancing, Koen wrapped a hand around Marina’s throat. His gaze bored into hers. “Never stop fighting. Not even for me.”

  Her eyes returned his stare. The dark orbs were troubled. Brows pulling together, she twisted and kissed the corded strength of his neck. “Koen ... Aver. I lost Aver.” Her voice filled with shame. “I don’t know what-”

  Humming condolences, his hand eased between her legs and stroked her sex.

  He did not care about Aver.

  He did not care about anyone else besides the two of them.

  Marina sighed and stretched. Just when she clasped his wrist to stop him so they could talk, a marauding finger delved between her nether lips and slid inside. She groaned. Arched against his hand and body, she wound her free arm around his shoulders and anchored herself to his muscled length.

  He grabbed her waist to keep her locked against him as he stood. He took her to the lagoon and cleaned the di
rt and soot from her as he pleasured her. She was too delirious, enslaved by sensation to do much more than moan and pant against his throat.

  Under the shade of the trees, wading deeper into the cool water, Koen lifted her trembling body until his mouth reached the softness of her breast.

  Lapping tongue teasing the stiffened peak of her dusky nipple, he suckled, nipped, and licked. He wanted her incoherent. He wanted her whole body to throb. Pleasure would wash away her worries about anything but what he planned to do with her.

  “Mine,” Koen muttered. He wrapped a hand around his shaft and pumped. Holding himself took the edge off. “Always mine, Treasure.”

  Her tensing legs bent, hooked high up on his torso to clamp with such force he staggered, knew the hold would bruise.

  Releasing her breast, Koen luxuriated in her strength. He rubbed his cheek against her smoothness, felt her thumping heart, and lowered her moist core to where he wanted it.

  She ground her pussy against his pulsing length and his beast bucked at the reins. Maddening because he wanted to control this mating, the Dragon had its turn.

  Koen’s strokes on his shaft became fitful. Each hard pump slid his hand across her sensitive flesh, and she squirmed, made needy, mewling cries that exploded in puffs of air against his ear.

  Warm lips sucked her skin. Strong teeth nipped at her racing pulse, and he found savage satisfaction in knowing he coaxed its frantic beat.

  His fingers thrust, petted, and fondled her sex until she was a shuddering mess.

  Marina’s legs shook.

  He had not licked her like he planned, but that would come later.

  Koen slipped another finger inside, felt her muscles greedily clench around him, and thrust hard. “I want you. Come.”

  She stilled, gasped, and then tried to tear the hair from his head as she obeyed.

  Dazed, he continued to stoke himself as Marina writhed and bucked against him, sating her needs without the trouble of his help. Only then did Koen allow himself the ultimate bliss of working his length into her quivering depths. Using his strength to hold her ass suspended, he slammed her down, thrust up, and did not stop ramming into her until his muscles locked and strained.