by Donna Grant
He had to admit that the land was quite beautiful. Great mountains, vast forests, lochs and rivers of all sizes, and plains and plateaus of grass as far as the eye could see. It resembled Earth in many ways. If he weren’t so intent on returning to Jeyra, he would spend more time looking around and searching for the dragons.
When the loch came back into view, Varek began his descent. He dove toward the ground, shifting back into his human form as he did and landing with his knees bent and fingers on the ground. He looked at the water and walked into it, needing to wash off the smell of the dungeon.
The loch was crystal-clear. He dove under the water and saw a variety of fish. Varek spent more time swimming, enjoying his freedom once more. Then he stood near the shore where Jeyra slept and scooped up handfuls of sand to begin scrubbing himself. He could’ve used his magic to produce soap, but he didn’t want it to sully the pristine waters. Besides, the sand worked just as well.
He tipped his head back to rinse the last of it from his scalp and wiped the water from his face. He looked across the loch at the waterfall in the distance, tumbling down a mountain. He had so many questions, and he hoped the dragons might be able to answer them—if they ever trusted him enough to meet him.
If these were the descendants of the dragons they’d sent over the dragon bridge from Earth, he was sorry to see them going through something similar to what had happened to those on his realm. Every Dragon King wished and hoped that by sending their dragons away, they had an opportunity for a better life. Varek couldn’t shake the feeling that hadn’t been the case.
Now, more than ever, he understood why V hadn’t wanted to use his sword to find the dragons. The Kings all wanted to locate their clans, but at the same time, each of them knew there was a chance they wouldn’t like what they found. They had been cowards. The dragons had counted on them, and the Kings should have looked for them the first opportunity they got.
Regardless, they were still left with the dilemma of what to do with them. They couldn’t return to Earth. If the mortals hadn’t been able to live with them eons ago, they certainly wouldn’t now. Not to mention, humans wouldn’t understand magic. There would be all sorts of chaos.
The other option was for the Kings to go to the dragons. For Varek, that was a viable solution, especially since Jeyra lived on this realm. But for the Kings who had mates with ties and family on Earth, that became another matter entirely.
No matter how they looked at it, there was no easy or clear solution. Yet there needed to be. They were Dragon Kings. How long could they continue as such without dragons?
Varek sighed and noticed the water moving around him. That’s when he heard something behind him. He turned and saw Jeyra walking naked into the loch. His gaze moved over her face to her full breasts and pink nipples that hardened beneath his stare. His eyes traveled lower to her trim waist and the soft flare of her hips. He took in the small patch of red hair at the junction of her thighs before it disappeared beneath the water.
His eyes returned to her face, even as blood rushed to his cock. She put her arms in front of her and glided toward him. He reached out his hand for her to take as she got close. They said nothing as he drew her against him.
A smile pulled at her lips when she felt his arousal. He rested his hands on her hips, their eyes locked. Despite the last two weeks of imprisonment and being unable to use his magic, Varek wouldn’t change anything. Because it had brought Jeyra into his life. She was a treasure, and she didn’t even know it.
Her hands traveled up his arms to his shoulders and then moved around his neck. Her amber eyes flared with desire as she pulled his head down for a kiss. A moan tore through him when his lips met hers. It didn’t matter how many times he kissed her. Every time was as special as the first. His arms tightened around her as he deepened the kiss.
There were no bars between them now, no clothes. Their passion, their hunger enveloped them in a haze of unabashed need. Her hands gripped his hair as their tongues dueled, and they rubbed their bodies against each other.
He tore his mouth from hers and spun her around. Varek hissed in a breath at the contact of her shapely bum against his cock. He grabbed her hips and ground into her while he kissed her neck. She leaned her head to the side, granting him better access. His mouth moved up her neck to her ear as his hands slid over her stomach and rose to cup her breasts.
She sucked in a startled breath when his fingers skimmed over her taut nipples. He rolled the buds between his fingers and suckled on her earlobe. The first moan that fell from her lips made his cock jump. The more he teased her breasts, the more she began to rub against him. Her hands reached around, grasping his hips and pulling him harder against her.
Then she grabbed one of his hands and brought it down between her legs. The moment he slid a finger inside her, she sighed loudly and dropped her head back, her eyes closed. Varek watched her completely give herself over to him, and he soaked up every second as he found her swollen clit and began to play. He could’ve remained like that for the rest of the day. Throughout his very long life, Varek couldn’t remember being so enraptured by another before. The more pleasure he gave her, the more she responded, and the more he wanted to give her.
Her breathing shifted, alerting him that she was close to peaking. Varek doubled his efforts, but she spun in his arms instead and grabbed his cock. The moment their eyes met, he saw the craving there. Without a word, he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. She positioned his cock at her entrance, then he rocked his hips forward and slid into her.
Their bodies began to move instantly. She cupped his face before bending to kiss him. With every movement of their tongues and bodies, he was drawn closer and closer to climax. Then she tore her mouth from his and cried out as her body began to clamp around him. Varek thrust his hips three more times before he sank deep and let the orgasm come.
They clung to each other as their breaths slowly returned to normal. He closed his eyes, more at peace than he ever had been before. There was so much turmoil ahead, but this second was theirs. A perfect moment.
Jeyra raised her head and smiled down at him. He returned it as he smoothed back some strands of her red hair that had come loose from her bun. Varek pulled out of her and set her on her feet as they grinned at each other.
“Let me see your hair,” he urged.
A frown flitted across her face. “My hair?”
“Aye. I’ve been dying to see it from the first moment I met you.”
She reached back and undid her hair to let the fiery strands fall down her back and into the water to float around her. Varek couldn’t believe how long and wavy the strands were. He lifted a thick lock and let it run through his fingers.
“It’s beautiful.”
Jeyra placed a kiss on his chest. “You really like it?”
“Verra much,” he told her, then kissed her lips.
She sighed and swirled her hands in the water. “A bath is a great idea.”
For the next half hour, they stayed in the water as she bathed and talked of anything but what tomorrow would bring. When she rose from rinsing her hair, she shivered slightly. The sun had gone behind the mountains, taking its heat with it. Varek grabbed her hand and led her to the tent near the fire. With the briefest of thoughts, had her cocooned in warmth.
“Oh,” she exclaimed with a chuckle. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
He shrugged and touched her skin. “I dried you, too.”
“I think I could get used to this.”
Jeyra lay back on the pillows. To his surprise, she scooted closer to lay on his chest. With a smile on his lips, he wrapped his arm around her. Yes, he was content.
“If only we could stay like this,” she murmured.
The smile died as he realized how right she was. “We could. We could disappear. I could make sure no one ever found us.”
“What of your realm? The other Dragon Kings?”
He didn’t answer. Because he
couldn’t.
She blew out a breath. “Then there are the dragons here. The ones my people are holding. I wish we could do as you suggested and disappear, but you’re needed, Varek. And you aren’t the kind of man to ignore those who are suffering. Not to mention, I’m fairly certain the dragons aren’t going to want to see me.”
“They willna harm a hair on your head,” he stated more harshly than intended. He paused and kissed her forehead. “I doona know how the future will play out, but I do know that we’re both in it. You chose to come with me for answers, and I’ll help you find them.”
“That’s not the only reason I came with you.”
He leaned away, so she lifted her face to him. “I know.”
“I want to be with you.”
“I want that, too.”
She eyed him. “But you’re afraid I won’t be able to handle you being a dragon.”
“Aye,” he admitted.
Jeyra smiled and returned her head to his chest. “A few days ago, I probably wouldn’t have. Things aren’t as black and white as I was led to believe. As all my people were told.”
“We doona have the full story. We only have bits.”
“Bits which don’t make my people look good.”
Varek lifted his gaze to the sky. “Tomorrow is another day. We have tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Jeyra came awake slowly. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so soundly. No matter what position she or Varek had been in during the night, their limbs were entwined. As if even in sleep, neither could stop touching the other.
Her body still hummed from the pleasure of the night before in the lake. He had touched her in all the right places with an expert hand, knowing how to bring about ecstasy easily. She shifted her head on the pillow to see Varek.
He lay on his side, facing her. A shadow of a beard showed, and his blond locks were mussed, which she found endearing. His breathing was deep and even, and as she looked at him, she realized that with his help, she had pulled back the layers of deception that had filled her life from Rankin to the council and everyone and everything in between.
She had no idea how many were in on it, and it didn’t matter. For her, she wanted all the answers and to expose the corrupt individuals. Regardless of who started the war between her kind and the dragons, it needed to stop. She would help Varek free the dragons in Orgate. Hopefully, that would be enough for the dragons to forgive them, but she wasn’t sure it would.
Her gaze moved to Varek’s arm with the tattoo. She hadn’t lied last night. She was looking forward to seeing him in his true form. It was strange to think that she had hated him so deeply at first. Now, she trusted him with her life. It was because of Varek that her loathing of dragons had begun to wane and then disappeared altogether.
She ran her fingers over the contour of his biceps, feeling the warm flesh beneath. The way she felt with him was like she had busted out of a prison right alongside him. Like she had been the one chained. And in some ways, she had.
“Hmm, lass,” Varek murmured without opening his eyes. “I love your touch.”
She grinned as she rolled him onto his back and threw back the blanket covering them. When she glanced down to find his cock hard, she shot him a grin and scooted down to take him into her mouth.
“Jeyra,” he said breathlessly.
She inwardly smiled as she moved her head, bobbing up and down his length, all the while taking in the handsome, strong, sexy man that for some reason found her attractive. She stroked him with her hand, tongue, and mouth until he flipped her onto her back and lay between her legs.
“My turn,” he said with a smile.
Jeyra watched as he gently spread her and then lowered his head to her sex. Right before his tongue touched her, their gazes met. At the first lick, her head dropped back as pleasure pooled low in her belly. Her fingers dug into the blankets as he soon had her panting from pleasure and need.
He rose over her and filled her with a single thrust. They stayed like that for a heartbeat, their gazes locked. Then he began to move with long, slow glides, gradually increasing his tempo until he was thrusting hard and deep. Sweat slickened their skin, and pleasure mounted until she came apart with a climax that overshadowed the one from the night before.
She clung to Varek, helpless as bliss filled her. Dimly, she heard him shout as he climaxed. Jeyra smiled as he collapsed on top of her. They lay like that for several minutes before he pulled out of her and rolled to his back, taking her with him.
“That was incredible,” she said.
He played with the length of her hair. “Aye. It was.”
She looked at the water and the light dancing across it from the rising sun. “But our time is over, isn’t it?”
“For now. When we’ve rescued the dragons, we can come back here and spend as long as we want.”
She wished he meant it, but she knew it wasn’t true. “You’ll want to return to your world.”
“Eventually. I’m hoping you’ll come with me.”
“I don’t belong there.”
“You belong where you want to be,” he told her in a soft voice.
She couldn’t believe such simple words could have such an impact, but they did. He was right. She belonged wherever she wanted to be. That could be on this realm or his or somewhere else.
“You doona have to figure anything out today regarding your future,” he said.
She lifted her face to reply when they both stilled as they heard something in the distance. In the next heartbeat, she was on her feet, clothed, with her hair pulled away from her face. Their blankets, pillows, and fire, as well as everything else that said they had been there was gone.
“It’s Rankin,” Varek said, looking back the way they had come the day before.
Jeyra shook her head in anger and resentment. “He’s coming after us.”
“I knew he would.”
So had she. Her head swung to Varek. “What now? Do you shift and fly away?”
“That would alert him we’re here.”
“He’ll find out soon enough. Is he alone?”
Varek’s dark eyes were somber as he shook his head.
She steeled herself. “How many?”
“Fifty warriors.”
“How do you know?” she asked in bewilderment.
He shrugged and looked around. “Dragons have enhanced senses.”
“Oh. We can make a run for the mountains.”
Varek smiled then. “Do you forget which side of the border you’re on, lass?”
His magic. She had forgotten. It was something that was going to take some getting used to. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re going back to Orgate.”
She gaped at him in shock. “You can’t be serious. They’ll be waiting for us.”
“They’ll think we’re headed anywhere but there,” he told her.
Jeyra looked over her shoulder to where Rankin and the other warriors approached. Her head swung back to Varek. “You have magic now, but you won’t once we cross the border.”
“I’ve got a plan,” he told her with a wink.
She couldn’t get over how easily he accepted things and adjusted to them. He held out his hand. Jeyra took it, even as her gaze darted in the warriors’ direction. “I don’t like what my people have done, but I don’t want you to kill them.”
“Lass,” he said with a shake of his head, his smile filled with sorrow, “I wouldna do that. I’m going to make it so they doona see or hear us.”
“And the other dragons?”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “I’ve alerted them that humans are after me, but I’ll keep them running in circles for a wee bit while we save the dragons in Orgate.”
She needed to remember that dragons spoke telepathically. And, apparently, over some distance since she hadn’t seen any since they had crossed the border. Jeyra issued a nod, and she and Varek began running back the way they had come the day
before.
Even though he’d told her that his magic would allow them to go undetected by the warriors, she still slowed when she saw the group, waiting for someone to spot them. But none of the warriors even looked in their direction. All her life, she had been told how dangerous magic was, but she was beginning to realize that applied to everything. Magic wasn’t all bad. Varek had shown her that.
Once at the river, they paused long enough for her to catch her breath and get a drink. Varek wasn’t even winded, and she had to admit, she envied that.
“It’s too bad you can’t use magic to get us to the city as easily as you did to remove our clothes last night,” she said, hoping that maybe he just hadn’t thought of that.
His lips twisted ruefully. “Unfortunately, that isna an option. The only beings who can do that are the Fae. And Death, of course. The only way dragons can do that is with specialized jewelry made by the Fae.”
“Death?” she asked.
But Varek wasn’t listening to her. He had lifted his face as if searching for the sky through the trees. Then he said, “Erith? Can you hear me?”
A woman materialized before them, causing Jeyra to stumble back in surprise. She tripped over a rock and started to fall when someone caught her. Since her gaze was locked on Varek as he stood next to the woman, she had no idea who was behind her. Once on her feet, she spun around and saw the tall, black-haired man with purple eyes.
He bowed his head to her, then lifted his gaze to Varek. “There are those worried about you.”
“Very,” replied the woman as her gaze swept over Jeyra.
Neither had the same accent as Varek—or each other, for that matter. Jeyra could only stare in fascination at the petite woman, her blue-black hair pulled away from her face in intricate plaits. Her lavender gaze swung back to Varek. The woman wore all-leather armor on her torso with forearm bracers. Small metal chains were mixed in with strips of black leather to make a short skirt. Her legs were bare except for tall, black, knee-high boots. No weapons could be seen.
The man wore a long-sleeve black shirt and pants not that different from what Varek had on when she captured him. There were no visible weapons on the male either.
