Fawks (Dragons of Kratak Book 4)

by Ruth Anne Scott

  With one of his hands still on my breast, Byr kissed me again. But he slid his other hand down my body, letting just the tips of his fingers trail across my flesh. I shuddered and closed my eyes, exhaling a long, soft moan. I felt him slide his hand between my thighs and felt a chill shoot through me.

  I looked at him, biting my bottom lip, and slightly parted my legs for him. He kissed me again as he slid a finger inside of me, moving it in and out slowly and gently. There was a fire burning between my thighs, but I also felt how slick and moist I was at the same time.

  I clamped my fingers into his shoulders as he started to slide his finger in and out with a little more speed and force.

  “Oh, Byr,” I gasped. “That feels so amazing.”

  He gave me a small smile and kept doing what he was doing – which felt amazing. He kissed me again as I felt a pressure building up low within me. I'd pleasured myself enough times to know that my climax was coming.

  I moaned and ground my fingers against his hand, taking his fingers deeper inside of me. The sensations inside of me built quickly – and more intensely – than they did when I was alone and pleasuring myself. And then all of the sudden, the wall within me burst and I was flooded by the most electric, intense sensations I'd ever felt. My whole body spasmed and I cried out, digging my nails into his flesh.

  I was overcome by the feeling of fire tearing through my body as I orgasmed. My breathing was shallow and ragged, but I looked up at Byr and smiled.

  “That was amazing,” I gasped.

  Byr returned my smile and raised his hand to his mouth, licking my juices off of his fingers. Watching him taste me sent another wave of desire rolling through me that I couldn't contain. I stepped forward and kissed him, sliding my hand down his stomach and began to rub him through his pants. I felt him growing long and thick beneath my touch and when I grabbed hold of him and squeezed, he let out a soft moan.

  He looked into my eyes, the lust burning brighter than the Optorion sun. I unfastened his pants and let them fall to the floor. As I pulled him backward toward the bed, he fumbled with his shirt, finally managing to get it off and tossing it to the floor.

  I smiled as I climbed onto the bed, pulling Byr along with me. I parted my legs and let him lay on top of me. We kissed and I reveled in the feeling of his flesh against mine – growing more excited by the feeling of him pressed against the warm, wet center of me.

  “I need you, Byr,” I moaned. “I need you inside of me.”

  He held himself up on his arms, looking down at me and smiled. I felt him pressing himself harder against my opening. And then I gasped, my eyes shooting wide open, as I felt him enter me. There was a brief shock of pain – but that was quickly followed by a warm wave of incredible pleasure.

  “A – are you okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

  My breathing was still a little ragged, but I looked back up at him. “I'm wonderful,” I wheezed. “So wonderful.”

  Byr grinned at me and began to move his hips, sliding himself deep inside of me again and again. I arched my back, moaning and calling his name, as he plunged into me. The sound of our bodies connecting, flesh meeting flesh, echoed around the chamber – as did our moans and groans.

  The pressure was building up inside of me again. Quickly and more powerfully before. Byr looked down at me, his movements becoming almost frantic. Gone was the steady rhythm he'd been in before and it felt like he was losing control of himself, his thrusts becoming ragged and urgent. I thought that maybe he was building up to his own climax.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, letting out an animalistic growl. I knew I wasn't going to last much longer and didn't think that he would either. I raised my hips to meet his thrusts and wave after wave of pleasure rolled over me as I felt him sliding deep inside of me.

  Almost without warning, I felt my own dam break and I cried out as I orgasmed again, my whole body shaking and trembling. A moment later, Byr groaned and his body shuddered as I felt his warm, wet seed filling me up. He collapsed on top of me, trying to catch his breath.

  Eventually, he rolled over and lay next to me – I put my head on his chest and trailed my fingertips over his stomach. I looked up at him and smiled – and when he looked back at me, I felt my breath catch in my throat. For in that look we exchanged, I saw something I never expected to see in his eyes – love.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, my body was a little bit sore as we found ourselves being escorted out of our chamber and through the palace. Riley had arrived somewhat early to find us still lying in bed together. Her smile was knowing and Byr's face flushed, his eye markings glowing wildly, and he couldn't even meet her eyes. When she looked at me, I gave her a shy smile in return – I knew that this was what she'd wanted for Byr and me, but it wasn't something I actually thought would happen.

  Byr looked over his shoulder at the four guards who followed us and then over at me. He cleared his throat.

  “So, where are we going?” he asked.

  Riley turned and looked over her shoulder at him – and he quickly looked away. She laughed.

  “You're meeting with my husband, King Jendrish, this morning,” she said.

  I already knew that, of course. I'd had a conversation with Riley while Byr had fumbled around in the bathroom, trying to clean himself up and get dressed. I wasn't sure why, but I felt a certain kinship with the Queen. I was comfortable around her and didn't feel like I needed to hide who I truly was.

  I didn't know what to expect when Riley opened a door and ushered us inside. The guards took positions outside the room and Riley escorted us in. It was a beautiful room made from a dark, polished stone. The chamber was softly lit and shelves lined three of the walls and were crammed with what seemed like millions of different books. The fourth wall was made entirely of glass and offered a view of Optorio's rugged coastline and sparkling red ocean. It was a room I thought I could be very happy in for a very long time.

  “Are you two hungry?” she asked, her tone turning playful. “I know that I'm always starving after a good workout.”

  I thought Byr might pass out from embarrassment right then and there. His face colored, his eye markings glowed, and he sounded like he might choke. I couldn't help but laugh along with Riley. I didn't know what it was, but I felt no shame over what Byr and I had done. It had been beautiful. A loving experience. And I saw no reason to feel bad about it.

  Byr, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to just crawl under a rock somewhere and hide. I wasn't sure why he felt so self-conscious about what we'd done. It was a natural act between two people who cared for one another.

  Riley seated us at a table that had been laid out with a spread of food that looked every bit as amazing as the feast we'd had the previous night. I sat – with Byr on my left – and leaned back in my seat. We had to wait for the King to arrive before digging in – and I found myself hoping that he would arrive soon. I was absolutely famished.

  Following my lead, Byr sat back in his seat and waited along with me. A moment later, a door at the other end of the room and a tall man with very pale skin, eyes a shade of blue I'd never seen, and long, dark hair stepped inside. He smiled wide as he took a seat at the table across from us.

  “You must be Hatare and Byr,” he said. “Riley has told me much about you.”

  Riley leaned down and gave her husband a kiss. Then she looked at us. “I'm going to leave the three of you now. You have much to discuss.”

  And with that, Riley disappeared through the door Jendrish had arrived through. He looked over at us and motioned to the food on the table.

  “Please, help yourselves,” he said. “Eat as much as you'd like.”

  I grinned over at Byr and we both dug in, sampling from a wide variety of the food on the table.

  “Thank you for seeing us, Your Majesty,” I said.

  The King waved me away. “Please, call me Jendrish,” he said. “I feel much the same way about formalities as m
y wife.”

  The conversation throughout breakfast was lively and entertaining. Jendrish told us all about himself and how he came to be the King of Optorio. He was a charismatic and engaging man – and yet, he still retained a sense of humility. I knew that some government leaders could be pompous and arrogant – I'd seen enough of them in my day. But Jendrish wasn't like that. He seemed to have more in common with Byr and me than any other government leader I'd ever met.

  Eventually though, breakfast ended and we pushed ourselves back from the table. A crew of palace employees immediately swooped in and began cleaning up the plates, hauling everything away, and leaving a bare table in their wake.

  Jendrish leaned back in his seat and looked at us, the expression on his face inscrutable. I suddenly felt awkward and afraid. Beneath the table, I reached out and took Byr's hand. He gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

  “Hatare,” Jendrish began. “Tell me why you fled your home.”

  “Honestly, I wanted to be free,” I said. “I could not stomach the thought of being forced into a marriage that I did not want or choose. The thought of being auctioned off to somebody based on what I could earn for my family – just no. The societal norms of Unduth are reprehensible and anathema to who I am as a woman.”

  Jendrish nodded and gave me a small smile. “Riley told me that you were a spirited young woman,” he said. “I can respect the fire I see in you.”

  He turned his attention to Byr. “I understand that you stand accused of some terrible crimes back home,” he said. “I've been told that you are suspected of being part of a group that is responsible for a series of bombings within Kinray – bombings that have taken the lives of many Unduthians. As you know, we are having problems with our own group of terrorists. It's not an issue I take lightly.”

  I felt Byr's body tense and could feel the anger radiating from him like heat from the sun. “I had nothing to do with any of that,” he growled. “I'm not part of some rebel group. All I do is work and take care of my family. My mother is – ”

  Jendrish nodded and gave him a sympathetic look. “I understand that your mother is very ill,” he said. “And I'm sorry for that. But why is it they believe you are one of the rebels?”

  Byr shook his head. “I don't know,” he replied. “The first I heard about anything like that was when some of the government soldiers showed up at the factory I work at and almost executed me.”

  “Where a bomb went off, killing some of those government soldiers,” Jendrish said.

  Byr looked down at the table. “Yes,” he replied. “But I had nothing to do with it. I swear it to you.”

  Jendrish sighed. “I believe you.”

  Byr looked up. “You do?”

  The King nodded. “I do,” he said. “I was a soldier for a long time. I know the look of a killer – and you're not it.”

  Relief seemed to color Byr's face and he gave the King a small, relieved smile.

  “But that doesn't change the fact that the Unduthian government is asking for your return to face trial,” Jendrish said. “And your father is also demanding your return, Hatare.”

  Any sense of relief Byr and I were feeling suddenly evaporated. Jendrish seemed torn, but his expression was grave. And it was in that moment I knew he was going to send us home.

  “My hands are tied,” Jendrish said. “Unduth is an ally of ours and has been for a long, long time. It's not my place to interfere with their affairs of State. I can't impose my rule upon them.”

  “If you send us back, they're going to execute Byr,” I said quickly, my voice rising. “And my father is going to do – I don't even know what to me.”

  Jendrish sighed and leaned across the table. “Which is why I'm so conflicted about this whole affair,” he said. “The last thing I want is for anything to happen to either one of you. Riley is very fond of the both of you – and frankly, after spending this morning with you, so am I.”

  Byr and I shared a look – one of fear, but one of guarded hope as well. I knew we'd put Jendrish in an impossible situation. Affairs of State are tricky matters on the best of days – but harboring fugitives like Byr and me made things all the more complicated. I did not envy the position we'd put him in. But at the same time, I hoped he would do all he could to save us from the fate that awaited us back on Unduth.

  “The Unduthian government is sending an envoy to meet with me,” Jendrish said. “We will discuss matters and see if we can't come to an agreement one way or the other.”

  I nodded and gave him a grim smile. It was about the best I could hope for under the circumstances.

  “I don't want to give either of you false hope,” Jendrish said. “But just know that I will fight for you. I will do all I can on your behalf. I give you my word.”

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  Byr nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  “Jendrish,” the King gently corrected him. “I will talk to the both of you very soon.”

  After giving us one last look, Jendrish stood up and left the room. Byr and I stood up when the doors opened and the guards filed in to escort us back to our room. I recognized the one man as the guard who'd escorted us through the gardens the night before. He gave me a small smile and a nod, as if seeking to reassure me that everything would be okay. I smiled back at him and took Byr by the hand.

  As we walked down the hallway, I looked up at him. “Things are going to work out,” I said. “They're going to be okay.”

  A cold finger of fear slithered its way down my spine and the knot in my stomach clenched painfully. Byr's smile was small and grim and I knew that my reassurances had fallen on deaf ears. But then, I was having trouble even convincing myself that what I'd said was true.

  Chapter Seven

  Gravus

  I was met at the spaceport by a contingent of Royal Guardsmen. I wasn't expecting the pomp and circumstance a head of state might receive, but I wasn't expecting to be under guard from the moment I touched down, either.

  It was obvious to me that King Jendrish was trying to send me a message. Give me a little show of force to make sure he knew that Optorio was strong. Message received.

  To show that I was not a threat and was there not to fight, but to have an open and honest discussion, I left my own personal guard on the ship as I was led to the transport that would take me to the palace. It had been against Tok's strongly worded suggestion, but I did not want to create an atmosphere of tension and hostility right off the bat.

  I was smarter than that and knew that more times than not, you got what you wanted when you appeared to be reasonable.

  Though I was representing the Unduthian government as a whole, in truth, my services had been retained by the girl's father, Minister of Defense Borask. She was his only concern and was paying me good money to secure her safe return to Unduth. As for the boy, the Unduthian government was paying me to bring him back so they could execute him as a terrorist – in public, no doubt. They did like to put on a show.

  I liked working jobs like this – doing the same amount of work for double the money.

  I was shown not to the formal throne room where I assumed my visit with the King would be held – but to a small library instead. The door was closed behind me and I found myself in a small, intimate room. A table sat in the middle of the room and shelves lined all four walls. Books took up most of the space, but various other interesting objects – things I wasn't familiar with – lay on others.

  The room was dimly lit and carried an interesting scent in the air. It was pipe smoke, but of a blend I couldn't quite identify. A door in the far wall slid open with a whoosh and in stepped the man I'd come to see. I gave him a low, formal bow.

  “Please rise,” Jendrish said. “And have a seat.”

  “Thank you for seeing me, Your Majesty,” I said. “I appreciate your time and attention to this matter.”

  “Of course,” the King replied as he sat down at the table. “Unduth has been an ally for a v
ery long time, and their concerns are my concerns.”

  The reference to the longstanding alliance between Unduth and Optorio was for my benefit – and to let me know that the stakes in this situation were very high. He was a clever man. Intelligent. I didn't credit most soldiers with an abundance of brains. Most were content to point at what I told them to point at and pull the trigger. But Jendrish was obviously a very clever man. And I could appreciate that.

  “The Unduthian Ministers wanted me to express their gratitude for Optorio's continued friendship.”

  One of the palace servants bustled into the room carrying a tray filled with refreshments. She was a good looking girl and as I eyed her up and down, taking all of her in and imagining what I'd like to do with her, she seemed to blush and walked quickly from the room without a word. If the King had noticed, he had the good grace to not say anything about it.

  “Please, help yourself,” Jendrish said. “The Optorion wine is especially good.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  It had been a long flight and I was hungry, so I piled some of the food onto a plate and poured myself a glass of the wine – and the King was right, it was very good. Unique. So very different from the wines I was accustomed to on Unduth.

  “I trust your flight was smooth, General?” Jendrish asked.

  “Indeed,” I replied. “And thank you for the refreshments, they are delicious.”

  The King raised his glass to me in response. “So, tell me General, where do the Ministers stand on the situation with Hatare and Byr?”

  I chewed the delicacy I'd been snacking on and washed it down with a swig of wine before answering.

  “They hope that you will honor our – as you noted, longstanding – alliance and turn over citizens of Unduth without delay, of course, so that they may stand trial for their crimes.”

  Jendrish nodded and sipped from his glass of wine. “That is an understandable, even reasonable position to take.”