“No, you pervert!” She smacked him playfully, then remembered she was angry at him and scowled.
“Are you ready to tell me why you wouldn’t talk to me this afternoon?” he asked.
She gave him a sidelong glance. “Didn’t your family tell you?”
“No, my mother just said you stomped off for no reason, and they thought that your family was bad-mouthing me.”
“My family has been trying to visit me here for days, and you kept it from me. You had no right to make that decision for me.”
They were walking behind the castle now, with the soft, silky meadow grass caressing their ankles.
Orion’s brows knitted together in a scowl. “I didn’t know. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I will be having a talk with my family about this, I assure you.”
“Oh. I thought you knew.” She sighed. “No need to say anything to them. I mean, my family is here now so all’s well that ends well…”
He shook his head decisively. “No. As Dominus, it is vital that I am informed of all developments that affect the clan,” he said. “My family violated clan protocol, and if I don’t punish them, then I open myself up to a sky challenge from contenders who think that I’m growing weak.”
He glanced up at the night sky, lit by the glowing ivory orb of the moon. “Fancy a flight?” he said.
“I wouldn’t turn it down.”
Orion stripped his clothing off, and she turned away, blushing. Why did he have this crazy effect on her?
He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, and turned her head so she was facing him again.
“You can look,” he said. “I like it when you look at me.”
She swallowed hard, and then as he stepped back, she let her gaze sweep appreciatively over his naked body. She boldly let her gaze wander below his waist, and linger on his thick cock, with its purplish head and a bluish vein running up the shaft.
“I like looking at you,” she said.
He smiled, a lazy, sensual smile, and then the smile vanished as he began shifting. She watched him change, with his beautiful scales the color of rubies covering his massive body, and then slid onto his neck and hugged him tightly.
The ground fell away from them as he beat his mighty wings, and she watched the castle grow smaller and smaller as they rose into the air and headed for the mountains.
Orion landed gently. It astonished Cadence that such an enormous creature could move with such precision and grace. She clambered down from his strong, scaled back, running a hand over the membrane of his wing as she did so. He shuddered and snorted out a wisp of smoke, and she laughed with delight.
When he shifted, she found her eyes drawn to his thick cock, half erect in its nest of dark curls. Her eyes traveled up his body, over his flat belly and muscular chest, and when she reached his face she saw that his mouth was quirked in an amused smile and there was a wicked twinkle in his eyes.
She coughed and looked away. The sound he made might have been a chuckle…or it might have been a snigger. She felt herself blushing. It wasn’t easy to get an ice dragon feeling hot and bothered, but Orion seemed to manage it without even trying.
They settled down on the soft grass, Orion magnificently unselfconscious in his nakedness. Cadence had gone on enough moonlight runs as a wolf that she was no prude about nudity, but it was different with him. His smooth, coppery skin seemed to draw her eyes as if it were magnetic, and her fingers itched to touch.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s see what you can do.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“Try to shift,” he explained. “Let me see that sexy inner dragoness.”
Cadence bit her lip. All the years she’d spent hoping her dragon side never emerged at all and she could just live her life as a plain old wolf, and now there was nothing she wanted more in the world than to be able to grow scales and wings, and fly with Orion.
“I don’t know how,” she whispered, ashamed.
Orion took her hands in his. His skin was fever-hot, his grip firm and reassuring. “Just close your eyes,” he said. “Reach deep down inside yourself and feel your dragon. Don’t fight her – just let her come to the surface.”
Cadence let her eyes flutter closed. She took a deep breath and released it. She could feel her dragon self curled up inside her, an icy presence below her sternum. As she relaxed her limbs, she felt the power stir, raising goose bumps on her arms. Her breath came out in a frigid cloud, ice crystals gathering on her eyelashes. She felt the energy swell and burst, washing over her, and she opened her eyes…
“Crap.” She pulled her hand out of Orion’s and folded her arms, feeling petulant. “I’m still human.”
“Not quite.” He ran his finger over her forearm, where frosty white scales sparkled in the sunlight, rimmed with iridescent teal and blue. He smiled. “They’re so pretty.”
“Not as pretty as you,” she said.
He cocked an eyebrow, and she wanted to bite her tongue. “I mean – your dragon,” she stuttered. “I want to be a big, beautiful dragon like you. I want to fly.”
He smiled, looking delighted. “You think my dragon is beautiful?”
She shook her head slowly, almost lost for words. “Gorgeous. Magnificent. Incredible. In your dragon form, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Cadence.” His hand stilled on her arm and he leaned forward so their lips were only inches apart. “Whether you ever fully shift or not, whatever form you’re in…you’ll always be beautiful to me.”
And he kissed her.
His mouth was firm and commanding on hers and she felt herself relaxing under his touch, her lips opening on a sigh to allow him access. He played the tip of his tongue against hers, flicking and teasing, and her hands went to the back of his neck. He drew her closer, crushing her breasts against his chest, and need made her core clench, dampening her panties.
She almost protested when he pulled back, but his fingers went at once to the buttons of her blouse. Gently, nimbly, he slid them through their loops and brushed the satiny fabric apart, revealing the lace of her half-cup bra. He gave a little hum of approval as he took one firm globe in his palm, circling his thumb over the nipple, which sprang into a needy point at his touch.
He slid her blouse over her shoulders and away, and his hands fell to the waistband of her pants.
Cadence’s breath was harsh and uneven as he skimmed the fabric over her hips and thighs, placing a kiss to her mound through the sodden lace of her panties and making her whimper and squirm. He kneeled at her feet and took off her shoes.
Then he came to lie beside her, his long, toned body gloriously naked against hers. He let his gaze run over her curves, and each lingering look felt as if it were his fingers on her skin – touching, exploring, caressing.
He bent over to kiss her again, and excitement stirred low in her belly, tingling through her body as his big palm covered her breast then skimmed down over her ribs and belly, coming to rest in the soft curls between her thighs.
With deft, clever fingers, he parted her moist petals, strumming her clit gently before pressing two fingers against her wet, needy opening.
She parted her thighs further, opening to him like a flower, and he pushed his fingers inside her with maddening slowness.
As his tongue played in her mouth, he began to work his fingers in and out, stoking the fires inside her, beckoning her orgasm toward him. She moaned against his mouth, and he nipped her lower lip between his teeth.
His fingers moved easily inside her, gliding through the slickness of her arousal, and she pushed her hips against his hand, begging him for more.
When he drew back, she clutched at him, desperate for his touch, but she subsided with a groan of desire when she felt the blunt head of his cock nudging at her entrance.
“Oh… Oh… Orion…”
She wrapped her legs around his waist, running her palms over the smooth skin of his back and down to the firm globes of h
is ass, digging in her fingers as the muscles flexed as he thrust inside her.
The rigid length of his cock inside her was sweet agony. Her pussy clenched around him and she rolled her hips, urging him to move.
He obliged, drawing back and then slamming home, quivering with the tension their joining stirred in him.
Cadence felt her climax building, swelling, glowing in her belly and between her legs until it burst in an explosion of heat and color, sparks flying through her body and setting every nerve ending alights as every muscle tensed with the sweet, unbearable thrill.
The trembling, pulsing waves gripped Orion and carried him with her, drawing him into the maelstrom. He thrust harder and faster, sweat beading on his skin and his face contorted in an expression of agonized pleasure before he cried out and shuddered above her, releasing his climax deep with her sated, trembling body.
Chapter Ten
Cadence slept in late, and woke up alone…with a huge bouquet of flowers lying in bed next to her, wrapped in a ribbon. Next to it was a note, which said, “Good morning, gorgeous. Off to inspect some mines. Stay out of trouble. I can’t wait to see you tonight.”
After she showered and dressed, she went downstairs to eat breakfast, dining in a breakfast nook near the kitchen. As she finished up, she called and checked in with Daisy.
“You had sex,” Daisy said, and Cadence choked on her coffee.
“How in God’s name…”
“Your voice has that just-been-fucked tone to it.”
“Daisy!” Cadence gasped.
“What, too much? Pregnancy brain may have clouded my judgement, I’ll be the first to admit. So, was he good?”
“If such a thing had happened, I’m sure that he’d have been amazing. Not that I am confirming or denying.”
“Don’t schedule the wedding until after I give birth,” Daisy said imperiously. “And Wynona gets to come, of course. Wow, this will be like her dozenth wedding or something. And Harriet will make you more baby clothes than you know what to do with. Oh, she also sews a lovely wedding dress.”
“You are jumping way ahead,” Cadence protested. Then she glanced up. Phoebe had just strolled up, hands stuck in her jeans pockets, and was standing there watching her.
“What’s up, Pheebs?” she said.
“I know something.” Phoebe had a smug look on her face.
“Spill it, little fireball.”
“Orion’s mother is in the pigsty, cleaning,” Phoebe said cheerfully. “And so’s uncle Nikolai and Alcott. They’re mad.”
“Oh, crud. Daisy, there’s family mama drama happening. Gotta go.” She quickly hung up the phone.
Damn Orion. He was really not going to make any friends like this. Then again, she got the impression that he didn’t care about whether he made friends.
As she stood up, she saw Maude and Aurelia approaching her.
“Ready for training?” Maude called out.
“I hate to put it off, but I’ll have to do it this afternoon,” she said. “Orion punished his family for not telling me that you were trying to visit; he sent them out to clean the pigsty. I’m going to go help them.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” Maude asked in astonishment.
“Because I don’t want to be the cause of a fight between Orion and his family.”
“Well, you have fun with that,” Maude said, making a face. “I guess we’ll go into town to shop or something. We’ll see you in the south meadow at two this afternoon for training.”
Cadence went out to the pigsty, where Cynthia was waving a pitchfork around, looking furious.
“These pants are ruined,” she wailed to Alcott.
“Who wears silk pants to clean out a pigsty?” Alcott grumbled at his sister-in-law.
“Well, excuse me for not having any casual clothes! Oh, hello, Cadence,” she said, her expression deeply wounded. “I assume you came to laugh at us.”
“Nope,” Cadence said, and grabbed a shovel. “I came to help.”
“Not necessary. There’s no reason for you to even be here. At all,” Orion’s mother said huffily.
Cadence ignored her and set to work, ignoring the loathsome odors that perfumed the air and the squeal of the pigs that wandered in and out as she labored. Cynthia, Nikolai and Alcott worked silently, not acknowledging her presence. About half an hour later, her aunt and cousin came in.
“Wow, he’s making you clean out the pigsty? What a jerk,” Maude said.
“Right?” Cynthia agreed resentfully. “And he made Phoebe’s mother clean out the latrines this week.”
“And I thought our Dominus was a tyrant,” Maude said, grabbing a pitchfork.
“That is your father you’re speaking of, dear,” Aurelia said. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “But it’s true, he can be a bit of an ice-hole.”
“Ice-hole,” Maude snickered, and Cynthia started laughing too. Cadence kept her head down and shoveled. For the moment, nobody was trying to set anybody on fire, and she’d like to keep that going for as long as possible.
* * * * *
“I will never be able to dragon,” Cadence moaned after she’d tried for the fifth time to come up with a full-size snowball.
Her little puffs of frozen water were becoming smaller, not larger.
They were standing by a cluster of pine trees. Aurelia had created a snowfall that blanketed the surrounding area in wintry white, and Maude had coated the trees with ice. Meanwhile, Cadence was conjuring up snow marbles, not snowballs.
“I’ll be down to a single snowflake soon,” she groaned. “Why am I so lame?”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It just takes time. You’re getting much better at going scaly,” Maude said to her.
“You’re being too nice to her,” Cynthia announced, strolling through the trees, her boots crunching in the snow. She’d changed out of her pigsty clothes and was again elegant and regal in appearance.
“What do you mean?” Maude demanded.
Cynthia turned to face her. “I hear that she actually managed to summon a halfway decent ice blast when Viola attacked her the other day. Well, halfway is probably too generous.”
“Hey.” Maude scowled at her. “Watch it.”
“Please,” Cynthia snorted. “Obviously her powers come out under duress. If she wants to access her inner dragon, assuming she even has one, she’s got to actually work for it. When our dragonlings are young, we push them off the top of a steep hill. We blast fire at them. We make them actually work at it. Maybe she’s just weak, Maude. Maybe you Cheat-hams just don’t produce strong dragons.”
“Watch what you say!”
“Or what?” Cynthia took a deep breath and blew out a stream of fire at Maude, who quickly countered it with an icy blast of air.
But Cynthia kept advancing towards her, and her flame got hotter and hotter. Sweat poured down Maude’s face.
“Hey, stop it! Stop it right now!” Cadence cried out.
Cynthia kept moving towards Maude. Scales covered her body – glowing red scales edged with black. She was like a living flame.
She was going to burn Maude alive.
“Get back!” Cadence screamed. Or rather, she tried to scream. It came out in a blast of frosty air that met with Cynthia’s stream of fire. Suddenly hailstones were swirling in the shape of a mini tornado, blocking the flames. A giant hissing steam cloud formed. The ice on the trees melted and dripped.
Cadence reared her head all the way back on its long, snaky neck and let out a blast of icicle spears at Cynthia. Cynthia had gone full dragon now, as had Maude and Aurelia. Cynthia met the icicle barrage with fire, and an enormous cloud of steam boiled up into the air.
Cadence flapped her mighty wings in rage, lashed her tail, and let out another blast of icicle spears, hundreds of them. She rose several feet off the ground, then twenty feet, so she could circle away from Cynthia’s flame and blast her from behind. She could see it in her mind’s eye, the maneuvers that she n
eeded to do.
Then it hit her. She was in dragon form. She was airborne!
Panic-stricken, she stopped flapping and fell to the ground with such a hard thud that the ground shook.
She felt her wings folding back into her body, tail shrinking and vanishing, curved claws retracting.
Her scales melted into smooth skin, and she was human again, staggering and stunned. She stood naked and barefoot in the snow. Maude shifted back into human form too, and ran up to them. Aurelia circled overhead, flapping her wings and watching Cynthia warily.
Cynthia stood before them in human form, naked and pale, her beautiful hair in wild disarray.
“Oh, my God, I shifted! I flew!” Cadence cried out in astonishment.
Cynthia glanced at Cadence with amusement.
“I really didn’t think you had it in you,” she said. “No, seriously, I didn’t.” And she shifted back into dragon form and flew off, letting out mighty streams of fire as she rose high above them.
“Wait, I’m confused,” Maude said, shaking her head. A big pile of snow slid off a pine tree and plopped onto her head, and she blinked and wiped water from her eyes. “Did she help you on purpose?”
“I think so, but I also think she’d rather jump off a cliff without wings than admit it,” Cadence said, watching Cynthia fly away.
Chapter Eleven
“Hello, gorgeous! I hear you had quite the training session today,” Orion called out to Cadence, who was sprawled out on his enormous bed reading a Georgette Heyer novel.
He strolled over to her as she tossed the book aside.
“Furthermore, I heard that your dragon is one sexy beast,” Orion said to Cadence. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I hope that you get to meet her, but I don’t know. I mean, it’s true I can get scaly all over now,” Cadence said, holding out her arm and covering it with scales. Then they melted away again. “And my ice blasts are much bigger. But I haven’t been able to turn again.”
“All in good time. You’re making amazingly fast progress.”
“Flying was incredible,” Cadence mused dreamily, as he sat down on the bed next to her.
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