At first she smiled, as though she expected me. Then I saw recognition dawning. She scrambled back against the headboard and opened her mouth to let out a scream.
I acted on instinct. Launched across the room, threw myself onto the bed, and smothered the scream with my mouth crushed against hers.
Chapter Eight
Melisandre
I was in the dream again. Twice in one night. That had never happened before.
I’d already dreamed it once, so vividly I awoke drenched in slick fluid between my legs. My pussy ached to be filled and my clit throbbed, desperate to feel his lips sucking it like he’d been doing before I awoke. The hunger was so great, I knew I’d never sleep until it was satisfied. So I filled it as best I could. Tossed aside the covers, spread my legs, and pleasured myself, staring out at the stars all the while. Fantasizing about the dragon lord and his magnificent naked body. Afterward, with my frantic need eased a bit, I managed to fall asleep again.
I must have heard some faint sound as I slumbered. Or I sensed a whisper of movement, perhaps the curtains fluttering in the breeze from the open door to my balcony. Whatever it was, sound or motion, it triggered the dream again, more real than ever.
I opened my eyes, and there he was. Gorgeous as ever. Stark naked. Standing motionless in the doorway, silhouetted by starlight. He had the body of a god. Strong and sleek, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist and hips. His thick cock jutted straight out, proud and hard. He took two steps toward me, the muscles of his ass flexing, his cock swaying with the movement of his hips.
I smiled. He’d never come to me here before. In the past, we were always somewhere else, most of the time somewhere shrouded in mist, like the haze of incense around the Oracle’s braziers. The few times the dream showed me a location for our tryst, it was always in a dark and somber place. A stone fortress, a rough hut on the edge of a battlefield. Never in a soft comfortable bed.
I sighed and lifted my arms to welcome him with an embrace. Then something made me pause. Awareness flooded in all at once, and I used my arms to squirm back against the headboard instead. This was no dream. A man was in my bedchamber. A naked stranger. I opened my mouth to scream for the guards, but he threw himself on top of me and muffled my cry with his lips.
I fought. Fought with all the strength I possessed, writhing beneath him, raking my nails down his back. Twisting and turning, trying to get one leg in the position to knee him in the balls.
He responded by scissoring his legs closed, trapping mine, and grabbed both my wrists in one hand, all the while never breaking the kiss. For that’s what it was – a wildly passionate kiss unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. My resistance seemed to fuel the stranger’s ardor, because instead of easing up, he deepened the kiss. Shocked me when his tongue invaded my mouth.
I thought about biting down on it, but my body had other ideas. Instead I found myself shuddering at the sensations pouring through me. Terror gave way to temptation as he teased me..
I’d had suitors – some dashing, some excruciatingly dull. My position as queen intimidated all of them. Even if they led me out to the terrace for a private dance during a state dinner, not one dared to do more than give me a chaste peck on the lips. Mouth closed, one eye on Pieter, who usually stood guard near enough to jump to my rescue if I showed the slightest hint of distress or distaste.
So, I was totally unprepared for being kissed by a man intent on seducing me. His hot body covered mine, skin on skin, while his tongue coaxed mine into an age-old dance.
At first, I was unwilling. Then, uneducated. But he kept on, darting the tip around, touching the roof of my mouth then drawing back. I tried to evade it, pulling my tongue away. Until I heard a low rumble in his chest, like a laugh he was struggling to suppress.
That did it. I forgot my fear, forgot he was a stranger who’d broken into my room and now held me powerless. No one laughed at me. No one dared to hint I was awkward at anything. I might not be schooled in the steps to this dance of seduction, but by the Goddess, I knew how to duel.
I parried the thrust of his tongue, blocking it with my own. He responded by swirling his around mine, sending another wild shudder coursing through me.
Clearly I was outclassed here. I decided to feint. Relaxed my body, let out a soft moan. His tongue probed again, delicately – and I made my move.
I jerked both hands in opposite directions, hoping to catch him by surprise and break his hold on my wrists. At the same time, I yanked one knee up, aiming at the sac below the hot, hard cock pressing against my belly.
But he was faster. His grip tightened on my wrists, and he used the momentum of my move to pry my legs apart and wedge his body between them. Now instead of pressing against my abdomen, his erection ground against my mound. Rubbed the folds of my womanhood.
I was powerless in the hands of this dark stranger with the beautiful body. Unable to get away, unable to cry for help. Now, unable to resist if he did the unthinkable.
And that’s when my treacherous body betrayed me. My pussy clenched then flooded. I tested the strength of his hold on my wrists again, frantically twisting my hands back and forth. Goddess only knows why because when I realized he truly held me captive, a jolt of raw lust surged through me. He could do whatever he pleased. The flicker of fear only added to my arousal.
He breathed in deeply, as though he could smell it, and one hand slid down between our bodies. When he found the slick juices coating the folds of my pussy, he rubbed his finger over them then slid it inside me.
I moaned, this time not a ploy. His finger felt so much thicker, longer, harder than my own. So much better.
I squirmed under him and this time, he moaned. It was more of a groan, really, a sound torn from deep in his chest. He pulled his finger out, brought his hand up, and traded it for his lips over my mouth.
My eyes widened, and I began struggling again.
“Hush,” he whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve been sent by the Oracle. She says you and I must unite to defeat the Lord of Darkness.”
I froze. She sent him to my bed? Then common sense kicked in. Though I’d dreamed of it often enough over the years since I’d visited the temple, I doubted this was what the Oracle meant when she told him we were to unite. A typical male, he’d heard what he wanted to hear. As far as he was concerned, the Goddess herself had granted him permission to ravage me.
His next words took me by surprise.
“We need to talk. Promise me you won’t scream, and I’ll take my hand away. All right?”
I nodded, although at the moment talking was the last thing on my mind. With every breath, I took in the scent of my own arousal on his fingers, making it hard to concentrate on anything but the wicked thrill I’d felt when he slid one inside me.
He moved his hand away slowly but stayed right where he was. Pressed up against every inch of my body. I tried desperately to take my mind off the delicious heat of his cock.
“Who are you?” I hissed.
“My name is Drayke. Drayke Demartine, heir to the House of Demartine.” He gave me a charming grin. “We met once before, my lady. Long ago, when you were just a child, the king brought you along on one of his annual visits to my father.”
I had a dim memory of the visit, one of many royal obligations we fulfilled on my first trip with my father. Every House was a blur, with one banquet after another, hosted by an unending array of old men, filled with boring chatter. I wanted to make my father proud, so I sat through them all, smiling and answering the same questions at every meal from an array of dinner partners at a loss for how to make conversation with a little girl. What was my favorite subject? How did I like (insert name of town)? No one ever asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. They all assumed my father would marry again and produce a male heir. I was a princess. My role in life was to marry someone who would contribute to the smooth functioning of the realm. Strengthen an alliance, perhaps, or o
pen a new trade venue.
But I recalled one dinner where a young lad a few years older than I sat across the wide table from me. Too far away to carry on a conversation, but near enough that I had to stifle my laughter at his antics. He’d catch my eye then mock the old man chatting with me, mouthing the words along with him while making dour faces. It was one of the few banquets I actually enjoyed. I’d seen him earlier that evening in the reception line before he was shuffled along to make way for the next guest but never caught his name.
“I’d bow, my lady, but I’m afraid it would put my other head in a compromising position.”
“Still the comedian,” I retorted with as much dignity as I could muster.
He grinned again. “So you do remember!”
I pulled myself together. It was clear now I was in no danger from this man. I’d allowed his little game to go on far too long. “I demand that you let me go this instant!”
“As you wish, my lady.”
He let go of my wrists and rolled over onto his side. I grabbed a handful of bedcovers, clutching them to my chest, and scooted as far away from him as possible. He crooked one arm behind his head, watching as I yanked on the sheet we were lying on, trying in vain to cover myself.
“Do you mind?” I finally snapped.
“What would you have me do, my lady?” he asked mildly.
“Move aside. Get up. Do something.”
“As you wish.”
He rose, and I couldn’t help staring. His cock was harder than ever, jutting straight out. I remembered the dream I’d had only a few hours ago. How I reached for it boldly, stroked up and down, marveling at the core of hot steel beneath smooth skin.
I tore my eyes away and busied myself wrapping the sheet around me. When I looked up, he still stood there, his erection as prominent as ever.
“For heaven’s sake, cover yourself,” I snapped.
“I can’t, my lady. I don’t have any clothes with me.”
I didn’t believe him. No one traipses through the kingdom in the nude. But I couldn’t concentrate with his manhood pointing at me. “Fine. Take this.” I tossed a pillow at him.
“Thank you, my lady.” He climbed back onto the bed and lay down on his side facing me, tucking the pillow behind his head.
I couldn’t help glancing down at his cock again. He caught me, and I covered my embarrassment with bluster. “I could call for help right now and have you hauled away and clapped in irons.”
“Ah, but you won’t.” He shot me a grin again. Damn the man, it was such a disarming grin.
“What makes you so sure?”
“If you were going to have me arrested, you’d have screamed bloody murder the minute I took my hand off your mouth. Besides…” His voice grew somber. “You’ve been living under the shadow of the Oracle’s prophecy as long as I have. No matter what the outcome, taking action is better than waking up every morning fearing that today might be the day.”
He was right. I’d known this moment was coming ever since I took the throne. Between worrying about the dangers ahead and dreaming of seduction scenarios starring the brash, naked man lying in front of me, I hadn’t had an uninterrupted night’s sleep in years.
He’d outsmarted me once, and I was too stubborn to admit it by demanding a second time that he cover himself, so I tamped down my raging libido, kept my eyes on his face, and set my mind to business.
“You say the Oracle sent you?”
“You know she did. She’s shown me to you many times, just as she’s shown you to me. I’ve been preparing for this day, studying everything known about the Lord of Darkness. Ever since my first shifting.”
“Shifting?”
He gave me a look. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. I saw you there, more than once. Lurking in the shadows, like a wraith. A beautiful wraith,” he added with a comic leer.
“You’re the dragon lord.” It wasn’t a question. Of course I knew. But even so, I didn’t believe what I’d seen. That a man could walk into fire and emerge alive in the shape of a fearsome beast then resume his human form unscathed – all of it was unthinkable. That part must have been an illusion. A nightmare interwoven within an erotic dream
I took a moment to study him. I recognized the dark wavy hair, the handsome profile…and that gorgeous body. But I’d never seen him up close. His deep brown eyes held both intelligence and a hint of humor. The lips that had claimed mine so thoroughly were full and warm, curved into a slight smile as he met my gaze. I couldn’t help sneaking a quick glance lower down. This close, it looked even bigger.
“Is what you see to your liking, my lady?”
“Your appearance hardly matters to the task at hand.” I regretted it the moment I’d said it. The dragon lord was both charming and seductive. If I kept rising to the bait every time he made a suggestive remark, I’d end up underneath him again before sunrise. Goddess knew I was sorely tempted.
I changed the subject. “You say you’ve been studying. What have you learned?”
“According to ancient chronicles, the Lord of Darkness draws power from five sources. Four are elemental – earth, water, fire, and air. The fifth, the most important, is the final one he needs to conquer our world and rule once again. The essence of the One.”
I nodded. So far, his information matched what Antonius and I had learned from the scrolls in my father’s chest.
“Scholars and mystics have puzzled for centuries over what the last could mean. I think I know.” He stopped, as though searching for the right words. “It’s you. It’s your soul.”
“My soul?”
“Your essence, your life force. But the Lord of Darkness doesn’t want to kill you. He wants to own you. To know that you’ve surrendered your will to his, to know you’ll submit to him in all things.”
“Why me?”
“It’s obvious to someone looking at it from the outside. He tried to take over the world of the Seven Stars a thousand years ago. Your ancestor defeated him, sent him to a prison deep in the bowels of the earth. Legend has it that the king’s consort used a magic spell to bind him there in a deep sleep.”
“Ancient legends? Magic spells?” I couldn’t believe I was really hearing all this. “I know we’re facing a threat. But it’s not from some ancient superstition. I’ve consulted my advisors. My intelligence sources tell me there’s a race dwelling beyond the mountains. A primitive species that manages to survive despite the harsh land in which they live. They’re wild and uncivilized. Though they bear some resemblance to humans, they are savage beasts. Over the centuries, only a handful of hardy explorers have made the trek to their lands and returned alive. According to one of them, the others in his party were slaughtered and eaten.”
“That’s the threat we face,” I finished. “I believe this Lord of Darkness is their leader. If there’s any truth to the prophecy, that’s what it refers to. He has gained control of these creatures and is preparing them to attack and overtake our world. I’ve been learning the skills of battle, so one day I can lead my troops to victory.”
Drayke shook his head. “He may use them to help him accomplish his goal, but believe me, my lady, the Lord of Darkness is no primitive beast. He’s cunning and intelligent. And whether you believe in magic or trust the truth of the legends, the threat we face from him is all too real. He craves power. He hungers to rule, and to be victorious he must have your soul.”
“I’ll ask you again – why must it be my soul?”
“Because you’re the last of your line. The rightful heir to the throne. The blood of the king who defeated him flows through your veins – as does the magic of his consort. She who cast the spell that bound him for a millennium. She became queen. You’re descended from both of them, you’re female, and there are no male heirs in the wings. If he can force you to submit your magic to his will and then bear his child, his seed will live on forever, stronger now because the child will have both the powers of darkness
and the magic of the Seven Stars within him.”
I gazed at him sadly. My dragon lord was beautiful and charming and incredibly hot. He was also completely mad.
Chapter Nine
Drayke
“I have no magic.”
She gave me a pitying look, the look an unthinking person casts on the feebleminded, believing they are without feelings as well as fully functioning brains.
“I beg to differ, my lady. Just because you haven’t come in contact with your powers yet doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
She looked skeptical. Maybe I should forget verbal persuasion and fuck her into blissful compliance instead, like the Oracle suggested. I had full confidence in my abilities in that area. A long string of satisfied ladies could attest to it.
My cock jerked to attention at the thought. The movement caught her eye. She glanced down at it then looked away quickly, blushing.
I was captivated. My queen was no sophisticated woman with a string of conquests. Such a woman doesn’t blush when presented with the sight of a raging hard penis. She either seizes the advantage or expresses her disinterest in no uncertain terms.
There was one sure way to assure we’d be united in this quest.
I make no excuses for what happened next. My motto has always been “If you allow a naked man into your bed, don’t be surprised if conversation leads to copulation.” She hadn’t banished me to the settee across the room yet, and the beast inside me was raging to be satisfied. It was all I could do to keep my mind on the conversation, no matter how critical the topic might be. Perhaps I could accomplish two goals – ease my hunger while binding her to me.
I reached out a hand. Slowly, as I would with a wild creature. Gently caressed her bare shoulder. Calming her with my touch. She didn’t shy away. “I know all this is hard to accept, my lady. I too had a problem believing it was real, even after I’d shifted the first time. Holy Oracles, magic spells, evil beings. A human morphing into a fire-breathing dragon.” She nodded, and I went on. “Tell me – do you believe in goodness?”
Fire Born_a Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance Page 5
