Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Prince Olek and Princess Nadja’s home teemed with lush plant life. It grew out from a sunroom to vine around a door and part of the trellised ceiling. Giant fish tanks took up two walls entirely. One was clear with an oversized pink sucker fish adhered to the glass, and blue fish with big, blinking eyes. The second had dark murky waters that Olena couldn’t see into except for hints of life that fluttered past the glass.

  In the center of the hall was a natural water fountain, relaxing and calm in its resplendent beauty. It too had plant life growing in its stone crevices. The water fixture did nothing to soothe the sour temperaments of the four gathered princesses.

  Olena didn’t go back to Yusef in the medical ward, choosing to do the cowardly thing and hide out. He was trapped in the hospital and so couldn’t go to his palace home. She took advantage of that fact and quarantined herself from the rest of the family. Only by the grace of Queen Mede was she fed when a servant brought her a tray of food. The queen had come to the home once to give her a tour of the palace and to introduce her to her new sisters-by-marriage. It had been extremely awkward.

  She was surprised to get Nadja’s invitation to join her and the other princesses for a visit. But, thinking of Doc, she knew she had no choice. She had to go, if only to judge his daughter for herself. She didn’t see a way around it. If she didn’t retrieve the woman for him, he would find a way to get to his daughter himself, and Olena’s body would never be found.

  How did a man like Doc Aleksander produce a daughter like Nadja? It seemed a complete mystery. Perhaps Nadja was raised away from him and his dealings.

  Looking around at the other high-backed chairs, Olena noticed the others looked as dismal as she felt, especially Morrigan, whose unusually pale face and red eyes, screamed that she was hung-over. Stretching her arms over her head, Morrigan yawned. It was the most movement she had made in a long while.

  “So, have any of your husbands lied to you about who they are?” Olena tried to encourage conversation. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and her eyes flashed with purposeful mischief to hide what she was really feeling. Maybe the Doc’s daughter would want to be rescued and returned to him. Maybe she’d be doing the woman a favor by taking her back.

  “I thought mine was a prison guard,” Pia chuckled. Olena glanced at her. Okay, there was one unhappy princess.

  “I used to call mine a gardener,” Morrigan said, tucking her hand beneath her head on the high-backed chair. Mumbling softly, she said so as not to disturb her delicate head, “And a caveman.”

  The other women chuckled. Olena frowned slightly. Morrigan didn’t appear to be too unhappy, though she was obviously in physical discomfort. Olena couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t like Prince Ualan or because she’d drunk to excess the night before.

  Nadja just blushed shyly. “I call mine a dragon.”

  Hum, Olena thought, that answer was vague.

  “They’re all dragons, if you ask me.” Morrigan winked at Nadja.

  Nadja halfheartedly laughed as she rose to answer a summons from the door. It was the queen.

  Queen Mede stepped into the intimate circle of women and nodded. “I heard you all were hiding out here.”

  Olena didn’t move. She kept her expression veiled as she watched the three women. Nadja smiled in genuine kindness. Morrigan miserably refused to move. Pia looked guarded, as if she didn’t know how to take the queen.

  “How’s Yusef?” Olena asked, before she could stop to think. She suddenly blushed at the outburst and refused to glance at the other women.

  “Still awake,” the queen answered. “And still with his brothers. They speak of fighting and fighting always makes warriors happy, for it is something they know how to do.”

  Olena nodded, leaning back in her chair and trying to pretend she didn’t care either way. No one was fooled.

  Queen Mede glanced at the hung-over Morrigan and raised her delicate brow slightly. Morrigan had to turn away. To her credit, the queen said nothing.

  Nadja suddenly asked if anyone wanted something to drink. Morrigan balked and instantly declined, turning a shade paler.

  “No, dear, we’re fine,” the queen answered. Silence followed. When the lingering nothingness became almost unbearable, the queen announced, “Daughters.”

  The princesses looked at Queen Mede expectantly. The queen came forward and took a seat amongst them, looking them over in turn.

  Olena saw the woman’s cunning and wondered what she was up to. When she had given the palace tour, the queen had tried probing her. Olena had given the woman nothing, artfully avoiding all her veiled questions.

  “Enough of this. This planet is in desperate need of more women and I intend to see that each one of you explore the power you possess,” the queen said. “Your husbands are warriors. I expect by now each of you has a clear idea of what that means. But just because they made the rules, doesn’t mean you can’t use them. You have more power than you think. So, tell me your problems with my sons, and I’ll give you the Qurilixian solution. I think it’s time that the royal women had the upper hand for once.”

  Slowly, one by one, the women smiled, growing more and more trusting of the earnest queen—all but Olena who only smiled because it was expected of her. The queen nodded, happy.

  “Pia.” Queen Mede looked pointedly at the woman. “Why don’t you go first?”

  Before Pia could answer, Olena slowly stood, drawing all eyes to her. Quietly, she said, “I should go check on Yusef.”

  The queen nodded. The princesses were silent, all except for Nadja who ordered the door open. Olena silently trailed out of the home.

  As the door slid shut, she heard the queen ask, “Has she said anything about her kidnapping?” Silence met the question, but someone must have gestured in denial because the queen added, “Poor, poor woman. I can’t imagine the horror she went through.”

  * * *

  Yusef grinned, happy to be surrounded by his brothers. Even though they made jokes about the scratch his man bits had received from his wife’s blade, he still managed to laugh at the good-natured teasing. Naturally, he was still sore about having to put her in chastisement. But discovering she was a virgin at the time lessened his irritation.

  “On the way back to the palace,” Zoran stated, “she almost unseated our little brother from his ceffyl.”

  Olek frowned. “I don’t envy you a bit, brother. I almost did you the favor of dropping her back off at the Var doorstep.”

  Yusef chuckled, knowing Olek jested.

  “I owe you all a great debt in retrieving my little firebird.” Yusef turned serious. “Her medicine is just what I needed to come around.”

  “Oh,” Ualan laughed wryly. “I don’t want to hear any of that.”

  Yusef grinned, proud and unashamed.

  “So how are your wives?” Yusef asked. Instantly, the princes’ expressions faded. Yusef sighed. They didn’t readily answer. Then, to lighten the mood, he said, “Well, whatever it is, at least they didn’t try to dismember you.”

  The brothers laughed anew.

  Chapter 30

  Olena stepped quietly to the medical ward door. Her heart hammered wildly at the sound of male laughter. She had left Nadja’s about an hour before, only now getting the nerve to face Yusef. Pausing to listen, she didn’t understand what was said, as they spoke in their native tongue.

  The doctor had found her out wandering the halls, and told her to retrieve her husband. Yusef was free to go home, but the doctor wanted him supervised for the walk, and thought his wife the best one for the job. He then rattled off a bunch of care instructions, all of which Olena was sure she would never remember.

  Suddenly, a servant rushed past her into the medical ward and the laughter stopped. He came back, followed by Prince Zoran. She nodded at the prince and he distractedly returned the gesture.

  Olena went to face her husband. It didn’t take but a moment for his eyes to find her. He looked almost completely recovered, exc
ept for the sling around his arm. It lay against his delectably naked chest. Olek and Ualan looked at each other and quickly stood to leave. Olena glanced at them both, returning Olek’s slight frown with one of her own.

  When they were alone, she asked softly, “Are you ready? They said for me to come and get you.”

  Yusef threw his legs over the side of the bed. His eyes devoured her every curve. “Olena,” he began.

  Olena scowled. His tone was too tender for her. “Mention what happened and I’ll do more than earn chastisement.”

  Yusef grinned and said no more.

  “I assume you can walk?” she gestured for him to follow, but didn’t wait to see if he would. Olena hastened ahead of him into the passageway leading to his palace home.

  * * *

  Yusef admired his wife’s fighting spirit, and the view he was given of her very firm backside when she walked before him. He limped to keep up with her pace. The muscles in his back spasmed at the strain caused by the movement.

  “Hey,” he called, needing to stop from the furiously growing pace. Olena turned to him at the grunt of his voice. He leaned against a wall, resting and breathing hard. To his husbandly pleasure, her face fell as she forgot everything else to rush to his side.

  Olena studied his face and lightly moved her hands along his bare chest in concern. Over a dozen long, angry gashes slashed over his skin. They were healed shut, but they hurt terribly.

  “What happened to you?” Her voice was weak.

  Taken aback by her tormented voice, he lifted the arm that wasn’t in a sling so he could cup her cheek. He stroked the soft skin. “Didn’t they tell you?”

  Olena nodded. “But you really didn’t see who did this to you?”

  “No. But, we will find the truth.” Yusef’s thumb moved to trace her lip and he felt her tremble. He dropped his hand.

  “What is it? Are you hurting?”

  Yusef merely smiled and she wrinkled her nose at the obviousness of her question.

  “I mean, do you want to turn back?” she clarified.

  Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. “Did you mean it when you said you meant to leave me?”

  Olena drew herself up, straightening away from him. Her eyes clouded once more, the delicate bond between them severed by her will.

  “I’m not princess material, knight.” She slipped an arm around his lower back to help him walk. He leaned on her as they took a slower pace. “How about we leave it at that for now?”

  They moved in silence. Yusef was tormented by her words.

  Once in Yusef’s palace home, Olena let him go. “I was told to see if you needed help bathing.”

  No, he didn’t need help, but he wouldn’t admit to as much. A small plan formed in his mind, and Yusef decided that maybe there were ways to convince his stubborn wife she belonged with him. Anything was worth a try.

  “You wouldn’t mind?” He affected a small groan of pain. It wasn’t too much of a stretch. His back did hurt.

  “No,” she rushed, “of course not.”

  Yusef’s brow lifted at her ready answer.

  “Well,” she continued, “you did bathe me when I was sick. It’s the least I can do for you. And the doctors did leave you to my care. Though, I have to tell you, I am no nursemaid.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Yusef’s eyes lit as he thought of how she’d brought him out of his coma. A little more of that medicine and he would be ready to take on the entire Var army.

  Yusef felt the rush of her desire hitting him and was relieved. It would seem their encounter in the medical ward hadn’t turned her off to him completely. He would just have to show her a softer, gentler approach to her body, one that would melt her to him. The greater, straining, rougher passions would come later. He wondered how hard it would be to convince her to let him soothe the ache he delved into her. She had softened to his will so easily in the past.

  “Maybe you should shift.” She bit her lip thoughtfully, eyeing him up and down and up again, as if she would have him shift for her at that very moment.

  A long silence passed. Finally, Yusef said, “I can’t. It would stress the wounds.”

  “Oh,” she mumbled.

  Yusef grinned. Was that disappointment he heard? Damned, but if his wife wasn’t an intoxicating vixen. If she was that eager to play with his dragon form, he would gladly let her. Not that he could feel her so well behind the hard armor of his shifted skin. Smiling, he knew there were other games they could play before he shifted back to man so that he could take her. Captive and Captor came instantly to mind, as did Hunter and the Hunted.

  His eyes flashed with the golden hues of passion, which he quickly subdued before she could see the full force of his desire.

  “I think you should probably use the hot spring so you can sit down,” she said, leading him toward the bathroom.

  The hot spring was all right with Yusef. Thinking of her administering hands on his body, he groaned. When she glanced back at the sound, he turned his lustful gaze to an instant grimace of pain.

  “Maybe they let you go too early,” she said, more to herself.

  His back hurt from walking, but the pain was worth it if he got to spend the evening with her, and he did not protest his own discomfort.

  “No, I made them let me out. I was promised a love slave if I left. I believe the exact words were, ‘I’ll do any sordid thing you want, in any position, in any place.’”

  “I only said that to get you to wake up.”

  “It worked.”

  * * *

  Olena hid her reddening face from him and motioned that he should get in the bath.

  “So, you had no time to shift before the attack?” She knew the answer, but asked anyway to fill the silence. It was perhaps the worst image she could bring to mind. She was curious to see what he looked like—completely shifted. Would everything turn hard with armor, like if his...well…

  “I will gladly shift for you later,” he said, as if reading her naughty thoughts.

  “Oh, stop!” She glared at him, her hands on her hips as she turned to face him. “Let’s just get it all out now. So I was technically a virgin. It doesn’t make you some kind of conquering hero or anything. You just happened to be the first man opportunity arose with. I mean everyone else I had been with up until you, I was trying to steal from, and they got stuck with the firefly pin before anything could come of it. And there is my crew, but they are even more alien and stranger than you are. So, get your manly smiles over with and let’s drop it. Okay? Great.”

  Yusef merely grinned, unfazed by her speech.

  “Oh, you’re impossible.” She grimaced, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Into the bath.”

  Yusef followed her direction. When he didn’t undress, she looked at him expectantly. “Would you mind? I can’t bend over yet.”

  Olena automatically looked down to his groin. Shaking herself, she cleared her throat. “No, of course you can’t.”

  She kept her eyes averted as she stripped off his pants, refusing to look at him. It’s not like she hadn’t seen naked men before him. But now, remembering how he had felt inside her, she became nervous. She bit her lips and tried to take his pants down by pinching the sides with the tips of her fingers. He chuckled at her efforts. It took her awhile to realize his pants were caught on his erection.

  “Would you mind getting my sling?” Yusef’s voice dipped. Her eyes darted to him and her composure wavered. “Is something wrong?”

  “Ah. No, no, nothing.”

  The sling was tied at his shoulder and she had to press close to his side to untie it. Yusef let his naked thigh brush against her pants. She tensed, very aware of where his body met hers. She fumbled longer than she should have, but when she pulled back he was freed.

  Yusef smiled at her, stepping into the hot bath. He slowly sank down onto the seat. “Why don’t you take your clothes off and come in?” His eyes lit with challenge, seeming to say, you’re not embarr
assed, are you? “You’ll be better able to help me.”

  Olena eyed him, but in the end thought he was too injured to engage in too much seduction. Feeling very aware of her body, she pulled off her shirt. When his eyes lit with approval, she had a sense of pleasure from his interest. She wasn’t so quick to take off her pants and reveal the moistening of her sex to him. That significant part lit with its own ideas. In fact, her body seemed treacherously eager to have him again. She felt a pull deep inside her, and drew hot at the mere look of him in the bubbling water. It took her longer to step into the bath than it should have.

  Yusef was gentleman enough not to comment. His gaze dipped down over her throat and chest as she lowered herself into the warm water. Her breasts bobbed near the surface, the water lapping against her nipples to make them hard. His hands twitched as if they would disobey him and touch her.

  Olena took soap and handed it over to him. Again, he said, “Would you mind terribly?”

  Her mouth went dry from her rapid breathing, but she pushed forward. She parted her lips as her finger found the flesh of his hard chest. She lathered him in circles, running all over his upper body. She touched his back lightly, mindful of his wounds.

  Olena pulled away. She looked at the water. “Can you lift your foot?”

  Yusef flinched, but managed. As her breast brushed against him, he didn’t seem to care about his injuries. She cleaned one foot and hair-roughened calf, then the other.

  “Maybe you should stand.” Olena licked her lips. The texture of his skin mesmerized her.

  He hesitated only a moment before standing to reveal the full, proud length of his arousal. He cradled his arm to his chest and waited. Yusef shrugged. “I can’t help the reaction. Can you work around it?”