My billionaire brother snorted and shoved his sword back into its sheath. His eyes drifted along Jenny’s bare legs like a predator’s.
I growled, and my brother had the decency to look away.
“You bring a bag?” I asked. Normally, when I traveled, I brought a sack of clothing with me, but I hadn’t expected to need anything during my trip to the Lifegiver’s pool.
“Sure.” He strode down the beach and grabbed a bag off the sand, where he must’ve left it after shifting from dragon form and dressing.
With luck, he’d brought more than one outfit.
He tossed it down beside me, and I rose, tugged it up onto my lap. I undid the fastening and pulled out a pair of pants giving them to Jenny. She’d sat and drawn up her knees, tugging her shirt down over them.
“Jenny,” I said. I waved to my brother. “This is my younger brother, Kemir.”
“Jenny,” Kemir said with the devil in his eyes. Billionaire dragons were the most conceited. He enjoyed taking advantage of his lofty and wealthy position. With a grin, he gave Jenny a slight bow. “The perfect name for a beautiful woman.”
It wasn’t hard to tell where he was focusing.
I didn’t have the heart to tell Jenny that her gorgeous slit was still exposed to my view. And that of my brother.
“Take your eyes off my mate,” I snapped.
Chuckling, Kemir backed away, his palms lifted. “Not seein’ a damn thing, Drek.”
“She’s mine,” I said. Rising, I moved to block Jenny from view.
Jenny tucked her feet into the pants and stood to fasten them at her waist. She hauled her shirt down over the oversized garment. Kemir was almost as big as me, so they hung off her petite, curvy frame.
Not that I blamed my brother for looking. He was as eager to mate as me. All of the unwed men in my valley were.
And Jenny was beyond gorgeous.
“Mate, huh?” Kemir asked, one eyebrow lifting. He glared at me. “Anyone else know about this fact?”
“You know I was going to the Lifegiver,” I said.
“But she rarely…Well, this is something everyone will be talking about.”
I had doubts about how my people would feel about Jenny, but I’d make sure they accepted her. No matter what.
“I’m not far behind you,” Kemir said. “I was going to the Lifegiver right now.” He flashed another appreciative glance at Jenny, who lifted one brow and stomped her foot.
Damn, but I did love her spunk.
“Any chance there are more like her around?” Kemir asked. His chuckle grated down my spine, rising my ire. Until Jenny committed herself to me, I’d be a jealous fool. Hard not to be when she hadn’t agreed she was fully mine.
He started to walk away, but I called him back. “Jenny didn’t come here alone.”
Perhaps…I shook my head. Her friends being here as well would be too big a coincidence.
“Surface dwellers rarely do come alone,” Kemir said grimly. “It’s the weapons they bring, and their intentions, that we fear the most.”
So, he’d seen who she was immediately. At least he wasn’t demanding I reject her. To win my appeal to keep her—assuming she wanted to be kept—I’d need my brothers standing by my side. Yes, I was king, but no dragon had absolute power.
And my people had good reason to fear surface dwellers.
I nudged my chin upriver. “Her two friends—”
“Tanya and PJ,” Jenny came over to stand beside me. She took my hand and squeezed it. “Will he look for them? Please?”
Finding them meant I might lose Jenny even sooner. I held back my groan, but there was no way I could deny her request. Worry for the other women had hung over me almost as much as it had over Jenny. If she cared for the women, so did I.
“Two women,” Kemir said, obviously intrigued by the notion. He ran his gaze down Jenny. “Friends, you said?”
Jenny stepped forward. “Yes. We were caving and fell down a hole. I slid forever and then shot through a waterfall and…landed on Drek.”
“A waterfall.” Kemir chuckled. “And you landed on my brother? I imagine that was entertaining.” His humor-filled eyes met mine. “I assume she means the Lifegiver falls?”
I nodded.
“And she was dressed like she was a moment ago.”
I growled.
“Damn, bro. Figures this would go easy for you, like everything else.”
There was nothing easy about my mate being undecided.
“I’ll be glad to hunt down a few surface dweller women.” Kemir tugged his shirt over his head, revealing a muscular chest almost as fit as my own. He reached for the fastening of his pants, but his fingers paused. “Might want to turn around, Jenny. Not that I mind you looking, but I have a feeling Drek feels otherwise.” Jenny spun, and Kemir finished stripping. He stuffed his clothing into his bag. “I’ll go to the city immediately and notify everyone. If I know our people, half will be looking for Jenny’s friends within minutes. Flying alone, I can get there faster than you. Then I’ll stop by the Lifegiver during my own search.”
“Thanks.” I slapped my brother’s shoulder. “Watch out. I heard sarlons moving upriver yesterday. They didn’t come near, but still.” I shot a glance at Jenny, who looked equally concerned, though she couldn’t understand fully what I meant. “They’re hunting.”
“Ah.” Kemir’s eyes darkened. “Will do.”
He shifted, then took off, his pack clutched in his teeth.
I hoped he’d find Jenny’s friends soon.
“We should go, too,” I said.
She stared toward where Kemir coasted through the cavern, disappearing into the next. “Poor PJ and Tanya. I hope they’re okay.”
Hugging her, I kissed her brow. “My people will find them.”
Or…Perhaps my brothers would. Was this part of the Lifegiver’s plan? Three brothers. Three good friends.
Could there be more going on here than just me and Jenny?
The Lifegiver’s ways were mysterious, but I couldn’t make assumptions based on my wishes for Jenny and me.
I shifted and we took off, heading south. We’d reach my home soon, and I couldn’t wait to share it with my mate. And begin that wooing…
An ear-ripping cry echoed around me.
Fuck. I knew that sound. A terrator was hot on my tail.
My heartbeat raced as adrenalin surged through my veins.
Under normal circumstances, I’d turn and battle. If the terrator continued its challenge, which they sometimes did, I’d rip it to shreds.
But now, I feared for Jenny. I had to protect her.
Another terrator shriek was followed by a gut-wrenching stab in my shoulder. Pain burst through me as I spiraled away from the predator, Jenny clinging to my back. These creatures made up for their smaller-than-a-dragon size with their deadly claws and sharp teeth. It wasn’t unheard of for a terrator to take down an unsuspecting dragon.
After my people fled the surface and moved to the center of the Earth, terrator attacks had decimated our population. Only after building lairs strong enough to withstand their challenges had we been able to survive their brutal battle skills.
But their favorite prey was women. Dragon shifter, or, in my case, surface women.
The terrator must’ve caught Jenny’s sweet scent in the air.
The creature shrieked and dove toward me again.
“What’s happening?” Jenny cried out. I hated the fear threading through her voice, because I was partly to blame for claiming her and bringing her here.
She shifted on my back and tightened her grip on the base of my wings.
To evade the terrator’s attack, I darted close to the side of the cave and spun, deploying an evasive move. I had to protect Jenny. He would not steal and kill my mate.
My shoulder stung, and I knew it would fester unless I cleaned it soon.
Pulling up my rapid descent before I hit the river, my hind legs skimmed the surface as I tried to fly faste
r than the terrator.
If only I could tell Jenny how sorry I was. That my sole purpose in life was to protect and love her.
I should’ve brought her back to the surface. Released her. Better she loves and marries someone else than be endangered by me.
Love meant setting someone free, but I’d been greedy.
Roaring with rage, I zigzagged up to the ceiling with the terrator so close behind, it snarled at my feet. I aimed for the opening ahead leading to another chamber, putting everything I had into my muscles. Straining to pull ahead.
A quick glance over my shoulder told me I was leaving the terrator behind.
Once in the next cave, I’d hide Jenny and exterminate this threat.
Another shriek, and the creature came up behind me faster than expected. I dove sideways as it plunged toward me. Its claws ripped along my flank, barely missing Jenny’s leg.
I groaned, agony running through me like a bolt of lightning.
As the terrator flew at me again, I dashed sideways.
Jenny slipped, and I felt her hands fumbling along my right wing.
No! I shot flames from my mouth, but the terrator evaded them by flying beneath me.
It shot up toward me from below. While I battled the enemy with my back claws and battered it with my wings, Jenny continued to slide off my back.
There was nothing I could do. If I stopped to grab her, the terrator would slash my neck. With me mortally wounded, the creature would make quick work of Jenny.
At least the river was underneath us.
She fell down, down, plunging away from me.
Her scream ripped something inside me as she tumbled into the raging water below.
Chapter Fifteen
Jenny
When I’d told Drek to let me go the other day, I sure as hell hadn’t expected something like this.
I dropped away from where he battled that…thing. Whatever it was.
Seeing blood on Drek’s side hurt, knowing I couldn’t help him. But I couldn’t worry about him for long, because I was falling.
My feet hit the river, the impact jolting up my spine. Gravity sucked me deep, but I didn’t hit bottom. I was engulfed in what felt like a category five hurricane.
This was no lazy river ride at a water park.
In utter panic, I kicked and flailed, and my head finally popped above the surface. I gasped in air and tried to locate the shore.
Hunks of trees bobbed around me, threatening to spear me. I grabbed onto one and dragged my upper body up onto it, then wiped my hair out of my eyes.
Waves surged over my head, and I kept my grip on the log, straining to see.
As the river swept me downstream, Drek and the creature grappled through the air above, the creature’s bone-jarring shrieks competing with Drek’s flame-filled roars.
They spiraled, plunged down close to the water, then soared back up toward the top of the cave. Claws ripped. Teeth tore at each other’s throats.
While Drek was an enormous dragon and the beast he battled was smaller, the creature was faster. It kept darting in and slicing away at Drek’s sides. His shoulders. His wings.
Horror filled me. Why had I resisted being with him, giving myself to him? If he died in this battle, I’d never get the chance to tell him that I…loved him.
Hell, yes, I loved him. I wanted to shout out the words. Cover Drek’s face with kisses.
And tell him I wanted to remain here with him as his mate.
Stupid me for almost pushing away the piece of my soul I thought I’d never find.
Still struggling to reach the shore, but not making much progress, I floated quickly around a bend in the river. It widened, and the current slowed somewhat.
Drek and the black beast continued to battle above me.
I treaded water, watching them fight, wishing I could do something to help him.
Something nudged against my hip. An underwater log floating downstream?
Somehow, I’d lost my float, but I could swim. And now that the current had slowed, I could reach shore.
A stronger bump, on my other side.
The realization that I knew absolutely nothing about what lived down here brought my breathing to an abrupt halt.
This was no floating log. Something was in the water with me. And it was testing me. Or testing my flesh.
Crap.
Dropping below the surface, I opened my eyes.
A fish-like creature with spikes along its back and a body more than half the size of mine, swam in my direction.
Its mouth was open. Its razor-sharp teeth looked ready to rip into my hide.
You can’t scream when you’re submerged. All that does is fill your mouth with rancid water.
God, I was going to get cholera. Assuming I lived long enough for it to take effect.
I darted back to the surface and shrieked.
Drek tipped his head back and roared, but he couldn’t help me now. He was still struggling to defeat that oily-black creature.
There! While under water, I’d drifted closer to the shore. Ahead lay a long stretch of rocky beach. I just needed to swim fast.
Flailing, I rushed for the shore.
A long stick floated past me, and I grabbed it. I swung around and tried to locate the predator.
Just try me, fishy. Then we’ll see who rules!
I could get away, as long as that thing didn’t eat my legs.
I gaped over my shoulder, only to see it rise up in the water behind me, its body skimming the surface, churning up a wake behind it as it dove toward me.
Its back fin created a water tornado.
No, a deep-Earth sharknado.
Overhead, Drek shot flames. Grappling with the creature, he plunged toward the shore I was struggling to reach.
The smaller creature he battled screamed in pain as it landed and skidded along the sand.
Drek tumbled behind it.
He rose to his feet as he shifted. In man form, he staggered, then fell onto his side, where he lay motionless.
No!
Fear for Drek made me weak, but I couldn’t give up.
I whirled as the shark thing approached and lifted my stick over my head.
As the creature dove down under the surface, maybe intending to sever my legs from my body, I plunged the stick down.
Stick, meet flesh.
Fish, meet me.
Never come between a woman who needs to see to her mate.
The fish flailed, spinning under water. Trying to get free. I kept my grip tight on my stick and pushed it down farther as the fish’s movement drove us toward shore.
My butt hit bottom at the same moment the fish’s movements slowed. Blood swirled around us in a murky dark pool, and the fish’s beady eyes stared up at me for a long moment before they went cloudy and the beast stilled.
I released the stick and crawled up onto shore, where I collapsed, my sides heaving.
Drek!
Scrambling to my feet, I rushed over to him, dropping to my knees beside him.
Face-down, he lay beyond still.
“No,” I whispered. “Please be okay.”
I rolled him over, and he groaned. His eyes opened and his gaze met mine. “Jenny. Run. Get away before the terrator gets you.”
A quick glance told me the thing had no head. I doubted the terrator was going to get anyone again.
“I’m staying with you,” I said, stroking his soft hair off his forehead.
“I want you to go home, where you’re safe.” He waved to a series of cave entrances along the wall beside us. “Your way out lies there.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said fiercely. “I want to be with you forever, whatever that means.” Be it in a lair or a damp cave down here beneath the ground, my home was with him.
His fingers stroked up to my neck as his eyes deepened to a dark sapphire—more beautiful than any jewel. “I love you, Jenny.”
“Love you, too,” I whispered.
A smile filling his face, he tugged me down close.
“Are you okay?” I asked after he’d kissed me.
“More than okay,” he murmured. “My wounds are superficial. With you here with me, I’ll heal in no time.”
“I’m going to help you get better faster,” I said. After ripping off the bottom of my shirt, I tore it into strips. I wet them in the river and bathed his wounds. Then wrapped them snug so they wouldn’t get dirty. After, I settled down beside him and snuggled close.
Rising over me, he captured my lips.
Heat pooled within me, and I knew this feeling would never end. As long as Drek and I lived, we’d share it together.
Drek tugged me up onto his lap. He wrapped his warm arms around me and kissed my temple, my forehead.
Turning in his embrace, I deepened our kiss. Knowing I could’ve lost him made me cling. I grinned as his hands traveled along my belly, seeking my breasts.
I yanked off my shirt and tossed it aside, to give him easier access. His mouth descended, and he teethed my nipple and sucked it into his mouth.
Eyes closing, I moaned.
His cock rose between us, and I stroked it while he slid his fingers between my legs.
“Lay back,” he said, then grinned down at me sprawled in front of him on the ground. He reached for my pants and tugged them over my hips, delivering a rub here, a stroke there along the way. Leaving me exposed and gasping. “Seems like we’ve been here before.”
Back at the pool.
“Like then, I know just what you need,” he said, rising over me. His mouth captured mine as his fingers stroked along my slit. “So wet,” he groaned out as his thumb dove inside. “I…I planned to wait, but I can’t.”
Panting, I arched up to meet his fingers as they slid deep.
Hands braced beside my shoulders, he positioned the huge, magical, vibrating tip of his cock on my clit, rubbing and probing, all at the same time, while I writhed below him.
“Drek,” I called out, as he teased, shoving his cock in only a bit before pulling back out.
“Let me guess what you want,” he said. Easing back, he tugged me up and turned me so I was on my hands and knees, my butt facing him.
Captured by a Dragon Page 8
