Touching Fire: Sacrificed to the Dragon (Dragon/Monster Erotic Romance)

by Vanessa Cox

  “Fine.”

  “Good.”

  He took a deep breath and began. “My name is Rhygtharos, but I go by Tharos. I am of the Danryin Clan, ruling clan of the Golden Horde of the East. Every year, when we come of age, the first born of a first born crosses into the land of man to retrieve their life mate…a mate who will carry their offspring.”

  Celia remained silent and stared blankly at him, so he continued. She knew there was more and she was planning to save her outbursts if she could.

  “We do this not because we enjoy ‘stealing’ humans, we do this out of necessity. The females of our people are no longer able to produce viable offspring and for centuries our numbers have been dropping drastically,” he said, his voice heavy with sadness. Celia remained quiet so that he could finish.

  “But we very happily discovered that female humans are not only able to produce offspring with us, they are able to produce viable offspring who are able to reproduce as well,” he said excitedly. When he saw that Celia didn’t share his excitement he continued.

  “So, 50 years ago we made a bargain with your people from all across your land. In exchange for one young woman a year to help us continue our existence, we will offer our protection and act as guardians should you ever need our help.”

  Celia sat in stunned silence. She waited several moments to see if there was anything more to his explanation and then replied, “Am I to be a broodmare to you? Is that what us women are to you?”

  “No! Not at all! You are treated with the upmost respect and we treat you like queens! Once mated to a woman, a dragon is fully devoted and would risk his very life for her. A dragon with a mate is a love that is unmatched. We make sure that you have all that you need and all that you desire,” he replied solemnly and then added, ”Human women have become the mother of dragons, there is nothing more important to us than that.”

  “And what if a woman doesn’t want to be mated to a dragon? What if she wants to go home?” she asked quietly.

  He paused a moment, thoughtful and choosing his words carfully.

  “I can’t speak for all the women, there are thousands, but from what I understand, in the beginning it was always difficult, but they all found mates, whether it was the one who retrieved them or another that they met, and they all chose to stay.”

  Tears threatened to surface Celia’s eyes. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to be mated off to a dragon. “Is that what is to happen to me? I’m to be mated to…you? I’m supposed to carry your baby?”

  His tone softened as he replied, “I will not force you to, but I hope that you would like to someday. When I did the tasting at the drop-off site, I knew we were compatible and you would be able to carry my child.”

  “Tasting…?”

  “Yes, when I was in dragon form and I…” he said almost sheepishly.

  “Oh!” Celia interrupted quickly. She didn’t need to hear him describe what he did. She knew full well. In fact, she had been thinking about the last two nights quite a bit in the last few hours. Her back suddenly stiffened when she thought of what they did the night before.

  “Are…are we…mated? Because of last night…?” Celia stuttered out awkwardly.

  Tharos let out an amused chuckle. “No, not quite. I understand that in your land, coupling only happens between two people after they are bound for life, but dragons…are a bit more liberal.”

  Celia suddenly felt her temperature rise. She gave her virginity to this…dragon and he wasn’t even willing to call her his ‘mate’ yet?

  “I see. So you forced yourself onto me last night and ruined me for all potential suitors, human or otherwise, and now you’re saying that you may or may not be willing to be mated to me!” she yelled. She wasn’t exactly sure why this made her upset, especially since she should be happy that he wasn’t forcing himself onto her as his mate, but his lack of commitment rubbed her the wrong way.

  He chuckled. “No! I just don’t want you to think that you’re bound to me yet. That’s all,” he replied with a smile.

  “Good, because I don’t want to be bound to you!”

  He only smiled in silent response and pushed the horse forward to continue their trek.

  “So…when you are with…a woman…are you always so…” Celia’s words trailed off. She wanted to say ‘rough’, ‘sexy’, ‘frightening’, but none of the words would come out. But she didn’t need to say anything, he knew exactly what she meant.

  “Well, no, not always. Sometimes we get…. more aggressive while coupling because we are driven over the edge with need, but we are able to be gentle as well,” he said lowly as he pressed her tighter to his body. “Although, I’m not sure that would be possible with you. I have a feeling you would have me too close to the edge every time,” he growled.

  Celia’s stomach tightened and tingling sensations shot straight from her ear all the way down to her bundle of nerves between her legs. “So, is that why you were acting the way you were…last night?” she asked hesitantly.

  He paused for a moment and silence filled the air. She was beginning to think he didn’t hear her question, but then he replied, “Last night happened because I had to chase you. I had to hunt for you. When we hunt, when we transform into our dragon form, our more primal instincts kick in. We would never hurt our mates, but we don’t always have control over ourselves and the only thing that will calm us is if we’re buried deeply inside our mates.”

  Celia’s heart raced.

  “I didn’t want to take you the way I did last night. I wanted to wait until after our binding. I didn’t want you to be frightened by me.”

  Celia remained quiet, she didn’t trust her voice. She also didn’t know what to say. Especially when a part of her very much enjoyed the way he took her, but she was too embarrassed to admit that.

  His words were buzzing around her head. She wasn’t to be sacrificed? She was going to live then? All the girls before her are alive too then! Her parents! She needed to let them know that she –

  “We’re here.”

  Those two words quickly snapped her back to reality. She looked at her surroundings and only saw trees and bushes.

  She looked at him quizzically while he helped her off the horse. “We are? Where?”

  He smiled amusingly and replied, “It’s a path that only my people can see, remember? That’s why I’m escorting you.” He winked playfully.

  Celia looked around anxiously, desperately trying to find some sort of magical doorway that was going to take her away from her world, but she couldn’t see anything.

  “Celia?”

  She shot her head over to Tharos and saw him standing in front of an explosion of white gold shimmering light. He reached out his hand to her, hoping that she would take it.

  “Will you come with me?” he asked softly. His muscular jaw clenched ever so slightly, silently hoping that she’d take his offered hand.

  Celia squinted at the beaming brightness and shielded her eyes. Unsure of what to do, she quickly glanced up at Tharos and saw him looking down at her with the cocky grin that she had grown to both love and hate.

  That was almost enough to make her turn her heels and walk straight back to her village, but what made her pause were his eyes. It was his beautiful golden flecked eyes that made her heart unexpectedly swell. The glowing fiery orbs of passion that she saw last night were now replaced with eyes that were soft and sincere and whispered of secret promise.

  At that moment, images from the night before suddenly flashed before her eyes, the images she saw when he forced her to look into his eyes. Images that acted as memories, but memories that hadn’t happened yet. Images of them together. Images that could be…

  Celia slowly smiled and slipped her hand into his large, rough grasp. He smiled back at her and gave her a quick, reassuring squeeze and slowly led her through the doorway. Celia held her breath as she slowly became engulfed in the beautiful shimmering colors.

  She had no idea what would lie ahead for he
r, but she was excited to find out.

  Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story, be sure to check out more monster or time-traveling fun!

  Taken by the Gargoyle King

  By: Vanessa Cox

  Preview….

  Excerpt:

  Without realizing it, she backed into the stone wall and had no where else to go. The beast continued to walk towards her. Once he was only inches away, the razor-like claws that were on the knuckle of his wings shot out at her and slammed into the wall next to her face, leaving her pinned.

  She flinched and turned her head, not wanting to be so close to his monstrous face.

  He continued to bring his face closer and closer to her until his mouth almost touched her ear. "I am the Gargoyle King, mademoiselle, and you will be mine," he whispered raspily into her ear.

  She began to pant in fear.

  He growled lowly into her ear. "Yes, I like those noises you make. You will be making a lot of those noises very shortly, little one."

  His words sent uncontrollable shivers down her spine. She didn't know what he meant by that, but she was afraid she was about to find out.

  He lowered his face into the nape of her neck and breathed her in. She could feel his hot breath as his nose and mouth lingered dangerously close to her skin.

  A whimper escaped her lips.

  A guttural chuckle sounded from his throat. "You smell delicious. Your body is almost ready and you don't even realize it." He paused for a moment and then licked her with his thick pointed tongue. "I can't wait to eat you."

  Julie gasped in fear. "E-eat me? Please d-don't..."

  His menacing smile returned as he raised his clawed hands and easily ripped open her shirt, exposing the top mounds of her breasts. She could barely control her breathing, so they heaved wildly while the Gargoyle King hungrily gazed upon them.

  A strange low purring sound came from his throat as he pressed his lower body closer to hers. His hardness pressed firmly against her leg.

  She cried out as she felt his body pinning her to the wall.

  "Very beautiful, ma cherie, but let us see what treats you have underneath the wrapping, no?"

  About the Author

  Vanessa is a caped crusader by day and a dreamer of all things sexy and naughty by night. Her favorite pastime is daydreaming about romantic situations and sexy scenarios.

  If you liked this story, please take a look at her author’s page to get your hands on more like it.

  Vanessa would love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions, you can reach her at VanessaCoxAuthor@gmail.com.