Bound To The Flame

by Harmony Raines

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I did not want to be bound to you.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “So you tied to trick me.”

  “No...yes, I don’t know. The thought of being bound to a princess, a spoilt child who would cause me no end of misery did not appeal to me.”

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “That is only partly true. I learned a lot about you when you stood before me as a child. You were so angry at being made to stand before me.”

  “Yes, I was. But that was eight years ago.”

  “And I thought you would have been pampered and spoiled beyond imagining because you were chosen by the last dragon.”

  She stood silent for a moment digesting what he had said. Her mind whirled with question upon question. “You could read my thoughts?”

  “In a way.” He sounded more guarded now, as though he had given away too much. “You cannot sense what I feel?”

  “A little. I knew you were angry in the great hall because I did not follow you like an obedient dog.”

  He laughed, her body thrummed to it, heat returning. “Yes, I wanted to leave that cursed place. The need to bring you here and finish the ritual was almost too much. But then you intrigued me with your words. We wondered why you would put off our mating for something as trivial as a servant.”

  Trinity thought it strange for him to talk about himself as though he and the dragon were separate. That question could wait for later, for now she needed to explain herself. “She was more like family to me than my own flesh and blood.”

  “But you made things worse for her?” He pushed on with his questions despite her obvious anxiety.

  “Yes. My father is to have his men kill her family rather than fulfil his only daughter's last wish.”

  “I am your family now.”

  She looked at him and raised her chin. “I am bound to you that does not make me your family.”

  He looked at her oddly. Taking a step closer to her he said, “You can not deny me, I am master of your body just as you are mistress of mine. I know you can feel the bond between us by the way your face flushes when I am near.” He stroked her arm lightly, the heat of his touch sending trembles through her body.

  “That does not make you my family. And I have no master.” she moved away from his touch, dragging herself away by sheer willpower when she would rather have stayed close to him.

  This time his hand shot out and grabbed her, pushing her down onto the bed where she had slept. He pushed her thighs apart and slid his body between them. Trinity fought him, she would not let him control her, people had done that all her life, and she could not live forever with out free will of her own.

  She scratched at him, digging her nails into his flesh. In response he grabbed her hands and held them above her head. Now she tried to raise her legs and kick him or at least push him away from her, but he was too strong. She fought him until there was no breath left in her body, and then she slumped back defeated.

  He kissed her neck, holding her hands still in one of his big hands. The touch of his lips inflamed her skin, every nerve in her body alive to his touch. He slid his free hand over her breast and rubbed his thumb over her nipple.

  Tears came to her eyes, she hated the way her body reacted to him. She couldn’t fight him, and he knew it. There was no doubt in the way he touched her that she would ever have the power to deny him. He would not have to force her to mate with him, she would be a willing participant in anything he wanted from her.

  However she couldn’t simply give into him, she was too stubborn for that, so she resisted the urge to encourage him in any way. His mouth continued down her neck and then along her collarbone. His hand squeezed her breast and then pinched her nipple before his mouth descended on it. Sucking it in and swirling his tongue over the hard bud.

  Trinity fought to stay passive, but couldn’t, her body arched upwards to meet his. Her thighs softened and allowed him to nestle between them. He slid his hand down and found the wet slick folds of her sex, and then he pushed a finger inside her.

  She whimpered against his shoulder, burying her head in to him and breathing in his earthy smell. Her mind still unable to comprehend how a man lay between her legs when he was still so young in her years.

  As he guided his thick length inside her she no longer cared, his cock filled her completely. A sigh of contentment left her lips as he ground his hips forward to push deeper inside her. It felt so right, he spoke the truth, he was the master of her, but that also gave her hope too, for he claimed she was also his mistress. So she simply needed to learn how to wield her power over him.

  Her mind shut off the chatter in her head, for now she decided to enjoy the experience of him taking her. She breathed in his heady scent again, it intoxicated her, reminding her of the power of the dragon and the beast he was. As he buried himself deeper into her she understood his need to claim her, her womb was his, she would bare his young.

  Drawing out almost entirely he then thrust forward into her, his cock vibrating as it had the night before, making her sex receptive and willing. His mouth licked and sucked at her breasts making them sensitive and sore. The whole of his body intent on her pleasure, working as one to bring her to orgasm. It worked, her senses were overwhelmed as her orgasm took her. He followed, their bodies synchronised in ecstasy.

  Thrusting hard and deep his seed filled her, she felt the warmth filling her and her own body drawing it deep inside. Her body arched, thrusting her clit up to meet his body as he moved over her making her orgasm strong and urgent.

  She grasped at him, her hands buried in his hair and then running along his arms and over his back. Trinity wanted to learn to please him, to make him feel lost to her touch, but she was afraid. Her fear of letting go and giving herself to him the one thing that would forever hold her back.

  As he finished and they lay quietly in each other's arms she realised why she could not give herself to him freely. Her father had destroyed her trust, he had robbed her of the ability to allow anyone to see her weaknesses. It had meant that even with Rose there was a part of her that had always stayed hidden, because to let anyone in opened her up to be exploited.

  If she had not cared for Rose her father would never have been able to use her against Trinity. It was how he had controlled her, and now she worried that if she trusted the dragon, gave him some intimate part of her, that he would abuse that trust too.

  The man drew back and for a long time stared into her face as though reading her thoughts. She tried to hide from him but he would not allow it. Trinity felt completely exposed to him, not only because of her naked body, but also her naked soul.

  Chapter Four

  “Remember, do not try to leave the valley, you are safe here.” The dragon spoke to her in his rasping metallic voice. It was the first time he had told her he was leaving and did not know when he would return.

  Trinity felt some apprehension; she did not know why he was leaving, or where he was going to. There had been no summoning from the city, and he had not been far from her side at all since he had carried her here.

  Usually he would leave her alone for a couple of hours at a time, but she knew he did not go far, she could feel his presence. The only time she had not been able to feel the strong connection with him was when he had left the mountain range to hunt for meat. Without his reassuring presence she had felt scared and alone.

  He returned with a large buck in his jaws, for her to eat. When she had wrinkled her nose at the gift, he had set about skinning it and then cooked it over an open fire until her mouth had watered in anticipation.

  They had sat together and said little while they took their fill of the succulent meat. At last she could bare it no longer and had bombarded him with questions.

  “Where did you learn to prepare meat?” It seemed an easy question to start with.

  “From the elder dragons.”

  “You mean from the books? W
ho taught you to read?” Trinity had never seen anyone else here so she did not know who would have taught him.

  “I cannot read.” He shuffled uncomfortably, she knew he wanted to leave and evade her questions.

  “Then how did the dragons teach you?” She pressed him, needing an answer. “You came here as a baby dragon, was there someone waiting for you?”

  “In a way.”

  “You do not want to speak of it.” She realised he did not know how to trust her in the same way she felt unable to trust him.

  “It is part of who I am. You do not want to share your past with me, but you expect me to share my secrets with you.”

  “It is not so simple for me, I have been betrayed and bullied all my life by my father.”

  “We are bound, Trinity, we must trust each other or we will have a long and miserable life together.”

  “Why are we bound? Why did you hatch for me, you said you thought I was a spoiled brat, so why?”

  He thought for some time before answering. “When you stood before me on the day of the awakening I could feel your anger, it stirred me. For the first time I could feel emotion, before that it was just an endless nothing. Then there you were, red and shimmering. I had to hatch, I had no choice.”

  She smiled, “I was angry, I had not wanted to go to the ceremony, but my father told Rose if I didn’t go he would whip her and send her away. He knew I would do as he desired to save Rose, and then when you hatched...I wanted to throttle you!”

  “I know, I felt it.” He did not sound judgemental in any way.

  “And then you came here?”

  “Yes, something guided me here.” Taking a deep breath he blurted out. “The elders were in my head from the moment I was born.”

  “In your head. Like voices?” That would explain so much. Then she blushed, did the elders see everything he saw, did they watch as he mated with her?

  “Sometimes voices, sometimes feelings, instincts. They taught me to hunt, and showed me how to get inside the stronghold. They knew I would be safe there until I was old enough to defend myself.”

  “Do all dragons grow so fast? I was angry at the ceremony because I thought you would be a young boy who expected me to look after him.”

  “We grow to maturity quickly, as you can see. But then we stay in our prime for a very long time.”

  “You stop ageing?”

  “Yes, well we age very slowly.”

  “So I will grow into an old lady and you must watch me die?”

  He moved towards her quickly. “No. You age differently now too, the bonding spell changes us in many ways. We will grow old together here in this valley, but it will take a long time, which is why the elders say we need to work together and be happy.”

  “But it was different for them, they loved their mates.”

  He was silent for a minute, she realised he was listening to someone else, one of the elder dragons. “Only the first dragon loved his mate before they were bound. All the others were chosen in the same way we were, but a dragon egg only hatches for it’s true mate.”

  Trinity sat and stared into the flames, after some time she rose and spoke to the dragon. “I wish to sleep now, I will think on what has been said.” She left the fire and went inside through the passage that now opened for her when she approached. The stronghold contained some very strong magic, it comforted her, because she knew they were safe.

  For a moment she hesitated, and then she turned back and walked up to the dragon with her hand outstretched. “I am Trinity; it is nice to meet you.”

  The dragon stared at her hand, and then looked questioningly up at her face. As she watched his expression changed, the elders were talking to him, he smiled and took her hand in his firm grasp. The heat from his body immediately set her nerves dancing, flickering flames of desire licked her skin, she wanted to be touched by him all over her body.

  He shook her hand and said, “Nice to meet you Trinity, I am named ShanRohit.”

  They grinned at each other, taken over by the absurdity of the civil introduction considering all else that had passed before them. Trinity removed her hand carefully from his and turned to enter the stronghold. He did not move from the fire and as she moved away her last look at him told her that the elders were again speaking to him. That night was the first night he did not visit her bed.

  For the next few days ShanRohit courted Trinity, there was no other way she could describe his behaviour. He picked her flowers from the valley and prepared fruits and meat for her to share with him.

  They tried to talk, telling each other about their experiences, Trinity knew that he had plenty of help from the dragon elders, and she found the whole thing fascinating.

  It seemed that one of the dragons remembered one of her ancestors, he had been a farm labourer. The story ShanRohit recounted to her was that her ancestor, Mallek, had been in love with the dragon bound daughter of the town scholar.

  His crush on her had begun before she was bound to the dragon, and knowing her father wouldn't approve of his lowly occupation he had endeavoured to better himself. It seemed that this was the start of her ancestors social climbing, the result being her family ruling the city for four generations thanks to a great, great grandmother of Trinity's marrying a prince.

  She sat and listened to ShanRohit talk, his voice still having the ability to transfix her. As the days passed and he did not touch her or try to mate with her she slowly felt the burning need for him grow. It became an insistent flame that grew each day. If he felt it too then he must have had a strong will to stop himself taking her.

  Then she began to worry that he no longer wanted her, maybe she was already pregnant and he had no desire to mate with her now. This thought troubled her more than she could ever admit, even to herself. Trinity began to feel the need to talk to someone, and she grew a little envious of ShanRohit and his connection to the elder dragons.

  ***

  So it was that when he left she worried he had grown tired of her company. To console herself and in the hope of gleaning some answers about the nature of dragons that she went and sat in the room with the great books and read about the elder dragons who filled ShanRohit’s mind with knowledge and wisdom.

  The hours disappeared quickly as she immersed herself in tales of chivalry and love. The dragons were a romantic race, wooing their women, and treating them as equals. In no story did the dragon ever leave his mate, even when she fell pregnant. Trinity felt some relief at these words.

  As the light began to fade from the sky she heard the sound of her dragon returning, she hurried out to meet him, arriving just in time to see him land. Trinity could never get used to how magnificent he looked, burnished red in the setting sunlight.

  He landed and shifted almost immediately into the man she was now so familiar with. He looked excited, “I have brought some bread and jam for you. I believe you like sweet things.”

  She laughed, feeling happier that he had returned with gifts. “How did you know?”

  “A little bird told me.”

  “I do not think even your dragons know all things, I thought they only knew the past.”

  “So they do, but they are not the only ones who tell me things. I met someone today who told me.”

  “Who? Where did you go?”

  “Tonight I am tired,” he said avoiding her question, “but tomorrow I ask you to ride on my back, there is something I want to show you.”

  “Show me? Tell me what it is,” she demanded excitedly.

  “No. It is a surprise.” He yawned loudly. “I must sleep, it has been a tiring day.”

  “I did not think a dragon such as you would tire so easily.” Her voice teasing.

  “You forget I am but a child,” he said reflecting her good mood.

  She smiled coyly at him, and watched him go. Trinity longed to follow him and ask him why he no longer wanted her, but she was afraid of the answer so she went to her own bed and slept badly.

  Waking early s
he went out to greet the morning, the sun was shining, glittering on the dew in the valley, she longed to go down there and explore, but she was unsure and did not want to get lost. No, if she were truthful with herself it was because she did not want to explore on her own, she wanted ShanRohit to take her there and share it with her.

  For the first time she admitted to herself that she felt more for him than just the desire to mate. She had feelings for him, and that frightened her, because she did not know what he felt for her. She knew he had been angry about being bound to her, and now he did not visit her bed she wondered if he felt he had done his duty by mating with her and now sought comfort elsewhere.

  Was that where he had spent the day yesterday? In the arms of another woman. Her heart contracted in sorrow, he was supposed to be her soul mate. Would he betray her in such away?

  “It is a beautiful morning!” His voice behind her made her jump.

  Trinity turned and her heart squeezed with sadness even more. The sun struck his skin and even in human form he glowed with its heat and fire. He looked so handsome and strong, a protector, and she wanted more than anything for him to want to protect her, and love her.

  She took a steadying breath. “Good morning.”

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes,” she lied.

  “Good, May I eat with you?”

  “Of course.” Her heart relaxed a little and her breathing felt less constricted.

  Trinity found she was too excited to eat, wanting to be off to see what he wanted to share with her. She fidgeted and shuffled impatiently while he watched, a hint of a smile playing on his face. Occasionally when she looked at him he seemed to be listening, then he would smile, the elder dragons seemed happier too.

  He rose from the table. “Pack some food, there is plenty to spare in the stores.”

  “Are we going for a long time?” she questioned.

  “We will be gone for most of the day and there may be more mouths than ours that need feeding.”

  “Where are we going?” She suddenly felt shy, who could he be taking her to meet? He had no family and seemed to shy away from any interaction with humans.