A Dragon's Heart: (Dragons of Paragon - Book 1)

by Jan Dockter

  No, Tem. This way lies madness.

  “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”

  Do not quote Hamlet to yourself. You know how the rest of that goes.

  “Into my grave.”

  Yes.

  But Tem’s internal arguments failed against the human who stood before his cage with the promise of sweet touches and the heady perfume of her scent.

  “Well, then, serve me,” he rumbled.

  Her eyes twinkled with bemusement.

  “Lift your arms. Walk backwards slowly,” she said in a coldly professional voice that belied the mischievous glint in her eyes.

  Tem, well used to this hated exercise, raised his arms and spread his legs. Astrid hit the controls at the door, and the chains retracted slowly. He shuffled back step by step until his back hit the cold granite walls.

  The door to his cell slid to the side, and Astrid strode inside. The full effect of her musky essence hit like a freight train, taking his knees out from under him.

  Good thing you are chained to a wall.

  Self?

  Yeah?

  Shut the fuck up.

  Astrid’s gaze wandered over to his body, spread eagled on the wall. She took a sharp intake of breath and then shook her head. With slightly wobbly steps she moved closer to him, pulling the cart behind her. As Astrid moved within inches of him he saw that that cart held a metal bowl of steaming water, soap, and a pile of towels and washcloths.

  “So,” he rumbled. “You are going to wash me down?”

  She shook her head and pointed to her earplugs.

  “Take them out,” he mouthed.

  She shook her head again.

  “Sorry, Mr. Rawlins. But I will try to be as quick and efficient as possible.”

  She stepped closer and unbuttoned the shirt he put on earlier. It was specially constructed so that the under seams of the arms would pull apart to accommodate the shackles that would never come off. She pulled apart the seams and slipped off the shirt, exposing his chest to the cold of the cell.

  Astrid soaped a washcloth and soaked it in the steaming water. The gentle and sensual movement of her hands fascinated Tem. She took a deep breath as she pressed the cloth to his cum covered chest.

  “My,” she breathed, “you did make a mess of yourself.”

  But her mouth didn’t move.

  Wait.

  He heard that—her thoughts.

  What?

  “Yes, I did,” he answered.

  Her eyes flew open wide and she stumbled back.

  “What? What was that?” she said, her voice panicked.

  Tem would have done anything to assure her that this was all right. But he couldn’t.

  Because he knew this was the worst thing that could happen between them.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Astrid

  Astrid swallowed hard as her heart hammered in her chest. She never imagined that touching the dragon would have such a startling result. But what was more: Tem was more distressed than she.

  Pressing her lips together, she stepped forward again and pressed the washcloth to his chest.

  Is this too hot?

  Not hot enough, replied Tem.

  She felt then how terribly cold he was in this cell, day after day, year after year and shivered.

  I’m so sorry, she thought.

  So, he replied, am I. But with you touching me, not.

  She continued the slow decent of the soaped cloth down his chest and got lost in the landscape of his broad pectoral muscles. He seemed to sigh and then, incredibly, rumble in a low grumbly purr. It soothed her to hear that sound though it should have alarmed her. It wasn’t a human sound.

  But I’m not human, Tem replied.

  She rinsed the cloth and made it hot again, then retraced the motions of her hands. He sucked in a deep breath.

  Does it matter? she thought. That you aren’t human?

  It always mattered to me, replied Tem. But why shouldn’t it matter to you?

  Astrid didn’t know. In all the lore she ever studied she never heard of this, of telepathy between humans and dragons.

  It’s very rare, he replied. Almost a myth.

  Astrid was in a rhythm now: rinse, stroke, rinse his skin, her hand swirling on his neck, chest and abdomen. She had removed the mess from Tem’s chest, but that wasn’t what was motivating her to continue touching him.

  If felt so good, so very satisfying to have her hands on his body, it didn’t occur to her she should stop. It was as if she was in a fever dream where the line that marked reality blurred. Her only awareness was her hands brushing on his skin, which drew the most delicious purrs from the man.

  Or dragon.

  It hardly mattered.

  His scent rose to her nose, leading her along a path of intoxication that drew her farther, not just into him, but herself.

  His rhythmic purrs turned into thrums that vibrated through her body. She felt as if she were a violin on which he was playing the most intimate tunes. The vibrations surged down her spine, and up her thighs to her core, setting alight a fire that had been only hinted at in her young fumblings at love. But these pulses were deeper, fuller, searing pathways of white heat through her nerve endings.

  You must stop, said Tem’s mind. You don’t know what you are getting yourself into.

  Stop. How could she? There was only one purpose, here, now, and that was to touch this man, this dragon, this gorgeous male, and resonate with his essence.

  You don’t sound like you want to stop.

  Damn me. Wanting and needing are two different things.

  And what do you want? What do you need?

  I want your hands on me. I need you not to do that.

  Astrid smiled the kind of smile that only an inexperienced woman could, one of innocence and mischief. She was on the edge of discovery, of treading a new and foreign country, and she did not care if she had the visa to do it.

  Her breathing sped as she untied the string of Tem’s sweats. He pulled against his bonds in protest.

  Do not act as if you don’t want this, she told him with her mind.

  God help me, yes, I do.

  All I’m going to do is touch you, she sent innocently.

  All? All? You have me begging against my better nature with a sponge bath, woman.

  She chuckled and pulled down his pants to reveal the magnificent piece of him that pointed straight and proud toward her. Astrid closed her eyes as she stroked it tentatively and was surprised at how soft the skin felt, almost like velvet, yet held what seemed like a steel rod within. Pre-cum leaked at the tip and she palmed it. The heat from his head filled the palm of her hand and she cooed as she twisted her hand this way and that, spreading around his natural lubrication.

  His scent, rich and musky, rose off him and she could not resist the urge to bend her head and touch her tongue to his flesh.

  Oh, good Lord, groaned Tem.

  She had never done this and the taste, slightly salty but laden with undertones that declared “male”, intrigued her.

  I need more.

  You are playing with fire.

  Yes, but you are a dragon.

  That should be your warning.

  Of what? How delicious you are?

  Tem made a throaty noise that teetered between approval and disapproval of her intended action.

  You have me at your mercy, he replied.

  I think you enjoy that.

  I think you do not know the depths of a dragon’s appetites, and how far we will go to fulfill them.

  Oh? Is that meant to scare me?

  Yes.

  Too bad. You don’t.

  I should.

  With a shrug of her shoulders, she smiled and brought both of her hands up the length of his shaft. He shuddered.

  Your hands are soft.

  You are not.

  Pre-cum leaked on her hands and he made a throaty purr as she wrapped her hands around his shaft and stroked again.<
br />
  Is this your idea of torture?

  Are you in pain?

  Flames.

  She inched her hands down his shaft and cupped his balls.

  Does that help?

  No, he growled.

  She massaged them with her fingers, enjoying how they felt against her fingers. Her breathing sped up as she imagined Tem’s thick cock inside her. A curious burn and tingles raced through her body and pooled between her legs. The sensations rushed through her, like a tiny flame consuming dried moss and tiny branches. They built from insistent pulses to a searing flame that raced through the dry kindling of her incipient desire.

  She let one hand reach between her legs and she bent her head to Tem’s shaft. As her tongue flicked against the flame red head, her fingers touched the raw flesh beneath her panties.

  Tem drew in a deep breath and she licked and nibbled the velvety head of his cock. The taste of his precum was exquisite and she lapped at it eagerly.

  Good Lord. I need my hands in your hair.

  Astrid reached for the keypad in the shackles and pressed the code that released his hands. Without waiting, Tem ripped the stupid lenses off her eyes, and dropped them to the ground and fisted his hands on either side of her head. He urged her lower, to take him more fully, and she opened her lips wide and sunk down on his delicious rod.

  His cock filled her mouth, stealing all her senses except for her awareness of how very much she wanted him. Her hand explored her own flesh more forcibly and she found the center where she sunk her fingers.

  Oh fuck.

  Raw images of what she was doing flooded her mind from Tem’s perspective. There were no words, just his rising passion at the carnal pleasures she performed and his desire to take her fully, to sink himself into her sweet heat.

  His passions nearly overwhelmed hers with their intensity, but she rose, higher and higher, both loving and insensate to his shaft filling her mouth. Want drove her further than she had ever been, though she wasn’t sure just where that need would take her.

  Tem thrashed as her tongue lashed his cock and low noises came from his throat. His shaft grew thicker and throbbed and then he cried out as pulses of cum shot into her mouth.

  She had never tasted anything so delicious and she eagerly swallowed everything he gave her. She suckled every drop and the thought of having that part of him inside her spurred a final flurry of her fingers on her desire wracked flesh.

  Astrid shuddered as a wave of fire crashed on her, exploding every nerve ending in her body. The walls of her core pulsed on her questing fingers and sent more delicious shocks through her body.

  Oh, God.

  Was that Tem, or her, or both of them? She pulled off Tem and he pulled up upright to hold her against his chest.

  They stood there lost in each other, listening to each other’s breathing.

  Astrid?

  Yes, Tem?

  Are you okay?

  Of course. Why do you doubt it?

  You released my shackles.

  Only your hands. You needed them.

  Yes. I did.

  Astrid raised her head and pressed her lips to his, enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. But his muscles grew hard and bunched as if he was trying to defend himself.

  Tem?

  I shouldn’t have done this. Lord, what have I done?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Tem

  The shock of what Tem had allowed jettisoned him from the sexual haze that had snared the dragon when Astrid walked into his cell. Astrid gazed at him with hurt and trepidation and he hated it. He was old enough, damn it, not to be drawn into mating on instinct alone.

  Tem?

  He couldn’t bear the look in her eyes. Every piercing shard of doubt and fear revealed in those beautiful green globes shredded his heart like little knives.

  What did you do, old man? What possessed you to let her touch you like that?

  Ah, what didn’t possess him. Common sense. Decency.

  There were other dragons that had no compunction about using their wiles on human women. Dragons, at any time, were a powerful draw to a human woman.

  He wanted to reassure her, but he had no good words. Confusion washed over her face and he sensed her rising panic that she had done something to displease him.

  It’s not your fault.

  Four little words. They were so useless, so inadequate. She blinked and he felt her disbelief.

  I- she started.

  I— broke in Tem— knew. I knew as soon as you walked into my cell that you should turn around and leave and never come back.

  She shook her head stubbornly.

  We don’t have time for this.

  She bent and released the shackles on his ankles and finally the collar on his neck.

  What are you doing, human?

  Getting you out of here.

  You can’t do this. Danger. Danger to you!

  You can argue or you can help me get Calvin. I’ll release Evan.

  And then what are we supposed to do?

  “You’re the dragon,” she said aloud. “I’m sure you have dragon tricks up your sleeve. But we don’t have much time. The technician will return to his station eventually.” She smirked at that and rude images of what the technician was probably doing in the bathroom filled his head.

  Please. No visuals.

  Sorry.

  Astrid tossed his shirt at him and he pulled it on while she went to Evan’s cell. Evan gave a whoop and ran out of his cell, looking extremely pleased.

  “How about my girl?” he said.

  Tem pursed his lips. This was not the time to explain what had happened between him and Astrid.

  “No time for chit chat,” said Astrid. She entered Calvin’s cell and released his shackles. His limp body fell into Tem’s arms.

  Harsh klaxons rang and Astrid sprinted to the outer door. She swiped her key card but the door refused to budge.

  “Oh, hell!”

  Astrid’s alarm sent shock waves through Tem and the urge to shift gripped him. He needed his dragon form and strength, but not here in this tight place. Tem handed off the unconscious Calvin to Evan and rushed to Astrid.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Stand back.”

  It was a matter of whether his human form was strong enough to do what he planned. He couldn’t fully shift here, but he could pull what strength he needed from his dragon form, or at least try.

  Otherwise, not just him, but Astrid, Calvin and Evan would be dead meat.

  The klaxon continued its raucous noise as he raised his leg and kicked.

  Astrid’s eyes grew very wide and she gasped as he flung his foot into the metal door. If he were a mere man he would have shattered his foot or ankle, possibly both. Drawing from his dragon form, the strength of dragon sinew and bone wrapped around his human form and flung a massive force into the steel. It shrieked and crumbled, until the metal hung at on odd angle from the frame.

  “Go!” he yelled as he took Calvin from Evan. “Run.”

  At once the lights in the hallway shut down, leaving them in darkness.

  “I can’t see,” said Astrid.

  “I can,” said Evan. “Take my hand.”

  Tem’s dragon eyes allowed him to watch Astrid and Evan flee down the hallway, but his dragon sense of smell told him that there were humans standing at the end. The acrid odor of gun oil told him they held rifles.

  “Stop!” yelled Tem.

  Their footfalls faltered in the dark and then were silent.

  “I need,” said Tem, “to know where this hallway is positioned in relation to the outside. Where is the closest outside wall?”

  “This is the basement,” said Astrid. “The outside walls are up.”

  “Then the hard way. Evan, take Calvin, Astrid stay behind them.”

  Evan took Calvin and hefted him over his shoulder.

  “Who’d have thought he’d be heavy,” the younger man groused.

  But
Tem didn’t have time for conversation. Humans were stunningly good at gathering forces and he could imagine a good size one was forming up now. Calling on his dragon body for strength, he also formed an energetic shield that he hoped would protect all of them from flying bullets.

  It had been a long time since he had summoned what humans called magic. The electric force of the shield danced around his body, making his skin itch and crawl.

  He flung his body down the hall to face the human soldiers that jammed the doorway with their bodies. It was a choke point, meant to head off the dragon’s escape. But it was the point of their defeat as well.

  Tem did not have time to be subtle or gentle. He flung the force field at the armed guards and they fell backward into each other and to the floor.

  “Come,” he said urgently. This was surely just the first wave of defenses; there would be others.

  “Wow,” said Astrid, as he helped her over the pile of humans. He lifted her with one hand and easily swung her over. “Are they—?”

  “Unconscious. Where to?”

  “The lift?”

  “Lead on.”

  Their feet slapped against the cement floors of the basement hallways as they twisted and turned through different corridors. They made the entrance of the lift but found the doors were shut. Again, the humans must have thought this would be a barrier.

  “It won’t open,” said Astrid in distress when her key card failed.

  “No worries, sweetheart,” said Tem. “Back away”

  Tem rammed his foot into the door of the elevator several times and at the last good shove of his foot it crumbled under the force of the blow.

  “You’re terribly good at that,” Astrid said. She peered inside. “But what now?”

  Tem looked over her shoulder and noted that the elevator car had settled at the sub-floor below. He cast his glance skyward and followed the cable. It would have to do.

  “As you said, I’m the dragon.”

  Tem put his hands-on Astrid’s arms, pushed her gently aside and kicked off his slippers.

  “What are you going to do?” said Evan. “And are you doing it soon? No disrespect, but Calvin here—” He shifted the man on his shoulder and huffed for emphasis.

  Tem checked the elevator shaft one more time, and then pushed off, launching his body at the thick cables. And as he did so he shifted.