Korven's Fire: Dragon Prince of Wye

by Nancey Cummings

  Matters about wives and children, for instance.

  The last few days had been a dream. A fantasy, But they weren’t real. They couldn’t last, baby or no baby.

  Her hands twisted in her lap and she glanced at him. Anger and hunger warred on his face. Yup. She was intimate with that look. It usually preceded him taking her hard, followed by her cries of rapture.

  Derix was about to get a show if Korven had his wicked way.

  His heated gaze ate her up. Adelle shivered, keenly aware that she wore just his shirt and nothing else.

  “Leave us,” Korven ordered.

  Smart enough not to argue with his prince, Korven growled while Derix retreated from the room.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked when he finally turned his hungry gaze back to her.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m thinking Ragnar will insist we name the nestling after him. He will claim responsibility for our joy.”

  Our joy. That had to be good, right? No need for all this anxiety.

  “Isn’t Ragnar a family name? Nothing wrong with family names.”

  “It is an old man’s name. Only stuffy uncles or grandfathers with beards down to their knees are Ragnars.”

  Adelle snorted at the image. The Ragnar she knew was none of those things.

  Korven reached under his shirt collar and withdrew a pinkish flat disc on a silver chain. “Treasure for my treasure,” he said, pressing the medallion into the palm of her hand.

  Surprisingly light, the medallion was a flawless quartz embedded with red flecks, giving the piece a pink tone. One side was flat and without feature. The other depicted a magnificent carved dragon coiled around a mountain peak. Adelle recognized the profile as the emblem on the signet ring Ragnar wore and the badge on Olver and Derix’s uniforms.

  Adelle held the medallion to the light. It seemed to catch fire, the crystalline structure glowing from within.

  “Sunstone,” he said, answering the unspoken question. “Traditionally used for meditation. And the emblem of Wye. You and the nestling are my dearest possessions. Now everyone will know.”

  “Is it old?” Worn smooth on the edge, either from a lifetime of palming the object in thought or craftsmanship, the sunstone medallion was stunning and far too fancy for grubby old her.

  “My mother gave me this when I was but a nestling. I could not sit still without a fight, the fires burned bright in me even then, and holding the sunstone helped me to find tranquility.” Korven slipped the chain over her head and arranged the medallion on her chest, letting the stone rest in the valley between her breasts. Warm, the stone rested against her skin like it belonged. “I could cover you head to toe in jewels, wrap you in the finest silks, adorn you with precious metals and all that I could lay at your precious feet would never—never—equal your worth.”

  “I don’t need—” Unsure what exactly she needed, Adelle had a fair idea it wasn’t jewels.

  He leaned down and captured her mouth, pouring in such emotion with his kiss that Adelle forgot what it was she did need.

  “Computer, open an audio link with Ragnar,” he said. While they waited for the computer to connect, one hand drifted up her thigh and under the shirt.

  “What are you doing?” Adelle tried to bat Korven away but he would have none of it. His other hand covered her lips in a gentle hushing gesture.

  “Hold your moan,” he commanded. Damn if that didn’t get her wet.

  “Cousin,” Ragnar came through the link. “You no longer suffer the Fever.”

  “Derix is a gossip,” Korven said. He spread open her thighs, cupping his hand against her pussy. His fingers stroked the damp curls, teasing but not parting her lower lips. She rocked her hips toward him, wanting more. A wicked grin settled on his lips.

  “Derix reported to his commanding officer. Congratulations to you both.”

  “Since you know the situation, how soon until we arrive on Wye?” His fingers parted her lips, caressing the slick flesh in lazy circles. Adelle moaned into the hand covering her mouth. This was crazy. He shouldn’t be touching her like this while on a call and she should not be so excited.

  “Two weeks but we’ll need to stop for repairs and replace the emergency pod.”

  “Acceptable. Adelle has accepted my offer to build a nest. I will have her in my cabin. Can the pod be enlarged for two?” His thumb brushed against her clit, sending a jolt of sensation straight up her spine. She gasped in surprise, his hand firmly in place over her mouth to muffle any sound.

  “I am unsure. That is a question for your mechanic.”

  Korven removed his hand from her mouth but not his other hand. His thumb continued to lightly circle her sensitive button.

  “I can’t—can’t make a pod larger.” She cleared her throat, praying she could keep her voice steady. “It’s a contained vehicle and I’m not mucking about with that. But if you wanted to purchase a larger pod, I could fit it into the existing space.”

  His fingers were merciless, prodding at her entrance, delving into the moisture at her core. Her voice managed to remain steady but she was sure the comm system picked up the soft shucking noise as Korven worked a finger in and out. “Good girl,” he mouthed.

  “Shall I order a pod large enough for two?” Ragnar asked.

  “Yes. And don’t mention it to my parents. I want to deliver the news myself.”

  “Understood. Anything else?”

  “What is the status of our coffers?” Korven slipped a second finger in. She gripped him tightly, letting her hips rock as she rode his hand. He studied her reaction. She wanted harder. Faster. She needed his mouth on her. She craved his skin. This dispassionate fucking was torture. How could Korven keep his cool fucking her with his hand while she was ready to come apart?

  She needed to make her prince lose control.

  “Don’t worry, Your Highness. A ransom or two is figured into the budget. We have plenty of credit. Speaking of, the captain wants to install repulsor cannons on the ship.”

  “My answer is still no.”

  Adelle snaked her hand down the front of his trousers and found his cock hard and ready for her. She wrapped her hand around the base and stroked. His eyes closed and the smallest shudder ran through him, wings flapping. “Tell him why,” she whispered, running her thumb along the underside of his member. “Why can’t we have repulsor cannons?”

  “Female,” he growled. Instead of ceasing his torture of her, he increased the speed and slammed his hand into her. Adelle meet his force with glee.

  “Your Highness?” Ragnar asked.

  “Cannons will attract the wrong type of pirate. Right now we get the small time operators looking for an easy payday. Add weaponry and the pirates respond by building their own arsenal. And then they’re looking to use their toys,” Korven pushed her flat down on the table and loomed over her. His hand pumped her mercilessly. Her hips raised to meet each thrust. No moan. “And do some damage and they are not so eager to take a ransom for your pretty face.”

  She focused on remaining silent, biting her lower lip, with her resolve ready to break. By now everyone knew Korven’s Fever was over and the only way to end that malady was mating. Everyone knew what they did while they waited for rescue. So what if Ragnar heard them? She really wanted to moan. If she moaned, Korven would spank her.

  She really wanted him to spank her.

  Korven shook his head and leaned in, his long hair spilling over his shoulders. She wanted to reach up and pull, tugging his mouth down to her. “Don’t do it, sweet female.”

  She totally should.

  Adelle arched her back and let her desire roll through her. Starting as a breathy sigh, the moan built steam. A volume.

  “That is all,” he snapped, ending the communication. His hungry gaze focused on her. Anticipation surged through her. “You were disobedient.” He removed his hand, leaving her with an unsatisfied, empty sensation.

  “Maybe you were too good to resist?”

&
nbsp; Korven shed his trousers and climbed onto the table with her. He wedged his hips between her thighs. Ever accommodating, she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Enough talk.”

  Adelle wrapped his hair around her fist and tugged him forward, their mouths colliding. He surged forward, entering her, and she emptied all her pent up moans and cries. The prince played her body like an instrument, hitting all the right notes and swiveling his hips to reach that special note. If she wasn’t so blissed out, she might actually be upset with him. Hovering near the edge, her climax came quickly and with a roar.

  Korven followed her over, emptying his scalding hot seed deep inside her. “My sweet female,” he said, utter satisfaction in his voice, “how you please me.”

  Korven

  He refused to let her dress until they applied a second layer of the gel. Already the pink had faded and her skin returned to the creamy complexion he found so enchanting.

  Korven frowned. Derix was correct to scold him. He knew Terrans were fragile. He should have realized she needed additional protection from the sun and ordered her to remain in the shade. But Adelle did not respond well to orders. She would have fought his authority and ended up with a sunburn anyway.

  “A baby, Korven,” she said. They sat side by side on the exam table. Her head rested on his shoulder, her body perfectly at ease next to him. “What are we going to do?”

  “We will do what countless others have done. I will present you to my family. We will build our nest. We will raise our family.”

  She sighed, as if he were describing a fanciful dream and not actual plans. “What will your parents say?” Her blunt little Terran teeth worried her bottom lip.

  His frown intensified. His sweet female did not need to worry herself with the opinion of others. “What my parents say is of little consequence.”

  She snorted. “They’re the king and queen.”

  “Actually, my grandmother is queen. My mother is the heir.”

  “Still, not the sort of people you bite your thumb at.”

  Korven twisted to face her. “They will accept you. In time they will grow to love you as I do.”

  Her complexion grew pale, milky white, then pink. He’d never seen such a rapid change in her coloring. He grabbed her chin and tilted her face up and to the side, examining her for defect. “What is wrong.”

  “Nothing.” She batted his hand away and broke free of his grasp. “You’ve never said the love word before. It surprised me is all.”

  “You doubt me?” Korven sprang from the table, the fire in his blood heating. He would tolerate her many teasings and jibes at his person but to have his female doubt the honor of his word... “Have I not, repeatedly, swore to build us a nest? What more conviction do you require, female. Are Terran males so dishonorable that you can not see the plain truth of my heart?”

  Adelle massaged the bridge of her nose. “Wait, wait. I think we’re having one of those gaps in cultural understanding.”

  Korven huffed. “I believe I understand you perfectly.”

  “Well, you don’t because I have no idea what this,” she waved a hand back and forth between them, “is. So can I ask some questions? And you’ll answer, even if you think they’re basic and everyone knows?”

  “Agreed.”

  “Good. First, when you asked me to share your nest, that was an offer for sex, right? A euphemism like sleeping with someone.”

  “You sleep with me!”

  Another rub on her nose. “Honest to goodness. Was that an invitation for sex?”

  “Yes but we only slept.”

  “Because I was drunk. Then you asked if you should build us a nest. That was a different question.”

  “Yes.”

  “Not an invitation for sex?”

  His temper frayed. “I asked you several times if you wanted me to build a nest. You agreed. I’m sorry if a fully furnished homestead did not fall out of the sky. I will take you to Wye and I will present you to my family and then I will build a nest.”

  “But what is a nest? I thought it was a bed.”

  “A nest is our home!” She shrank back at his raised voice, one hand protectively on her stomach. Shame flooded him. It was beneath him to lose control of his anger and frighten his mate. Carefully, he pulled his mate into his embrace. She was stiff in his arms, upset with his outburst. He placed his hand over hers, cradling her flat stomach. “A nest is where we will raise our family,” he said.

  “Not furniture?”

  “It is the walls, the fixtures, the furniture, the land, the joy and the laughter. It is the home we build as we share a lifetime together.”

  “Sounds like marriage.”

  “Do not Terran males present themselves to their mates in a similar fashion?”

  “They propose, yes. I guess I didn’t realize what you were asking.”

  Korven spun her around, hands gripping her shoulders. He lowered his face, pressing his forehead to hers. “Adelle Scott, female of Earth, will you be my mate and allow me the honor of building a nest for our children? For us?”

  “But your parents—”

  “Female—”

  “I trapped you!” Her blue eyes went wide. “You didn’t want me. It was the Fever. How can I say yes when everyone will whisper that you were tricked into knocking me up?”

  A warning rumbled in his throat. “You know that is not true.” He had wanted her from the moment he first saw her in that dingy bar.

  “But you parents will think—”

  “I am not building a nest for my parents!” He tossed his hands in the air. He could not make his intentions plainer. What more did the female want?

  Adelle removed the sunstone medallion. She held it out as far as her arm could stretch, as if it was offensive to her now.

  “What are you doing, female?”

  “Take it. I can’t accept this.”

  She might as well have been holding his heart in her hand. “It is yours,” he said, willing her to understand. More than a simple trinket, it was his promise, his intention and his protection. It marked her as his treasure.

  “It’s too much, Korven,” she said. “It symbolizes too much.”

  “I know what it symbolizes! I think you do not.”

  Tears pricked at her eyes.

  “You are leaking,” he said. His hand covered the one offering the medallion back. He pushed it towards her and settled it in her lap. The medallion belonged to her now, like his heart.

  “It’s called crying and I am not.” She dabbed at her eyes, removing the tears she claimed to be imaginary.

  “Why are you not crying?”

  “Because you’re upset with me!”

  “Because you doubt me!” Anger bubbled over. His wings stretched and flexed. “Damn it, female. I grow weary of this conversation. You are my mate. I desire you and only you. You are the mother of my child. I will build us a nest. You will live there and you will cease telling me I do not know my own mind.”

  She opened her mouth to argue but closed it without saying a word, nodding her acquiescence. “This is our first argument.”

  “The first of many, I am sure.” He was tired in his bones. He craved a shower, his bed and his mate. He could have two of the three. “You have not answered my question, female.”

  “I’m going back to my cabin. Alone. Just—I need some time, okay? Time to think.”

  He did not know what there was to think about. He laid out his intentions in crystal clarity. Only Terrans could make a mess of something so simple.

  Chapter Twelve

  Adelle

  The next two weeks Adelle spent her time repairing the ship, being force fed vitamins by Derix, and avoiding Korven. Keeping her hands busy kept her mind occupied so she didn’t have to think about the pregnancy or Korven. If she didn’t have to think about it, she could pretend that everything was normal and there was no pretending anything was normal when Korven pierced her with his smoldering, hungry gaze.

  He said he w
anted to marry her. Him a prince. Her a nobody. It sounded like a fairy tale. She wanted to believe, truly, wanted to accept, but fear nibbled at her and reminded her that she was too old for stories.

  Avoidance was the only way to keep her head together.

  Avoiding Korven was easier said than done when he pounded on her cabin door in the middle of the night. Desperate for sleep, she called the captain and in short order Olver and Derix removed the prince. It didn’t matter how many vitamins she swallowed, she was tired, dammit, and no alien was going to keep her from her shut eye.

  It pained Adelle to admit Widget was right about on-the-job romances. The ship just wasn’t big enough to avoid her possessive, scaly green alien. Plus, she hated sneaking around trying to avoid Mr. Scaly, Green and Possessive. Avoidance normally wasn’t her, but what was the alternative? Picking out baby names and setting up a gift registry? Korven said he wanted to marry her but she knew, deep down, he didn’t mean it.

  Everyone left her in the end. Nothing lasted forever.

  Two days before arriving on Wye, Mrs. Wardarms cornered Adelle in the kitchen and pushed a plate of warm cookies and a mug of tea at her. Confused, Adelle sat at the work table and ate her cookies. Mrs. Wardarms was hardly the mothering sort. Her cookie ploy was beyond suspicious.

  “You made cookies.”

  “Stop looking at me like it’s poison.”

  “And tea. For me.”

  “Are you going to eat them or should I send them up to the prince?”

  Adelle stuffed a cookie in her mouth. Warm and soft, the sugar cookie melted in her mouth in a buttery haze of pure joy.

  Mrs. Wardarms watched Adelle eat. Satisfied at the number of calories consumed, she pulled the plate away. Adelle whimpered, “Hey! Give that back.”

  “After you explain what is going on between you and that nice boy Korven.”

  Nice boy. Right. “Nothing.”

  “Not nothing because he’s in here every day sulking, getting under my feet. I want that boy out of my kitchen and the smile put back on his face.”