“I love you,” she murmured into her pillow, barely able to breathe. She could not share such feelings with him. Not yet. Maybe tomorrow, while they bathed each other beneath a waterfall. Maybe.
Maybe not.
***
The morning dawned bright and clear, and Vika followed an old path to the stream near where she and Orin had once camped. Evan trailed behind her, and kept looking up at the sky. What was he looking for? She glanced to both sides of the trail as they walked, and listened. It would not do to be set upon by Toal, or pirates.
She giggled. It was too early in the day for either to be out and about. “Toal be a lazy bastard, and I hope I never see him again.”
“I second that prayer, love. He wanted you, but went about it the wrong way.”
She turned and glared at him. “And you did it correctly? You turned me head, and bedded me without much opposition. ‘Tis your charm and sweet smile, or have you used magic?”
“I have powers of a sort, but none that can influence you, but I believe you and I have a destiny.” He bent closer, and kissed the tip of her nose.
She could feel her cheeks burning, so she turned away and continued toward the stream. A dip in cold water would do wonders. An exhilarating swim, and another possible bout of lovemaking, was a possibility. Whatever his secrets were, she prayed they were inconsequential.
When the trail ended at the stream, relief settled in her gut. No one was about. The fresh scent of rainwater, moss, and the last of summer’s flowers soothed her doubts. She would enjoy her bath, then she and Evan would share their secrets.
I have no secrets, except for the love in me heart.
The rising sun, barely above the treetops, illuminated their special grotto, what the villagers called a fairy pool. Cool spray dampened her face, and she itched to remove all her clothes, and make love with Evan. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her into his chest, and nipped her shoulder, a dangerous need to bite him back rose up. She was no beast, but ever since they made love for the first time, she craved fresh meat. Last night’s roasted rabbit was barely cooked before she served it, but Evan didn’t seem to mind. She hadn’t even thought to boil up carrots and potatoes. All she had wanted was meat.
“Where be your thoughts, love? Your body trembles. ‘Tis with desire, I pray.”
Turning in his arms, she kissed his mouth, lingering until their bodies were writhing. She quickly divested him of his plaide, then pulled her dress up and over her head. They barely separated until she giggled, and led him into the sun-warmed stream.
As they swam toward the falls, the stream deepened into several pools rimmed by rocks that were smoothed by years of currents. When they reached the pool directly beneath the cascade, they were suddenly in each other’s arms. His body was as hard as hers was soft, and they clung together as if their lives depended on it. His erection prodded her stomach, and slipped lower, until she found herself impaled.
With nothing to stand on, they used the simple motion of their joined bodies to increase the pleasure. Moving together, they created waves and ripples until the pleasure was too much to bear. She leaned in closer, kissing him beneath his left ear, and beneath his chin. When she bit his bottom lip, and blood seeped down his chin, Evan roared. As he stiffened and filled her with a hot gush of his seed, Vika cried out.
As they came back down to earth, their kisses grew urgent, and smoldering. The taste of blood did nothing to deter her from licking and suckling his mouth. When the heat grew intense, and she had to pull her face away, smoke rolled out of Evan’s mouth.
“Evan! You be on fire!”
He cupped a hand over his mouth, pushed her away, and disappeared beneath the waterfall. Alone in the stream, Vika could only stare. Why did he leave? Why was his mouth on fire? What else was he hiding? A sudden cracking of broken twigs and the rustle of dried leaves made her turn toward the bank.
“What a luscious sight. You live up to your name, me little nymph of the creek.” Toal stood on the bank.
Was he alone? She should have smelled him approaching. His rancid odor plagued her nightmares, yet here he stood. She was naked and alone. Evan had disappeared and her clothes were out of reach.
“What do you want, Toal?”
“That be Lord MacMorgan to you, lass. Since I have you at a disadvantage, I no longer require marriage to a bitch such as you. You may be me mistress, and will come to enjoy being chained in me cellars.”
“Oh? We no longer plan to sail the seas with your pirate friends?”
Toal growled, and she knew she had hit her mark. “Why not come in and get me?” She had a feeling he didn’t wish to get his clothes wet, so she swam to the far side of the stream. She rushed to the nearest bush, and spied the one a dragon had burnt several days earlier. Would one of the dragons come to her aide?
How do you call a dragon?
“Help! Help me!” Praying her cries worked, she kept her gaze on Toal, in case he decided to cross the creek, or signaled to one of his men. “Please help me!”
She called out as loud as she could, and prayed a dragon, or Evan, heard her. When a roar erupted from behind the waterfall, she and Toal turned toward the falls. Thunder and sparkles erupted, shooting through the cascading water. The noise was so loud she covered her ears, as sparks blinded her. The earth beneath her feet trembled as something large and powerful strode closer. She opened her eyes and gasped.
A dragon covered in glistening purple scales burst out of the falling water. It roared, and exposed a mouth filled with sharp white fangs. As he divested himself of the cascading water, and walked toward them, he opened his leathery wings. They were brown, nearly copper, and his eyes were like molten amber. He glanced at her, then swung around to face Toal.
Toal’s mouth flopped open. His sword was in his hand, but he did not move. When the dragon roared again, and sparks shot from his mouth, Toal turned on his heels, and ran. The dragon did not follow Toal, but settled his flame-filled gaze on her. Vika’s feet had frozen to the ground, and a horrid thought made her chest constrict. Her greatest fear was not for her safety, but for Evan. Her head spun as she realized the beast might have killed Evan.
She screamed.
***
“Do not fear me, love. I would never harm you. Please, Vika. Do not hate me.” Evan hoped she could understand his gravelly voice. When he was in his human form, he could speak to his brother dragons, so he prayed she heard his words, and understood.
Vika stood. She was naked, and shivering, but she stood her ground. He dare not step closer, and let the cool spray from the waterfall wash over his scales. The sun was overhead, but his wings would never dry unless he moved to shore.
When she didn’t say anything, he trudged through the stream until he reached the opposite shore, where Toal had stood. Part of him wanted to go after Toal. However, he did not wish to leave Vika alone and unprotected. A roar on the wind eased his mind. At least one of his brothers was near.
Vika ran upstream, and Evan worried that she had come to her senses and wanted nothing to do with him, but when she waded to where they had deposited their clothing, he relaxed. He spread his wings to dry them in the sun, and watched as she clothed her body. She picked up his plaide, leather belt, and sword. She walked closer and dropped all but the sword by his talons.
When she raised her head, and glared up at him, he resisted the urge to lick her with his long, wet tongue. Would she talk to him, or plunge the sword deep into his chest?
“Evan?”
He nodded.
“You have me at a disadvantage. I thought you were a man who could shift into a horse. You be much more, I fear.”
“Never fear me, love. I wanted to tell you more, but we never had the chance.”
“You mean you did not wish to sway me from welcoming a dragon into me bed.” She raised the sword and glared at him.
He hung his massive head, and breathed in her scent. He would always remember her this way. Fresh as ra
inwater, with a delicate flowery fragrance. When she suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out, his heart stopped.
“What be wrong?”
She had gone pale, and Evan was worried her recent injuries had worsened. If anything happened to her, he wasn’t sure he wished to live.
“A pain, but it has diminished.”
The flap of great wings made Evan look to the sky, and Vika to squeak. She didn’t move away. If anything, she stepped closer to Evan. Dougal dropped to the riverbank with a jarring thud, and Vika tunneled under Evan’s right wing.
“Greetings, brother.” Dougal stepped closer, his talons crushing the moss along the bank. When he spied Vika beneath his wing, he bent closer to the human and sniffed.
“Congratulations, brother!”
Evan cocked his head. “What be your meaning, Dougal?”
“She carries your bairn. I can smell it growing inside her belly.”
Evan roared.
Vika fainted dead away.
EPILOGUE
Vika gazed out over the valley. From her precarious perch atop a boulder, beneath the peaks of the Cuillin Hills, she inhaled a deep breath of cold, clear air, chilling her to the bone. Above her, on the highest peak, perched three magnificent dragons. The weather had no effect on their scale-covered hides.
The center dragon, the one with deep purple scales and brown leathery wings, was Evan. He was her mate, and she carried his bairn. Would their offspring survive the birthing? Would she?
‘Tis a mystery, she thought. She prayed every day that she and her babe lived, and thrived. She asked the heavens for a way to accept what certainly could turn into uncertainty, for years to come. A human child would make her life easier, but Evan’s clan were desperate to repopulate the Island of Skye with dragons. A human who could shift into other forms was a possibility, and she could live with that.
Evan was happy, and extremely proud, that although he was the youngest dragon of the three handsome beasts, he had come up with the idea to produce an heir with a human female. Evan loved her. She was not a simple experiment, which is why he kept telling her she would be fine.
Vika had doubts.
Any first-time mother feels the same way, she knew, but she would be naive to not have concerns. Her love for Evan Brown was never in question, not even after he had explained his true nature. His ability to shift into the copper-colored horse was a shock, but not as great as the huge dragon he morphed into, behind a blinding light.
For several months, he’d allowed her to ride Spark to her heart’s content. She actually missed brushing the horse’s silky coat, and scratching him behind the ear.
Months earlier, before she and Evan left for his mountain lair, she had explained to her brother that she and Evan Brown had married in secret. That small lie was harder for her to share with Orin than leaving the farm, and her friends in the village. She considered them married in spirit. Evan was her husband, now and for eternity.
Orin seemed happy, and told her he liked Evan. He had no idea of her husband’s true nature, and she was not sure when, or if, they would ever tell him.
Orin appreciated that she left him in charge of their farm. He promised to keep the animals fed and cared for. Once winter ended, he would plant the crops, but stated that he would continue to search for Maeve. Vika wanted to tell him not to bother.
Wynn, the middle brother, had told her he had followed her scent far north. Evan told her he had suspected that Maeve was a wolf-shifter, and had healed enough to return to her clan.
In a gesture that had made her very proud of her brother, Orin had asked Sinna to live at the farm. The injured warrior was still recuperating and wanted to feel useful. Feeding their livestock and protecting the farm from pirates was a worthy goal.
Poor Orin!
He had grown up too fast, and she had burdened him with many responsibilities. She hoped the farm duties did not turn him sullen, like the oldest dragon, though Dougal seemed a little less irritating lately. He might be happy that Evan would soon have an heir.
When the large red and black dragon had told her about her condition, Vika had worried Dougal would despise her. Evan had shared the story of the death of Dougal’s mate, and her heart broke for the older dragon. She could have easily killed Cliona in her red deer persona. Hadn’t she killed many deer during their hunt to win the wager that saved Spark’s life?
No, he seems happy I be bringing a new life into their clan.
Vika stood, wrapping her wool plaide firmly around her shoulders. The purple and black wool still smelled of Evan’s human form. As another Scottish winter crept closer, the sun set earlier every day.
She was uneasy that Toal MacMorgan had disappeared. Either the pirates did away with him, or he decided the village was no longer his domain. Rumors said he was no longer welcome at the tavern.
She should return to their cave, before she accidently tumbled off the trail. Snow would soon cover the trails, making such freedom too dangerous for a woman in her condition.
Condition?
She was both thrilled and fearful, but she had a loving brother and three powerful dragons at her back.
Or, I will once I find the courage to tell Orin about all of this.
When she walked closer to the cave, the whisper of a dragon’s leathery wings proclaimed the arrival of her mate. A gentle thud announced he had landed nearby, and she closed her eyes to protect them from the bright sparks that always accompanied his transformation.
“Love, how do you feel today?”
“Evan, I be fine. You worry too much.” Mistress MacFingan had shared a vision. She’d seen the future and promised them their bairn would be perfect. She had not said if the babe would be a perfect human or a dragon, of course. Vika had not the courage to ask. She would love their bairn, nonetheless.
The feisty older woman had also given her instructions on how to deliver the babe, along with medicines and herbs to ensure they both remained healthy and strong.
Evan’s brothers had gathered wood planking that Evan had made into a bed. Orin had bartered with the villagers, trading several weapons that had belonged to their da, for a few warm blankets. He’d brought them to her, along with woven bolts of wool for making clothing.
Vika had spent hours each day in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for her and their bairn, and also made a warrior’s plaide for Orin. When she recalled the deer and rabbits he had brought her about the same time, her stomach rumbled, and she turned to Evan.
“What be for supper?” she asked him.
“Your hunger grows with each passing day, Vika.” Evan smiled and gently wrapped his enormous arms around her. He was naked, and the chin he rested against her forehead was cool. She shivered.
“Be you chilled, love?”
She shook her head. The wool around her shoulders kept her warm, but his love kept her breathing. Life without this man…or horse…or dragon…was not worth living. He smelled like sunshine, wild male, and…the sea?
Vika shoved against his chest. “Did you go fishing? Something from the sea might be a nice change.”
“I had no luck. The selkies scared the fish away. I will catch a rabbit, if you will roast it for us?”
“Or, we could eat it raw.”
Evan’s eyes widened. “I be happy that we created new life, but I fear the bairn be influencing your good sense.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him. Her kiss was a hungry, passionate assault that he thoroughly enjoyed, if the stiff pike against her belly was any sign. When she probed his lips with her tongue, he opened his mouth with a growl. Their tongues tangled in a stormy conflagration that made her womb clench. Surprised at the sudden slight pain, deep inside her barely growing womb, she staggered backwards. Once out of his embrace, she dropped the plaide. “Ouch!”
“What happened?” Evan asked. Once assured they were alone, he glanced at her womb. “Has the bairn hurt you?”
“Calm yourself. Your kisses mad
e me desire you too much. Me body reacted, ‘tis all. I be hungry, but not for rabbit. ‘Tis still early evening and your brothers be elsewhere. Take me inside our cave and remind me why I have agreed to mate with a dragon, of all things.”
When he gently took her back into his arms, leaned down and kissed her, she melted against his chest. When she came up for air, her husband wore a knowing smirk.
The last rays of the evening sun shrouded his head with fire, making his coppery hair glow like flames. Here was her future, and whatever lay ahead was an adventure she couldn’t wait to begin.
THE END
FREE EXCERPT
From the next book
in the
Clan of Dragons series
SMOKE
SMOKE-CHAPTER 1
Isle of Skye, Scotland
Four nights before the full moon
Snow whipped across the mountain like a frenzied ocean wave. Gone was the ethereal beauty of low clouds, tipped with silver. The beauty of nature was lost on Wynn Green. Hours ago, as night moved forward and wet flakes buffeted his head and horns, he’d tucked his scaly snout beneath his wing.
When a gust of wind, harsh enough to wake Wynn from a deep sleep slammed into his body, he lost his grip on his perch. He staggered sideways, and landed at the base of the Black Cuillin Hills. When his left wing bent, as he rolled into a pile of icy white snow, he groaned. To find his footing he dug his talons deep into the snow until they reached the frozen earth below. He shook his head until his scales rattled.
“Did you fall asleep again, brother?”
Wynn glared at his older brother as Dougal alighted nearby. Dougal’s red scales and black wings stood out in colorful contrast to the snow. Wynn’s green scales, currently hidden beneath a deep snowdrift, were less flashy.
More tasteful, he thought.
The only time he thought his coloring was a disadvantage was during a hunt. Dougal’s black wings, and their other brother’s purple scales and leathery brown wings, proved harder for game to spot. When hunting in the nearby forest, Wynn used stealth instead of speed. Dougal seemed to care less that Wynn’s stomach growled for good reason. Game was scarce, so close to their mountain caves, but who wanted to leave? Not when a miracle lived among them.
Spark (Clan of Dragons Book 1) Page 19
