Dragon Wish

by Judith Leger

  got the cap’an’s smell on ye. Lovely as it is, I think ye’ll feel

  much better cleaned up a bit.”

  With this last comment, the woman flounced out, hips

  swaying, banging the door closed behind her.

  Seren fiddled with the coarse cloth of the blouse, trying to

  keep the tears of embarrassment at bay. How many others

  had heard them last night? She searched for the strength to

  rise, clean up and go below to meet him. Strangers would

  look at her. Would they know what they’d done? She stopped

  moving and frowned. Why should she even care?

  If what he said was true, a new world existed outside

  these walls. She didn’t have to follow the same rules she

  always had. There were new ones on this planet. She’d learn

  to survive and be strong until she returned home.

  Memories of Earth flittered in her mind. Her little girl

  was buried in New Orleans. Tears filled her eyes, threatening

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  to fall. Seren squeezed her eyes shut, allowing the tears to

  roll down her cheeks. Somehow she had to find a way back

  home.

  Without fully comprehending what she did, her hands

  cupped her lower belly. She frowned, hoping she hadn’t

  conceived, yet she felt like a new life grew inside her. She

  shook her head. That was all impossible. She hadn’t known

  she was pregnant with Mandy until she had missed her first

  period. But right now she sensed the joining of his sperm

  with her egg.

  She shoved the covers aside and slid her legs over the side

  of the bed. Once on her feet, she tugged a sheet from the bed.

  She wrapped it around her with the top edges tucked under

  her arms, leaving her neck and shoulders bare.

  Feeling dirty, she washed in the clean water he’d left for

  her. Using a fresh cloth, she poured a few drops from the

  pitcher to wipe her teeth and tongue. Re-wrapping the sheet

  around her body, she gazed around the room. A heavy table,

  the one she had noticed the night before, stood in the center.

  Three carved wooden chairs, two pushed in while the one

  he’d used still stood sideways to the others, were situated

  around the scratched round surface. Dust gathered in the

  corners of the room. The bureau’s counter and the table

  carried a layer of dust. She wrinkled her nose, but continued

  her scrutiny of her surroundings. Her survey stopped on a

  satchel sitting on a faded cushion of the window seat.

  The dark brown leather was worn with several crease

  lines. She glanced at the door. He’d never know if she peeked

  inside. Her curiosity propelled her forward until she reached

  the bag.

  Hands trembling, she unclasped the belted hooks and

  raised the flap. A metallic blue shirt, exactly like the one he

  put on this morning, lay wadded on top. She smiled. He

  wasn’t perfect then. She had expected neatness, instead she’d

  found disorder. Pulling the shirt free, she brought it to her

  face and inhaled. His scent filled her mind.

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  Unexpected desire flared. She wanted him again. She

  longed to feel him joined with her, moving until she reached

  the blinding pleasure she had experienced the night before.

  She swallowed, lowering the shirt and eased down onto

  the thin cushion of the window seat. With the side of her

  head resting against the pane, she looked outside.

  The sky and ocean met on the horizon, the varying blues

  merging into one hazy color. The Inn had been built on a

  high bluff overlooking a bustling city. To the right, the cliffs

  dropped off. She tried to see the beach, but it lay hidden out

  of sight. Cut from white stone, wide water channels sliced

  through the streets rowed with two-story, some three level

  houses along with businesses. The narrow canals emptied

  over the edge of the cliffs. It seemed strange that the people

  here had built above the water’s edge. She tried to find a

  logical explanation, even searching her memory for a

  resemblance of any place on Earth.

  A noise below brought her stare down and she saw her

  rescuer-kidnapper, the captain, walk from a doorway

  somewhere beneath her window. She followed him with her

  steady look until he stopped in the middle of the busy yard.

  People dressed in out of period clothing hustled back and

  forth. Some shouted instructions or welcomes while others

  worked at loading and unloading barrels, baskets, and an

  assortment of boxes from wooden wagons harnessed to

  huge, long-haired beasts that reminded her of oxen. Their

  clothing brought to mind those worn during the eighteenth

  century.

  The wind gusted, lifting the sides of the captain’s frock

  coat. The shorter strands of his light gold hair fluttered over

  his shoulders.

  Her breath caught in her throat. He appeared so tall, so

  easy to look at. Her body throbbed, igniting with need.

  Wetness gathered between her legs. She craved his touch—

  now. She squeezed her eyes shut, battling the

  embarrassment in her mind and the passion growing

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  throughout her body. How could she feel like this? What

  kind of person was she? One she no longer knew, or did she?

  Had a darker part of her soul been born last night?

  She opened her eyes, hoping to stop her thoughts, and

  found that he had turned and now stood staring at her. Their

  gazes met. She refused to yield. Temptation reared its head.

  She wanted to crook a finger at him, telling him to come to

  her. Just as she was ready to give in to her desire, a broad-

  chested man jogged from the doorway below her to the

  captain’s side and said something. The captain half-smiled at

  her then followed the other man inside. Relieved she hadn’t

  given in to her baser sensibilities, she stuffed his shirt back

  into the satchel without looking at anything else. With a flip

  of her wrist, she closed the bag. Disappointment soon

  followed, mingling with her relief.

  Her thoughts wandered to how the inhabitants in this

  new world would treat her once they learned she came from

  another planet? She would have to work to fit in until she

  returned home, but she didn’t know what this meant to these

  people. Most of all, while she tried to acclimate herself to this

  place, she would make sure she never had another child.

  Which meant the intimate moments with him were at an

  end.

  She had learned a hard lesson with Mandy. One she

  swore she’d never forget.

  Alice swung the door wide, and flounced across the room.

  “’ere ye go, mum.”

  Seren jumped, her hands clutching the sheet tighter

  around her. Heat rose to her cheeks at being caught near the

  captain’s belongings.

  “Ooo, goodness, ye are a tiny bit of t’ing. I’d say ye’d

  barely reach the cap’an’s shoulder, ye would, iffin ye stood

  side by side. Well, come on, let’s see ’ow ye look i
n t’eses.”

  The woman held out a pair of pants similar to narrow-legged

  capris in one hand. A white billowy shirt was draped over her

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  other hand.

  “Thank you,” Seren said, accepting the woman’s offering.

  She pulled the shirt over her head and tugged it down. The

  seam across the shoulders fit, but the length came to the top

  of her thighs. A little too short for her tastes, but she had no

  other choice.

  Under the cover of the sheet, she slipped her feet into the

  pants. Using one hand, she slid them up. They were a little

  snug, but she could deal with that, she decided, buttoning

  the double-sided front flaps. She raised the hem of the shirt

  to study how she looked. Yes, they’d do.

  “Do ye want a bindin’ for yer chest? I don’t t’ink ye need

  one. Don’t ’ave much up t’ere to bind.”

  Seren glared at the woman. Maybe she was small busted,

  but the captain hadn’t minded last night. “No, I don’t need

  any binding.”

  Alice handed her a pair of thick wool socks along with a

  black cap. “Well, now, ’ere’s ye a ’at. The cap’an’s down below

  waitin’ for ya. ’E’s ordered ye a right ’effy morning repast, ’e

  ’as. Now, come along. Don’t wanna keep ’im waitin’.”

  “Wait, I don’t have any shoes. I can’t go down in socks.”

  Seren dug in her heels. Fear interlaced with uncertainty

  rushed through her. She wasn’t ready to see him. Not again.

  Not so soon.

  “Come on wit’ ye. We’ll stop in my room. It’s just above

  us. I t’ink t’ere might be a pair of clogs t’ere. It’s all I gots.”

  The woman grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the

  door.

  Realizing how useless it was to argue, Seren allowed Alice

  to guide her down the paneled hall. At the landing, the

  serving woman veered to the right, thumping up a short

  flight of stairs. “Come on, up ’ere with ye.”

  The slight detour took just a few minutes. Seren

  reveled in the small delay. At the top of the stairs leading

  below, she inhaled a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves.

  Once steady, she proceeded down the stairs. The time to face

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  the captain had arrived.

  34

  Dragon Wish

  Chapter Three

  “So ye’re still determined to return her body to her

  family?” Calis Mer asked.

  Paladin glanced at the barrel-chested man sitting across

  from him. Short dark hair stuck out from his head, and keen

  gray eyes studied the contents inside his mug. A large, beefy

  hand curved around the gray tankard. Eyes, similar in color

  to the mug, rose to meet his look.

  “It is my duty as her husband. My last duty,” Paladin

  replied. He sliced a thin sliver of beef steak and ate. His first

  mate would never understand. Paladin took his marriage-

  bond duty seriously. His honor required it of him even

  though the woman he’d married had broken those same

  vows time and again. Calis understood the skies from all the

  voyages they went a journeying on. The man comprehended

  life and death, but honoring a woman who was also a wife

  seemed impossible for him to comprehend.

  Calis grunted before he took a long pull from his tankard,

  straining the foam through his front teeth. The man had little

  manners, but Paladin hadn’t hired him for his social

  refinements.

  His first mate arched a bushy black brow at him, his tone

  teasing. “Heard ye had a bit of fluff during the night.

  Where’d ye find her? I don’t recall any new faces in the place

  last evening.”

  Paladin half smiled. He refused to meet the other man’s

  look. His ship was set to sail in less than an hour. If time had

  permitted, he would have brought the strange woman the

  clothes instead of asking the serving wench to do it. He

  should have known she would have rattled her tongue to

  others. “She isn’t anyone you know,” he commented. He cut

  another slice. He took his time chewing it. The food carried

  no taste to him. The texture was dry, even tough.

  Last night still haunted him.

  He had inquired of the innkeeper to see if anyone

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  complained of any strange happenings in the night, but the

  man had shaken his head. Satisfied none of the locals

  suspected what had occurred, he had proceeded to order his

  morning meal along with the bill for the room.

  He chewed another bite, hiding the disgust floating in his

  gut. He had taken a chance by touching her.

  The night before, he had been unable to stop himself

  from comforting her. Her lips had caressed his skin in a

  soothing, gentle way which managed to dissolve all his

  resolutions with the heat of his need. Her palms on his chest

  had stirred the embers of his passion until they flared to a

  white hot fervor, and rational thought no longer controlled

  him. Just the memory of what they had shared during the

  night caused the embers of desire to smolder within him.

  He swallowed as he glanced around the room, hoping to

  distract the renewed bud of warmth building between his

  legs.

  The Inn’s common room bustled with travelers who

  mingled with vendors. Some roamed from table to table,

  others sat on benches lined against the two side walls. Odors

  of cooked food and body scents, some good—some not so

  good, saturated the place. Laughter interspersed with

  conversations swept across the room. Feet shuffled under

  tables and across the room as the vendors vied with the

  locals for a space to sit or stand so they might break their

  morning fast. He ignored most of the noise, allowing the flow

  of activity in the inn help him keep his mind away from

  thoughts of the strange woman. When he looked around,

  several females blushed and twittered to each other behind

  their hands.

  He frowned at the sight then lowered his focus to cutting

  another piece off the steak. The attention he garnered was

  the same everywhere he traveled. The women reacted like

  they had never seen someone like him. Yet, in his homeland,

  all of his clansmen were tall and light haired with light eyes.

  They were much like him. The dragon blood ran strong in his

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  clan. What would these dark-haired, rounded women say if

  he told them that in his land, he was considered rather plain?

  Wooden clogs clopped down the stairs, drawing his

  attention. The off-worlder had arrived. Dressed like a young

  male, her small frame went unobserved by the inhabitants of

  the room, but he noticed. His heart skipped a beat. Dainty,

  delicate, the soft lines of her heart-shaped face strengthened

  the seed of desire she planted inside him last night until it

  threatened to bud into a clinging vine, refusing to release

  him. He gritted his teeth and unintentionally clenched t
he

  handle of his tankard. No matter what, he had to maintain

  controlled in her presence. Never again would he allow

  weakness to rule his body. He mustn’t allow a repetition of

  the previous evening. She made it clear she didn’t want him.

  She stopped on the last step and looked around the room.

  There, she glanced at his table, she turned away but her stare

  returned immediately. He witnessed her swallow, and then

  raise her chin to a higher degree. He tilted his head, smiled

  and motioned her to the table.

  She stepped away from the stairs, merging with the many

  people roaming throughout the room. She was so small,

  fragile even when compared to the others in the room. The

  muscles in his back tightened, and he straightened in his

  chair. Dressed in breeches and a white rough linen shirt, she

  still stood out among the patrons. Her slender form served to

  refresh his memories of her body, naked, supple, and pressed

  against his while her soft cries entered his mouth when he

  slid...he tensed, slamming the images to the back of his

  mind.

  “Good tidings.” He rose from his seat and gave her a tight

  smile before holding out a chair. For the briefest moment,

  their eyes met. She murmured a thank you as she slid onto

  the seat.

  Calis’ eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Now,

  Cap’an, I’m not one to complain about yer preferences, but I

  draw the line at bedding children.”

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  Paladin laughed out loud. The woman gasped, her eyes

  wide.

  Not giving her time to respond, he slapped Calis on the

  shoulder and grinned. His tension slid away under Calis’

  comment. He would rather have her ire turned on him than

  his first mate. “Well, my friend, I happen to agree with you,

  but this is no child. A bit small, but she is indeed a grown

  female. This I can attest to.”

  She glared at him. Without remorse, he smiled wider.

  Calis leaned over the table. He gave her a hard stare.

  “Why is her hair so short? She’s not marked for a crime, is

  she?”

  “No, she isn’t marked. She was a gift to me from the

  Cosmos. A shooting star brought her,” Paladin replied,

  keeping his voice low.

  Calis sat back, frowning at him. “Bah, ye and yer

  mysticism. It’s enough to make me sick.”

  “Do you mind? I’m hungry,” the woman said. Tension