Dragons Don't Cry (5 page)

My talons clicked on the stone. Sucking in
air, I noticed the putrid odor of decaying animals. My thirty-two
year period of mourning had turned me into a slob. I gathered the
first pile, which was harder to pick up now that I’d smashed the
bones. I flew my garbage out of the upper parapet. It took hours,
but I cleaned the tower and finally sanitized the floor and walls
with fire.

Black soot now coated the room, but the odor
was more pleasing. My anger dissipated while I swam in the closest
lake and removed the smell of death that clung to my scales.
Cleaning my mess gave me a clearer view of what I wanted, and a
certain young human was at the top of my list.

Chapter Eight

Acasia

I lay in bed working to keep my breathing
even. Where did he stay while I slept? For my plan to work he
needed to stay in the room next to mine. It was hours later that I
heard someone open my door. It closed softly. I waited another hour
before slipping through the bathing and garment rooms, entering his
chamber. In the soft glow of light from the moons, I could see he
slept on his side, facing away from me, a powerful arm cast over
his head. The bedding dipped at his waist, and a firm ass cheek
caught my attention. This was only the second time in my life I had
seen a totally unclothed man. Him standing naked and watching me in
the bathing chamber being the first. As a claiming bride, the male
body was hidden from me. When older women spoke quietly of
erections and the changing male body, I could only imagine the
phenomenon. It was almost like I was born with a brand on my
forehead.

No self-control; cannot see naked man.

He was beautifully muscled. I’d seen strong
male arms and even a stolen glimpse of a male chest, but nothing
like what I was looking at. My mouth watered. If I wasn’t careful,
I would drool.

I crept closer until I could see the rise
and fall of his chest. I lifted my knee to the bed, my hand
tentatively going out. Before I touched him, his body came alive
and my shriek filled the room. I was now on my back staring into
the darkest eyes I’d ever seen.

“What are you doing here female?”

His full lips spoke in my dragon’s voice. I
hadn’t accepted the notion before because my mind didn’t understand
the magic, didn’t accept the impossible.

“I ca… came to see you.”

I was naked. His eyes raked down the upper
part of my chest. The bottom half of his body covered me below and
I knew he could feel me. And I felt the hardness of his cock
against my belly.

His gaze lifted and red sparks sizzled in
his dark eyes. “You should not sneak into the chamber of a strange
man,” he said gruffly.

I put as much helpless female intonation in
my next words as I could, “I need your help.”

“My help?” he replied in a husky
whisper.

“Yes.” My hand moved off the bedding to his
cheek, and I ran my thumb over his bottom lip, surprised by its
softness. I had to clear my unsettled thoughts to speak again.
“Your help. I wish to escape the dragon.”

His body froze. I could see the anger flash
in his eyes, brighter red sparks giving his true identity away
again.

Now, I heard irritation in his voice. “You
play with fire.”

Fighting down my laughter, I trailed my hand
across his face and thread my fingers through his hair. I moved my
lips a hair’s breadth from his and lowered my voice to a soft purr.
“But it’s you I want to burn me.”

“Why?” he asked with a throaty growl.

“The dragon will never mate with me and I
crave a real man between my thighs.” This was going further than I
planned, but feeling him pressing against me… it’s what I wanted
now, this instant.

The burning intensity in his eyes was almost
my undoing. “He will kill us both.”

I moved my body closer so my breasts rubbed
against his chest. “Not if you help me escape and go with me.”

His tongue came out, running over his upper
lip, lightly licking across mine. “Why would I wish to go with
you?”

“To be my lover.” I pushed my lips against
his, but it was him who took my mouth, ravaged it. I couldn’t
breathe as his tongue delved across my lips, past my teeth,
searching my inner recesses. He sucked deliciously, making me groan
deep in my throat. He cupped one breast, squeezed a bit too hard…
just right. A delicious heat pooled at my center. I wanted this man
so badly.

He pulled his lips away. “Fair lady, what do
you trade for my assistance?”

I had him. “First, your name.”

“Bastian.” He breathed out on a moan as I
wiggled beneath him.

“I cannot give you my virginity,
Bastian.”

His eyebrows cocked, his eyes growing even
darker still. “Then what can you give me, fair lady?”

“You misunderstand. I’ve already given my
virginity away and had too many other men to count. But I can fuck
you, Bastian, of that have no doubt.”

It took two seconds for my words to sink in.
He exploded from the bed, leaving me bereft. His eyes glowed
completely red—dragon red. I wondered if he could spew fire as a
human.

“You desecrate the claiming,” he yelled, his
hands balling at his sides, chest heaving.

For a second, I allowed my eyes to peer at
his center. Even thinking me deflowered, he still wanted me. “I
didn’t choose to be a claiming bride.”

He stared at me for a long moment before
stalking from the room. Doors slammed in his wake and I smiled.
Served him right.

Foolish dragon.

Now I just needed my body to calm. I wasn’t
exactly sure whom I just punished.

Chapter Nine

Bastian

She took the gift of her virginity from me.
How dare she! I jumped from the landing at the end of the hall into
my eating tower. My roar was loud; the burst of flames and smoke
would incinerate anything in its path. My wings pulled me up to the
parapet and out to the open sky. The moons shone bright, and I flew
fast, heading for her town. Because she didn’t know how many men
despoiled her, I would kill them all. The crash through realms was
painful. It didn’t need to be, but I craved this pain, relished
it.

The town slept, the lights off. I swooped in
low, my wings grazing the tops of their houses, and I roared. She
made me crazy. I wanted death, blood, a fight. Killing these humans
would give me two of the three. With a burst of flame to their
public building, it exploded. Humans poured from their homes, women
screamed, children cried. I made one last pass before changing my
course. Was anyone inside the burned building? A small part of me
didn’t want a human death on my hands. Acasia’s words made it a
smaller part than usual, so I refused to feel guilty.

I flew to Laryn’s territory after crashing
through the realm again. “Fight me, you no good motherfucker,” I
bellowed from above his lair.

He didn’t keep me waiting. His claiming
bride died recently. He covered his grief well, but I knew he
burned with sadness on the inside. His roar thundered through the
air, his smoke and fire close behind.

“You dare enter my territory without invite.
I will kill you, Bastian.”

“You will try, you lily livered blue
bastard.” I expected the impact, needed more pain. Something to
take the ache from my heart.

Our clash knocked me back, spinning us both
through the sky, our talons locked into the other’s scales. No
serious damage done, but it hurt and yet felt wonderful at the same
time.

“You moron dragon, I thought you claimed
your bride this week. Has she rebuffed you so early that you run
from her with your tail between your shaking talons?”

My roar exploded as I twisted free and rose
higher. I dove, taking him from above, carrying us both downward.
He tore away, but managed to slice my wing, ripping a large gash in
the unprotected inner flesh. I could still fly, still fight, but my
anger receded with the agony. I landed in the soft grass, hanging
my head.

Laryn shouted from above, “It’s no fun
killing a pathetic dragon. Is there something I can say to bring
your anger back?”

I watched him land twenty feet away. “Why
are females so difficult?” I mumbled.

His blue head flew back, smoke and fire
shooting from his mouth, bellowing laughter. “To expect anything
different, Bastian, makes you a foolish dragon. Go back to your
female and talk her to death, woo her, as is your want. But stay
out of my territory.”

I shook my head, softening my armor, going
out of fight mode. “Are we on for cards next week?”

“Yes, Sarn’s place, same time. Bring your
female so I can meet her.”

I gave a grumpy growl. “Steal her, you
mean.”

“If you can’t protect your bride, then it’s
always a possibility.” His blue eyes shone brighter.

“Humph, you could try. You would die.”

“Save your poetry for your bride. You will
need it, you ugly, red-spawned demon from hell.” He turned away and
flew off.

The sun was full up when I saw my lair in
the distance. I pulled magic within me, healing my wing and
alleviating the pain. She wore a long flowing gown of white similar
to her claiming dress but far more luxurious. She stood on the edge
of my perch outside my bedroom. My heart dropped. I was too far
away to catch her if she jumped. I pumped my wings, eating up the
space between us.

“Do not jump, Acasia,” I shouted. It was a
plea, but I didn’t care.

“Did you kill them?” Her sadness swelled
within me.

“I killed no one.” At least I hoped I
didn’t.

“Can I trust you, Bastian?”

I was closer now. Close enough to catch her
if she jumped. My brain registered her use of my name at the same
time she dove over the side.

What the hell? The woman was crazy, no…
insane.

I caught her easily, my talons closing
around her body, pulling her close to my chest. “You stupid
female,” I growled.

She actually giggled. “I knew you would
catch me. I lied last night. No man has touched me. I was angry and
wanted to pay you back for keeping the truth from me. I realized
after you left that you would kill them. All the men. But none of
them ever even looked my way.”

I took us higher, my heart swelling with
joy. “They looked at you, silly female. I wanted to kill them but
couldn’t. I may have left a building at the center of town in
flames, though.” She burst into full laughter and made my heart
swell near to bursting.

Her palm opened against the scales on my
chest. “You used my name earlier. May I stop being ‘female,’
‘human,’ or any of the other things you call me?” She caressed me
with her fingers as well as her voice.

I would give her anything at this moment.
“Yes, Acasia, I shall use your name unless you are acting like a
stubborn woman, stupid human, or foolish female.” I flew us to a
clearing with soft grass, gently spilling her from my hold before
landing far enough away not to hurt her.

She dusted specks of dirt and grass from her
dress, eyes alight with merriment. “Why did you throw a fit and
trash your filthy tower last night, Bastian?”

She’d seen my rage, didn’t run from it even
after tempting me to murder. Definitely insane. But more beautiful
than any bride I’d ever known. “I was jealous of your finger.” I
huffed it out, the thought still making my anger rise.

“My what?” It took her a moment, but then I
watched her cheeks heat, turning a bright red. “Oh.”

“I want your pleasure. I want to be the
first.”

She looked down and mumbled softly, “I never
placed my finger past the barrier.”

I came closer, lifting her chin with a talon
bigger than her head. “Thank you, Acasia. I will treat your
innocence with care.”

Her gaze burned into mine. “I do not wish to
remain innocent any longer, dragon, or I will be forced to use my
finger.”

Oh, my stubborn lady. How could I not laugh
at her demands? I felt my armor slide away, freeing my cock as it
grew. If she’d watched last night, she’d seen me at full mast. The
way she looked at me this moment made me want to blare my mating
shout. The sound I could only give when taking my mate in dragon
form. I’d given up ever finding a dragon mate, but I could make
this female my true bride.

I pulled in the magic and shifted.

I stood tall, proud, and human in front of
her, my cock on full display. She looked at me, her gaze traveling
my body before slowing returning to my eyes.

Her voice quivered. “Will it hurt?”

Her uncertainty was precious. “But a moment
of pain—a lifetime of ecstasy.”

She looked around the field. “Will you take
me here?”

“I leave the choice to you. Here, or in ten
minutes, a bed.”

Her smile grew and I would swear it blocked
the sun. She was my sun… bright, beautiful, mine.

“Here, dragon.”

“My name is Bastian.”

“Here, Bastian. I fear this, let us get it
over with.”

I walked forward and cupped her face, my
thumb running across her chin. Soft… calling to me. I stepped
closer so only inches separated us. Lowering my hand, I used both
to lift her gown over her head. She was bare beneath.

“So beautiful.” Each curve was soft and
delicate.

Desperation showed in her eyes. “Hurry,
Bastian, please.”

I would not give in until she was ready.
“No, my sweet. Your first time is better slow. Did you like your
finger?” I loved the red flush that traveled over her breasts, up
her throat, blossoming on her cheeks.

I would never forget her look of need. “No…
it wasn’t you.”

I turned away for one moment to spread her
gown on the soft grass while trying to gain control over my body.
Never had I wanted a bride as I desired Acasia. I took her in my
arms and slowly lowered her to the silky material.

“Was she beautiful?”

I had no idea of whom she spoke. “Who?”