Jedidiah: Dragon’s Savior – Ménage Erotic Fantasy (Dragon's Savior Book 2) (2 page)

“No. Not that. Someone is trying to kill her. Well, maybe not kill her, but he will hurt her should he find her. But for now, she’s safe I think.” Essie nodded. “I don’t know what she is or who, other than her first name is Lindsey. She…she bit me when we were being tracked by this man and I could talk to her. I never tasted her.”

When Essie spoke again, he knew that she’d found the girl and had asked the earth to protect her. “She’s unwell, did you know that? I don’t mean just hurt, but sick as well. The earth said that she will need someone to heal her before she can take on the man. He is bent on having her as his bed partner.”

“That’s kinda what I thought too.” Casdon looked out over the night sky and darkness he knew to be the trees. “She’s afraid of him. She told me that he used her as a housekeeper. I think she skipped over the part of how long she’s been with him. Her fear is not fresh, but resigned somehow. As if she knows that he’ll find her again and that she will, in turn, run again.”

“No. If he catches her this time, she won’t be able to run again.” With that she moved into the house and left him there to think and ponder over what she’d said. Going to the lawn, he shifted again and took to the skies. Casdon needed to know where the man was and that the girl was indeed safe. And the only way to do that was to find them.

~~~

Lindsey went deeper into the cave that she’d found earlier that day. Up until a few mornings ago she’d been living in a hut that had been abandoned not long ago. And while it was warm when the fires were burning, it was kind of creepy in what was on the shelves and hanging from the ceiling. Not to mention, the place had smelled badly too. After only about three nights she’d moved on, and had been, until now, living in trees and under piles of leaves. It wasn’t a way to live, but she was afraid to go to the town yet. He would find her there for sure.

Brandon Cox had hired her to take care of his home over a year ago. It wasn’t like it was yesterday, but sometimes she forgot that fifteen months had passed between then and now. She’d told the man that had changed into a dragon that she was his housekeeper because she was embarrassed that she’d not been able to escape before now. Not that she’d not tried, but this time something had happened that had afforded her a better opportunity than the other times.

She was his slave, and if her lack of pay didn’t say that, then the fact that he’d chained her to the floor all the time would certainly be good evidence of it. She had wanted out from the very beginning. This was the longest that she’d been away from him, and she was afraid of what he’d do when he found her again.

“I will kill myself.” The sound of her voice startled her, and she looked around to make sure that no one had heard her. Lindsey had no idea what was in the cave with her, but if they were to speak to her, she thought that she’d just mark it up to more shit that she didn’t know about. And there had been plenty she’d discovered.

The dragon man for one thing. Who the hell would have thought that they were real, much less around her? She’d seen other shifters, mostly wolf and cat, but nothing like a dragon. And he seemed just as comfortable in one body as he was in the other. The others, the other shifters, had seemed like they’d rather be one or the other, not both. At least she had thought so at the time.

When the cave she was in leveled out and it was easier to walk, Lindsey sat down on the ground and couldn’t believe how warm it was. She laid her head back on the big stone behind her and thought of a warm fire and a good meal. It had been so long since she’d had either that she feared that cold berries and worm-filled apples were all she was going to get. But someday, she told herself, someday she’d have more than enough food, and warmth so wonderful that she’d never move away from it. Then she thought of the dragon man.

He had saved her not once, but twice today. Most would have just left her to her own problems and not cared a bit for her. It was the way things had been since she could remember…what she could remember, which was very little at all of her time before the home.

But he had helped her get away from Brandon and had kept her from leaping up and running at him when he’d come to the clearing. Biting him had been a mistake, she knew this now, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Her one friend had told her that they could talk that way. It really was too bad that he’d died some months before she was held captive. It would have been wonderful to have someone to talk to all these past months.

Lying down to a more prone position, Lindsey thought of how handsome the man had been. Not just as a man, which was nice enough, but as his dragon. He was pretty. Wondering if pretty was a word that one used when describing a dragon, she smiled in the darkness. But his dragon self was very handsome. And very strong. Strong enough to lift her up in his claws and take her to safety.

Her belly rumbled in protest of not having anything in it, and she lay there wishing she’d remembered to pick herself an apple or two before coming down here to sleep. The worm holes in them didn’t bother her overly much. She was careful not to bite before looking, but that didn’t make her any less hungry. Closing her eyes and promising her belly a meal soon, she tried to sleep.

Being hungry and tired was something that wasn’t new to her. It depressed her to think how long it had been since she’d been full. And sadder still to know that the only good bath she’d had recently was the dip in the lake she’d found a few days ago.

While the water had been very cold coming from the mountain, she felt wonderful after she’d scrubbed first herself, then her clothing. And when she’d stripped them off, meager as they were, and laid them out to dry, Lindsey had spent a good hour just wading in the clear water, feeling free.

But she’d paid for her time in the water. Time had slipped away from her, and Brandon had nearly caught her. Well, he did find her, but he’d not taken her this time. Moving to look at the tear in her pants, she could see the wound and thought it wasn’t healing like it should. Running today had cost her as well, and she’d worn out much sooner than she had when she’d first gotten away.

“He’s hit me with that whip for the last time.” Looking around when she thought she heard a voice tell her to take her gift, she sat up and tried to see into the darkness. “Who’s there?”

There was no answer, but Lindsey had a feeling that she was being watched. Not by anything that would harm her, but watched all the same. Lying back down, she tried to think of something else, a good thought, when the dragon man came to her mind again. He was a nice man. Too nice for the likes of her.

It had taken her nearly all her life to realize that no one was coming for her when she’d been at the home. It had been like she’d woken up there, not that she’d been taken there like the other kids. The memories before that time were blurred. There were images of two men, one of whom she knew by name, and her grandmother. A house and a dark night, but not where it was or why the man had been carrying her.

But in all that time there, years and years, no one had come for her. Not her parents, who she had surmised more than likely didn’t care that she was gone, or anyone else, like the grandma that she’d met only a few times. And no matter how hard she’d tried, there was simply no information to be found about them. No one by the name Decker had lost a child. And the police were less than helpful when she’d gone to ask them what they might know.

Brandon was one of them, a cop. So she knew she would get no help from them with keeping him away from her or getting him to leave her alone. After a while she’d given up on everything, like a warm bed and good food, until a few weeks ago.

Brandon had come home when she’d been at her bath. It was nothing more than her standing in the kitchen in a big tub, but he’d caught her naked. She might have run then, but her chains were too tight and he’d hit her and knocked her out when she cringed from him. After that, it was as if he’d been waiting to catch her naked again so he could touch her. And when he did, she felt her skin crawl and her belly sick up.

“You look ready for me to sleep with.” He’d told her that when he’d come to her that day. “And if you scream out, I’m going to hit you until you’re out. Then I’m going to do it to you some more. You’re prime for me, and I should have seen it before now.”

He’d unbuckled his pants and pulled out his dick. He was hard but small, and she’d wondered what he thought he was going to do with it. She’d had sex before and knew how it worked, but he was so tiny…like a little boy’s thing. But then he came at her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her down to the floor and near his groin. Lindsey had done the only thing she could think of, and had slammed her fist into his balls and knocked him down.

As he had lain there, bleeding from his head where he’d hit the table, Lindsey tried to think past what had just happened. She thought that he’d wake and hit her harder this time, and make good on his promise to rape her. But then she realized that he was really out, and crawled to him to get the key that was forever hung around his neck. Taking it, she unlocked her chains and ran around the house, looking for things to take with her. There wasn’t much, but she did manage to find some things…mostly food and the bow and arrow she’d brought with her the first day.

It had been a gift from her friend, the wolf. He’d even gone so far as to show her how to use it. She wasn’t all that good at it, but it had been fun learning. And lately, at least before getting trapped here, she’d been able to hit the tree she’d been aiming at more often than not. But she could never bring herself to kill a bird or anything else to eat. It was just too...mean, she supposed, was a good word for it.

All that she’d been able to carry was one bag that she’d stuffed with things to eat and a knife. The one that was still in her pocket. There was never any water in the house unless she went to the creek to get it, as he wouldn’t let her use the sink water. Said it was his and his alone. The moron. How the hell was the water his when he barely even used it to clean himself? Not to mention, he’d worn his clothing for days on end before he’d tell her to wash and dry them. He really was a fucking moron.

Curling into a ball to get warm from the sudden chill, Lindsey fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be better, she told herself. But then, she told herself that daily and it had yet to happen. But now…well, now she had a little hope. Not much, but enough to put a smile on her face, and she liked it. The smile felt really good for a change.

Chapter 2

Jed pulled his shirt up and over his head and dropped it on the ground. It stank worse than he did, and when he moved it past his nose, he nearly got sick from it. Smiling, he looked over at Zak, his dragon, when he laughed too.

The dragons were doing most of the heavy lifting. He and his brothers were doing a lot, too, but they left most of the largest stones that they were pulling out of the pile of rubble that had once been a thriving castle. And what a pile of stone it was. He supposed he should have known that it was going to be a big undertaking, but seeing it and thinking it were two entirely different things. When Essie brought him a bottle of water he nearly drained it, but she cautioned him about the cold and his being hot.

Taking slow sips, he watched the rest of them. The twelve of them, five his brothers and the six dragons that were their other halves, had been at this for nearly a week. To him it looked as if they’d made little progress, but he knew that wasn’t right. The stone had fallen in on the castle, and according to the notes he’d found, there were two levels below the ground that they had to yet get to. The three levels of it had been above the ground had fallen in, and was what they were currently cleaning up.

So far they had found a few of the items that had been in the castle. One was a large pot. He’d had no idea what it had been used for until they looked in the book. That was what led them to believe they had found part of a bedroom. The chamber pot, it turned out to be, had been in one of the several bedrooms on the upper floors. A part of a blanket, too, had been found. But it was so eaten up by something that they’d put it aside in a bag. But the real treasure had come in the form of a woman’s hair comb. No one knew who it had belonged to, the household or their mother, but it, too, was something that they held near to their hearts.

“I’ve been thinking.” Everyone groaned at Casdon. “Seriously. Yesterday I found someone on our land that should not have been here, as I mentioned before. Not just the man—I’m not concerned with him—but there was a woman. I think she needs to be here for our protection, and the man who was after her needs to be taught a lesson. By us. Which reminds me, how are our tenants and where do they stand with living on this land?”

“We have tenants? And what woman? No one said anything about a woman.” Jed looked at Asher, who also acted as if he had no idea. They all turned to Elbert when he and Dad came from the woods. “We have tenants on this land?”

“You do. Seven I believe. They are to pay homage to the family once a year, or so I have been led to believe. They are all current but one. And the attorneys are working to have him evicted as we speak. His payments are several years in arrears.” Elbert handed Jed a sandwich as he continued. “He is a man that I do believe that Casdon has had dealings with. But like you, I know of no woman.”

Jed, as did the rest of them, looked at Casdon. His face was bright with embarrassment, and he smiled lamely at him. He had heard about the man this morning at breakfast, but didn’t remember any mention of a woman. Jed asked him now.

“He was after the girl. The one that I just mentioned to you guys.” Jed tried to wrap his head around someone chasing a girl on their land. He wasn’t stupid…he knew that it sometimes happened. But not on their land. There was magic here to protect all that lived here. But he supposed that if the man lived here too, he was sort of exempt from the magic. He’d have to ask Caroline when he saw her again.

“Do you know where she is now?” Casdon told him. “So, she’s living in the caves. And do you know if she has enough to eat? Is she unwell?”

“I’m not stupid, Jed, and I would very much appreciate if it you’d stop talking to me as if I am.” Jed snapped his mouth closed. Casdon had been short with them all lately, and they wondered about it. When he said he was sorry, Jed looked at Elam, who only shook his head. “I took her some food this morning before coming here. And water. I’m not sure that she had a coat or anything, so I took her one of mine to wear. Also, I know I should have asked, but she lost her bow yesterday and I don’t know if she’s found it or not, so I took the one from the storage shed and left that as well.”

“Good job.” There was the matter of his temper, but Jed would talk to him later, when they were alone. Or have Elam do it. Instead, he continued with what to do about the girl. “We should find her and bring her to the house. If for no other reason than she can’t stay out there in the cold. Winter will be here before we know it, and the mountains and the caves will be coldest.”

“I’ve had the earth keep her warm.” Essie sat down and looked at them all. “I knew that he’d been with her yesterday. And that was why I wasn’t worried when we couldn’t find him. The earth told me that he was with her, trying to save her from herself and the man that chased her. She’s hurt too. Something to do with an infection, but I can’t tell where.”

Jed wrapped his sandwich up, as did the rest of them. Break was over for now, and they all moved toward the mountain that Casdon said the girl was at. Essie laughed and said that she’d get a room ready for her and would see them later. Asher was smiling like a loon when he glanced over at Jed.

“You’re happy.” Asher looked at him and nodded. “It looks very good on you. I was—a little mind you—worried about what was going to happen with the two of you. Kiaran and you were mates to the same person, but I can see that you’ve made it work out.”

“We both love her very much.” Jed nodded. “You think we’ll all have mates that we share with the dragons? I don’t know how it would work otherwise. I mean, I suppose there could be two women for us, but this works for us.”

“I don’t know how it will work for the rest of us to be honest. Nor, really, do I think it will matter how it works so long as you’re all happy.” Jed had thought of nothing else in his spare time but having a mate and how much she would change his life. “I’m not saying that I’d rather not have a mate, or even both of us having one each for that matter, but I don’t…I’m not sure I could handle one.”

“What do you mean ‘handle one’? They’re not anything that you need to handle, Jed. Essie is amazing.” Jed agreed with him and said that he loved her too. “Then I don’t understand why you’d think your mate will be different.”

“Because it’s me.” That was a stupid answer, so he tried again. “I mean, I’m not good around the opposite sex. I can’t seem to get a word out without pissing them off. It’s why I don’t date all that much. Women just don’t like me. And when I try to be charming, I come off as a weird person and they put restraining orders out on me.” It had never happened really, but he’d been warned off a couple of times.

“That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said. What about that girl…what was her name?” He told him. “Yeah, Cindy…what about her? You and she had a thing going for a while. How do you think that worked with you two?”

“She was as rude as I was.” Jed couldn’t help it, he laughed with Asher. “We would be so mean to each other. I’d tell her she was lazy or putting on a few pounds, whatever, and she’d come back at me with this stupid thing about my tat. I never told her about Zak, but I don’t think he much cared for her either.”

“I didn’t care for her at all.” Jed patted his counterpart on the back as they climbed the big hill that the cave was in. “When Jed would sleep, she’d try to wipe at me with nail polish remover and all kinds of things. That’s what ended the relationship, I think…her trying to make him into something that he wasn’t ever going to be. A man without me.”

Jed smiled at the memory, and Asher asked what it was. “She tried to get rid of Zak, like he said, and once he’d had enough, he rose up from me and snapped at her. It woke me, of course, and when she went screaming to the bathroom, Zak told me what she’d been doing. Needless to say, once that was out, I moved to my own place. So as you can see, I don’t do well with women.”

The cave was right in front of them and all the food and stuff that Casdon had brought was still where he’d put it. He looked worried, and that in turn worried them as well. Going into the cave, Asher lit the way for them with his magic, and it wasn’t until they came to a few forks in the path that they decided to split up.

Jed and Zak went down and the rest of them went in the other directions to save time. They could communicate if they needed to, but for now, they moved quietly. Jed was sort of afraid to find that the man had found the girl and she was going to be dead. Asher, however, assured them that she was alive but very sick. Zak said that he wasn’t sure that was going to be any better.

Zak stopped him nearly at where the path leveled out. They could see that the cave was brighter here. Not by fire, but perhaps because the cave was helping them. As they moved closer, they could just make out a body. As Zak moved to be his dragon, he took off to the topmost part of the cave while Jed moved up behind the body. He saw that she was hurt badly.

Jed reached out to the rest of his brothers to tell him where she was and what was going on. They were on their way.

“She’s been beaten pretty badly. Do you have an idea who it might be?” Zak didn’t answer him, but then he was being a lookout not there to cool his temper. “I’d like to find the person who did this to her and beat the living snot out of them.

His temper of late had been short. Well, more than that, it had be violent and hot. He wanted to hurt anyone who spoke to him, not caring a fig if it made sense or not. Jed went to the wall and started knocking his head against the hard stone. He needed something to distract him from his anger. He was jerked away suddenly and looked at his older brother, Asher.

“I’m all right now.” He wasn’t immediately let go, but Jed assured him he wasn’t going to hurt anyone. Trying to shake off his anger, he looked at the woman in front of them, laying in the dirt and bleeding from her nose and mouth. “Something happened here and I’m not in the best of humor about it.”

“Really? Because here I thought you were getting better all the time.” Asher hit him on the shoulder before going to stand over the prone woman. “Christ, you scared the shit out of me. I’ve never seen you look so murderous before.”

“I’ve never felt that way before.” He was still standing there when he felt Zak touch his mind, and he realized that both Zak and the woman were gone. Jed asked him if he’d taken the woman back to the house, and he said that he had.

She’s the one, Jed.

Jed was moving toward the opening of the cave with Asher when he realized what Zak had said. He stood there for several seconds, just trying to get his mind to stop for a moment.

Your mate?
He told him she was.
And do you think…please tell me you don’t think she’s mine too.

I have no way of knowing that until you get here.
Jed decided that he was never going home again.
Yeah, that’ll work. You moron. Get here so we can figure this out. And so you know, she’s got a bad infection on her leg. It looks like someone hit her with a whip and they didn’t care how deeply it went.

“I’m going to kill him.”

Asher asked him who, and that was when Jed realized he’d spoken that part out loud. “Jed?”

“I need to go to town for a few days.” Zak laughed in his head. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Maybe I’ll not come back.”

“She’s your mate.” Jed nodded at Asher, who then burst out laughing. “Zak told Essie what was going on with him. I’m assuming she’s yours too, right?”

“I don’t know. I just…I just told you I don’t know what to do with a mate. What the hell am I going to do with her?” Asher told him to love her. “I don’t know how. I don’t even know if I want to know how.”

“Then maybe it would be best if you did leave.” Asher called to Shane, and they started their walk back to the house. Jed was still standing there when the cave was empty of everyone but him. Sitting down on the cold earth, he tried to think his way out of having a mate. But all he could think about was he had her and that he was so screwed.

~~~

Jacob went from wanting to beat his son to going out and making sure he was all right. It was nearly pitch dark out and no one could get in touch with him. Essie had told him several times that he was still in the area, but Jed had had a powerful awakening today and he might need him. And Jacob wanted this business of him seeing if the young girl was his mate confirmed. He needed to know that the girl was going to be all right now.

Going back up to the room that Zak and Jed shared, he wasn’t surprised to see the dragon, now as a man, there. He was watching over her like she was a treasure. Which, Jacob realized, she was. The fever in her leg was burning her up one minute and having her shaking so badly with the chills the next that he was worried about her breaking bones. She wasn’t very big…tall, but no bigger than a slim tree in her weight.

“I’ve been giving her the broth like Essie said. But I think I spill more of it than I get in her.” Jacob nodded and sat on the chair next to the bed. Zak looked worried, and so was Jacob. “Jed said that he’s not coming here again. Told me that he doesn’t know what to do with her, so he’s going to keep away. You think that’ll work?”

“No. Do you?” Zak shook his head. “Mayhap she’s not his mate too. You ever think of that? She might just be for you?”

“Do you think so?” No, he didn’t, and told Zak that. “Me either. But it will do neither of us any good if she doesn’t break this fever soon. She’s so weak to begin with, and I don’t think she’s eaten a proper meal in some time.”