Highland Dragon

by Genevieve Jack

  This was folly. This was madness. What would it do to him, to his dragon, to do this and then watch her leave tomorrow? They were from two different worlds. He might as well sentence his heart to hell.

  Yet, if he didn’t, he’d always regret it. To feel like this, even for a moment, was worth an eternity of pain. This was bliss. It was heaven. Who would refuse their only chance inside the pearly gates even if they couldn’t stay?

  “Please.” She squirmed beneath him, positioning her hips. “Xavier, please.”

  Her expression was his undoing. She was begging, almost in tears for want of him. He lowered his hips and slid into her.

  He thought he might come apart for the feel of her, warm and soft beneath him. The sigh of pleasure she released made his dragon rise to the surface. The instinct to claim her as his own was overwhelming, and he would. Even without a mating bond, he’d make her remember this.

  “My God, Xavier. This is beyond anything… ever…” She touched her forehead to his chin, braced herself on his shoulders, and thrust her hips into his.

  He growled. He’d meant to go slow, to make love to her tenderly, but Avery had other ideas.

  “Harder.” She moaned, digging her nails into his back beneath his wings.

  He gave her what she wanted, unleashing his inner beast hard and fast until he feared he might hurt her. Thrust for thrust, she matched his pace, and then in a feat of strength he wasn’t expecting, she rolled him over. His wing slapped the bench, sending it skidding across the wood floor.

  She rose above him, one hand braced on his chest the other grabbing and tugging the talon of his left wing. Her hips ground against his. Arching, she tipped her head back and cried out. The sight of her rising and falling above him drove him into a frenzy, and her rough play ignited his passion to a level between making love and a physical attack.

  He sat up, driving deeper into her. A crack of thunder rattled the walls, and lightning lit up the windows. The storm outside was nothing like the one raging between them. She bit him lightly on the jaw and scratched along his ribs, scoring his skin. The pain was pure ecstasy.

  Fisting her hair, he bent her head back and nipped her throat, soothing the bite with tender kisses. She only ground harder against him. Her breasts mounded against his chest, between their bodies.

  “You’re mine, Avery.” His dragon hissed, wild and feral, from his soul. “You’ll always be mine.”

  He thrust harder inside her, and her pleasure seized her in a violent quake that tipped his own over the edge. With a long, low growl, he emptied himself into her. Surely he’d died and gone back to the Mountain. Everything was fire and heat and his love for this woman.

  He flopped onto his back, and she stretched like a lazy cat over his chest. “I donna know whit’s changed in the outside world, but I’d no idea people did it like that.”

  “Like what?” She laughed.

  “Rough. Almost violent. I hope I didn’t hurt ye.”

  She blushed fire red. “Oh… They don’t. I… I just couldn’t help myself. You didn’t hurt me. Did I hurt you?”

  They both laughed. “Nay,” he said softly, then added, “Not yet.”

  She slid off him and tucked into his side. He could have sworn he saw a tear roll from her eye. He wiped it away with his thumb.

  “Are ye all right, lass?”

  Her kiss landed on his jaw. “Just a bit of ash in my eye from the fire.”

  He grunted and pulled her closer, drawing the blankets up over her shoulders. He swiped a thumb under his own eye. It seemed the ash had gotten to him as well.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Avery woke in slow increments, recalling exactly where she was. Tucked into Xavier’s side, she experienced a swell of affection for the Highland dragon. But she was also very, very sore. She suppressed a groan as she stretched and inspected herself. Her inner thighs were bruised, and more sensitive spots on her anatomy were equally tender.

  She’d done this to herself, to be sure. She’d made love to Xavier last night as if she could permanently join the two of them if she just fucked him hard enough. The act was raw and primal. She hadn’t noticed then how violently she’d participated, but she felt it now. Felt as if she could barely move.

  None of her bruises held a candle to what was going on in her heart.

  Xavier stirred beside her. His soulful and serious blue eyes gazed at her in silence.

  “’Tis still vera early. Before dawn,” he said. “But I think we should both be on our way. The hunters will be scouring the hills, and I want them nowhere near ye.”

  She nodded but didn’t break eye contact. Couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to blink. And then a stupid thought led to a stupid action, and before she could stop herself, she said, “I don’t want you to go.”

  “Aye. No one wants to go inta battle, but the war must be fought.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Come with me… to the outside.”

  He shook his head. “You know I can’t. I can’t leave ma people to be murdered by that maniac.”

  “But…” She squirmed next him and blinked back tears. “I love you, Xavier. I do. I love you. You’re the first thing…” She chewed her lip. “You are the first thing I ever really wanted for myself.”

  “Aye. I love ye too. Enough to offer ye an eternal bond. And I suppose what happened last night sealed that deal for me, although ye are still free of it.”

  She inhaled sharply. “Are you suggesting you bonded with me even though I wouldn’t bond back?”

  He nodded. “Sometimes we canna help it. Ma dragon wants ye. There will be no other for me—not ever.”

  She shuddered in his arms. “Ugh. This is stupid.” She couldn’t go. Not now. “I’m coming with you.”

  He leaned over her, not a hint of levity in his expression. “No. You’re going home. You’re going to live a long, happy life in yer world. If all goes well, I’ll see ye at Mistwood in a day or two.”

  She searched his face, then said firmly, “I’m going.”

  He shook his head. “After last night, I canna risk it. Yer presence would put us both in danger. The second someone saw ye, Lachlan would use ye against me.”

  He was right. She knew he was right. And it was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do when she pushed him off her to stand up. “Fine. Then let’s not prolong the inevitable.”

  “Avery!”

  He called after her, and she made the mistake of glancing back at him. His fully nude form stood from a crouch, every muscle as etched and pronounced as she remembered. No wonder she was sore. The man was a marble statue whose sculptor hadn’t skimped anywhere.

  She closed her eyes, turned away, and marched into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Her heart pounded. The memory of him filling her flooded her mind, and her hands trembled as she dressed. Never would another man live up to last night. She might as well become a damned nun when she returned home.

  She laid the outfit the brownie had obtained for her on the bed and dressed in the one she’d come in, the leggings and the hiking boots. She repacked her bag, slipping it onto her back. By the time she exited, Xavier had dressed as well. He looked positively regal in his kilt, his hair braided and Fairy Killer hanging at his hip. She narrowed her eyes at the fierce sight of him. If Lachlan wasn’t shaking in his boots about what was coming for him today, then he’d never truly known Xavier. This man was a warrior.

  “I’m ready.”

  “That makes one of us,” he grumbled.

  Choking back her useless tears, she strode past him, out the door and toward the barn where Tàirn waited. Xavier’s reasons were sound. She agreed they were both doing the right thing. So why did it feel so damned wrong?

  Because you didn’t say yes. She’d reached Tàirn but balked, the searing pain in her chest almost bringing her to her knees. Clarity exploded between her temples. Xavier was the first thing in her life she had truly wanted, and she’d rejected him because of geography. Talk about being so focused
on the trees she couldn’t see the forest! In her desire to keep nothing from thwarting her quest to find her future, she’d almost cast the most important part of it aside. Love.

  Snorting her derision, she took Tàirn’s reins and led the horse out of the stall to where Xavier waited in front of the cottage. “Ye ken where ye’re goin’, aye? Head due west, same direction ye arrived from. Ye’ll find the place ye dropped in. I’d thought before that either Glenna or I would have to let ye out, but now that we know ye’re immune to magic, I reckon ye’ll be able to pass through the ward at the foot of the mountain on yer own.”

  She nodded, avoiding his eyes. Without being asked, he lifted her easily into the saddle, and she settled her skirts around herself, gathering the reins in her hands.

  “By the Mountain, woman. After everything we’ve been through, are ye not even goin’ to say yer farewells?”

  Swallowing hard, she took a fortifying breath and looked him dead in the eye. “Yes,” she said firmly.

  He nodded, confused by her curt reply.

  “Yes, I accept the bond.”

  His eyes widened until she could see white all around the blue of his irises. He reached up to touch her, but she pressed her calf to the horse and maneuvered away from his hands, shaking her head.

  “If you want your bonded mate, Xavier, then kill Lachlan and come for me. I’ll be waiting for you at the gate. I’ll only pass through if I’m in danger. I expect you to succeed and come for me. Do you understand me?”

  She wondered if it was a low blow, accepting the bond now, but she wanted his inner dragon to stop at nothing to get back to her. She needn’t have worried. He straightened and gave her a wolfish smile that rocked her deep in her core.

  “Vera well, ma mate. I will win back ma lands and then find ye, and when I do, ye best be prepared to have ma hands on ye.”

  The impish smile she returned held nothing but promise. “I look forward to it.”

  Before she could change her mind, she turned Tàirn and kicked him into a run.

  She’d accepted the bond! Fire raged in Xavier’s chest. His instinct was to go after her and never leave her side, but now not only did his loyalty to his people drive his steps but also her mandate that he succeed. Avery was a cunning woman, and she knew exactly what she was doing. He’d never been so motivated in his long life.

  He fed the brownie one last time, just as the sun’s rays broke the horizon. “Thank ye, ma friend, for yer help.”

  The fairy wrinkled its cream-covered nose and smiled at him. Xavier turned himself invisible, spread his wings, and flew for Castle Dunchridhe. The sooner he killed Lachlan, the faster he’d be back in Avery’s arms.

  He was thinking of her still as he arrived within view of the castle. His heart sank. Lachlan was expecting him.

  The entire clan stood in the road leading to the castle, and every person was armed. Their arrows, swords, crossbows and bolts gleamed metallic in the sun. But the worst part was their eyes. Empty, dead eyes, as if they were in a trance. Completely within Lachlan’s control.

  His stomach twisted as he recognized each of them—his friends, his fellow clansmen. He soared over them toward the castle, and that’s when he saw Lachlan and the cruel trick he’d played. He’d placed Mistress Abernathy on the castle’s hoard, a noose around her neck. Lachlan stood beside her, so close that one of his feet rested precariously between her legs, a gleaming rapier in his right hand.

  It was clear now that she was meant to be the bait. If Xavier showed himself, the clan would shoot him. If he flew straight for Lachlan, he risked the fairy tripping Mistress Abernathy and sending her tumbling over the wall, which would break her neck. If he soared into Mistress Abernathy and carried her back from the edge of the hoard, Lachlan would use the distraction to stab him with his sword, which was undoubtedly made from the metal enchanted to weaken him. If he got too close or tried to snap the rope encircling Mistress Abernathy’s neck, Lachlan would smell him and either cause the old woman to fall as a distraction or simply stab him.

  Lachlan was an excellent swordsman and faster than any human. Xavier couldn’t take any of those scenarios lightly. Which left him only one choice.

  He drifted high over Lachlan’s head, careful to distance himself so that his scent wouldn’t give him away. He circled around the castle and landed silently on the castle wall behind Lachlan. In that position, the villagers would not be able to shoot at him without hitting Lachlan first. He raised Fairy Killer and dropped his invisibility.

  “Let her go, Lachlan, and let’s settle this as men.”

  Lachlan turned his platinum-blond head slowly and stared at him with cold black eyes. “I’m no man, and neither are ye.”

  He swept Mistress Abernathy’s legs out from under her.

  Xavier moved as fast as he was able, swooping over the edge of the castle and catching Mistress Abernathy before the noose could close. He loosened the rope and pulled it over her head while twisting his body in flight to avoid the stab of Lachlan’s rapier. Arrows flew from below, and Xavier dived and then climbed to avoid them, moving for the cover of the east stone turret. He landed with Mistress Abernathy inside the window and kicked in the leaded glass as a storm of arrows bounced harmlessly off the stone.

  “Are you well?” he asked her, but her face was blank, her hands down by her sides. She might as well have been staring absentmindedly across the loch rather than recovering from a close call with death. Her lips twitched. He shook her by the shoulders gently. “Can ye not speak?”

  She blinked rapidly at him; then her right hand tore from her pocket and thrust a dagger into his gut. The pain was instant and unbearable. He pushed her away and stumbled backward toward the window.

  “Must slay the dragon,” she mumbled. She screamed then, screamed for the guards as if he were ripping her heart out.

  Betrayal shivered down his spine as Xavier tugged the dagger from his flesh and dropped it. Enchanted steel. Blood gurgled from the wound.

  Mistress Abernathy bared her teeth and lunged for the weapon. One day she’d be free from Lachlan’s control and regret this, but today was not that day. Xavier leaped backward out the window and allowed himself to fall fast. He landed in a crouch in front of the castle, facing a legion of his own clan, every one dead set on killing him.

  A hand grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him behind the castle wall inside the raised portcullis before another barrage of arrows fell where he’d been standing. Glenna pressed her hands to his wound, which wasn’t healing. It would eventually now that he’d pulled the dagger out, but the healing would be slow and painful thanks to the enchanted metal.

  “Oh, she got you good. They’re all under his control, my laird. All but me. And he’s ordered them to fire at ye on sight.”

  “Then we take away their sight.” He made himself invisible. Stripping, he dropped the sword on the heap of his clothes. “If I shift, I’ll heal, and my scales will repel the arrows.”

  Glenna nodded her understanding.

  “Bring these to me as soon as you are safely able. Guard the sword with yer life. ’Tis our only sure method of killing Lachlan.”

  “Aye, ma laird.”

  He bent and stretched, transforming into his true dragon form. He targeted Lachlan on the hoard. The fairy’s eyes scanned the yard for him as he sniffed the air, no doubt catching his scent on the wind. As he slithered from behind the castle wall, his thoughts became simple as they always were when he was in his beast’s skin. He must end Lachlan even if he had to bite the fairy’s head off with his own teeth.

  He beat his wings, lifting into the air and sending a downdraft over the people below, strong enough to make them raise their arms in front of their faces. They lifted their weapons and aimed at the source. Invisible or not, Xavier didn’t have much time. He didn’t need it. All he had to do was break Lachlan’s hold over the clan and he’d be home free.

  He snapped at the fairy’s head, but Lachlan stumbled back from the edge. Xavier
missed. Lachlan pointed his sword straight at him.

  “I donna need to see ye to run ye through,” Lachlan said. “Come, dragon. ’Tis time for the fairy to slay ye for real.”

  Xavier couldn’t speak in his dragon form but inhaled a great stream of air into his lungs and, with that breath, sent a blast of dragon fire to consume the wicked fairy. The flames completely engulfed Lachlan, sword and all. Xavier didn’t stop until every flicker of flame had left his lungs. He wasn’t sure if dragon’s fire could kill a fairy, but if he was going to try, he was going to give it his best shot. But when his fire finally dwindled, Lachlan was gone. Not ash. Not scorched. Gone.

  The clatter of chain links preceded a heavy weight landing on Xavier’s back. His invisibility flickered out and his wings stopped working. He tipped over the edge of the hoard and crashed onto the grass in front of the castle, his body wrapped in enchanted chain mesh.

  Lachlan strode toward him. Xavier tried to raise his head and failed. His horns caught in the mesh, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t shake it. The fairy placed his hands on his hips and his boot firmly on Xavier’s neck. The net drained his magic, left him helpless.

  “Ye’ve always underestimated ma abilities, Xavier,” Lachlan said to him. “Fairies are masters of illusion. Look at me! I’ve slain the dragon again. What songs they will sing while ye rot in the dungeon where ye belong.”

  A wave of nausea overcame him as the enchantment in the metal forced him to shift back into his human form. He lay in the grass naked and helpless.

  “The problem is ye never understood why I need this place more than you. A fairy changeling, Xavier, is left when the fairies steal a human child. The fairies want the baby, but they also want to get rid of the changeling. My kind were cruel to me in the land of light. They left me behind in the builgean to rot in the shadow of yer human clan. But I am far more powerful than those bastards ever knew. This is my world now, and all will serve me.” Lachlan grabbed the back of Xavier’s head and dragged his face up from the grass to see his evil grin.