by Tara West
“Wh-who are you?” she demanded, wishing she had her wand.
The dragon’s upper lip lifted, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. “Never mind who we are.” The serpent’s head weaved, following her like a snake cornering a rabbit. “You’re the Goldenwand heiress.”
She opened her mouth to contradict him but thought better of it. This was a kidnapping, and she’d be damned if she let them take one of her students.
Stepping back, she nearly tripped over her wand. With a quick flick of the wrist, she brought it to her hand, then yelled in pain when it was zapped away with a shock so powerful, she was driven to her knees.
“Did you think you could best me?” he purred, nuzzling her hair.
She backed up until she was pressed against the door or what was left of it. Crying out, she shielded her eyes when a dragon lunged for her, her knees buckling as she slumped into his open jowls.
THE STUDENTS HAD JUST finished their supper when Bodicea Bubblebosom noticed the change in the night sky. In a matter of seconds, the dark clouds had turned a brickish hue, as if illuminated by a fire within. Bodicea’s veins solidified with fear. It was just as Doris had predicted. War had come to their school.
She blew her whistle three times, waving her wand above her head. “Students, this is not a drill. Wands at the ready!”
Her charges snapped their wands out of their robes and fell to their knees, ducking under the tables as they’d practiced in drills.
A dragon’s roar was Bodicea’s only warning before the walls went up in flames. Bodicea threw a protective shield around her students as the other professors aimed their wands at the five massive dragons hovering over the charred remains of what had once been their school. They fought fire with fire, until the scorched air was so stifling, it hurt to breathe.
They would not survive this battle much longer.
Dame Doublewart and Lady Hoofenmouth were nowhere in sight, so Bodicea chanted the illusion spell, creating what appeared to be a powerful explosion. Then she whispered the secret password to unlock the dungeon. Bodicea stifled a scream when the floor buckled and she and her students fell to the bottom of the pit.
After hitting the dirt, she blinked up at the gray bricks, which shifted back into place above them. Her charges were dead quiet, knowing the slightest sound could give away their hiding place. Goddess save them if they hadn’t fooled the beasts.
Chapter Three
“What kind of wand is this? It looks like something from last century.” Serah knew she was turning on Draque as she fondled his wand, but she just couldn’t help herself. Maybe she was a bad girl after all.
“Probably.” He worked a tick in his jaw, his eyes turning to stone as he scooted closer to her. “We get leftover supplies from other schools.”
“I’ve never seen a wand so thick,” she cooed, taking on a sultry, siren tone. Great Goddess! Thelix was taking over. So not good. The last time she surrendered to her siren, she’d been kicked out of school.
“The older ones are thicker,” Teju rasped, his voice cracking as he wiped sweat off his brow.
“Do you like thick wands?” Draque asked, his voice low and dark.
Yes, we do, Thelix purred.
She inhaled the scent of his pheromones. “Are you being bad?” she teased, batting her lashes.
“Trying to be.” He ran a hand through his thick beard. “Are you?”
She handed back his wand. “Maybe.”
“I’ve got a thick wand, too, if you want to see it.” Ladon bowed his head, looking at her intensely.
We want to see all the wands, Thelix cried, making messes across our breasts.
Her siren watched too many porns.
Ladon’s boyish charm made her cream her panties. He was so damn cute. She knew she’d be dominant if they ever had sex, riding her dragon until they were both roaring with pleasure.
“Let me see.” She waggled her fingers, and he placed his wand in her hand. It was thick, like his brother’s. Judging by the bulges in their pants, their wands were a good indication of their anatomy.
Crossing one leg over the other, she fought to push wayward thoughts out of her mind and took another sip of her siren sangria. It tasted nothing like she’d expected. Fruity and sweet, with a salty/sour aftertaste, sort of like sex with a siren. Blissful and sweet until she finished with her lover and tossed him aside, which she supposed was better than when they used to eat them. Her mother and grandmother had expected her to be like them—love men and then send them on their way—but sadly, she had a witch’s heart. How she wished she could be as indifferent as the rest of her kind. Maybe then she wouldn’t still be nursing a broken heart.
She shoved thoughts of Periwinkle aside. He didn’t deserve her attention, anyway.
Thelix told her to dip Ladon’s wand in her drink and suck it dry, but she resisted, knowing her dragons would lose all control if she did that.
Admit it, you want them to lose control.
She silently admonished Thelix and handed Ladon back his wand. “It’s very nice,” she said, forcing herself to look away from his big, sweet eyes.
“Look what mine can do,” Teju said with a wink, handing her his wand.
It vibrated in her hand, and the tip bulged, making it appear to be a sex toy.
Ask him to slide it into your pussy, Thelix demanded.
“One drink, and you’re already trying to get in my pants.”
He blushed. “Sorry.”
Clucking her tongue, she handed it back to him, a buzz going through her when their fingers touched. Great Goddess, she was in so much trouble. How could she resist these three tempting brothers all night?
Maybe she shouldn’t. Maybe a tryst with them was exactly what she needed to heal her shattered heart after Periwinkle’s rejection.
Teju and his brothers looked nervously at each other, each with a hopeless look that told her they were all out of tricks. Maybe they weren’t the practiced flirts she’d assumed them to be.
“Tell me more about this school,” she said, changing the subject and hoping to put them at ease.
Draque’s eyes turned from brown to gold and back again, which meant he was probably warring with his shifter’s desires, too. “Dame Doublewart is a hardass.”
She rolled her eyes. “I gathered that.”
“But she cares about her students,” Ladon said.
She was beginning to suspect Ladon didn’t have an unkind bone in his body, which made her want to fuck him even more.
She took several deep swallows of her sangria, finishing it off and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Could’ve fooled me.” She accidentally slammed her glass on the table and was relieved when it didn’t shatter.
Draque flashed a mocking pout. “You’re still hurt over being sent to the dungeon?”
She crossed her arms, scowling. “Are you making fun of me?” Draque was the most mischievous of the brothers, judging by his attitude. Maybe even the reason they were always in trouble.
“Every student gets sent to the dungeon their first night,” Teju said, leaning into her and giving her a sympathetic smile.
“Usually one night is all it takes to prevent us from acting up.” Ladon blinked at her, clearly missing the irony in his statement.
She laughed. “Didn’t seem to work on you.”
Twin fires brewed in Draque’s eyes. “We’re a special kind of bad.”
Oh, goddess! Thelix yelled. Just fuck them already!
She scooted away from him, the heat from his nearness setting her skin aflame. “I promised my grandfather I wouldn’t go near bad boys again.”
He’ll never know, Thelix pleaded.
Draque’s brows raised as he gave her a long look. “Did you love him?”
“Who?” She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling as if his gaze was boring holes through her soul.
“Your professor.” He took a long drink of beer before setting the bottle on the table. He’d been the only b
rother to refuse a sangria, but something told her he didn’t need a magical drink to stoke his libido.
She broke eye contact with him, unable to handle his penetrating gaze a moment longer. “I thought I did.”
He didn’t know how to lick pussy, Thelix spat. We didn’t love him.
He leaned so close, she could smell the barley on his breath. “What made you change your mind?”
Serah released a shaky breath, hating that he was making her relive that awful day but also knowing she needed to acknowledge the ugly truth if she was to heal her broken heart. “He didn’t fight for us.”
There, she’d said it, though the truth stung like a thousand venomous cobra bites. Periwinkle’s rejection had hurt far worse than when her grandmother and mother tried to kill her. Worse than when Grandfather called her a whore after she’d been caught with Prometheus.
Prometheus had told her he loved her, that he wanted to spend eternity with her, but he’d let her go too easily after the headmistress discovered their affair, refusing to even look at her when they were called before the school board.
“How old was he?”
She blinked at Teju, startled back to reality, angry with herself for pining for her professor when she had three virile young men at her disposal. “Age is just a number.”
Draque tapped her knee with his wand, a determined look in his eyes. “How old?”
“Thirty-three.” She hung her head, angry with herself for capitulating.
“You were just a fuck to him.”
She jerked back, Draque’s harsh words like a smack to the head. “Gee, thanks.”
“He should’ve known better than to take advantage of a student,” he added.
No way would she cry now. She’d shed enough tears over that jerk. “Who said I wasn’t taking advantage of him?” she said haughtily, pretending her potions professor hadn’t pulverized her heart.
“Your eyes say it.” Teju tapped the rim of his glasses, giving her a knowing look.
Ladon splayed a hand across his chest. “You might have a siren’s body, but you have a witch’s heart.”
Jumping to her feet, she held out a staying hand when they tried to follow suit. “Stop.”
As if she needed to fall in love again. No, best to focus on her studies so she could graduate and get the hell out of this place.
Teju stood and grasped the tips of her fingers. When she didn’t resist, he pressed her hand between both of his. “We won’t do that to you, Serah.”
“How do I know that?” Prometheus had used almost that exact same line on her.
“A dragon’s word is his honor,” they said in unison.
“Why would you give me your word?”
Ladon gave her a soft smile. “Because you have a pure soul.”
Suspicion raised its ugly head. Releasing Teju, she sat back down. These guys were full of gnome dung. “How do you know anything about my soul?”
Draque sat dangerously close to her once more. “It speaks to us.”
That caught her off guard. She’d thought Ladon was the sappy brother. Why was Draque being so kind?
After sitting opposite Draque, Teju tapped his forehead. “Our instincts are never wrong.”
She imagined her eyes were twin wands, burning holes through their chests. “Obviously your instincts are bad, or you wouldn’t keep landing in detention.”
“Oh, that.” Teju chuckled, waving at the tiki bar and flat screen. “Does this look like detention?”
Ladon grimaced as he sat on the ottoman across from her, his knees pressing into hers. “Once you taste dorm food, you’ll understand why we need to get away.”
There were platters of crumbs on the tiki bar and coffee table. This place was far better than what she’d seen so far of Dame Doublewart’s. But they were full of shit, because if their instincts were so superior, they wouldn’t have gotten kicked out of their other school. She decided to drop it for now. Their confidence was misplaced but charming. Grandfather had told her dragons were annoyingly smug. They certainly were smug, but she wasn’t annoyed by them.
There was still one issue. All three brothers appeared to be vying for her affection. They were all so cute, how could she pick just one? She didn’t sense any rivalry between them. Were they hoping to share her?
She scratched the back of her head. “You guys don’t mind sharing a girl?”
“No.” Teju gave her a no-bullshit stare. “We share a mate. It’s the way of dragon prides.”
A mate? She wasn’t ready to be anything more than a fuck.
Ladon frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“This is moving too fast,” she blurted. So soon after her disgrace, how did she find herself in the lair of three tempting shifters? And what about Prometheus? Wasn’t she supposed to be pining for him? Funny how she couldn’t recall the details of his face while she was looking into Ladon’s luminous eyes.
“Do you want us to slow down?” Teju asked, obviously disappointed.
“I-I don’t know.”
Wrong answer! Thelix screeched. You want them. Stop fighting.
“Look at me, Serah.” Draque cupped her chin in his strong, calloused hand, forcing her to face him. “You want us. I see it in your eyes.”
She shivered as a wave of desire coursed through her. Damn him, he was right. “But it’s wrong.”
His brow shot up. “Why?”
She thought of Grandfather, sitting in front of the headmistress’s desk as she went into great detail about how she’d caught Serah in a compromising position with her teacher. Serah would never forget the look of disgust in Grandfather’s eyes when he said he knew she’d turn out to be a siren slut.
“I don’t want to be a whore,” she said, blinking back tears.
Your grandfather is a cruel, selfish man. You are a beautiful pearl. Do not let him make you ashamed of who you are.
Serah sucked in a sharp breath at her siren’s words. Never before had the siren spoken of Grandfather, and never had she offered comfort. Was she right? Was Grandfather cruel and selfish?
Ladon sat at Serah’s feet and took her hands in his. “We’d never think that of you.”
No, she thought, but Grandfather would.
“You’re far from a whore,” Teju added.
“If you want,” Draque said, “we can just get to know each other tonight. Don’t feel obligated to have sex with us, Serah.”
The sincerity in his eyes was enough to break her heart all over again. She was relieved they didn’t expect sex from her, but her siren certainly did, and Goddess save her, so did she. Her core throbbed so hard, it felt like a heart was beating between her legs. The moisture that pooled in her panties was bound to soak through the cotton, leaving a siren’s stain of shame on her jeans.
Not if you take off your jeans, Thelix cooed.
She searched their eyes for signs of deceit. “I don’t want anyone finding out.”
They perked up like they’d just downed cups of magic espresso.
“We don’t kiss and tell,” Draque said with a devastatingly sexy sideways smile.
“What happens in the bubble, stays in the bubble.” Ladon’s goofy grin warmed her heart.
She wasn’t quite ready to let her guard down. She gave them all sharp looks. “Promise?”
They drew pentagrams over their hearts. “On our honor.”
She stood when another wave of moisture gushed in her undies. Unzipping her jeans, she shrugged them off, then made quick work of her shirt, throwing both behind her. She gave them bold stares. “Then make love to me.”
They broke into deep growls that shook the marrow of her bones, but she wasn’t afraid. She knew they wouldn’t hurt her.
Draque stood in front of her, his skin branding her flesh as he gripped her shoulders. Her legs went boneless as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Thank the Goddess,” he breathed against her lips before claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss.
He tasted like smo
ke and barley and a warm spice that was all his own. Deepening the kiss, she clung to him like a lifeline when he lifted her into his arms and gently laid her across the sofa.
Thelix moaned, expelling a rush of air. Spread your legs for them, she demanded.
She shut her eyes when Draque kissed her again, trailing hot kisses across her jaw and neck. When the other brothers knelt beside her, kissing and nipping the bend behind her knee and her abdomen, she thought she’d melt in a puddle of lust. Strong hands caressed her breasts while another released the clasp on her bra. She arched when Draque slipped off her bra, shoving her chest in his face and crying out when he bit on the swell of her breast.
Running his hands down her back, he sucked one nipple and then the other, feasting on her breasts as if they were manna from heaven, his talented, swirling tongue sending a zing straight to her lady parts. Great Goddess! Where in all four realms did he learn that?
When someone pulled off her panties and slid his forked tongue across her slick ribbon, she about flew off the sofa. She looked down into Teju’s eyes. He flashed a wicked smile as he licked her again, his tongue working with the dexterity of an appendage as it dipped inside her well of desire, spreading moisture across her swollen labia.
She shuddered, sinking back into the cushions and spreading her legs wider.
That’s right, Thelix cooed. Surrender to your desire.
Teju purred while he licked her, a low deep vibration that rattled her insides and buzzed against her sweet spot. Flinging a hand across her forehead, she wept with joy, swept up in euphoria’s clutches.
Sliding her hands down her hips, she then ran her fingers through Ladon’s thick hair while he trailed kisses from her navel to her swollen center, his long, forked tongue circling her button while Teju’s tongue speared deep inside her. All the while Draque worshipped her breasts.
The orgasm that came over her was sudden and powerful, slamming into her like a wall of water. She tensed, crying out, then gushed into Teju’s mouth, too caught up in pleasure to care about the mess she made on the sofa as aftershocks pulsed all the way to her toes.
Teju chuckled, licking her juices. She was about to come undone again when Draque pulled her up and spun her around until she gripped the sofa’s armrest, her ass jutting in the air.