by S. E. Smith
“Why do you feel sorry for Trelon?” Kelan demanded as he thought of his younger brother. He and Trelon were the closest of the brothers, almost like twins. “What is wrong with him? Has something happened that he hasn’t told me about?”
Paul slapped Kelan on the shoulder. “Nothing he can’t handle,” he responded.
“Amber, Jade, and Zohar have shifted into their dragonling,” Morian clarified as she tickled Bálint on the bottom of his foot drawing giggles from him.
“We were about to go visit with Mandra and Ariel,” Trisha said, biting her lip. “Ariel was having minor labor pains earlier this morning. Mandra wouldn’t let her stay at their mountain home to deliver. The doctor Kor brought back was with her a little while ago.
“How is Kor doing?” Paul asked curiously.
Kelan grimaced before he looked at Trisha who rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say, he is careful before he agrees to anything his mate suggests,” he said as he ran his hand over the front of his pants.
“Why?” Morian asked as she pulled Bálint into her arms when he held his arms out to her.
“She offered to give him a vasectomy,” Trisha replied dryly as she bent to pick up the bag she had by the door. “He was all for it until she described in explicit detail what it involved and why it was given. Personally, I think she made some of it up,” she added as she opened the door and waited for the others to walk by.
“He told me what she said,” Kelan admitted with a disgusted shudder. “I am never getting one.”
“Until you go through labor, I would be careful what you say never to,” Trisha replied with a teasing laugh.
“Gods yes,” Morian chuckled as she walked through the door. “But I love holding a little one,” she said with an envious look.
Paul’s eyes darkened as he watched Morian carrying the infant in her arms. A pang of longing pulling at him as he remembered the joys of having Trisha in his arms. He wondered if it was even possible for him and Morian to have a child together or if she would even want one.
Morian turned and looked at him with a warm glow in her dark golden eyes. “Yes,” she whispered as if she could read his mind.
Paul nodded quietly to her before focusing on what Kelan was telling him. He was giving him updates on the battle with the Marastin Dow the night Raffvin was defeated. Kelan laughed as he told how Vox and Ha’ven cursed him and Mandra for not leaving them much to do after they came all this way to help out. Vox had to leave almost immediately after to return to Sarafin as Riley had gone into labor and threatened to kill his ass if he wasn’t there for the birth of their son. Paul asked about Ha’ven and was surprised when Kelan grew quiet.
“He returned to his world,” Kelan said hesitantly looking at Paul with a strange look.
“What’s wrong?” Paul asked bluntly.
“I know how protective you are about the human females that were taken,” Kelan began.
He looked at Trisha who was talking animatedly with his mother as they walked just ahead of them down the long corridor to Ariel and Mandra’s living quarters. He knew she had been upset about Ha’ven’s behavior. He had already promised his mate that he would have a word with Ha’ven about what happened.
“And….” Paul pushed.
Kelan released a sigh and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “He took one of the females with him,” he said heavily. “From the looks of her living quarters, there was a struggle before she was taken,” he added looking at Paul. “He will not harm her.”
Paul’s jaw clenched in anger. “Which one did he take?” He asked harshly. “You admit there was a struggle. How can you be sure he will not harm her?”
Kelan looked at his infant son who was watching him intently, as if sensing his daddy was upset about something. Kelan gave Bálint a reassuring smile before he answered Paul’s questions. He knew he would have to convince Paul that no harm would come to the female.
“He swore that if she still resisted after six months with him that he would return her,” Kelan replied. “She is the one that was injured and rescued when Carmen and Creon were on Earth. She is the one who does not speak.”
“And Ha’ven thinks kidnapping her - traumatizing her more - will help her how?” Paul asked in disbelief.
Kelan put his hand on Paul’s arm, stopping him in the corridor. “I swear on my life that Ha’ven will do everything in his power to help the female. She is his mate,” he explained in a low, deep voice. “He needs her.”
Paul’s jaw twitched as a protest rose before he nodded. These were good men. Kelan would not have made such a vow or let the woman go if he felt she would be in danger. He needed to trust his son-in-law’s judgement that the woman would be kept safe.
“Six months?” Paul asked.
Kelan’s eyes darkened but he nodded. “He has three months left,” he replied. “I will personally go retrieve her at the end of the three months if she desires it.”
Paul nodded before he turned to follow the women. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said.
“So will Trisha,” Kelan muttered under his breath drawing an amused look from Paul.
A moment later, they were knocking on the door to Mandra and Ariel’s living quarters. A harried Mandra opened the door, his face sinking in disappointment when he saw them. He opened his mouth only to close it as Creon came up behind him.
“Come in,” Creon said with a relieved grin. “Carmen is with Ariel. We thought you might be the human doctor. Kor insisted she get something to eat. She was not happy with him as she wanted to stay with Ariel and Carmen.”
Mandra ran his hands through his hair. “I’m going to kill that piece of Valdier dragon dung. He just wanted time alone with his mate! What about my Ariel? She is in pain!” He moaned out.
“She is in labor,” Ariel replied dryly as she held her huge stomach with one hand. “She is not dying.”
Mandra swirled around with a dark scowl on his face. “What are you doing up?” He demanded harshly, striding toward her.
“I had to go to the bathroom and walking is supposed to be good,” she said before she bent over with a grimace and began panting. A low moan escaped her. “Don’t!” She bit out painfully when Mandra reached to pick her up. “Just…. Wait,” she panted holding onto his arm with one hand.
“I think the walking made a difference,” Carmen said wrapping her arm around Ariel when she nodded to her. “Let’s get you back to bed now.”
Mandra was about to follow them when another knock on the door drew his attention. Creon opened it and Kor and the human doctor walked in followed by two of the Valdier healers. “You should not have taken the human healer,” Mandra bit out harshly, glaring at Kor menacingly.
“Take a breath, big guy,” the female doctor said walking around him toward the bedroom. “You are going to need it so you don’t pass out. Let's go see how your wife is doing.”
Mandra glared at Kor again before following the dark-haired female healer into his and Ariel's sleeping quarters along with the two older Valdier healers.
Creon looked at Kor, Kelan, Morian and Paul with a grin. “If you hear a big boom that is Mandra hitting the floor,” he joked.
Morian looked at her youngest son with a raised eyebrow. “He wouldn't be the only son I have had that did that,” she remarked, deciding Ariel had enough support without her being there as well.
She walked over and looked down at the golden symbiot carriage that was in the middle of the room. Spring and Phoenix were curled up, sound asleep. Each had their tiny arms around a smaller symbiot in the shape of a teddy bear. Morian reached down and gently caressed each one of the little girls. Her eyes blurring with tears as she remembered Aikaterina's words about Phoenix.
“She will be alright won't she, Dola?” Creon asked coming up beside her to stare down at his tiny, dark haired daughter.
Morian glanced at Creon before turning her gaze back to the little girl sleeping peacefully. “She will be fine, Creon, how could she not be,�
� she responded softly. “She has two of the best parents to guide her and an older sister who will balance her.”
Creon nodded, still looking worried. “I just want to keep them safe,” he said. “They are already scooting around. I can't wait until they can crawl,” he added before looking at her with a frown. “Have you seen Trelon? He said the twins were very fussy lately. I hope they are not getting sick,” he pondered looking worriedly down at his own two daughters.
“They are not sick,” Morian chuckled. “They have learned to shift. Poor Trelon looks like a wreck.”
Creon blanched at the news. “Already?”
“Already what?” Carmen asked as she came into the room with a huge grin on her face. “Ariel and the baby are fine. Mandra is being revived by the two Valdier healers.”
A low chuckle echoed through the room as Paul, Creon, Kor, and Morian enjoyed the news of the new birth and fall of another warrior. Paul and Morian spent time with the others and visited with a tired Ariel and newborn son, Jabir, who was being checked over by Precious, Mandra’s golden symbiot and the human doctor. After almost an hour, Paul had enough of family responsibilities. He loved all of the girls, their mates, and his new grandkids but most of all he loved his mate and wanted to get her alone.
“Now it is my turn,” he grumbled as he swept her up into his arms as soon as they were outside the doors.
Morian’s laughter echoed down the corridor as her mate walked with a determined look on his face. Not one guard stopped him, not one servant could stop the grins from spreading across their face, and not one person could turn their gaze away from the beautiful woman he held in his arms as he took the stairs two at a time. Paul gave a swift command to Crash who had been enjoying the return to the palace by sunning in the atrium.
Make sure we are not disturbed, Paul ordered as he headed for the staircase to Morian’s private rooms upstairs.
Epilogue
Paul gently set Morian down on her feet in the center of the room and stepped back. His eyes glittered with the gold of his dragon. They both wanted their mate. They had been totally selfish over the last three months but Paul felt like he had a lifetime of emptiness to make up for. He reached out and touched Morian’s soft cheek, letting the back of his fingers skim down it to run along her jaw.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured quietly, his eyes following his fingers as he traced her slightly parted lips. “So damn beautiful,” he said.
Morian slipped her tongue out and touched his fingers as they moved across. A sense of feminine power filled her at his swiftly indrawn breath. She parted her lips further, inviting him to touch them again. When he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, she quickly pulled it into her mouth and wound her tongue around it. His eyes darkened until only the tiny flakes of gold showed in their depths.
She tilted her head, releasing his thumb and smiled up at him. “I never thought I would find you,” she admitted in a husky tone filled with desire.
She ran her hands up his chest to the buttons of his shirt. She slowly began unbuttoning them, pausing to run her fingers between the soft material and his warm skin. She loved the feel of the coarse hair on his chest as it brushed against her bare skin. She was so focused on what she was feeling that it wasn’t until she got to the last button, running her fingers across his taut stomach, that she felt his trembling.
Paul captured her hands in his and drew them up to his lips. “If you go any further this is going to be over before I want it to be,” he said with a dark grin. “My turn,” he said, pulling her closer and bending down to kiss her neck on one of the many marks he had given her over the past three months.
Paul breathed in her delicate scent, rubbing his lips across her pounding pulse. How about a little help here, buddy? I think another mark or two or three are in order. What do you think? Paul asked his dragon.
YES! His dragon roared in delight. I get Crash to help a little?
Paul’s lips curved into a devious smile. Why not, he replied hoping he didn’t come in his pants at just the thought of the fun they were about to have. Oh, to hell with it! Yes! He hissed as his cock swelled painfully.
Crash! His dragon called out. Send some re-enforcements.
Paul groaned as his teeth lengthened and the dragon’s fire built at the images filling his mind. Wrapping his arms tightly around Morian’s slender form, he bent her back over his arm and bit down breathing the fire that was scorching him. Waves of intense desire, ignited by the fire inside him flowed into her body. Her gasp, followed by a long moan and grasping fingers pulled at him. He reached up and gripped her shirt tightly in one hand. The sound of material ripping was drowned by the heavy pants and loud moans. His hand moved to her freed breast, searching for the taut nipple he knew would be ready for his mouth.
He reluctantly pulled back as the last of the fire swirled into her blood stream. With a swipe of his tongue, the wound was healed and a new mark formed. He ran his hand down her bare back as his lips moved over her collarbone to the top of her right breast.
“So delicious,” he groaned out as he pressed hot kisses against her flesh. “So perfect.”
“Paul,” Morian hissed out as she pulled back far enough to thrust her distended nipple into his mouth. “Oh yes!” She cried out as liquid heat filled her making her hot and wet.
“I’ll never get enough of you,” he growled out sliding down to his knees and taking her skirt and the silky panties with him. “Just the way I like you,” he said when he saw the glistening of her soft dark curls.
He ran his fingers over the silky hair that covered her mound and tugged on it just enough to let her know that he was in command of her body. Her heavy breathing told him she was beyond excited. His eyes turned to the gold that was winding around her wrists. With a flicker of his eyes to the metal piping running overhead, she was stretched out for him.
“Paul,” she whispered in a trembling breath as the combination of the heated desire in his eyes and the scorching fire from his dragon made her body ultra sensitive. “Please, give me the relief I need.”
“I will, baby,” he promised as he spread the slick, swollen lips. He ran his tongue along her swollen nub loving the way she squirmed and tried to clench her thighs. “Mm, sweet ambrosia.”
Morian cried out again as he continued to tease her. Each swipe of his tongue was followed by his thick fingers sliding up inside her. He worked her over and over until she was sobbing. Her hands twisting on the fine ropes that Crash had sent. He pulled deeply on her, watching her face as he grew slightly rougher in his urgency to make her come. He wanted to taste her sweet orgasm as it washed over his tongue. He nipped her swollen nub while he stroked her hot vagina with three of his thick fingers, stretching her. The combination of his mouth and fingers and watching him brought her such pleasure that it was too much for the slender hold on her control. Shaking uncontrollably, she shattered. Wrapping one leg over his shoulder, she threw her head back and cried out as she came.
Paul drank deeply as he watched her face. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was parted. Her cheeks blossomed into a soft rose color that shimmered in the waning light of the late afternoon. His eyes moved down to the rounded mounds of her breasts. He pulled back slowly and rose until he stood in front of her.
Her head fell to the side, braced by her extended arms. “I love you,” she whispered looking at the shimmer of her essence on his lips.
He ran his hands up over her hips and across her stomach until he could cup her breasts in both his hands. Running his thumbs back and forth over her nipples, he smiled savagely.
“Show me how much,” he demanded.
He released her breasts and stood back so he could undo the button and zipper on his jeans. He kicked off his shoes before he pushed his jeans down over his hips. He hissed as his cock sprang free, straining with desire. He was so turned on by her responsiveness that he was about to explode.
Morian’s eyelashes swept down to cover the look in her eyes a
s she ran them down over his powerful body. She licked her lips when her gaze reached his straining cock. His deep groan echoed this time in the room as his body responded to that seductive lick.
Morian touched the gold holding her wrists. I think he deserves a little payback. What do you think?
Her dragon purred in agreement even as the gold bands dissolved, releasing her. She ran her fingers over his shoulders as she pulled him toward the bed she knew he had ordered installed during their absence in replacement of the divan she had kept before. She turned with him until he was the one backing up to the bed.
She dragged her nails down over his chest, scraping his nipples as she went. His breathing deepened as she moved lower. His hands reached out and grabbed her hips, forcing her forward until he could rub his hard, throbbing length against her belly.
“I’m not going to last long if you keep playing,” he said harshly, his voice thick with desire. “I want you now,” he growled out.
“I know,” she whispered as she ran her hands over his. “But payback can be hell according to the girls.”
“What….” He started to say before he felt the golden bands on his arms.
Before he could say another word, Morian flicked her wrists to the headboard of the bed. Paul found himself falling backwards as the bands lengthened and wound around the posts on each side. With another flick, he found his legs in the same position, bound to the bottom it.
“Now, it is my turn,” she said with a delicious grin. “I think a little dragon’s fire of my own will help make sure you last a long, long time.”
Paul looked up at the ceiling and strained as he fought the bindings knowing what happened whenever they both breathed the dragon’s fire. They practically burnt her mountain home down with the scorching passion. His body arched as he felt her long hair fall loose from the bun she had put it in. The silky strands fell over his thighs as she bent forward pressing tiny kisses up his inner thigh. He trembled, knowing what was about to happen. Winding his hands around the gold ropes, his knuckles turned white as he raised his head and forced himself to keep his eyes open so he could watch her. The anticipation was almost worse than the knowing. His body hummed in preparation for the uncontrollable pleasure he was about to feel.