Protected by the Dragon

by Kayla Wolf

  “Fine. Better. Fine.”

  “I brought you breakfast.” Dully, she realized there was a covered plate in his hands. “Mostly leftovers, I’m afraid, but there’s some fruit there as well.”

  “It’s fine. Thank you.” She could hardly talk. What the hell was going on?

  “I have to go, I’m afraid, but I’ll be back later on in the evening. Is that okay? Will you be bored?”

  “No. I’ll sleep more. Heal the leg.”

  “Great.” Unexpectedly, he reached out and touched her shoulder, squeezed it in a friendly gesture that made her whole body vibrate. “Be well, Jessica. I’ll see you soon.”

  When he was gone, she could catch her breath. There were a lot of alarm bells going off inside her, but she made herself eat regardless. Food was what fueled the healing, healing was absolutely imperative if she was going to get the hell out of here and away from whatever it was that he was doing to her. Was it some kind of dragon trick? Some kind of animal magnetism? She’d had crushes before, even dated a few boys in high school, but they’d never hit her with the force of a tidal wave like this. She ate quickly, trying to suppress the strange butterfly sensation in her stomach long enough to digest. The meat was still delicious cold, and he’d included a few apples, too.

  Jessica tugged the blankets closer around her—even in the weak sunlight, the crevasse was still very cold—and shut her eyes. Maybe if she fell asleep, she’d be able to banish all these thoughts. But the memory of the dragon hovered for far longer than she was happy with, and her dreams were permeated with the smell of him, the warmth of his touch, the dim glow of those golden eyes…

  “Jessica?”

  She sat upright, taking a sharp breath. It was dark in the crevasse again—she’d slept the whole day away. A quick check of her leg—she shifted it slightly and felt no pain, which was promising—and then she looked up at Samuel, who was by her side again, impossibly close and warm and—

  “How are you doing that?” she demanded hoarsely, narrowing her eyes.

  “Doing what?”

  “Making me feel—making me—ugh. Is it a dragon thing?”

  “Is what a dragon thing?” He looked genuinely confused. She growled.

  “I—you’re making me—attracted to you. How?”

  A wild range of emotions flitted across his face with such speed that she couldn’t help but believe his surprise. “I’m doing what?”

  “You—you’re doing that, right? Some kind of—blood power, spell, something? A dragon thing?”

  “Jessica, I have been a dragon almost my entire life, and I’ve never had any kind of power over anyone’s feelings. Not that I’ve been told about.” He was staring at her, still looking shell shocked. “I—well. I’m sorry if I’m—uh—inconveniencing you?”

  “It’s fine.” She narrowed her eyes, still suspicious—but God, if this shy, self-conscious thing he was doing was an act, he was the best actor she’d ever seen.

  “I actually thought—um—” Was he blushing? “—That maybe it was a wolf thing.”

  “What?”

  “You’re very beautiful. That’s all. I thought—maybe—you had some kind of … magnetism. I actually tried to look it up today, but all our books on wolves are pretty war-focused, so…”

  Now she was blushing as well. This was ridiculous. “No. We don’t.”

  “Ah. Well. Good to know.”

  “Yes.”

  There was an extremely long and awkward silence. She could see Samuel itching to speak, but he was clearly too worried about being polite, and there was something so charming about it; she almost laughed. He finally caved in, wearing the most gorgeous grin on his face.

  “I don’t—there aren’t many dragons, you know, we don’t exactly have a lot of experience with this kind of thing. I’ve dated exactly one woman, and I’d already known her all my life.”

  “Nobody ever enters or leaves Fallhurst,” Jessica admitted. “So all the guys I could date—I’ve known them all since we were kids, too.” She thought briefly of Thomas and resisted the urge to shudder. The way she was feeling around Samuel couldn’t be further from the way Thomas made her skin crawl.

  “So I’m the first outsider you’ve met?”

  “Yeah. You? Do dragons get out much?”

  He laughed. “Never. My brother married a human woman, though, so I’ve met her and her family… aside from that, it’s been ages since I met anyone new.”

  The silence fell again, and this time there was a strange weight in it. Jessica was intensely aware of how close Samuel was, kneeling beside the rock she was on—aware of the warmth of his body, the closeness of him, how easy it would be to just lean a little closer to him. In the still quiet of the night, she could just make out the sound of his heartbeat. Wolf senses. It was fast—and getting faster as the silence between them stretched out. On some level, she knew that this was an incredibly reckless and terrible idea. But he was so close and so immediate, and so warm, and somehow every thought she had, every warning her mind was trying to shriek, every hesitation—just dissolved in his presence.

  She wasn’t sure, in the end, whether it was her or Samuel who closed the distance between them. All she knew was that his hand was on her cheek, his fingertips delicately pushing her hair back as his breath ghosted across her lips—and she flattened her palms against his chest as she kissed him, felt her defenses come crashing down in the wake of that feeling. He was so careful, so gentle—hesitating a little as he rose to sit beside her on the rock shelf, carefully avoiding her injured leg as she rearranged herself to make room for him.

  “It’s fine,” she breathed, impatient at his hesitation. “Leg’s fine. Just—come here.”

  “Are you sure this is okay? You hardly know me—”

  “Don’t care,” she breathed, dizzy with the proximity. She kissed him again, hard, heard his pulse quicken as she pulled him down to the makeshift bed on the rock—the blanket beneath her cushioning them both from the worst of the cold, and the pillow he’d brought saving her from knocking her head against the stone. God, she couldn’t get enough of him—the feeling of his body against hers was absolutely unbelievable. The strength in him—the absolutely effortless way he moved, the restrained power in everything he did—she found her hands on the buttons of his shirt without even realizing what she was doing, undressing him impatiently, her hands roaming across his muscular torso.

  And he was responding, too, with an intensity that she could tell he was holding back. As he pressed her body back against the pillow she felt him climb up onto the shelf completely, taking great care not to touch her injured leg as he found a way to lie beside and above her, the heat of his body pressing against the whole length of hers, driving her pulse up and quickening the urgency with which she was kissing him.

  Her hands roamed lower, and she heard him stifle a groan, bury his head in the place where her neck joined her shoulder. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” she hissed, impatient. Why was he so hesitant? She could feel how badly he wanted her, feel it in every touch, every burning point where their bodies were touching, in the tension along his jaw and the light in his eyes. So why was he holding himself back like this? ”Stop talking,” she growled and kissed his mouth hard to close it. She rocked her hips up against him and grinned to herself at the strangled sound of need that drew from him. His hands moved from her face to her shoulders, caressed her breasts through her shirt—she arched her back to encourage that, felt lightning racing up and down her body as he touched her. Something wild and desperate flickered in his eyes, now, finally, and she freed one hand to tug down the running pants she was wearing, grabbed one of his hands in hers and put it between her legs—

  “Are you—”

  “If you ask me if I’m sure one more time I’m going to kill you,” she growled in his ear, then heard him huff laughter against her throat. His hand moved, carefully, and she groaned against his ear, resisting the strange urge to bite him, to take ownershi
p of him. And then, finally, he lifted her body in his powerful arms and pushed himself inside her. She gasped. He was big, and rock hard, and he paused his movements briefly to let her get accustomed to him inside of her. But she was ready for him, and all that she wanted for him was to take her, for them to be one at this moment.

  He claimed her mouth again, and they kissed fiercely as he picked up speed, pushing in and out of her. She could feel herself getting close, but she wanted this to last forever, to not stop. So she tried to hold herself back a little, to relax. Her hands trailed down his body, his strong, muscled arms, his rock-hard abs and she wondered for a second how God could have created such a perfect species of a man.

  He pounded into her even harder, and she moaned, encouraging him to take them even further, into a land of pleasure that had been unexplored before. Her fingernails dug into his back and he moaned into her ear. He stopped his movements briefly, and she whimpered while he moved his lips to her breasts, taking them into his mouth and sucking on them one by one. She shivered, moaning as though begging him for more. He grinned while he looked up at her. “Like that, huh?”

  “Yes!” she barely managed to croak. “Take me.” He needed only a second to find his rhythm again. She was stretched to his size now, but still gasped when the force of him hit her again. They started moving together again, all thought driven from her mind, which was now only and fully filled with that one need, that one desire for him to claim her, to make her his.

  “Jessica—” he choked out, and she could tell that he wasn’t far from his climax either. Pleasure built in her core, more and more, until she thought she could no longer take it. She could feel her climax coming closer and closer, starting to claim her, until there was only their combined movement, only pleasure. They moved together, the moonlight above all the light they needed, and when her climax finally claimed her, she gripped his back urgently, pulling him deeper and closer and they crashed over the edge together, hearts pounding in unison and breath mingling in the cool air of the cave.

  “Wow,” Samuel murmured in her ear—it could have been minutes later, or hours, she wasn’t sure. Somehow, they’d managed to arrange themselves in a fairly comfortable position on the rock ledge, one blanket beneath their bodies, the other draped across them to keep the chill away. Jessica was curled against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder and his powerful arm supporting her neck. Though her leg had moved in the course of their lovemaking, she was drowsily pleased to notice that it wasn’t hurting at all. A day of rest—as well as Samuel’s care and attention—had worked wonders.

  “Mm.”

  “Are all wolves good in bed, or…?”

  “Not sure. Are all dragons?”

  “Just me. No need to ask around. I’m the best.”

  Jessica laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.” She sat up, shifting her leg carefully, listening closely for any sign of pain from the healing bones.

  “Is your leg alright?”

  “Fine. I’ll be okay to head off at first light, I think.”

  She felt him go still. “You’re leaving?”

  “Yeah.” She looked down at him—his hair tousled by sweat, his gorgeous head propped up on one powerful arm. An exquisite sight, certainly. “I have to,” she said gently. “I can’t stay here.”

  “Why not? We could—get to know each other.”

  “I’m a wolf. How would your King feel about you harboring a wolf?”

  “He’s married to a human, he can hardly pass judgment!” But he didn’t sound sure of himself—which only strengthened her resolve. Yes, he was extremely attractive—and yes, she’d enjoyed herself with him, that was for sure. But she couldn’t stay here. Not in a den of dragons. It was a ridiculous idea—no matter what kind of madness had come over her to make her so powerfully attracted to him. Carefully, she put her legs over the side of the ledge, and, encouraged by the lack of pain, rose slowly to her feet. The leg felt a little weaker than it had, but there was no pain. She was healed—or at least, healed enough to start walking. Quickly, she dressed, feeling the chill of the night air acutely. Samuel watched her. She could feel the weight of his eyes, knew he was probably coming up with all kinds of arguments to get her to stay.

  “You should get some more rest,” he said finally, when she sat back down, a little dizzy with standing up after her convalescence. “I have to see my brother now, but I’ll come to you after, okay? Please think about staying, in the meantime. I know I can’t make you, but I just—” He shrugged, getting to his feet. “I’d really like to get to know you better, Jessica.”

  “I know,” was all she said, and she smiled a little as he bent over to press a kiss to her forehead before he left her. It was a romantic idea, to stay with this handsome stranger who’d nursed her back to health. To get to know him, maybe even fall in love, make a life together, raise a family…

  But Jessica knew better than anyone that romance wasn’t real.

  Chapter 4 – Samuel

  “Damnit, damnit, damnit,” Samuel muttered to himself as he half-walked, half-ran through the winding corridors of the labyrinth. He was definitely late—and Alexander had been very snappy the last time he was late. But still, he couldn’t stop the grin that was spreading across his face. He almost raised his hands to his mouth to force it down, so infectious was the feeling. The strange woman in his cave—he liked her! Really, really liked her. And she seemed to like him back. He was sure he’d made a fool out of himself, he was sure of it, but somehow—impossibly—it hadn’t mattered. She had taken him into her arms, kissed him, made love to him—unbelievable. To think that just a few days ago he’d been feeling so bored and out of sorts. It was as though the universe itself had reached down and given him something new to think about.

  Jessica. She was amazing. She was so strong—so wild—the way she looked at him, challenged him, snapped back at him when he talked. God, she was fascinating! She’d spoken so little about where she was from—he’d been desperate to pry, to ask questions, to get as much information as he could about her and her family, her past, present, and future but he hadn’t wanted to be rude, hadn’t wanted her to close off from him. They’d have time to talk, he promised himself. He was going to take her a huge, delicious lunch to share and they were going to have a big long conversation about where they’d both come from—and where they could go, together, now that he knew she felt the same way he did.

  She must feel the same way he did, right? Why else would she have confessed her attraction to him? Why else would she have made love to him like that—a stranger, more or less, someone she hardly knew, someone who belonged to a family and an entire race of people who historically had not gotten on well with hers? She must feel it too. There was something special here—something about the two of them that was meant to be. His heart was pounding hard in his chest, much harder than it usually did when he walked this fast, and he couldn’t fight the grin that kept creeping across his face as he finally reached the room Alexander favored for meetings like this.

  “I suppose it was too much to ask for you to be on time.”

  Alexander was sitting at the head of an ornate table he used for meetings with the Elders of the other dragon families in the valley. Samuel had never much liked the table—their mother had used it, too, and he always suspected that was the only reason Alexander kept using it. It was far too big, for a start, and always served as a painful reminder that once there had been so many more dragon families than were left in the valley. It was downright pathetic with just Alexander and Samuel, seated around a single corner of the thing. It felt lonely.

  They never had quite sorted their relationship out, had they? They’d never quite seen eye to eye even before Alexander was the King—and now, well, the power dynamic was just weird. But he was getting a little bit tired of being treated like a child by his brother. And now, with Alexander staring him down, clearly expecting an apology, he met his gaze squarely.

  “I got caught up, I’m afrai
d. What did you want to discuss?”

  “Lisa wants to talk about a whole collection of improvements she wants to make to the palace and surrounding chambers,” Alexander said, “but she’s late, too, so you’re off the hook for now.”

  ”Good.”

  “Caught up, huh?” Alexander smiled. “Found anything interesting in those dusty old passages you’re so obsessed with?”

  “Actually—” Samuel started, hesitating, but before he could say much more, the door crashed open.

  “Sorry! Sorry, sorry, I got lost, you know how it is, I’ve been here for a year but every single turning looks the same, I don’t know why you don’t all just install some signs…”

  Lisa was bustling into the room, all energy and light, and Samuel grinned as she threw her arms around him in a casual hug. He’d liked Alex’s dark-haired wife since he’d met her a year ago. That had been a strange, dark time—the loss of their mother, the curse that hung over dragonkind like a dark cloud, the prophecy the only light of hope in the future. And what it had brought them! For all that the more traditional members of their little community frowned and whispered about Lisa, she’d been a breath of fresh air that they’d sorely needed. She had so many plans, so many ideas, so many schemes to make their home better, to bring them forward in time and actually get them moving again instead of just stagnating. Humans lead such short lives, they couldn’t help moving fast like this.

  That had been a concern at their wedding, the first of its kind—what if Alexander outlived Lisa? Humans and dragons didn’t have compatible lifestyles—but their father kept on saying he was working on it. Samuel was more than a little interested in what exactly he meant by that, but dragons were nothing if not patient.

  Lisa was speaking a mile a minute about the prospect of getting electricity set up in the caves. It was a daunting prospect, and Samuel quickly tuned out of the intricacies—Lisa had been liaising with various people in the human world about the idea, which apparently had a lot to do with wiring, but much of what she said was lost on him. Something about getting permits to set up a campsite, installing an electricity supply at the campsite (was that like digging a well for water?) and then somehow directing that electricity through the ground and into their caves. He could tell Alexander wasn’t following especially well, either. He was nodding solemnly along with what Lisa was saying.