Firedrake

by Bianca D'Arc

  Tears rolled down her face at his misunderstanding of the situation. She mustered the will to speak past the lump in her throat, knowing he needed to be set straight before they went any further.

  “Drake,” she swallowed hard, “I don’t need to find room in my heart because you’re already there.” She saw hope light his eyes, but he still seemed skeptical. “I’ve been struggling with my feelings for you both. True, I made love with Mace, but I probably would have done the same with you, given the opportunity. But when Wil got kidnapped…”

  “My seduction plans went out the window,” Drake finished for her, seeming more confident now.

  She nodded. “I’ve been so conflicted. I didn’t understand how I could want two such completely different men—and at the same time. I worried about how to choose between you. And now I see, I wasn’t meant to choose at all. I was meant to have you both, if you’ll have me.”

  “If? Are you kidding? Krysta…” his voice dropped with emotion, “…I’ve never told any woman what I’m telling you now. I love you, Krysta Vonris, and I will love you, and you alone, for the rest of my days. Please say you’ll be my wife.”

  She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him in answer. The joyful kiss turned passionate and only Mace’s tug on her shoulders finally drew them apart.

  Drake let her go, shooting his friend a dark look that promised retribution, but Mace only shrugged.

  “We have to do this right, Drake. Vows first. Fun after.” Mace took one of her hands and Drake the other. They stood in front of her, one on each side, facing her, their dragon partners looming over their shoulders.

  “Do you, Krysta, take Mace and Drake to be your husbands?” Nellin spoke an approximation of the ancient words, but they were enhanced by his magic, making Krysta very aware of the power they held.

  She took a deep breath.

  “I do.” Krysta felt bands of power snapping into place between her and the men, though she’d never experienced this kind of magic before.

  “Do you, Drake and Mace, take Krysta to be your wife?” Jenet asked in a soft voice.

  Each man answered with an “I do”. The bonds that had started to form when Krysta gave her answer now widened and firmed, joining them together in a way she’d never before experienced.

  “Now us.” Jenet prodded the trio with the blunt edge of her talon, nearly knocking them over as they broke apart, laughing. The trio faced the dragons, smiles on their faces.

  “Do you, Nellin, take Jenet as your mate, to love, cherish and protect for all your days?” Mace asked.

  “I do.” Nellin replied.

  “And do you, lovely Jenet,” Drake embellished the words, “take Nellin to be your mate, to love, cherish and protect for all your days?”

  “I do.” Jenet rubbed her neck against Nellin’s before they both trumpeted their joy to the skies. A moment later, they bounded into the air, circling each other playfully as they rose into the darkness of the night sky.

  Mace and Drake swept Krysta back into their arms, taking turns kissing her breathless. She felt their connections to the dragons through the mating bond and felt the fire in their souls. It was a heady experience, but she didn’t have time to really savor it as first Mace, then Drake, kissed her in ways that made her knees falter. But they were there to catch her, wrapping her in their arms as they carried her to the soft sand in front of the campfire.

  “It’s going to be fast this time, Krysta, because of the dragons, but we would never hurt you.” Mace drew away and fumbled in his pack, finally holding up a small jar as Drake grinned.

  “Thank the stars one of us is always prepared.” Drake took the jar from his new partner, placing it carefully beside him. “That’s for later. First, we need to get naked.” He glanced skyward. “Fast.”

  “Why the rush?” Krysta asked.

  Mace turned her in his arms as Drake pulled off her boots, then tugged at the fastenings of her pants and tunic. “We are joined to the dragons. When they mate, so must we. Nellin and Jenet have known for a long time that they would one day mate, but they have never been together. So they’re…eager.” Mace’s expression was so adorably embarrassed, Krysta had to lean up and place a nibbling kiss on his jaw.

  “Can’t you feel it?” Drake asked, his breath stirring the hair by her ear as he knelt behind her and tugged at her laces. “Through the connection to us, you might feel a residual of their fire, their passion.”

  Krysta examined the new pathways in her mind and soul as Drake continued to undress her, startled to find passion feeding into her from somewhere outside herself. The men, she realized, and their dragons. The fire of their arousal was potent. It made her squirm as Drake slipped her tunic off over her head, leaving her naked. Mace thoughtfully made a blanket of her clothing and his own underneath them as Drake cupped her breasts from behind, teasing her nipples and pressing hot kisses to her neck. She was on fire!

  Mace came back to them once he’d finished laying their bed, such as it was, and knelt in front of her. His gaze followed Drake’s hands on her body, apparently liking what he saw.

  “You are so beautiful, Krysta,” he whispered. “I never imagined how hot it would make me to see Drake touch you like this.”

  Mace leaned in and kissed her, one hand going to the curls at the juncture of her thighs as the other grasped her leg, lifting and tugging until she was open to his exploring fingers. With Drake’s hands still on her breasts, Krysta felt as decadent as a harem girl in Helios. Only it was the other way around. She had the harem, and they were concentrating on her pleasure. It made her want to purr.

  Then Mace’s fingers found her button, and she whimpered instead. He moved back from her lips, his gaze appreciative as it wandered down her body, past where Drake still teased her nipples, to where his own fingers teased her clit.

  “Ready for more, my love?” Mace asked.

  She could only nod as one of his long fingers speared into her core, surprising her with his speed and sense of urgency. Then she felt the increased heat from the dragons through their shared bond and knew the men couldn’t last much longer. Stars! She couldn’t last much longer under this kind of pressure. The passion of the dragons washed over them all in waves of heat, firing her blood to a level she’d never before felt. Her body wept, spilling her excitement all over Mace’s probing fingers.

  He leaned in and captured a nipple with his mouth as Drake offered it up. Having one man hold her breast while another sucked on it was an experience she’d never even imagined, but it felt right. Being with these two was the most right thing she’d ever done.

  “Try this one, brother.” Drake’s rumbling words tantalized next to her ear.

  Mace grinned at her when he switched from one nipple to the other. Drake’s fingers immediately teased the wet nipple, sliding around the point and making her moan.

  “I think she likes it,” Drake said, nipping at her earlobe as she squirmed. The heat from the dragons combined with the heat these two men generated to send her higher than she’d ever been before. Mace’s fingers rubbed inside her, preparing her, inflaming her.

  Mace sat back, letting her nipple go with a pop. “I think she does, Drake. I bet she’d like to have her clit licked, don’t you?”

  Drake’s hands tensed around her soft skin and she knew Mace had surprised him. He’d surprised her too, with his frank talk, but she liked it more than she would have thought.

  Mace drew his fingers out of her channel, swirling around the button at the top of her thighs for a minute before pulling back. “Lay her down, Drake. Maybe you can use that golden tongue of yours on her.”

  She was lifted and placed down again on the bedding of discarded clothes, surprised to see Drake was naked too. He must’ve undressed while Mace had her otherwise occupied. Drake spread her legs with little consideration for any modesty she might’ve had, but she was too far gone to object. The dragon heat was really starting to affect her and she could see the dragons’ fire reflected in
the men’s eyes as they gazed on her bare body.

  Drake didn’t ask, he merely swooped in, latching onto her clit with his mobile mouth. She felt his tongue licking patterns over her nubbin, making her come with little effort. She cried out as spasms seized her womb, a small completion that only set her up for more as the assault on her senses went on and on. There was no respite while the dragon fever heated them all, only pleasure and more pleasure, each touch, each lingering caress, building on the next in a spiral that grew higher and tighter with every movement.

  Much as the dragons circling closer and closer in the starry night above them.

  Drake moved back with a satisfied grin as he rolled her to her side. Mace was there, facing her, as she settled on one hip, and Drake snuggled in behind her. Mace lifted her top leg, pulling it high and draping it over his hip, opening her in front and behind as Drake’s slick fingers sought her back opening.

  She’d been taken there only a few times in her life, back in her youth. She hadn’t objected to the sensation, but never found even a hint of the pleasure she felt now, from the lightest brush of Drake’s skilled fingers on her skin. She knew this night would be different from all others she’d ever known.

  The jar Mace had given Drake suddenly plopped down into the sand above her head, and she realized Drake had used some of the cream it held to make this easier on them both. She knew what was coming and now that the dragon fire had found its way into her blood, she was looking forward to experiencing these two men…together.

  They couldn’t wait much longer. The fire inside would not be denied. Drake’s fingers speared inside her, well lubricated with the cream. With her passions running so high, there was no discomfort, only the driving need to have his cock replace those long fingers.

  “Please, Drake!” she cried out as he removed his fingers.

  “Yes, my love. Take us now. We cannot wait.” Drake slid into the passage he’d prepared, making her whimper, while Mace’s gaze held hers. She saw the fire leap in his eyes as Drake claimed her.

  “Join with us now, brother,” Drake encouraged. “We have little time.”

  Yet Mace held back, his cock head just teasing the slippery opening that wept for him. Krysta wasn’t yet complete. She needed Mace to make her whole.

  “Come on, Mace. I need you!” she implored him, tugging at his shoulders as he seemed to memorize her face.

  “I love you, Krysta. For all my days.” His rumbling words preceded his cock as it shoved home within her channel, the two men filling her as she’d never been filled before, the dragon fire lighting their way.

  “Oh!” she cried out as they began to move. She could feel the dragons in the back of her mind, joining for the first time as they careened toward the stars. As the dragons became one, so did their human partners.

  And as the dragons began to freefall in ecstasy, so too did their knights. A few thrusts and pleasure burst over all three of them, locked together in coital bliss. The men came as the dragons did, bringing Krysta along in a wave of pleasure higher than she’d ever known. She felt Mace tense as his cock swelled, releasing his seed in her womb. At the same time, Drake’s long member spent in her back channel. She clenched and pulsed around both of them as they made her come as she never had before.

  Tears streaked from her eyes, but there was no pain, only pleasure. A passion so great, it enveloped three humans and two dragons for a mindless moment in which nothing existed in the world but a pleasure so intense it was all that mattered.

  The dragons broke apart in the nick of time, their wings scraping the surface of the sea as they spread wide to resume flight. They looked sluggish—replete with the satisfaction of their first mating. Nellin flamed as he glided, echoing the fire of their passion and the light of their love, visible to all as they winged wearily away from near catastrophe.

  On the sandy beach, the human side of the family was feeling much the same.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Drake woke first the next morning, just as the pearly light of dawn rose over the ocean. He had the feeling that all was right with the world. Krysta was snuggled against him, between him and Mace. Jenet slept at his back, her neck entwined with Nellin’s, and his heart felt full for the first time in many, many years.

  But all was not really as it should be. There was a prince still to find and a nest of gryphons to figure out. Drake worked on the problem as he basked in the last few minutes of laziness before they would have to start another tough day on the trail, chasing after Prince Wil. Perhaps today they would find him and put an end to their quest. Or perhaps their dealings with gryphons would only bring more questions. Regardless, he would face the day a happy man. He had a mate whom he loved and who loved him in return, and he had a dragon partner of his very own. A childhood dream had been realized, though he still didn’t feel worthy.

  “Pish.” Jenet’s voice sounded through his mind, mocking him, but gently. “You are the only knight for me. You always were, Drake.”

  “I ruined you when we were little, sweetheart. That’s all. If we hadn’t been raised together, you would see my flaws as clearly as everyone else does. But I won’t say I’m not thrilled to have you in my life, Jen. I love you more than just about anything. You’ve always been the sister of my heart.”

  “And now you have a beautiful, smart, talented wife. All because of me.” She preened, giving a smoky chuckle. “You should listen to me more often, Drake. Things always work out for the best when you listen to me.”

  He sighed dramatically, falling in with her teasing. “I should’ve learned that lesson when we were children, but you may have noticed, I take after my stubborn father.”

  Krysta turned in his arms, her eyes cracking open as she squinted against the faint light.

  “Good morrow, my love.” Drake leaned in to peck her cheek.

  “Then it wasn’t all a dream?” A teasing light entered her eyes.

  “Afraid not.” Drake’s thoughts turned solemn. “Do you regret tying your life to two men—and two dragons?”

  “I could never regret the dragons,” she answered. “The jury is still out on the men. I’ll let you know.” She jumped away when he would have grabbed her and confounded him by running into the surf. Apparently she liked to play. Drake was glad of it. With his disposition, he preferred laughter in all things. That he’d married a woman who could see the joy in life was a boon to his spirit. He’d have to work on Mace though. The man had always been a little too serious, even as a boy, but they’d always gotten along. Mace had hidden depths and a wry sense of humor. It would be up to Drake and Krysta to help bring it out more often.

  Drake prodded Mace’s shoulder, waking him. “Our wife seems to be part mermaid,” he observed, directing Mace’s sleepy eyes to the ocean where Krysta was swimming like fish in the dewy morning light. Her slick body looked beautiful in the pinkness of dawn, sleek and wet, cutting gracefully across the waves. Mace sat up, rubbing his chin as he watched her.

  Drake stood. “I’m going in. You coming?”

  “I’m not much of a swimmer,” Mace admitted, looking away from Krysta to shrug at Drake.

  “Don’t worry. After a few minutes, we won’t be swimming.” Drake’s devilish grin communicated more than his words.

  After a very pleasurable “swim”, the trio dressed and ate a skimpy breakfast. The sun was strong in the eastern sky when Drake called the gryphons’ names. It was time to find Wil.

  Feathery wings made rustling sounds as the gryphons flew into view a few minutes later. They landed with their padded back feet first, then sat, perched upright.

  “It iss good to ssee you all sso happy. Congratulationss on your joining,” Herorthor said.

  “Thank you,” Drake answered. “We are ready to see our prince. Will you take us to him?”

  “We will,” Llydiss replied. “Follow uss.”

  The gryphons took to the air and waited, circling, while they mounted and the dragons leapt into the sky after them. They set
out across the ocean, making for some distant point only the gryphons knew.

  “I hope this isn’t some kind of trap,” Mace said in the privacy of their joined minds.

  “Gryphons are noble creatures. I don’t think we’re in any trouble trusting them, but keep your eyes open.” Drake held Krysta in his arms this morning as she flew with him for the first time.

  After an hour of flying, Drake realized the dragons were having a hard time of it. The air had thickened with magic that swirled in a miasma of color and shadow around them.

  “What is this?” Krysta asked hesitantly.

  “Magic,” Herorthor replied. “The remnants of powerful time magic, to be precise. We cross over into the island’s realm now. Brace yourselves.”

  The entire party felt a jolt as the air currents changed suddenly. A moment ago it had been early morning. Judging by the sun’s position, it was now early evening. The red sun sank on the horizon as the cloud of magic cleared. The island rose in the distance, tall spires of rock and sandy beach. The dragons surged forward with a last effort to reach land, though all the riders knew they were tired.

  They landed minutes later, and the humans dismounted quickly to give the dragons a break. Whatever they had flown through had taken all their strength and concentration. Jenet and Nellin were both panting as they sat back on their haunches.

  A tall figure awaited them on the beach. He was dressed in black leather, his stance welcoming and his green eyes sparkling in the late sun.