Caress of Fire (Dawn of Dragons Book 2)

by Mary Auclair

  A growl vibrated in his chest, deep and animalistic, the rumbling spreading to Marielle’s body in a tide of erotic fear as she understood he was going to take her, here and now on the ground, under the dizzying desert dawn.

  And her eyes met the sapphire stare of the dragoness. Nyra watched them with an intense curiosity, an intelligence that was all too knowing.

  “No,” Marielle said between two moans. “Stop.”

  Fedryc froze. Slowly, he brought his face over Marielle’s and she felt her skin become numb with shock.

  “Your eyes…” She couldn’t say more. His silver eyes were slashed by vertical black pupils, and seemed to glow from within. His face had changed subtly as well, the bones more prominent, his features reminiscent of an animal more than a man.

  A dragon. He looked like a dragon.

  Fedryc stared at her for a long time, then shot a glance over his shoulder at Nyra. He got to his feet, pulling Marielle up with him. The dragoness was still there, her towering red form like a flaming sentinel. Shame burned Marielle’s cheeks at the thought that the dragoness had witnessed their embrace, and that the beast understood what they had been about to do.

  “Will you take me back to the castle?”

  Fedryc shook his head, his eyes on her with a ravenous hunger. “It is too late,” he said in a voice that held the repressed savagery of the animal, “I will take you as Draekarra, Marielle Jansen. You can’t escape the beast now.”

  Without waiting, Fedryc left her side, then jumped on Nyra’s neck with an agility that spoke volumes about his alien strength.

  A great screech invaded the air, then talons closed around her body, as long as her hand and as sharp as a sword’s blade. Marielle screamed as the beast took to the sky, but her voice was lost in the wind as she was carried away by the dragoness.

  Marielle screamed long and hard, until her voice gave out and even after, until only a gravelly sound like broken glass escaped her throat.

  Neither Nyra nor Lord Fedryc seemed to care that she was about to die of fright.

  Somewhere along the way, she stopped screaming and stared, wide-eyed and nauseous, as Nyra flew over the endless desert, her talons securely around Marielle’s body.

  She had no idea why Lord Fedryc had suddenly abducted her and was taking her to the most remote regions of the desert, although she wasn’t innocent enough not to know what he wanted to do to her.

  He was going to take her as mate. And that meant sex.

  Nyra took a sharp turn, making Marielle scream again, but this time it was short-lived, as the dragoness started a nerve-wracking descent to a large rocky plateau over the desert plain. It was a cylindrical peak of rock, hundreds of feet high, like the finger of a God pointing upward in a vast flat section of desert.

  A few seconds later, Nyra landed in a great cloud of dust. She set Marielle gently on her feet then stood there, her blue gaze locked on Marielle’s small body, something unreadable going on behind that reptilian façade.

  Lord Fedryc jumped from her neck and landed neatly and gracefully beside his dragon. As his gaze settled on her, Marielle’s mind flooded with alarm. She stood on unsteady feet, her dress flapping around her legs in the high winds.

  Fedryc stood there, totally unmoving, adorned in his rough leather riding clothes like some long-forgotten idol.

  Even from a distance, she could see his eyes. Two silver discs reflecting the sunlight, set on her with a purpose as clear as the male way he stalked to her in fluid motions that had nothing human.

  As he neared her, she could see the changes in his face—the high cheekbones sharper and more animal, the slight curve in the outline of his jaw, the way his pupils slashed his mirror-like irises like a dragon’s.

  He was a beast, a creature of power and passion, and he was about to take her for himself.

  She should run, but where? She was trapped, and there was no way she could back out now.

  Her entire body shivered but it had nothing to do with the cool morning air. Every female fiber in her body reacted to Fedryc as he stalked closer and closer, until he stood right in front of her, radiating a hunger that left her breathing hard and shallow, her nipples painfully taut against the fabric of her dress.

  “Why have you brought me here?” She didn’t recognize her own voice. It was small and frail, full of terror.

  “I told you.” Fedryc’s voice was a low rasp, and the words rumbled off his tongue in an accent so heavy, she barely recognized them. “It is too late now. The beast in me cannot wait anymore. Make no mistake, Marielle, a Draekon is a beast disguised as a man. And the beast wants you now.”

  “Here?” Marielle looked around the barren stones still covered in shadows. Surely he wasn’t serious? “Now?”

  “It is a momentous occasion, one that can only happen once in a Draekon’s life.” He lifted his gaze for a moment, looking out to the heavens, then back at her. “A Draekar mating is not done on Dagmar as it is on Earth. Just you, me, and Nyra under the open sky.”

  “So there will be no ceremony, no guests?” It was a relief more than anything, to think there would be no endless feast, no strangers coming to look at her like she was an exotic animal in a zoo.

  Fedryc didn’t answer her but turned to Nyra’s broad chest and gripped a single blazing scale, then pulled it out. The dragoness screeched, her mighty wings opening until the whole world seemed painted in the colors of the inferno. Nyra’s wide chest began vibrating and she lifted her mighty head up to the sky, then a song filled the air, its rhythm slow and sensual like a caress.

  Before Marielle knew what was happening, Fedryc was at her back, his hard male body pressed against her, his hand closing around her wrist with a steel embrace.

  “Put your hand on Nyra’s scales.”

  Fedryc ordered and she obeyed, her hand trembling in his hold until she pressed it against the dragon’s vibrating chest. Fedryc’s hand glided from her wrist until it covered her own, his long fingers covering hers completely. Suddenly a current of energy flooded her body, passing from the beast to her, and through Fedryc. Her breathing became faster, deeper, and she tried to pull back, but his hold was too strong, and she was locked with the dragon. Fire spread inside her body, coursing through her veins in a raging agony, and Marielle fought the hold of the Draekon harder, but to no avail.

  “It is Nyra’s vitalem, her life-force,” Fedryc whispered in her ear over Nyra’s entrancing song. “It links us—you, Nyra and me. Let it take hold of you. Let it feed you.”

  Over the burning agony, Marielle heard the words. She closed her eyes against the fire raging in her veins, spreading to her heart, her lungs, her liver, running inside her bones.

  Then she embraced it.

  Marielle opened herself to the fire that was Nyra’s life force and slowly, the burning sensation changed. It morphed into liquid warmth, like a caress both inside and outside her body, making her feel as though nothing in this world could get to her as long as the fire burned.

  “I, Fedryc Haal, High Lord of Aalstad,” Fedryc said against her cheek, in a voice that was more like a growl, “take you, Marielle Jansen, for my Draekarra, until death unties us.”

  Marielle didn’t know the words of the Draekon oath but upon hearing them, her hand connected to the dragon, Fedryc behind her, his body molded to her, she was inundated by the feeling that this was meant to be. That she had been born for this moment.

  Fedryc whispered words for her, words that meant the world—and more.

  “I, Marielle Jansen, take you, Lord Fedryc Haal,” Marielle repeated the sacred vow, “for my Draekar, until death unties us.”

  Fedryc turned her around and she faced him again. His silver eyes, so impenetrable, gleamed with an emotion that seemed out of place in such a hard, handsome face, but was somehow right. It was the savage possessiveness of a man, with all the devotion that came with it.

  He lifted Nyra’s scale and, with his finger, took a bit of blood that was at the base of it, then spr
ead it on Marielle’s mouth. His finger lingered at the plump base of her bottom lip.

  “With this dragon blood, my life for yours and my nights by your side,” he said, his chest heaving deeply. “May our days run long and our nights be warm.”

  Emotions filled Marielle’s mind and something happened inside her heart, something she’d never thought would happen. She believed him. She didn’t know how, didn’t know why, but she believed this strange, alien man when he swore his life to her.

  It wasn’t love. This was nowhere even approaching that. It was some sort of primal devotion that ran as deep as a man’s bones. And it scared her to her core.

  She opened her mouth to speak but Fedryc cut her off. He turned to Nyra, then put his hand flat against her chest. The dragoness stared at Fedryc for a few seconds and something passed between them. Then the great beast took to the skies again in a great flash of bright red scales.

  And Marielle was left alone with Fedryc.

  Chapter 8

  Nyra became a tiny red spot in the sky until she disappeared in the distance, flying faster than any living being had a right to. After Nyra was gone, Marielle turned to face Fedryc.

  He looked at her with barely contained violence, with a hunger that could consume them both. Every line of his body was taut with muscles, from his long legs to his athletic shoulders and the powerful arms that were wrapped in heavy leather. His leather pants bulged at the middle from his very impressive erection, a clear sign of his arousal and intent.

  He radiated virile strength, all the way up to the expression on his face.

  Her dress suddenly felt too tight for her breasts and a fine layer of sweat covered her brow despite the cold of the early morning. Fear coursed through her veins like some frozen fire, arousing and terrifying her at the same time.

  Because she had never had a man before, and Fedryc was so overwhelmingly male.

  With clean, efficient movements, he took off his leather jacket and silk shirt, leaving his torso nude for her eyes. The man was built like a statue, all muscles and honey-colored skin, with dark nipples that were almost chocolate in color.

  Arousal awakened in Marielle’s belly despite the fear, and she swallowed past a suddenly dry throat.

  Fedryc moved closer and as he neared, she could feel the heat of his skin, so surreal, so inhuman. It both scared her and made her feel strangely reassured.

  “Take off your dress, Marielle.” Fedryc spoke softly, much more softly than she thought he would. “I want to see my Draekarra.”

  She couldn’t speak, so she simply nodded. Her hands were trembling, but she reached up to the laces at the front of her bodice and slowly loosened them until she was able to pull the panels of her dress loose.

  Her hands froze as she opened the bodice of her dress. She was breathing hard, and her mind was a flutter of fear and confusion. Her fingers became useless as she fumbled with the lace without success. She couldn’t do this.

  “Let me help you.” Fedryc reached up and as his hand touched her skin, it was like the touch of a flame. His skin was hot—so hot it almost hurt. She started and stepped back, but stopped when she saw the expression on his face. His mouth curved down with rage and his silver eyes shone with a possessive anger.

  “You’re too hot,” she said simply, unable to say more. “It hurts.”

  Fedryc’s expression softened, and after a second, he reached for her shoulder again. This time, he was hot, but not so much as to hurt her. His confident hands grabbed the shoulders of her dress and pulled them down, gently but firmly, and soon, her gown fell at her feet in a swoosh of silk and lace. The wind caressed her skin and she felt goosebumps prickle up her limbs and abdomen as Fedryc’s gaze latched onto her exposed body.

  “So beautiful. Perfect.” His hand slid down the curve of her shoulder like he was touching a priceless work of art. “Marielle Jansen, you are perfect.”

  Marielle didn’t answer as Fedryc’s hand ran over her chest to pause on her left breast. He squeezed it lightly, rubbing his thumb over the hardened nipple at the center, sending a rush of sensation straight to her already wet sex. Then his other hand closed around her right breast, and he pinched her nipple lightly between his thumb and forefinger.

  Marielle gasped, then moaned.

  “So responsive.” Fedryc’s hand left her breast and traveled down her stomach, to slide between her legs and cup the mound of soft curls between them. “So female.”

  A thick finger slid between the lips of her sex and a gush of wet arousal met his digit as Marielle leaned in instinctively to meet his flesh.

  “Don’t move.” His voice was a gravelly rasp, charged with such authority that she immediately obeyed. “I want to hear you beg for my cock.”

  All she could do was moan softly in response as Fedryc’s finger reached down and found her soaking wet entrance. He paused at the resistance.

  “You never had a man before.” It was not a question but Marielle nodded anyway. “And you never will have another besides me.”

  Fedryc removed his hand and Marielle whined at the loss. Her mind was blank of thoughts, lust coursing through her veins in a steady flow, reducing her to a puddle of female need. He didn’t give her time to beg or talk. Shaking out his cloak, he spread it over a spot where the sand looked fine and soft. He reached down and lifted her off her feet, laying her, completely naked, down on his cloak, his eyes running over her body like a caress. Then he stood, towering above her with all his height. He got rid of his pants, then threw them carelessly into the dirt a few feet away.

  Marielle’s breath caught at the sight of him. He was magnificent, his body a pure marvel of masculine beauty, all angles and muscles, molded to perfection into this man who had chosen her. Into this very virile man who was about to do to her what no other man had done before. His cock was thick and long, and the tip of it was wet with pre-cum.

  Fedryc sat down at her side, and watched her. It was the first time anybody had really looked at her and seen her, really seen her.

  It made her hot and impatient, the arousal from Fedryc’s naked flesh alongside hers filling her with a desire to touch and be touched. He didn’t make her wait.

  He reached out with a single hand, starting at the base of her throat. His fingers were light and confident as he trailed down her chest and between her small, round breasts, their paleness even more shocking against the honey of his skin. His hand circled back up to her right breast, enclosing it completely, then he played with her tiny, hard nipple until Marielle squirmed in pleasure and pain. Next, he went to her left breast and did the same until her squirming became a tortured stillness and all she could do was whine like a defenseless animal, arousal pooling between her legs, dampening the dark red curls over her sex, her core clenching with the need for a man—even if she’d never had one.

  Only then did Fedryc take pity on her, and his hand traveled down the quivering flesh of her stomach to pause over the damp cover of dark red curls hiding her sex.

  “Do you want me to touch you here, my little firebrand?” He spoke close to her cheek, his hot breath on her like a kiss.

  The words shocked her and her core clenched, releasing a flood of pure pleasure inside her flesh before he’d even touched her. Fedryc didn’t wait for her answer but lowered himself in front of her, then took her knees in both hands. A shiver, long and deep, traveled down her body as he stared at her sex.

  Firmly, he pushed her knees open until her lips parted and the glistening flesh was exposed. Fedryc looked up at her, his alien eyes flashing with wicked desire.

  “Do you want me to taste you there?”

  Marielle nodded, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard it hurt, her eyes set on his face, all sharp angles painted with hunger.

  “Say it,” Fedryc ordered. “Say you want me to lick you until you come in my mouth.”

  “I want it,” she answered breathlessly, need flooding her mind, turning her into a brainless puddle of female want. “I want you t
o lick me there.”

  Fedryc’s lips turned up in a wicked smile at the sound of her surrender, then he bent down, holding the outer lips of her sex open. He looked at the exposed flesh at the most vulnerable, sensitive part of her until he was satisfied with what he saw. Then he slid his tongue along her slit, unleashing a violent shock of sensation deep inside Marielle’s body. She pressed her head back against the sand, closing her eyes against the sensations that continued to wash over her as Fedryc licked her again, slower, increasing the pressure with his tongue.

  He kept sliding his tongue along her slit, all the way to her virgin hole, then up to circle that tiny bundle of nerves that screamed for attention. He extended a hand up her body, reaching for her left breast, and enclosed it in his large palm, not for a moment stopping his assault on her pussy. It wasn’t long before she was writhing under him, squirming and pushing her hips up to increase the sensations of his wonderful mouth on her.

  Then his fingers pinched her nipple and, at the same time, he sucked on her tiny bud, hard.

  Marielle screamed, long and loudly to the open sky as rapture filled every one of her cells.

  Her squeals of pleasure made the beast inside him roar and thrash against his restraint, and the only thing keeping it under control was the sweet womanly nectar flowing inside his mouth. He couldn’t get enough of her, of her soft body and her fiery spirit. Of that otherworldly beauty that extended to her soul.

  When Marielle finally stilled, Fedryc stopped his assault on her soft flesh and pulled back. Her legs were bent over his shoulders, her breasts heaving up and down as she stared up at the sky. He smiled wickedly at the result of his assault on her senses.

  The pleasure he had given her was intense, but he was not finished. He wanted her to surrender to him, he needed her to belong to him with her entire lush female body.