by T. S. Ryder
“If that is what you wish,” she began, as her hands slowly, shakily slid up his chest beneath the fabric of his shirt. “Then I-I give you permission to break your vow and mate with me.” As she said this, she lightly rolled one of his pert nipples between her finger and her thumb.
Carmichael sighed softly and his eyes fluttered at her affections. It had been too long since he’d had this sort of opportunity and already she was driving heat straight to his groin with each brush of her fingers against his sensitive skin. “Karina,” he said again with a gasp, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “Are you certain?” A full body shudder rolled through him as her hips gyrated against his leg and as she nodded her consent. He was amazed she was bold enough to rut against him, despite her uncertainties. He’d prove to her he’d no intention of leaving her. His heart would never be able to bear it. Not after this.
A heat formed deep inside Karina, leaving a pleasant ache in her vagina as she rutted against Carmichael. “Take me, Dragon King.” With that, she leaned over him once more and pressed a kiss to his lips that left them both breathless. Her hand slipped down his pants as teeth connected with the sensitive skin of her neck, leaving her to groan hungrily.
With every light touch to Carmichael’s twitching cock, his whole body bowed beneath her. The power trip it gave her left precum slicking her vagina and the lips that hid it.
She reached between her legs and ran a finger through her folds, satisfied with the slickness. “May I ride you?” she breathed.
Her words were rewarded with a plaintive groan and Carmichael, nodding his head, stretched out on his back in preparation. Anticipation curled heatedly in his stomach and his breath came in soft pants as Karina took two fingers and spread her slicked vagina open, the entrance quivering in equal anticipation as his own.
“Oh, Carmichael!” Karina breathed as she sat down on him until she was filled completely by his thick cock. She all but sucked him in hungrily, and wasted no time in bouncing up and down on him, eyes clenched shut and lips parted.
She moaned as his hips began to snap up, bowing his back, in time with her rocks and bounces, pressing him ever deeper inside of her until his length pressed up into her fully.
Carmichael was in pure bliss. His head lolled backward on their bedding and his hands grasped at her lips as he pulled her down over and over again onto his cock. Heat already pooled low in his stomach, a sign of release. Shuddering, he cupped her full, plump breasts as they bounced against her chest with each small movement.
He’d never noticed it before, but Karina’s body was perfect. She wasn’t slender and petite in the slightest, but strong, athletic and soft. Muscle covered her stomach and her arms were even thicker than his own. Her breasts were amazingly large and felt soft and tantalizingly squishy in his rough hands. But his favorite part of her was her thighs. They were thick and powerful and built like solid tree trunks.
He couldn’t take her teasingly riding his throbbing cock any longer.
“My turn,” he growled, flipping her over in one powerful movement until it was her spread out beneath him. Arousal fluttered in his chest as he lavished her pert nipples with his mouth and he thrust powerfully into her as. For the first time since he had been cursed, Carmichael could feel his dragon responding to her previous displays of dominance.
“C-Carmichael!” Karina gasped, her eyes fluttering closed and her hands clawing desperately at his back as he pounded into her. A high pitched whine split her lips as his teeth, lips and tongue sucked dark, claiming hickeys into the pale skin of her neck.
The faster he thrust into her, the closer she came to unraveling at her very seams. She was but a puddle under his power, her previous domineering having faded in response to pleasure so great it fogged her vision and mind. All she knew was Carmichael. All she felt was his touch. It was intoxicating.
“I-I’m close,” she breathed as she bowed her back desperately in attempts to swallow him up further.
At her words, Carmichael lifted Karina up and rocked her down with each thrust, grunting and groaning. A near beastly look had filled his golden eyes, possessive and wild. He wanted to covet her body, keeping it close and his forever. A low growl rumbled deep in his chest as he trailed a hand down between her legs and rubbed clumsily at her clit and the responding cry of pure bliss as his new mate orgasmed around him, only served to strengthen his resolve.
Karina was his.
He drove deep into her, deeper than even he thought possible. Two hard lumps passed through his twitching cock as his own orgasm all but exploded from him, filling her up to the brim and then some. Ropey strings of cum attached them together as he pulled out of her and a deep satisfaction filled him.
This human, his Lady Knight, was going to lay his eggs.
Chapter Seven
It only took a day before Karina noticed two small palm-sized lumps in her stomach and for the entire first day, she worried incessantly. Carmichael had said once he took a mate, the curse would be broken. But he didn’t show signs of being dragon in form yet.
“Are you alright, my dear?” Carmichael asked for the hundredth time that day. He’d been watching her almost obsessively as they traveled that day and it made her uncomfortable, even if it was flattering. “It has nothing to do with mating or not. I know we’re joined toge—”
“Don’t start on that again, Carmichael,” she sighed. If she had to hear one more time that he was certain there was a reason for the curse still remaining, she would personally send a sword through him and call it done. “I have a fear that this is wrong. Perhaps you need to mate another dragon,” she said, one hand reaching subconsciously to her stomach and pressing lightly against the small bumps there.
“You keep saying that. I wish you wouldn’t.,” Carmichael gasped in exasperation. A hurt expression colored his golden eyes and Karina briefly felt guilt rush through her. “I know we are mated. I feel it deep in my very soul. This yearning to be beside you is insatiable. An explanation is out there. We shall continue our journey to the witch Danasi and bring about her death should the curse not lift before then.”
“Carmichael, my love. What if I haven’t the strength to take her life? And what might happen should I succeed? You say you wish to stay by my side, but should the dragons return will you not want a proper mate?” she asked, trying hard to sound patient. “I just... I have these... doubts,” she admitted, slowing Tarron to a stop so she could properly meet Carmichael’s eyes.
When a look of wonder crossed his gaze, she bit her lip and lightly brushed her fingers against her stomach as she looked away from him.
Slowly, Carmichael dismounted awkwardly from Beau and moved over to her. Tears welled in his eyes and rolled silently down his cheeks as he brushed his fingertips against her. “My dear, Lady Karina. Mating is not something I can reverse. You are as much a part of me, as my eggs are a part of you, or my dragon form is a part of me. I would not give that up, even if I were inclined to do so.”
“Carmichael...” Karina whispered, reaching down to take his hand with a soft sigh. “I believe you, my love.”
“As you should,” Carmichael smiled lightly. “And here I had expected it to be about the eggs.”
Karina jerked slightly and stared at him. She’d just realized something that should have been obvious before. How had the eggs come to be? “Eggs? Are you... Carmichael, you’re a male. Males don’t have babies or carry… eggs.” she said in wonder. “How?”
“Human males do not carry the egg, only the sperm. But a dragon always has eggs, whether he is male or female. We do not see gender, Lady Karina, so both of us must carry the egg and the sperm.”
She looked at him in wonder, but nodded in acceptance, her fingers lightly stroking over the egg lump. A strange thrill of apprehension and excitement gripped her until her head swam with endless possibilities of the unknown.
“I did not know that dragons could take human mates that also laid their eggs,” Karina said.
“I d
id not know myself. Tales of dragons falling in love with humans have been told, but such tales age far before my time. I had never seen such a thing occur...” he grinned. “You really are quite different, aren’t you, My Lady.”
Karina blushed lightly at this and shrugged. “You should get back on Beau. There is still an hour’s worth of daylight. We should keep going before the sun starts to lower. Tomorrow, we shall reach the Queen’s castle.”
“As you wish, My Lady.”
Chapter Eight
It was apparent Karina had fallen head over heels for Carmichael. He’d given her flowers that morning, a bouquet of wild honeysuckle and jasmine that hung from Tarron’s saddle as they rode. It had all but melted her heart. The feeling was short lived. They arrived at the castle just before sun down, as Karina had expected.
As they stood at the foot of the Queen’s castle, Carmichael helped her don her black tarnished plate armor. This was the reason they’d traveled so far together, yet he stared at her with tears in his golden eyes, a new found fear for his new found mate blossoming in his chest.
“My Lady, my dear... You will take care of yourself?” he asked, with his watery eyes. “I fear for you, as much as I believe in you.”
For once, Karina was the one that felt she could see straight into his soul. His love for her shone brightly in his eyes and it nearly broke her heart.
“Carmichael. This is why we came all this way,” she reminded gently, her helmet beneath her arm and her sword strapped down to her hip. “I won’t leave without defeating the Que-”
“Witch!”
“Witch...” she paused, glaring lightly at the interruption. “You’ll have your dragon form back, my love. Trust in me,”
“It isn’t you I don’t trust,” Carmichael murmured darkly.
“All the same,” Karina sighed, pressing a swift kiss to his cheek. “Believe in me. So long as you believe, I can do this. All will be well.”
Carmichael just shrugged and pulled her roughly forward into his arms. Together, they stood, locked in an embrace that both would have preferred to last forever. Couldn’t time simply freeze in that moment? The thought was wistful, though and all too soon, Karina pulled free of his arms with a loving smile on her face.
“Take the horses to the trees, love. Keep them close. We might need to make haste when we leave,” she said. Determination colored her voice and the warmth and love he’d come to know had been replaced with the warrior she appeared to be. Even still, unease flooded through him as she told him to leave her.
“I’m coming in with you!” he cried out, terror filling his golden eyes.
“Carmichael, no. I need you out here. If something goes wrong, I need you here to help,” Karina said, pulling on her helmet. Every inch of her was covered with her jousting armor once the helmet was on her head. Carmichael had to admit she looked foreboding and menacing. Still, worry ate at his heart.
“I will come to you if you don’t return by sundown,” he promised as he swept Karina into his arms. At first, he just held her, but as time wore on, he sighed and pressed a sweet, gentle kiss to her lips. “Go, my dear. My heart goes with you.”
As soon as Karina was free from Carmichael’s arms, she smiled at him. “My love, I shall return to you. For now, I must depart,” she said. He said nothing, but nodded his head while she turned with a wave and crossed the bridged moat. She could feel him watching her as she went.
Her armored boots clicked on the stone in even beats as she approached the castle gate. Her heart pounded in the familiar feeling of exhilaration with the prospect of the upcoming battle. This shall be no different than that of a joust, or a match between blades, she reminded herself softly as she approached the entrance to the castle. As expected, armed guards barred the way through the gate with scythes as long as her arm and as thick as her head.
“Hail! What purpose have you, Sir Knight?” the guard on the left called towards her as he crossed scythes with the right guard to bar her entrance to the castle grounds.
With the confrontation, a pang of longing for Tarron and Carmichael to be at her side rolled through her. But Karina pressed on. “Hail. I come seeking audience in the throne room with her majesty, Queen Danasi.”
“Under what order?” the left knight questioned.
“None but my own.”
“For what purpose have you to see her?”
“She is but a witch that has laid curse on my lover! I intend to force her into freeing my love.”
The left knight was silent as he looked over at his companion, who shook his head with a frown. “You are denied entrance.”
“Then you will perish under my blade,” Karina warned softly.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances with each other, but held their ground. “You wouldn’t dare!” shouted the guard on the right.
Karina pulled out her sword and pointed it toward them.
“You will let me see her or you will die,” she murmured once more, watching as the guards’ eyes widened as they realized she’d meant her words.
“You... You could be executed!” the man on the right sputtered, as he pushed her away with the head of his scythe. “You…” but before he finished the left knight sighed and dropped his scythe.
“Jerome, no blood needs be shed.”
“What sort of knights are you? So easily beaten?” Karina asked at this, though she sheathed her sword once more.
“We aren’t knights,” the right knight murmured. “She hasn’t a single true knight in her court, just peasants pretending. Peasants who are too poor to pay taxes! Please... Please don’t kill us, Lady Knight!” the left knight sighed, kneeling on the ground before her. “The Queen’s a witch, she is! She is powerful enough the castle doesn’t need actual guards! We just try to deter people from bothering her.”
His words fell heavily on Karina’s heart and slowly, she removed her helmet.
“What are your names, peasant men?” she asked, helping the kneeling left guard to stand. Eyes full of gratitude met hers and for a moment, she could almost imagine Carmichael’s golden eyes peering up at her. But these eyes were green, not gold and the peasant man’s face was far too large to be her lover.
“Jamison,” he said, bowing slightly. “I am grateful you spared my life. This is Jerome, my younger brother.”
Karina sighed and glanced towards Jamison and Jerome. “I am the Black Knight and I have a favor to ask, Jamison.”
Jamison nodded eagerly, more than ready to help. “Anything, Lady Knight.”
“I need you to get me into that throne room.”
Jamison stared at her for a brief moment before he turned to his brother. “Jerome, go home. This will take a long while.”
Chapter Nine
“Lady Knight, this is not a good idea. If she didn’t know you were here when we were outside, she’ll know you’re here now. She’ll feel it, feel you,” Jamison whispered as he led Karina through the serf passages. Her armor was bulky in form and brushed against the walls of the hallways as they twisted and turned.
“This is something I must do,” Karina stated, her tone blunt and determined. “Carmichael needs my help.”
“C-Carmichael? As in Caichmiorral the Dragon King?” Wonder had flooded through Jamison’s green eyes as he spoke. He paused their journey to turn and look at her.
“You’re the lover of the Dragon King? Of Caichmiorral? Caichmiorral hasn’t been seen for over two centuries because he was cast into his human form by a witch. By Danasi. That is the curse you wish to lift?” Jamison gasped.
“Yes. The Dragon King Caichmiorral is my lover and this is a task I need to complete for him.”
Jamison grinned and laughed, the sounds echoing around them and down the halls. A true happiness seemed to rise up from the depths of his heart as he all but danced in place.
“My lady, you’ve already won! Has he bedded you, yet? Has he lain with you? He was cursed to damnation as human, lest he finds true love. Tell me, this is the ma
n you are trying to save?” he asked eagerly, though instead of waiting for an answer, he pressed a hand to her breast plated stomach. Another peel of laughter split his lips as he looked up at her.
“You can free them from her! You can free this land from her reign! You can bring back the dragons again,” Jamison gasped.
In the back of her mind, Karina recalled their conversations about mating and eggs and the curse. Determination burned in her chest as her resolve for lifting the curse settled over her twice as strong.
“He has bedded me, as you say, but the curse still remains,” she sighed softly.
“He has? But then…”
But before Jamison could finish his statement, the wall to their right was blown wide open and a sickly sweet, smiling face peered out at them.
“There you are.”
The Queen Danasi stared at them. Her lips were smeared with crimson as deep as blood, her skin was paler even than freshly fallen snow and her face was so angular it was a wonder the bone didn’t cut straight through her pale skin. The most disturbing were her eyes, clouded over with scar tissue to the point it was near impossible to see her pupils and irises.
As she raised a hand and yanked it backward as if pulling on something invisible, Karina felt invisible hands wrap around her armored waist. They were impossibly large and she suddenly found herself careening forward through the wall and into the throne room.
A wall of energy, purple and shimmering strangely separated Karina from Jamison, who stared at her, petrified. She stared at the Queen, a hand on her sword as the alien woman paced around her.
With blinding speed, a hand lashed out and struck Karina across the cheek, leaving her head spinning as she fell to a knee. Blood filled her mouth and a tooth, one of her back molars, rolled about across her tongue.
Karina didn’t respond. Instead, she immediately lunged with her sword and the Queenside stepped her blow. A flash of purple crackled past, just barely missing Karina’s head and she swung her sword again, lightly grazing the tip against Danasi’s thigh. The taste of the witch’s blood left the blade humming in her hands as if it were eager to taste more. Karina was happy to oblige.