Dragon Envy

by Kelly Armenta

  “My thanks,” I said, my cheeks burning under her amused look.

  “You may wish to reserve judgment upon that,” she told me and I frowned up at her, my eyes confused. “The Seelie are… quite competitive. You have played the Mirel Flute for us and the Sidhe has welcomed you,” she told me, her hand motioning to the food laid out behind us. “You are the only Queen of Dragons upon this world, and you are my Granddaughter, therefore also a Princess of the Seelie Court. Do not be surprised should you find yourself being vied over for their attentions. It is most natural.”

  I swallowed and stared back at her, wondering just how many single males were in attendance.

  She smiled, her golden eyes laughing down at me. “Too many to count,” she replied then cupped my cheek in her palm and leaned forward to kiss my temple. “Now you should eat. You will, without a doubt, require strength.”

  “Ma’am?” I stopped her, biting my lower lip and lowering my eyes briefly. “I need to apologize.”

  She turned fully back to me. “For what reason would you need to do so?” she asked softly, her eyes clear.

  “It seems that I am in… Fecundity,” I told her softly and she nodded.

  “Yes, that is not such a surprise, child.”

  “Which means that… I require… frequent… interactions,” I told her, feeling my face flame as those around us listened intently and I felt a host of curious minds press in upon me. “It seems during these… interactions, I tend to… broadcast.”

  “Broadcast?” she repeated, her eyes confused.

  “My pleasure,” I finished rather lamely and peaked up at her from beneath my lashes. “It can be quite powerful.”

  “How powerful?” she wanted to know, her brow creased in concern.

  I glanced at Gareth and then Kit, who were both closest to me, my eyes asking for assistance. Kit stepped forward, drawing her attention and he bowed from the waist. “Your Majesty, my Mistress has been known to bring men to their knees in release… through several hundred feet of stone… regularly. As well, she can render a man satisfied with a mere touch. Should a man not please her…”

  “Kit!” I gasped, my eyes widening in horror.

  My Grandmother turned to look at me and then back to Kit. “Should a man not please her… what?” she urged him.

  “She might render him… decreased in size,” he told her and I swear he’d swelled three inches from pride.

  “Decreased in size?” she repeated and glanced at me to see if this was some form of joke.

  “Permanently,” Kit added with a sly grin.

  “It has yet to happen, Ma’am,” I assured her and her eyes widened thoughtfully as comprehension dawned. “Perhaps it would be best to leave the Sidhe during our rest?” I offered and she frowned and shook her head.

  “No, I think not. We will manage,” she told me.

  “Ma’am?”

  “Yes child?”

  “We will require a very large bed,” I told her, glancing around at the number of men I’d brought with me.

  She looked like she might choke, and then forced herself to smile. “It has already been arranged,” she informed me. “Is there anything else?”

  “Just this, I do not know what affect, if any it will have on the women,” I told her softly. “Perhaps none, I truly cannot say.”

  “Hmmm,” she replied then turned to the King, who was standing near us holding my plate of food, his dark eyes watching me intently. “And will you be staying with us, Lord Tdem?” she asked him and breathed deeply when he nodded. “You may keep your guards, Lexi, as I assume they have already been exposed to this. In addition I will send you several more to ensure the King’s safety,” she added. Then when she would have turned away she hesitated and swung back, her eyes pensive. “A mere touch?” she asked, as her eyes flicked to Kit who nodded vigorously.

  “A mere touch,” he confirmed.

  “I think… I think I would like to see this,” she told me, her voice brooking no argument.

  I glanced at Kit and felt like smacking him but refrained. “Ma’am, shall I choose someone then?” I asked.

  She considered me for a moment and shook her head, turning to look over her shoulder at the tall blonde whom had shared the dais with Duke Aerandir. “His Grace, Lord Camthalon, will suffice,” she informed me as he stepped around her and in front of me, his pale green eyes glancing between the two of us. I didn’t doubt that he’d heard every word we’d spoken and there was a pleased smile upon his face, an eager look in his eye.

  “Are you certain, Ma’am?” I asked. “He is your personal guard.”

  She looked at me and raised one eyebrow. “What is it you fear?”

  I took a breath and shook my head. “It is… nothing,” I replied and looked at Camthalon.

  “Shall I kneel, Your Majesty?” he asked in a lilting voice that caused the hair upon my arms to rise. I motioned to the floor in front of me and studied him as he dropped gracefully to his knees.

  “You are not spoken for by another?” I asked softly and nodded in relief when he hesitated a moment and flashed me a sly smile as he shook his head. I took a deep breath. “May I touch you?” I asked, not wishing to alarm him. His response caused me to smile, too, and those around me to shift. I did not look at my men, knowing that they would not be pleased with this display. Not because it took anything away from them, but because it would be one more thing to draw attention to me. And I already had enough.

  Chapter 8

  Camthalon watched me closely, his eyes calm and somewhat determined as I reached for him. My palm slid over the smooth skin of his cheek and I let it rest there for several seconds. “Well met,” I said and filled him with the sense of contentment I had felt that morning after my second session in Amras’ room with Gareth and Jace. The force of my pleasure dropped him to the floor as if he’d been hit in the temple. I caught his head as he went down lest he strike it for real upon the marble floor. I eased him onto his side and smiled down at him. “Are you well?” I asked and he dragged an eyelid open and blinked up at me in a daze, while in his throat he made low pleased noises. I brushed his cheek and sat up looking to my Grandmother.

  “Goddess! Is he well?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “He is merely suffering from afterglow, Ma’am,” I assured her. “He will be himself again in a short while.”

  “Should we move him?” she asked and I shook my head, feeling responsible for him though it had not been my choice.

  “I will watch over him,” I told her with a wry smile and my response seemed to please her immensely.

  “Thank you,” she told me. “I am sorry if this distressed you.”

  I smiled and glanced down at Camthalon and replied, “We shall see.”

  She gave me an odd look then said, “I will have someone arrange for more guards.”

  Kit bowed to her again and she glanced at him. “Have them bring spare trousers, Your Majesty. They will need them.” Her eyes widened again as she looked at me, nodding once then she moved away into the crowd.

  “Remind me to strangle you later, Kit,” I told him softly and he sighed and tossed up his hands, grumbling under his breath.

  “Your dinner” Tdem offered, his deep voice drawing my eyes up to him. He looked down at the Duke, now stretched out on the floor at my feet in a stupor and smiled. He had a very pleased look in his eyes. “Talented indeed,” he told me.

  “Would you like a taste for yourself?” I asked, my hand stilling as I reached for the plate.

  He glanced down at Camthalon and then back to me. “I prefer the real thing… but as you say, we shall see,” he replied softly, then stepped back and folded his arms over his chest while I considered my food, realizing that I wasn’t hungry after all.

  Gareth rumbled deep in his chest and I lifted my eyes to his. He looked worried. “Loss of appetite?” he asked me softly. “Are you well, otherwise?” I closed my eyes and did a self-check, realizing I was starting to feel a little sluggi
sh and shook my head. “The grapes Owen provided you will not sustain you,” he warned me and turned to look at Jace. Gareth reached out and lifted me from my seat, allowing Jace to slide in under me on the small bench so Gareth could place me in his lap. “See that she eats at least half of everything on that plate,” Gareth growled, and then pushed through the people surrounding us and was striding away.

  “Where is he going?” I asked as Jace raised a forkful of something I did not recognize to my lips.

  “To find a guard that can direct us to our rooms since you have rendered this one… a problem,” he told me.

  “Oh,” I mumbled and took the bite he offered, chewing thoughtfully while I tried to identify what it was I was eating.

  “I have no idea,” Jace muttered. “Nor do I care as long as it gets inside you. Though I doubt anything here would be offensive, since you conjured it with your playing.”

  “I did?” I asked after swallowing.

  “Where did you think it came from?” He asked and I took another bite and shrugged one shoulder.

  “Faeries?” I told him when my mouth was no longer full. He just snorted and then chuckled. I dodged the next forkful to ask, “Can I have something to drink? I think I’m a little dehydrated. And shouldn’t you all be eating? I’m not the only one around here that will need strength.” That comment had them all heading to the table to fill their own dishes. Owen snapped his fingers and handed me a large glass of ice cold water before he too went for food. “Share my plate with me,” I offered Jace as I swallowed down half the glass. “It is way too much food for me alone and I’m concerned you will not eat once I am done. I can’t have you feinting on me in the midst of ensuring I don’t end up in convulsions upon the floor.”

  He smiled and kissed my ear. “You have a way of always saying the sweetest things.”

  We sat there eating in relative peace for several minutes before I asked, “How long do you think it will take him to recover? I’ve never stayed around to find out.”

  “Normally I’d say not long. But you were very satisfied this morning so it might be a while.”

  “I did not want to do this,” I told him wanting to be sure he understood I had done it only because my Grandmother had asked.

  “Worried he will follow you around like a puppy when he comes to his senses?” Jace inquired with a bit of a grimace.

  “The thought had occurred to me. Mostly because he was already showing signs before I even left the dais.”

  “Your scoffing at him did not help, Lexi” he chided me softly.

  “His arrogance annoyed me.”

  “He was merely doing his job. And yet you had a much worse reaction to the other, the darker one,” he remarked. “I noticed he searched you out much faster than this one.” I chewed my food and did not respond immediately. “It is a good thing he wasn’t after blood, you certainly gave him the opportunity to take it had he been so inclined.”

  “His concern was for Cursed, not me,” I replied and my tone informed him I did not wish to discuss it further.

  “You did a good thing,” he whispered against my ear. “Gareth and I are very proud of you.” I turned my face into his neck and pulled the scent of him deep into my lungs.

  “I want to take my hair down,” I told him while my lips nibbled at his neck. “It is starting to give me a headache.”

  “Is it your hair or something more… urgent?” he asked, his voice catching.

  “It is coming,” I told him. “Let us finish dinner. I am not yet in distress. But you smell very good to me, and it is difficult to think about food being this close to you.” He hummed for me and we quickly set about finishing the rest of the food on the plate.

  The stool we sat upon was short enough that my feet touched the floor near where the Duke was currently resting. The others had returned and were quietly chatting and eating while I sat in Jace’s lap enjoying the feel of him beneath me and the smell of his skin, which was I thought, exquisite. I shifted in his lap and made a low pleased sound for him.

  “Lexi, sweetheart… please,” Jace groaned and I pulled my face from his neck and glanced at him. He had an intense look on his face and his eyes were softly whirling. I looked around and realized none of my men were eating. All of them were staring down at me, their faces eager.

  On the floor below me a cool hand slid under my dress and wrapped around my ankle then moved slowly up my calf, hesitating at the knife strapped there. I leaned forward and searched the pale green eyes of His Grace Lord Camthalon, who looked like he just had really good sex. At my thought he growled low and soft and slid his fingers over my bare leg. His eyebrow rose slightly as his fingers found my hilt and slid the blade from its sheath an inch or so, then back home. The look in his eye told me he was pleased. Perhaps he enjoyed a woman that came prepared. Or maybe he had a knife fetish. Either way my blade seemed to amuse him. “Shouldn’t you be getting up now Lord Camthalon?”

  “Call me Cam,” he replied softly, then informed me, “I like it here just fine.” His words were bold indeed and might well have earned him retribution had I been so inclined. He gave me a sly grin and curled his fingers round my leg, shifting his body closer.

  “Lord Camthalon… Cam,” I started, switching his name to the shortened version when the look in his eyes turned expectant. “I’m going to need that,” I told him indicating the leg he seemed to have become attached to and was currently stroking under the wrappings of my gown.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “So am I.” I swallowed and glanced up at Jace who was still struggling with his own needs.

  I took another breath and tried again. “Shouldn’t you be guarding the Queen?”

  One corner of his mouth lifted and he blinked slowly. “I am yours,” he informed me bluntly, and I pulled air into my lungs and stared down at him in surprise. “She has given me to you.”

  I could not believe this. I had not heard her say any such thing. “Are you certain?”

  “Oh yes, the first time you played, the same as that Prince, all those years ago.” He murmured, continuing to run his long graceful fingers over me. “One dark Prince of the UnSeelie, and a former Seelie Prince of light, our purpose… to tempt you. She did not realize you were also Dragon.”

  I turned to glance at Cursed, who looked nearly as surprised as I did, his black eyes glancing between the two of us, his head shaking while his eyes filled with confusion. Poor Cursed was having a hard day, so many new truths to wade through. I sighed deeply and turned back to Cam.

  “If that is so, why did you not come when I played my flute, when the Prince did?” And why was he not included in my portrait as all the others were?

  “Pride,” he murmured in a relaxed voice. “I wanted you to come to me, and so you have.” He informed me, then smiled slightly and I finally realized that I had seen him once before. His pale eyes lifted to mine and he blinked slowly, his thoughts not quite seeming to be all in alignment just yet. “You were such a lovely child. And now you are so much more.” And then he sighed and glanced down to the floor, his fingers stilling on my leg. His voice became musing. “I see the way your eyes follow the Prince, and I wonder did I wait too long, My Lady? Perhaps I have made a mistake after all. But then, here you are.”

  The use of that term hit me like a blow or perhaps it was just that I’d been ignoring my internal warnings in order to learn more from Cam. In either event, I suddenly realized I had waited too long, or perhaps it came on more quickly. I felt the air leave my lungs and clutched at Jace beneath me. My eyes widened in alarm and Gareth was suddenly there before me lifting me into his arms. “Gareth I need you…” and I buried my face against his neck and shuddered.

  “Hang on,” he told me and then the swirling sensation and the sound of voices and I was naked beneath Gareth, my legs and arms opening to welcome him into my body with a sigh. “I should turn you over my knee,” he murmured as his lips nuzzled my neck.

  “Mmmm… but this feels so much better than that would
,” I moaned while he chuckled and moved his hips for me.

  “Lexi, you must not wait so long to let us assist you,” Jace chided from beside us.

  I turned to look at him and reached my hand out to stroke his thigh. “Don’t be mad. I got distracted and it just snuck up on me there at the end,” I told him as my fingers slid up his leg and he shifted to give me more access to his naked body. I purred and wrapped my legs around Gareth placing my heels at the inside of his knees.

  “Shall we do this?’ Gareth asked, his voice sending gooseflesh skittering over my skin when he leaned back and stared down at me.

  I turned my head and looked up into his dark blue eyes and felt my breath catch at the beauty of him. “I would enjoy that very much. I believe you have the helm, Captain,” I teased and he grinned and kissed my nose.

  “Hold on wench, I believe we’re headed for rough waters,” he told me while Jace chuckled and rolled onto his side next to us. His fingers trailed up my arm and over my ribcage and I turned my face to him.

  “Kiss me, Jace,” I whispered and his lips pressed to mine in a tentative kiss which quickly became much more. Gareth lowered his mouth to my breast and I arched my back for him while my fingers slid into his hair. Gareth lifted his hips and began stroking me gently, causing me to moan and hold him tightly with my legs. He whispered my name and I shuddered and dropped my lower shield so I might let them see the way I felt with them. I started with the pleasures of their bodies above me. Sharing how I enjoyed the feel of their skin against my palms as they pressed me into the bedding. How their size had always made me feel small and delicate and that their weight settled between my legs excited me. In my mind I pictured how the hair on their chests teased my breasts and heightened my sensitivity.

  Gareth made an exited noise, growling softly while his hips stroked me. I fed him the exquisite feel of his length buried inside me. Showing them just how fulfilling it was to cradle him within my body. How right it felt to be beneath them while they made love to me. And then I pushed back the pleasure they brought to me and showed them my cravings, how I could not be near either of them without wanting to touch and taste. How my body yearned for theirs, and that they had always satisfied me emotionally and physically.