Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Olena nodded. She moved her hands from where the water hit his lower thighs, working up over his legs to his hips. She rose as she cleaned him. His member came temptingly close to her mouth. She’d never taken one between her lips, but she had heard some of the men speaking of such things and how it brought them endless pleasure. Would it bring Yusef pleasure?

  Olena’s fingers skimmed over to his ass. She lathered him, standing so close she could feel the heat of his body radiating into hers.

  His eyes darkened when her fingers stayed too long on his backside, her fingers turning from washing to caressing, to all out fondling as she gravitated naturally closer to him. Touching her face, he asked, “Do you still hurt?”

  Olena’s gaze turned down at the bold question. When she didn’t answer, he slid his hand down her side.

  “Turn around,” he urged.

  Olena pulled her hands away.

  “Trust me. I want to show you something.”

  Olena couldn’t refuse the soft entreaty of his eyes or the firmly moving lines of his lips. Yusef held her around the flat of her stomach and drew her back against him. Their bodies angled so that his erection pressed into the softness of her backside, parting her slightly against his length. Not moving to penetrate, he began gliding his good hand over her flesh.

  Yusef drew his fingers over her nipples, circling and pinching them with agonizing attention, before moving his hands down over her stomach to rest briefly above her pussy’s opening. Olena tensed, her head falling back on his shoulder. She shook in anticipation.

  His lips were at her ear, nipping and soothing. “I’m going to give you the pleasure you should have felt the first time.”

  She shivered, awakening enough from her haze at his words to try and pull away. His strong arm tensed. He pulled her once more against his hardness. He delved his fingers to part her body ever so slightly.

  Olena couldn’t stop her hips from responding as he rubbed at her sensitive clit. Her back arched into him and a whimper of pleasure escaped her lips. His kisses pressed her neck as his hand pressed her sex. Her hips jerked, naturally seeking to ease their tension as they thrust up and down in light movements. Her body was fevered from washing him and now, to feel him touching her, she moaned.

  Yusef bent lower, pushing his fingers along her slick heat. The beginnings of a tremor radiated from where his hand touched and he hadn’t even entered his fingers into her. She bucked her hips and she shook with a sudden force. Climax came hard and fast. Her hot moisture pooled on his fingers as she jerked against it in pleasure.

  Yusef growled. Her cry echoed around them. She became limp, leaning into his arm for support. Her ragged breath fell heavy as she naturally turned her lips to nudge him.

  “Yusef,” she said, awed by what she felt. He held her up. She turned and rested her head to his chest as she tried to calm her heartbeat.

  Chapter 31

  “You shouldn’t be left in such a state.” Olena peered down at his cock, which was still tense and pulsing with need.

  The clean smell of his flesh and the look of his rock hard body caused her desires to renew. Still weak in the wake of her pleasure, she forgot who she was and how she expected herself to react. This moment was perfection and being with him was all she wanted.

  “Tell me how to ease you.” Her eyes didn’t meet his, as her hand fluttered forward to touch his arousal. She curled her fingers around the shaft. She’d never taken things this far and was in new territory. But, what better partner to teach her than her husband who already showed a generous desire for her?

  Something in the back of her mind awakened to warn against such things, telling her it would be more difficult to leave if she let him continue. Another, stronger voice, told her it would be more difficult for her if she didn’t. She couldn’t keep resisting him and still manage to think straight at the same time. To deny him was to deny herself. If she just let him complete what they’d started, maybe he’d be out of her system and she could again get focused on returning to her old life.

  When Yusef didn’t move, Olena glanced shyly up at him. His lids were lowered in pleasure at her willing touch. Why did her old life of adventure suddenly seem so dull and uninteresting? Why was this ugly, white house suddenly holding more appeal than the luxurious comforts of her captain’s quarters? Why was being bound to this dragon-man more tempting than precious freedom?

  Her lips parted. The ache inside her became unbearable, making her want to run. The pain had nothing to do with the desires festering inside her stomach. Tears moistened her eyes. She would never allow them to fall.

  “Yusef?” She thought of Doc Aleksander and what she had to do for him. It’s not like the man had given her a choice. And when the Medical Mafia wanted something from you, you didn’t naysay them. To do so would mean certain pain, death if you were lucky, and most assuredly, the destruction of everything and everyone you held dear.

  “What is it?”

  Olena’s hand left his arousal to skim up his chest.

  I need to tell you something, her mind whispered. I’m going to run out on you and steal one of your sisters-by-marriage.

  Olena hated herself for what she would do to Yusef and his family. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

  “What’s wrong?” he insisted.

  “It’s nothing,” she said, breathless. “Will you kiss me?”

  He gave her a quizzical smile, but lowered his head, assaulting her senses with a tender force of passion that left her mind numb and her limbs liquid. As he pulled back, her entire body shook and Olena was sure she was going to explode into nothingness.

  She leaned into him, feeling his heart beneath her palm. Her eyes were still closed, her lips still pursed as if he were even now against them. Her lashes fluttered to catch a glimpse of a devilishly handsome smile. He dipped down once more.

  Olena moaned softly. She was too far gone to think or calculate. Winding her hand around his broad neck, she ran her fingers through the soft silken texture of his dark hair.

  When he pulled back to let her breathe, she whispered without thought, “I was so afraid that you were going to die.” It was not a sentiment of love, but it was the closest she’d ever come to admitting she cared for him. She lightly touched the scars on his back. “They will heal, won’t they?” Her eyes moved to capture his. “You’re going to be fine, right?”

  Yusef nodded. Leaning over, he pressed his lips to hers as he passionately kissed her. Only by the power of her hands around his shoulders, and the strength of his good arm around her back, did she stay upright. Her knees gave out from under her and she swayed against him.

  When he pulled back, his eyes were flecked with golden promise and Olena knew she had her answer.

  “I’m not going anywhere, firebird,” he said tenderly, “except to take my wife to bed.”

  Olena trembled. The bedroom seemed so intimate, so permanent. She couldn’t allow herself to fall deeper into his maddening spell. A smile spread over her parted lips, and she let an unmistakable mischief overtake her gaze.

  “Why not here?” She smoothed her hands along his body and pressed kisses to his chest and stomach. Yusef tensed, unable to deny her mouth as she trailed it lower.

  He moaned. He tangled his fingers into her hair, urging her to continue her wayward descent. Her breath fell rapid and hot against his flesh.

  Olena kissed the tip of his arousal before tracing feathery caresses along the shaft to the base. His body lurched.

  He quickly sat down. Olena blinked in surprise.

  “Come here,” he said in a voice filled with promise. “I’ll show you how to ease us both.”

  Olena straddled his lap. The heat from the steam made her hair stick to her flesh like streaks of fire. A long wave curled around the bend of her breast. He lifted his hand to follow the wet trail of her locks, moving to brush them back as he unveiled the nipple puckered beneath. Olena shivered. Yusef caressed the hard bud with the backs of his fingers.r />
  Slowly, his eyes burning into her, he grasped her hip. Pulling her forward, he urged her closer to his cock.

  “I’ve burned for you, Olena, since the first moment I saw you, standing defiant and beautiful at the mouth of that spacecraft. I knew I would have you then, as I want you now.”

  He dipped his fingers into the water, reaching to feel her. Olena’s hands fell to his shoulders as he stroked a fire into her. As her hips responded in restless motion against him, he slid a finger inside of her to stroke more intimately.

  Soon the hand wasn’t enough. She need more—much more. She needed him. She needed to feel him inside of her. Olena leaned over, kissing his wet neck, drinking from his glorious skin. Her lips nipped at his ear, delighting in the shivering response.

  He took his fingers from her, moving so he could enter her. Olena stiffened slightly, remembering how full he’d felt the last time. Her thighs clenched, keeping him from easing her downward.

  “Mmm.” He moaned at her resistance. “You control the depth. Don’t be afraid of me.”

  Olena couldn’t resist the plea in his words as his hand once more pulled her to take him. Not looking up, she felt his hand against her leg as he guided himself to her opening. He rubbed the tip several times against her, letting her get used to his hardness. Then, ever so slowly, he pushed his arousal just into the slick entrance of her body.

  Olena was rewarded with pleasure. Slowly, she loosened her legs and slid down to capture him. Yusef appeared as if he wanted nothing more than to grab her and slam her down. Biting his lips, he resisted.

  Olena gradually fit him inside her, feeling the unyielding fullness as she accepted his length and accommodated his size. Olena pushed up and he went deeper still.

  His voice caught as he spoke. “Move me in you.”

  Olena pulled up a fraction and then lowered. The thrust was achingly shallow.

  “Again,” he commanded. His hands gripped her tighter as if he fought the beast within him that wanted nothing more than to begin mindlessly pumping and ramming into her softness.

  Olena pulled up only to repeat the same aching torment. Her body burned for more, but she was still getting used to the feel of him, still discovering the sensations.

  “Again.” His voice ground out in a pain.

  This time when she moved, he lifted her up higher. Olena protested and forced her hips down. The water caused her to slide from his grip, and she came down forcefully upon him. Olena cried out in pleasant surprise. She was rewarded with a gratifying wave of pleasure.

  Yusef’s groan joined hers.

  “Just like that, firebird.” Yusef again lifted her. “Do it again.”

  Olena lifted up only to push down hard as her ass hit his legs. Yusef’s hand kneaded along the curve of her back, moving to her breasts to circle and pinch her nipples.

  “Faster,” he urged. “Take me faster.”

  Olena obliged and was richly rewarded. Her hips took over, mindlessly driving against him, building their ecstasy. It was like nothing she had ever felt.

  When she tensed, Yusef pushed up from the seat and thrust up, going as deeply as her body would take him. Olena cried out, arching back. She quivered violently. His body answered her call, jerking roughly as they released all the tension that had been building since the night they first met.

  Olena dropped against him, terrified she could feel so much, and unable to process the rush flowing between them—not only with their physical release, but their minds and bodies as he tried to connect to her. Shudders wracked her. It was too much for her to handle, as she knew she would leave him soon, would deceive him so horribly that the affectionate expression on his face would never hold. After she delivered his brother’s wife to Doc Aleksander, he wouldn’t even be able to look at her.

  Something had to give and since her body had a mind of its own, still encasing him inside her, it was her emotions that shut off to him, blocking the connection before it could take root

  * * *

  Yusef felt the snap between them as sharp and real as a slap across the face. They’d been so close. Only a second more and he would have been able to read her completely, and she him. But she refused the intimacy of his mind and soul. The feeling left him cold and weary.

  “Olena?” He wondered at her mental withdrawal.

  “Hum?” Olena moaned into his neck. She must have detected pain in his voice and mistook it for physical. She took herself off him, her wide eyes checking him over for injury. “Oh, Yusef, I’m sorry, your back.”

  He let her think what she wanted, having no desire to put unreturned feelings at her feet. He did have some measure of pride left, even if this vixen he called a wife had taken everything else from him—including his heart.

  Her flushed features filled with concern, as she said, “Why didn’t you stop me? You didn’t break anything open, did you? Can you move? Are you paralyzed?”

  Yusef chuckled despite himself as she tried to move around to see his back. If ever he was to be injured, let it be with her thrusting like a flaming tree-witch on top of him.

  His member grew with alarming speed at the thought. His mouth twitched, as he wickedly replied, “Feel me and see if you think me paralyzed.”

  Olena blushed, all the way to the roots of her hair. She looked down. Indeed, she could see the tip of him in the water. “Again?”

  Yusef grinned and shrugged. “It seems I like your medicine better than that of the doctors.”

  “Should we get out of the bath?”

  “Where would you have us go?” He captured her lips. His back did indeed feel loosened from the hot water, and he found himself very ready to try something more vigorous.

  “I, uh…” She glanced around. “Where do you want me?”

  Standing, he pulled her with him. Her breast slid over his body, the nipple hardening against him. Boldly he kissed the breath from her, only to release her when her knees were bending and her hands were clutching at his shoulders. Growling against her mouth, he said dirtily, “I would have you deeply impaled on my shaft.”

  Chapter 32

  Olena sat curled on a chair, fully clothed, chewing absently on her thumbnail as she watched Yusef. Her body ached in a hundred different ways, all of them a testament to how much he had recovered. Only after the third time coming together on the white fur rug before the fireplace, did Olena climb from on top of him and demand he go to bed and rest.

  When he lay down, his body worn out and past all imaginable limits, he reached for her to join him. To his obvious dismay, she refused, using the excuse of his injuries not to lie intimately beside him while they slept, lest she hurt him when she tossed in sleep. Making herself a bed on the white couch before the roaring fire, she had inevitably drifted off into the nightmarish world of her dreams.

  Now that it was morning, she felt the weight of her world bearing down on her. Doc Aleksander wouldn’t wait long for her compliance. Comforting herself with the fact that Doc was a family man—so much so that he wouldn’t cheat on his wife, no matter how hot his desire was—Olena tried not to feel guilty. Surely the man would welcome his daughter with open arms, taking her back into the protective fold of his powerful world. Besides, the reasons why the woman left him in the first place were a family matter, best resolved between them as a family.

  Her reasoning did not settle well inside her.

  Yusef stirred, drawing her thoughts. He’d grimaced a few times in his sleep, but his body stretched out and his arm didn’t lock against his chest in pain. He came awake, and turned to her as if automatically sensing her presence in the still room. A soft smile curled his features briefly.

  “I was about to wake you,” Olena said. “It’s early, but you have to meet with the war council.”

  Yusef had confessed as much to her the night before—in between orgasms. King Attor was being given the right of defense, as per a truce set before the Draig and Var nobility years ago. If the king was responsible for Morrigan’s poisoning and
Yusef’s attack, then there would be justice and possible war.

  Olena could do nothing about the war. And the bloodthirsty, vengeful side of her nature would gladly see justice done on Yusef’s behalf. But this was a matter for the Draig royal family. Even though she was technically a part of their family, she knew she could take no real stand with them. She wouldn’t be staying to see any of her hotheaded declarations through, and she wouldn’t be the cause of a battle she couldn’t fight herself.

  Olena also understood she wasn’t to leave Yusef’s house this day. He told her spies were most likely in the palace. Whoever had stabbed him knew the back passages well enough to escape through them without being caught. King Attor himself had been far enough away to shield him from direct responsibility for the attack. Unless the Var king confessed, many nobles would be hesitant to escalate the war without solid proof. Yusef admitted they remembered all too well the losses the last resurgence had brought. Many had died and no one had won.

  “Come here,” he said in a near whisper.

  Olena unfolded her limbs and climbed off the chair. He was naked beneath the coverlet. His bare chest tempting her forward. She stood beside the bed, studying his handsome face. He didn’t move to sit up.

  “Come lie with me,” he urged.

  Olena wanted to. Oh, how desperately she wanted to. “No. You should get ready. I imagine with your wounds it will be slow going as it is. I can walk you to the war council—”

  “No.” He grimaced as he forced himself to sit.

  He threw the coverlet from his body and Olena instantly glanced down to see the condition of his cock. It was half erect, just at the edge of filling. If she were to touch it, it would rise eagerly in her fingers ready to pleasure her.

  “It isn’t safe for you in the halls, he said. “You must stay inside.”

  Olena nodded and Yusef looked surprised when she did not protest the order.

  “I mean it, firebird,” he insisted.