Dragon Joined

by Rebecca Royce

  “I told you. I want you to get yourself out. The kids need you. I’m lost.”

  He touched the side of her face, stroking downward until he caressed her neck. “How are you free? None of the other joined humans are walking around.”

  Her face heated up and she was grateful for the dimness of the room. The shadows would hide her blush. “I managed to free myself.”

  He waited a beat to speak. Dean looked so rugged in the shadows, his features hardened so that he even appeared fiercer than before.

  “I don’t understand. You’d never freed yourself before. How did you do it now without sex?”

  He thought sex made her get herself out of containment. Fucking just anyone didn’t bring about the effect. Doing it with just anyone wouldn’t make a difference. She’d seen enough in her years with the dragons to know that.

  “I thought about us.” They had little time together. Being coy or untruthful would do nothing for her.

  “About our time in the shower?” He leaned down, kissing her by the side of her eye.

  “No, I imagined something else. You and I making love. In my dream. I got off and it woke me.”

  His breathing got louder. “Hells. I want to hear about your fantasies. So much. But there isn’t time now.”

  “I know.” She preferred not to tell him anyway. He’d never want to touch her again if he knew she’d gotten off thinking about making a baby with him. Truth was, she’d rather not dwell on it at all.

  “I’m looking for the equipment.”

  Amanda pointed up to the loft. “There.”

  He nodded. “Thanks. I hadn’t gotten up there yet.”

  She followed him up the ladder to the storage container that held the climbing equipment. He handed her the matchstick so he could dig through the box.

  “Don’t drop that. I don’t want a fire.”

  “Would be something. Just burn the whole place down.”

  Dean shook his head, not looking up. “Not with one human left inside.”

  “You are determined.”

  He glanced her way, winking at her. “I tend to get my way. I’m a stubborn ass.”

  Her memory of her dream came around, with him ordering her around, and she looked away. Where Dean was concerned, it turned out she was a goner.

  A wave of exhaustion shook her and she went down to her knees. “Dean, I think you’d better take this match. I’m going to go back under. I don’t know how I’m going to get back to her room.”

  Dean took the flame and blew it out. Total darkness struck her again.

  “I’m not ready for you to leave again, Amanda.” He pulled her into his arms. “There isn’t the time for this and there isn’t the time not to do it. I want you. Hell, I always desire you. I’m keeping you with me.”

  “You don’t have to.” The last thing she wanted was obligation.

  “It’s not ‘have to’. I crave you, Amanda. I think about you and I’m as hard as a teenager before his first time. You’re staying with me now. You’re coming home with me later. We’ll work the rest out. For now, I’m getting us both off. You’ll stay conscious and I’ll finally be able to think again.” He sucked in his breath. “You’re like a drug to me.”

  She met his mouth with her own. There were worse fates than having to have sex with the man she couldn’t get enough of.

  Chapter Six

  Dean had made love with Amanda once in the showers and now in a pitch-black loft. Someday, the universe would be kind to them and he’d get to show her pleasure somewhere that would leave them neither wet nor dirty.

  “Dean. Hurry.”

  He pushed his mouth against hers and she opened it, letting him stroke her with tongue as he wanted to do to her down below. She ran her hands up and down his back, causing his cock to harden even further.

  “Feeling more alert?”

  She grinned. “Drastically.”

  He grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. They didn’t have time for niceties or seduction. The clothes had to be abandoned. Fast. She caught his drift and yanked her pants off too. He stood up, removing his own clothes at what had to be a world-record speed. Finally, he lay back down on top of her. Both of them naked. He couldn’t speak for her, but he’d love to keep her like that. Permanently.

  “Good. I wouldn’t want to put you to sleep.”

  Amanda shook her head, her brown hair falling onto her shoulders. Even in the lightless barn, he could see the stark contrast between her hair and her pale skin. Her years of living outdoors on the run had freckled her but he would guess that Princess had all but kept her indoors for six years. She didn’t have anywhere near the beginnings of a tan.

  His porcelain goddess.

  “Dean, could I…”

  Her voice faded off and he kissed her pert nose. “Could you what, sweetheart?”

  The endearment fell from his mouth before he could stop it. He clenched his teeth. Too mushy and she’d want nothing to do with him once they got out of here. She didn’t flinch—instead her eyes continued to bore into his own.

  “Could I get on top? Earlier when I pictured us, that was how I did it and I’ve been thinking about us…”

  He interrupted her by flipping her on top of him. “Go for it, lady. I’ll like watching you up there. Enjoy.”

  She grinned and bit down on her fingertip. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t ever thank me. Not when it comes to this. Believe me, it’s as much my pleasure as it is yours.”

  Amanda took his cock in hand. She squeezed gently and his balls tightened. A few moments later, she slipped him inside her. Her welcoming warmth took him inside as if he belonged there. He leaned back on the straw, not caring if it felt soft or crunchy. On top of him, Amanda felt just right.

  She moved above him at a slow pace at first. He grabbed the straw and wood beneath him. It took everything in his power not to flip her over and demand that she ride him at a faster pace. He needed to have her. The sensation made him raw, obsessive and crazy for her body. Years of practicing self-control went a long way toward keeping him from doing anything but raising his hips to meet her pace.

  “Damn it.” He tried not to swear worse than that. Pleasure mixed with pain shot down his spine. His hands tingled. Hells, he wanted to spill himself. But he wouldn’t. He’d wait. Somehow.

  Amanda moved a little faster. Yes. He thrust into her, wanting to make sure she got enough stimulation on her clit to really enjoy the experience.

  She threw her head back, her hands roaming up and down her body as she did. He wanted better leverage. Still, he reached out to capture her breasts in his hands. They were more than a handful.

  Amanda rode him hard, her pace rapid, and he lost hold of her breasts. “Someday I’m going to have you tied up and under me. I’ll be able to have you for as long as I want. It’ll be sweet torture for you.”

  “I would never consider anything you wanted to do anything close to torturous.”

  “That’s good but you’re tormenting me, baby.”

  She laughed, a beautiful lower-register sound. He could get used to this. When had sex ever been so fun? The whole world could implode on them and still Amanda could giggle, looking so beautiful as the streaming moonlight illuminated her soft features.

  Amanda closed her eyes. Her muscles quickened their movements as she pumped against his cock, driving him to completion. She gasped one second before her liquid drenched him.

  He might have called out her name. Or maybe he only yelled it in his head. Either way, he saw stars before he drove into her one more time, finding his own completion deep inside her where he always wanted to stay.

  Breathing hard, he lifted his head. Amanda lay on top of him, sprawled like a woman whose muscles had stopped supporting her. Reality proved to be a cold master, driving him forward.

  “Amanda. I love lying here. But we have to move while we still have you alert.”

  “You’re right.” She sat up, her focus sharp. Life had been rough on
her and he would bet her level of no-nonsense attitude came directly from that. “Let’s get the equipment moved. Then you can vanish.”

  He shook his head as he stood. His knees felt like jelly. Hopefully that would stop, or it would be a real haul to get the equipment where he needed it.

  “I’m not going to be vanishing. Not without you and every human here. I can keep repeating myself if you want, sweetheart.” He grinned at her. “Is having that dragon in your head doing something to your memory?”

  “Has leading the men of New Strauss from war to war damaged your mental faculties? You need to leave before they join you to a dragon and you never get to go home.”

  He lifted the climbing equipment and slung it over his shoulder. There seemed little point in engaging her in a constant argument over this. She wouldn’t relent. The teenager who had kept two small children alive all by herself had grown to be a woman surviving dragon hell. Amanda hadn’t done all that by giving up easily.

  “You belong to me. Do you understand?” He couldn’t touch her, his hands occupied holding the stuff he would need to get them all out of there. One by one. “And all of these trapped souls belong to me now too. I don’t go until all of you do. So buck up and accept the truth of that. Besides, darling, no one is getting in my head. It’s not a happy place in there, except for those moments when I’m buried inside you.”

  She took one of the ropes from him and swung it over her arm. “I’ll help.” She ran a fingertip over his hand. “Touching you seems to keep this going for longer.”

  “Then touch me all you want.” They moved down the ladder to the barn below. “You’re going to ignore everything I just said?”

  “Yep.”

  He laughed. “That’s what I thought.”

  “When we go out there, we need to be silent. I don’t think anyone is wandering around looking for us but just in case.”

  “Right.” He nodded. Balancing most of the hooks over his left shoulder, he managed to pull a piece of straw out of her hair. “You need to shower at the barracks before we get you back to your room. Otherwise Princess might notice something different about you.”

  Not that the dragon’s powers of observation extended very far when it came to the humans. Probably too damn sure of her own superiority.

  He followed her out into the clearing. Looking left and right, he let the instincts that had saved his ass more than one time take in the night around them. The small hole in the ceiling of the fortress let him see the sky. From the angle of the big, round ball, he guessed it to be somewhere between midnight and two in the morning. He’d bet gold no one was watching.

  Still, they remained silent as they walked back to the human quarters. If only all the humans knew that to beat the dragons they simply needed to show up at night. He shook his head. When he got home, things would be different. They wouldn’t be victims anymore.

  She opened the door and he walked inside. The smell of cooking caught his attention and he nodded to the servant, Verve, who manned the area. The other man stood at five foot five inches tall, with a thin build. His face, narrow and gaunt, showed how long it had been since he’d been properly nourished. The dragons didn’t starve their help but perhaps Verve saw this as it way out. His brown hair had a spattering of gray in it.

  “It worked.”

  Verve smiled. “I’ve been so nervous. I’m so excited. When do we go?”

  Dean grinned, looking down at the bowl of beans. “Tomorrow night.”

  “Great.” Verve noticed Amanda right at the moment. He backed up a few steps, tripping over a chair. “Her. She’s going to kill us all.”

  “Shh.” Dean pressed down on Verve’s shoulder. “It’s Amanda. Not Princess. The dragon is off right now. This is Amanda Sugar. I’ve known her for her entire life. She’s mine. Okay?”

  Verve shook beneath his hand. What the hell did the cold-blooded bastards do their servants?

  “You’re sure? They can’t separate themselves from the dragons. Not ever. She could be tricking you.”

  Dean forced eye contact on Verve. It helped to calm his nervous shudders. “I’m positive.”

  “Okay.” Verve swallowed.

  Amanda moved forward. “I promise you. I’ll never hurt you.”

  “Okay, Princess.”

  “No.” Her voice struck out in the quiet of the room. “I’m Amanda. I’m not her.”

  Verve let out a breath. “This is going to take a little getting used to.”

  “Don’t get too used to it just yet. When next you see her she’s likely to be Princess again.”

  “How will I know?” Poor Verve. He might have an aneurysm. If Dean had more time he’d have comforted the poor guy. For now, however, Verve would have to deal with the situation however he handled it.

  “Just assume it’s Princess until you hear otherwise.” He walked down the hall to drop off the gear, Amanda close on his heels. Keeping silent so as not to awaken the others in the room, he pointed to the bed. She nodded and they stashed their equipment where it wouldn’t be seen by prying eyes. The servants knew what he’d planned.

  When it had been bedtime—and he hadn’t been ordered to bed since he’d been six years old—they’d sat around the room and discussed what he meant to do. The non-joined humans, all eight of them, including Verve, who had been much steadier then, had been so excited that someone had showed up who could finally help them. Their life expectancy didn’t pass five years once they were brought to work. Unlike the humans who were dragon bound, the dragons didn’t care very much about their non-joined slaves.

  Dean’s heart clenched thinking of their long hours and their broken backs. But for his purposes, it suited him that they were so unhappy. They’d helped him earlier and they would again.

  Dean gestured with his chin at the door and Amanda followed him out into the hallway.

  “You doing okay?” He took her hand.

  “It helps when you touch me. Earlier today, I needed the intensity of the sexual feelings. I’d still really like that but now it’s also like the connection is enough.” He loved the way her lips moved when she spoke. Maybe it had to do with the particular shade of pink her lips were naturally colored.

  Maybe he’d just lost his mind.

  “Come on. Into the shower. We’ll clean you up. Get you back to the room. Just try to think all day about how this is almost over.” He stroked the side of her face as they walked back into the room where he’d first gotten inside her.

  “Right. I guess it wouldn’t do for Princess to leave her toy one way only to find it an entirely different way later. It might be scary to think that the inanimate objects can move around on their own once in a while.”

  “I like your analogy.” He put on the water, then pulled off her clothes. Once he’d gotten her totally nude, he went up behind her to kiss the top of her hair. She smelled like cinnamon when she should be reeking of hay. “The good news? Bad little children get their toys taken away.”

  Her body relaxed in the water as he massaged the soap into her hair. It dripped down her body. He kept moving the soap all the way down her skin until he reached her pussy. When he got there, he dropped the soap. She leaned back against him.

  “Today,” he whispered in her ear, “all day when you’re stuck with her, I want you to think about this.”

  “About the shower?” Her voice barely rose above a whisper.

  “About how I’m going to pleasure you right now. You can know while you’re stuck in there that I’m out here wishing I could do it again. Thinking about it. Addicted to the thought. Craving your body, your presence, your soul next to mine.”

  He found her clit. She sucked in her breath. Using his pointer finger and his thumb, he squeezed it gently before swirling around it. Unable to stop himself, he bit down on her shoulder. Amanda moaned, leaning her head back on his shoulder.

  With two fingers, he parted her folds, slipping his fingers inside her while with his other hand he continued to play with her clit.
She sucked in her breath.

  His name came out like a sigh. “Dean.” She shook her head back and forth. “Please don’t stop.”

  “You can count on that.” He licked her ear, wanting to caress her anywhere he could get hold of. “You are going to come hard. And you’re going to do it for me any second now.”

  She whimpered. Her muscles clenched and released against his fingers, clenched and released again. Finally, she called out his name and at the same time her knees buckled.

  He caught her, hauling her up against him while she shook in his arms. A thousand dragons could have burst through the door and they wouldn’t have managed to move him. All he wanted was to stand there and hold her tight.

  She turned around, pressing a long, hard kiss on top of his heart. “Let me repay the favor.”

  Amanda reached for him and he stepped back. “No. We don’t have time. As much as I would like this to be the house of sexual favors, it’s not a great time for it. I have to get you back before she returns. Otherwise, we’re nowhere. I can’t have her finding out about your ability to get away from her.”

  As soon as he turned the handle, the water turned off.

  He picked up the towel and dried her off. “Listen. I need to tell you what’s happening tomorrow.”

  “No.” She pulled the towel more tightly against her. “I don’t want to know. I have to concentrate to keep these memories away from her. The less I know, the better.”

  “Are you in danger of that?”

  Amanda sighed. “Look. I don’t know. This is all new for me too.”

  “Whatever you need to be safe, you do it. That’s an order.”

  She mock saluted him, a glimmer returning to her eyes. “Yes. As you say, sir.”

  “I like that. Maybe next time in bed.”

  Amanda dressed. His unfulfilled cock jumped in appreciation of her curves. Damn it, he still hadn’t gotten any real time with her breasts. When he did he might never let her come up for air.

  They walked hand in hand out of the barracks and back toward the dragons’ sleeping quarters. He needed to see her back safely and it also gave him the added edge of finding out where the dragons hid at night, whose room was whose. Even the servants didn’t know.