Smolder (Clan of Dragons Book 3)

by Nancy Lee Badger

  She was smiling, until his other hand cupped her breast. After a quick intake of breath, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was more of a nibble, until her tongue slipped between his lips, and devoured him. She rose up on her knees, and the sudden movement released his cock, pointing it directly beneath her. Releasing her breast and using his fingers, he probed the warm, damp place between her thighs, and located a tiny nub. When his thumb flitted across it, in his exploration, she moaned.

  With her positive reaction, he must be doing it right. When she lowered herself onto the tip of his human erection, his entire body stiffened. Every sensation came alive; the smell of the cool, damp ledge beneath them, the cave’s sulfur-tinted air, proving it also connected to the inner river beneath the mountains, and the soft, warm flesh sliding down his cock.

  “Dougal?” she asked, her voice a mesmerizing whisper.

  He opened his eyes, realizing only at that moment that he had squeezed them shut. “Love?”

  She smiled, and lowered her small body all the way down, until she seated herself on his thighs. The pleasure was indescribable, and after a few deep breaths, he realized she had asked him a question.

  Her fingers clawed into his shoulders. “Dougal, ‘tis this the right way? It seems…different, somehow.”

  “You be perfect, love. I want you so bad, that anything you do, be right.” Her tentative touch grew stronger, and her human fingernails dug into his flesh, propelling him to thrust his hips upward. She gasped, and forced her body down. Up, and down, thrust and parry, as his hands roamed over her without thought, cupping her breasts and grinding his hips.

  “Dougal, you feel so good inside me, and your hands be everywhere. I like it, but I feel something awaits me. It hovers above me, teasing me. Please don’t tease me.”

  When his fingers probed between their bodies, and he found the swollen little nub, her hips moved on their own accord. He thrust deeper, until she threw back her head, and screamed. All Dougal could think to do was to pull her face to his, kissing her, long and hard. Her body convulsed, and gripped his erection until Dougal’s own climax shot through him. He emptied himself inside her, while clasping her tightly to him.

  Catching his breath proved hard work. When she slumped against his heaving chest, he enveloped her in his arms, and kissed her forehead. “Love, you make me body a boneless heap, and me heart pound as if I flew the entire length of the island.”

  ***

  With her heart pounding, and her eyes closed, Fiona felt as boneless as a sprig of purple heather. Heat radiated off Dougal, who clasped her so tightly, she wanted not to move.

  Ever.

  Unfortunately, the hard stone ledge beneath her began to hurt her delicate human knees.

  Dougal stirred where their bodies were joined, and she couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. However, they had no time for a repeat performance. She planted a kiss on his chest, and slipped off his lap. He growled, but didn’t stop her.

  “Be you well?”

  “Might I assume you enjoyed our coupling, lass?”

  She nodded, even as a frown pulled at her mouth. Coupling? She had made love to the beast with everything she had. If he considered it merely a sex act, then it was his loss.

  “As much as I would love to continue, I must return to the village. I can give you a ride, if you wish to return with me,” Dougal said.

  Snapping her mouth shut, to keep her ill-advised comeback to herself, she raised up, and got to her feet. Standing in the small cave was troublesome, but she fisted her hands on her hips and glared at the beast.

  “What? Do you believe me not capable of keeping up with a simple stag?” she asked, not knowing if he meant to shift into a dragon. “I have outrun more beasts than you can know. I even survived being chased by a red-scaled dragon with wings as black as night. He could not catch me, so I will not be riding a stag back to the village, especially not naked.” She winked at him.

  His gaze lowered to her chest, then swept lower. She tingled between her legs at his perusal, and would welcome him between her legs again. That was not the issue. He wanted to give her a ride? Ha!

  Fiona dove into the water, swam beneath the falls, and climbed out of the fairy pool. When she stood on the edge, and shook her hair dry, he joined her.

  “Let us shift, and take care. With the sun nearing its apex, we shall be visible to many more predators, as deer,” he said.

  They called for the shift, and its brilliant light and the snapping of bones crept across her body. Skin turned to fur and hands grew into delicate hooves. The euphoria was heady, but nothing as pleasant as the sensations Dougal had given her.

  Breathing in the fresh spring air, she dipped her long neck, and drank several mouthfuls of the fairy pool’s crystal waters. Its healing powers might help her make it through what was yet to come. They had some distance to travel, and dangers were most likely lurking ahead.

  She trotted toward the edge of the glen, and sniffed. The scent of lovemaking filled the air, making her belly clench. Making love in her human form was extremely pleasurable. Heading with him to the village was a fine idea, since her search for Cliona had barely started. There would be hundreds of humans in the village today to welcome the beginning of spring with the celebration of Beltane, or so Blackie had said.

  She’d forgotten about the pirates Dougal had mentioned, and she stopped. What about hunters? Where had Grady gone? She hoped he’d returned to the herd to the north, and decided to leave her alone.

  Dougal’s magnificent antlered stag stood beside her, the familiar blue eyes peering at her with a longing she had come to share. However, his family, and the villagers needed him to return. She wanted to find Cliona, but neglected to ask Dougal if he knew where she was.

  As she headed into the meadow, she wondered why Cliona’s name had not come up. Was Dougal’s mind too busy as his body healed from his wounds? She was pleased the healing waters actually worked, which was evident in the way he made love to her.

  Was it love?

  Surveying the open fields, she reminded herself to ask him more about Cliona, once they reached the safety of the village.

  The meadow grass was still short, but turning green, and white and purple patches of heather bordered the nearby peat bog. Falcons circled high above, in search of mice and pine martens. Everything looked normal. With no humans around, they trotted toward the dark forest. Fiona led the way, because the beast thought her weak.

  Why else would he make love to her one minute, and insist she ride his back to the village? She was strong, intelligent, and capable of traveling as quickly as needed. While she fumed, Dougal nipped her shoulder. She hadn’t sensed him reach her, but she heard what had moved him to gain her attention.

  Voices!

  They slowed to a walk, keeping to the left edge of the curving trail. What she saw in the clearing ahead made her heart still and her hooves stop. Half a dozen oddly-dressed human males had surrounded a large stag. One held a rope he’d tightened around the big stag’s antlers. When he pulled the beast’s head lower, another man raised his weapon, a lethal curved blade. He was apparently planning to slice the animal’s head from its shoulders. The moment she recognized Grady as their prey, she raised her head and bellowed.

  The men froze, then turned to stare toward her hiding spot. The others held curved weapons, not bows, which filled her with courage. She surprised them, by running into the circle, and the men scattered like frightened sheep. She reared up, slashing the closest human, the one with the weapon near Grady’s neck. Blood splattered from his head wound, and he tumbled away.

  Suddenly free, Grady ran into the forest, leaving Fiona to handle the remaining humans. If she thought the stag a coward and a bully before, it was small comfort to realize she’d been correct.

  The startled men regrouped, cried at losing their prize, and swarmed toward her. A rush of red fur and two racks of sharp antlers joined her. Both Dougal and Grady stood beside he
r, pawing the ground, and snorting.

  Bellowing toward the tree tops, the two stags attacked with their heads lowered, their antlers pointed at the men. Weapons flew out of their hands, and cries of pain and surprise soon filled the glade. When the humans had fled, and all was quiet, she stared at the two stags. They were magnificent beasts. Dougal nudged her neck, careful not to poke her with his blood-covered antlers. Grady kept still, and she saw he’d gotten free of the rope.

  “I thought you ran away like a coward,” she said.

  “Nay, lass, I needed to remove the rope, and he helped.” Grady raised his nose to point at Dougal. “I understand why me needs were not welcomed by you.”

  “Grady, I did not welcome you because of how you treated me in our herd. I be different, ‘tis true, but I was no threat to anyone. I run fast, protect the young fawns, and wanted to be part of a family. That I have birthed no offspring should not be held against me.”

  Though she looked at Grady, she sensed shock in Dougal at her words. Why would he care? He ought to be pleased his lovemaking would not result in a babe.

  “Dougal?” He did not answer. When he spun, and headed down the trail, toward the village, and left her with Grady, her heart clenched.

  Fairy wings! I said or did something, and he’s left me.

  “Why does he run away? Has he decided I be the better mate?” Grady asked.

  Fiona growled, and head-butted the brute. “He has business in the village, and I promised to follow and assist him. Feel free to head north to your herd, but watch for hunters. I’ve no time to save your arse again.”

  “I can handle pirates. They caught me by surprise, ‘tis all. I was injured by that nasty red stag, if you recall.”

  “Pirates? They were pirates?”

  “They smelled of the sea and fish, and carried the curved blades of pirates. I do not know why they were heading west.”

  West? The village of Morbhan was west. “If they head toward the village, me friends be in danger. I must make haste.”

  “Might I accompany you?”

  “Nay! Head home and protect the herd. The spring thaw means pirates and hunters will descend upon the forests and meadows, and a big stag like you be an easy target.”

  The flapping of wings drew her attention up. A break in the mantle of pine branches gave her a perfect view of a dragon.

  “Fairy wings,” she whispered.

  “Be that…a dragon?”

  “Aye. Be silent, or he might have you for his supper.” Fiona kept close to the greenery and brambles along the sides of the trail, while she followed the dragon with her eyes. Few trees sported leaves this early in spring, but cover meant a longer life. The red and black dragon was Dougal, but she didn’t plan to tell Grady. Best to keep him afraid and on his toes.

  When the dragon disappeared from sight, Grady nudged her hip. “Will you not come home with me?” he whispered.

  She pawed the ground in anger, and cantered away. “Nay. Me heart belongs to another.”

  She left him, making her way to the walled-in village. At the farther gate, two guards stood. She could not enter the village like a normal human. Instead, she would have to jump the fence. She’d discovered her human form had extra strength and agility, and she’d left her clothes on the opposite side of the wall. As she peeked through a crack in the wall, looking for a safe place to jump, she thought of Grady, and how far he’d fallen. She’d had to save his neck, yet he still wished to make her return to their herd with him.

  Why would Grady wish her to follow him home? She hoped her parting words made him understand. She had fallen in love with Dougal, and whether or not he ever returned her love, she had no wish to leave the village. Cliona might be near.

  Do not kid yourself. You want Dougal to love you, and only you.

  Walking back into a thick stand of evergreen trees, Fiona closed her eyes, and called for the shift. When the brilliant light faded, a large open, fang-filled maw welcomed her. Smelling a familiar scent, she smothered a scream with her hand. His mouth closed, and his eyes blazed. Breath as hot as smoldering coals washed over her human skin. Her naked skin.

  “Fiona, be you well?”

  Covering her breasts with her crossed arms, she straightened her spine, and glared into his large flaming eyes.

  “Why be you here? Be you alone?” Dougal asked. His eyes flashed, as he sniffed the air.

  Fiona fumed. “How dare you ask! Grady wanted to escort me to the village, while you left me behind.”

  “You refused me offer of a ride, so I assumed you would leave with him.”

  She turned away from him, shivering. “Damnable arse.”

  The ground trembled as he crept closer to her side. “I will bring your clothes.”

  The dragon walked deeper into the pine trees and shifted. The thick branches and pine boughs dimmed the lightshow, and Dougal walked away from her, in his naked human form.

  “There be the man I love,” she whispered.

  He stopped dead in his tracks.

  CHAPTER 14

  A dead stop near the tall spike-topped wall wasn’t enough protection from what Fiona confessed. Dougal’s ears still burned with her whispered words of love. He should jump back into his dragon skin and leave, but his family and the villagers had need of his protection. So, he leapt over the wall.

  While searching for the clothes he and Fiona had hidden, he thought about her nearly silent declaration of love. It both warmed his heart, and scared him to death. Cliona was never far from his mind, and they had neglected to talk more about how Fiona came to know his former mate, and why she looked so much like her. He had made love in the cave behind the waterfall to Fiona, who was different from Cliona, like day be different than the night. His brief dream, that their coupling might have resulted in a babe, died a quick death. She admitted mating as a doe many times, with no resulting offspring.

  He dressed, and tossed Fiona’s garb over the fence. The less time she stood naked along the village fence, the better. A guard, or a pirate, might spot her in all her glory.

  Jealousy was an irritating emotion. Now was not the time to discover why such a strong emotion had swept over him. His immediate concern was to dress in proper clothing, and hide his unruly cock from Fiona’s gaze.

  Beneath the shadow of the fence, he waited to see how she planned to reenter the village. By the gate? Would the warriors guarding the main entrance give her a hard time? Would they touch her, or try to kiss her? He grew more agitated by the moment, until Fiona leaped over the fence.

  As she landed easily beside him, Dougal nearly laughed. Her clothes were badly wrinkled. “If we can find you a proper gown, you shall look better.”

  Fiona smoothed the front of her simple dress and glanced up at him. “Why must I look better?”

  A lass with long black hair and blue eyes walked by, wearing a flowing gown of pristine white, and giggled at her, before giving Dougal a wink.

  “Fairy wings, ‘tis a fountain of beauty come to celebrate Beltane. Find me a better dress. Make haste!”

  Dougal guffawed and rolled his eyes. “I shall be happy to find you suitable garb,” and steer her safely away from other men. He recalled Grady, and prayed he had left the area for good. The same with Toal MacMorgan. Keeping other males away from his mate was paramount.

  Mate? Why do I keep thinking of Fiona in that way?

  Dougal led Fiona toward the tavern, wanting to check on Vika. If she had delivered her babe, he would either celebrate a new clan member, or grieve with his brothers. So many things could go wrong, especially since Vika had assured them all that she was months early. The babe must be born a dragon, or their clan was doomed.

  “What smells so good?” she asked.

  “Roast venison,” Dougal answered. When Fiona groaned, he realized he’d forgotten she was a deer, and the word venison would make any plant-eating beasty ill. Reaching the tavern’s steps, Dougal climbed onto the porch. A young lass stood beside a table weighed down wit
h meat pies, flaky bridies, and a large pot of what smelled like rabbit stew. Fiona joined him on the porch.

  “That stew smells delicious. Venison?” he asked the lass. He was joking, and the gagging behind him made him chuckle.

  “Nay, sir. ‘Tis Mistress MacFingan’s celebration stew. She fills it with rabbit, onions, and special mushrooms.” She stepped closer and whispered, “Those mushrooms make you feel mightily robust.”

  “Robust?”

  The lass’ cheeks pinked. “Aye, lusty, and ready for love.”

  Fiona gasped, pushed passed him, and disappeared inside. The young lass smirked at Dougal. He bowed to her, and headed after Fiona.

  “He be quite a handsome warrior,” she said, and Dougal’s dragon ears caught her breathy words.

  “I suggest you keep your distance from this beast,” Dougal growled, though he doubted she heard.

  He entered the tavern, and spotted Orin sipping from a tankard, at a table in a corner. The hearth beside him held only smoldering coals, and the other smells circling around the dimly lit dining area made Dougal’s stomach rumble. Though barely midday, the windowless room was dark and foreboding.

  “Sit yourself down and drink with me, Dougal.” Orin waved him to a chair.

  He sat, and the server, Unna, appeared looking harried. “Food? Drink?”

  Orin smiled up at her. “Be you in a hurry, love?”

  “Aye! ‘Tis a celebration for some, not for me.”

  Dougal smiled up at her. With the crowds that had descended on the village, and what little help she had, since he and Fiona had spent the morning together, the young lass was overworked.

  “I would appreciate a tankard of ale, when you find a free moment?”

  Unna exhaled a deep breath, and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. “I shall get that straight away, me lord. Thank you for your patience.”