Border Lair: Dragon Knights, Book 2

by Bianca D’Arc

  Jared had been a knight for quite a few years, but before Kelzy partnered with him, he had served as an advisor in old King Jon’s household. He knew the royal secret and had seen them shift back and forth from human to dragon many times. Each time though, it was still a bit of a shock. He could only imagine what Adora must have thought seeing the roguish Prince Nico shift not five feet from her.

  Of the brothers, Nico was Jared’s favorite, though he’d be damned if he’d ever let that scamp know it. Nico had been the wild child—the one who constantly needed supervision—and more often than not, it fell to Jared to get the young prince out of whatever scrape he found himself in at the time. Over the years, Nico had come to respect Jared’s advice almost as a son would—or younger brother, at least. Jared looked at Nico now and thought sadly of what might have been had his family not been torn apart by tragedy.

  For years it had been hard to be in Nico’s presence, but now after time and distance from the horrific deaths of his family, Jared found he had missed Nico’s peculiar brand of deviltry. He thought of the prince as he had thought of his son, with an almost fatherly regard and a fondness deeper than most.

  “She’s quite a woman.” Nico’s voice drifted quietly from the archway as Jared straightened and moved out of the small room.

  “You haven’t met her daughter yet. She’s just like her mother, only younger.”

  “Too bad she’s already mated.” Nico’s eyes flashed with humor.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me, Nico. You, interested in a woman of substance? What? Have you gone through all the whores in the kingdom already?”

  Nico laughed, but Jared noted the slight echo of hurt in his eyes with some amazement. Could it be the rascal really was starting to think about settling down?

  They went back to the sitting area and saw that Sandor had not left. The big copper dragon sat quietly with Kelzy, apparently deep in conversation, all but ignoring the humans. Jared was taken aback by how cozy the two dragons looked together, sharing the comparatively small wallow. It drove home the fact that Kelzy had lived a long and full life before choosing him as her knight partner. He’d never asked her about her past though, having been too wrapped up in his own misery in those days just after they bonded. Afterwards, he’d been too busy working towards the safety of the kingdom with war clearly on the way. Jared made a mental note to talk more to his dragon partner about her own life, just as soon as he found the time.

  It was important to him that he give as well as take from this relationship and it suddenly struck him that Kelzy had been giving and giving to him for years. As far as he was concerned, she was the only reason he wasn’t already dead. Since she’d come into his life, bonding with him on a soul deep level, he had a reason to live. Before that, in the dark times when his family was ripped from him, he had wanted nothing more than to join them in death. It was Kelzy who had given him a reason to go on. Kelzy had given him hope, companionship and a kind of love he hadn’t ever expected.

  “I won’t dignify that little dig with a reply,” Nico laughed, bringing him back to the conversation at hand with a jolt.

  The prince was pouring more wine. He drank too much, Jared thought, but he knew that was just a symptom of unhappiness. Nico needed a wife.

  “Nevertheless, I want to meet my younger cousin at the first opportunity.” Nico turned to the dragons, lounging in the warm sands of Kelzy’s wallow. “Lady Kelzy, on the way in I saw your son and a very pretty gold taking off for the moon. Do you think they’re back by now?” His snicker was echoed by dragonish coughs of smoky laughter from the occupants of the wallow.

  “Are you asking if the human part of the family is recovered enough to speak with you? If so, I would say yes. They’ve been mated for a while now and are beginning to slow down and savor their moments a bit more.”

  “Good. I’m going to pay them a call.”

  “I’ll warn them so they at least have a chance to dress.” Kelzy sent after the prince who was already on his way out.

  “Aw, Lady Kelz, you take the fun out of everything.”

  Jared went to check on Adora and found her tossing restlessly. She looked so fragile, so small, and so alone in the big bed. His heart went out to her as she moved in troubled sleep and he found his feet taking him closer, despite his intentions to stay away from her. Sitting on the side of the bed, Jared took her restless hands in his own, speaking softly.

  “Hush now, Adora. Everything is fine. You are warm and safe, as is your daughter. I won’t let anything happen to you. Be at peace.”

  Kelzy puffed warm air over them from the doorway, offering her own sort of comfort to the girl she had practically raised. He smiled over at the dragon. Her head lay in the archway, her neck stretching out from the heated sand pit that was her favorite place to rest. From that central wallow, she could crane her neck to reach just about any room in the roughly circular suite, ensuring that she was part of every facet of her chosen humans’ lives.

  Rather than intrusive, Jared had always found Kelzy’s interest in his doings comforting. She was a friend, a companion, and a sounding board who lived, breathed, and cared deeply for him. He didn’t question the bond between them. It was deep and it was real. It had formed that fateful day when Kelzy had found him.

  Jared had been on the raw edge of despair for a long time after the loss of his wife and young son. The pain of losing them had almost driven him mad, but Kelzy’s magical appearance in his life somehow made it just a bit easier to go on. Kelzy had found him deep in the mountains, hiding away from people and dragons alike.

  Jared discovered only later that Kelzy had gone deliberately looking for him. Returning from a time of self-imposed exile while she mourned the loss of her previous knight, Kelzy had come back only after the old king and his wife were slain. Answering the call of her kind, Kelzy went back to the palace to find the king and queen dead and the youngster Roland being crowned king—without the benefit of one of the crown’s top advisors. Kelzy had been one of the top-ranking dragons, well acquainted with the palace, the royal family and their advisors. She and Jared had always had a friendly relationship, if a bit distant in times past. But when she found him years later, so near the end of his sanity, only her claiming of him gave him reason to go on.

  It was Kelzy who had broken the terrible news of the king’s and queen’s deaths. It was Kelzy who had talked Jared into returning to the palace, assuring him that young Roland would need him, that his country needed him, that she needed him.

  There was no greater guilt a man could feel than failing to protect his family, failing to be there when they needed him. Failing to help the young king—a young man he had known all his life—was something Jared could not allow on top of all the other tragedies in his life.

  Kelzy had given Jared reason to live back then and he never regretted her interference. He loved her. But she was the last being he would love, he vowed. Loving came with too high a cost and he refused to hurt that way ever again.

  He couldn’t love Adora, no matter how much he might crave her. She was light in the darkness, a gentle balm to his injured soul. Just having her in his home made him happy, but he refused to allow her into his heart. He refused to let the gentle feelings welling up inside him show. He couldn’t give her the false hope that somehow they could be together. It would not be fair to her, and he didn’t want to leave himself open for that kind of pain ever again.

  For she would leave him eventually. It would hurt bad enough as it was, without letting the bond between them get any deeper. Still, he couldn’t help but savor these few moments he had with her. He would not let himself love her, but he couldn’t help caring deeply for the lost little woman who had shown him her bravery, her courage, her care for his best friend Kelzy and all the dragons he held dear, and her very human vulnerability. She was a rare treasure and he could appreciate her beauty—both inner and outer—from a safe distance. He hoped.

  “Jared?” Her voice touched him as she bl
inked her wide green eyes sleepily. He turned from his contemplations to the woman whose hands he still held lightly within his own.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you, Adora.” He tried to keep his voice low. “You were restless and I came in to make sure you were all right.”

  “I was dreaming. It was a nightmare.” Her sleepy eyes grew frightened and huge as she remembered the vision that had disturbed her slumber. “You were falling. Jared, you were falling off Kelzy’s back and you had an arrow through your chest. There was a lot of blood and you were so high.” Her voice broke as real fear shivered through her small body.

  He had no choice then but to pull her into his arms and comfort the trembling woman. She was so beautiful and so vulnerable in that moment. He couldn’t bear to see this strong woman so afraid. Especially on his behalf. Especially when it wasn’t even real.

  “Ssh, Adora. It was only a dream. I’m here and I’m fine. Kelzy would never drop me. You know that.” He rocked her as she clung to him, his voice crooning to her.

  “It seemed so real. Jared, what if it’s an omen? What if—?” She broke off on a sob and clung to him.

  He rubbed her back with one hand, his frozen heart cracking open at her distress. Without thought, he brought his head down to rest against her, cuddling into her warm neck, inhaling her delicious scent. He kissed her, placing soft little nibbles on her neck, just under her jaw and near the delicate shell of her ear. The shivers of fright changed to something more enticing. Biting gently on her earlobe, Jared felt her soft, sexy sigh as she relaxed into his embrace.

  “Don’t be afraid, Adora.” His whisper sent warm, moist air into her ear and she gasped. “It’s only a dream.”

  “Jared.”

  Her gasping moan brought him closer to her lips, his arms shifting, drawing her nearer to his hard body. He wanted her desperately.

  Giving in to desire, he brought his mouth to hers, sipping at her sweetness, drowning in her enticing flavor. This was what he wanted. This! He wanted her.

  Aligning their bodies, he laid her back on the bed, tearing away the covers that tried to get between them. He lowered his weight onto her carefully, his mouth following hers, surprised a little by her passion, but meeting it with an equal fervor. She was with him every step of the way, her little hands clawing at his shirt with a strength and enthusiasm he had not expected. It was devastating and all too enticing.

  Impatiently, he ripped at the ties of his shirt, breaking their kiss only to tug the garment over his head and throw it across the room. It landed somewhere near Kelzy’s head. Jared looked up enough to see the jeweled dragon eyes blink open with surprise, then narrow in seeming satisfaction as Kelzy noted what the humans were up to. Jared was too far gone to care what conclusions his dragon partner jumped to though, turning back to whip off Adora’s thin nightgown.

  When her lustrous skin was bare, he moved back to enjoy the sight of her generous breasts, her soft skin, and her womanly form. Something was driving him to take her and make her his own. No matter how he fought it, the drive was there, pushing him beyond control.

  “Adora,” he gasped as she raised her hand to caress his chest, following the line of his scar.

  It flowed down from his face, over his pectoral muscle and past one hard male nipple, down onto his stomach and lower, beneath the waistline of his leggings. He stopped her when she would have delved beneath and brought her soft hand to his lips, holding her gaze.

  “You are so beautiful.” He put her hand on his shoulder, then pulled her soft body against his, meeting her halfway to the mattress. She was wonderfully warm beneath him. She was not shy or hesitant, but he could tell she hadn’t done this in a very long time. Just the idea was entrancing.

  Slowly, he rubbed his chest against her breasts, enjoying the way her eyes lit up and her body twitched in passion. He did it again, liking the drag of her hard nipples over his skin. Lightly, she traced the muscles on his arms and he felt himself weaken. She could easily turn him into her slave with just her touch alone.

  He brought his hands to her breasts, pulling back only slightly to fondle and stroke her taut peaks. Her little gasping breaths fired his blood and when he took her in his mouth and sucked, she bucked and moaned. He suckled her strongly, gauging her reaction by the way she moved in his arms. It had been so long since he’d had a soft woman writhing in pleasure beneath him. So long since he even cared who the woman pleasuring him was.

  But he cared about Adora. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from caring at least a little. It was dangerous, he knew, but it couldn’t be helped.

  Firmly, he moved back from her, enjoying the view of her rosy nipples, still wet from his tongue and one of them holding the faint imprint of his teeth. He liked that.

  Perhaps a bit too much. Alarms went off through his brain.

  When she reached for him, he pulled back, but saw the need in her beautiful eyes and knew he couldn’t leave her like this.

  Gently, Jared pushed her back on the bed, lowering himself between her soft thighs. He wouldn’t go any further than this, but he owed her something. He wouldn’t leave her unfulfilled and needy. He would bring her pleasure and lull her back to sleep, then seek his solitary bedchamber. Even if it killed him.

  And it probably would.

  Sighing, knowing this was the one time he would allow himself to feel her feminine response, Jared lowered his head to her slightly rounded stomach, biting gently. Adora giggled and he pushed lower. The giggle turned to a gasp and then a moan as Jared brought his fingers and tongue to her secret folds. Gently, he probed, learning her body. He’d never wanted so badly to bring his partner pleasure before, never cared more for the woman’s response than at this very moment. Adora was special.

  Too special for the likes of him.

  Jared parted her nether lips, blowing a current of air over her distended clit. She sighed as her body trembled, hips moving in an uncontrollable rhythm. Covering her clit with his lips, Jared tongued her lightly at first, then more steadily as her temperature rose.

  She moaned, her body thrumming against his lips as he took her higher. She tasted of warm honey and sweet woman, creaming for him. Delving inside with his fingers, Jared curled just the tips, looking for that magical spot that would take her over the edge.

  Adora cried out when she came, a sob of relief offered up to the night as he rode her through a glorious climax. Clenching around his fingers, Jared nearly died at the thought of how she would feel clenching just the same way around his cock. How he wanted to experience that. How he wanted to take her and make her his own.

  But he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right.

  Adora deserved a whole man—one who could love her with a whole and unscarred heart. She didn’t deserve a broken down, second-hand knight with ice in his veins instead of blood. He would not let her make such a sacrifice, but he would enjoy the few stolen moments this night gave him. Jared licked her again, lapping up every last bit of her excitement and taking it within himself.

  He would never taste such ambrosia again.

  After a while, she settled down and he found the strength to move away from her tempting thighs. He kissed his way up her soft body, pausing for a long tender time at her full breasts. Then he found her lips with his own and kissed her delicately, as if he never would taste her again.

  And he never would. He kept that thought foremost in his mind. Adora deserved better than the likes of him. Kissing her long and sweet, Jared cuddled her close as her sleepy eyes closed and her breathing returned to normal.

  “Go to sleep, Adora.”

  “But what about—?” Her voice was already dreamy with satisfaction and the sound of it sent tingles down his spine, straight to his hard cock. But he wouldn’t trespass further. She was too good for him.

  He stroked her hair tenderly. “It was just a dream, Adora. Sleep now and have no fear.”

  As he smoothed his hands over her soft body and shining auburn hair, he could fee
l her drifting closer to the edge of peaceful oblivion. He felt good that he’d been able to soothe her, but knew she would be hurt when he turned cold on her in the morning light. Still, it had to be done.

  Rising regretfully, Jared watched her sleep for a moment more before finally steeling himself enough to leave her side. Kelzy was there, of course, partially blocking the door, staring at him with her wise blue topaz eyes.

  “It’s for the best,” he said, knowing she would understand.

  “I disagree, but you must be the judge of your readiness to commit to a woman, not I.”

  “You’re damn right about that, Kelz.” The dragon sounded like she was humoring him, but he couldn’t be sure. He was frustrated and angry that things couldn’t be different. But they just couldn’t.

  Jared stalked past the dragon and made his way to the bathing chamber. Kelzy followed, watching as he tore off his pants, releasing his straining erection.

  “Adora would have welcomed that,” she said, flicking out her long, thin tongue toward his cock, but not touching. “She hasn’t had a man between her legs since her husband died. I think she’s lonely.”

  “Lonely is no reason to climb in bed with me. She deserves better.”

  Kelzy shot a lick of flame toward the stone basin that was filling with water to heat it for him.

  “Again, I disagree. You’re just what she needs, Jared. A man who will put her needs above his own, but I won’t nag you.”

  “Could’ve fooled me.” He laughed without humor. “Now, can I have a little privacy to bathe?”

  “And jerk off? Certainly.” The dragon left him with a broad-eyed wink.

  Chapter Three

  Young Belora stretched, luxuriating in the feel of two strong male bodies, one on either side of her in the warm bed. She would never take for granted the love she had found with her two mates, Lars and Gareth. Nor would she ever take for granted the pleasure bond each of her knights shared with her when their dragon partners soared to the stars in a mating flight. When the dragons mated, the residual energy washed over their human counterparts in a wave of pleasure unlike anything she had ever known before.