With an unexpected roar, Darra dove straight through the bigger dragons. They dodged her with swift backbeats of their wings and bellows of surprise. Flames jet after them, but Ishbel could already see both lords signaling to their riders to stop. From the center, an air of inactivity rippled outward until the air was filled only with the flapping of wings.
Darra screeched as she landed. The Dragon Lords followed suit, landing to either side of her. Ishbel felt the land shake as dragon after dragon landed to either side of them. She was caught in the middle between the castle forces. She spotted her father, squinting then urging his dragon forward. For the first time since she put her harebrained plan into action, Ishbel felt fear.
“Logan! You should be back at the castle!” Tamhas barked. He turned to search out her father. “Instructor, what is the meaning of this?”
Her father glowered at her. “She was left under guard to prevent this sort of behavior, Dragon Lord.”
“Don’t leave young boys and old men to keep me away from a fight.” Her insolent grin turned serious. “I couldn’t let anyone get hurt because of me.”
“You should have thought of that before you allowed your dragon to be taken and mated by the enemy.” Tamhas regarded her with ice in his voice.
Rory objected. “She was taken over Glenn lands. It’s a castle’s right to defend against intruders. You would have done the same to any of my riders.”
“Since when is the abandoned castle part of Glenn?” Tamhas spat. “We’re an honorable sort, Meyrick. We’d never have kept one of your females around to mate and claim the clutch.”
“It wasn’t his fault!” Ishbel yelled to be heard above the rising voices. They looked at her in surprise, as if they’d forgotten she was the reason they were exchanging words instead of fire.
She took a quick breath and explained herself. Again. “He could have kept me captive, but didn’t. He let me go at my request. I didn’t know Darra was close to her mating run. Ask Instructor Logan. He cleared me for patrol duty that morning.”
Almost as one, they turned their eyes to her father. He swallowed hard and glared at her. She crossed her arms.
“The beast didn’t show any signs that morning,” he grudgingly admitted. “But you should have kept watch during your patrol and returned immediately!”
Rory spoke. “There were no signs, even when we landed. I’m sure we can all agree that these things just sometimes happen.”
Ishbel shrugged. “They mated for a reason, didn’t they? Gods above know why, but maybe it was so we can put aside our differences. Our castles have been fighting for generations. Maybe it’s time to put all that aside. We’re already talking instead of fighting.”
“Now what?” Rory asked. His eyes lingered on her, and she felt her cheeks brighten.
“I have an idea about that, actually,” Ishbel piped up.
Tamhas rolled his eyes. “Of course you do, Logan. Well, get on with it. Speak up!”
Ishbel darted glances between both dragon lords. They were powerful men inside their castles, and she hoped they wouldn’t object. “It seems both castles have a claim to these eggs. I propose to remain with Hendry until Darra clutches. Then both Hendry and Glenn children can walk by the eggs. Together.”
Tamhas and Rory stared at each other for such a long time that she thought they were talking inside their heads. Finally Rory shrugged. Tamhas nodded. “This time only.”
“This time only,” Rory agreed. “And our Mating Moon Run rituals are kept separate.”
“Gods above, yes. I can’t imagine the crofters would support extra riders vying for their girls and boys.” Tamhas kneed Kerro forward, until the dragons were lined up tail to head. He stuck his hand out for Rory to shake on the agreement.
“Then I have one more request.” Ishbel lifted her chin.
They all turned to face Ishbel again. Her father’s eyes were icy and he chewed his lips in anger. Tamhas looked badgered. Rory, however, looked at her with the heat of an inferno. She shivered under the heat.
“I will be allowed to visit Castle Glenn as often as I wish, so long as Darra clutches at Castle Hendry.” She held her breath. Rory smiled, as she expected. He’d wanted her to go back with him at the first. Tamhas pursed his lips and considered her.
“No!” Instructor Logan growled. “That fire wasn’t started so we could lose our clutch! How long until this traitor decides not to return and honor this agreement?”
The group stared at him for a long moment. Ishbel was more shocked at knowing her father set the battle into motion than his belief in her treason. Even Tamhas looked startled by the casual admission. He cast her sympathetic eyes before sternly addressing Instructor Logan. “You set this fire?”
Instructor Logan nodded. A wild glean had appeared in his eye. “Something needed to be done! None of you were going to punish this monster for what he has done, what he has stolen from us.”
“So you decided to start a war. A war that would undoubtedly kill more dragons than were replaced by the clutch of eggs.” Tamhas put no emotion into his voice. Logan had been knocked down to something that didn’t deserve his attention.
He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. Dragon Captains from all the flight groups lumbered forward. Ishbel watched the riders from Castle Glenn shift nervously, until Rory held up a hand in a signal to stand down.
“This man,” Tamhas began, flicking his hand in her father’s direction and refusing his honorary title, “schemed to begin a war between our castle and Castle Glenn. I want him escorted back to Hendry and placed in the cells. He is to be watched at all times, and given the strictest security until I have time to deal with him.”
The Dragon Captains edged away from her father. He looked wild eyes to everyone, trying to find some friend among them. Only hardened faces greeted him. Ishbel almost pitied the man.
Tamhas looked about ready to eat rocks when he turned back to Rory. “It seems we owe you a debt, Dragon Lord. Name your price, and we will make this right.”
Rory looked across the faces of his riders, then turned to regard the riders from Hendry. They shifted under his gaze, but none more than Instructor Logan. His face curled in a mask of anger. Rory met his eyes steadily as he spoke. “I will take Ishbel Logan as my own.”
Tamhas nodded. “That does seem to be what will happen at the end of all this.”
Rory offered, “I will have her stay with me until it’s time, then her dragon will clutch at Hendry. I would not have any harm come to her from those who think they do the right thing.”
Tamhas looked relieved. He wouldn’t go down in history as the lord to lose a clutch. “I do see the merit in Logan’s plan, however. I propose that the castles make amends and share the clutch.”
Rory stuck his hand out, and Tamhas took it. Ishbel sighed. She knew a long road still lay ahead. Generations of dislike wouldn’t disappear overnight, and now Hendry would need to deal with one of their own trying to flame the fires into a war. But she held out the hope that war was unlikely to happen for the time being.
Ishbel saw a commotion at the edge of her vision. She turned, just as her father loosed a rock from his sling. She crumpled as the world went black.
Chapter Three
Ishbel’s eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling and a splitting headache. She pressed her eyes closed at the wave of nausea that rolled through her and made her vision swim.
“Gods be good, you’re awake!” An unfamiliar female voice greeted her ears. Ishbel peeked through thick eyelashes and saw a young girl sitting near her bed. A pile of knitting sat on her lap. Where was she, that someone watched her sleep?
She shifted, and the blankets whispered around her body. Her very naked body. She twitched the blankets higher around her neck.
The girl jumped up and shakily poured water from a pitcher. “I’ll let the others know you’re awake.” She hurried out, her knitting left forgotten.
Ishbel resisted an urge to hold her hands to he
r ears. The girl’s steps sounded too loud. The room swam again when she sat up, blankets still wrapped around her frame, and reached for the water. Her throat felt parched, and she gulped down several messy mouthfuls before taking in her surroundings.
She certainly wasn’t in the infirmary. She’d done a stint there before with a spring fever, and this room wasn’t a long hall with multiple beds. She wasn’t in her quarters; she’d ruled that out. It was also much larger than a rider of her rank was assigned.
She could see out of the sleeping area. A rumble and slithering of furniture scraping against the ground were her only warning before Darra’s thick head poked into the entrance. The dragon bugled a greeting, but luckily didn’t try to press into the small room. Ishbel laughed at the beast, and shooed her back to the ledge she could barely see beyond the dragon’s bulk.
She struggled to recall her last memories. She’d escaped Castle Hendry and found the battle. They’d actually stopped to listen to her, and matters seemed to be going well. Her forehead crinkled when her mind lit on the snarling face of her father, right before everything went black.
Had her father really tried to kill her? She was far from his favorite child, but she at least ranked above her dragonless siblings, and he’d never tried to cause them bodily harm. Perhaps fraternizing with the enemy and trying to prevent war made her more enemy than family.
She was wondering what Tamhas would do to him when the sound of boots on stone reached her ears. Pleased that the noise no longer made her head pound, she struggled to sit up.
She didn’t know whether to be surprised or happy to see Rory burst into the room. He closed the door behind him, shutting out the poor girl who’d been tending her. He lingered at the foot of her bed, green eyes filled with worry as if she’d yell at him to leave. “You’re awake.”
A thrill ran down her spine. He was handsome. He seemed to tower even larger from her prone position. Her cheeks flushed at the memory of how he fit against her naked body.
“So you succeeded in kidnapping me, Dragon Lord. How long have I been asleep?” She pressed her lips together to try hiding her smile.
“I only had to go to war to do it.” Relief showed in Rory’s eyes, and he grinned down at her.
Ishbel pat the bed. He moved to take a seat next to her, careful not to jostle her too much. The smile fell from his face and he turned serious. “You’ve been asleep for two days. Do you remember what happened?”
Ishbel nodded. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
“None of it was your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, the castles should thank you. You’ve brought an end to the fighting.”
“Tamhas still agreed?” She was surprised that chaos hadn’t taken over and suspended all negotiations. She imagined Rory scooped her up and whisked her away as soon as she was knocked unconscious.
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll take some time on both sides to completely stop hating one another. But it’s come a long way in just the last day.” He launched into an explanation that made Ishbel proud of both castles. Rory and Tamhas met again, and hammered out the final details that were laid out after the battle. She was right that she’d been taken away shortly after, but both men were eager to resolve the situation before it spiraled out of control again.
“Darra will clutch here.”
Ishbel looked puzzled. “I thought I was supposed to let her clutch at Hendry.”
Rory’s hands tightened into fists. “I wouldn’t have it, not after what your father did. Attacking his own daughter in the middle of negotiations? Starting a war? No. McNabb’s honor was besmirched. He had to make concessions.”
Ishbel put her hands over Rory’s and she felt him relax. Tension was the last thing she wanted. Between the injured dragons and riders during the battle, her own at her father’s hands, and Hendry’s honor, she didn’t want any more harm to come. “I just want there to be peace.”
Rory studied her for a long moment. His fingers gently brushed her hair back from her face. Her lips quirked into a smile. It was a nice gesture, but there was no taming her mane. “I think there’s a chance, now. The young ones will be hosted here when the time comes. McNabb and I hope sharing the clutch will help bring the castles together in a way that’s been impossible for generations. There was even talk of possibly restoring the old island castle in a joint effort.”
Ishbel liked the sound of that. Perhaps there would be a time of prosperity in their future. Her heart swelled in pride at her people. They were stubborn to a fault, but they could fiercely productive when they had a goal in mind.
“Maybe our grandson will one day be lord of the island where you took his grandmother hostage.” She murmured into the air, not looking at him.
“I don’t know a more fitting way to combine the castles. But first, we’ll have to make some sons.”
His lips touched hers. He was gentle, testing, and she smiled against him. He didn’t want to push her into anything. Her body sang for his touch, and she was almost certain he felt the same thrill. But he was still cautious.
Ishbel twined her hands in his hair and pulled him closer. Rory growled his approval, and the intensity of his kiss changed. He was dominant and demanding, and she had no defense against him, even if she wished. She parted her lips under his insistent tongue, and whimpered when he invaded her mouth.
Her head swam again, but there was no queasy feeling that followed. Only heat and an increasing ache between her thighs.
His teeth nipped at her lower lip, but his tongue was there immediately after to wash over the little hurt. He pressed into her mouth again. His tongue danced with hers. She slid hers against him, teasing and tangling with him for control.
Ishbel pulled back to nip at his jaw, and she felt more than heard the rumble in Rory’s chest. He’d let her have her little victory, but he was the Dragon Lord. He would take her on his own terms. The knowledge sent a thrill straight to her core.
Rory crushed her to him. His body pressed into her own, and she gasped at the hard length pressing through his pants and the blankets. Rocking his hips into her, his cock rolled into her center. She tightened her thighs around him in a tangle of blankets, but nothing would satisfy her aching core until he was there between her legs.
Rory sat up to drag the blankets away from her body. She let her legs butterfly open. Her cheeks flushed, but he’d seen her all before. And the hitch in his breath told her he liked her wanton behavior.
He hauled his shirt over his head, and stripped quickly out of his pants and boots. His cock sprang out from its restraint, and stiffened even further under her open stare. A bead of him formed on the tip, and she licked her lips. She wanted to taste him. She reached forward and wrapped her hand his length. Her tongue shot out and lapped at him, tasting the musky masculinity that was all Rory.
She was only allowed one lick. He pulled himself away from her and settled over her body once again. His cock brushed against her cunt. Anticipation hummed through her, curling her toes with it.
“You’re recovering.” He scolded her. He trailed another series of kisses up her throat, and ended with a lick right below her earlobe. He knew it made her knees weak and a moan slipped from her lips.
Rory grazed his hands up her ribs, and pressed her breasts together. He licked wetly between the tips, sucking each nipple between his teeth in turn. Ishbel, overwhelmed in the sensation, let her head fall back and her eyes close. She panted against him, liquid heat dampening the space between her thighs.
“You’ll be my wife, won’t you? My responsive little wife.” He murmured against the hollow of her throat. His teeth followed his words and nipped at her soft skin.
His large hand cupped her needy cunt. He chuckled at the heat pouring from her. Even without the feelings doubled from their dragons mating, Ishbel wanted him. Her cunt clenched around nothing, and pouted to be filled by him. By the flame, had any man brought her so close to the edge from so little contact?
“Yes,” Ishbel man
aged to say.
He dipped his finger just inside her entrance, and Ishbel shut her eyes against the gorgeous sensation. She rolled her hips into him, anxious to take more of him inside her. He pressed just the tip of his finger into her, and pulled back when she tried to drive him deeper. He teased her, and she cursed him for it.
Before she could call down all manner of horrible wishes on his head, Rory slid down her body. His hard muscles washed over her softer curves. Heat poured from her cunt as the feel of her nipples rasping against his rougher skin and the light tuft of hair on his chest.
Cool air washed over her mound before Rory’s hot breath warmed her. “I plan to taste you forever.”
Ishbel’s body tightened in anticipation. He’d teased her into such a high state of need, she didn’t think she could handle anything further. She keened for him to take her, push into her, use her as he willed. But he only licked slow circles around her clit that throbbed with need.
Finally, when the ache from her cunt sang through her every limb, he took her in his mouth. His beard scratched at her sensitive skin and heightened her sensitivity. He sucked her between his soft lips, and flicked her tongue against her clit before sliding down to lick her wet cunt.
He feasted on her like a starving man at a banquet. Lingering flicks and deep strokes of his tongue lapped at her cream. She felt a fire blowing through her body, gaining into an inferno as if hit her core. As her back arched into her release, he thrust his tongue into her to catch every drop.
“Rory!” She cried out. Black edged in on her vision, but red fire raced through her limbs.
He stroked her inside with his tongue and tasted every drop of her release. He drew it out until she was sure there would be no greater pleasure in her life.
She was wrong.
He left a trail of wet kisses up her thigh as he rose to his knees. His beard scratched again at her skin, and she felt a tickle welling in her stomach. But before she could giggle, he rolled her to her stomach. He snaked an arm under her soft stomach and pulled her to her hands and knees.
Entwined by the Dragon Lord: BBW Fantasy Romance Short (The Dragon Lords Book 6) Page 2