Awakening The Dragon (Exiled Dragons Book 9)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “I guess that would do. I could stand a bit of mindless movie watching right now to get our minds off things.”

  “And wine, don’t forget wine,” he added.

  “Yes, and wine. Perhaps even a bit of something sweet?”

  “Absolutely. Something sweet for my sweetest.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” she told him.

  Penelope felt like a young couple again moving into their first home. In truth, it was nothing like how they had started, first in the cave and then in a fairly substantial home that Kergot and a few friends had built from the ground up. Still, she supposed this was the sort of place where most new couples began their lives together, and it certainly felt that way.

  “We need a telephone,” she said, realizing that she hadn’t called Cassi and wondering if she should chance doing so.

  “Just let contact with the outside world wait until we know that we are safe and aren’t putting them in danger. We will get cell phones, so we can look for work, but let’s not call Cassi just yet. She will understand.”

  “She will worry.”

  “Yes, but I will worry if I know contacting her might bring her any harm.”

  “Of course.”

  “We have some time to kill before dinner. What would you like to do?” he asked.

  “You,” she replied evenly.

  “How very forward of you, madam,” he replied, feigning shock.

  “Yes. I am. I haven’t been properly bedded for days now.”

  “I agree, and that is a damned shame. We should definitely take care of that immediately,” he replied, scooping her up and headed for the short flight of steps that led up to their new bedroom.

  Dropping her on the bed, he pounced upon her playfully, pinning her arms down to either side as he nuzzled her neck, tickling her with the growth of stubble on his normally clean-shaven face.

  “Stop! That tickles!”

  “Yeah? I bet it tickles all over,” he told her, moving downward.

  She drew in her breath sharply as he kissed his way across her breasts and down her sides, letting his beard brush softly against her sensitive flesh as she wiggled beneath him and giggled.

  “I bet it tickles even more down here,” he said, letting go of her arms and pushing her legs apart to bury his face between them. He seemed to drink in her scent as he placed delicate kisses along her thighs.

  “It does,” she gasped, burying her fingers in his thick hair.

  The combination of his tongue slipping lightly along her wet folds as his beard tickled her thighs was unbelievable, sending her into spasms of pleasure that verged on the edge of almost too much to handle. She moaned loudly as he sank his teeth into her clit, pulling at it as he continued to lap at the wetness created by his touch.

  “Stop teasing me and make love to me,” she groaned.

  “I will, when I’m ready,” he replied, returning to her center.

  Penelope grasped at the sheets on either side of her as his tongue slipped inside her, sending her into waves of ecstasy and a need for more of him. Her hips shot upward as his fingers found their way inside of her, stroking her swollen walls and bringing her to a series of orgasms that shook her entire body.

  “Please, Kergot,” she begged.

  His powerful body moved upward, hovering above her own as he looked into her eyes and continued to send her over the edge, her body shaking and spasming beneath his touch as his fingers searched her insides. She drew in her breath as he finally pulled them free and buried his heavy cock inside of her, moving incredibly gently as he kissed her deeply.

  Penelope’s fingers dug into his back, raking it with her nails as he increased his speed and force until he was fucking her wildly, like an animal in heat. She loved it when she could feel his inner animal taking over in his passion. Their bodies were made for one another, fitting perfectly and bouncing against one another in perfect rhythm until they both found themselves exploding furiously once again.

  Kergot collapsed against her for a moment before rolling to one side beside her. She lay her head on his chest and snuggled up to him, enjoying the post-coitus cuddle. The two of them dozed off in one another’s arms before making it out of bed again to shower and venture out in the portside town that was now their home.

  “It’s beautiful here,” she told him.

  “Yes. A bit different than what we are used to, and we’ll have to learn French if we are going to live here for any length of time.”

  “Do we really have a choice?”

  “Of course we do. The world is our oyster. We can go anywhere we want to as long as we are careful to stay clear of Aiden and his bunch of patsies. I was sentenced to death, Pene. We can never go back there for as long as he is the dragon leader. Even if he is gone, we’ll have to make sure the person taking his place is willing to pardon me.”

  “There is a lot more world than the dragon village,” Pene replied.

  “Yes, there is. All we need to do is lay low for a while. Get on our feet a bit, and then we can travel all over, even relocate if we find someplace we like more.”

  “Might need to learn more than just French, then.”

  “That we might, my love.”

  They walked hand-in-hand toward the liquor store to purchase wine and then into a local fish-n-chip place to pick up a meal. On the way back to their new place, they found a lovely, little patisserie and ducked in to pick out a half dozen petit fours to nibble on after dinner. Penelope couldn’t help but note how the cool air blew in across the water, flushing her face with a hint of pink once they stepped back outside near the water.

  “It’s a beautiful night,” she said, leaning into him as they walked.

  “Every night is a beautiful night with you by my side,” he replied.

  Penelope’s heart skipped a beat. Even after all this time, decades together, he could still touch her to her very core with just a few simple words of love.

  CHAPTER 21

  After some time had passed, the couple contacted Cassi to touch base with her. Though it seemed that the danger had passed, it was agreed that there was no chance of them returning to their home. With the help of the McCord brothers, their belongings had been removed from their home and stored for such a time when they could retrieve them.

  The years seemed to come and go quickly as they found their way in their new home, embracing it as best they could. Kergot had gone to work on the docks loading and unloading incoming ships, while Penelope had found work teaching English as a second language after spending some time learning rudimentary French. They led a simple life, but a happy one.

  When money and time allowed it, they traveled to different places within the union by bus or train due to their lack of passports. One day, they intended to go to more places. They had met a man who could work around their rather unique proof of birth issues. Then, they would go further, explore the world around them without restraints. Thoughts of Aiden drifted mostly into the past as they got on with their lives. Then the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello? Pene?” came a familiar voice.

  “Cassi?”

  “Yes, honey. It’s me, Cassi.”

  “It’s been a while. How are you?” Penelope replied uncertainly.

  She had called her old friend periodically to see how things were going. It was never good news. The last time they had spoken, months ago, the McCord brothers had been exiled by Aiden, who seemed to only grow worse as the years passed by.

  “I have news for you, Pene.”

  “Yeah? What’s happening now?”

  Pene braced herself for more negative news. She missed their home, missed their school. As much as she and Kergot both loved their new place here, it limited them in ways that didn’t apply in the village. Kergot rarely go to fly, always having to be very careful not to be seen. They were hiding in plain sight.

  “Aiden is dead.”

  “What?” Pene shrieked, drawing Kergot’s attention from where he had
been reading in the other room.

  “It’s a long story, but he went too far. Aaron Donnelly took him down and is the new dragon leader. Aaron is encouraging everyone forced to leave because of Aiden to come back home.”

  “And Kergot’s death sentence? Will it be pardoned?”

  “No. It will be erased from the records completely. Everyone always knew it was nothing but an excuse to punish the two of you for whatever Aiden had against you.”

  “Thank you, Cassi! Thank you so much!”

  “You will come home then?” Cassi asked.

  “I don’t know. I will have to talk to Kergot, but we are very glad that we no longer have to look over our shoulders.”

  “I hope you do come home. The school could use you. The kids could use you.”

  “I’ll call you again soon, Cassi. Thank you again.”

  “Of course, honey. Give my love to Kergot.”

  “I will.”

  Pene ended the call and turned toward Kergot with an expression of disbelief, relaying what Cassi had told her. He smiled broadly as she gave him the few details that she had.

  “What do you want to do?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I want to go home, but we’ve invested so much time and energy into this place. We’ve made friends here.”

  “Have we? People we have to lie to in order for them to accept us? They are nice people, but they are hardly more than acquaintances, are they?”

  “You have a point,” she said pensively.

  “I mean, are you happy here, Pene? Really?”

  “You know that I am happy anywhere as long as I’m with you.”

  “Just as I am happy with you, but I know you miss having real friends. I know you miss the children, Pene. It’s okay to say so.”

  “I do, Kergot, but I know there are bad memories there.”

  “There are also wonderful memories. Memories of all the years we spent there together before Aiden happened. We can go back now.”

  “I am just afraid, Kergot.”

  “Afraid of what, love? The danger has passed.”

  “The danger with Aiden has passed.”

  “And Aiden Donnelly? Donnelly? Isn’t he the son of the man that came to our house? The man that warned me to leave? What makes you think he is any better?”

  “I don’t know, Pene. I can’t believe that Cassi would tell you we can come home if she saw any reason for us not to do so.”

  “I just don’t want to get our hopes up, to relocate our life back to the village only to have to leave again.”

  “I will do whatever you want, love. You know I just want you to be happy.”

  Pene could feel him clouding his thoughts, and she realized why, though it took her a moment. She knew he would stay here if that is what she wanted, but down deep he didn’t want to stay. He couldn’t fly here. He wasn’t free, but that was something he couldn’t say to her. He couldn’t tell a woman who could no longer fly that he missed it so much.

  Pene looked up, noting the look in his eyes, the one that told her that she had failed to hide her thoughts from him until it was too late. The pained expression on his face said everything he couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Pene,” he said, looking down at his feet.

  “No, Kergot. No. Don’t ever apologize to me for missing your ability to fly. I know how hard it is.”

  “No. I have no right to whine about not being able to fly freely when you can’t fly at all.”

  “You have every right to be as sorrowful about being limited in flight as I am about not being able to fly. It’s not a contest. Pain is pain.”

  “Let’s go home, Kergot.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. It’s time.”

  Kergot pulled her close, hugging her tightly to his chest and kissing her forehead before putting her back at arm’s length to look at her. She smiled at him, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

  “I love you, Kergot.”

  “I love you too, Pene.”

  “I guess we best start making arrangements to get out of here.”

  “Yep. Tomorrow. Tonight, we celebrate.”

  “Where would you like to go?”

  “Exactly where we went when we came here. That little fish-n-chip shop, patisserie, and the liquor store.”

  “Ah, good times,” Pene laughed.

  “The best of times,” he told her, kissing her neck playfully.

  “I seem to remember another little celebration that night, prior to going out for food,” she purred.

  “Are you being fresh with me?”

  “Very fresh,” she told him as she unbuttoned his shirt.

  They made love with a fever rarely reserved for people hundreds of years old. In dragon years, they were still a fairly young couple. It would be no surprise to anyone that they often behaved like newlyweds.

  CHAPTER 22

  The trip home had been long, but fairly uneventful. A follow up phone call to Cassi had confirmed that their old house was empty and waiting for them. She had sent some of the girls from the village to go in and clean it for them, and the McCord brothers had put their furniture from their storage back home.

  Walking in through the front doors felt like something Pene couldn’t describe. It was incredible to be home again, back to the place where they had started to build a life so many years ago. She had wanted children so badly to be a part of that and years of trying had stolen some of the charm from their lives for a while. That was the main reason she had given up on it.

  “It feels good to be home again, doesn’t it?” he asked.

  “Yes, it feels wonderful,” she admitted.

  Pene ran her hands along one of the pieces of furniture brought back by the McCords. It was an old, buffet table that had belonged to Kergot’s mother. It had been one of the items some of the men from the villages had helped him bring over from the cave when they had left it.

  “Everything looks like they have taken fantastic care of it!” she remarked.

  “It certainly does. We will have to do something for them to thank them properly,” Kergot said.

  “That, we will.”

  The two of them busied themselves getting moved back into their old home, interrupted periodically by well-wishers that had heard they were back and wanted to stop in and see them. By the end of their first day, they were mostly settled in and surrounded by an array of fresh fruit, pies, cakes, and other assorted gifts.

  “This feels good. It feels right,” Kergot remarked.

  “It certainly does, but do you know who we haven’t seen today?”

  “I can’t imagine. It seems like the entirety of the northern half of the island has been by to visit.”

  “Cassi hasn’t.”

  “Oh, wow. You’re right. Perhaps she is still at the diner.”

  “Let’s go surprise her!”

  “Ah, she’ll love that.”

  Kergot and Penelope left hurriedly, making their way to the diner as quickly as they could. They found that it was closed with a note on the door saying it would be that way for a few days. Wondering what was going on, they headed instead for her house, worried that she might not be okay.

  The woman that greeted them at the door seemed tired, haggard. Cassi had aged considerably in the years since they had left the village. She looked at them through red-streaked eyes, as if she had been crying for days. For a moment, it was almost as if she didn’t recognize them, but then a broad smile spread across her face.

  “You’ve made it! Oh, it is so good to see you again,” she beamed.

  “Cassi! We stopped by the diner, and it was closed.”

  “Yes. I don’t keep it open as late as I used to these days, but I closed it for a few days so that I could have some floors replaced that were getting weak from too many years of use. Come in, come in! Tell me all about France!”

  Kergot and Pene stepped inside, sharing their adventures from around the world with her. For all of Cassi’s wisdom and years, she had
never traveled off the island it seemed. It was easy to see the marvel in her eyes, and they told her where all they had been and how it was to live some place different.

  “But it wasn’t home,” Kergot told her.

  “Nothing is ever quite like the one place you deem your home, is it?” Cassi replied, patting him softly on the arm with a sweet smile.

  “No, ma’am. That, it is not.”

  “Well, Cassi. It’s getting late and we’ve had a very long day. We won’t keep you any later and we need to get home and into bed anyway. It will be great to sleep in our own bed again,” Pene told her.

  “Oh, I’m sure it will be,” she said, standing slowly to see them to the door.

  “I’ll stop by again in a few days to see you,” Pene told her.

  “Please do. We can catch up on all the girl talk we’ve missed these years.”

  “Please, ladies. All this talk you do behind my back about how devilishly handsome and charming I am is almost embarrassing,” Kergot teased.

  “Yes, and so modest,” Cassi told him.

  “Goodnight,” Pene said with a little laugh.

  “Goodnight to both of you.”

  Stepping outside the door, they walked quietly down the walkway and turned toward home. The night was quiet, and it felt a bit odd to be back here after so much time had passed. Seeing how much Cassi had aged during that time seemed somehow unnatural. Pene found herself wondering what had caused such an acceleration.

  “She did not look well, did she?” Kergot added.

  “I don’t think I will ever get used to you just commenting on my thoughts like that.”

  “Really? I would think you’d be used to it by now.”

  “It’s just not something you can get used to, I don’t think.”

  “I suppose. You should try being on this end of it. Knowing things about people you wish you didn’t know. Reading their hopes, fears, dreams and sometimes, horrible things they regret–or don’t.”

  It occurred to Pene that there was something she had never asked him, despite the fact that he had mentioned once before. In the heat of everything that had been going on, she had all but forgotten it. Turning to Kergot, she asked him the question she knew he could already sense in her mind.