by Lora Leigh
Brianna stayed silent as her mother and sisters left the room. Her fists were clenched as she braced them on the mattress, her jaw clenched tight to keep her screams of rage inside. When the door closed behind her family, she rose to her feet.
Her lips tightened as the Twins rose as well. She turned carefully to Drago.
“I am your Consort now?” she asked him with a tight smile.
“Nearly.” He inclined his head in agreement, his expression wary.
“So I can no longer be punished for the crime of striking Lasan?” she asked him.
“You can no longer be punished,” he agreed carefully.
“Drago—” Lasan’s warning came too late.
Rather than the paltry slap she had delivered to Lasan’s cheek, Brianna now let her fist fly instead. The impact jerked Drago’s head to the side. When he turned back to her, his eyes blazed with fury.
“You perverted, disgraceful bastard!” she screamed, facing him with all the fury that raged inside her. “Are you so depraved that you cannot find a woman willing to surrender to your unnatural desires? That you must force one into them instead? Did I ask for your attentions? Did I beg for your touch?”
Her voice rose in volume. She ignored the flares of energy that snapped in his blue eyes now, making them glow dangerously. Wizard he may well be, but she was a Princess of the royal house of Sellane, and by the gods, he was in her house. He would not dare harm her now. And by the time the Joining was completed, she feared it would no longer matter.
“You temperamental, vindictive little spitfire,” he ground out. “How dare you strike me, your soon to be mate. I am your master from this day forth.”
“My master?” Her eyes widened in mocking amusement. “You will never master me, you aging excuse for a dragon’s last meal. Think you that you can use your male magick to bring me to my knees?”
“Uh, Brianna,” Lasan’s amused voice broke in.
“Shut up!” Brianna bit out at the same time Drago snapped the order to his brother.
“Oh, I will see you on your knees, you little witch,” he bit out. “On your knees and whimpering for me as I fuck that viperous mouth of yours. Perhaps sucking my cock will give you better things to do with that poisonous tongue.”
Brianna flushed, but she wasn’t to be outdone.
“Go ahead, if you think you’re brave enough to survive the bite,” she snarled.
His eyes widened.
“You wouldn’t dare,” he growled.
“Stick that overused cock in my mouth and see if I dare or not,” she spit out at him, leaning in close, her head raised as she narrowed her eyes in warning. “You have achieved your aim of owning me, and by the gods you may destroy me with your desires, but I will not go alone. I will ensure you live a hell just as painful as my own.”
Drago’s brows snapped together. He stared at her for a long, brooding moment before turning his gaze to his brother.
“We have contracted a mad woman!” he yelled, throwing his hands up as he stalked to the door in fury. “Deal with that viperous bitch before I stuff a damned gag in her mouth. I will listen to her ignorance no longer. The Sentinel Wizard has cursed us with this match. Cursed us, I tell you.”
The door slammed behind him. Filled with a sense of satisfaction, she then turned to Lasan. One down, one to go.
“Do not even try.” He folded his arms across his broad chest, his eyes narrowing on her. “You forget my patience. And should you test it too far, I will not stalk from this room, I will paddle your tempting little ass for sure. You don’t want me that close to your sweet little entrance yet, Brianna.”
She was breathing hard, the blood pumping through her veins, fury swelling through her body as she faced him. She was overly warm, energized; she would fight him if she had to.
“When Drago cools down he will know the reason for your fury, just as I do.” He smiled as she frowned at him. “The time of the Joining is near. Your body and your power is preparing for it, my little sorceress. In payment for your heated words to Drago, I will allow you to wait now, rather than explaining this ritual.” He inclined his head, his green eyes still amused, his smile just short of gloating. “Good night to you, beloved.”
He turned and walked casually, gracefully to the door. He had the last word. The last laugh. Brianna growled in rage as the door closed softly behind him, reinforcing his control and his determination. Damn them all.
*
“Well, he knows the perfect exit if nothing else.” Garron appeared at her side, receiving a glare from her rather than the welcome she was certain he was expecting.
“Damned Wizards,” she muttered turning from him.
Brianna paced to the window and stared out angrily, her arms crossed over her breasts as she considered royal murder.
“I am pleased to see you are well,” he surprised her then with his quiet, somber voice. Garron’s sarcasm was known throughout the castle, and never failed to show itself no matter the circumstances.
She turned back to him, confused by the edge of sadness in his voice. But black eyes stared at her from the sharp, scale lined face. His huge mouth was turned down, his brow appearing wrinkled.
“Yes, I am well.” She nodded slowly. “What is wrong with you? Are you ill?”
Through all the years he had tutored her and her sisters, Garron had never displayed such an attitude. He was sarcastic, mocking, a disciplinarian, a confidant. She had never seen him so saddened, though.
“I regret that I did not come to your aid,” he said softly. “I could have saved you much grief had I not needed to leave.”
Regret? There was a large measure of that emotion in Garron’s voice. As Brianna considered him, she realized that other than one dark, bitter night in her and her sisters’ lives, Garron had always been there when they needed him.
“You cannot be here at all times, I understand that, Garron,” she sighed.
The great dragon had explained to her several times of the rest he often needed. Great magick required much rest after it was expended. Her rescue before and the effort need to carry others during the shadowtravel would have required great energy.
“These Wizards, they can protect you at all times, Brianna,” he said quietly, the somberness of his tone remaining. “They would care for you during these times.”
“Do not start, Garron,” she bit out, frowning at him darkly, her hands clenching into fists as she propped them on her hips. “Those demons need no one else to speak for them. Try being on my side for a change.”
His eyes narrowed, his lips thinned.
“Sorry, my dear,” he snorted. “I always preferred the winning side if you don’t mind.”
Which pretty much summed it up, she thought. It helped her temper none at all.
Chapter Fifteen
The Joining ceremony was scheduled despite Brianna’s furious refusal to participate in or discuss the details.
“Brianna, I will have no more of this silence,” her mother commanded her firmly. “I have told you repeatedly that the rumors are false. There will be no harm to you. And I know for a fact now that you have responded quite heatedly to their advances.” Brianna had flushed in furious embarrassment that Drago and Lasan had dared to inform her of that. “This alliance is more than needed, as you well know. You will participate in the arrangements.”
“I need no reassurances that I will not be harmed,” Brianna sniffed angrily. “But I will refuse to participate in anything where I am not given a choice. As this matter seems to have been decided for me, so then can the arrangements for this farce of a Joining be decided as well.”
Brianna agreed to whatever they suggested. No matter the suggestion her mother made, Brianna nodded her acceptance, until the Queen threw her hands up in exasperation and stalked from the room. She declared her youngest child possessed by the demons of stubbornness as she made her exit.
*
“You may as well settle down, Brianna,” Serena told her later, her patient voice gr
ating at Brianna’s nerves. Her sister was too calm, too stately. Maybe if it were she getting ready to be the filling in a Wizard sandwich, then she would feel differently.
The thought of it made her heart race with building lust. The thought of the coming Joining filled her with fear, but not the fear of pain. She knew Lasan and Drago would not harm her now, but such intensity of emotion and need was just as frightening. She no longer understood herself, or the rising tension in her body. Like coils of sizzling heat tension wrapped about her body, inside her chest, making her heart race, her flesh so sensitive she could barely tolerate the air around her.
“I can’t do this,” she cried out, jumping to her feet as she paced the room. “Please, Serena.” She turned to her sister, pleading. “Please, just help me escape. Let me out of this, in the name of the gods. I can’t go through with it.”
Serena frowned in concern as Brianna watched her. Fear raced through her, just as it had when they first touched her. They had stolen her mind. They would steal her soul as well. She was cursed. Cursed by demon Twins and their touch.
With a growl born of desperation, she turned from her sister and resumed her pacing. There had to be a way out of this. A way to escape Drago and Lasan. They could not just own her. She could not allow it.
“You are over-wrought, Brianna,” Serena said worriedly. “Let me send for some tea and perhaps a snack before you begin preparing for the ceremony.”
“Oh, gods,” Brianna moaned as her stomach tightened at Serena’s words. “What have I allowed to happen here?”
Power spilled through her in waves, as yet undeveloped, not yet centered. It glowed about her, making her tremble with this new awareness of her heritage.
“I have had enough of this,” Serena bit out as she stalked to the door and threw it open. “I require Drago and Lasan immediately,” she ordered the guards. “They will come to this room, or I will personally ensure that there will be no ceremony.”
“What are you doing?” Brianna cried out in fear. “No. You cannot bring them here, Serena. You cannot do this to me.”
Serena turned to her, frowning fiercely. “You will settle down, Brianna Sellane,” she snapped. “You are a Princess, not a lowly born maiden to quake with virginal vapors. Control yourself this minute.”
Brianna shook, fighting her tears. She couldn’t understand her body, or the snapping, electrically charged power that seemed to sizzle through her.
“They have done something to me,” she whispered, wrapping her arms over her breasts as she turned from her sister. “I cannot control this, Serena, even for you.”
Tears filled her eyes and fell down her cheeks despite her attempts to halt them. She did not want Drago and Lasan to see her so weak, so vulnerable. How was she to fight them when she needed to, when she could not even control herself?
“You will leave us,” Lasan’s voice spoke with a gentle cadence to her sister.
She felt them enter the room. Both of them. Their power was a tangible force that seemed to suck the very air from around them.
“No.” She turned quickly to face them, her body shaking, her blood screaming through her body with the force of energy building inside her. “Serena. I beg of you.”
Serena hesitated, looking back at her with a frown of indecision.
“She never pleads.” Serena moved to go to her, but Lasan laid his hand on her arm to stop her.
“We know well what is going on, Princess. Your mother was informed when you called us to Brianna that the ceremony would be delayed until tomorrow. The Joining will commence now. It can be put off no longer.”
Brianna froze at his words. Her eyes widened and a shudder of fear, of longing and heat, convulsed her body.
“She’s too frightened,” Serena protested as Lasan drew her to the door. “I do not agree with this.”
Brianna was barely aware of the heated debate going on between Serena and Lasan. It was Drago who came to her, held her, his blue eyes glittering, almost glowing within his sun-darkened face. She took a hard breath, feeling her breasts swell, her nipples hardening alarmingly at the aroused look on his face.
She wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Instead, she shivered despite the growing heat of the once cool room. Finally, the sounds of her sister’s protests silenced and the door closed behind her retreating form. She fought against the tightness in her chest as she was left alone with the two brothers.
“I do not want this.” But she could feel her vagina preparing itself for them. Heating, melting, the thick syrup of her juices oozing from between her now bare cunt lips. The ritual of preparing her for the Joining had been rife with furious embarrassment. The denuding of her tender cunt had been accomplished through not just her furious barrage of insults, but also no small amount of blushing.
“Do you not, Brianna?” Drago asked her softly from behind, his hand smoothing her long curls back from her shoulder.
His presence was a warm, beckoning heat. She couldn’t resist leaning into him, feeling his broad chest cushioning her weight.
“I need time,” she whispered, trembling as Lasan stood before her, his fingers smoothing gently over her shoulder.
His perfect lips turned up into a smile of tenderness.
“Time has ceased to be a commodity we can give you, Brianna.” His hand feathered the long strands of her silken hair as it fell over her breast. “Feel the power rushing through you. Drago and I have felt this all morn. It calls to us because you are a part of us. Our Consort. Created for us.”
“You did this.” She shook her head in confusion. “You did something to me.”
“We touched you. We have kissed you and tasted the passion of your body. As the one meant for us, it was only a matter of time before your body demanded its relief.”
She leaned into him. She couldn’t help it. Her body craved him; the energy flowing through her blood demanded his touch.
“You will not own me,” she declared, though she moaned in rising need as Drago’s lips feathered her shoulder from behind. “I will not allow it.”
“No, Brianna,” Lasan promised her as his shirt fell to the floor and his broad, dark chest beckoned her hands. “It is you, beloved, who will always own us.”
Drago eased her into his arms, then lifted her gently against him. Her arms went around his shoulders as she buried her face in his neck. There was a measure of relief from being held against him, but not enough. Not yet. She whimpered with the erotic heat sizzling through her body as he bent to the bed, placing her in the middle, hovering over her as his lips caressed her cheek.
“There will be no pain,” he promised her, his voice roughening with arousal. “But what is to come will be very unfamiliar and may seem frightening to you, Brianna. If you will but hold onto us and trust us, then even that will ease.”
The hem of her gown was raised. A warm, male hand touched her lower leg. Brianna jerked, recognizing Lasan’s touch instantly.
“Oh, gods,” she whispered. It felt good. So good. Like warm, heated relief where her skin sizzled with pulsating need. “You will hurt me for my tirade yesterday alone.” She trembled at the thought of this.
“A tirade resulting from your needs. We are here for your pleasure alone, Brianna,” Drago promised her. “You are our heart and our soul. Your pleasure and your happiness come above all things. Never would I punish you in pain for your words, nor your deeds.”
His voice was a soothing counterpoint to the heated strokes of Lasan’s hands along her leg. She gasped then as she felt the wash of his tongue over her knee. Drago’s hands loosened the ties at her shoulders and gently the gown was removed. Brianna kept her eyes on him, fighting the need to cover her body, to hide from their aroused gazes.
“Brianna,” Lasan’s whispered sigh singed her body as he moved to her other side. His hand touched her along the way, leg, thigh, hip and finally rested just beneath her breasts.
“Look at me, Brianna.” Drago gripped her chin, turning her face to him, his e
yes locking with hers.
As her gaze was snared by the glittering depths of Drago’s, she felt the first heated wash of Lasan’s tongue on her nipple. She cried out, her body arching as heat seared the distended tip.
“Listen to me,” Drago urged her. How was she supposed to listen while her body was going crazy, being lashed by a sensual fire threatening to consume her?
“Soon, within moments, the sexual power Lasan and I wield will be released. As we touch you, see to your pleasures, that power will see to the preparation of your body. It will ease your muscles, it will turn what would be painful into a pleasure never imagined.” His voice throbbed with his need; her body throbbed with the demand to receive it. “Do not be frightened, Brianna. Let the magick and the pleasure consume you and all will be well.”
His lips brushed hers, Lasan’s mouth covered her nipple. Drago slid his tongue past her lips in a kiss of greedy hunger that she met with voracious desperation. She screamed into it as Lasan’s mouth began to suckle her with hungry intensity. Sensations rioted over and through her body. Drago and Lasan held her to the mattress when she would have arched closer, their hands working over her body, heating her further.
Their touch wasn’t hesitant and gave little concession to her innocence. Their lusts were volatile, hungry and hot, and inflamed Brianna’s as she would have never thought possible.
“More now, beloved,” Drago urged her as his lips traveled down her neck, moving heatedly to her breasts.
Lasan began to move as well. Following the center of her body, his lips and tongue ventured closer to her weeping cunt. She could feel her juices moving slowly from her vagina, coating her bare cunt lips and sliding along the crease to her ass.
“I cannot bear this,” she cried out, her head tossing as Drago began to caress one nipple with his teeth and tongue, the other with his hard, hot fingers.
Lasan was between her thighs now, spreading her, moving ever closer to her cunt.
“Now,” Drago groaned, moving back from her mere inches.
Where the strange vaporous strands of blue and green energy came from, she wasn’t certain. But they were there, moving along her body as she watched in wide-eyed pleasure. They circled her breasts, and she felt a tight, heated suction that ran from her nipple to her womb.