by Delta James
“Nay, my wanton she-wolf, I’m not nearly finished with you yet.”
Quickly, Gideon disrobed and joined her in the big bed, settling himself between her thighs. Somehow the massive release of semen had not left him drained. If anything, both his cock and the ridge that twisted around it seemed harder than ever. He slipped his hands under her buttocks and drove his staff deep into her sheath, burying himself there.
“So long,” he murmured as he began to stroke her rhythmically.
Gideon fucked her for what seemed like hours. Bridget lost count of the times she climaxed, crying out his name and raking her nails down any surface on his body she could find. But it seemed to have no effect. It was as if he had lost himself to the power of the rut and was not inclined to rein in its primal force.
Time had lost meaning and Bridget now seemed to float in the rarefied air of pure sensual ecstasy. She knew she would, as he had foretold, be sore after his onslaught, but she didn’t care. At this time, and with this man, all she needed or wanted was to respond and reciprocate the carnal pleasure they seemed to have found for this one night.
Gideon surged forward, the tip of his cock caressing her cervix. Something within her began to unfurl, as though his cock had been wrapped in a tight coil that was now disengaging from his hard shaft. As he drew back until only the crown was still lodged inside her, she felt a small tendril escape her heated sheath and trace its way down to her bottom hole. Bridget struggled to get away, but Gideon held fast. Small and sinewy, it made its way deep into her darkest cavity before expanding in circumference. Bridget was now doubly impaled—Gideon’s cock continued to thrust in and out of her pussy as the ridge, for somehow she knew that was what now possessed her back channel, expanded and held her locked to Gideon in the same way an alpha male wolf tied his mate to him with his knot.
As he began to fill her again, bathing her ravaged pussy with his warmth, she lost her fight with coherent thought and succumbed to the dazzling depths of sexual rapture. The last sound she heard was the roar of a mighty dragon inside her head. As she lost consciousness, Gideon nuzzled her neck before raining kisses all over her face. He stroked her hair.
“Sleep, my beloved. For more than a thousand years have I slept waiting for you. You will learn to soar among the clouds and sing with me. We will establish a new and glorious dynasty.”
Clearly, Bridget thought, the man or creature was mad, but she would free herself from his insanity when she woke.
* * *
Bridget woke as the first rays of dawn filtered through the window. It cast its ambient light all around the room, but the more focused ray seemed to fall on Gideon’s back. She smiled and kept herself from stretching. Not only had she greatly enjoyed her sexual encounter with Gideon but waking with him spooned to her back gave her a sense of well-being. Aside from the sex, Bridget had often thought that her favorite part of being mated had been waking each morning wrapped within her mate’s embrace. Quietly, she slipped from the bed.
She looked at what remained of the corset and clothing she had been wearing the night before. Bridget rummaged through what was left in her rucksack. She dressed and left the room, propping up a note against the mirror.
Gideon,
Last night was wonderful and
I thank you for it. But I have
no interest in anything more
than what it was... an
intense and incredibly
satisfying encounter.
I wish you well.
Bridget
She left enough coins to cover the cost of her room, including the extra charge for the fire. There was no one in the tavern except for a few who were still sleeping off the effects of the excesses of the night before. She made her way to the public stable, retrieved her horse, and paid her bill. The ancient stableman seemed to be the only one in town who was even awake.
Bridget’s original plan was to head south and find a place where she could establish a kind of sanctuary for those who didn’t want to live within the confines of the male-dominated shifter society. There were too many in the sleepy little town who knew she had spent her time exploring. She made sure that the stableman knew she was headed north. She rode out heading in the opposite direction of her destination. Bridget had learned there was a cliff-side stronghold that had been carved out of the stone by humans. They had long since abandoned the primitive hamlet, but Bridget felt sure if it could be made to be habitable, a community of strong-minded women should be able to defend it.
She rode for an hour up the coastline, watching as the tide went out. Before it could turn, she galloped out onto the beach and headed south. The returning tide would cover her tracks heading back in the direction she wanted to go.
As she rode, she mused about the state of the world. She often overheard people at Dundalk talking about how the plague had so devastated the earth and how it had been their species, the wolf-shifters, that had restored order. While it might matter to the men who ruled, she wondered if anyone ever checked with the women? She didn’t really blame them; Bridget believed that most acted out of the best of intentions—wanting to keep the women in their packs safe—but they could be an overbearing, arrogant lot.
She smiled. She had been a fisherman’s daughter when fate called her to be the mate to the alpha of Dundalk. He had never questioned it, nor had her father, but there had been times it had been difficult to be thrust from humble beginnings to being the mistress of Dundalk. She meant to see that her daughter was better prepared... and had more freedom of choice.
The tide was coming in and her horse was now having to gallop through the surf in order to cover her tracks. Perhaps she was placing more importance on the encounter than need be. After all, Gideon may have simply been looking for the same physical release she had been seeking. He had been as good as he had advertised; she could still feel the effects of having been with him. She was sore and curious about the ridge that had grazed her vaginal walls and somehow had detached from the main column of his penis to wind its way to her back passage to pleasure her there as well. It amused Bridget that it didn’t seem to matter if they were wolf, man, or something else altogether; males seemed to take satisfaction in claiming a she-wolf’s bottom hole.
Bridget looked down the coastline and realized she was going to have to move up onto higher ground or she would be trapped between the cliff and the sea. She urged her horse up a rocky path and continued to ride south down the shoreline.
* * *
Gideon woke and stretched. He felt an inordinate amount of pleasure and satisfaction from his first time with Bridget. She had been everything he could have hoped for—passionate, responsive, intelligent, and brave. It took courage to walk away from everything she’d ever known. He hoped his mate would not find Cornwall too primitive compared to what she was used to. He chuckled; she would have to make the best of it for Cornwall would be her home from now on.
He shook his head as he realized that she had gone. He read the note she’d left behind and snorted. He wasn’t at all surprised that she had bolted. She was smart enough to recognize her master and foolhardy enough to believe she could escape her destiny. She would find that a dragon was a far more formidable adversary than a wolf.
Gideon dressed quickly, ensured that the bill had been paid, and then set off in search of his mate. He checked with the stableman who told him Bridget had talked of going north and that he’d seen her set out that way. Gideon inquired about the stable’s one stallion, a huge spotted beast who knew instinctively that he was in the presence of an apex predator. He whispered in the animal’s ear as he stroked his neck gently. The stableman was impressed that the horse quieted and seemed to accept Gideon’s presence.
“He’s normally a nasty bugger, but he’s bold and fast and if anyone can catch up to her, it’s him.”
Gideon smiled. “Just what I wanted to hear.”
Gideon paid the man and left via the same route as Bridget. As soon as he could, he circled
back to the south to pick up her trail. Bridget was far too intelligent to head north. She had been too obvious about in which direction she was heading. He knew she could feel their connection and was trying to convince herself that her destiny was not with him. Gideon figured a trip over his knee for a sound spanking would help to cure her of that notion. He also meant to take her to task for leaving him this morning and riding out by herself. The wild western coast of Eire was no place for her to be alone.
He rode along the top of the sea cliffs. He was certain that she would have used the beach and the tidal system to cover her tracks. He picked up her scent before he saw her tracks. It pleased him that her scent now carried his intermingled with it. Any wolf, or other predator, approaching her would know that she belonged to him. Most would have heard tales of dragons and might even suspect that it was dragon scent that now permeated her being. Knowing that she had passed this way recently and remembering her fiery passion from the night before caused his cock to stir and he revised his plan... first he would put her on her back and ride her hard. His ridge became stiff and the tip released from its resting place immediately behind the crown. When he had slaked his lust, his Bridget would find herself face down over his knee feeling the extent of his displeasure with her behavior.
* * *
Bridget had made good time and had enjoyed her ride. She hadn’t progressed as far as she might have liked due to having laid down a false trail for anyone trying to track her. She wasn’t sure that Ruari would have sent anyone this far west in search of her and to think that Gideon would be looking for her was presumptuous. Perhaps he too had simply been looking for sex—wild, raw, and primitive. He’d certainly given that to her. Just the memory of what had transpired between them was enough to make her nipples stiffen and the lower portion of her anatomy pulse.
Finding a secluded spot, Bridget set up camp, tethering her horse and starting a small campfire; no need to call unnecessary attention to herself. After making and eating her dinner, Bridget sat on the large log clasping the tin mug full of hot, spicy tea and contemplated her life. She mused, thinking of how a fisherman’s daughter had thought her life all laid out before her, including the fisherman to whom she would be mated. Along came the alpha of Dundalk, who persuaded her father that she was, in fact, his fated mate and would be mistress of Dundalk.
Bridget laughed as she recalled the young fisherman with whom she had shared stolen kisses. That had come to an abrupt halt when the alpha of Dundalk had come calling. She’d resisted being forced into the pairing, but her father and her mate had been insistent and it was difficult to continue to say no when you were face down over a man’s knee as he applied his heavy hand to your tender backside. His had been the only touch she had known until last night.
Last night... last night had been incredible. While she had enjoyed the physical side of her pairing, it had paled in comparison to what she had experienced with Gideon. Her nether regions were still a bit tender, although she supposed that hadn’t been helped by the long day spent astride a horse, but still, she had no regrets. She didn’t want to dwell on what Gideon might or might not be and had not stayed around to find out the source or nature of the part of him that had pleasured her bottom hole. That he was not completely human was now apparent, but nothing about him had alerted her to that fact before their intimate encounter.
Bridget banked the fire, checked her horse, and then made a comfortable place to sleep. As she settled down, a terrifying, resonant, thunderous roar split the night sky. She sat bolt upright and watched as her horse struggled against its restraints. Bridget found it difficult to breathe as her body responded in a visceral way to the sound. Every nerve ending was alight, a warm electrical charge playing across her skin. Her nipples tightened and she could feel her pussy pulsing and pooling with arousal. Before she could reason her feelings and response away, the heavens were split asunder by the sound again; it felt as though the very fabric of the sky was being ripped apart. The shockwave of need and desire shot through her and she felt her muscles tense in anticipation... almost as though she had been teased to the abyss of climax and then had the source of her pleasure torn away. Bridget stared at the stars and let out a low, mournful howl.
Chapter Six
Gideon stood on the edge of the cliff, knowing Bridget was somewhere below him. He knew if he focused his energy, he could find her and have her again. His cock hardened and the ridge threatened to strangle it as he became engorged. She had provided him with the most intense sexual experience of his life. He had been fairly certain that Bridget had been his true heart when he had bedded her and lost himself to the rut. The fact that the ridge had unfurled and claimed her back passage had been proof positive. Only when plowing his true heart would a dragon’s ridge consummate their coupling. Normally, it only served to score a woman’s sheath so that when he plowed her womb, she was primed for his seed to take root.
He knew he could wait until morning and find her easily or fill the night sky with bursts of flame to eradicate the darkness. What he wanted, however, was to call to her and hear her song. Gideon transitioned into his dragon, reared back and rent the darkness with his roar. The second time he did so, he heard her answering howl. He chuffed quietly in response; she had heard him and had answered. He eagerly anticipated having Bridget naked beneath him as he put the first of his sons in her belly. And he needed to sire sons; while a male dragon could turn a female of any species, females did not have the ability to do so. They could have sex with any species but could only breed with those of their own kind. Thus, if his brothers did not wake, he would need to sire sons if he and Bridget were to keep his species from becoming extinct.
Gideon supposed that if his interest in breeding Bridget was only the perpetuation of his species, he would be looking for other mates as well. The idea of copulating with anyone other than Bridget was now abhorrent to him. Duncan, the only one of the four remaining dragons who had been mated and lost both his mate and a child in the slaughter, had cautioned him that once his true heart called to him and he heard her song, that he would want no other.
Gideon smiled as he thought of Duncan and his fiery mate. She had been dragon-born and not taken easily to the idea of being mated. True heart or not, she had demanded her rights as a blooded warrior. Their battles among the clouds had been legendary—dragon-born females were notoriously difficult. He chided himself; his mate wasn’t proving to be easy. The secretions released by the ridge should have made her more compliant and found her still sleeping in his arms when he woke. Now he was forced to chase after her like a smitten lad hoping for a first kiss. He meant to give and take more than a kiss from his sweet Bridget.
He gathered the makings of a small fire and then set it alight with a breath. He hadn’t planned to be sleeping tonight under the stars... at least not alone. He grinned. Bridget would have kept him warm. He meant to spend the rest of his days ensuring that neither of them was ever cold nor unsated. If her response to their first coupling had been any indication, she was a prize well worth giving up his immortality for. Gideon closed his eyes and slept, dreaming of his mate and the glorious future they would have together.
The next morning as the first light of dawn crept over the eastern horizon, Gideon rose with a tremendous feeling of joy. He couldn’t remember a time when he had ever looked forward to a coming day as much as he did this one. But then, dragons enjoyed hunting regardless of their prey, and today, his was the most elusive treasure of all... his true heart.
Gathering up his few things, he readied his horse, ensured his campfire was doused and headed in the direction that he’d heard her song. Last night was the last one he intended to spend alone. Gideon pondered how to get Bridget back to their home. Flying as a dragon with her secured in his claws was the fastest, and in some ways, the safest. But it had its disadvantages, chief among them, leaving two good horses behind. They could ride overland, but that was the slowest mode of transportation. He reasoned that, perhaps, findi
ng a stout ship would be his best bet. He wanted Bridget home before impregnating her. Their coupling the night before would trigger the transition from wolf to dragon, which wasn’t dangerous but could be rather disconcerting. Gideon wanted her settled at home. He wanted her surrounded by their people where she could build her nest for their son to be born.
* * *
Bridget inhaled the sharp, salty tang of the sea as she opened her eyes. The loud screeching sound that had held such ominous power the night before seemed nothing more than the remnants of a dream in the light of the new day. She extinguished the fire and readied her horse for the day’s ride. If her calculations were right, the ruins of the city in the cliffs were not much further. Her hope was that it was somehow inhabitable and that she could build a home for herself and her daughter as well as other she-wolves who needed a place of refuge.
She had learned a lot about battle and defending one’s home in the years she had been mistress of Dundalk. She felt that properly trained women could defend themselves if their home was built into the side of a cliff. Overlooking the ocean ensured a good source of protein for both sustenance and trading.
Her horse’s nervous whinnying and shuffling of his feet was Bridget’s first clue that she was no longer alone. She looked over his back and up the large rolling sand dune and spotted a distant figure on a large pale charger. There was a time she thought all her cares and strife would be remedied by the appearance of a hero astride a white stallion to whisk her away. The rider was too far to make out his features and she didn’t recognize the horse, but there was something about him that seemed all too familiar.
There was a rumbling sound inside her head, and she could swear that the ground beneath her trembled. The noise was not unlike the growl of a wolf but had a deeper sound that resonated within. She closed her eyes for a moment to focus and try to clear the noise in her head. The sound returned and this time her horse’s anxious reaction confirmed that the ground was in fact moving. She glanced around; it wasn’t an earthquake. It wasn’t that the ground all around her shook, it was only the small space that accommodated her and her horse. Bridget quickly finished saddling her horse and securing the things she had brought with her. Swinging up onto her mount, she glanced back over her shoulder; the horse and rider on the far hill stood in the same spot. What was he waiting for?