The Queen's Wings: Book 1 of The Emerging Queens Series

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  "Doesn’t negate the fact though, does it?" He put his hands on either side of my chest and lowered his head to my nipple. Gently, he sucked on the tip, moving his tongue over the hard nub. I closed my eyes to the sensation. He was warmth and sweetness. Cupping my other breast, he massaged his thumb around the erect tip. I had my legs entangling with his and was grinding myself against him. I pulled his head up and claimed his lips. Each slide of our mouths brought more pleasure, more racked-up tension. I held him tightly and scraped my nipples across his chest. As we kissed, my shoes and socks flew off and my jeans and underwear hit the floor. The leather was butter soft under me. I fumbled with Reed’s belt and zipper, and he helped me until we were both naked on the plush couch.

  "You have Mei Hua now." I broke off the kiss. "A Queen who will bear your eggs. Why are you choosing me over her?"

  "Because it’s you I want." Reed threw my legs over his shoulders. "You," he said and buried his face in the juncture of my thighs. I let out an inarticulate scream, and my eyes rolled back in my head. I was making incomprehensible sounds as his tongue danced around inside of me. He flicked it over my bud and had me digging my nails into the soft sofa. I writhed and twisted trying to get more of his tongue and the slight roughness of his face on every sensitive inch. He slid his hands over my stomach and ass, cupping me possessively. I couldn’t take it anymore. Didn’t want to think or fight, I just wanted to give in completely. My orgasm shattered me.

  "Your consort, my Queen." He smiled at me. It made me putty and stupid happy. Shifting positions, so I was flat on my back on the couch, Reed covered me. One quick thrust and he was in me to the hilt. He leaned in, pinning my legs to his chest as he pumped in and out of me.

  "Reed," I sighed.

  "Carolyn," he sighed back at me.

  "More," I said. "Faster."

  He gave a breathless chuckle and picked up the pace. Eyes wild, a fierce smile on his face, he watched me as my eyes started to close.

  "Look at me," he demanded. "I want to see your face when you come."

  I gripped him tightly and came with a short hoarse scream.

  "Very good," he said and slammed into me to the hilt again.

  I writhed around him, enjoying the sensation of being filled and tightly joined with him. He let my legs fall around him where they quivered.

  "Mmmm," he said, running his hands up the tops of my thighs, over my belly, to cup my breasts again. "You feel like heaven." He molded his hands over my breasts. "So silky white, with a large pink cherry on top. I can’t resist another taste."

  I scooted up and locked my legs around his back. He effortlessly lifted me so I was sitting on him. His arms were wrapped around me as he lavished erotic kisses on my chest and nipples. I was rocking into him, loving how hot and hard he still was. A part of me wondered if I affected him the same way. But his eager hands and mouth coupled with his easy motions banished those thoughts. Maybe Reed didn’t like humans, but I had grown on him.

  I rubbed my cheek against his and tickled his ear with my tongue. "I like the feel of you inside of me." I nipped lightly on his ear. "But now I want you to come screaming my name."

  Reed choked and reared back to stare into my eyes. "Make me," he said.

  This time, I was glad he called my bluff.

  I pushed firmly down on his shoulders until he was the one on his back. Kneeling astride him, I ran my hands over his broad chest and the rigid muscles of his stomach. Bouncing slightly, I watched as his eyes followed my swaying breasts. I caught his hands and let him play with them as I rode him harder and faster into the couch.

  "Dragons don’t scream," he told me.

  I put his hands on my ass and leaned forward so the tips of my nipples teased his face.

  He made an inarticulate grunting sound and his eyes grew wide. I increased my pace rocking over him. His hands took over and jackhammered me up and down. My breasts bounced, and my hair flew. I put my hand between our bodies and felt him slide thickly over my fingers. Touching myself, I started to pant and brought myself to another quick orgasm. As I tightened around him in release, he shouted my name and came inside me.

  I collapsed on top him and kissed him deeply. "There will be no other dragon for me," I told him.

  "Not tonight, at least."

  "Not ever," I said.

  "It’s a nice thought," he said and stroked my hair until we both fell asleep.

  It was midnight when I peeled myself off Reed. He made a contented snort and rolled over. I had a searing pain in the middle of my forehead. Padding naked out of the room and through the house, I got to the front door. There was something I should be doing right now, but my head hurt too much to stop and think.

  I walked outside. The Texas night was full of shadows, and I pushed my way toward the creek as if I was already swimming in it. Looking up, I could get lost in the stars. Just take myself away from the world and all the questions. I wanted to enter the sky and become one with the heavens, but I was unable to fly. It was hard to concentrate. Didn’t I always fly in my dreams? Spreading my arms, I continued down toward the barn and I let myself into the pasture. The creek was calling me home. I needed to feel the peace of the water.

  There was a fierce wind blowing up, but I didn’t feel it. Didn’t need the big, black lizard standing in front of me. I had to get by him. He was calling my name, but I couldn’t answer him. Soon, I couldn’t hear him. He was blocking my way to oblivion.

  When he shifted to human form, I was relieved. At least now I could get by him. The pain in my forehead staggered me. The man grabbed me by the shoulders and shook. My head felt like it was going to bob off and then with a large pop, I had all my senses again.

  My feet hurt where I had stepped on briars. My teeth chattered at the cold night air. The smell of manure was strong and I could see Reed in front of me.

  "Danger," I whispered.

  "Carolyn," Reed shouted in my face.

  "Stop shaking me," I said. "I’m back, and you’re giving me whiplash."

  "What the hell is going on?"

  "Did Arianna wake you again?"

  "Yes," he said. "I shouldn’t have been asleep. Maybe the first time when I flew us to Paris. Just now, I should have woken up the moment you left me but I didn’t feel you leave. Magic blocked me, just as it compelled you to try and drown yourself again."

  I started to shiver. The deep creek was inches from where we were standing.

  He picked me up in his arms. "Let’s get you into the house."

  "No arguments here."

  "From now on you are not to take a bath alone."

  "Kinky." I rested my head on his shoulder. My teeth chattered from the chill.

  "Or sleep alone."

  "It’s getting better."

  "Don’t be so flip. Something is invading my private houses and attacking us." He cradled me close against his chest. I could get used to this—if it wasn’t for the near drowning myself part.

  "Who would want me dead? The studs need me alive. The cult needs me alive—at least until they get me to the altar." My voice was high and shrill. Reed’s grip on me tightened, and he kicked the door open to the house and walked upstairs. "Let me take care of those cuts," he said.

  I winced as he poured alcohol over them.

  "It’s not bad. Thankfully." And true to his word, after a few Band-Aids I was good as new, aside from the compulsive shaking, that is. "Do you think Esmeralda is behind this?"

  "She’s not the root of all evil," he said, as he put away the medical supplies.

  "You could have fooled me."

  "Besides, she’s being watched very closely. I don’t think she could try anything funny with the Order of the Dragon Slayers nearby."

  "I’m glad you’re with me tonight, but I’m flying back to Connecticut tomorrow."

  "We’re flying back to Connecticut," he interrupted. "I’m not letting you out of my sight."

  "Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with Mei Hua?" I was proud that I
didn’t sound as snotty aloud as it did in my head.

  "Joachim will see to her. You don’t have to worry that Mei Hua will claim me as a consort. Not yet anyway."

  It was the not yet part I didn’t like.

  "I need familiar territory around me."

  "Very Queen-like." He nodded.

  I gave him a fishy look, but he didn’t seem to be teasing me. "As soon as my purse arrives, I’m out of here."

  "You really need to keep a better eye on that thing," he said.

  "Bite me," I said.

  "If you insist." Reed threw me on the bed and launched himself at me.

  I held him tightly, and this time I didn’t sleepwalk.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Magic can’t be trusted. Only the oldest and wisest of Dragons should wield it.

  True to his word, Reed stuck to me like glue, but there weren’t any more attempts to kidnap me or give me any desire to throw myself out of the plane or drown in the airplane toilet. Still, I didn’t relax until I was back at the office. I did get a nice surprise when I saw that the university had arranged to have the new furniture delivered. It almost resembled an office again. I spent most of the morning rearranging and taking off the plastic and tags.

  Reed had set up a makeshift office and was working on one of the new computers. It was almost a domestic scene.

  My consort, I thought and gave him a dopey grin.

  He didn’t even look up, not even when Niall walked in looking just as weary and jet-lagged as I felt.

  "What’s the word on Nidhogg?" I asked, hugging him.

  He looked down at me askance, then patted my back awkwardly. "His bonds are secure. The cultists didn’t damage him."

  "What about the spell holding me back?"

  He shook his head.

  I rubbed the ache in my chest. Damn it, I was ready to shift.

  "Did you have time to transcribe those mp4s?" Niall asked.

  I nodded and dug around in my purse. There was always work to do to get past the pain. I had completed his transcriptions on the plane because I was afraid to fall asleep. And Niall seemed happier to see his data than me.

  "I’m excited about the Alexandrian scrolls. When can I see them?" I asked, handing him the thumb drive.

  He stared at it like it was an alien. I took it back from him and plugged it into the new computer. I should have known. Since it was a new setup, I had to jump through a few hoops to get it to print.

  "I’ve got them locked up safe. I’m afraid there’s been some foul play," Niall said from behind me. He tried to point at the screen, but I smacked his hand away.

  "Don’t. This isn’t a touch screen. What do you mean foul play?"

  "Dr. Hiram Storey unearthed them for me. Did you ever hear him speak at the university?"

  I shook my head.

  "He was a good sort, for a human. I knew his father. They were always chasing after legends," Niall said.

  "Were?"

  "Yes," Niall muttered, distracted by the lab results on the papyrus that came up on my screen. "They both drowned quite recently."

  My ears perked up. "Drowned?"

  "How recently?" Reed asked, hanging up on his call midsentence.

  Niall looked from me to Reed. "Within the last week. Why? Did you know them?"

  "Where did they drown?" Drowning seemed a bit coincidental at the moment.

  "I’m afraid I don’t have all the details. Why?"

  "I think they could have been murdered," I said.

  Reed made quick work telling him about my bathing habits in Paris and my midnight stroll in Texas.

  Niall’s face grew grim. "That sounds like a magic far beyond what the cult is capable of. I will see about making you an amulet to protect your dreams," he said to me. "In the meantime, I will secure my hoard." He walked away muttering spell incantations that sent goose bumps all over my body. Niall stopped in mid chant. "You didn’t tell anyone else about these scrolls, did you? Because they might be in danger. The Storeys were always very chatty, and the fact that they had the scrolls could have lead to their demise."

  "No, I don’t think so. I’ve had a pretty hard week. After the whole Arianna thing, the kidnapping..." I racked my brain. "Oh no, Jane! I mentioned it to Jane and we made some jokes about it."

  I dove for the phone, but she didn’t answer her cell phone or the embassy line. The embassy was closed on a Saturday, so that shouldn’t matter, but she never went anywhere without her phone. I choked on my panic and ran outside to my car. I’m sure I was overreacting, but just because you were paranoid didn’t mean people weren’t out to get you—or your friends.

  "We’ll take mine," Niall said. "It’s faster."

  The three of us squeezed into his Mercedes and off we went.

  "You have the scrolls with you, right?" I asked when we were halfway there.

  "Of course not. They’re too precious to travel with."

  "Don’t you think the bad guy has been watching us and will try to steal them?"

  "He’ll never find them," Niall vowed. "I am the strongest spellcaster in this hemisphere. I will know if someone tampers with my wards. And when they do, we’ll have them."

  Finally, a plan that didn’t involve me as bait.

  "What is so important about that scroll that a dragon would kill two humans just for talking about it?" Jane couldn’t be dead. This was just me being paranoid.

  "Because if other dragons knew the significance of the papyrus, they would want them for themselves."

  "You forget, I transcribed your notes. It was a rather dull accounting of a seafarer. It wasn’t a famous manuscript. Its value is in the true nature of the document," I said.

  "Exactly," Niall said.

  "How’s that?" Reed said.

  "I’ve been looking at your hoard thefts. The Romanov mummy—whether it truly is from the Czar’s line, it is a mummified hand from that time period and enough people believe it to be what it is. It gives the item power. Rathin’s Seven Pagoda sculpture was stolen. It also was of a legendary place. All the other items that were taken revolved around legend."

  "That’s why they want to steal the library of Alexandria scroll from the destroyed lighthouse," I said.

  "It’s using the myths to power a spell." Reed nodded.

  "Power a spell? Like stopping the Queens from emerging?" Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure everything was going to be all right.

  We arrived at Jane’s house, and I bolted as soon as the car stopped. After running up to the door, I fumbled and dropped the set of spare keys she gave me. I pounded on the door.

  "Jane, Jane, are you in there?"

  Did I imagine I heard running water?

  Reed put his foot against the door, and we pushed in. We were ankle-deep in water. I made a terrified sound and went to rush upstairs, where the water was cascading down.

  "She’s dead, isn’t she? She’s dead." I couldn’t breathe. My vision was narrowing. I was going to faint again. I sucked in as much oxygen as I could. I couldn’t break down now. Jane could still be all right.

  Reed put his arms around me. "Don’t go up there. Niall can check things out."

  "And it’s all my fault. I had to open my big mouth. She was my best friend." I sobbed in his shoulder. "She liked me when everyone else thought I was crazy or weird. Even my own brother wouldn’t give me the benefit of the doubt."

  Reed held me tight and let me get it all out.

  Niall came downstairs, and I stared at him with hope. His face gave nothing away. This was where he would say she wasn’t up there. That a pipe broke. Or she would come walking up the lawn with a plumber after having dropped her cell phone in the toilet. Instead, he merely took out his cell phone and dialed. "I need the number for the New Haven police department."

  My knees gave out. I became boneless. Reed supported my body weight.

  "This is not your fault," he said.

  "I should call Zhang, too," Niall said. "The police should be here any moment. I’m afraid we
can’t tell them about the scroll."

  "She was murdered," I said.

  "The police would not know how to find someone wielding dragon magic."

  "We’re going to though, right?" I glanced wildly back and forth between Reed and Niall.

  "Of course," Reed said.

  I pulled it together long enough to give my statement to the police, but when the paramedics came down with her body under the sheet. I lost it again.

  "She will be avenged," Reed said.

  "Yes." I sniffed and wiped the back of my hands over my eyes.

  It was a somber ride back to the airport hangar. Both Niall and Reed scented the air when we stepped out of the car.

  "What’s she doing here?" Reed asked.

  The smell hit me like a brick in the face. Expensive French perfume. A Queen. I looked around for her guards. Was it another newbie Queen like me?

  "Who is it?" I asked

  "I was afraid of this," Niall said and opened the door.

  A tall redhead with Barbie-like curves was on her hands and knees searching for something. The tips of her stiletto heels peeked up at us. She was chanting over a section of floor.

  "Down boy," I said to Reed.

  "I wasn’t even looking."

  "Lerisse, what are you doing here? Alone and unprotected?"

  "I need that scroll, Niall," Lerisse said, straightening up.

  "Of course," Niall closed his eyes. "You would have the strength for this. Why did you kill the humans?"

  "She did it?" I would have lunged at her, but Reed held me back.

  "They served their purpose. They found the scroll for me, but then they decided they would sell it. Publish it and put it in a museum."

  "So?" Reed said.

  "So, I need it and it will be consumed in my spell."

  "Over my dead body," Niall rumbled. "Besides, they sold the scroll to me."

  "Whoops," Lerisse said, with a negligent shrug. "I hadn’t realized that until recently."

  "Why did you kill my friend?" I asked. "Jane didn’t care about the stupid scrolls."

  "The human female caught me listening into your conversation. I’m afraid I expressed interest in the scrolls. I couldn’t have her identifying me when they went missing."