by Lynn Best
“Oh, I don’t… know.” He was not a good liar, so he dropped his eyes to the floor.
Seela got on her knees to face him, now suddenly excited at the prospect of finding a solution. “What’s going on? Why is your face so red? You know something you aren’t telling me.” Jerrard shook his head, darting his eyes away, but she wouldn’t allow it. “Tell me!”
He took a deep breath. “It something about dragons finding a mate.”
“Finding a mate?” she cocked her head to the side. “What does that mean? Like marriage?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what? Why are you being so secretive? If it can get us out of here, we should try it.”
Jerrard finally met her gaze, seeing no other way out of the predicament he’d found himself in. “It means… sex, Seela. Making Love.”
“Oh.” She sat back on her heels, her expression thoughtful.
“There has to be another way out of this. I’ll try again.” He got up, partially to avoid the awkward conversation and partly to make himself useful. But before he could get halfway to the web wall, she had caught up to him. Her slender hand slipped around his wrist. When he turned, her large brown eyes were staring up at him.
And then she was throwing her arms around him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.
19
Her heart sped up as she angled her head toward Jerrard’s. She didn’t know what she was doing, being so forward. She wanted to kiss him. Wanted to do much more. And if their passion could help remedy their situation, all the better. Truthfully, she didn’t think it would work. She hadn’t been specially chosen as a magic-wielding human, but maybe there was a chance, albeit small, that what they were about to do could help.
Or maybe she just wanted Jerrard in the worst way.
He was so handsome. The moment she’d first laid eyes on him she’d somehow known it would build to this. She’d wanted him then and wanted him ever so much more now. His green eyes, like spring leaves, blazed as he stared at her. His gaze was so intense, yet so caring. She could see on his face that he wanted nothing more than to save her from this place.
How she could be turned on in a place like this? Maybe it was the warm glow from the gems. Maybe it was the fact she’d been turned on by Stenton earlier and not able to fully scratch the itch. Whatever it was, heat rolled up her body as she pressed it against Jerrard’s. He was so solid and muscular. She felt the muscles of his back flex as he took her in his arms.
“Seela, don’t feel like you have to.”
She pulled him in closer, feeling bolder than ever before. “I don’t have to do anything. I want to. I want you, Jerrard.”
At her words, a wide grin spread over his handsome face. His arms tightened around her body, bringing them together as their lips met. She thought of their first encounter, how badly she had wanted to kiss him then. Now, his mouth was urgent. His tongue slid between her lips, licking sensuously as if tasting a treat he’d been dreaming of for a long time. Just his wet tongue in her mouth made her ache, and she her core tighten in anticipation. She was already wet, almost as if her body had grown to expect the pleasure it had recently been enjoying.
He broke away from their kiss and yanked his shirt over his head, using it as a sort of blanket to lay her down on. She allowed him to help her lie back, her heart pounding as he knelt between her knees and pushed her skirts up just far enough to get his hand under.
As his fingers traced up her thighs, Seela arched with longing. She wanted to tell him to hurry up, that she’d been waiting for this, for him, her whole life. She bit her lip instead, the sweet ache of yearning driving her mad.
“Tell me what you want,” Jerrard said, sensing her emotions once again. “Tell me and it’s yours.”
This again? She was no good at speaking her mind. That was a man’s job, wasn’t it? She frowned, squirming as his fingers skimmed the skin around her core.
“Jerrard,” she moaned, throwing her head back.
“Yes?” He arched an eyebrow, enjoying himself too much.
“We don’t have time,” she managed.
He frowned. “Nothing in the world could stop me from pleasuring you, m’lady. Let the horde come. I’ll fight them with one hand while satisfying you with the other. Now, Seela, tell me what you want.” At this, he skimmed his fingers around her folds, brushing past her most sensitive spot. She jolted.
“Do that again,” she said.
Grinning, he did as she asked. The flick of his fingers made her lurch as a shock of pleasure ran through her.
“What else?” he asked.
“Push my skirts up farther.” She blushed at the words, but lost all embarrassment as he did as she asked. Now naked from the waist down, she nearly shook with anticipation.
“What else?” he asked, fingers toying with the soft hair around her folds.
“Touch me,” she said.
“Where? Here?”
His fingers began to play along her pulsing center, touching and teasing, so soft and yet so hot. Seela could barely contain herself.
“You are so wet.” He clenched his eyes shut, exhaling as if he were fighting for control.
But she wanted more. She’d had enough of toying. She knew what she wanted. But how could she tell him?
His eyes opened and he watched her as his fingers played, almost like he knew what she wanted and was waiting for her to say it.
They were prisoners in peril. This might be her only chance. What was she waiting for?
“Jerrard,” she said, sitting up on her elbows. “I’d like you to…”
He arched an eyebrow as one finger ran up and down her sweet spot, making it hard to think.
“I want you to ravish me,” she blurted.
“About time,” he said.
He made quick work of his pants and then was naked before her, but she barely had time to look. It seemed he wanted her nearly as desperately as she wanted him. In seconds, he was hovering over her, his giant cock bumping against her core.
She sensed his hesitation, so she gripped his back, urging him on. “Yes,” she moaned, lifting her hips to encourage him. “This is what I want.”
“Ask and you shall receive.”
He slid up slowly, the tip of his cock separating her wet folds. There was so much pleasure. She had wanted this for so long. Sinking her nails into his shoulder, she urged him on, making sure he wouldn’t stop.
He surged into her with a groan. Seela felt a pinch of pleasure-pain, but it only served to make her hotter. The full length of him was inside her. And when he started to move in and out, the friction nearly drove her mad.
“Oh, Jerrard,” she moaned as she rocked her hips against him. The feel of him was incredible, but when he held himself up with one hand and reached between her legs with the other, it was more than she could handle. Both sensations exploded throughout her body. Her inner muscles clenched around him; she was tighter and wetter than she’d ever felt before. The sensation of him inside her, moving in time with her, built the elation to a new level.
She glanced into his glorious face, twisted and tight with his own pleasure. The muscles of his arms and chest glistened as he rocked above her. He was everything she could’ve ever wanted. She wanted to tell him so, but then the friction their bodies were causing made her only able to groan and pant. It was so good.
Seela felt her body tumble over the edge of ecstasy. She came crying out his name, shaking as she rode wave after wave of ultimate pleasure as he moved on top of her.
“Oh, Lords, you feel so good, Seela,” he said, gritting his teeth.
As her senses returned, Seela stared at his perfect face, glistening with a sheen of sweat. He looked down, kissing her passionately as he surged into her over and over. Then his body was arching, his muscles rigid. His mouth dropped open as he moaned. She could feel his cock pulsing inside her, and it drove her over the edge one more time. Seela thought that this moment must be what flying felt like.
W
hen it was over, they lay beside each other, snug and content. Seela had no idea how she could feel so safe in a place that was so awful. But Jerrard was there. He would make sure she was safe.
His hand skimmed up and down her arm gently. They were basking in the glow, but she soon began to realize that he would know the truth. Their mating hadn’t unlocked some secret magic within them. It hadn’t destroyed the curse. She’d failed him. And soon, he’d know it.
“What’s wrong?” he said, propping his head up in his hands to stare into her face for answers.
Damn his intuition. She kept her eyes focused on the drippy ceiling as if that would do anything to hide her from him. “You didn’t shift,” she said quietly.
He glanced down at his body as if checking to see if what she’d said was accurate. “It might not be instantaneous. We have to give it time. The bishop picked you for a reason. I’m sure it’ll happen soon.”
Seela shook her head as tears filled her eyes. But instead of rejecting her, he pulled her closer, stroking her hair and trying to comfort her. She turned her head away, his reassurance making her feel worse.
“No, you don’t understand,” she mumbled into his chest. “The bishop didn’t choose me because I was special. The bishop chose me because he was angry with me. Because I wouldn’t go to his bed.” She felt the weight of her words fall on her like crushing blows. “This won’t work because I’m not special. I’m just… nothing.”
He froze, and she thought this would be the moment he would push her away. Instead, he pulled her into a tighter embrace. “You’re not nothing. How can you say that? You’re… everything. You’re smart and strong and brave. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
The relief she felt at his words was more than Seela could handle. She sobbed into his chest, clinging to him as he held her and stroked her hair. He didn’t hate her. He hadn’t rejected her. All this time she’d been afraid, but it had all been for nothing.
“Seela, Seela, Seela,” he murmured. “You’re all we’ve been wishing for. You’re everything we’ve wanted.”
“But the curse,” she said through her tears.
He shook his head. “We’ll figure out another way.”
“They’ll kill us,” she said, misery hanging over her again.
“No one will lay a hand on you again,” he said protectively.
Seela didn’t know how long she let him hold her like that, but she wanted it to last for eternity, safe in Jerrard’s strong arms. Before long, though, they heard the scuttle of many feet approaching outside of their webbed cell.
Her eyes shot up. There was no mistake. The horde was coming.
20
Jerrard’s head whipped toward the sound. He knew exactly what it was—the sound of hundreds of mutant spider feet on the stone floor heading in their direction.
He stood up, pulling Seela protectively into his embrace. His brain rattled through escape routes and plans of attack, but kept coming back to one thing. There was nothing he could do to stop them. He was powerless, unable to shift and with nothing to defend them. It didn’t matter. He’d fight to the death to protect Seela. Keeping his arms around her, he turned toward the approach of their enemy.
His ears counted the scrabble of claws to their right. Soon, he could see the beasts sawing through their webbed prison. Their front claws were perfectly formed to make quick work of it. He watched the serrated edges slice toward them, the webbing peeling back in strips and falling to the cave floor. The horde crowded in as the web disappeared, creating another barrier around them, one of hairy bodies and red staring eyes.
“Come for me,” Jerrard said through bared teeth. “And see how many of you are able to walk away.”
“We are hungry.” It echoed in the cavern as one voice, the sound like gravel spilling over a great ravine.
Jerrard’s eyes darted around the horrible faces. They were slowing inching forward, tightening the circle. And he and Seela were in the middle of it. There was nothing beyond but a dark halo. If Stenton and Langdon were still alive, there was no sign of them.
Bending low, he pressed his lips to Seela’s ear, feeling her fear as pungently as an odor. “When I say so, I want you to run. I’ll try to draw them away.”
Her head gave the most imperceptible shake. “What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me.” If he could get her free, that would be enough. Let them take him. But he couldn’t let her down. That would be truly horrible.
There was no time for additional planning. The circle of beasts tightened. Jerrard put Seela behind him, preparing to fight.
The first wave scuttled close on their spider-like legs. The bravest darted forward. It was met with a swift kick that sent it flying into the pile of bodies behind. Jerrard watched it bowl over several in its wake with momentary satisfaction, but that was quickly snatched away as three more sprang in attack.
The sting of their fangs into his flesh was momentary, but adrenaline carried him forward, kicking and punching in wild abandonment that sent beasts flying in all directions. Their strength was in their numbers, however. There was no end to their black hairy bodies. As soon as he smashed two away, two more ran in to take their place. How could he clear a path for Seela to get free when he couldn’t even move forward?
Seela yelped behind him. Two were climbing her body, mandibles pinching the air as if tasting it for her scent. Jerrard stopped what he was doing and ran to her, crunching things under his wake. He ripped the two beasts off her and hurled them. Then he wrapped his arms around her, trying to shield her body with his own.
“There are too many,” she said in despair. He could feel her sorrow. Her hope had fled, terror taking its place. Jerrard felt powerless and weak. He held Seela, pressing his nose into her hair. He focused on the feel of her as bite after bite sank into his flesh. They bit his ankles, jumped onto his back, and scrambled up his neck. It would be over soon.
A blast of heat surged through the cavern. The beasts shrieked in one voice as fire lit up the dark. Jerrard lifted his head in time to see a dragon head lower itself to the ground, flames from its maws roasting a huge group of beasts where they stood.
Stenton. He was using his last shift to save them.
Jerrard shielded Seela from the heat as Stenton blow-torched his way through the horde. His powerful dragon head shone in the light from his blast, slitted eyes squinting against the intense light, large claws scraping away huge swaths of the horde and blasting them with heat again. It was glorious to watch. A dragon’s power was amazing. Jerrard’s heart ached. What he wouldn’t give to be able to shift again.
Langdon ran up behind Stenton, a rusty sword in one hand. He set about dispatching the creatures that tried to flee from the fire.
But his joy at seeing his brothers’ rescue was short-lived. Stenton’s big body began to retract and contort. Dragon eyes flashed wide as he shrank. His shift had lasted even less time than Jerrard’s or Langdon’s. And now none of them could shift.
Jerrard’s eyes swept around the cavern. The ranks of beasts were quickly refilling. There had to be thousands of them now, spilling in from every crack and crevice. Those things must’ve been breeding, growing their numbers as they waited for the dragons’ power to wane. And now that it was gone, every single monster was coming out to play.
Stenton fell to the ground, naked and helpless. Langdon went to his side, sword swinging, but like a flood, the monsters filled every available space around them until neither could do much except try to fight off those that dared to attack. Jerrard saw the numbers multiplying around him and Seela, too. And they had no ace up their sleeve.
He felt a burning in his chest that he at first dismissed, then equated to anger. But when the sensation spread out to his limbs, he could no longer ignore it. His body was on fire.
Glancing down, he didn’t see any flame consuming him. Rather, it felt like the fire was in his blood, burning him up from the inside out. He groaned, unable to contain
it any longer. His vision swam. Losing control of his limbs, he sank to one knee, nearly taking Seela down with him.
“Jerrard! Are you okay?” She hovered over him, her face flushed with concern.
But he couldn’t answer. He felt sweaty and sick. His heart thudded. Bones that he never really noticed in his day-to-day life ached, feeling as if they were splintering. What was happening to him?
All at once, an electric pulse shot through him. He fell on his back. He thought he was dying, but he soon began to realize that the pain and sickness he felt was melting away. Instead, he felt… glorious.
Power surged through him. He hadn’t felt power like this since… since before they’d been cursed.
Good Lords. That was it.
His eyes met Seela’s. He knew.
But there was no time. When he raised his head, Langdon and Stenton where nowhere to be seen. Jerrard searched in his body for the magic he now felt returned.
Then he stepped back and shifted into his dragon form.
21
Seela watched in amazement as Jerrard transformed into a dragon. She knew no matter how many times she witnessed it, she knew she would never get used to it. One minute, Jerrard was there looking like he was about to die. The next, he was aglow in magical light, stretching and morphing so fast her eyes could not pin down exactly what was happening until it had already happened.
Then he stood before her in all his magnificent dragon glory. His body was reptilian—a long tail, strong curved legs, and a lengthy neck that angled up to his broad head. Jerrard’s scales were a dull green, but shimmered like polished stones when the light hit them. His head was ridged with formidable spikes that could have easily impaled her, but one look from his glowing green eye and she knew Jerrard was inside that body. He wouldn’t hurt her. On the contrary, he was about to save her life.
As she was thinking that, Jerrard opened his mouth, filling the cave with an animal roar that made goose bumps race up and down her arms. The horde stopped whatever it was they were doing, eyes fixed on Jerrard. In one voice, they answered. “Not possssible. The curssse.”