“I can’t remember when I learned.” Lars composure was restored. “I had my own boat by the time I was Matteo’s age. And while I was not allowed to venture into the deep channel, my brothers and I sailed up and down the coast of our island.”
“Far is a sailor,” boasted Matteo. “He’s in the Navy. And the captain of a ship.”
“I’m a submariner,” corrected Lars gravely. “Although my rank is captain. Or kapten. But I promise I haven’t forgotten how to sail. The boathouse has a dinghy and a couple of two-man crafts. We could all three of us go out if you’d like to learn too.”
“Three people in a two-man craft sounds like one too many,” said Nicole.
“Two is the number of people it takes to sail it, not the number who can sail in it at the same time.” Lars wiped his mouth and folded his napkin and placed it neatly beside his plate. “What do you say, shall we go sailing?” His eyes twinkled happily at Nicole.
But it was Matteo who shouted, “Yes.”
“After we’ve done the dishes, son, and you brushed your teeth.” Lars stood up and held Nicole’s chair for her. “Your mom cooked, it’s our job to clean up. What do you say?”
“Thank you for making breakfast, Mom.”
* * *
“It’s not up for discussion,” Lars said briskly. “If you want to sail, you wear a life preserver.” He handed the bright orange zippered vest to Matteo, who shrugged it on over his swimming shirt.
Nicole was doing hers up. She didn’t have the faintest idea what she would do if she fell into the ocean. She was not a great swimmer, and she didn’t think that her dragon could get launched into the air from the water. She didn’t intend to take any chances. And Lars must have agreed, because he was taking down a massive life jacket from the row hanging on the hooks. It looked heavy and old-fashioned, and he had to buckle it over his chest.
“We’re going to have fun,” said Lars. “But all the same, we are going to follow the rules. Understood, son?”
Matteo had always been a polite child. As a Midwesterner, Nicole had insisted on it. Poorly brought up children reflected on their mothers. But he seemed preternaturally eager to do whatever Lars asked. Now he nodded like a bobble-head doll. “Understood, Far.”
The sea was palest turquoise. The sand was gold, and the living seaweed every shade of green from almost black to lime green. Brightly colored fishes darted hither and yon and zipped away as the shadow of the dinghy passed over them. Miniature lobsters scuttled across the seafloor and vanished into crevices.
Lars was patiently giving instruction to Matteo. After the first five minutes, Nicole’s brain could not remember any more sailing terminology, but Matteo soaked it all up like a sponge, and parroted it back to Lars with glee. She sat in the stern and turned her face to the sun and just let the beautiful day, the calm sea, and happiness relax her.
“We’re being followed,” Matteo said excitedly. He pointed up at the sky.
Two black winged dragons floated high above the raucous seagulls. Nicole supposed they looked like birds to anyone with ordinary human vision.
Lars turned his face to the sky. He waved one long arm casually. “Well spotted, Sprat,” he said. “They’re friends,” he reassured Nicole. “George and Winston. They’re keeping watch.”
It was the reality check she needed. They had been having so much fun, and she was enjoying playing house so much, that she was in danger of forgetting that it was all make-believe and they were really just hiding from trouble. Matteo did not really have a daddy. And she did not have a husband.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“My cousin is coming over after supper,” Lars informed them at dinner. He had cooked. He and Matteo. He had made a Scandinavian pork stew that to Nicole’s tongue was a little over spiced. But Matteo’s eyes were shining. He had helped her in the kitchen, of course, but he had never made an entire meal before, and his pride was tangible.
“What cousin?” Matteo demanded.
“Örlogskapten Theodor Lindorm. You can ask him to tell you about his adventures,” Lars responded.
“What does Orlogs mean?” Nicole asked.
Lars grinned. “It means he outranks me. He’s an Örlogskapten – an over-captain. In America, you would say he is a major.”
“Is he in the Navy too?” Matteo asked.
“He is. And he has all kinds of medals that I’m sure he would love to tell you about, lad.”
By Lars’ dancing eyes, Nicole divined that cousin Theodor would like nothing less than to be interrogated about his battle honors, but she did not comment. “Why is he coming?”
“He wants to check our security.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Nicole’s heart contracted.
Lars covered her hand with his. He gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s just protocol,” he said. “He’s making sure I’ve followed every step, and that I haven’t missed anything. As usual, I gave the perimeter a once-over this morning. I found nothing new to worry about.”
And yet Nicole still felt worried. But when she saw that Matteo was watching her shove her food around on her plate, she began to eat again.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked her.
“It’s very good. But it’s very rich.” Nicole had another bite and smiled at her son.
“It’s the prunes,” Matteo announced.
“That’s why it’s so sweet and tangy,” Nicole said.
“It puts hair on your chest. Far said so.”
Lars was chuckling softly. “I did tell him that,” he whispered.
“It’s my turn to do the dishes,” Nicole said when the meal was over. “Thank you gentlemen for making dinner.”
She heard a brisk knock at the front door as she started running hot water into the sink. Then there was a murmur of deep voices, and Matteo’s shrill treble darted in and out of the bass notes of the two men. She wiped down the counters and hung up the kitchen cloth.
Lars came into the kitchen, “Theo is going to take a look in the tunnel with Matteo. If he needs to use it, he should know how to operate everything. Let’s you and I take a walk on the beach.”
“It’s almost Matteo’s bedtime,” Nicole objected.
“Not for an hour,” Lars looked at his watch, “and seven minutes. We have time for a stroll.”
“Won’t Theo mind being left to babysit?”
“Not a bit. He is enjoying your son’s company. He’s an old bachelor. And it’s a treat for him to have a youngster around.”
“I’ll change my shoes,” Nicole said looking down at her leather ballet flats.
The moon was almost full now. It shone down on the gentle waves and reflected back onto the white sand. Lars had brought along a flashlight, but they didn’t need it. They kicked off their flip-flops and walked barefooted on the wet sand, only the strip where the sea came up in flat waves edged in white foam before sucking back. Little crabs darted here and there, scuttling down holes as they approached, and popping out again as soon as they had passed.
“Why did you want me to come for a walk?” Nicole asked when they were out of earshot of the house and paddling in the waves.
Lars reached for her hand. “I wanted to ask you something. But I didn’t want the boy to overhear.”
Nicole thought she should pull her hand away from Lars’ gentle clasp. They weren’t really lovers to stroll hand in hand on the beach in the moonlight. But she liked the feel of his strong hand holding hers so tenderly. Besides, she had never strolled anywhere in the moonlight with a man. All of her moonlight excursions had been solo flights over the pampas. Lars swung her hand and cleared his throat. His nervousness transmitted from his hand to hers.
They walked on together towards the outcrop of rock that marked the end of the beach on the side of the island. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Common sense told her that she had not known Lars long enough. And that physical attraction is not sufficient to build a marriage on. But she had seen how good he was with her son. And that
was not nothing. It was a great deal. Matteo had needed a man’s attention. Not that she had anything to be ashamed of in how she had raised her child, but for some things it was good for a boy to have a man around.
“Shall we fly?” Lars asked. He tugged her so she stood in front of him almost touching.
“Now? Here?”
“You needn’t sound so shocked. There’s no one to see.”
“But why?”
“For sheer joy, Nicole. For joy.”
She bit her lip. It felt as though they were moving too quickly. And yet this was not the first time they had flown together. She had dreamed of their flight over the pampas. But she mistrusted those animal instincts.
“Doesn’t your dragoness want to frolic with my dragon?” His hands cupped her elbows and he smiled down at her persuasively.
“Yes.” Her admission came out a husky whisper.
“Be reckless, Nicole. Tandem flying is one of the great pleasures of being mated.”
“Did you fly often with her – with Annalise?”
“As often as we could. We would take dragon and fly out over the sea to play in the waves. Side by side, until we felt as though we were one dragon.”
She was tempted. Just as his proposal tempted her. “Aren’t you afraid of listening when your dragon speaks?”
He shook his head. A tiny smile curved his lips. “You and I are not just humans. We are also dragons. We live between two worlds, and we have to listen to both our natures. Nothing else works. Pretending to be only human, or only dragon, gives us the worst of both worlds. You should listen to your instincts. They won’t lead you far astray.”
“All right.” Her agreement slipped out and his smile was so youthful and happy that she didn’t call her words back.
He turned his back on her and began to pull off his clothes. It didn’t take her long to strip and take dragon. And as always the change made her feel powerful. Desire began to hum in her body like a long suppressed tune. He bumped her muscular haunch with one massive shoulder before darting away and launching himself into the air on widespread blue wings. His scales were different than her own. They were almost black in the moonlight, whereas she could see her forearms flickered with electric pulses of blue, green, and purple.
Lars swiftly pulled away from her with powerful down-strokes of his fully extended wings. But his wingspan was not wider than her own. He did not seem have electricity or some other powerful current running through his entire body as she was sure she did. But for all that, he was pulling away from her. He moved his body differently than she had taught herself to move in the air. He flew more like some graceful soaring eagle than like the clumsy crow she felt herself to be.
And then she caught his style and rhythm. They circled, darted, and danced together in the sky. It was like they were engaged in some great country dance that only their species knew. She seemed to have been born knowing it, though that of course was impossible. She had only become a dragoness at sixteen. But she knew when Lars intended to swing left, and when he decided to turn his great greenish blue underparts towards her in a majestic barrel roll. She followed him effortlessly.
He folded his wings back and plunged deep into the warm, surging sea. She followed him down into the salty ocean and this too was like flying, even though they were underwater. Her dragon vision worked here too.
They were on the other side of the reef where the surf was wilder and stronger. It was exciting to fight the current and win. The reef itself was very beautiful. Multicolored fishes were sleeping in amongst great branching white corals. Only the delicate flutter of their transparent fins and the pulsing of their gills indicated that these fish were alive. Yellow, blue, orange were all muted in the pale moonlight, but the reef was still an awe-inspiring miracle of nature.
And then, suddenly, without warning, she was out of oxygen. Lungs burning, Nicole thrust upward to the air. Lars was right beside her. They were going to have to swim to shore, because it was impossible for two creatures as large as them to launch themselves into the air from the water. Only Lars did not seem to know that. His legs pedaled in the water and his wings flapped until he picked up speed, caught a breeze, and floated upward as gently as if he were as light as a feather.
He called to her, a deep booming bugling call that resonated in her breast. And then he came back down and landed beside her, and showed her how to do it all again. It took her three tries, and she feared her takeoff was not as elegant as his. But nonetheless she was in the air and flying. Like homing pigeons, they headed back to the beach where they had left their clothes.
* * *
Nicole was beyond measure beautiful. A little clumsy on land it was true, and clearly she had never watched any other dragon fly, for her technique had rough edges. But of course, when she had been transformed she had not had a mate to teach her all the difficult maneuvers that dragonesses learned flying with their mates.
Lars had never seen any dragon plumage like Nicole’s. Her scales seemed to pulse with light, no, that wasn’t quite right either. It was like looking at a lava lamp, never the same twice. He was more and more certain she must be a plasma dragon. In the water, he had felt waves of power emanating from every part of her body.
Lars’ cousin Christina was a light Dragon. Her plumage was almost translucent, and she possessed the power of becoming invisible. But Nicole’s plumage was both dark and yet it throbbed with color. Watching her was like watching the Aurora Borealis dance. Amazing and terrifying. He suspected that if he touched her against her will, Nicole could kill him with a single brush of one of her limbs or her tail. Did she know how powerful she was?
Had Felipe realized how powerful she was? Lars had been puzzling ever since he had learned of Nicole’s existence, as to why Felipe had just let his bride disappear on him. Perhaps she had terrified that craven idiot. Perhaps Felipe had feared that she would turn on him and he would be powerless against her talents.
Nicole was breathless from their swim and learning how to take off from the water. Little gusts of steam emerged from her open muzzle as she panted on the beach beside him. Her eyes were mysterious and silvery in the moonlight. They blinked slowly at Lars as if she was uncertain what to do. Instinctively, he bowed to her. Presenting his neck in an ancient ritual.
She backed away and lowered her head to the sand in imitation. He raised one forepaw in supplication. Hesitantly, she touched it with the very tips of her talons. Electricity jolted through his whole body and emerged from his tail dart. Nicole was indeed very powerful. She lowered her forelimb to the beach and tilted her head in innocent inquiry. He raised his other forelimb and offered it to her.
She barely brushed it with her long black claws. Again he felt the pulse as a current ran through his entire body and heated his muscles. It didn’t feel deadly, it felt energizing and exciting. But Lars had no doubt that if Nicole focused the current she could stop his heart with a single touch.
How frightening would that have been to Felipe who had bought and abused a teenage girl? It was one thing to transform your mate into a dragoness if she loved you and was bonded to you. But if you created a creature who loathed you, and was orders of magnitude stronger, you would have ensured your certain death.
Even as Lars bowed to Nicole and enticed her into his courtship dance, he was thinking of that scoundrel Felipe caught on the horns of a dilemma of his own making. Possibly, well almost certainly, Nicole had not been as powerful as this when she was first transformed. But the potential for her to become this magnificent and deadly predator must have been obvious to a dragon born as Felipe was.
Nicole curtsied flirtatiously to him. Her sinuous tail waved through the air leaving flickers of light in its path. She opened her mouth and sent an arc of flame into the air before coyly lowering her muzzle to the sand again.
He matched her feminine curvetting with masculine posturing of his own designed to show her how strong and competent a protector he would be. But all the while he was caref
ul to keep his distance. Pulses of light were now arcing between the curled black horns that grew from her forehead, as though she had lost control of her talent in her excitement.
Even though he had played with Nicole last night, she still seemed worried about sex. This was scarcely surprising if all of her experiences had been as Felipe’s unwilling mate. It was traditional for dragons to deceive virgins. In his family, they had put such barbarism behind them centuries before. But there were still sagas recited by the elders that told of capturing and wooing maidens who did not know they could be transformed. But it didn’t sound as though Felipe had bothered with wooing.
Despite the raptures of their nuptial flight, and their mating dance, and the pleasure he had given her last night, Nicole needed to feel safe with him. She needed to know that he would always be kind to her.
It was a wonderful thing to move through the steps of the mating dance with this beautiful and deadly creature and teach her the sensuous side of her nature.
Her scent had subtly changed as she responded to his overtures. But just because she was aroused and attracted did not mean that she was ready to make love. It only meant that this wounded dragoness trusted him enough to play. For tonight, it would have to be enough.
It was time for Lars to return to his mortal form. At any moment his own overwhelming attraction and arousal was going to become apparent to this innocent yet deadly female. He didn’t think she was ready to see his rampant three-pronged cock flailing about like a snake with a mind of its own. And he didn’t think he wanted to expose his member to a frightened and powerful dragoness. It was the only one he had.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
As if he had suddenly become tired of the dance, Lars turned his back on her and began to morph back into a man. Nicole knew she ought to turn away. But her eyes were drawn to his naked body against her will. He was all ivory-skinned muscle from ankle to nape. Across his broad shoulders a fearsome blue-green dragon seemed to lunge. The dragon resembled Lars’ dragon morph, but she could have sworn that before its mouth had been open displaying formidable teeth. And as she stood stock still staring, it opened its ferocious golden eyes and stared back at her. Its mouth opened and flames shot out. She jumped back startled on all four legs.
Dragon's Possession (BBW / Dragon Shifter Romance) (Lords of the Dragon Islands Book 4) Page 19