by Lena Austin
The two nobles took Lady Tilda’s snotty attitude with more humility than Jack would have. She contemptuously dismissed them both with a sniff and pointed to the same doors Prince Charming had gone through. Once again, she consulted her paper. “Lord Jack Harringdon.”
Jack jerked as he realized she meant him. He rose stiffly to his feet and ignored the sweat popping out on his forehead. One chance to be in a royal school where he might get one step closer to the man who had fathered him. One chance to make a success of himself in the land of his birth, or end up a stud stallion on the run from who knew how many women who wanted a one-night stand. And dammit, one chance to prove he was better than Dipshit Quenton. Jack glanced up and saw DeAngelo give him one wink. It helped to know he had a friend watching.
Remo leaned over and spoke quietly. “Good luck to you, Jack.”
Okay, two friends. Time to see if his plan worked. Jack walked up to the tables, and pretended to take his time studying them. What he did was count how many paces it took to walk from one end of the tables to the other. Twelve steps. He turned and stalked back to the first end. Then Jack shut his eyes and held his hand out over the table. If his theory was correct, he’d know when he needed to stop.
Five paces, and his hand tingled for just a moment. Maybe, but it could have been just his hand going to sleep from being held in the same position. Jack hesitated, and then moved on. He could always go back.
Seven paces, and his hand tingled again. Stronger this time, but still not enough to be certain. Jack stopped for a moment to assess the sensation. If he moved his hand away, the tingling stopped.
He heard murmuring in the background, but ignored the sound. He refused to be distracted.
Just to be sure, Jack paced two more steps. This time, his hand was zapped. He snatched his hand back to his chest and sucked in his breath. “Damn, that hurt.” Resolutely, Jack stuck his hand back out, prepared this time for the jolt of electricity like he’d stuck his finger in a light socket. Whatever it was, he was grabbing that item. His hand grasped a cool, round surface.
A humming sounded between his ears, and he felt for a moment like the whole world vibrated. He had the sensation of being dropped down a well, then falling into cupped hands. Hands that cradled him like a baby chick. He didn’t much care for that analogy, but that was how he felt -- like something powerful held him in its grip. Unlike when Aneurin talked in his head and he heard words, this time he “heard” emotions. First, a curiosity, and then, satisfaction. The humming and vibration stopped. Jack staggered for a moment as the world seemed to shudder, then move on like a DVD on pause for a second.
What the hell just happened? Jack peeked. He’d chosen the fucking rock.
Chapter Six
Warily, Jack studied the simple oval of river rock. It lay quiescent in his hand despite the shock it had delivered moments before. Magic objects were weird, anyway. He walked the few steps to where Lady Tilda waited with her blue eyes as round as the stone. Now what had he done?
DeAngelo sat back with a satisfied smile splitting his lips and a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He gave Jack a short approving nod.
Lady Tilda all but snatched the rock out of his hands.
A baby’s cry rattled Jack’s ears. No one else gave any indication they’d heard the sound. Did the rock protest being separated from him? Oh, yeah, right. Like a rock needed a friend.
The lady finished her little rehearsed speech congratulating Jack and repeating the command to go through the double doors where servants awaited. However, her bright smile was full of malice and her blue eyes narrowed with what Jack interpreted as speculation. Her hands greedily clutched the rock like it was a fancy Faberge egg.
Jack spun around to wink at Remo, hoping the Elf got the message that he hoped he’d see Remo later.
Those incredible eyes of his twinkled congratulations, and Remo gave him a nod.
DeAngelo casually held out Jack’s wand and the newly certified wizard took it like a trophy as Jack made his triumphant march past him. The doors opened automatically when Jack approached, and closed behind him with a soft thud.
The bare stone corridor was devoid of servants and decoration, just lamps flickering with odd little globes of light inside of them. To his left, the corridor stretched off into shadow, but Jack thought he saw a big grand staircase. To his right was a big window seat with a soft cushion, perfect for reading and storm watching on a winter night. Glass windows seemed incongruous in the medieval atmosphere of Honalee, but Jack wasn’t about to argue.
A soft voice whispered in Jack’s ears. “Go up the stairs.”
He jumped and turned a full one-eighty. His heart thumped wildly, and Jack wondered if he’d ever get over his case of nerves. A servant in gray stood subserviently at his elbow.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you.” The man’s voice never rose above a whisper. “Permit me to show you to your room, please.” The man glided silently to the stairs down the corridor.
“Uh, okay. Thanks.” Belatedly, Jack caught up with him. “Do you have a name?”
The man bowed. “My name is Casper, my lord wizard.”
Jack followed Casper up two flights and down a series of more bare corridors. Within two turns, Jack was lost. “I hope you’ll be kind to a new guy and show me around.”
Casper paused in front of one open door. “I care for your room, my lord. However, I have access to the entire castle and grounds. Please step inside.”
With some trepidation, Jack stepped into his bedroom. He didn’t know what to expect, but two giant four-poster beds with curtains wasn’t it. The fireplace wasn’t lit, but a pile of wood stacked inside indicated it could be. Three chairs placed comfortably around the fireplace each boasted one of the odd little lamps hanging from the ceiling above a carved oak end table. “Cozy. I like it. “
“Thank you. Goodbye for now, my lord.” Casper bowed as he backed out, and the door swung shut silently.
“Jack!” Aneurin leaned over the arm of a chair Jack had thought empty. He stood and gave his bonded a spine-cracking hug. “I knew you could do it. Watash brought me up here to wait. Your Trial didn’t take long.”
Relief washed over Jack, and he returned the hug with a grin. He was in. He, the guy from the mundane world, was a wizard in a school for magecraft. “Yeah, it was easier than I thought. Just pick out a magical object off a table.”
Aneurin raised one black eyebrow, his golden eyes flashing in the lamplight. “What did you choose?”
Jack chuckled. “A fucking rock.” He stowed his wand in its sheath and rubbed his right hand. “Zapped me a good one, too.” He opened his mouth to tell his dearest friend about the stone, but something stopped him. He coughed. What was it he was supposed to say? Dammit, he was slipping a groove. It had been important, too.
His dragon rubbed his chin and smiled. “To feel the energy in a stone is a rare skill. I am proud I bonded with a wizard powerful enough to feel the magic in rocks.” Aneurin bent and kissed Jack. “Very proud.”
Stone? Something about a stone flittered in his head for a moment, and then was gone. Giddy with relief and triumph, Jack batted his eyelashes and flirted like a drag queen. “Really, handsome? Do I get a reward for being a good boy and passing my Trial?”
The draconic purr Jack loved rumbled from Aneurin’s chest. A distant thunder rumbling in the distance, warning of a storm to come, mingled with the sound of his anticipation. “I’m sure I can think of a suitable gift.” His hand slipped between them to slide around Jack’s waist and pull him fully against Aneurin’s body.
His beautiful Aneurin, with his long, elegant fingers and heated whiskey-gold eyes, could fire Jack’s blood like no other. Caressing his tight, sculpted buttocks through his thin cotton pants was pure pleasure for every one of his fingertips. “You speak with a forked tongue, dragon. How about kissing me with it instead?”
The two tips of Aneurin’s tongue flickered out to tease Jack. He swooped down and hov
ered just above Jack’s lips. “I think I shall.”
“Shut up and do it.” The room darkened, and the stout glass of the window behind Aneurin rattled. Jack didn’t care what they did, as long as they celebrated Jack’s success with a hot, sweaty, sexual romp. “A little less talk and a lot more action, lover.” Jack reached up and grasped Aneurin’s long dark hair in his fist, forcing the dragon man’s head down.
Their lips met, accompanied by a loud crash of thunder. The sound of rain pattering on the glass heralded a storm both inside their room and out on the grounds. Jack shuddered and pulled Aneurin closer until it would take a crowbar to separate them. Jack doubted anyone would have the gall to try.
Aneurin threw an annoyed glance at the storm for interrupting. Those powerful hands that could and had shredded Jack’s clothes from his body on previous occasions now lifted Jack’s tee shirt from his waistband and slid beneath to rub his lower back, the long claw-like nails lightly scratching his skin.
Jack’s back arched, just as Aneurin intended, and they broke apart. Jack’s gaze locked on Aneurin’s, breaking only while his lover whisked the shirt over his head and flung it across the room to land on the bed closest to the door. Jack nodded approval. Not that he cared. He’d have laid Aneurin’s ass on the cold stone floor if necessary.
Aneurin reached for Jack’s jeans, nearly snapping the buckle in his haste to undo his belt. “I find myself growing anxious.”
Jack squirmed away from his hands, smiling evilly. His jeans rode around his hips, barely held up by his purple boxers. So they had a certain cartoon dinosaur on them. Ever try to get dragons on silk underwear? It was as close as he could come. Speaking of coming, Jack had things to do. He yanked at the long string holding Aneurin’s tunic closed, and the lacing parted to reveal his chest almost to his navel. “Yum, yum. Dragon flesh to nibble on.” Jack attacked his breastbone to another drum roll of thunder, and shoved Aneurin’s shirt down his arms to pin them to his side. He tossed the string between the beds, out of reach.
His dragon drew a long, slow breath. “You omnivores will eat anything, won’t you?”
He was too busy unknotting the drawstring holding Aneurin’s britches up and filling his mouth with dragon nipple to answer, so he just hummed to drive Aneurin crazy. Aneurin couldn’t hum. Purr, yes, hum, no. Something to do with the attachment of his tongue to his throat. Jack had never figured it out.
With his pants dropped around his ankles, Aneurin was gloriously naked except for the shirt holding his arms back to better display a massive chest as muscular as a television wrestler’s. With six-pack abs to kill for, his lover was a sex crime waiting for a spot marked X. Aneurin waited with love in his eyes and his engorged cock at full attention.
Jack’s cock twitched, anticipating burying itself between those firm globes of ass. He told it silently to wait. They’d get to see how sturdy the bed was soon enough. “Acres and acres, and it’s all mine,” Jack murmured to himself.
“Yes, I am. Just as you’re my bonded.” Aneurin struggled for a moment, unable to disentangle himself from the cotton shirt. “Help me out of this thing, would you? I’m stuck.”
Jack’s groin tightened, knowing something so strong as a dragon was momentarily trapped. What would a little light bondage hurt? They had a four-poster bed with square columns made from a single tree each. Jack wondered if Aneurin would like being tied to those posts. Jack shook his head. “I kind of like seeing something as strong as you temporarily helpless. I want to fuck you like that.”
Aneurin’s eyes flew open wide and a fire lit behind them. Conflicted emotions played across his face. “You like having power over a dragon?”
Jack was startled by the fear in his eyes. Perhaps dragonkind had a thing against any sort of servitude. God knew, Aneurin had an independent streak a mile wide. Jack hurried to caress his chest reassuringly. “Easy, Aneurin. I know you could flex those chest muscles or change form, and be out of it in a heartbeat. It’s just a game, that’s all. I know in many ways I’m smaller and weaker than you, so pretending to turn the tables excites me. That’s all.”
Aneurin studied his face for a moment, and then relaxed. “Oh. Well, then. Since we’re just pretending I’m helpless, I suppose that’s all right.”
Jack’s hand slid over to tweak one of his nipples. Aneurin’s eyelids half-lidded, and that huge purple cock Jack intended to swallow later bumped his thigh, they were standing so close together. “As long as you’re willing, we’ll play this way. The second you’re uncomfortable, say something and I’ll help you out of that tangle. I promise.”
Aneurin’s tongue flickered out of his mouth. He knew what that thing did to Jack in either form his dragon lover was in. “Are you going to stand there with your jeans hanging off your butt and your purple underwear showing, or are you going to do something?”
Jack looked down at his pants riding his hips and threatening a slow slide down. “You could remove them for me, you know, if they bother you so much.” Jack shook his finger at Aneurin’s long nose. “No magic.”
Aneurin was still for a moment. “How? With no magic and my hands unavailable to caress you?”
Jack arched one eyebrow and kept his face serious, enjoying this little role-play. Yeah, Aneurin could kick his ass with one buffet of his wings or a sweep of his tail if he wanted, but his dragon chose to be weakened temporarily. The thought made all the blood rush to Jack’s groin, and his head swam for a moment. “Use your imagination, or better yet, use your tongue.”
Those golden eyes glittered as he figured it out. Aneurin smiled wickedly and knelt, his face and that mobile tongue inches from Jack’s full yearning cock. Aneurin leaned over to pull one side of Jack’s jeans by the belt loop until the whole thing fell around his ankles.
A cool breeze assaulted Jack’s silk boxers, and a peal of thunder announced a spatter of hard rain on the window. Castles were notoriously drafty structures, and Jack paid with a chill wind on his silk-covered ass. He shivered, partially from the cold and partially from anticipation. Jack playfully tugged on Aneurin’s hair. “Evil dragon. Stop teasing. I’m freezing.”
“And I’m not? I remind you I’m the naked reptilian.” Swiftly Aneurin turned and spat a long gout of flame into the fireplace, igniting it with one breath. A taper candle on one of the tables slowly bent, melting in the heat. The chair next to it smoked, but didn’t catch fire.
Jack yelped and leapt back. His heart thumped in his chest at having his jewels that close to something so incredibly hot. Jack liked danger, but the reminder that his most treasured possessions were about to be swallowed by something that had a furnace inside was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
Aneurin batted those long black lashes at Jack innocently, and gave him a toothy smile. “Just a reminder this is only a game.”
Swallowing hard, Jack put his hand to his chest and took a deep breath. “Dragons are so unpredictable. Okay, I get the message.” Jack stepped back into position, but braced one leg against the arm of the nearest chair. He knew how easily Aneurin could make his knees weak.
Moving with all the speed of his reptilian nature, Aneurin took Jack’s aching cock into his mouth and sucked. Hard. His forked tongue slipped beneath to tickle and caress Jack’s balls.
Jack moaned, threw his head back, and gave himself to Aneurin’s not so tender mercies. “Let’s move this little party to the bed, shall we?”
Chapter Seven
Cold air hit Jack’s cock. Aneurin’s warm mouth was gone, and the fire wasn’t doing a damn thing to improve the stone-cold temperature of the room compared to the furnace inside his dragon. Love filled his heart for the one constant in his changed life. Aneurin was more than sex partner and transportation in this crazy circumstance. He was his friend, his sanity, and the other half of his soul. Jack reached down and helped him off the floor.
Aneurin’s whiskey gold eyes looked at him with love and trust. He wobbled a bit, and his skin was icy cold. His draconic natur
e made him more susceptible to temperature, and apparently, the fire wasn’t warming him, either. “Thank you.”
Those two slurred words told Jack how close he was to torpor. Jack brushed Aneurin’s long dark hair out of his face, feeling very guilty. Somehow, his knowledge of dragonkind had been increased. He knew much more than Aneurin had ever told him. “Come on, lover dragon. Let’s get your body as warm as the furnace in your gut.”
His dragon allowed Jack to lead him to the bed, and Aneurin tumbled bonelessly on the burgundy velvet bedspread. He gave Jack a sleepy smile. “You’ll heat me up. You always do.”
“Yeah, I will.” With Aneurin’s arms still tangled in his shirt behind him, he was Jack’s fantasy come to life. Aneurin’s wing muscles translated into a broad chest with firm pectorals the size of small dinner plates when he was in human form. The rest of him was long, lean, and languid like his lizard relations, though Jack doubted Aneurin would appreciate the comparison. His proud dragon lay displayed before him, a feast for the taking. Hunger to taste Aneurin overwhelmed him, and Jack bent to sample his dragon’s mouth.
Aneurin willingly opened his lips and allowed Jack’s tongue entry. Their tongues tangled, not like a battle to see who dominated, but more an exploration of taste and texture. Aneurin’s eyes shut halfway, and he gave himself to Jack’s will.
Nothing could have aroused Jack more. Fevered lust rocked him, and the human sucked in a breath to maintain control before taking his lover with primal need. Gently, gently, Jack told himself. He wanted to show Aneurin his love and gratitude for the dragon’s trust and friendship. Jack owed him more than he could say for leaving Aneurin behind all those years, and wondered if he’d ever make it up to the dragon. Jack moved to lick and kiss those still-hollow cheeks from years of starving without him and vowed to take better care of his dragon. “Such a skinny dragon, you are,” he teased. “You need to eat more.”