by Ines Johnson
Beryl reached for the knob and turned. The door didn’t budge. He looked down and found there was a bar there. They’d been locked in the room together. From the outside.
“I may be big, but I mean no harm. I have a lot of muscles, but also a lot of charm. There’s love in my heart, I really mean it. And my brain is much larger than a peanut.”
Beryl stepped back from the door with a wince. Leander was spouting his awful rhymes. The lion had shared his love of poetry with Beryl when they were younger. Beryl had tried not to laugh … and failed. Leander had been bigger at the time and had put Beryl in a chokehold. The lion made him promise to keep his secret.
“That was …” Poppy’s voice trailed off with what sounded like uncertainty, but then picked back up, “… very rhyming.”
“Thank you.” Leander’s tone was bright with gratitude. “Did you know Andre the Giant? He played a poet in the film The Princess Bride.”
“Yes, I’ve seen that movie.”
“Have you met him? What’s he like?”
“I haven’t met him. He died like twenty years ago.”
“He … what?”
Beryl had heard enough. He lifted the wood blocking the door and pulled it open. Both Poppy and Leander looked up, not in shock. Leander’s face morphed from annoyance to worry. Poppy’s features went from relaxed to joy and then to wariness.
They were sitting cross-legged on the bed. There was plenty of respectable distance between the two. But still, Beryl’s dragon didn’t like another unmated male close to his female. The room went emerald green as the dragon took over.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Darkness filled the doorway. But the only thing Poppy saw was the light in his green eyes. She’d once dreaded it every time Bruce darkened her bedroom doorway. Her heart skipped a few beats, and her core warmed at Beryl’s presence.
“It’s not what it looks like,” she said.
His only response was a low grumble. His gaze was riveted past her to Leander. The lion shifter held perfectly still on the mattress, his gaze never leaving Beryl.
Oh, no. They were going to fight. The thing Poppy had come here to prevent was about to happen.
“Beryl,” she came to her knees on the bed, holding her hands up. “I want you to be calm and not Hulk out.”
He blinked once. His head turned slowly toward her. The green still overwhelmed his pupils. But he didn’t look angry. He didn’t look like a beast filled with bloodlust. His green gaze was clear, focused, intelligent.
“I came to try and stop the fight,” she said.
“I figured as much.”
He reached for her, and she came to him. His hold was tight, smothering, perfect. But the moment she thought she would happily take her last breath and willingly drown in his scent, Beryl let her go. His gaze once again landed on Leander.
Leander was standing. There was a wide berth between him and Beryl. Still, he held up his hands. “This was my mother’s idea.”
“I figured that out, too,” said Beryl. “Poppy came here with my scent on her, and Leona forced the two of you in here somehow.”
“Yeah.” Leander lowered his hands. “That’s exactly what happened.
“Leander doesn’t want to fight either. He’s a pacifist and a romantic poet.”
“We really don’t need to advertise that, Pop,” said Leander.
A menacing rumble came from Beryl’s chest.
Leander winced. “Nicknaming your mate was probably not a good idea.”
“That is if she still wants to be my mate.” Beryl gulped and looked away.
“You know what?” said Leander. “I’ll just get out of your way. But if you’re going to do it on my bed, please take the sheets with you.”
Poppy rounded on the man she loved. “What are you talking about? Of course, I still want to be your mate.”
“I don’t know that I can do this, Poppy.”
“Do what?”
“Be him.” He waved his hands over his large body.
“Be who?”
“Professor Hulk,” he said. “I don’t always think before I act. I don’t always ask before I punch. My instinct is to protect what I love, and more than anything that is you.”
Beryl’s hands went to his head. He squeezed his eyes shut and kneaded his temples. Poppy brushed his hands away and took over the job for him.
“That’s not true. Beryl, I chose you because you fought for me. I chose you because you think about my happiness and my comfort in everything you do.”
He opened his eyes. Brown churned inside emerald with licks of fire at the edges of his pupils.
“I chose you because you demand that I treat myself as well as you treat me. I chose you because you made me, a rough speck of dirt, into a treasure.”
“You are a treasure.” He breathed the words as he kissed each of her fingertips. His breath was shaky as his lips brushed her skin.
“And you’re my treasure,” she said. “Which is why I’m going to have to punish you.”
“Punish me?”
Poppy nodded. “For disparaging what I hold most dear in the world, you need to learn your lesson.”
A slow, wicked smile began at the corner of Beryl’s mouth.
“I’m going to lick your treasure spot,” she said, fondling the front of his pants where she found a ready bulge. “You’re going to stand there and take it. If you dare to tell me to stop, I’ll lick you for five minutes longer. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, my treasure.”
Beryl raked his fingers through her hair. With a twist of his wrist, he craned Poppy’s head back and claimed her with a searing, brutal kiss.
“Did you really doubt me?” Poppy asked when she caught her breath.
“No,” he said. “I doubted me. I wanted to deserve you.”
“We deserve each other. Now, can we go home? I don’t want to do it on Leander’s sheets. I want to do it on our sheets.”
Beryl unfurled his wings and wrapped her inside them. He carried her out of the lion’s den, past an approving Leander, an angry Leona, and a still arguing Kimber and Cardi.
On the way to their bed, he showed her some of the sights of her new world. Poppy paid the wonders little heed. The only thing she was intent on exploring in the near future was the green of her dragon’s gaze, the mountain that was his chest, and the valley that was his lips.
Epilogue
Kimber’s head ached. It had been a constant ache for the last three years of his life. In human reality, it was three decades as time in the Veil moved differently than in the realm of the Goddess’ favored creation. Ever since the highly favored human known as Cardi came to stay, he'd developed a constant pounding right behind his temple.
Every sacrifice Kimber had known had arrived with tears in her eyes. He’d seen slight women arrive with crowns on their heads tremble when the dragons approached. He’d seen stout women in rags dissolve as they saw the size of their captor.
Not Cardi. There had been fire in her gaze and in her spirit. Cardi arrived in flannel pajamas, fuzzy socks, and she’d brought their whole weyr down to their knees.
The slip of a girl faced off against seven dragons and didn’t blink, not once. Kimber would be in awe of her if his dragon hadn’t wrapped its massive body around her painted pinky finger. The tiny human was able to shake down his beast for her every desire. Pretty soon, Kimber came to realize that the female he’d claimed was a manipulative, spoiled child.
But this latest stunt was dangerous. What had she been thinking of walking into a lion's den? Izem had been hovering over her, preparing to pounce, to devour her. But now the cub was in Kimber’s grasp. His dragon barred his teeth, ready to tear the furball’s throat out.
"Kimmy! Kimmy, let him go."
The man in Kimber wanted to taste blood. But his dragon, ever wrapped around Cardi’s thumb, came to heel at her plea. No, not a plea. Her demand. Cardi never pleaded. She always expected to get what she wanted.
&n
bsp; “Mine,” his beast growled low in Izem’s ear.
"Get off of him," Cardi demanded.
"He was going to bite you," growled Kimber.
"He wasn't going to bite me," said Cardi. "He was going to kiss me."
Kimber’s mouth fell open along with his hand. Izem dropped to the ground like a stone. Kimber turned his glare on Cardi.
She stood there, defiant as ever. All limbs and big hair. And ridiculous clothes. Her face was painted in bright pinks and purples. Her petulant lip stuck out.
Had he heard her right? "He was going to kiss you?"
"Yes," she lifted her chin. Then doubt curled her brow. She turned. “You were going to kiss me, right?"
The cub raised his head, even though he was still on the floor. "I was."
Kimber's vision iced over. "You were going to kiss my mate."
"She's not your mate," said the cub coming to stand. "You've had her for years and you've never claimed her."
"She's a child."
The cub turned to look at Cardi. His eyes roamed her body appreciatively. His incisors sharpened to fine points. "There's nothing childish about that tight, little body."
Cardi’s cheeks turned as red as her hair. She bit her lower lip with her pearly white tooth. Her lashes lowered and she looked appreciative.
Kimber had never seen such a look on her face before. Then the spell broke. Her eyes flashed up to him and there was the defiant girl he knew.
"Don't you growl at him," she chided. "He's asked me on a date. What do you think of that?"
What did he think of it?
No one could ask her on a date. She belonged to him. Kimber had marked her after winning the challenge against his father. Was this cub challenging him now?
Or… wait.
There was a challenge going on here. Both he and the cub were being manipulated. The dull ache started in the back of Kimber’s head. He was not in the mood for one of her games. But he had no choice.
That was the thing about sacrifices. Dragons were completely devoted to them while they lived. None had ever lived as long as Cardi. Because of her long life with the dragons, she'd learned all the loopholes and tricks. It was why he had incessant headaches. He was constantly warring with his inner beast to please her.
Cardi would make some ridiculous demand. His beast would want to fulfill her desires. The man was the only one who would look at the consequences. It was like Kimber was dealing with two children. One whined from without the other from within.
He knew what both girl and dragon wanted; for him to claim her. To take her to bed and seal their fate. At first, he’d resisted because he knew all too well the fate of a sacrificed woman. He’d never wanted that kind of blood on his hands.
And then he’d learned that Cardi had fire in her blood. She was half-dragon, which meant she’d likely survive the birth of whelps. He’d known that for months now. So what was holding him back?
Well, the fact that she was still a manipulative, spoiled child as evidenced further by this little stunt.
Really? A cub? As if that would get him to throw her down and breach her virgin flesh.
His dragon growled low. His claws broke the pads of his fingers. His incisors dripped.
He didn’t miss the gleam in Cardi’s eyes. She had him, and she knew it.
“You only marked her,” Izem was saying. “And that was years ago, decades in her time. There must be some kind of statute of limitations on dibs.”
Dibs? “She’s a person,” growled Kimber. “Not a toy ball.”
“But my boy is right,” said Leona.
Kimber’s headache increased at the appearance of the lioness.
“If you have no plans to use the object for it’s intended purpose, you should return it,” said Leona.
“Cardinal is under my protection,” said Kimber.
“But is that where she wants to be?” asked Leona.
They all turned to Cardi. The red flush was gone from her cheeks. Her shoulders weren’t so straight with certainty. Good. She needed to be concerned. She needed to know what it was like outside his protection.
“I…”
He felt relief at her hesitation. Good, she was coming to her senses. Kimber raised a brow at her. Unfortunately, Cardi never backed down. She was worse than the triplets.
Her shoulders snapped back. Her chin jutted up.
“I don’t know if it’s where I want to be anymore,” she said. “I think I’d like to explore other options.”
Kimber knew better. Cardi was still a child. Still prone to tantrums and games. This was nothing more than a game. Another way to get his attention.
Right? It had to be. Right?
Cardi is trying to play Kimber
But this game is not going to go as she planned.
She’ll learn that a dragon will break all the rules when he plays for keeps.
Watch this showdown take place in “The Dragon’s Willing Sacrifice,”
the third book in the Last Dragons Series.
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Also by Ines Johnson
Aside from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, INES JOHNSON is a very bad Buddhist. She sits in sangha each week, and while others are meditating and getting their zen on, she's contemplating how to use the teachings to strengthen her plots and character motivations.
Ines writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope each week, then you'll love her books! You can reach Ines at her website www.ineswrites.com or on Facebook.
The Last Dragons (Paranormal Romance)
The Dragon’s Reluctant Sacrifice
The Dragon’s Ambivalent Sacrifice
The Dragon’s Willing Sacrifice
The Knights of Caerleon (Paranormal Romance)
First Knight
One Knight
The Misadventures of Dame Galahad (Urban Fantasy)
Spear of Destiny
Ring of Gyges
Hammer of God
Dagger of Amun
Cord of Time
The Nia Rivers Adventures (Urban Fantasy)
Dragon Bones
Demeter's Tablet
Templar Scrolls
Serpent Mound
Eden's Garden
The Moonkind Series (Paranormal Romance)
Moonlight
Moonrise
Moonfall
The Cindermama Series (Contemporary Fairytale Retellings)
Pumpkin
Rumpeled
Beau
The Bright Series (Paranormal Romance)
Bright