Dragon Wish (26 page)

rinsing her off, she glanced at the cloth, panting. She took it

from his hand. “Payback time,” she said with a lazy smile.

From the very first moment she had seen him, she’d

thought he was beautiful. The very first night, she’d made

love with him, but it had been almost an animalistic mating,

both seeking some type of fulfillment for the emptiness

inside them. Now, she savored each touch to his body.

His hard, lean abdomen quivered under her hand as she

in turn leaned into him, taking the tip of his breast into her

mouth. He released a breath through clenched teeth. She

smiled. Applying pressure to his middle, she eased him back

so that he sat, his knees spread, allowing her to stay kneeling

between them.

She grazed her palm over his tattoo, admiring the lines

shifting with his muscles. The grayish-white design rippled

under her touch. She slipped her hand up to his collar bone,

running her fingertips over the hard bone before continuing

down the center of his chest to his belly button. His teeth

ground together. She shifted lower to grasp the hard length

below.

He groaned, clenching the tub’s rim, knuckles whitening.

She straightened, shifting her legs to fit on the outer side

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of his hips, her body stroking up over his, ending with the

pulsating core between her legs opening over his tip. The

pressure within increased with her slow descent over him

and wrung a moan from her.

Wrapped around him, she was complete. She’d come

home without even realizing it. He shifted closer and she

murmured his name. She moved on him, starting a slow,

mind-numbing rhythm. He slipped his palms under her hips,

guiding her, helping her.

His strength filled her with the one piece of her soul

which had been missing for so long. All the new sensations

along with the deepening emotions riffling inside amazed

her. Lights, dim before, brightened. The air permeated with

rich sandalwood; his aroma, the one she would remember as

belonging to him.

Throbbing around him, she continued to move, striving

to reach the glowing splendor he’d given her the first time

they’d made love. Heat built, muscles tightened then

exploded in white hot layers between her legs, sending

numbing fire throughout her body. His body stiffened then

jerked, spewing his life force into hers, branding her.

She lay, pressed against his chest, her cheek against his

neck, waiting for her pulse to slow. A low, rumbling chuckle

vibrated under her.

Smiling, she pressed a kiss over the beating vein in his

neck. “What’s so funny?”

“Not funny, just happy. Content.” He massaged her scalp

with both hands. “You’ve made me complete.”

“Me too.” She nuzzled his neck.

He tightened his arms around her and stood. Lifting her,

he stepped from the tub, set her on her feet, and then moved

back, separating from her. She wanted to cry out at the loss

of his closeness, but he was already reaching for a towel. He

dried her with the plush white cloth, his hands massaging

her body, making the fires re-ignite in her. She moaned,

moving closer to him.

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When he’d finished, he lifted her again and carried her to

the bed. Tucking her in, he dried off. She studied him,

admiring the taut skin covering hard muscles. She could

never tire of staring at him. He met her look. She patted the

mattress at her side.

He slipped under the covers.

“Hold me close,” she murmured, moving nearer to him.

He encircled her with his arms, and tucked her against

him.

“Forever,” he promised, his lips brushing her hair.

She closed her eyes, snuggling alongside him, trying to

shove all worry aside, but one sad thought kept appearing in

her thoughts.

His forever would end once she returned to Earth.

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Paladin stretched, enjoying the texture of the clean sheets

against his skin. The musky scent from their recent

lovemaking rose from disturbed covers. In an instant, heated

desire pooled between his legs. He throbbed, painfully.

Without opening his eyes, he rolled toward Seren and pulled

her close.

He positioned her head so when he opened his eyes, her

features would be the first sight he’d see. Such a beautiful

face with a light line of freckles coating her nose. Her skin

carried a slight tan from her time aboard his ship. Her lips

tilted up at the edges.

Seren was so different from his dead wife, who’d had pale

skin, black hair and eyes. She had been beautiful in a cold,

untouchable manner. He’d tried to open his heart and love

her, but she made it impossible. Not at all like the warmth

coming from Seren.

When Seren spoke, laughter laced her voice. “Do you like

what you see?”

“Very much.”

She opened her eyes, the pale gray sparkling with joy.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

He bent and kissed her, basking in the fervor of their

passion. The slickness of her tongue over his urged him to

rise up and ease on top of her. She opened under him and

allowed him to slide inside her. Wet, hot, and slick, her body

welcomed him.

She matched him stroke for stroke, urging him on until

he could hold back no longer. His blood pounding

completion took his breath. He laid there for several

moments before he found the strength to move off her. She

moaned, her hands pressing him closer.

“I’m too heavy,” he mumbled, settling at her side.

“I don’t mind,” she answered.

He chuckled, “You do not, but I believe our son will have

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some complaints if I stay.”

She smiled against his shoulder. The tender peace which

radiated between them made him desire to stay there in bed

and never leave, but Avaris beckoned with its bright sol light.

A heavy fist pounding on his door was followed by the

announcement that land had been sighted on the horizon.

They had arrived in Durfalin. And as his crew demanded his

attention, so did the world.

He swallowed, dreading how little time remained for

them to spend together before his departure to Velhaven.

Would he survive the trip to return to her? He desired a

future with Seren more than his life, but Denol, his father by

marriage, might want him to suffer. If so, he would be hard

pressed to survive. The unknown reeled in front of him.

“A penny for your thoughts,” Seren whispered, her hand

cupping his jaw, bringing his gaze to hers.

Puzzled at the unfamiliar phrase, he asked, “What?”

“Nevermind, it’s just a silly old saying on my planet.”

“No. I think it is special, just like you.”

She flushed a lovely rosy tint. “I’m not special. I’m just

me.”

“Stay like you are. I like it.”

The blush on her cheeks increased, erasing some of his

worry. He grinned. “Come, it is time to see my world with

your blessed blood. Let us enjoy what it offers together. We

might not have an opportunity to do so again for some time.”

She shot him a knee weakening, bright smile. Without

waiting for him, she crawled from the bed and pulled on her

clothes. The sight of so much bare skin had Paladin’s mouth

watering. He wanted to reach out and grab her, hold her

tight against him while he devoured her lips. The curve of

her hips disappeared, hidden by the pants she tugged on. He

sighed and stood, finding fresh clothes then started to dress.

Once clothed, they went on deck. There, they found the

crew preparing to dock the ship. A wall built from pale,

creamy-beige stone towered around the city, completely

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encircling it. A broad walkway atop the wall spanned the

diameter of the city. Soldiers in formal blue and purple

uniforms paced in their positions along the walkway. Each

man carried a long pike with blue and purple ribbons tied to

them.

“Is it dangerous here?” she asked.

“Not anymore. Many years ago, this city lay amid the

neutral lands between the white and black dragon clans.

They fought many battles on this land.” Paladin took her arm

to guide her to where Leo stood on the bow. “Look there, the

docks.”

Durfalin’s docks sat a few feet lower than the top of the

wall. Wooden wharfs projected from the side of the wall with

wide stone ramps leading through archways and into the

town. Nothing supported the wharfs from below. Seren’s

eyes widened in surprise.

Paladin grinned at her reaction. He pointed at the nearest

wharf. “Magic is used to keep them in place. Durfalin has the

greatest wizard’s academy in all of Avaris. Many prominent

families aspire to send their children here to learn. They

often practice their abilities to create new and better ways to

improve the city. This is one of them.”

“Does the magic ever fail?”

“No, the docks remain in place during the day, but are

lowered in the evening. If an attack is launched after dark,

the invaders cannot use them as a means to enter the city,”

he explained.

He changed the direction of where he pointed to the

ground below each of the three wharfs. “See there, those are

the containers which hold the dock structures. The cases

magically protect the wood. With them sealed away, an

attacker cannot utilize the wood to build their own war

devices or set the city on fire.”

Seren studied the large rectangular units situated

underneath each of the docks along the outer walls. They did

sit directly beneath each dock. Double doors lay open,

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waiting for the wharfs to fit inside so they could be closed.

Each case was made from a swirling coppery-like metal.

When she looked back at the spot their ship glided

toward, she noticed several men and a few women who

roamed amid casks, barrels, and large wooden crates.

Inhabitants of Durfalin, merchants, and travelers milled

along the wharf. Small tented booths were pitched along the

outer edges, closer to the archways leading onto the wide top

of the wall. The voices of customers along with vendors rang

across the dwindling distance between the ship and city,

growing louder the nearer they came.

She glanced at Paladin. He winked at her, his body

relaxed. Without thinking, she wrapped an arm around his

waist.

“Do you suppose I can get some decent clothes? I hate to

say it because I’m grateful for the ones I have on, but I’m

getting a little sick of wearing clothes that don’t fit me.” Her

gaze dropped to the oversized pants held up with a leather

strip and one of Paladin’s gray shirts.

“You may have anything you desire,” he replied. “There

are many shops here. You will be able find something which

suits you.”

She glanced at him and smiled, slow and sexy. Memories

of their recent lovemaking rushed to his mind. Just the

thought of how she felt under him made him desire her

again. His sex hardened, pressing against the front of his

pants. Tightened to the point of pain, he debated whether or

not they had enough time to return below.

With his body tilted toward her, blocking her face from

curious eyes, he warned, his voice gruff from his desire. “Do

not look at me like that Seren.”

Her eyes widened in what he could only call innocence.

“Sorry, I was just thinking of soft silky, see through

underwear back on Earth. I wonder if they have anything

similar here.”

He hadn’t thought it possible for his body to react any

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stronger, but it did. Deep throbs pulsated through the length,

the ache increasing. “Why don’t we step below for a moment

to discuss this?”

She ran a finger across his chest where his shirt gaped

open. “Anticipation, Paladin. Buildup of tension makes what

you do so much better.”

His knees weakened, and he placed a hand on the rail to

keep from falling at her feet. “Does it?”

She lifted a brow at him, daring him to argue with her.

Without saying another word, her finger gliding a bit lower

before she turned away. She moved, her hips swaying with