Lord Dragon's Conquest (4 page)

“Come on!” Larkan ordered.

“Look!” She pointed. “That’s not an eagle.”

“You are correct.” Larkan hauled her forward.

Keltie tripped on a root, going down on one knee. Larkan stopped to help her, but she was up again at once. It was then that she caught a second look at the flying beast, and her blood turned to ice. It had moved much closer, and now it was sailing right over the campsite. That meant it had flown at breathtaking speed. “It’s a...reptile?”

She wanted to say dinosaur, but shoved that idea away as proof she’d been working too long digging up old relics. And yet, what else was it? The barrel-shaped body was the size of her truck, and yet the creature’s overall form was graceful. The neck and tail were long and snakelike, the tail ending in a cluster of wicked spikes. Huge batlike wings beat the air with a leathery whoosh. She watched as it banked, the sun catching its hide. The creature was an iridescent, coppery brown with a belly that faded from orange to cream. It was beautiful, really—until it opened its toothy jaws and belched flame all over the campsite. Her pickup exploded in a boom of gasoline and fire, metal and plastic showering through the air.

This time it was Keltie who turned and bolted. Larkan pounded behind her, his long legs soon outpacing her speed. “This way!” he yelled, leading the way up the path that led to the caves. There were no stands of tall trees nearby, just low brush and boulders. The only shelter was inside the mountain itself.

“Wait!” Keltie shouted back. She’d seen that same outline of wings before. “We saw one of those things in the cave!”

“That was a baby.”

Oh
,
crap
. Her stomach in one giant knot, Keltie followed, forcing herself to keep up with Larkan as the path grew steeper. She could hear the thing flapping behind them, coming closer with each resonant slap of the air. Birds and small creatures burst from the brush around them, fleeing for safety. The creature hurtled out of the sky with a roar that sent pebbles skittering down the mountainside. Larkan pulled Keltie to the ground, and none too soon. Wings thundered overhead, and she felt the brush of one wicked claw along her backbone as the monster passed. She shuddered, squirming deeper into the dirt as a scent like ash and incense washed over her. There was another loud flap and a gust of wind that blew her hair into a wild cloud, and then it was gone.

Keltie sprang to her feet, blood pounding in her ears. “Why didn’t it kill us?”

“Rand’s playing.” Larkan’s green eyes held a terrifying fury. “It’s you he’s been ordered to destroy, and he knows better than to attack me.”

“You know this lizard?” Keltie cried, her voice coming out in a squeak. The creature was a bronze streak in the sky once more, but it was turning back in their direction. Her knees began to shake.

“Dragon.” Larkan grabbed her hand again. “Come on.”

“Dragon?” Her mind sputtered wildly, but there was no time for questions. By the time they reached their destination, Keltie’s sides burned from running. She flopped to the floor of the cave, gasping in gulps of air.

Larkan crouched next to her, putting one strong arm around her shoulders. “Keltie, there is no time to rest. You must hide until I can get you to safety.”

She shuddered with waves of terror, as if she had a fever that was attacking every cell. Fear left her cold and weak, but it was the only certain thing in a world gone mad. Fear, and the knowledge that Larkan had tried to warn her from the start. That didn’t explain his secrecy, but it did earn him a measure of trust. In some incomprehensible way, he was on her side.

She willed her breathing to quiet. “Where can I hide?”

He closed his eyes a moment, as if summoning courage. “There is one place no one will ever look.”

Chapter Five

Panic gnawed through Larkan, creeping up his spine like a viper’s poison. He shifted against the wall where he stood with arms folded, fighting the urge to pace or to check the sharpness of his weapons. He couldn’t let any of his uncertainty show.

The lawgivers would be hard-pressed to find an edict he hadn’t just broken. Humans were to be kept away, not smuggled into the heart of the den. There was duty, and then there were rules. Larkan wasn’t sure those were the same anymore. And that wasn’t the only thing he felt unsure of. Dragons didn’t experience a lot of change, and he was finding it unnerving.

An odd weightlessness made it hard to breathe. Disobedience was strange to him, and yet it gave the same exhilaration as flight. He could grow to like the sensation of taking the world into his own hands and making it over the way he pleased.

Until Nadiana found him out. Then he would have to fight for this bold new future.

Larkan stole a glance at Keltie, a wave of possessiveness rushing over him. And yet that feeling was tinged with uncertainty. She was huddled in the corner of his nest, furs piled around her. Her shaking had subsided, at least. It was warm enough in the room—the entire den was a warren of natural caves adapted into living quarters—but she had been terrified. Larkan had been unsure what to do, as the males and females of his tribe usually kept apart. He’d hoped the softness of the furs would give her comfort. That had gone well, but when he had offered her food and drink, she had ignored him. Instead, she sat with her eyes closed, knees drawn up under her chin. What was he supposed to do next?

“Stop staring at me,” she said, her voice firmer than he would have expected. “I can feel it.”

“As you desire,” he said, slightly embarrassed. He covered his discomfort by crossing the room to light another oil lamp. The additional flame did little to chase the shadows from the space. Like all dragon nests, this one was large, the walls and high ceiling following the natural contours of the cave. There were a few pieces of furniture pushed against the wall—a low table, a few chests, a stand where he hung his most prized weapons. The rest was covered in furs and tapestries with intricate designs. His people were warriors and metalsmiths, skilled with making the tools of war, but they were also gifted weavers. He wondered for the first time how the den appeared to a stranger. Did Keltie find it pleasing?

“How do you know we’re safe here?” she asked. “Won’t someone walk in and find me?”

“No one would dare enter my territory uninvited,” Larkan answered at once. It was an easy question, after all.

“You’re the man, huh?”

The remark sounded like a jest, but he wasn’t sure he understood it. The human’s language wasn’t always easy to grasp. “I am first among the Flameborn.”

Keltie opened her eyes, giving him the dark beauty of her gaze. “Now will you give me some answers?” She still looked white with shock, and it wrenched his soul.

Larkan sighed, but drew closer. “Ask, and if I can answer, I will.”

Keltie nodded, licking her lips. “Well, let’s start with the most obvious question. I thought dragons were legendary, and now I’ve been smuggled into the cave of a secret society of—what are you? Dragonherders?”

“We do not require herders,” Larkan replied, doing his best not to sound annoyed. Humans really did have the strangest notions. He’d been as far as the nearest large settlement and crept into the place where they showed their moving pictures. Almost always in these pictures the dragon sat on a pile of gold, which seemed like an inefficient way to protect it, and ate dwarves, which sounded hairy and revolting.

“You?” Keltie said, her voice suddenly toneless. “You’re a dragon?”

“We are all dragons,” he said patiently.

She shot a look at the door of his nest, her eyes widening at his words. He’d brought her in when he knew the fewest guards would be on watch. The two had escaped the guards’ notice then, but now the corridors were busy, a muffled stream of voices passing Larkan’s thick wooden door.

“All dragons,” she murmured.

“We change to dragon form to hunt,” he said, anticipating her next question. “Not always to fight. The tunnels beneath the mountain do not always accommodate a dragon’s size.”

Keltie frowned. He could see her thoughts racing as clearly as if they were birds flitting across a bright sky. He had hoped to keep her there without revealing any more than he had to, but vague warnings seemed to only land them both in danger. Better she know what waited beyond the door.

Besides, he suddenly didn’t want to hide any part of himself. He wanted Keltie to know him—just as he wanted to know every inch of her.

“Why aren’t you out there?” she waved a hand toward the ceiling. “Why hide under this mountain? Are there more places like this, or are you the only dragons around?”

“You have a lot of questions.”

“I’m only...” she started, but then broke off. “I was going to say I’m only human, but all at once that’s taken on a different meaning.”

Larkan sat on the floor beside Keltie, then reclined on the cushion of soft furs so that he looked up into her face. She remained sitting with her knees drawn up to her chin, but she didn’t draw away. He took a chance, grasping her hand in his. Her slender fingers returned his grip. She might be shaken, but she was no breakable, delicate creature. Her strength spoke to his, drawing him in.

“Long ago there were many of us,” he said. “Like the village you were uncovering from the mountainside, we have passed beyond the living memory of humans.”

She closed her fingers around his, and he could feel the fine tremor of nerves inside her. She was putting on a brave face. “You’re not forgotten. There are plenty of stories about dragons.”

Larkan couldn’t help laughing. “They’re usually wrong.”

“How?”

“Why do you need to know?” He could think of better things to do than talk, and being close to her was rousing his beastly instincts.

She gave a tiny smile. “I’m a scholar. All knowledge is valuable. How do we know who we are unless we know the world around us?”

“But we know nothing of the world. Once we lived side by side with your people and even wed and bore children with your kind, but that is forbidden to us now.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

She digested that for a long moment. “What about books?”

“No. We have never had the written word. Ours is a history told in songs of the Old Ones, tales of heroes and kings and the history of dragonkind.”

“Are there stories about other races besides the dragons?” Keltie asked. “Such as fairies or werewolves? Who else is out there?”

Larkan shook his head, transfixed by the shape of her lips as she spoke. “Once there were songs of dwarves and trolls, of the dark elves and the emperor of the bears—or so my denmaster told me. I have never heard them. There was one about a human queen who would lead us home to the Summerland, but no one sings that anymore. We only sing of dragons now, because we know nothing else. These days no one leaves this mountain.”

“But you do.”

“It is up to me to learn the plans of any humans who come near. That is why I know your tongue. My position, and that of a few others, requires it.”

Keltie was listening intently, her lovely eyes wide. It made Larkan feel as if the world dangled on his words. “Is that why you were hanging around? You needed to figure out what the team was doing?”

“At first,” Larkan replied. “And then I had to convince you to leave.”

“Which is why you kept kissing me,” she said flatly. “That’s a funny way of scaring people away.”

“I was conflicted.” He shrugged. “You are a most compelling female.”

Her soft mouth quirked, almost managing a smile. He was still holding her hand and could sense that the fine quiver of fear within her had stopped. He reached up with his free hand, cupping her face. The gesture could speak better than words.

His breathing grew slow and deep, his earlier anxiety forgotten. Touching her made everything right. Somehow she had become his lodestar, drawing him as metal draws a magnet. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, or pure, or wise. She was Keltie, as unique and rare as any fabulous gem. And as a dragon, he would hazard all to possess such a treasure.

The realization speared him to the core. He was not just breaking the rules to preserve her life. He was reinventing his future with her in it. He had always dreamed of a world that went beyond the confines of the den, but now those dreams had gone from fantasy to necessity. By requiring him to step beyond his role, to give her aid, Keltie had changed him. Even after she’d escaped to safety, he could never go back to what he’d been before they’d met. The mountain had grown too small, and the future there was unspeakable.

Come away with me.
He didn’t know where or how. His grasp of the outside world was sketchy, and there was no way to know how Keltie felt. Fresh worry whispered through him, but Larkan always faced fear with action. He leaned in, brushing her lips with his. He heard Keltie catch her breath.

“Are you afraid that I am a monster?” he asked.

“Are you?”

“Most assuredly.” He caught the lobe of her ear in his teeth, nipping lightly and feeling her shiver. “But I might be tamed for brief periods of time.”

“Why would a dragon want me?” she asked, her spine softening as he rolled closer, touching more of her smooth, vulnerable skin. “Face facts. I’m nothing special.”

“Face facts, Keltie. You are, and dragons want everything that is precious.” His kisses found the angle of her jaw and she arched her neck, showing the delicate tracery of pale blue veins. Her skin was warm and beautifully flushed, the sweet taste of it spiced with her arousal.

Once upon a time, dragons had loved human women, but now that was forbidden on pain of death..Larkan no longer cared. He pulled Keltie down to the furs beside him.

* * *

Keltie had been afraid too long, and his touch invited her to lay her fears at his feet. No, his touch demanded it. His opening gambit was simple persuasion, though words were neither necessary nor welcome. Gently his fingers soothed the knotted muscles of her neck and shoulders, working them until she felt boneless. Keltie sighed against him, tears stinging the backs of her eyes as tension left her body. He kissed her lightly, demanding only that she surrender her burden. It was a small step, and yet the situation was too strange. Surrender took trust, and Keltie wasn’t there yet.

Obviously, she hadn’t been expecting dragons. Her body had relaxed, but her emotions were stuck in a hard, frightened knot.

And yet she wanted, needed him close. As she lay back against the soft, luxurious furs, he worked the hem of her shirt up her ribs, leaving kisses in his path. The scruff of his beard provided interesting friction and she squirmed beneath it. Her fingers dug into the thick silk of his hair, pulling his face up to hers. Larkan’s bright green eyes questioned her, his gentle request heating to a demand. As their lips met, she felt that heat ignite her own desire, one candle to another. With a will of their own, her hands explored his chest, feeling the thick, hard muscles. She was still disoriented, excited and terrified to be there. She didn’t know what she wanted from Larkan, or what the next hour would bring.

But there was one thing Keltie did know. She wanted to feel him against her. All of her. With a noise of impatience, she pulled her sweater over her head, reveling in the sudden freedom. Larkan’s mouth dropped to her collarbone, his lips on the flesh she had suddenly offered. He folded her into his arms, as if his body was the only shield she would ever need. The protective gesture won her over. Keltie melted inside, the cold knot within her finally letting go. The future was a gamble, but right there, right then, she knew she was safe.

As if Larkan sensed her change of mood, he gathered her closer, hands and mouth cataloguing every curve and hollow of her form. Only then did she fully understand how large he was, every part of him long-boned and roped with muscle. Piece by piece, clothing disappeared until all that surrounded her was the nest of furs and Larkan. A slow ache was gathering deep in her belly, begging for release, but she was willing to let it wait. Larkan was not an experience to be rushed. She found the dark trail of hair that invited exploration of the hard ridges in his abdomen. He discovered her breasts and then the moist apex of her thighs, and gave every part of her its due.

When he finally entered her she was wet and ready, but he was still a tight fit. He eased in slowly, a little at a time, retreating and thrusting again until she was accustomed to him. By then Keltie was already on the edge, digging her fingers into the heavy curve of his shoulders. They moved as one, the electric, maddening ache of it firing every nerve inside her. She wanted him inside her. She wanted him gone. She wanted relief. She wanted...everything.

Keltie unleashed the wildness he stirred in her, unafraid to use her nails, her teeth, every part of her to possess him. Larkan welcomed it all, more than able to meet her strength. And he was hot, literally, his body growing warmer as their lovemaking went on. The sensation within her—tight and heated —expanded until it blossomed to an explosion, wave after wave tearing through her until the sweet pain of it was more than she could stand. And just before the last shudders were wrung from her, Larkan gave his final thrust, spilling hot and full into her and finishing with a final, lingering kiss.