Taming the Dragon Collection (6 page)

Mara ran through the tunnels again, this time not caring if she made noise as she was far away from the other maids and their deft hearing. Raylene had keen senses; she knew every time Mara got up to pee in the middle of the night. She was like Aleksander’s personal spy and informant, and that really bothered Mara. How could the maids be so in love with a dragon who held them captive? Why would they want to please him constantly?
The spell.
That was the only explanation for their actions and Mara’s own innate desire to please the dragon.

As she exited the chamber she found herself on a walkway high above the treasure chamber. She peered over the edge to see Aleksander in his great dragon form, lying on his stomach in a large pile of coins and gems, slowly counting a pile of platinum pieces with one of his mighty claws. They were nothing more than pebbles to him, but even so he moved them easily between his claws, stacking them as he counted.

She couldn’t help but stop and admire him as he counted. His white scales were so shiny and radiant, they would catch anyone’s eye. Each scale was different from the others, like unique snowflakes covering his body. She had expected a dragon’s face to be terrible and frightening, but Aleksander’s face was anything but. The way his frills dipped below his chin like a beard almost made him appear like an old, wise wizard, and his eyes were bewitching in any form. He looked like royalty as his slender neck moved around the pile, observing each and every part of what he owned. Maybe in a different life she would have enjoyed the company of a dragon, but not this life.

Sighing, she continued down the path, shaking her head and trying not to let the charm spell affect her any longer. Every time she lingered and looked at him she knew the spell was tightening its snakelike tendrils around her heart. Soon she wouldn’t have any free will left.

Mara stopped and took one more look at the dragon as she exited the walkway and entered another chamber that dipped low into the mountain. She shook her head and hoped that she would never have to lay eyes on the magnificent beast again.

Eventually the tunnel narrowed, forcing Mara to drop to her stomach and crawl through the cold mud that made up the tunnel’s floor. By the time she exited the tunnel on the other side she was dirty from head to toe. She stood, starting to wipe herself off before she realized it was a futile action. She would only get dirtier on this trip.

The tunnel continued snaking through the mountain for some time before it exited into a colossal cavern that had to be forty feet high. A thin layer of ice covered the rocks in this cavern and a small stream flowed through its floor. She expected to see some sort of blind, underground fish moving through it but she found nothing in the stream except shiny rocks. She bent low to look at one as she walked by, mesmerized by the brilliant colors of the various rocks.

“This is amazing,” she said aloud, reaching for one. “They’re so beautiful.”

As Mara squatted beside the water, she looked down at her reflection. Her once beautiful and silky hair was now a frizzy, destroyed mess. It had been like this since she had come into Aleksander’s service. She hadn’t had a chance to wash it in some time and her hair did not respond well to the dirt and grease that had built up in it. She touched her hair slightly, nearly crying as she thought about how beautiful it once was.

Even her once-smooth skin was dirty and bumpy due to cuts, bruises and rashes she had obtained during her service. She was a mess, and she wondered if her father would even recognize her like this.

As she stared into her reflection, another face appeared in the water beside her, leaning just over her shoulder. She looked at it, her eyes growing wide as she made out the white beard and deep blue eyes in the reflection.

“No!” she screamed, darting forward in the water and trying to run through the stream. “No, I will not go back!”

Her foot caught a rock that was perfectly round and smooth and kicked back, forcing her to flail through the air as she landed face-first in the muddy stream. Now she was dirty and sopping wet.

“Why are you running?” Aleksander asked, walking through the stream behind her. He moved quickly and with purpose; there was no escaping him.

“I don’t want to be your slave!” she screamed, trying to move backwards through the stream. “I am not your slave and I never will be!”

“Who said anything about being my slave?” he asked. She could tell by the look on his face that he was being genuine and not playing a game with her. “You are not a slave. You are a servant of the greatest dragon in history.”

“You have me under your spell like the others!” she screamed, throwing a bright purple rock at Aleksander.

He watched it bounce harmlessly off his massive pecs before looking back at her with the same stoic expression he always had. “What spell?”

“Dragons put humans under charm spells so they won’t try to escape,” Mara said. “I know you’re trying to affect me with your spell!”

“I don’t know any charm spells,” Aleksander said matter-of-factly. “That is not in my magical repertoire. Even if I did know one, why would I need to use it on human females like yourself? I can tell my human form pleases you. I have strived to make it the ultimate representation of the male form in this region. I have seen the way you smile when your eyes travel the hard lines of this body. Do not deny it. Why would I need a spell?”

Mara’s mouth hung open. She was dumbfounded by the words she was hearing. He was attractive and he knew it.

“I want to go home,” she said.

“That is not possible,” he said, stepping forward again. “I am not done with you and never will be. You are a welcome addition to my maids.”

“I don’t want to be your maid. I was sacrificed to you against my will.”

“Your petty human problems are of no concern to me.”

“Just let me go.”

Aleksander moved forward again, his eyes traveling up and down her body. She felt self-conscious now as she realized how much of a mess she was and how repulsive she must look.

“I am not done making use of you,” he said, his tongue darting across his lips as he looked at her.

For some reason the way he was looking at her and licking his lips began to warm Mara’s body, entirely in one region. She could feel the area between her legs growing moist as he stared at her body. He was so calm, so assured of himself and he was admiring her form just as much as she was his.

“What do you mean, make use of me?” she asked, still lying on her back in the stream. “Are you going to make use of my body?”

Immediately the arousal Mara was feeling fluttered away as Aleksander reacted to what she had said. His upper lip curled in revulsion and his eyes turned away from her as he looked down and spit into the river. She could feel her face growing hot with embarrassment. She didn’t know why she had said that to Aleksander, or why she had felt the way she did. It just seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.

“You mean have carnal relations with you?” Aleksander asked.

“Well, we usually call it sex in my world,” Mara squeaked out.

“Do you know what you speak of?” Aleksander asked, his usual calm and collected demeanor replaced by one of excitement that Mara had not yet seen. Even when he flew into one of his fits of rage, his voice remained calm and even-keeled. It was rising and falling so much right now that she would have thought an entirely different person was speaking if she could not see who it was. “I have perfected this form over the years. I am a dragon, an ancient dragon at that. I have seen things that you can only dream of. This body was created so I could move freely among your people and enjoy myself in my chambers. That is its only purpose. Why would I lower my overall station in life to have carnal relations with a human? The thought makes my mighty stomach churn. It is as revolting as the stew you presented to me the other night. I am perfect. Do you understand that? Perfect. Why would I soil myself by touching an imperfect creature in that way? Why would I spill my seed inside of a servant?”

“Okay,” Mara said, blinking back tears. “You’ve made your point.”

“You are filthy,” Aleksander said through gritted teeth. “I will not accept you trying to escape anymore, and I will not accept you walking around my chambers covered in so much dirt and grime. The other maids will bathe you and then you will return to your duties with a smile on your face. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Mara said, accepting her defeat. “After all, I was sacrificed to you against my will.”

“Again,” he said. “Your petty human problems are of no concern to me.”

This time Mara knew he meant it.

Chapter 8

Mara tried to tune out the three chattering harpies who were scrubbing and washing her from all directions. She had immediately been brought to Aleksander’s personal bath chamber and placed in a magically warm tub that was larger than some people’s houses. As she sat there close to the edge the other maids washed the dirt and grime away while chastising her about her choice to try to escape.

“You don’t realize how good you have it, girl,” Raylene said. “Everything you could ever want is here. Plus you’re serving a being much greater than anyone you could serve at home.”

“He’s an arrogant monster who holds us here against our will,” Mara said.

“Yes, but at least he doesn’t beat us,” Priya said.

“Or rape us,” Abigail chimed in.

“Yes,” Raylene agreed. “That’s about all we’d be getting if we were still living in the slums. Men think they own women in other parts of the world.”

“Alek thinks he owns us,” Mara said.

“Don’t call him that,” Priya said. “His name is Aleksander. Besides, he doesn’t treat us like he owns us. We want to take care of him.”

“You’re all under a spell,” Mara muttered.

“Again with this spell business,” Raylene said. “You’re being foolish, girl.”

“If I wasn’t here, I’d probably be cleaning some old man’s house in the slums,” Abigail said. “He’d probably slap me when he’s wrong and rape me when he’s happy. Or both.”

“I didn’t have very good prospects, either,” Priya said. “I’d be one of five wives for my husband.”

“I had a great husband,” Mara lied, trying to get them to shut up. She didn’t know why she said what she said next, but the words just flowed out of her. “He was a brave knight who worked for the king of Escrimea. He was going to take me back to his big house in Atherny and together we were going to live out our days with all the riches we got from killing dragons. It was going to be wonderful.”

“A dragon slayer?” Raylene asked. “That’s dangerous to be talking about around here.”

“Indeed it is,” a voice said from the doorway. The other maids turned and yelped as Aleksander strode into the room. He paused and looked at Mara with the same cold fury he had when he’d told her off before. “Leave us now.”

The other maids quickly jumped at his command, scurrying out of the room like rats. Mara turned her back to Aleksander, trying to cover her exposed breasts with her arms. Even though he wasn’t interested in her, she was still afraid to show him the true glory of her naked female form.

To her surprise, he sat down at the edge of the tub behind her and began to comb her hair with a jeweled comb that had been sitting there. He expertly worked the comb through the tangles of her hair, not pulling on it or getting stuck in a tangle one bit. His hands were fast and dexterous, just like when he was counting the coins in dragon form.

“So you say you have a husband?” he asked.

“Yes,” she lied. “He was the one you fought on the mountain.”

“What kind of husband sacrifices his wife to a dragon?”

“It’s a ploy we use to slay dragons. We’ve used it before to kill dragons.”

“I see. It did not work this time.”

“No, it didn’t. You were…” Mara searched for words that would please him. “Too powerful and great.”

Aleksander snorted. “Of course I am. You don’t have to tell me that.”

“It doesn’t bother you that we’ve killed other dragons?”

“No,” Aleksander said flatly. “I have no use for the other members of my kind.”

“Are all dragons so solitary?” she asked.

“For the most part.”

“Do dragons ever take brides?”

Aleksander paused for a moment, letting the comb hang in her hair. She could tell she had stumped him with this question and that gave her a small bit of satisfaction. “I have heard about others of my kind doing so.”

“Have you ever?”

“Don’t be stupid,” he scolded. “We have already discussed this.”

“My husband will come back for me,” Mara said. “You haven’t ever been in love, so you don’t know what it’s like. He wouldn’t just leave the love of his life to be a dragon’s slave.”

“I want you to quit using that word,” he said.

“That’s what he’ll see it as. And he’ll want to rescue me.”

“I look forward to it,” Aleksander said. “He was a worthy foe and I would enjoy finishing our battle. He ran away like a coward.”

“He was being smart and tactical.”

“Well, when he returns I will be waiting and I will relish the battle.”

Mara stood up and turned to Aleksander, letting the water run down her body. Her hair was finally silky and smooth. She saw his eyes grow wide as they traveled up and down the curves of her body, lingering for some time on her large, round, full breasts before traveling up to her eyes.

“My father once told me I had the bluest eyes in the kingdom,” she said. “Do you think that is true?”

“Your eyes are very blue,” he conceded, his own eyes still scanning her.

“So are yours,” she said. “They’re amazing.”

“Of course they are,” he said. “They’re a dragon’s eyes. Yours are the bluest amongst humans but do not compare to mine.”

“Does any of me compare to you?” she asked, running a hand down her side and over the top of her leg. She was trying to be as seductive as possible, winking at Aleksander and leaning forward while simultaneously pushing her shoulders forward. This caused her breasts to hang lower and push together, drawing all of Aleksander’s attention to them. His eyes grew wide as he looked at them while she ran her hands down the front of her now smooth and wet legs.