Courting Darkness (39 page)

I nodded. “I think I like your mother.”

He smiled, then. “She is an amazing dragon, a woman who values truth over treasure. She does what needs to be done and does not flinch from duty. Come though, you should bathe and prepare yourself for the Council.”

A shiver of fear ran through me. “What should I expect? What am I getting into?”

Smoky paused, then shook his head. “You will be fine. I cannot prepare you because it is expected that you come to Council as who you truly are. If I coach you and you act according to what I say, the elders will know.”

Oh yeah, that made me feel better. I swatted him. “Fine, then. Give me soap and water and if you can find something that will fit me, clean clothes?”

Smoky led me to a bathing chamber with a huge marble tub that was filled with bubbling, steaming water. I stripped and he ogled me as I crawled into the dragon Jacuzzi, enjoying the whirl of froth that immediately began to ease my muscles. I leaned back against the marble, nearly falling asleep, letting the tension soak out of my body. After a moment, I noticed that Smoky had taken off his clothing and was crawling into the tub with me, a lecherous look on his face.

His long, muscled body was magnificent and I couldn’t help but run my gaze over the six-foot-four icy drink of water. His hair coiled and curled, sure signs that he was ready for playtime, and one glance at his cock told me the same thing. He was standing at attention, engorged and rigid. A swell of desire broke through my weariness.

“Oh, you think you’re getting some?” I couldn’t help but laugh. My wounds weren’t hurting as much, thanks to the Moon Mother, and the knowledge that we had Hyto strapped down and preparing to face trial made me ever so giddy. I leaned forward, crossing my arms over my breasts. “What makes you think you can crawl into my bath unasked, sir?”

“Because, you are my chosen mate, and my wife, and I know you too well—you’ve got that look on your face that says you’re hungry for sex. I’m sorry the others aren’t here. Well, I’m not, to be honest, but I know you like to play with all of us. I’ll just have to be enough this time.” But his eyes were twinkling and I knew he was teasing.

“You think so? What if I say I have a headache?” But at the sight of his puppy-dog face and pleading eyes, I relented. Truth was, they were all enough, at any one time. But for keeps, I did need all three of my husbands. I loved them all, and my love for them just kept growing as we were together. I couldn’t imagine any other combination that would make me this happy.

I pulled him to me, and he knelt between my legs in the spacious tub, as I leaned back against the warm marble. He fastened his lips to mine, as his tongue entered my mouth, playing against my own. We kissed for a long moment, him lying atop me, my breasts pressed to his chest.

And then I pushed him back, just a little, my hands on his shoulders. “We need to talk first. We really need to talk.”

He looked a little hurt and his expression stabbed into me. “Did I do something wrong? Are you not ready yet? I know Hyto’s attack . . .” His voice drifted off and he stroked my face. “Do you want to wait until the collar is gone?”

“No, no, my love. It’s not you, and I do want you. But we need to discuss a couple of things first. I want there to be no secrets between us.” I slid up to a sitting position and took his hands in mine as he sat cross-legged in front of me.

“All right. Then what?”

As I gazed into his eyes, I couldn’t help but smile. “I love you so much. I love you . . . And Trillian and Morio. You are my chosen mates, as you would say. I am a better woman because of your influences on me. Please, though, know that what happened with Vanzir . . . there was no choice. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t mine. Don’t blame him—he was trying to protect me and the energy blew up in our faces. I don’t want you angry at him. I would never have let him touch me like that if there had been a choice.”

Smoky pressed my hand to his lips, kissing my fingers. “I realize that, now. I wanted to kill him at first . . . but then you disappeared and Trillian and Morio convinced me I was being stupid. They wanted Vanzir to help find you. And he did. I won’t hurt him, my love. I’ll even be nice to the demon. Just don’t think badly of me.”

“I could never think badly of you. You are not your father, Smoky. You are a good man—a great dragon.” I stroked his face, feeling the smooth skin under my fingers. “Don’t you ever have to shave?”

He shook his head. “I seldom have more than a five o’clock shadow. Green dragons tend to have facial hair—but silvers and whites, rarely. Is there anything else on your mind?”

I nodded. “Yes, love. Your father and what he did to me. Smoky, it’s going to take me a long time to get rid of the memories, but the Moon Mother helped me understand my reactions to some degree—and I know that I’ll come to grips with his attacks eventually. What humiliated me most was groveling at his feet—I will never bow to any man’s foot again, unless it be a king or sovereign where custom dictates. And when he beat me . . .”

I paused. But he read me as if I were ink on the page.

“I will never touch you that way. I will never lay hands on you—I will not hurt you, Camille. I’m sorry . . . I wish I could wipe away what he did, but at least I can help mend the scars.”

The catch in his voice broke my heart. I was not the only one who’d been hurt. Hyto had done his best to destroy both me and his son. He’d made Smoky feel helpless, feel like he could not protect his family. He’d ripped at Smoky’s very sense of self. We would have to mend each other’s wounds.

“My love, kiss me.” I pulled him in then, hungry for his touch. He hesitated, but I pressed my lips to his.

And then his weight was against me and we were leaning back in the bath, with him stretched out against my body. The mood shifted—we needed one another, hungry and desperate to reconnect.

“Camille . . .” He covered my face with kisses, his hair gently dipping into the water to gather me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, not wanting to dally, wanting him to reclaim me, to leave his mark on me that I was his, not Hyto’s. My nipples were taut, stiff against his chest, and he lifted both of us out of the tub.

My legs still wrapped around his waist, he carried me, with both of us dripping and wet, into a chamber off the bath. There, a bed with blue coverings waited. I scarcely glanced at the room, but on the nightstand, I saw a picture of me in a silver frame, and on the other nightstand I caught sight of a picture of me with all three of my loves on the day we brought Trillian into the marriage. Our wedding picture.

“Smoky, don’t ever leave me,” I whispered into his neck, as we stood by the bed.

“You’re mine. Forever mine.” He lay down, reaching for me. “Ride me, my love. Take control—it must be at your own pace.” And then, his hair gently—ever so gently—lifted me by the waist and brought me down astride his hips.

“Hold my arms,” I whispered, and two more strands rose to take hold of my wrists, stretching them wide so my back arched. Held firm, but by my own will, I could feel him waiting below me, pressing against me, making me wet I could barely stand it.

I lifted up and found his eager cock and then, with a wanton cry, slid down on him, the friction driving me wild as he thrust himself into me. I was so slick and he was deliciously thick and wide that I let out a little shriek, squirming against him as his heat began to pulsate through my body. I moaned, my head dropping back as we began to move, synchronizing rhythms.

His hair stroked my back, my sides, my face as he reached up and cupped one of my breasts, squeezing the nipple. With his other hand, he reached around, fingering my ass, slowly working his way in with his index finger. A white-hot flame shot through my body and I let out a low groan as I rode him, rocking against his hips, feeling him drive into me again and again.

We were flying. I opened my eyes to see the clouds building outside the window as we rocked. And all the pain, all the anger, all the fear dropped away as we soared. As we reached the zenith, it started to snow.

“Smoky, love me.” And then I burst into tears, coming hard and fast—my entire body caught up in one giant orgasm of release.

By the time I finished my bath, this time uninterrupted except by Smoky washing my back, he had found me a long silver dress to wear. It was his mother’s and it dragged on the ground, but her chambermaid tried to pin it up enough so that it looked halfway presentable. I was also bustier than Vishana, and as I glanced in the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel that I looked like a wanton love goddess in a makeshift toga.

“I can’t wear this! What if Hotlips is at the Council?” I turned to Smoky, frowning. Hotlips had been his fiancée from an arranged marriage until he’d managed to buy her off.

He smirked. “Is her opinion really of any importance to you? It’s not to me. But as you wish.” He motioned to the maid—who I suspected, from the color of her eyes, was a green dragon. “Find something that
truly
fits her, please.”

“Yes, Lord.” The maid vanished out of the room.

“She doesn’t talk much, does she?” The woman had barely said a word to me since she’d come in and found us in our second bath of the day. Her eyes had glimmered with a smile, but she’d said nothing other than to curtsey and greet me as Smoky introduced me.

“She’s an indentured servant. Long ago, her father accosted my mother. The Council sentenced his family to serve my mother until the day she dies. Mother chose to train a handful of maids from the sons and daughters and leave it at that. She could have the whole damned family at her beck and call, but she doesn’t abuse privileges.”

“Life in the Dragon Reaches isn’t easy, is it?”

“No.” Smoky was dressed again by the time the maid—I never did catch her name; maybe she didn’t have a public one—returned. She carried a dress similar to the one I’d tried on, but it was shorter and fit better. I slid into it, marveling at the weave of the fabric. It was warm, while appearing to almost float like silk around my body.

“This is lovely. Thank you.” I gave her a warm smile and she returned it before fleeing from the room, only to return with a large platter filled with meats, cheese, and bread. We ate silently.

We were just finishing up the last of the loaf when a soft chime rang through the chamber. Smoky stood, motioning for me to join him. “Time to go. That’s the sound that means the Council will convene shortly.”

As we headed out the door, I wondered what was going to happen. And how. Images tumbled through my mind, broken bits of Hyto’s sneering face, his grasping hands . . . but then it was all moot as we came to the Council chamber and entered.

There, in the center of the floor, lay Hyto, in dragon form. His wings were strapped back, in a rigid framework that looked like a combination of steel and wood and rope. The frame held them in what had to be a painful position. A ball gagged his mouth, strapped over his muzzle, and he could do nothing but thrash on the floor. For all of his sins, I was horrified as I realized just how much humiliation and pain the setup provided. But at a flash of memory of groveling at his feet . . . my horror vanished and I breathed out a long sigh.

Atop the podium were a group of five silver dragons, the center one being the largest dragon in the entire place. He had to be the Wing-Liege. The others gave the air of nobility and I figured they must make up the presiding Council members. The Emperor was nowhere in sight.

As I looked around the stadium, the ledges were filling with dragons, most in their natural form. Vishana was standing to the side, in her dragon form, and as Smoky saw her, he, too, stepped back, and within seconds my husband had transformed into his natural bent.

I was beginning to feel conspicuous.

After a few minutes, the Wing-Liege let out a loud roar and chimes rang through the amphitheater. Everyone quieted down. Then came a spate of words in a language I did not understand. Shortly after that, a flash of shimmers and the entire Council, Smoky, and his mother shifted into human form. The Wing-Liege spoke again, and Hyto shifted, the wingstrap contraption now pinning him to the ground with its weight. What appeared to be a set of guards moved forward to remove it and to hold him in check. Hyto gave me a long look, but he said nothing, did nothing. Simply challenged me with his gaze.

The Wing-Liege spoke again.

“We will stand in this form today because the complainant’s daughter-in-law is involved in the proceedings, and she is not of Dragonkin blood. She is, however, sealed into our society by marriage, and therefore has the right to attend this Council.”

I wanted to thank him but decided to keep my mouth shut. It was too easy to stick my foot in and turn up the temperature.

As the Wing-Liege began to read off something that had been imprinted on a scroll, I phased out. It sounded like an exceedingly boring list of rules and regulations, and although I wanted to pay attention, I had no energy left. I was tired. I was still hurting, and I was worried about the others. Did they think I was dead? Were my sisters trying to track me down?