Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (66 page)

T
he next morning
, Olena was awakened by Queen Mede. The queen smiled at her when she noticed her opened eyes. Brushing back a strand of Yusef’s hair with a tender, motherly hand, the woman stepped around the bed to look at her son’s wife.

“Did you get some rest?” Queen Mede asked, her voice gentle and kind.

Olena nodded. She had indeed slept, though her dreams were as troubled as always. Only this time, instead of Sage dying, it had been Yusef. She stretched her arms above her head.

“If you like I can take you to your home here in the palace,” Queen Mede said. Olena started to refuse, but the queen added, “He won’t be going anywhere for a while and you look as if you could use a change of clothes and a shower. I had some of the soldiers go to the Outpost and retrieve both of your belongings.”

Olena tensed, thinking of the floral bags. She had hid them in the closet and had put her ID’s up in a crevice. Her gun was still missing, but she didn’t have time to ponder where Yusef might have hidden it.

Olena allowed the queen to lead her through the red passageway halls. She made sure to pay attention so she could find her way back to the medical ward. Tapestries, statues, and paintings decorated the halls. Olena saw that both human and dragon-shifters were depicted on the tapestries. The paintings were mostly landscapes and portraits.

The queen stayed long enough to program Olena’s voice to the command-activated front door so she would be able to get out of the house. She told Olena to make herself comfortable—that it was her home as much as her son’s. Olena nodded, not really speaking to the woman.

Yusef’s palace home was nothing like the beautiful Outpost. There were hardly any windows, except a large ceiling dome in the front room, to let in light, and smaller domes in the bathroom and bedroom. The floors were wide and made of marble. Everything was pristine and white, and to Olena it looked extremely sterile. She much preferred the earthy, comfortable feel of the lodge.

A large black banner hung over one wall, a white dragon embroidered on it. The fireplace was an overbearingly large construction of light block marble. A white couch, which looked as if it had never been sat upon, was before the fireplace. Between the fireplace and the couch was a white fur rug.

The kitchen was clean, the cabinet and refrigerator empty. Yusef’s bedroom was a little better. The bed had a black coverlet with red pillows. She found her clothes already put away in the dresser. The closet was nearly bare except for some formal, princely tunics. She found a large silver crown next to a smaller one, some weaponry, boots, and house slippers.

Taking her clothes, she went to the bathroom. A shower was fitted in one corner, long and wide with many showerheads and spouts. There was an immaculately clean sink and countertop. The cabinets were stocked with the barest of essentials. This house wasn’t exactly lived in.

Seeing a natural hot spring growing up from the floor with the red sides of the mountain, Olena sighed. She tested the hot, bubbling water before climbing in. With a groan, she sat down on one of the carved seats and let the bubbles massage against her feet.

Washing at leisure, she got out and dressed. She found a brush and made quick work of her wet hair. She hated to admit it, but she did feel a little better. Thinking of Yusef lying in the hospital made her feel a lot worse. Not bothering to pick up her old clothes, she left the house without a backwards glance.

Her boots hit upon the stone passageway as she walked. The halls were empty as she made her way back to the medical ward. Not saying a word, she sat on the same bed from the night before. Yusef hadn’t moved since she’d left.

“
O
lena
?”

Olena had been staring at Yusef’s chest for so long that she’d become hypnotized by its movement. It took a moment for her name to register. Turning, she saw Nadja from the Galaxy Brides’ ship.

“Nadja?” Olena tried to smile. Nadja’s hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck. Her eyes were kind as they shone from her porcelain skin. “What are you doing here?”

“I married Prince Olek.” Nadja’s smile faded slightly. “The youngest brother.”

“I’m sorry,” Olena said before she could stop herself. Nadja laughed.

“I am too most of the time,” Nadja admitted. “Morrigan Blake married the oldest son, Ualan. He’s moody from what I can gather. And I don’t know if you remember Pia?”

Olena nodded.

“She married Prince Zoran. He’s a frightful creature.” Nadja shivered.

“I’ve met him and the other princes.” Olena thought of her kidnapping.

“Oh,” Nadja said, as if she suddenly realized her comments were foolish. “I forgot, you would have, wouldn’t you?”

Olena glanced back at Yusef.

“I only came to see how you were,” Nadja said. “And Prince Yusef, obviously.”

“The doctors say he is making a quick recovery. But, I don’t see a change in him.”

“And you?” Nadja asked.

“I’m fine,” Olena answered, not caring to get into it. She didn’t mind Nadja, found her to be a likable woman, but she wasn’t about to start playing nice and making friends.

“Oh.” Nadja smiled shyly, not looking at all offended by Olena’s short tone.

“Has anyone heard anything about who did this?”

“No,” Nadja said. “I don’t know anything. Morrigan was poisoned the same night. She’s recovered now and I believe the princes are pretty sure King Attor is behind it. He is the ruler of the Var, the kingdom to the south. The men spend a lot of time together and one can only assume they are working on finding out what they can. Everyone has been really concerned about the both of you.”

Olena didn’t answer. She was sure Nadja was just being polite. The family was most likely only concerned about its reputation and the life of their prince. They didn’t know her so couldn’t possibly be concerned about a stranger.

“Well, they’re about to serve dinner. You’re welcome to come to the common hall with me if you like. The family usually dines together there.” Nadja offered.

Olena shook her head, and mumbled something by way of a quick goodbye.

When Nadja was gone, Olena frowned at Yusef. She wasn’t sure what she should do. She didn’t want to leave him, but she didn’t want to be in the palace either.

Olena waited as a doctor came and took some readings from his patient. He gave Yusef an injection. The doctor’s wife brought Olena a tray of food. She tried to eat, but in the end pushed the tray aside.

Finally, everyone left for the evening and she was alone with her husband. A tear slid silently down her cheek. It was easy to be mad at first, but as the day turned into evening and he still showed no signs of waking up, she could hardly take the suspense of waiting.

Going over to him, she sat by his side. She placed her hand over his heartbeat, and felt an overwhelming fear that he would never wake up.

“Damn you, Yusef,” she said. “It’s not like this is going to make me stay here with you. I don’t even care about you. As soon as my crew comes I’m leaving you behind.”

Yusef’s chest rose and fell. Other than that, he didn’t move.

A
nother day passed
with Olena staring at Yusef, more than looking after him. The doctors attended to most of his needs. She was pretty much in their way, but they never complained and she refused to leave. His parents and brothers came and went. They had few words for her, and she had even less to say to them. Olek watched her cautiously, careful to keep a distance. This amused Olena, though she doubted she could take Olek in a fair fight.

Olena told herself she was just going to make sure Yusef was fine and then she would concentrate on leaving him. She was lying to herself. She knew it. She refused to acknowledge it.

Yusef wasn’t a bad man. He’d been nice to her, taken care of her when she was sick. The least she could do was return the favor.

Yeah, so he left her tied up a few times. It’s not like she was winning any awards for being perfect. Hell, if she was married to herself, she’d tie herself up too.

Olena eyed the king and queen watching over their son. They appeared so pitiful with their worried faces and tenderly murmured words. No one she ever knew was helped by such open grief.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore—all the half-gestures and whispered words of distress. Dwelling wasn’t doing anyone any good. It was time to light a fire under Yusef’s very immobile backside.

“Give me a moment alone with him,” Olena said. It wasn’t a request. Her voice was hoarse from little use and the royal parents seemed surprised to hear her speak after being silent for so long. When they didn’t jump to obey, she said harshly, “Please.”

The king glanced at his wife. Queen Mede nodded him toward the door, saying, “We’ll be just outside if you need us.”

Olena waited for the door to close. Oh, but Yusef was handsome, even lying there so sick and helpless. His color had improved ever so slightly, though not enough to please his wife. As far as Olena could come up with—and she’d had many hours to contemplate how to rouse him out of his coma—there was only one way left to try. Slowly, she kicked off her boots. Eyeing him, she said, “I’ll get you up, knight. If this doesn’t work, we might as well tag your toe and eject you out of the airlock. Hell, I’ll even push the button myself.”

Licking her lips, she pulled the covers off his naked chest. The hard muscles hadn’t softened from his days in the hospital bed. He wore a pair of light cotton pants on his legs. His feet were bare.

Climbing up on top of him, she straddled his hips and let her body press intimately into his relaxed member. She leaned back to look at the door and swallowed nervously. All was well. They were alone.

She watched Yusef’s features for any sign of a reaction. Taking her fingernails, she ran them over his chest, scratching his skin lightly from thick neck to strong stomach. His body was so firm. There was no fat deposited on his muscular frame. His warm flesh felt so fine against her palms that she stroked him a few more times.

Olena could easily remember how expertly his body would move against hers. Despite herself and her mission to rouse him, she grew excited by what she was doing.

She became more caressing, pressing her hands firmly to the flesh she explored. She rubbed his small nipples, raising them to her touch. For a moment, she thought she felt his breath catch. But she had been so wrapped up in her own exploration, she wasn’t sure. Pausing, she watched him. There was no change.

Phase one of her plan wasn’t working. Olena decided to go to stage two.

Keeping quiet, she pulled her shirt off and set it behind her by Yusef’s feet. She supported her weight as she leaned over. Letting her nipples graze his chest, she lightly rubbed her breasts over him. She bit her lips, closing her eyes as the sensations spread like wildfire through her.

Olena lifted on all fours, getting slightly carried away as she moved her erect nipples up toward his face. Naughtily, she parted his lips with the tight bud, shivering to feel his hot breath against it. She wanted nothing more than for him to open his mouth and suck it deeply between his lips.

When she pulled back to once more settle her hips on his, she felt as if he had aroused some beneath her. Without thinking, she said fervently, “Stage three.”

Olena climbed off the bed, only to strip completely out of her clothes. Once naked, she got back on top of him. Sitting astride his thick, muscular thighs, she drew the drawstring apart at his waist. With a tug, she drew the waistband down, over his hips to expose his member nestled in dark hair. Even prone, his cock was daunting in its size.

Olena didn’t stop. She ran her hands to his thighs, running up his hip bones and stomach as she tried to get up the nerve to touch his member. She rubbed her breasts over his hips next, pressing more fully when she discovered the shocking pleasure of his hair roughened thighs on her sensitive nipples.

Yusef’s member twitched between her breasts. Olena was hot for him. She could feel the moistness his nearness stirred between her thighs. Without thought, she crawled up his taut body, administering her kisses like medicine to his skin. Beginning at the flat navel carved into his stomach, she licked her way up his chest, flicking her tongue over his nipples, before continuing to his neck. His pulse had sped up since she last checked it. Or was that her heart she felt beating so hard and fast?

Her hips settled next to his groin, heating it to grow with her moist fire. It stirred and twitched against her, driving her mad with a powerful lust. Pleasure shot through her to feel him. His arousal became thick and she let it press intimately into her. Slowly, her hips rubbed along him, rocking, building tension and need. Feeling his arousal, she needed him more than anything to wake up and finish the ache he’d created in her that first night in the tent.

Going to his ear, she bit the lobe and said, more for her own naughty pleasure than a real promise, “Blast it, Yusef, if you wake up right now I’ll give you the wildest night of sex you’ve ever had.”

She moved her kisses to his mouth. It wasn’t like he could hear her anyway.

Y
usef felt
himself coming out of a black hole into a whole new kind of dream. This dream was hot and moist and was doing wicked things to his prone body. His lips were parted. He tried to move, but he was too weak to do anything about the erotically charged tracing of his mouth.

Was that a tongue that slipped into him? No, it wasn’t wet like a tongue.

“Stage three,” he heard a whisper and the heat was gone from his body. His entire being lurched in protest. He wanted the heat to come back before the black hole consumed him once more.

His wish was answered. The heat came to him, only this time it was on his hips. He felt a brush to his naked cock, awakening as it had his mouth. Whatever was doing it, he didn’t want it to stop.

Oh,
he thought in dazed pleasure,
now that is a tongue.

The ruthlessly delightful caress moved over his stomach and chest, detouring at his nipples, only to continue to his neck and ear. His loins lurched at the sensation. Then, he felt the press of womanly offering. His erection filled with painful urgency, ready to probe the damp and torturous heat.

The tongue met his ear, swirling around the rim, and teeth were soon behind it to bite his lobe. Hearing words he would never forget, in a voice that called to him like a siren’s song, Olena said to him, “Damn it, Yusef, if you wake up right now I’ll give you the wildest night of sex you’ve ever had.”

His hand twitched, fighting against all odds to move.

“If you get out of this hospital tomorrow, I’ll even give you a second night as your love slave,” Olena swore.

Yusef heard. He memorized. He planned to collect.

Her tongue dipped in short thrusts to tempt his mouth to moving. Hotly, she said against his lips, “I’ll do any sordid thing you want, in any position, in any place. Just come out of this blasted coma.”

Breaking free, Yusef moaned. He lifted his hands to her hips, running over her smooth waist. His lips parted and he pressed her teasing mouth more fully to his, deepening to an instantly passionate kiss.

Olena jolted in surprise, but as his expert lips parted to taste her, she forgot her attempt to stop. He edged his finger up to her breasts, tweaking the hard nipples. His wife moaned.

“Oh, firebird.” His voice was husky. She felt like a soft, warm dream. Her sex worked along his cock, not taking him in, but not pulling away as she rocked herself against the hardened length.

He pulled his hands from her breasts, knowing what her body wanted from him. He wanted it too. With a strength he shouldn’t have been capable of, he firmly grabbed her hips and lifted her up. Olena gasped in surprise, pulling up and away from his lips. It was too late to stop his intent.

Yusef positioned himself with blind ease. Her fire called to him. He didn’t stop to think. A woman as bold and passionate as this would know what she asked for. With a jerk of his strong hands, he impaled his arousal deeply into her warm, tight body.

Olena froze as he broke through the tight seal of her pussy. A cry left her lips in a soft whimper. She trembled softly, but nothing more than a light plea came out.

Yusef felt her passion draining to be replaced by fear. Suddenly, the uncomfortable tightness of her body sunk into his dazed brain. His eyes blinked open, already shifted to yellow in his passion. He saw her clearly, the stunned horror of her expression.

“What was that, firebird?” His mind might have been subdued, but his thick arousal was still ready to complete its task.

“Oh,” she said instead of answering, catching her breath. She struck out in the only way she could think to answer. “I should have known you were faking sick, knight!”

Yusef glanced around the hospital room, completely confused.

Olena sprang into action. She pulled herself off of him, flinching once the hardness was gone. Without stopping, she hopped down to the floor, her legs wobbling as she landed. Digging through the sheets at his feet, she tossed one over his naked body to hide him from view. She refused to look at him, as she found her shirt and tugged it over her head.

Yusef tried to sit up, but it was too hard to move. Pain shot over his back. Olena bent over and he saw the telltale sign of blood on her creamy inner thigh. It hit him like bricks to the gut. She had been pure.

Only when she was completely covered, did she turn back to look at him. She had regained some of her fiery composure, but her eyes were not so mischievous when she looked at him. Her lips opened, looking as if they were ready to scream. Her jaw snapped closed and she clearly did the most dignified thing she could think of. She ran away.

Yusef watched her leave, desperate to go after her. Her confusion and torment washed over him, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her back into his arms and show her that coupling didn’t have to be like this—that if she had told him she was innocent, he would never had embedded himself into her so roughly or deeply. He would have broken her body in slowly. If she’d told him right away, he would have taken a different approach to her passions.

How was he supposed to know the brazen beauty he had married wasn’t as brazen as she seemed? The woman kissed like an expert. She walked around, seemingly free with her nudity as if it were the most natural thing for her to do, as if many had seen her body and she knew how to use it.

“Olena,” he whispered, wishing he had the strength to command her back to him. “Don’t go.”

O
lena didn’t turn back
. Hitting the button on the wall, she watched as the door slid open. To her mortification, she realized Yusef’s parents were waiting literally right outside the door. Seeing her pale face, they shot forward in worry.

“Your son’s awake,” she croaked to stop their questions. With that she took off down the corridor, leaving the confused king and queen to stare after her before rushing to their son.

Y
usef was surprised
to see his parents. He had been doing his best to work his pants back over his hips and was glad they were mostly righted before they walked in. Seeing the concern in his mother’s eyes, he shot her a crooked smile. Instantly, she relaxed.

“Yusef,” She didn’t touch him now that he was awake, but the motherly instinct was strong in her, and he read it well in her face, without her having to say a word.

“Where did Olena go?” he asked, trying to sit up.

“She took off down the hall,” the king said. “Don’t worry. All the guards have orders not to let the princesses out of the castle.

Seeing Yusef’s concern, Queen Mede added, “She’d been by your side since she got here. I’m sure her running off is because she’s embarrassed.”

Yusef frowned. Did his parents know what just happened between him and his wife?

“Olena was kidnapped by the Var,” the king said. The queen frowned, but sat back to let the men talk. Father and son had their own ways. The king quickly filled him in on the whole story, finishing with, “She handled herself well.”

Yusef nodded, his heart racing to think what could have happened if his family hadn’t been there.

“You see,” the queen added, breaking in with her soft wisdom. “She wouldn’t let us check her in the medic for internal injury. When your father and brothers found her, she was tied to a tree, naked from the waist up. It’s our fear that she’s…”

Yusef thought of what just happened. He knew it wasn’t possible she’d been raped.

“Well, that could be why she ran out of here so fast,” the queen said. “She might be ashamed by what happened. She has a proud, fighting spirit.”

Yusef nodded. “I will speak to her.”

Queen Mede sighed, knowing her son wouldn’t judge Olena for it. Rape was never the victim’s fault.

Glancing at his wife, the king said, “Go get the doctor.”

Queen Mede nodded and stood.

“Now, about your attack,” the king began when they were alone, looking Yusef over. “What exactly happened?”