Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (75 page)

“Choose?” she blinked in surprise, her voice turned as soft as falling leaves.

She stared at him with a look akin to horror.

Oh, but this was an aggravating wench the gods had sent him. Surely his brothers weren’t given such headaches. They were all probably cozying up on their beds, talking and kissing. Not him, he’d gotten the shrew of the bunch. He’d asked her to marry him and she looked at him as if he carried a plague.

C
hoose
? Did he just ask her to marry him?

“What in the—?” Pia began roughly, coming to her senses the moment she saw a smile curling his lips.

“Choose.”

She shook her head once in denial.

Zoran’s smile faded as he took a step forward in warning. His face turned red. He clenched his fists in anger. “Choose.”

“No,” she stated louder.

“Choose!”

“I can’t marry you,” she shouted, incredulous, knowing her eyes shot daggers at him and not caring. “Are you insane?”

Zoran darted forward. His naked chest glistened as his bare feet stepped over the floor. Pia ducked away. His eyes narrowed. He came for her again. She’d managed one punch with the element of surprise and thought she could do it again.

With lightning speed, she kicked. Bringing her whole body around as she jumped for his head. Zoran’s fingers snapped onto her ankle with one hand, effectively stopping her foot from striking. Pia landed awkwardly on the ground. As he held her leg in the air, she straightened, rotating her hip as she jerked her leg, trying to set herself free.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” he held her ankle tight, not letting go. The position lifted her skirt and she knew he could easily see her underwear. He licked his lips. “Choose.”

“No!” Pia shouted, mortified. Bringing her free foot forward, she flung her body back. Zoran had no choice but to let her go as she back-flipped out of his hold. It was a foolish move on her part. If he’d restrained her, she’d have broken her ankle.

Pia landed neatly, bouncing the cramp out of her liberated leg. Daringly, she looked at him in challenge. Pleased by the knowledge that her new body could fight as well as her old one, she hid her smile.

“Choose,” he said calmly.

“No,” she repeated. In that one instant, it became a game. Challenge lit in their mutual gazes. Pia relaxed, now on familiar territory. Fighting she could do.

Z
oran never envisioned
he’d be sparring on his wedding night. He never imagined his bride would be so well trained. With a little polishing, she would make a fine soldier, not that he intended on letting her fight in battle. That had been the old way. But, after many men lost their wives and the population dwindled for a generation, they’d changed tradition for the sake of their people. Besides, he planned on keeping his family safe. It was the man’s job to protect.

Pia darted forward, striking her arms in swift blows to attack him. He blocked her easily, returning moves only to have them opposed by her maneuvering. He didn’t turn the full force of his training on her, not wanting to hurt her. But, as the leader in him naturally moved to test her skill, he was impressed beyond words.

To his amazement, he realized she was enjoying herself. Her eyes sparkled in a way that he hadn’t seen all night.

Zoran’s hand knocked a bruising blow into her arm. Pia flinched but didn’t stop for an instant as she regained her footing. She didn’t whine in pain or call a time out as he’d seen younger soldiers do at such a hit. He nodded at her, pleased.

“Choose.”

“No.”

They sparred around the room, kicking and punching, circling and gauging. Zoran watched her chest heave, delighting in the flushed color coming to her neck and cheeks. Her eyes twinkled like they carried stars.

Her punch went long and he trapped her to his chest. He held her ass against his fur-covered arousal. Nipping her delicate ear, he murmured, “Choose.”

Pia bucked away and gasped, “No.”

The fight continued. He blocked all her best moves, but, to her credit, she was blocking most of his. Her blood flushed her features. Sweat glistened on his.

Kicking fiercely, she landed a foot in his ribs. He grunted as he fell to the side onto the fur bed. Pain radiated up his side and he closed his eyes.

He heard Pia’s hard breathing. Wryly, she said, “Well that was disappointing. You’re not much of a warrior, are you?”

When he didn’t rise to the bait, she came closer.

“Oh, blasted stars,” she whispered. “Are you breathing? Please tell me I didn’t kill you.”

She slowly pushed his shoulders back and leaned her cheek over to his mouth to listen for his breath. A hand slipped over his heart. It beat steadily. Unable to resist, he licked her cheek just as his hand grabbed her wrist to hold her palm to his chest. Pia gasped and tried to pull back.

Zoran wasn’t wasting such a good plan, and he definitely wasn’t absorbing a blow like that for nothing. He instantly wound his arm around her, rolling her over. Her body was trapped beneath his. Pia’s eyes flickered, becoming soft and feminine. He ground his hips intimately into her. Lust fired through their rushing blood, spreading quickly. Her words might deny it, but he felt the subtle shifts of her body against him.

This time when he kissed her, she didn’t refuse. Pia’s mouth moved naturally against his.

Finally,
he thought.

Zoran was pleased her passion matched his. He pressed into her, receiving her kiss. She became gentle as she touched him, soothing the many places she had moments before tried to strike.

Her hands glided over his flesh. She moaned. His weight forced her legs to part for him. His kiss deepened, taking her breath from her. Soon he was tugging at her clothes, baring her chest.

Hungrily, he eyed her. His breath came in harsh pants, as he moved to taste her flesh. She shivered beneath his hands. Pressing his mouth against her throat, he rumbled, “Choose.”

“No,” came her instant answer, but she didn’t stop touching him. She didn’t push his kiss away.

Zoran’s body was on fire. The blood rushed in his veins from their sparring, stirred feverishly by the taste and smell of her. She desired him. Her scent filled his head. She pressed into his hard body. However, he couldn’t finish claiming her this night. The council would know if they came together completely. She would be taken away from him and he’d be alone.

Just a while longer,
he thought, sucking deeply at her breast. His groan of pleasure joined hers.

P
ia’s muscles
were loosened for the first time in a long time. She’d practiced and exercised by herself, but it wasn’t the same as having a live sparring partner. When she’d struck at him, she was amazed at the grace with which the big man moved. It was arousing, the way he stood up to her. Not many men could.

His growl echoed over her, reverberating along her flesh. Zoran kissed his way down her body, taking a ripe nipple into his mouth. It was the most intimate touch she’d ever experienced and her body exploded with pleasure as she discovered nerve endings she’d never realized she had. His teeth bit lightly and his tongue soothed the ache.

“Ah,” she moaned, almost afraid to feel what he did to her. Yet, she was powerless to stop it. No man had ever taken her down, by ploy or by force. That this man could do so excited her to the point that she forgot who she was.

Pulling up, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath—breath that had been steady during their fight but now panted like he’d run fifteen miles full out. Looking into the passion-hazed depths of her eyes, he said, “Choose.”

“No.” She gasped as he pressed his arousal into her. The promise of gratification flooded her at the intimacy.

Zoran grabbed her hand in his. Moving her fingers to the side of his head, he forced her to pry the mask from his face, not seeming to notice when she pulled out a few strands of his hair. His hair spilled over her as it was released. He let her hand go. Pia clutched the mask, looking at him in amazement. She stiffened to see the excitement in his expression. It frightened her.

No.
He
frightened her.

Zoran had strong, proud features with the face of a devil—a wickedly handsome devil—and he gazed at her without repulsion. His nostrils flared. His lids narrowed possessively. She was amazed he wanted her so badly, that he would force her hand in removing the mask.

“You chose,” he stated, lowering to kiss her neck. Groaning against her, he announced, “You are mine.”

“
M
y king
,” the blond servant said. He was glad to be away from the crowd. He’d seen the way that pretty bride had been watching his movements. She didn’t trust him. Good thing the other Draig fools did. He’d made his way from her, through the forest of colossal trees. The torches didn’t reach this part of the grounds, but the moon shone brightly to light the way in a blue glow. He didn’t need light. He smelled where he was going.

Stopping suddenly, the man stuck his hand over his heart and bowed. He was dressed as a servant, but his eyes looked around with the cunning of a spy. “All the princes have found brides.”

“Very good,” King Attor answered, smiling a cruel smile. Closing his eyes, he whispered, “Finally. I have waited so long for this day.”

“My king?” the soldier asked, confused.

“I promised myself long ago that I would see to the end of this royal family. They will know the pain of a broken heart and the foolishness of mating to one woman.”

“Yes.” The soldier’s word lacked conviction. Such a statement was unlike King Attor. The man rarely gave credence to emotions.

King Attor stepped forward, his nostrils flaring in disgust. The servant had to wear the Draig scent so they wouldn’t discover him. The king stayed back, avoiding being downwind. “Let us wait until they are bonded completely. Only then can we assure the end of their line. Once those Draigs lose their mates they will be finished. The new princesses will die, starting with the oldest son’s bride. The line of the Draig rule will be ended one by one and the Var will once more be the only force in this land. King Llyr and Queen Mede will watch everything they’ve built crumble into ashen death. Before this is over, the Draig will bow to me as my slaves.”

The warrior-servant smiled, thinking of the pretty blonde princess who’d been curious about him. It would be a shame to kill her. She was beautiful. But, once bonded to Prince Zoran, she would never choose another man for her mate. Not that he had any qualms about forcing her to choose him in the most gratifying and temporary of senses.

King Attor of Var rolled his neck on his shoulders as he shifted into a more natural form. Hair grew to cover his face and body, claws formed on his hands. His mouth elongated, gnashing with sharpened fangs. When he looked back, it was through the eyes of a wild cat. His voice crackled in slow tones in the back of his throat. “Go.”

The spy took off into the trees, not shifting for fear it would unmask his scent. He’d been in the Draig household for almost a year now, smelling them, eating their food. And, Sacred Cats, he was ready for the torment to be over.

Y
ou are mine
.

Zoran’s words echoed through his mind and he was unable to think beyond them to what he’d done. The mask was still clutched firmly in her fingers. She carried it over the flesh of his back as she moved to touch him, losing her inhibitions.

As much as he wanted to continue down this most seductive path, Zoran knew he had to slow before he became completely mindless. Bracing his weight on his forearms, he studied her. Pia blinked in surprise as he stopped kissing her. Taking a strand of her long blonde hair, he brushed it off of her face before trailing his fingers over her lush lips. Lightly, without thinking, he whispered, “You’re so beautiful, Pia.”

Pia froze as if it was the worst thing he could have said. Zoran felt the instant change in her. Slowly, she blinked, her eyes becoming cold and hard.

“Get off me,” she said.

Zoran pulled back, confused by her tone. What happened? Why was she suddenly so angry?

“Get off,” she said. “Or I’ll scream so loud the entire encampment will know of my displeasure.”

Zoran had no choice but to pull back. Her breasts were still bare, the peaks a little red from his enthusiastic treatment of them.

Pia grabbed a piece of fur from the bed and pulled it across her chest. Working quickly, she tucked it around her shoulder in a makeshift shirt.

“You forced me to remove the mask,” she said, not looking at him. She picked the mask off the floor and threw it at him. He caught it against his chest. “Put it back on.”

Zoran scowled. He didn’t obey. Instead, he went to a torch and set fire to the mask.

Pia ran after him to stop him. In her haste, the burning mask dropped from his fingers and landed on his arm. His skin instantly hardened in defense. She gasped in fright and jerked away from him.

Zoran turned from her before she could see the beginnings of his shift. It wouldn’t do to give her more reason to reject him.

When he turned back around, she was trying to stomp out the fire with her slippered foot. It did little good. The mask was destroyed. Angry, she looked up at him. “Let me see your arm.”

“It’s fine,” he grumbled.

“You’re burnt.” Although her words spoke of concern, her features expressed annoyance.

“It’s fine,” he repeated uncomfortably, not used to being coddled.

Pia huffed. Going to him, she grabbed his arm and lifted it to the light. As he’d said, it was fine. The flesh was unharmed.

“How?” she questioned in awe. “I saw...I felt you jolt.”

“I was trying to stay your attack,” he lied. In truth, his arm had shifted just in time to save his skin.

“Oh,” Pia breathed. As if realizing she held his arm and was standing a little too close, she dropped it with a harsh push and stepped back. Recapturing her outrage, she asked, “Now what are we supposed to do, you dolt? You’ve ruined the mask.”

“Now you are my bride.” Zoran placed his hands on his hips, daring her to deny his claim to her.

“I am not,” Pia yelled. “You forced my hand.”

“Prove it,” he said with an aggravating smirk pulling at his expression.

Pia visibly shivered.

“If you like,” he continued. “I can take it up with your corporation. I’m sure they will see things my way.”

“You bastard. You can’t do this.”

“I already have.” He didn’t mind this game of domination. He went to the table and poured himself some wine. She glared at him as if he were insane, when he lifted a goblet to her in offering.

“I hate wine,” she ground out.

Zoran shrugged, having guessed as much. Her lips didn’t taste of it when he’d kissed her and he knew she hadn’t drunk it.

“Why do you do this?” she asked. “What could you possibly have to gain in marrying me?”

Zoran tried not to flinch at her obvious displeasure in him. Setting the wine goblet down, he turned to her. His body hadn’t cooled as easily as hers.

“Are you just a monster? Is that it?” Pia was clearly thoroughly confused. Throwing up her hands, she said, “For you must be a sadist to force me to stay here.”

Zoran’s jaw hardened and his eyes became dark. He resisted the urge to shift and growl in frustration. “Being my wife brings you pain?”

Pia didn’t answer fast enough for him.

Zoran came forward, swiftly taking her in his arms. “Maybe I should show you the pleasure of belonging to me.”

“I’m not property,” she stated, jerking her face from him.

“No,” he agreed, to her greater distress. “You’re not. But you are mine, just as I am yours.”

“I don’t want you.”

“Not yet,” he answered, purposefully mistaking her words for a challenge. “But give me a chance. I’ll make you beg for me.”

“I don’t beg, Zoran.” her words lacked heat as she struggled to be free. He held tighter.

“Your lips don’t,” Zoran agreed, knowing she would never ask him for what she so obviously wanted. “But your body does. I can smell it on you.”

“You smell me,” she grimaced. “Then let me go and I’ll take a bath.”

“You will bathe for me?” Zoran grinned. He was enjoying himself way more than he should have been.

“Oh,” Pia harrumphed, rolling her eyes. “Please.”

“Please?” Zoran asked softly, moving forward as if to nuzzle her neck. Her arms were trapped to her sides so she couldn’t punch him, but it didn’t stop her from trying to head-butt him. He pulled back just in time.

“So much passion,” he mused in a low sultry voice that gave her chills.

“Not for you.”

“You have a sharp tongue, don’t you wife?” He leaned as if to kiss her. She tried to bite him. Zoran snapped his head back. “I bite back.”

“Try it and you’re dead.”

“It’s not good to threaten your life mate. If I die you will be alone.”

“If I’m your life mate, your life will be very short indeed.” Wiggling for good measure, Pia didn’t succeed in setting herself free.

Zoran almost groaned in agony when she rubbed against his already potent erection. It was really the wrong tactic if she wanted him to let her go.

“And make no mistake, you can be replaced,” she threatened.

He opened his mouth to rebut, but her next words stopped him.

“Why do you want me as a wife?” Pia asked. There was no vulnerability in the hard question. “Why would you want a wife that doesn’t want you?”

“Quit saying that you don’t want me. I can smell the fragrance—”

“Finish that sentence and I promise to knock your teeth out of your head,” she warned.

“Are you ashamed?” he asked, surprised by the swift, maiden-like defense.

“Ashamed? The only thing I’m ashamed of is finding myself here with yo—
uahh
.”

Zoran swooped in for the kiss, delighting in the soft feminine sound of her answering moan.

Pia melted at the expert movement of his lips. His skill was too much for her innocence. She forgot the battle as she relaxed into his arms.

Zoran broke the kiss and witnessed her dazed eyes staring back at him in wide wonder. This was more like it. Her mouth was still parted, as if she could still feel his lips. He smiled in manly satisfaction.

“Tell me how one so beautiful gained so much fire.” He couldn’t stop looking at the fine structure of her face.

Pia’s mouth snapped shut and her face turned into a mask of ice. She tore from his arms with a surprising burst of force.

“Mock me again an—” she began in warning, pointing at him.

Zoran blinked, confused. He lifted his hands to stop her words. “I know, you’ll kill me or maim me in some impossible way.”

“I’ll do it,” Pia said, angered that he didn’t think she could.

“I’m sure you’d try.” A small devilish part of him looked forward to the idea. Life with Pia would not be boring.

Pia adjusted her fur shirt. Her eyes were hot pools of lava as she tried to ignore him. He thought her captivating in her tirade. To his delight, he saw the curve of her breast peek from beneath the fur before she righted it.

“Go away,” she said. “I want to take a bath.”

“I can’t.” He settled on the fur and turned toward the tub with the intention of watching her. “This is my tent and I cannot leave.”

“What if I set it on fire? Could you leave then?” Pia asked with a smirk, as if the idea had some merit.

“It won’t burn. See how the torches touch it,” Zoran mused, absently. He was too busy imagining the different positions he could take her in.

Zoran sat back up, near to where Pia stood. Lifting his hand, he touched her leg playfully and tried to run his palm up beneath the seam of her red skirt. She swatted at him and stepped away.

“Are you always this impossible?” she huffed. He grinned.

Pia moved to tug at the big piece of fur beneath him. After a mighty struggle, he lifted and let her have it. As she moved, his hand pulled the end of her fur shirt. With a jerk, her breasts fell bare and he smiled with pure delight. She gasped, hiding beneath the fur coverlet.

“You’re a brute,” she mumbled.

His smile widened.

Curiously, he watched her as she kept her back to him. Taking the coverlet, she draped it on two torch sconces and made a wall between him and the tub. Then, she eyed the fur for holes.

“You’d better keep back if you value your manhood,” she said as she disappeared behind the curtain.

“This does not please me,” Zoran yelled, just to be irritating.

“I don’t really care.” He heard Pia shrug out of her tattered red wedding dress and step into the warm bath. With a sigh of relief, she sunk into its depths and didn’t move.

“Can I join you?” Zoran called, only to hear her splash. His strained cock was on fire and he knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.

“I’ll have to drown you.”

“May I wash you, then?” he tried, his voice dipping.

“Pain,” Pia growled in dark response. “Death and pain.”

Zoran smirked, hearing her yawn. Their little foreplay workout had taken a lot out of her. Glancing down at his enthusiastic erection, he sighed. Too bad it couldn’t take anything out of him.

“So you admit you’re staying?” Zoran asked. The imaginary gremlin on his shoulder made him say it.

“I have no choice.”

Zoran frowned at her dejected words. Coming to sit on the other side of the fur, he gave her privacy. He looked at the fur curtain, but couldn’t see through it.

“I’ll make you a good husband, Pia,” Zoran said seriously, all teasing gone from his tone. He reached his hand around the fur barrier and his wrist draped over the side of the bath so that his hand dipped into the water.

P
ia jumped
to hear his voice so close to her. She tensed, ready to strike. When his head didn’t follow his hand, she relaxed. Absently, his finger swirled the water’s surface.

Pia moved to lather her arms, keeping an eye on him. If he turned her in to the corporation, the Rayvikians would find her. Besides, she liked this planet and its culture. The only thing she didn’t like was her husband. But, hey, no life could be perfect. If anything, she’d have someone to spar with and to aggravate. The imaginary gremlin on her shoulder winked at her and grinned.

“Did you hear me, Pia? I said I’ll make you a good husband. I think we’ll do well together. We are clearly attracted to each other.”

She perceived his words to be a placating lie. How could he be attracted to her? She looked at her hands. Well, truthfully, his words thrilled her on a baser level, which in turn terrified her, which in turn made her angry because she shouldn’t let him get to her, which in turn irritated her because she shouldn’t have cared enough in the first place. She wanted his anger back. She needed it. She couldn’t fight this gentleness. His softly accented words, combined with the thrilling strength of his body, were doing something to her head, making her weak-kneed and pliable.

“Pia?” he insisted.

“That remains to be seen,” Pia answered after a moment, not giving an inch. She looked at the fur, glad her voice didn’t waver. Tears entered unbidden into her eyes.

“We will have strong sons. I’ll give you a strong family, one that will make you proud.”

She watched his powerful fingers rippling the water, tempted to reach her foot to them so she could feel his light touch on her leg. She refused to move, content to stare at him. Her eyes became mesmerized by the undulation he caused on the water.

“I don’t know that I want children,” Pia said truthfully. The idea made her heart nearly explode in her chest with panic. “I’m not the nurturing type, Zoran. I have nothing to offer a child.”

Zoran drew his fingers back, flicking the water off of them as his arm once again disappeared behind the curtain.

Pia’s hair was pulled back in the bun and she left it, refusing to wash the locks. Twirling a wayward piece thoughtfully, she asked, “Do you have a sharp knife?”

“I have several.”

“I meant here, now, with you.”

“No, why?” It almost sounded like he chuckled.

“No reason, really. I just wanted to cut off this hair. The corporation made me grow it and it’s too heavy.”

Zoran pulled at the fur, to see if she was serious.

“Get out,” Pia screamed at him, trying to cover her body with her hands. Curling into a ball, she glared at him.

Zoran ignored her. He looked at her hair and, like a typical male, declared, “You are not cutting your hair!”

Pia’s eyebrow shot up. Oh, she was definitely shaving her head now, if only to aggravate him.

“You have no say in it.” She laughed to irritate him further. “I’ll do whatever I please. It’s my hair.”

“Why would you purposefully disfigure yourself?” he asked in surprise. “Do you seek to shame yourself, shame us?”

“It’s just hair, Zoran,” she drawled. “Now go away so I can get dressed.”

In aggravation he dropped the fur back down and said, “We will discuss your hair later.”

Pia heard him stand and stalk away. She smiled. He was definitely upset. It might only be hair, but she’d take the victory however it came.

“There’s nothing to discuss,” she answered, her tone flippant. “I’ll do whatever I wish.”

A low grumble in the Qurilixian tongue was her only reply.