Dragons Don't Forgive (6 page)

We drank coffee and spoke of things
that had nothing to do with the main issue, which happened to be me
and my future plans. I expected him to want me gone or at least
know my intentions. He didn’t seem at all interested in anything
but making sure I was comfortable. I didn’t tell him that guilt ate
away at me or that I longed to go home and couldn’t.

He left an hour later and now I’m
here, hiding behind stone and escaping from guilt and internal pain
that I can no longer bear. Lost in thought, I don’t realize Sierra
is near until her human hand rubs along the scales of my lower leg.
I look down at the top of her head as she examines me.

“
They’re beautiful and
soft. Not at all what I expected,” she whispers.

Of course she’s naked. I’ve had too
many women to count, but I can’t think of a single one who compares
to Sierra’s natural beauty. I could easily shift and mold my hands
to her lovely breasts. I want to taste her nipples and nibble the
soft skin of her throat. I want. I want. I want. Somehow, even
though she’s admitted to having sex, her innocence is what keeps me
from doing what I want so badly to do. To take my mind off thoughts
of sex with Sierra, I decide to let her in on one of my secrets.
“Strike me with your fist,” I say telepathically.

She jumps at least a foot, which is
delightfully funny. Her head arches back as she looks up in
astonishment and meets my eyes. “You spoke into my
mind.”

I grunt before continuing. “Can we
keep that between the two of us? I already feel I’m under a
microscope when Dmitri is around.”

She laughs and places her hand on my
scales and rubs them gently. It feels too damn good. My brides
always preferred me in human form. My dragon was very intimidating
to them even after they became accustomed to it. My very nature as
a dragon was almost more than they could handle. Sierra is so
different. She’s a shifter too and understands and appreciates my
natural form. And the dragon is more natural to me than
breathing.

She brings me out of my thoughts with
her sweet voice. “You don’t know the half of it. Dmitri is all
vampire and they always have nefarious plans in the works. We need
them as much as they need us, and Dmitri is extremely loyal to the
bears, so he doesn’t bother me. Being raised by vamps helps too. I
learned not to fear them in the slightest.” Her eyes sweep over me
again. “I can understand his fascination with you, though. Has he
seen your dragon form?”

She stands naked and proud—nothing
like a bride. The brides of the dragon realms are raised as virgin
sacrifices and sheltered from men until they fulfill their destiny.
One special bride becomes the property of a dragon and we covet
them through their human lifespan. Once they’re in our lair, they
seldom remain virgins for long. Dragons are insatiable beasts and
men. The sexual aspect of our relationship with brides lasts for
years until the bride is too fragile.

In the beginning, a bride’s modesty is
quite difficult to overcome. For many of my brides, impossible. It
took years before Calista would run naked through the castle as we
played titillating games of hide and seek.

I scan Sierra’s body and appreciate
that she is so comfortable with her beautiful nakedness. I almost
forget her question. “Not unless he saw me flying overhead this
past hour,” I finally answer.

Her nose is almost touching my scales
as if she gets close enough she will discover some great secret.
“You asked me to strike you. Why?”

She’s such a curious little thing.
“Just do it and you will find out.”

There is nothing tentative about her
fist when she punches my scales. “Ouch, damn,” she complains as she
shakes her hand.

I snort and flame rumbles up from my
throat.

“
That wasn’t very nice.”
She’s back to running her fingers over my scales trying to figure
out how they work, I presume.

I hold back the flames by locking them
tightly in my throat, and I try not to think about the horror my
fire caused. No, not my fire… me. “The scales turn to armor when
needed. It’s easier to show someone than explain,” I say in order
to take my mind off what I did to Laryn’s bride. I have no idea why
I offer, but the words tumble out before I can stop them. “Would
you like to ride?” Only brides have ever ridden me, and riding is
considered sacred in the dragon realms.

“
Truly?” Her eyes gleam
with anticipation. I’m surprised she isn’t jumping up and
down.

I sigh. I’m going to have her in my
bed and I made sure of it by offering her a ride. What is it about
her that turns my tongue into a word vomit machine when she is
near? I look over her delicate frame. “Without clothing or at least
a saddle, I don’t imagine it will be entirely comfortable, but a
short ride shouldn’t hurt too badly.” A short ride is all I can
possibly handle.

“
I’m tougher than I look.”
Her gaze travels quickly over me. Without time for another breath,
she steps back a few feet then launches herself up. Her feet bounce
off one of my legs then my neck, and with a strong push against my
side, she’s on my back.

“
I would have circled my
tail around to help you,” I say grumpily. Only because watching her
in action is glorious and my cock is throbbing. And most of all
because I need to possess her.

“
I’m beastkind, silly
dragon. I could climb up if you were double this
height.”

She’s laughing at me and I don’t care.
The silly dragon comment bothers me not at all. I guess being away
from home has turned me into a complete wimp. She settles down and
I enjoy the feel of her thighs gripping my neck, though she keeps
her bare pussy off of me. Having a naked woman on my back is a
first for me and complete torture. I can’t even imagine one of my
brides riding me naked if we weren’t in bed. “Hold on,” I say as my
wings expand and I lift into the sky. With a mighty flap, I shoot
forward. Her shrill cry is pure joy and not the primal scream of a
bride’s first ride. Not that she’s a bride, and I must remember
that.

She continues laughing as we burst
over the treetops. If she were only a true bride, I’d be in heaven
right now.

Chapter Six

Sierra

I’ve always loved the sense of freedom
I get when I’m in wolf form. No human could ever understand. Now,
I’m on the back of a dragon as we shoot through the sky and I’m
envious of what Sarn can do. My freedom is nothing compared to
this. The wind swipes my hair back and causes my eyes to water.
Everything about flying is magnificent. My beastkind blood keeps me
warm, and I could fly on Sarn for hours without tiring.

He performs a quick roll and I manage
to hold on with my stronger-than-human legs and arms. I yell with
the gloriousness of what he is capable of doing. My wolf needs to
feel the full effect of what is happening. “May I shift,
dragon?”

He gives me one of his grunts again
before answering. “Can you shift and remain on my back?” he
asks.

I can’t believe he’s going to allow
it. “No more somersaults, but yes I think I can.” I gain my knees,
resting against his neck where it joins the larger section of his
body. I pull in the magic and instantly I’m on four legs instead of
two. I crouch down in order to maintain my balance. My wolf loves
it. The wind ruffles my fur and my heightened smell appreciates the
pure, clean scent of Father Sky. Even as wolf I’m envious of my
dragon’s marvelous flight. What would it be like to be dragon and
have this ability?

“
I hope no one in your
realm takes a picture, or Goddess forbid a video of a wolf on my
back,” Sarn says into my mind with feigned disgust.

I ignore his grumbling. I’ve been away
from my Florida clan for more than a year and have only
communicated telepathically with my brother. I miss the familiarity
it offers, so I attempt to cast my thoughts to the
dragon.

“
No, I haven’t shifted to
this form in a year,” he responds.

I’m thrilled he can hear me. It must
be his magic, though I’m sad at his answer. To have this ability
and not use it would cause too much suffering for me. I must think
positive thoughts while around him, so I start asking questions
while we swoop through the sky. “Tell me the colors of the other
dragons.”

“
Goddess have mercy,” he
growls. “Bastian is red, Laryn blue, and Tahr silver.”

I’m on a roll. “Do you ever fly
together?”

“
Yes…” he responds like I’m
a halfwit.

I go on without a care. “It must be a
splendid sight. Do your brides ride with you?” His scales ripple a
bit and I think maybe I’ve overstepped my bounds by asking about
the brides. I’m so curious, though, and want to know everything
about his life and the dragon realms.

He’s quieter when he answers and I
know I’ve made him sad. “They ride while they’re vigorous enough to
handle it. We have special saddles made for them so they can keep
their seat. They’re not like you; they are simply human. When they
grow too old, we carry them within our talons if we fly to another
dragon’s realm.”

My poor dragon. I can’t help but think
of the brides in his realm as mates. To lose a mate is more
suffering than I can imagine. To lose as many as Sarn
has—devastating. The loss of my mother destroyed my father for many
years. I know I’m pushing Sarn, but I can’t stop myself from
asking. “Tell me of your last bride. I would like to know of her.”
I did this for him. My wolf rumbled in my belly at the thought of
hearing about another woman. I quieted her down with an internal
mind slap.

Sarn doesn’t hesitate in answering,
which surprises me because I know he still misses her deeply. “Her
name was Calista and she was beautiful, brave, and intelligent. She
lived each day to its fullest. Even in her waning years she refused
to allow age to interfere with the things she set her mind to.” He
chuckles slightly and smoke trails out of his nostrils and floats
away with the wind. “A few years before her death, when she was
quite old, she decided to replace the curtains in the library. I
walked into the room to find her teetering on top of a twenty-five
foot ladder. I remember being so angry that she could have fallen
and broken her neck. She looked at me with her large eyes and
called me a silly dragon.”

My exact words I spoke only a short
while ago. My voice softens when I say, “I was told brides cannot
bear children. Is this true?”

His reply is so low I can barely hear
him. “Yes. Only a true mate can bear a dragon.”

His sadness swells within me and it
actually hurts. I have no explanation for the deep connection I
have with him. It’s like there’s an invisible string attached to
our hearts. His vibrates the string and sends messages into mine.
I’m being the silly one now, so I speak to help dissolve the very
real ache I feel right now. “That is much like it is for beastkind.
Well, I guess not exactly. Before we figured it out, beastkind
mates could only have sex with humans to procreate. After thousands
of years of prejudice against other beastkind species, we
discovered different species can mate and produce offspring
successfully.”

His response is instant. “No, it is
nothing like dragons. If any man touched my bride, before or after
me, or if I’m lucky enough one day to mate, it would mean the man’s
death.”

One part of his sentence doesn’t quite
make sense. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean by before you
mate.”

He huffs out a loud breath. “All
brides are virgins. It is the only way they have a chance at
transcendence to dragon.”

A laugh escapes me. “You’re kidding.
Your bride is expected to be a virgin?”

His skin heats under my paws and I
know he’s angry. His reply travels through my brain with a sinister
feel. “It’s nothing to laugh at. This is why we were cursed to
begin with.”

I’m hoping that because he’s still
speaking to me he isn’t that mad. “Tell me of the curse, dragon.”
Sarn gives a heavy sigh and I know I’m causing him additional
irritation, but I cannot contain my curiosity. “Please.”

With another grumble, he begins the
story. “Drakon, the king of dragons, fell in love with the daughter
of a Goddess. He courted her knowing she was his true mate. When he
finally consummated their union, he discovered she had given her
virginity to another. He was mated to a woman who would never
transcend. In his great rage, he killed her.”

We both remain quiet until he speaks
again a few minutes later. “A dragon’s rage is incomparable to
anything you’ve ever seen. Mine is worse. You cannot want to be
around me if I’m ever in that condition.”

I shift to my human form and stretch
out on his neck so I can wrap my arms about him. “Don’t be silly. I
trust you. We’re friends.” His scales become too hot for me to
touch, so I unwrap my arms and slide down a bit.

“
During one of my rages, I
all but killed Laryn’s bride. I burned her with my fire and her
flesh melted to her bones. The pain I caused her and Laryn cannot
be denied. When I tell you to get away from me because I’m going
into a rage I mean it.”

His story stuns me. I have trouble
believing he would harm a woman. I don’t feel threatened by him in
the least. “You said all but killed her.”