The Princess' Dragon Lord (5 page)

Lot of good it did.

When Azoth made another turn, entirely
leaving the stone halls that made up the safer section of his cave
and entering the wider space, Diana forgot to be shocked over the
possibility of a dozen relatives she didn't know she had, and
became antsy and tried to wiggle out of his hold.

“The dragon!” The dragon that wanted to eat
her was out here!

Nyx’s attack had fried her hair and knocked
her on her back, but the rush of fear put enough adrenaline into
her body to power a professional NFL player for ten hours, but
Azoth kept a firm grip on her. He made it seem so easy with his
bulk.

Still, her squirming must have been annoying.
“Cease your movements,” he commanded.

“The dragon—”

“Will not come near you.”

The assurance in his voice didn't chase the
fear away entirely, but the calm, and steady way in which he said
it, as though he would personally make sure that it didn't, calmed
her enough to make her stop struggling.

The dragon didn't make an appearance. Diana
twisted her head around, trying to see over Azoth’s huge shoulder
and all around her as they walked, but she didn’t see the giant
lizard anywhere in the cave.

Not that it didn’t have plenty of places to
hide. Now that she was outside of those stone walls and was able to
see what else was under the giant dome she was in, Diana could see
that there were plenty of places for a dragon’s body, even one
larger than a fully grown elephant, to hide.

It was like being inside Aladdin’s cave of
wonders. Treasure everywhere. Real treasure. Gold coins and old
world chest type treasure, piled up into multiple hills all over
the place. She could only guess from the distance, but she would
bet that some were as high as two stories. It all glittered in the
red light of the cave, reflecting even more light.

Azoth chuckled, and the rough brush of his
fingers lifted her chin to close her open mouth. She hadn’t
realized her jaw had dropped. “Impressive, is it not?”

“What is this place?”

“I told you before, my prison. My sentence
includes guarding the jewels of my dragon clan until such a time
when I can be set free.”

The reminder that he was a prisoner,
supposedly for killing her, made her uncomfortable. “Who decides
that?”

“Only a member of the fae’s royal house.” He
pointedly looked at her.

Heat flooded up her neck. “But I’m not her. I
don’t think I am,” she added. She wasn’t really sure of anything
right now.

“Yes, you are, and when your memories return,
regardless of whether or not you forgive me, I will still continue
to love you and be your servant.”

The idea that this man was putting himself in
her hands was something Diana wanted no part of. She didn’t want
that much control over someone’s life, she didn’t
have
that
much control, did she?

Everything she’d seen…was it possible he was
right? It seemed too presumptuous to assume she could ever be a
lost princess, no matter how Disney-ish it was. This wasn’t a fairy
tale. It was real life, and in real life, things like that didn’t
happen.

“I’ll believe you for now, I guess,” she said
reluctantly. “Just don’t get your hopes up when it turns out you’re
wrong.”

“Oh, I am not wrong. I know my wife.”

The wolfish grin he sported put fire in her
cheeks. He was totally talking about the sex they'd had. It was
embarrassing how her blood heated just thinking back on it.

They must’ve walked right across the clearing
of the cave, because then he walked through another set of red
stone halls, that also didn’t have a ceiling, and the sound of
running, bubbling water danced in her ears.

“We are almost there, princess.”

He turned another corner, and there it was,
his spring. It was enclosed by four stone walls, again, no ceiling,
but regardless of that, the steam stayed in place, warming her
entire body instantly in a way that arousal alone could never pull
off. The water itself flowed from an open dragon’s mouth, which
also looked carved from the stone wall.

It was more of a bath than a spring.

Azoth moved to the edge of the little pool
and set her down. He crouched down and ran his hand through the
water.

“It’s warm. This will do.”

“How is this here? How is all this not
covered with mold? Where does the water come from?” It was pouring
in clean enough, but she didn't see a place for it to drain
out.

“A spell.” Azoth said. “A stone cavern is
hardly the place for such things, or even to grow or hunt for food,
yet I have always been provided for.”

More magic and spells. She should’ve seen it
coming.

Diana pulled down the zipper on her jacket,
and was trying to shrug out of the thing when Azoth’s hands pulled
it off her shoulders in a smooth motion.

She looked up at him, and even though it
hadn't been skin to skin contact, goosebumps still formed all over
her flesh, as if he had, and it had felt good. “Uh, thanks.”

He nodded to her before placing her jacket on
a stone slab that looked like it was used mostly as a bench.

Her fingers paused on the buttons of her
blouse. “You can go now.”

“I intend to bathe with you.”

“
What?
”

“It will speed your recovery.”

That sounded like one of the lamest lines
she’d ever heard. “No way,” she said, shaking her head, even as,
deep inside, a little voice was telling her to go along with
it.

Look at him, standing right there, so muscled
and handsome, so cover model gorgeous, and he wanted to be with
plain, scarred, little her.

Why not let him?

Azoth sighed, his shoulders sagging, but she
got the impression that it was because he was struggling for
patience rather than being beaten down by her resolve. “Princess,
miva sakkra
, we shall do nothing you do not wish to do, but
otherwise, I intend to get into the pool with you.”

If her face got any hotter it was going to
melt off. He wasn’t giving her a choice on this one. She was
slightly thrilled about that, but didn't want to admit it to him,
or to herself. “I don’t think I’m getting entirely naked then.”

That sex charged grin came back, and it sent
an electric sizzle right to the folds of her sex, which had become
wet and moist a long time ago. “Although I adore your body, I have
seen my fair share for the night.”

Fantastic.

Diana hesitated a moment longer, her eyes
continually moving towards her…husband, and lingering there for any
signs of foul play, but he just continued to undress, as casually
and comfortably as though there wasn’t another person three feet
away in a brightly lit room.

It was easy enough for him to get his clothes
off, considering he was wearing only a pair of leather pants that
didn't have a belt, or even a button and zipper. They were tied off
at the top with a string. He kicked off the boots he wore, which
also looked to be made of some animal hide of some sort. Then he
shoved them down and kicked them away, exposing the flesh of his
perfect thighs.

He didn’t have any reason to be shy. He was
built a model on GQ. A fact she already knew even without the
removal of the brown leather pants he wore because his upper body
had been exposed to her since she’d met him. She guessed that, as a
prisoner guarding a dragon and a yacht-load of treasure, he didn’t
have much else to do other than work on keeping that six pack of
his in excellent shape. Holy damn.

Made her feel all like shutting the lights
out for when she got into her white cotton undies, if there was any
way to turn off the lights, that is.

Her teeth clenched up when he was completely
naked in front of her, but not because she was annoyed with him. It
was because he was so damned good looking, and now she could see
every inch of him, including his erect cock, which he didn't even
try to hide. He smiled at her before she could look away from him
and pretend that she hadn't seen anything at all.

She couldn't pretend. That ship had sailed,
but she still wasn't going to look. Not directly, at least.

He wore no underwear at all, and even from
her peripheral vision, she now knew that the color of his pubic
hair matched the hair on his head. She couldn’t help herself, she
brought her hand up to cover her eyes.

It might’ve had more to do with hiding her
embarrassment though.

Azoth laughed and stepped around her, though
she felt the brush of his skin against her as he walked a little
too close and stepped into the water.

“Princess, it’s time for your bath.”

There was no way she was going to keep
control of herself. Her sex throbbed and her breasts ached for
touch. She was so done.

Chapter Five

This seemed like an odd thing to be doing,
considering she had a voice in her head that, fifteen minutes ago,
had been screaming at her to get out of Dodge. She’d already run
from the dragon, and Azoth was no longer giving her the shivers,
not the bad kind at least, so what else could it be?

Still, that didn’t mean getting into a hot
bath with him was a good idea. Yet she still did it. She hesitantly
stepped into the water. The pool was fairly shallow, in fact it
reminded her more of a hot tub, only without all the air bubbles.
There was even carved out space for her to sit. She did.

It was all very nice, but the only thing, the
only person, she could focus on, was him.

Azoth sat on the other side, nearly under the
mouth of the dragon that poured in the water. They stared at each
other.

Why wasn't he trying to come closer to
her?

“Put your head under the water,” Azoth said.
“It will ease your locks.” He made as if to touch her crispy
strands of hair, but then held back, as though knowing she wouldn't
want anyone near her burned hair.

She didn’t do it right away. Partly because
fear from her rational side kept saying that she was in a hot bath
with a man who claimed to be her husband, and who could drown her
if he wanted, and part shock that he knew about her sensitivity to
her hair.

She couldn’t stop her hand from coming up to
touch the wiry strands. “How—”

“You always took pride in it. The way the sun
touched it, the flowers that bloomed in it. You refused to speak to
me for nearly a fortnight because I had once pulled on it.”

She didn’t want to know what would cause him
to tug on her hair. Still, she looked down at the water she sat in.
It was nearly clear, and it would have been had it not been for the
heat and steam.

“I don’t suppose you have any shampoo or
conditioner here, do you?”

He stared at her blankly.

“To clean my hair.”

“The water will do that,” he said.

She sighed. Maybe it was just the time he
came from. His people probably thought that hot water alone was the
epitome of a luxurious bath. Almost, but not quite there.

There was nothing for it. She’d have to make
due. Pinching her nose, Diana dunked her head under the water,
allowed the hot liquid to rush through her ruined hair, and then
came back up for air.

She didn’t feel any different.

Azoth was smiling at her.

She quirked her head at him, then lifted her
hand up and touched her—her silky smooth, soft hair.

She put her other hand into her hair and
scrunched it into curls, tilting her head at an angle that would
allow her to see the dark strands. It felt softer than silk, and
she had no doubt would look as though she’d just stepped out of a
salon when dry.

“How—”

“The water,
sakkra
, it has
regenerating abilities My father created a stone of such abilities,
and he placed it inside the dragon's mouth. You cannot see it, for
the water, but it is there. Now, as the water flows over the stone,
the water takes on the power of the stone. You did not think I
would stay forever young in this cavern without it, did you?”

He asked it with a smile in his voice, as
though it were obvious and he found it cute that she’d asked such a
childish question.

Suddenly the reason for her lack of injuries
made sense. She must’ve bathed in here with him earlier, before
they’d had sex.

Just the thought of that brought the event to
the forefront of her mind. What she’d thought to be a dream, Azoth
hard body on top of her, his wrist thick cock
inside
of her,
moving, touching everywhere…

She blushed and had to look away from him as
her body reacted to the memories. “I didn’t know.”

“I—of course, I’d forgotten.”

Awkward moment, but that was alright, because
Diana was curious now. “Don't dragons...I mean, aren't they
immortal?”

Azoth laughed. “Everything dies, princess,
but I suppose I would still be alive, even without the aid of this
spring. I would simply be,” he searched for a word.

“Older?”

“I imagine I would have aged quite
finely.”

Now Diana wanted to laugh, but she held back.
“Then how do you explain me? If I'm who you say I am, why haven't I
aged? Why is my hair a different color?”

His voice was harsh as he replied stubbornly.
“It is you.”

Because of the constant splashing of the
water from the dragon’s mouth, she didn’t register a change when he
moved across their little pool and settled his large, strong hands
on her hips.

He could have squeezed and really hurt her if
he wanted to, but his touch was gentle, and smooth beneath the
water. It was familiar and reminded her of so many sensations she
was no longer sure hadn't happened.

Her breath quickened and her sex swelled at
his nearness. Her nipples tightened and sizzled as his chest
brushed against hers as he came even closer, until he was between
her legs, and their naked bodies were pressed against each
other.