Page 14 of Dragon Lord
“Submit to me, Einin,” he rasped, his hot breath on her ear sending shivers of pleasure down her spine.
Every ounce of strength Einin had was needed to produce a weak “Nay.”
Chapter5
Draknart watched the confounding slip of a maiden sleep next to him on the furs.He’d never slept with a woman before.Her breath came in soft little puffs, warm against his scales.The experience was odd, although not unpleasant.
A shame that she hadn’t submitted to his expert seduction.Yet he couldn’t regret the time spent.Sparring with her sharp tongue was just as entertaining as sparring with her when she held a sword.
He’d never kept a virgin this long.The first light of day reached through the cave’s opening.All the others had begged to live.While Einin…
Draknart shifted his heavy dragon body.He curled around her, cradling her in the middle like a bird in a nest.
He should end her quickly, but he couldn’t resist licking the bottom of Einin’s feet.He let his tongue play with her perfect small toes.
In her sleep, a soft moan floated from her lips.
He loved the feel of her skin.He sucked her into his mouth up to her knees.Then up to her waist.She’d asked for a quick death.
She was a woman like no other he’d met before, strong enough and honorable enough for a queen.
He said a silent good-bye with true regret, which surprised him.
So long, fiery maiden—
The taste of her womanhood spread on his tongue, and he stilled.His insides turned to liquid fire.The man inside him wanted her still and demanded another chance, a mating.
Draknart hesitated.What would another day matter?
Just because he hadn’t kept anyone before, it didn’t mean he couldn’t keep Einin, at least a little longer.His dragon blood stirred at the thought of another sword fight and another round of seduction on the furs.But even as he was about to release her, she woke, and, assessing her predicament correctly, she gave a shrill cry.
“You treacherous beast!”Which she followed with a mighty kick.
He roared and spit her across the cave.“You near kicked out my hind teeth!”
She was on her feet in a blink, wild-eyed and rumpled, her shirt stuck to her comely thighs.A fetching sight she presented, even as she swore like a goatherd.She threw old chunks of armor at Draknart, until one hit him square on the tip of his nose.
He jumped off his sleeping ledge and pulled to his full height, then sent a small cloud of smoke her way.“Cease!”
Instead, she fished a rusty sword out of the rubble at her feet and charged at him.The way her breasts heaved beneath her rumpled shirt...Damned if Draknart wasn’t distracted—a mistake that enabled her to cut into his wing.
He roared.
She roared back.“You cowardly bastard!You were going to kill me in my sleep!”
He stilled and tilted his head.“Thatis why you are this angry?Would you have preferred to be awake for it?”Either way, his meals were dead at first bite—he had a strong jaw and sharp fangs.“I meant taking you in your sleep as a kindness.I thought you’d appreciate the effort.”
She did not.The lass bent and smashed the pommel of her sword into Draknart’s foot, nearly breaking off a talon.And yet, Draknart’s dark dragon temper did not wash over him in response.Rather, he found himself thinking with pride,That’s my Einin, giving as good as she gets.
She swung her newfound weapon in a wide arc in front of her.
He grunted.“I wish you’d stop before you get hurt.”
He was not surprised when she didn’t listen.
With a sigh that produced a small cloud of smoke, he backed into the middle of the cave where he could maneuver more easily.Sometimes, in a fight, his tail would swing on its own.He didn’t want to injure her.Not that he would ever tell her that the thought of harming her bothered him.If he lost his reputation—he’d be left with nothing.Dragons were very much like maidens in that one way.
“I was just taking a wee taste,” he said in as reasonable a tone as he was capable.“You taste sweet,” he added, in the hope that the praise would put her into a better disposition.“Calm yourself, sweeting.”
