Page 19 of Hidden Dragons

“She doesn’t,” he assured her in a quiet voice. “I asked her. She knows I’m dopey in love with her. I have been for years. She’s like mother, sister and best friend, all rolled into one—though there’s so much more that I can’t describe to our relationship. She is part of me, I guess.” He shrugged, seeming at a loss for words. “All I can say is, the day she chose me was the happiest day of my life.” He led Isabelle over to the seating area. “As long as we keep our voices down, she’ll sleep like a baby.”

Chapter Six

They relocated to the much more comfortable, overstuffed chairs and couch arrangement out by the dragon’s sand pit, which Isabelle had learned was called a wallow. Isabelle felt the tensions of the day leaving her as she held her steaming mug of tea and sipped at the fragrant brew. She discovered Bear was a peaceful sort of person to be around. She was surprisingly comfortable with him. And she liked the way he spoke of his dragon partner.

“The bond runs deep between a knight and his dragon, doesn’t it?” she asked quietly, still very curious about the relationship.

“It is a joining of souls. When Tilly spoke the words of Claim to me and I accepted, something deep inside my being joined with her in a way that is hard to describe. We became part of each other—just a little bit. And I suppose that bond will last until I die, though the very nature of the bond has extended my life beyond the normal number of years. Of course, a dragon knight’s life is one of duty, service and occasional violence, so only the Mother of All knows how long I may live.”

Isabelle kept silent for a while as they both contemplated his words. The mood was lazy, peaceful, almost intimate. She hadn’t shared such moments with anyone before and she found she was enjoying herself very much, even if the rigors of her long day were catching up with her. She smothered another yawn as they sat there, watching the dragon sleep. She truly was a magnificent creature, even in repose.

“You’re a lucky man to have Tildeth in your life,” Isabelle whispered.

“You’ll get no argument from me,” he answered after a slight pause.

It was clear they were both tired, but she was too comfortable to move. Isabelle rested her head against the soft leather of the chair and the next thing she knew, she was being lifted in Bear’s strong arms. She had fallen asleep.

“I can walk,” she said softly, still mostly asleep. Truth to tell, she was exhausted.

“I like taking care of you,” Bear admitted, his soft words touching her heart. “Let me.”

She rested her head on his shoulder as he walked with her in his arms toward one of the rooms arrayed around the sand pit. Her eyes closed and only opened again when he lowered her to a soft bed. But she didn’t want to let him go.

Isabelle kept her hands around his neck as he dipped lower, releasing her body but closing the gap between her lips and his. And then he kissed her.

And she was lost.

She wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but he followed her down onto the bed and lay over her, like a warm, living blanket. He kept most of his weight off her, propping himself up on his forearms. That caused his biceps to flex in the most intriguing way. She couldn’t resist running her hands down his shoulders and over his arms. He was so strong. So masculine. So caring on every level.

“I want to make love with you, Isabelle,” his voice rasped near her ear, sending delighted shivers down her spine.

She had never been with a man before, but she knew how things worked. One didn’t spend much time tending to the health of farm animals without learning the mechanics of sex. She hadn’t expected a man’s touch to bring such incredible sensations though. She wanted to learn more. Truth be told, she wanted to know it all. She was through with waiting for her life as a woman to begin. There was no princely farmer to sweep her off her feet and make her life one of ease. She had given up those dreams a long time ago.

But here was a new dream. A knight—two of them, if she truly believed what they had been saying, though she still found it hard to imagine that they would both want her for keeps. Still, she would never have a better chance to learn what it was to make love, nor a better man to teach her. Although Robert would have been equally as desirable—which was a thought that gave her serious pause. Could she really be considering the triad relationship they wanted? It still seemed preposterous that they could actually want that…with her, of all people…but the more Bear touched her, the less she could think.

All she knew was, she wanted to finally know what it was to have a man take her body and make her feel more of these incredible sensations. She lifted her hands back up to his face, cupping his cheeks and looking deep into his lovely blue eyes.

“I want you too, Bernard. Show me what it’s like. Make me yours,” she whispered, unsure where all the courage was coming from, but willing to let it lead her. She liked the direction it was taking her.

Her words seemed to spark something within his gaze. She swore she could almost see flames licking at the blue irises of his eyes. Magical, mystical heat, generated by the two of them…together.

“I will take care with you, my heart. I promise you.” He lowered his lips to her mouth, but soon followed a path of his own making down over her chin, to the sensitive spots on her neck and lower…

Somehow her clothing came loose and then disappeared. She was too overwhelmed by sensation to really know how he did it. Perhaps some magic—or just skilled fingers with well-worn laces. Either way, she was drunk on the feeling of skin on skin. That’s when she realized his clothing was disappearing too, until he lay over her, his body touching hers from head to toe—and a lot of really interesting places in between.

His lips rubbed over her breasts, exciting them into peaks which he laved with his tongue. She hadn’t known men did that to women and she wanted more. The feeling was delicious and caused a serious flutter in her midsection.

She heard a little moan and self-consciously realized it came from her. Bear looked up at her and the grin on his face made her even more self-conscious. She felt heat rise to her cheeks, and his expression changed.

He rose above her, placing one hand on her cheek as he balanced over her. “Do not worry. Nothing we do together is wrong. If I do something you don’t like, all you need to do is tell me and I’ll stop. If you make a sexy little sound like the one that just escaped, I’ll take it as encouragement to do more of the same. Do not censor your responses to my touch, little one. I like to hear your approval of my efforts.” His grin returned. “And in a little while, if I continue to be blessed by your approval, you’ll hear my sounds of pleasure as well.”

He caressed her cheek, then bent over her to kiss her lips, lingering for a long time while she forgot exactly what it was she’d been embarrassed about earlier. Bear had a way of making her forget her own name when he kissed her. Or touched her. Or played with her body in ways that should make her blush, but only elicited more of those little sounds she had no idea she would make at such a time.

Her breathing grew labored as his hands found her most secret places. He rubbed a spot between her legs that made her squirm and when his finger slipped inside her body, she couldn’t help the squeak of surprise that came out of her mouth.

It didn’t feel anything like she expected. It was strange, and exciting. She realized he was watching her reaction, gauging something only he knew to look for. Her breath hitched as he touched some secret spot inside her, rubbing as he moved his finger back and forth, in and out.

She gripped his arms as her body quaked and the most incredible pleasure washed over her for the first time ever. It was amazing.

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