Page 20 of Hidden Dragons

“There is more to come,” Bear said, his face dipping close to hers to steal another kiss. “I promise you. I will be gentle, but it may hurt at first, since you are new to this.”

Isabelle nodded. She knew about the barrier that proved a woman’s innocence. She also knew there was no gentler or better man to rid her of it. Bear had already shown her more care and compassion than any other man she had ever known…except for Robert, of course. They were both so kind and so handsome.

Thinking about Robert when she was naked in Bear’s arms didn’t seem wrong, though her mind did ask the question as to why it seemed so natural. Apparently something inside her saw them as a pair. With one, came the other. They were a matched set—matched by the mating of their dragon partners. This time alone with Bear was the anomaly rather than the norm.

But all in all, it was probably better to deal with only one of them while still carrying the burden of her virginity. One was intoxicating enough. Both of them would have been completely overwhelming.

Bear kissed her again, deeply. He made her squirm with his kiss and with his hand, preparing the way for another part of him that was much bigger than his finger. She hadn’t yet seen him, she realized, but she could definitely feel that part of him as it touched her entrance. He was wide, but her body had provided enough lubrication for him to slip inside a short way.

He paused and she felt stretched, but she wasn’t in any pain. She was dying of anticipation. She wanted more. Using her hands on his shoulders, she silently urged him to go deeper.

And then he did.

Everything stood still for a moment as a white-hot fire enveloped her lower body. Goddess, that hurt! But Bear didn’t move, for which she was eminently thankful. His arms trembled beneath her fierce grip as much as her body did as it tried to assimilate the pain and pleasure, all mixed up in one confusing ball of need.

She wanted…something. To ask him to go? To beg him to stay? She wasn’t sure.

But then he took all thought from her mind by moving. The fire of the pain was still there, but it was tempered now with a wash of pleasure that stole her breath. Each small movement of his body brought conflicting waves of agonizing pleasure. She wasn’t sure she could survive whatever was coming, but she felt something building. Something immense and unfathomable.

She wanted to know. She wanted to feel whatever it was. To experience all that Bear had to offer her that night. Her pleasure was like a series of rippling waves lapping at the riverbank, each one a tiny bit bigger than the last. The sensations built and soon she was gasping as he moved over her, in her, with her.

And then the wave broke and she cried out as an even higher peak of pleasure rippled through her body, taking Bear with it. She heard his groan meld with her higher pitched sounds as he came within her. The warmth of his body over her, inside her, drowned her in the pleasure of their closeness.

She breathed in his musky scent, memorizing everything about him, loving this moment. As first times went, she was certain this was one unlike any other. Bear had hurt her, yes. That was unavoidable. But he’d more than made up for it with the pleasure that followed.

He rolled away from her, taking his body from hers, and she almost reached to pull him back, but she should have known he wouldn’t dismiss her so easily. He rolled, pulling her into his arms from behind, spooning with her and pulling the blanket over them both. He placed a tender kiss on her temple and within moments, the pleasure and the length of her day caught up with her, pulling her into a satisfied sleep in the arms of her lover.

Bear woke her the next day before dawn. He kissed her awake and though she would have liked to make love to him again, he put her gently away from him when she would have taken the kiss deeper.

“I’m sorry, my love. We must go out on patrol. Tilly and I are about to leave, but I didn’t want to part without saying goodbye. I’ll be back later today. Probably after dark, unless I’m needed here before then. But Robert and Growloranth will be along in a few hours. They’ll have reports to make, of course, but you will see them today.”

“I’ve warmed a bath for you,”Tildeth said into her mind.“It will stay warm for a while, but you might want to use it sooner rather than later. Or my mate can rewarm it for you after he returns.”Isabelle looked past Bear’s shoulder to realize Tilly had craned her neck over to look into the open archway of the bedchamber. Even as Isabelle looked at her, the dragon winked one blue eye at her.“I am happy you and Bear are getting along so well. He is a good man, is he not?”

Isabelle could only nod as she realized the dragon was well aware that Isabelle and Bear had had sex last night. And the dragon apparently approved.

“Thank you for preparing the bath,” Isabelle said to both of them. She wasn’t going to acknowledge the veiled reference to having sex. She wasn’tthatcomfortable with her newfound sexuality yet. After all, only a few hours ago, she’d been a virgin. This new state would take some getting used to.

“It was our pleasure,” Bear said, dipping low to kiss her again. “And now, we really must go. I’m sorry. I wish it were otherwise, but we have our duty. We’ll be with you again as soon as we may.”

“I understand,” Isabelle said, scrambling for her dignity. She wished he could stay too, but she knew there were many more people counting on him. He and Tilly were probably the only ones who could scout enemy skies without being seen. Their information could save many lives. She smiled for him. “Fly safe and be careful,” she said to both of them. “Good hunting.”

Bear smiled brightly at her. Apparently she’d said the right thing. He left the bedroom with one last look for her and then she heard him opening the massive wooden doors and the swish of sand as Lady Tildeth left her wallow. The big doors closed behind them and Isabelle flopped down on the bed when she realized she was alone.

Then she bounced right back up after realizing she was sore. Really sore. The hot bath Tilly had promised sounded really good right about now, and the water wasn’t going to get any hotter. Isabelle crawled out of bed, only then realizing the white linens had been smeared with blood. Her blood.

Hands on hips, Isabelle decided to deal with one thing at a time. First order of business was the bath. Then she would see about changing the sheets.

Lady Silla came to get her for breakfast a few hours later, after she’d had that lovely bath in a sunken tub that was more like a small pool. It had steps down into it and it was lined with mosaic tiles in a beautiful pattern of twining dragons in flight. It was more a work of art than a bathing tub.

It was as pretty as it was luxurious. And Tilly had left the water nice and hot for Isabelle. That, plus the bath salts Bear must have mixed into the water, went a long way toward soothing her sore muscles, though the ache between her thighs reminded her of what they had done only a few hours before.

She had spent a long time in the bath, during which the sun had risen and natural light filtered down into the suite through dozens of small ventilation shafts. Having the dragons in here meant there was a need to vent their scented smoke, and the shafts seemed to do that while also allowing daylight to enter the heart of almost every chamber in the suite.

Isabelle had gone exploring, finding a few storage areas—one for what looked like spare bits of armor and tack for the dragons, one that held cleaning supplies, including several brooms, and one that had clothes in need of repair as well as a stack of clean sheets and towels. She took a fresh set of sheets and made up Bear’s bed, leaving the stained ones to soak in a small tub she had found in the linen chamber and brought into the bathing room. She filled it with cold water from the ingenious tap system along the far wall, and dipped the stained parts of the sheet in to soak.

She was just starting to search through the small kitchen chamber for anything she could put together for breakfast when a knock sounded on the massive doors. A moment later, she found herself in Silla’s company, being whisked through the massive corridors toward a great hall.

Silla told her how the great hall was used for assembling the entire Lair when events were held, but otherwise it served as a communal dining hall that served breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for those on odd rotations. Silla told her—and she could still hardly believe it—that Isabelle was welcome to replenish the small kitchen in the suite with any of the many foods found in the great hall. All she had to do was ask one of the people running the buffet and a basket would be packed for her to take back to her suite.

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