Page 18 of Dragon Fire

“You are the sea captain’s daughter the whole Lair is talking about?”The young dragon’s shimmering blue head lifted and moved closer to Livia, eyeing her with deep blue eyes that sparkled even more than his scales.

“I guess so,” she answered the new dragon. “I’m Livia,” she said simply, introducing herself.

“Xanderanth, don’t crowd her so,”Genlitha scolded from the side.“Livia is our friend. She is the one Hrardorr goes fishing with all the time.”

“I’m Xanderanth, partner to Leonhardt,”the young dragon went on, clearly not cowed by Genlitha’s gentle scolding.

Livia smiled. “Oh, I’ve heard great things about Sir Leo from his siblings, and of course, I’ve known Mr. Stuart for several years since he holds a very important position in my father’s trading company.”

“I’m Leo,” the younger man stepped forward, offering his hand with a smile. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Mistress.”

When the greetings were finally over, it was quickly decided that Flurrthith and Xander would be good entertainment for each other, accompanied by Leo and the Stuart brood, with Genlitha and Hrardorr to supervise. Livia was included in their plans at first, but she coaxed the talk around to the idea that she and Gowan and Seth had other duties to see to before they could rejoin the group for a meal later in the day.

The plans were quickly set, and Livia eagerly led her two men away from the crowd, to a secluded spot she knew a little farther down the beach, near the rocky part of the shoreline.

“Lady Genlitha, is anyone following us or noting our movements?”Livia sent silently to the dragon who had stayed behind with the others. Genlitha had sharp eyesight and would be able to tell if anyone was trying to follow them.

“No, Livia. You made a clean getaway. And I will keep watch and alert you if anyone comes near.”Livia swore it sounded like the dragoness was amused more than anything.

“You’re the best, Lady Genlitha. Thank you!”

Livia was leading them toward the rocks, and Gowan knew from his aerial reconnaissance of the coast that there were a few caves along this stretch of beach. Perfect smugglers caves, he’d thought, when he’d seen them from above, though none had seemed in use when he’d flown over. Perhaps Dragonscove had more honest folk than most towns, but he’d bet at least one of the caves had seen use sometime in the past for illicit cargoes snuck in at the dead of night.

Sure enough, the cave Livia led them to was perfect for smuggling. It had an entrance that was very close to the water, and anyone going from cave to water couldn’t be seen from the beach. At high tide, a skiff could tie up very close to the mouth of the cave for unloading and never be seen.

The cave was tidy, free of the usual debris found in such places, which made Gowan think that maybe someone was still using it. There were no signs of cargo here at the moment, and no human footprints, but the place was just a little too neat for nature.

The sand was smooth, but it was still sand and would get messy if they were going to tryst here. First, he had to find out if she planned to dally with them, and if so, he had to devise a plan to keep Livia looking as if she hadn’t been rolling around on the sand with two men. With her father back in town, they had to be careful. Not because he was ashamed of what they shared, but because he didn’t want to make life at home harder for her than it was already.

Her father had put her practically under house arrest since he’d come home, and Gowan didn’t want to be the cause of any further hardship for the lovely Livia. If he could, he’d ask her to marry him right now and take her up to the Lair, but marriage among knights wasn’t such a simple matter. He’d learned, much to his annoyance, that it required the input and agreement of more than the usual two parties.

No, there were two dragons involved and another knight. And until Genlitha chose a mate, Gowan had no idea who the other knight might be.

It was a mess, to be sure.

As far as he was concerned, he’d made up his mind. He wanted Livia in his life. She was perfect for him in every way. But he had no idea if the other unknown knight would feel the same.

Genlitha tried to console him that the Mother of All had a hand, more often than not, in Lair marriages, but Gowan was skeptical. And impatient. All he saw were the obstacles. He didn’t see how they were going to overcome the biggest one—Genlitha finding her mate first, when she’d been unmated for hundreds of years already.

There was no guarantee that Genlitha would settle down in Gowan’s lifetime. Although his lifespan would be expanded by a century or more, if he didn’t die fighting, it was entirely possible Gen wouldn’t mate for decades yet.

Which didn’t bode well for Gowan and Livia’s chances of being together long-term.

He hadn’t known any of this when Genlitha spoke the words of claim over him. He wasn’t sure he’d undo it if he could. Being with Genlitha was…pure magic. But not being able to give Livia the kind of commitment his heart yearned to have with her… That was pure hell.

Livia let go of their hands and walked farther into the cave, raising her hands and spinning in a slow circle. She looked so joyful his heart lifted. How could his bad mood last when faced with Livia’s pure heart?

“Isn’t this place amazing?” she asked them almost rhetorically as she explored the cave. “We used to come down here when I was a little girl. Father always said this was the pirate’s cave. The dread pirate MacRobert’s hidden hidey-hole.”

“It might very well have been,” Seth said, looking around, as well.

“It might still be,” Gowan added, shooting them both a pointed look.

“Well, he’s not here now, so I say this place is ours for the next few hours at least,” Livia said, grinning as she walked closer to him.

“And what shall we do in our new domain?” Gowan played along as she put her hands around his waist and smiled up at him.

“We’ll think of something, won’t we?” Livia asked with that teasing light in her eyes that let him know exactly what she had in mind. Good. They were both on the same page.

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