RoxanneHe doesn't know my name and it hurts.After the opening introduction and the extended time-out for the two dragons, Laryn returns. His and Sarn's clothing are slightly disheveled but if there was blood they cleaned it off. Laryn remains by my side for the rest of the evening. I know of Calista, Sarn's bride. Her name and that of Meagan and Acasia as well as all the past brides are spoken of with reverence. To sacrifice yourself to a dragon is the highest honor a woman in my village can achieve. Of course, everyone believes they go to their death. It doesn't matter what they say to keep the brides from living in fear of the claiming. The village sacrifices the few to save the many. I had hoped by killing the dragon, the villagers would see what they do as wrong. The brides have no true life until one of them is chosen. The tradition is horrible and must be stopped.Meagan is old and frail. I don't question Tahr's love for her. You can see it in the attention he gives her. In on
LarynSir Orland Locksy is a weasel in every sense of the word. I hate him and I hate the realm he lives in. Mucky skies, putrid air, and immoral people. I call it hell's realm. It's also my favorite place to collect treasure. My dragon brothers and I have been many times. It's always a challenge and, best of all, dangerous. I should feel apprehensive bringing my bride here, but what I feel is exhilaration clear to the tip of my dragon's tail.She's dressed in the manner of the day for women. I played the lady's maid and helped with the heavy makeup and putting a hot iron and pins to her hair. There were several advantages to playing a lowly servant to get her ready. I told her that I could only perform the artistry needed while she was unclothed. The sparkle in her eyes let me know she didn't believe a word. She uttered no objection, though. It took much longer than we planned and now we are late for the ball.Smelly people all. We're in a large chamber filled with gluttonous humans.
RoxanneHe asked for my name. My brave, brave dragon. He took me to steal my first treasure and had no qualms about me fighting bad men with swords. In his eyes, I'm as capable as a man. I love him more than I can ever put into words. It's hard to remain unselfish and not want his love in return.We have many good years ahead of us. Great years. I just can't help worrying about what will happen when I die. My heart breaks over the thought of any pain he will suffer. To wait thousands of years for a mate to transcend is cruel. The time he has already waited crueler still.I gather my hair back and prepare for a visit from Acasia and Ashrac. My stolen piece of jewelry proudly adorns my throat on a piece of leather that matches my outfit. My dragon likes the stone and I enjoy seeing pride in his eyes when I wear it.Sir Orifice only had one goal and that was to remove my dress and fuck me. Hitting him over the head with a large vase from the nightstand beside the bed was easy. Repeatedly
Laryn"My bride has no fear. She's like all the brides rolled into one without the incessant whining," I say to Bastian.He doesn't reply immediately. I've spoken of my bride for an hour and not shut up. Finally, he responds with more reserve than usual. "I don't understand why she's sleeping in the tower room, Laryn. This truly baffles me."A touch of spite enters my tone. "Of course you don't. You have Acasia for eternity. You can love her without risk of heartbreak. I don't have that luxury and I refuse to lose myself again when this one is gone. She's all I could ask for in a friend and bed companion, but it goes no further."We lazily glide through a canyon until we spot a herd of deer. It's an easy capture and we both have our own tasty lunch within a few minutes. This is what I've missed these last years of separation from my friends-hunting, laughing, the occasional treasure run. My sharp talons tear through the hide like it's paper. I need to teach my bride to hunt. I know sh
RoxanneFriends.I want to kill him as badly as I wanted to that first day. It's the day after we became such great friends and I'm running the tower stairs to get such thoughts from my mind. A friend is a good thing. It is! I've run six-hundred and twenty-seven stairs and I've yet to convince myself.He told me before that he wished us to be friends. I didn't know how badly the word would hurt.Damn dragon."Bride of Uncle Laryn, what are you doing?"I'm so startled I miss a step and bang my shin. "Damn, ouch, darn..." I cut off the rest of my tirade because it's more frustration with Ashrac's uncle than actual pain. "What are you doing here, Ashrac?" I try to temper my question. From the look in his eyes I failed."I wished to visit you." His lips tremble and I instantly regret my less-than-pleasant tone. I sit on the stair that jumped up and bit me and rub my shin. "Please shift to your human form and sit down to tell me what you're up to today."He doesn't shift or sit, which surp
LarynEarth is much as I remember-busy, noisy, and crowded. Because of military radar, I must limit flying as a dragon, which is never easy when one is in a hurry. I also don't want Dmitri, a vampire of this realm, to tip off Bastian that I am here. I have no doubt Bastian used Dmitri's connections to discover the location of the chalice.The man in question, the one with no morals, lives in a place called Texas. It sounds decidedly liberal, which matches this country's appalling views on feudal societies. I mumble the name a few times, "Tex-ass, Tex-ass." It totally fits.I crossed into this realm more than five-hundred miles from Texas. Now, I'm on a plane after booking a private jet with human money that Dmitri exchanged for gold many years before. Finding a jet and pilot was time-consuming. Time is my most precious commodity at the moment. My bride gave me a name and location. The plane will drop me within ten miles of the place I seek.I feel my bride plays with me. For some reas
RoxanneI spend the first night since the claiming without my dragon. It's awful. The sheets smell of him. I curl around his pillow and toss and turn the entire night. I miss my dragon. Peter brings me food. I practice a bit, though I don't have my heart in it. I have no idea what I would do if my dragon didn't return. My breath catches in my throat. I can't begin to comprehend the pain my dragon goes through when his brides die. I am completely unable to take my mind so deep into that darkness.My dragon can't love me for a reason.My pulse quickens when a dragon's shadow covers me while I'm in the tower stretching before I run the stairs. It's afternoon and I ate only a light lunch so I could get my exercise in and hopefully sleep better tonight. I'm hoping it's Laryn while fearing it's Sarn.Neither.The dragon is red and I realize it's Acasia as she flies down to the bottom perch.As soon as she shifts, I know by the wild look in her eyes that this isn't a pleasure visit. "Have yo
LarynI see Ashrac flying to me as fast as his small wings will pump. What is he doing here?"Uncle Laryn, Uncle Laryn. Uncle Sarn has your bride," he screams as he draws closer.I'm so stunned I drop the chalice and painting and don't think of them again. "Where is my bride?""At the cliffs. Uncle Sarn wanted me to go with him to his castle. Your bride got angry and then Uncle Sarn got angry."My heart is beating double time. "Go find your parents and send them here. Do you understand?""Yes, Uncle Laryn. Please rescue her. She is very brave for a human."She is, but I don't have time to answer. Have I not been punished enough for what I did to Bastian and Acasia? If Sarn has harmed one hair on her head, he's a dead dragon.Thirty minutes later, I see the purple dragon speeding toward me. I charge."No, I have her," he screams into my head seconds before impact.I turn my body and barely stop my strike. "Give her to me, you son of a bitch.""I cannot transfer her while we fly, she's
Flora "I'm Acasia." She gestures behind her. "This is Bastian. We're very pleased to meet you. We just didn't expect you after what Jewel told us." I drop her hand and interlock my fingers in front of me so maybe I won't strangle her son in front of her. "I didn't expect to be here either," I reply honestly. "Mother." We all turn to Ashrac. "I'm in the middle of a kidnapping here and it would be better if we had this conversation another time. I haven't gotten to the having my wicked way with her part yet." My elbow slips and lands directly in his ribs. My cheeks burn. Boiling oil's too good for the ratfink. His father steps closer, his expression filled with concern and more than a touch of anger. "Flora, I will take you back to Earth if you wish to return." A loud rumbling growl leaves Ashrac's throat. "She is my mate, Father. No one will be taking her anywhere but me." Bastian's eyebrows arch. I'm guessing Ashrac doesn't usually speak to his parents this way. Decisions, dec
FloraMy eyes peel open to sunshine. I'm in Ashrac's room, in his bed, and he isn't. I look around and still no Ashrac. I stretch my arms and I'm about to rise from the bed when a shadow passes in front of the window from the balcony. Dragonbreath went for a flight without me. We'll be discussing this after he comes back to bed and welcomes the new day with me like he should have.The dragon's shadow shifts to a smaller human than Ashrac and before I can put together what human it is, Jewel pops her head in the window. She looks at me questioningly. I pull the cover over my bare breasts that were perky and waiting for my mate. "Come in," I say because what else can I do? The strange expression on her face isn't what I'm expecting, and for a moment I wonder if I should have read more into her friendship with Ashrac.She sits on the end of the bed and continues staring at me."Is there something you need?" I ask.She gives a small smile that in no way reaches her eyes. "Ashrac sent me t
FloraI've chosen my mate and so has my eagle. I can no longer fight that he's the one. Seeing Ashrac with the kids melted my heart and changed something deep inside me. Ashrac caring about the humans and trying to make their lives better blew my world apart.He's about to do it again.His body against mine is firm, powerful, and incredibly sexy. His muscles ripple beneath my touch. I'm barely able to think and what I'm thinking is that I should tell him I've never done this before. Then, he releases my mouth and his lips travel down my body, kissing every inch of flesh along the way. I stop thinking at all and just feel. His tongue circles my bellybutton before dipping inside. I actually giggle over the sensation. My fingers go to his glorious hair and I pull slightly to make him stop. His head comes up and he's grinning. There are also flames dancing in his eyes and all I can think of is sensual fire.He lowers his mouth back to my flesh and continues on his merry way. Flames lick a
AshracA light bulb went off in my brain at the table. It was the strangest feeling. The bulb then exploded into a million shards and sent an electrical current throughout my body. The feeling's been described to me many times, but I had no idea how instantly my world would change.Flora is my mate.My mind knows and my body knows. It no longer matters what her clothes hide. It no longer matters that she turned me green or that she hasn't told me about being an eagle shifter.She's mine.I have no idea how or why it happened, but it did and nothing will stand between me and this woman. No mountains or dragons or Goddesses.Flora follows us as we walk to the lab. The kids don't bother shifting to fly because she's here and they have no idea she has her own wings. I'm actually proud that they're considering her feelings. We enter the lab and I walk over to my latest experiment. The electrical circuit is within a plastic shield made up of melted cell phone glass. I have cell phone batter
PepperBotan gives me sad eyes and says, "Something smells really good and I'm a very hungry growing dragon."Cute is not a good enough word. I like this little guy."No," Ashrac says with a frustrated look. "Your mother will expect you home."Inside my head I'm calculating how much more food I need to make. "Okay," I say aloud, "I'm not cooking this alone so if you help, you can eat with us."Cheers go up at the same time Ashrac raises his hands in defeat. "It's on you," he says to me. "They'll eat me out of house and home and leave a huge mess behind."Kettle, black? "Why don't you run off to your little lab? We'll handle dinner.""Fine." He spins and marches off grumbling."Botan and Rotan, you're in charge of setting the table. Drayce, Ejder, I need you peeling potatoes. Zara and Zora you're backup and will be doing what's required to get this meal on the table. Right now I need more meat and potatoes brought up from the cellar."The kids hop to it and we have a meal for six growi
FloraI slog into a dense part of forest and remove my sopping clothes. I tie them into a small wet package that I can carry in my beak. My shifting powers are different than conventional shifters because I need words to start the process. I whisper the sacred words in my head that my mother taught me and her mother taught her. The world goes from blurry to crystal clear. In human form, without my glasses, I can see for miles if the view is unobstructed. Close up is another matter; all eagle shifters are far sighted when in human form. Shifting to eagle brings everything into focus."Stupid dragon," I mumble in my head as I scoop up the bundle and fly out of the tree line. I can't help turning and flying over the lake. There he is deep in the water bathing, thank the goddess. At least when he flies me back to my realm he won't smell like a dirty old shoe.I don't think about what I'm doing, it just kind of happens. He plunges his soapy head into the water and I swoop back around. My g
AshracShe's been hiding from me. Now that I've seen her eyes I know there's more. Taking her to the lake to bathe is the only way I can think to see her naked body and decide for myself if she's worthy of mating a red dragon. I catch sight of myself in the lake as we fly over; Flora is riding in the saddle. Maybe the green will wash off.She's right about bathing, though. I do smell. I would say it's not a normal condition, but when I'm engrossed in a project, I forget about everything, including food and especially bathing. My mother still smacks me upside the head when she visits and I'm filthy. She also feeds me.Flora has no fear of being on my back. She's an eagle and I'm still flummoxed that I didn't know she was a shifter. I sensed her magic from the beginning but there are so many kinds. From precognition to witchcraft to vampires and weres it just never occurred to me that she could shift. Our children would be double shifters and could choose which form to take. Not that th
FloraHe's consuming me-his mouth, his touch, his very presence. The world around us stops revolving, or at least it feels that way. It's as if I've been waiting for his lips my entire life. They're firm where mine are soft. I consume right back. He plays with my mouth and I realize he understands the finer finesse of kissing. Who would have guessed that an egotistical megalomaniac would take the time to learn to kiss a woman properly? He explores my lips like they're an exotic treasure. When he bites my bottom lip, I open for him and he accepts my invitation. His tongue twirls and parries with mine. His head moves slightly and he pulls me closer to deepen the kiss. I swear my brain rolls out of my head, across the floor, and out the door.There's something else going on too. His incredible body, which is now fully pressed against mine, burns a trail of fire everywhere we touch. My hands go to his forearms and they're as big as my thighs but not soft at all. He's pure corded muscle wi
AshracI haven't provided any and maybe that's what this woman is upset about. Interesting. I'll have to think more on it. Without the glasses, she's passably pretty. Maybe if I could see her entire body, she would be a lot more interesting.Bowls hit the small side table off the kitchen. Eating in this room should be done by servants, which I don't have, so I guess I can lower myself to eating in the kitchen as long as the woman will be here too. Flora, that's her name. She might like it if I called her by her name."Flora," I say louder than I intended to. She jumps and turns in my direction. "Does it bother you if I eat like this?" I make a motion with my hands to show her I mean my naked body. Her eyes go straight to my big green appendage that isn't at its most attractive at the moment even with its great size. She keeps staring until I startle her again. "You like it?"Her eyes snap to mine and her face goes from yellow to red in mere seconds. "It's, um, very nice as far as gree