Page 18 of Wings of Frost and Fury (Merciless Dragons #4)

I don’t return to the stables.

I could, of course. After Rhordan has left for the market to fetch all the things on my list, I’m tempted to bring Ashvelon back to my cottage.

But I resist the urge. I’m not above toying with the dragon a little, and once I reach Ouroskelle, I’ll use his obvious adoration for my own comfort and protection…

but it would be cruel to take it too far. I shouldn’t fuck him again.

Staying away from him is a feat of immense self-restraint, because even though he didn’t last more than a moment inside me, he was…

precious. There was a sweetness to him, an eagerness to be taught, a longing to please me.

Other men do me favors for selfish reasons, because they’re ruled by their pride and their dicks.

Ashvelon is a warrior of his people—strong, capable, and trustworthy—yet he has a humility and sincerity about him that is deeply attractive.

It makes him a uniquely powerful temptation .

But I manage to resist until Rhordan brings back the supplies.

He’s very confused about why I want them, and he seems to expect sex from me in return for fetching the items. Since I’ve already given him all the money I had to purchase the supplies, I can’t pay him, so I make a few vague promises for next time and I send him away.

“That’ll be the last I see of you,” I say as he drives his cart back toward the town. He’s not the most skilled of my local lovers, but he’s the most tractable, and we had pleasant conversations. I might miss him a little.

By now, Ashvelon’s temporary transformation charm has likely worn off, but I don’t bother checking yet.

I begin carrying the bundles of goods across the pasture to the stables, one at a time, and leaving them outside the big double doors.

There’s clothing, bedding, soap, food, various cosmetic items and necessities, and plenty of wine.

I add some items from my own jewelry collection and cast a preservation spell over the more perishable food items so they won’t spoil for several days.

With the supplies ready to go, I head for the larger stable and circle the building to the gap I made in the rear wall. When I put Ashvelon back inside, I pulled the barrier spell into place over the hole, but the magic recognizes its maker and allows me to pass through easily.

My stomach rolls with a slow thrill at the sight of Ashvelon, who has reverted to his dragon form. His head lifts with a sinuous, snakelike grace on his long neck. There’s something powerfully sensual in the way the muscles of his gigantic shoulders surge as he rises to greet me.

“You have returned,” he says.

“Everything is ready. It’s time to go see your prince.”

He lowers his head until his fiery blue eyes can look straight into mine. “You are accompanying us of your own accord?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You could easily escape us or destroy us. ”

I shrug with attempted carelessness. “I like adventure.”

“You like adventure so much that you would leave your home behind?”

“I was getting restless anyway,” I tell him.

“I would have moved on soon. Maybe I would have gone south and crossed the blazing desert. Maybe I would have bought passage on a ship and sailed to a new continent. Honestly I would have left years ago, except my heart still had ties to my father, curse him. Now that he’s dead, and in such a way, nothing holds me here. I have no one.”

Ashvelon’s dark tongue ripples across his needle-like teeth. The act is both erotic and menacing, though I don’t think he intends either of those effects. “You have me .”

“We are technically enemies,” I point out. “Grudging allies at best.”

“Not lovers?”

“One experimental fuck does not make people lovers.”

“Experimental?” His voice deepens, anger vibrating within it. “Did you fuck me as an experiment?”

“I transformed you as an experiment. And I promised myself I wouldn’t touch you, but I couldn’t resist. You were just too delightful.”

He growls deep in his great chest, but it’s more of a satisfied rumble than a sound of rage. After a moment he says, “I must beg you not to tell anyone what you did to me. How you transformed me, and how we mated. If you do, I could be exiled from the clan.”

“If there’s one thing I understand, it’s being banished for breaking the rules. I won’t say a word.” I hesitate, a horrible fear hollowing out my chest. “Do you regret it? Should I… should I not have done those things with you? If it made you feel bad—”

“It did not.” His scaly nose bumps my chest gently. “I’m glad you touched me. I have never experienced anything so incredible, not even during the mating heat. I loved every moment of it, and I have no regrets.”

“Oh.” I release a long sigh of relief. “Thank Fate for that.”

His tongue slithers out again, tracing along my neck this time. Its surface is wet, but not unpleasantly slimy. There’s a strength to its caress that makes me swallow hard and press my thighs together.

Ashvelon withdraws his tongue from my skin and says, “Perhaps, after you’ve finished performing your spell for Prince Kyreagan, you and I could find a secluded cave and you could work that transformation spell again. I could be human for a while, and we could experiment some more.”

There’s a fervency in his gaze, a hectic desire that I know all too well. This dragon has a powerful affinity for physical and emotional pleasure, and I suspect I’ve become his new addiction. As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, I’m charmed by him. Definitely not averse to more experiments.

“We will see what can be done,” I say lightly. “It all depends on whether or not you behave.”

“I will do anything you ask. I swear it on the bones of my mother.”

“Your mother? Oh shit, did you lose her because… because of the spell?”

“She was killed during the dragon hunts, when I was very young.”

“And your father?”

“I’ve never known which dragon fathered me,” he replies. “My mother did not have a bonded mate, and she produced only one egg in her three seasons of mating.”

“And after she was killed?” I move farther into the stable, cautiously approaching his shoulder.

Ashvelon rumbles again. This time it sounds like discomfort, embarrassment, or perhaps sorrow.

“I lived alone in the seaside tunnels for two years afterward, hiding from human hunters and dragons alike. It wasn’t until the hunters were driven from Ouroskelle for good that I rejoined my kind.

The other dragons were shocked—they thought I had perished along with my mother, and that the humans had taken my bones with them. ”

What must he have suffered during those years of solitary survival, isolated from his clan? It changed him; I can see that much.

“I’m sure they were pleased to see you alive.” I run my hand lightly over his scales. A submissive tremor ripples through him at my touch, and I can’t help smiling. “In our culture, orphaned children are taken in by other families. Were you adopted by older dragons after your return?”

“Since I’d proven that I could live on my own, I was given permission to take possession of my mother’s cave, even though I was not yet a Prime.”

“A Prime?”

“A fully mature adult. We are considered Primes at age twenty-four.”

My fingers sweep along the edge of his wing, and he extends it a little, stretching it out so I can access more of the thin, tough skin.

“I enjoy your touch, even in this form,” he murmurs. “Tell me why you were banished from your people.”

My hand drops to my side. “We should leave for Ouroskelle. I’ll remove the barrier and release Fortunix.”

Before he can respond, I walk out through the hole and continue around to the front of the stable.

When I fling the doors wide with a burst of my power, Fortunix startles up out of a sound sleep.

“I’m going with you,” I announce, before he can summon any fire to blast in my direction. “Your friend Ashvelon has convinced me that I can trust your prince. All the supplies are packed, and I’ll be ready to depart within the hour. I have to close up the cottage, and then we’ll leave. ”

I press my palm against the stable wall and speak a charm of unraveling to remove the barrier keeping the dragons trapped, as well as the barrier of darkness and silence that encapsulated Fortunix within his half of the barn.

When the second barrier vanishes, Ashvelon comes into view. Fortunix moves stiffly, shifting his feet and peering toward his companion.

“You convinced her, did you?” he snorts. “Took you long enough.”

“I required some persuading,” I say. “You’re both free to come outside while I finish up in the house. Then we can talk about who is carrying what.”

“Before we leave the mainland, I have an errand to perform,” Fortunix says. “I must find a soldier of Vohrain and give him a message from Prince Kyreagan.”

Ashvelon arches his neck. “I know of no such mission.”

“Because the Prince gave it to me personally,” Fortunix replies. “Our warriors left Elekstan in great haste, but there are still matters to be dealt with—bargains to be completed, compensation to be given. I am tasked with arranging a meeting place for those concluding affairs.”

“Very well,” replies Ashvelon. “I’ll come with you.”

“No, you wait here with the enchantress. See that she doesn’t change her mind.

” Fortunix heads for the stable doors, and I step aside to avoid being raked by the spikes along the edge of his huge wing.

Ashvelon hisses sharply as the spikes come perilously close to my face, but Fortunix doesn’t seem to notice or care.

I follow the older dragon outside, watching while he ambles across the pasture, then lumbers toward the peak of a dune. After several struggles with his aged bulk and his stiff wings, he manages to take off.