Fighting For Her Dragon Read online

  The Ancient began to speak but was immediately cut off by Sydney, who pulled herself free from her mother’s grasp, placed her tiny little hands on either side of Samantha’s face, and looked deeply into her eyes. “I love you, Momma, and I always will, but this is what I was made to do. Have faith, Momma, everything will be okay. We will see each other again, I promise, and in the meantime, you have to be strong. Remember what you always said, ‘Us girls gotta keep Dad in line.’”

  Sydney hugged her mother’s neck tight and then kissed her dad on the cheek. Looking over her shoulder, she nodded to Shavon, who knelt before Samantha, held both her hands, and whispered, ‘codladh go maith’. Sam immediately slumped against Lance’s chest. The Guardsman, who’d spent the last few minutes trying to keep his mate from losing her mind, looked up at the Ancient with tears in his eyes. “Will she be okay?”

  “Who, warrior–your mate, or your daughter?” Shavon asked, compassion coloring every word.

  “Both,” his voice cracked as he answered.

  “Your mate will sleep until tomorrow. When she wakes there will be sadness, but also acceptance at what has transpired. Your daughter will be well. She is royalty and as such, will learn to rule over our Otherworldly court and await your family’s arrival into the Heavens. Her only wish is that you give her many brothers and sisters.”

  Lance gave a watery chuckle while Sydney giggled and ran to him, giving him one last hug. “I love you, Daddy. You’ll always be my hero.”

  The Guardsman could do nothing but hug her back and nod his agreement while tears ran down his face.

  Sydney grabbed Shavon’s hand as they walked back onto the podium. One last look over her shoulder, a wave of her chubby little hand, and Sydney followed Shavon into the bright white light that burned brightly in front of them. When they could no longer be seen, the sphere of light blinked out of existence, leaving the clearing bathed in the candles that had been lit for the Blessing.

  Emma once again looked at all in attendance one by one. Each mourned the loss of Sydney, but along with that sadness she could feel the hope each person had for the continuation of their races. Bittersweet was the only word that came to mind, but seemed to pale in comparison to what she felt coming from her family.

  Lance stood with Samantha in his arms and silently headed in the direction of their home. It would take time, but they would recover and be stronger than ever. Emma had faith not only in what Shavon had said, but in the couple themselves. There was nothing they couldn’t accomplish together.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  It had been three days since the Blue Dragons had received the Blessing, and three days since they’d all had to accept the loss of Sydney. Anya was keeping Emma up to date on Sam’s condition while Lance had actually reached out to Andrew to help him understand, since he was as close to the Ancients as Sydney had been. Andrew was doing his best, but Emma could see the toll it was taking on him.

  Thinking of him and sending wave after wave of strength and love, she went back to pacing and waiting for him to return home. Thankfully, because of the positive things he’d done since returning to the lair, the Tribunal had been cancelled. However, Andrew was to be on a type of probation, the terms of which were being given to him while Emma climbed the walls.

  She was sure everything would work out. After all, they’d had black surcoats made for Andrew and the young Guardsmen and allowed them to have the official ceremony performed by the Elders and blessed by the Force. Things were going to be fine, it was just going to take time, and that was something they actually had in spades.

  On her hundredth trip past the large picture window in her living room that overlooked the Town Square, she heard boots striking the iron steps leading to her apartment. Not able to wait one moment long to see her mate, Emma threw open the door and launched herself into Andrew’s waiting arms.

  “Great catch,” was all she said before kissing him like they’d been apart for weeks instead of just a few hours. She heard the door slam shut and felt herself being carried, but could not stop kissing Andrew. In that moment, he was the very air she breathed.

  One second Andrew stopped walking and the next she was sliding down his body. Her feet touched the ground and their kiss only deepened. The feel of his hands at her waist warmed her throughout, sending an electric current directly to her womb. His hands roamed her body as their kiss grew to ravenous proportions. It was all teeth and tongue and unbridled passion that had Emma fighting to breathe. Tearing his mouth from hers, Andrew took a long, deep breath and then looked deeply into her eyes.

  Slower than she thought possible, his lips touched the corner of her mouth and gently nipped and tasted from one side to other, taking special care in the middle to let the tip of his tongue just barely slide across her lips and ever so lightly touch the tip of hers, igniting her senses and causing a series of tiny contractions in her womb. Climbing back up his body, Emma locked her legs around his waist and began to move against his erection. Andrew exerted his considerable control by placing his hands on her hips, essentially trapping her right where he wanted her, and slowing their pace.

  “I want to make this last, mo ghra’. I need you more than my next breath, but it has been a long time for me and it has never been with someone I love.”

  Emma let the abundance of beautiful emotions roll over her at Andrew’s confession, and sighed her resignation as he worked his way across her jaw and down the column of her neck. The rough stubble of his beard tickled and excited as he lavished special attention to the spot where her neck and shoulder met, the exact spot that held her double flamed mating mark. She felt him smile against her skin just before he bit down on the tendon lying just below her mark. The slight pinch made her jump and he took the opportunity to position his cock right against her opening. All that separated them was their clothing. He kissed and sucked the spot he had bitten until she was a mass of want and need.

  As if that was not enough, he wrapped one arm under her bottom, further trapping her body against his. He then used his other to take one of her straining nipples between his thumb and forefinger and torment the hardened peak until she was certain she would lose her mind. It may have been years since he was with a woman, but he was not at a loss for what to do.

  The sound of his excitement roughened voice in her ear made goosebumps rise all over her body. “I want you, Emma, more than I have ever wanted anything. I need you, mo chroi’.”

  Her fingers touched the buttons on her blouse, trying to get as much of her skin against as much of his skin as she could. Andrew, however, was having none of it. His hands closed over hers and he spoke with an authority she’d never heard from him, but kind of liked. “Look at me, Emma. This is about us, our beginning, and our forever. You’ve had my heart from the moment I saw you under that grape arbor all those years ago. You are my home. You are my reason for living. You are the reason I will never turn to the darkness again. Please don’t ever shut me out. I want us to share every second of our very long lives together.”

  Minutes ticked by as they simply stared into one another’s eyes. She watched a plethora of emotion boil in his eyes. She sighed in relief that she was not alone in the depth of her feelings. Slowly, he began working to open her buttons, kissing the spot right above each new opening.

  Her hands moved of their own volition, exploring every inch she could reach of his muscular body. Sliding under the material of his shirt, the electric shock she loved set her body on fire. Andrew’s lips found hers and it was as if gasoline had been thrown on the fire, threatening to burn Emma alive.

  His tongue slid alongside hers as his hands covered her breasts and his calloused palms rubbed against her raised nipples. She arched into his touch. He groaned into her mouth and her nails dug into his back. He turned their bodies, sat heavily on the side of the bed, and sat her across his lap. She saw his frustration at their lack of skin to skin contact just before he ripped the blouse from her body. A moment of embarrassment was quickl
y erased by the look of complete adoration and undeniable lust in his mismatched eyes. His hands slid up her sides, spread his fingers wide, and she was engulfed in his touch. Fingers from each hand made their way under her bra, igniting sensations that had her fighting to keep her eyes open.

  She felt his wavy brown hair against her skin and then a cool caress of air teased her breasts. Emma shivered at the sensation. Andrew chuckled. “Are you cold, mo chroi’? Should we get under the covers and get warm.”

  She knew he was joking and wanted to laugh, but speech escaped her. Emma instead shook her head and watched in amazement as he leaned forward and licked the very tip of her breast. Lost to the sensation, her head fell back, her fingers tangled in his hair, and she pulled him in as close as possible. Andrew seemed to know what she needed even when she didn’t know herself. He sucked almost all her ample breast into his mouth and tortured her nipple with his teeth and tongue. Her hips moved against his considerable length, the friction of her clothing pushing her towards release.

  Andrew moved to her other breast, showing it the same attention, while his hands landed on her waist and ripped open her jeans. He slid his hand inside her panties and teased the curls seated at the top of her mound with just the tips of his fingers. Once again their eyes met and the undeniable want and need he showed her was humbling. Never had anyone looked at her with such reverence and heat. Lost in his gaze, the slight movement of his hand did not register until his finger grazed her clit. Her world exploded. He scooted back on the bed and rolled them until she was on her back and he was lying beside her, his finger tracing the outer lips of her pussy.

  Emma lifted her hips in an attempt to drive his fingers back to the tiny nub of nerves that was pulsing with need, but Andrew would have none of it. The look in his eyes and the grin on his lips said he was enjoying her torture.

  He leaned forward, nuzzled both of her breasts, placing kisses on the underside before moving down her stomach. His kisses became deeper. He tenderly bit the skin under her belly button as he worked her jeans down her body. Her hips lifted on instinct, and within the next breath, she was completely bare. Andrew continued working his way down her body, tasting every part of her he could reach.

  Andrew even kissed her toes and the arch of her foot, which set off a whole new set of goose bumps. She felt a bite at the back of her knee and then he was very gently lifting first one leg and then the other over his shoulders. Lowering his body, he kept constant eye contact with her and ran his hands up and down her legs the entire time. When he spoke, she could hear what the effort to go slow cost him. “I have to taste you. The scent of daffodils warming in the sun is driving me mad.”

  The first swipe of his tongue against her aroused flesh had her clawing at the blankets and screaming to the Heavens. He pushed two fingers into her and blew a steady stream of warm air on her throbbing clit. Her pussy contracted around his fingers as his tongue licked her like she was the best thing he had ever tasted.

  Her arousal built as he inserted another finger deep inside her, stretching her walls at the same time his thumb found her clit. He bent the fingers moving inside in a ‘come hither’ motion, touching the bundle of nerves that sent her into orbit. Her orgasm hit her like a storm, her pussy clamped tight around his fingers, her legs tightened around his head, and she rode the waves of the most powerful orgasm she’d ever felt. He continued to lick and taste until she was lying boneless beneath him, her fingers lazily running through his hair.

  He removed first one leg and then the other, kneading the muscles of her thighs and setting off a whole new series of tremors in her womb. The smile that brightened his face was full of satisfaction, and more than a little pride. Finally able to speak, she teased, “Proud of yourself, Special One?”

  Andrew chuckled. The vibrations, coupled with the way his chest hair tickled her skin, made her gasp and raise her hips. He winked and his grin turned playful. “Oh yeah, dragoness, I’m downright pleased as punch.” And with that he slid two fingers back into her still weeping channel. Emma pushed against his fingers and moaned low and long at her renewed arousal.

  “How can I feel anything after what we just did?” she sent directly into his mind, unable to form words around the sobs of pure ecstasy he was wringing from her.

  “Oh, baby, we are just getting started. You inspire me.”

  Emma whined as Andrew removed his fingers from her pussy, but was immediately relieved when the head of his erection pushed at her opening. He pressed forward, stopping just as the head of his extremely hard cock crossed her entrance. Her hips lifted. Her pussy contracted harder and faster, trying to pull him in, but he was so much stronger and held completely still.

  “Look at me, Emma. Open those gorgeous eyes and look at the man you brought back from the dead.”

  Her eyes snapped to his and she tried to say with her expression what her brain could not make her mouth say.

  “I need to go slow, mo ghra’. You’re so tight; I don’t want to hurt you.”

  His hands trapped her hips. His gaze darkened. “I want you more than my next breath.”

  He breathed deeply. Sweat dotted his upper lips and he moved a few inches further inside her. She focused on his eyes, could feel their combined strength, and in that moment knew there was nothing they could not achieve together.

  She felt the head of his cock touch the mouth of her womb. He was buried so deep inside of her that she had no idea where she ended and he began, and she didn’t care. All that mattered was that they were together. Together as they were meant to be; together forever.

  “You are driving me absolutely crazy,” he said through gritted teeth as he gently pulled out of her, only to slowly return. His cock stretched her inner walls, filling her completely. He was a big man on all accounts and every inch of him was hers. Unable to stay still any longer, she fought against his hands on her hips and pulled herself up, nipping at his neck to quicken his pace. When he refused to speed up, she drove her hands into his hair, scratching his scalp as she pulled his mouth to hers. He immediately opened to her. She kissed him with all that she was, working her tongue along his, tasting all that he was, then slid it in and out of his mouth, showing him what she wanted him to do with his cock buried deep inside her.

  His pace quickened but was still nowhere near what she needed from him. She wanted him to lose control. She wanted him crazy. She needed him to show her that he was as crazy for her as she was for him. She continued her assault almost to the point of no return by wrapping her legs around him and lifting her ass completely off the bed. The change in position pushed him farther inside. Her pussy held him tight, massaging his throbbing cock. The light in his eyes turned ravenous as he thrust in and out of her with such force she was sure they would fall right off the bed, but she couldn’t care. A few bumps and bruises were nothing compared to the man loving her as no other ever had.

  They screamed their mutual release to the Heavens. Love flowed from the depths of her Andrew’s eyes. A love so pure tears filled her eyes and fell unhindered as he watched with a look of complete confusion.

  It took several tries but she was finally able to calm his fears. “They are happy tears, Drew. Tears of complete and total joy.”

  Smiling his understanding, Andrew slowly pulled out of her, the motion causing a whole new set of convulsions to rack her body. He rolled to the right, taking her with him, and carefully placed her across his chest. She had never felt so cherished.

  “I love you, Andrew O’Brien.”

  “Emma O’Brien, I cannot conceive of a forever where you are not the center of my world. I love you, with everything I am and everything I hope to be.”

  EPILOGUE

  A few days before, Calysta had been moved to another room farther within the compound where she was being held captive. The wizard’s attempt to call Balor had failed and he had blamed her. The beating she’d received had been the worst so far. She still had pieces of iron in her wrists and ankles from the spikes he
’d pounded into her flesh.

  There was no doubt in her mind that she would be dead had it not been for Mara appearing and telling him their Grand Draoi was on the phone waiting for him. Calysta had been unable to speak, but could see the disgust in Mara’s eyes at what the wizard was doing to her. The priestess prayed that the young witch would grow a conscience and tell someone she was there.

  The wizard returned with a smirk on his face and without a word, unlocked her chains and unceremoniously threw her over his shoulder. Every step he took jostled her wounds, sending burning shards of pain throughout her body. Somewhere along the line, Calysta thankfully lost consciousness. When she awoke, she was on her back, facing a black stained ceiling with new iron chains securing her to what felt like a metal table, and that’s where she’d been ever since

  Noises outside the room alerted her to at least three people entering her prison. The smell of Old Spice told her the sadistic wizard was one of them. A sickeningly sweet, almost cloying smell that made her stomach roil, told her Mara was in attendance as well and had been practicing black magic again. The last scent was one she couldn’t place, but knew she had smelled before. It was old and musty, tinged with ozone from the power the man possessed.

  The wizard who’d been her captor since the beginning came into view and immediately raised his hand to slap her face. Magic flew through the air. He grabbed his arm and squealed in pain as a shout echoed throughout the chamber. “Soren! You will not!”

  The sound of footsteps, combined with the click of a cane against stone, came closer. The old, musty, ozone smell assaulted her senses before a face she’d hoped to never see again came into view.

  “Hello, Calysta. I understand your reticence to help our cause, but as you can see we are quite determined. I hate that it has come to violence and want nothing more than to let you go. So, tell us where to find the Thantos spell and all of this ugliness can come to an end.”