Bad Boy Romance: Bad Marine (Bad Boy Military Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy New Adult Contemporary Male Stories) (27 page)

"Oh," said Julienne. "You know, I'm not very sore. I thought I would be from the damage I took yesterday, but I'm not."

"That was me," said James. "Dragons can heal quite well and we can extend that gift."

"You've done so much for me," said Julienne. "And I feel a very deep connection with you."

"I just want you to be happy and safe," said James.

"I want the same for you," said Julienne, and she leaned in and kissed him. She pulled back after a moment, but he pulled her close and pressed his tongue into her mouth. She was expecting it to be forked, but it seemed like a normal tongue, entwining with hers and igniting something within her. She remembered what Cecilia had done the previous day and started kissing James on the neck. He held her tight and then did the same to her, sucking gently at the skin, nipping gently. Her body filled with lust and she pushed him away and removed her dress, tossing it away as James shifted out of his clothing.

"I wish I could do it that quickly," she said.

"You almost did," he said, and he cupped one of her breasts in his hand and ran his tongue around her nipple. She moaned and grabbed the back of his head, grabbing tufts of his hair. He moved downward, sucking and nipping at her skin, each contact a new pleasure sensation, and then his tongue found her womanhood. She moaned again, louder, and shoved James to the ground and took his manhood in her hand. It was already stiff, but with each stroke it became stiffer, and she ran her tongue over it until she felt it was ready. She climbed on top of him and guided his manhood into her, breaking her maidenhead. It hurt, but the pain dissipated and was soon forgotten as Julienne gyrated on top of him, feeling his member go deep inside of her. She became afraid of what might happen should he shift, but he had promised he wouldn't hurt her, and she decided that she would trust him. He grabbed her ass, holding tight, and then suddenly guided her to he ground. He started thrusting into her, and now that she could concentrate, she let herself become consumed with the feeling of that passion. He leaned in close, kissed her deeply, and held her close. Suddenly, she watched him shift, and she became horrified that she would pay for this with her life. Instead, the dragon lifted her into the air and they flew into the air, his member still inside of her. It had gotten larger, somehow, but was still safe enough for her to safely have inside of her. They flew through the air, his massive member moving within her, and the combined thrill of the sex and the flight culminated within her and she went stiff as she climaxed. Soon after, she felt James's seed empty within her, and he shifted back into his human form and allowed himself to leave her. They started falling, but Julienne now trusted this creature with her very life. They fell towards the ground and at the last moment, James spread his wings and they glided back towards the cave.

"That was amazing," said Julienne, putting her dress back on.

"It was," agreed James. "I told you that I could control it."

"I'm glad you did," said Julienne, and she kissed him, and they fell asleep, cradled in each other's arms.

Cecilia had lost control. She flew through the air, all humanity buried within her shame and rage, and she landed in a tree outside of the village. She took a deep breath and expelled a fountain of flame. Several trees caught fire, as did the nearest building. To her dismay, no one was inside, but the destruction made her feel better about her life and what was happening in it. She took to the air again and flew closer tot he village, this time aiming directly for the nearest flammable building. It caught fire quickly, the humans within escaping, but the fire was spreading and Cecilia was doing all she could to help it along. Every time a fire was put out, she would be there to light another, and any human foolish enough to try to defend their home was met with a quick flick of her tail. She was careful not to kill anyone, needing them all for the plan that was forming in her head. Once the village was suitably aflame, she touched down and shifted, concentrating hard to turn into a simulacrum of Julienne. She couldn't keep it up for long, but waited just long enough for a scarred and bandaged man to see her. He shouted something, and so Cecilia shifted again, back into her true form, and she took to the air again and flew away. She landed on a mountain some ways away, shifted into her human form, and started laughing madly. If her plan worked, she would soon be freed of Julienne and James would be only hers once again.

Julienne was woken from her sleep by the sound of enemies further down the chasm. It had an odd quality to it that could keep a single person perfectly silent and stealthy, able to pass by you without you ever knowing, but the sound of any group would become amplified by the chasm and alert any in the area to their intentions. In this case, Julienne didn't need to hear the words to know that they meant to find her and do her harm. For a moment, she wondered why they would chose to go after her now when she realized that Cecilia had most likely done something to bring this doom upon her head. James was still sleeping, shifting gently between forms, and she decided to pay back his kindness by meeting her attackers head-on. She found her sharp stone, a poor comfort against what sounded like so many, and set out on what would most likely be here final journey.

It didn't take very long to find them, and when their leader saw Julienne, she realized it was the man that had been attacked twice on her account. He was carrying a crossbow and leveled it at Julienne, hatred in his eyes and command in his voice, "We know what you truly are now. Not just a temptress, not just a witch, not just a whore, but also a dragon! You laughed as you burned down our city. Perhaps it was our fault, in a way, but you have to answer for your crimes."

A cheer went up, and when it settled, Julienne said, "I would answer for any crime laid before me, had I actually done the deed. You and your people should turn back now. Your weapons are piddling things against a dragon, and if I were one, you'd all have been roasted by now. Each and every one of you. Stop being ruled by your hatred and just live your lives! Don't you see that this is all because you refused to accept an outsider to your town?"

The scarred man sneered. "You're punishing us after killing so many and ruining marriages?"

"I ruined nothing! You've hated me since the day I was left on the herbalist's doorstep, chastising me and looking at me as if I was some sort of curse," said Julienne. "All I wanted was acceptance!"

"Then why were you in those places?"

"Those marriages were already dead when I arrived," said Julienne. "I was sent with salves and ointments to help them reignite their spark, but your city was so consumed with hatred that there was no saving it. Your people would just rather lie than admit that they're flawed."

"It doesn't matter at this point," said the scarred man. "Our town is gone, the mayor burnt to ashes, and someone needs to be held accountable."

Julienne said, "What about each and every one of you?"

There was silence, and then the scarred man said, "Kill her."

There was no hesitation. One of the village's men surged forward with intent to kill, his wife at his side and their child trailing behind, all with hatred in their hearts and murder on their minds. Julienne held fast, not actually wanting to hurt any of them, and when she felt the wind on her back and heard the roar, she knew that she wouldn't have to. Everyone stopped and went silent, and looked up at James, flapping his massive wings and belching fire into the air.

"There’s more than one dragon," said the scarred man. "We have to kill them before they breed!"

He aimed his crossbow but before he could do anything more, Julienne took her sharp stone and dug it into the man's black heart. He looked at her and fell tot he ground. Julienne saw James rear back, about to roast the townsfolk, but she stepped between them and shouted, "Can't you all see that you're just perpetuating a cycle of violence? You could help each other! Keep each other safe! If anyone else dies here today, then it'll just mean more deaths down the line!"

James stopped, blew some smoke out of his nose, and landed lightly on the ground. One of the townsfolk stepped forward and held out his hand. All the fight had gone out of him, and all of them. Seeing someone murdered in front of you, and then seeing the murderer cow a dragon, had that effect. He said, "We don't want anyone else to get hurt here. You and the other dragon are welcome back to the town, if you'd have us. We just don't want any more death."

James shifted back into his human form, and Julienne saw that he was naked for a moment before his clothing appeared. He held out his hand to the man and said, "Nor do I."

There was a bellow from high above them and suddenly Julienne was no longer there. Everyone looked around, but only James looked to the sky. He whispered, "Cecilia."

In an instant, he shifted and took flight.

She had watched it all happen, the villagers setting off with torches and pitchforks to kill the dragon-witch. She had kept out of sight and watched with glee as Julienne confronted them by herself, almost able to taste the death on the air. Then James arrived and ruined everything, but she couldn't bring herself to hate him. She could never hate James. She could hate Julienne, and did, and when she saw that the violence was over she decided to take matters into her own claws. She swooped down, grabbed Julienne, and took her far from that place. She knew that James would follow, but she was faster than him and so she knew she only had a few moments. If she had a clearer head, she may have simply dropped Julienne, but she wanted to see the fear in her eyes before Cecilia dealt her a killing blow. They landed on a mountain not far from there, and as they landed Cecilia straddled Julienne and put her hands around her throat. Julienne fought but could do nothing against Cecilia's strength, and when she was almost dead, Cecilia let go. She didn't want to kill her like that. She held Julienne down by her hands, Cecilia's face twisted between dragon and human, and screeched.

"You can't have him! He's all I have," said Cecilia. "He's mine!"

She put her face inches from Julienne's and suddenly saw all that the girl had done and known. From her beginnings as a foundling to her status as a barely tolerated outsider and finally to a woman on the run. She saw her meet the dragons and, finally, her and James having sex and then she saw something that not even Julienne knew. Cecilia's face froze as she whispered, "You're carrying his child." She then screamed, transformed into a dragon, and made ready to burn the woman who had stolen her mate. Dragons coveted, after all.

Before Cecilia could unleash her fiery death, Julienne yelled, "Stop! Please! Just listen!"

Something in her voice made Cecilia stop. She said, low and gravelly, "What? What could you possibly have to say to me?"

"James loves you, but now I know why you never wanted to sync with him," said Julienne. "You can't carry his children and you didn't want him to know, to leave you."

Cecilia deflated, shifting instinctively to her vulnerable human state, naked and cold on the mountaintop. She still held tight to Julienne. "He can't know. SO you have to die."

Julienne raged. "Don't you see, you stupid woman? Don't you see what this could mean for you?"

"No," said Cecilia. "If you don't show some respect, I'll kill you before you try to explain."

"If I'm with his child, then it'll only be half human. It's also going to be half dragon," explained Julienne. "Humans are fragile things. We die quickly, compared to a dragon. I'm not just carrying my child. I'm carrying your child."

Cecilia scowled and said, "What do you mean?"

Julienne sighed, rolled her eyes, and stated, "When I'm dead, my child is still going to be young. He's going to need a mother, and I'd much rather it be someone who loves James as much as I do."

"Oh. You want me to," said Cecilia, trailing off and thinking about it. Part of her rebelled against having a half-human child, but deep within her heart, she knew that she'd rather have a half-human child than no child at all. A child sired by her mate and this thing, this human that had been able to withstand James's love. She made her decision and leaned over and kissed Julienne, deeply and passionately, until she heard a voice behind her. She stopped and looked back.

"Don't stop on my account," said James. "Please. I was interested in seeing where that was going."

"We have news for you, my love," said Cecilia. "I'll allow Julienne to tell you. Oh, sorry." Cecilia stood up, her clothes appearing on her body, and she helped Julienne stand up.

"We're pregnant, James," said Julienne. "I want you and Cecilia to raise the baby after I've gone. Now Cecilia has something to tell you, as well, and something to do with you."

James looked at her and asked, "What is it?"

"It'll be easier to show you," she said, and she took James's hands in hers and looked deeply into her eyes. In an instant, they knew all there was to know about each other, which wasn't much more than before. Cecilia smiled, an honest smile, which was new for her, and she looked at the creature she loved more than anything else in the world. "Now you know."

"Oh, Cecilia," he said. "I would never leave you, not for any reason. Nor you, Julienne. Now, why don't you two continue your kiss? I'll join in as well."

"You cad," joked Cecilia. "What do you think, Julienne? You just lost your virginity last night. Are you prepared for this?"