Dragon Maid (21 page)

Tarika snorted steam. “Kheladin and I made a wager on how long it would take you to ask. And if ye’d be the first or Lachlan.”

“Ask what?” Jonathan crab-walked over, sat beside Britta, and draped an arm around her shoulders.

She felt her face heat. “I told Tarika that ye and I might leave for a bit.”

“Brilliant.” He leaped to his feet and drew her upright. “What are we waiting for?”

“Maybe to tell your loved ones good-bye?” Mauvreen joined them. “And to plan when we will meet next.”

“I won.” Kheladin’s jaws opened, exposing double rows of razor sharp teeth.

Britta looked from one dragon to the other. “Before we go, which of you bet on whom?”

“Simple enough.” Kheladin’s eyes whirled faster. “I bet ye’d be the first to leave, and ye’d do so afore the middle of the night. Tarika bet on Lachlan.”

“Is that so?” Britta put her hands on her hips. “So ye deduced my flesh would be weaker than his?”

Kheladin rolled his shoulders; scales clanked. “Turns out I was right.”

Jonathan laughed. It was infectious; Britta found it impossible to be angry with the dragons. “Next time,” she patted Tarika’s side, “bet on me, eh? Your verra own dragon shifter.”

“I’ll consider it…bond mate.” The dragon winked.

Mary Elma upended the bottle of scotch, drank, and set it on the porch with a clunk. “All four of you could use a few days without the likes of us. It’s Wednesday. Let’s find one another at the Callanish Stones on Sunday at sunset. They’re fascinating, and I’d like to spend more time there.”

“In the meantime,” Mauvreen gazed fondly at the dragons, “maybe we could trade witch knowledge for dragon lore.”

“’Twould take far more than a few days,” Tarika said, blowing smoke skyward.

“Well, we’ll do the best we can.” Mary Elma smiled warmly. She turned toward Maggie, Lachlan, Jonathan, and Britta. “Off with the bunch of you now. Try to get past the first blush of your obsession with one another so we can concentrate on the next part when we regroup.”

“What might that be?” Maggie asked, eying her grandmother.

“Why getting rid of the Morrigan once and for all. Mauvreen and I have been talking. We have some ideas, but I’m sure our dragon friends will add to them.”

Maggie snorted. “I know that look, Gran. Your eyes are actually twinkling.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean, my dear.”

Britta walked into Jonathan’s open arms and said, “We can leave now, afore the conversation gets any thicker.”

“Grand idea.”

She tapped into the magic to return them to his house.

•●•

Jonathan’s arms were still around Britta as his living room formed around them. He lowered his head and kissed her. She opened her mouth to his questing tongue, licking, nibbling, sucking. His cock hardened and pressed uncomfortably against the front of his trousers. He ran his hands down her backside and drew her as close to his body as he could. Her hips thrust against him, and she moaned. He felt the points of her nipples pebble against his chest.

He broke their kiss and looked at her. At first her eyes were closed, but they fluttered open, and her amazing golden gaze snared him. “You are so beautiful.” He moved a hand from her backside and smoothed hair away from her face.

“So are you.” She ran her tongue down the side of his face and snaked it around the bottom of his ear. Hot and cold shivers cascaded through his body. “I was verra proud of you today.”

“But I didn’t do much of anything,” he protested, still unable to tear his gaze from the perfection of her face.

“Och, but ye did. Ye have good instincts. ’Twas ye who first noticed the Morrigan helping Preki when he fought Kheladin.” She paused for a beat. “And ye moved beyond your awe of Arianrhod pretty damned fast.”

He shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “Blood calls to blood, I guess. Once I got over being angry with her, there wasn’t much standing in the way.” He traced the line of her jaw with a finger. “I don’t want to talk about her. I want to talk about us. You were brave today too. You charged into the fray without a moment’s hesitation.”

“Aye, but I was born to combat, and I’ve had years to hone my skills with Tarika.” She swallowed hard and drew back a little. “I’m not ashamed to tell you, I was frightened for my dragon. Once I knew she was shackled with iron, it turned my verra blood to ice. I’ve always seen her as invincible. That she’d been captured shook me to my core.”

“They told us how they were taken by surprise and overpowered.” Jonathan sucked in a breath. The dragons’ story of what had happened on South Uist Island had been hard to listen to. They’d fought valiantly, but it hadn’t been enough to save them.

Britta nodded. “It shocked me how easily the Morrigan masterminded their kidnapping.”

He cupped the side of her face with his hand. “You’d have done anything to save Tarika. I saw it in your mind, in your face, in the set of your body.”

She nodded. “Aye, I would have.”

“Good.” He brushed his knuckles over her lips. “Then you’ll understand that’s just the way I feel about you. I love you, Britta. I would die to protect you.”

She laid a finger over his lips. “Let us hope it doesna come to that because Tarika and I would fight to the death for you as well. She and I both love you.”

He bit back an awkward laugh. “Here I’d planned to sweep you off your feet, make love with you, and we’re talking about death and dying.”

“Nay. We’re talking of love. I love you, Jonathan James Shea. I am so grateful ye are a part of my life. Death. Battles. Sex. Life. ’Tis all intertwined. We doona get the sweet without the bitter.”

He tightened his arms around her and stood just holding her, reveling in the feel of her body in his arms. “Would you like to bathe before we make love?”

“Aye.” Her voice was muffled against his neck. “That would be nice, particularly since we doona have to scare up a servant to heat the water.”

“May I undress you?” Jonathan’s voice cracked. He felt suddenly shy. Though they’d made love before, this time words of love stood between them. He hoped his lovemaking would live up to their newly acknowledged feelings.

She stepped back from his embrace and nodded, her expression serious, eyes shining with emotion. With his fingers suddenly none too steady, he slid her jacket off her shoulders and her top over her head. He reached behind her, unhooked the bra she’d borrowed from Maggie, and dropped it atop her other clothes. His throat constricted; his heart thudded inside his chest. “Your breasts are incredible.” He traced the nipples with a fingertip.

She made a tight, little noise deep in her throat. “If ye keep that up, we willna get to the hot water. And I would like to bathe. I can smell myself.”

He undid the fastenings of her pants and hoisted her until she sat atop an occasional table. Then he knelt to remove her shoes and socks. He caressed her feet with his hands, massaging the arches and each toe. She pushed them against him and sighed. “Och, but ’tis heavenly. Ye can rub my feet anytime ye want.”

“Here.” He rose, placed his hands on either side of her waist, and lifted her to her feet. A small push, and her pants slid to the floor, followed by her underwear. She stepped out of both.

“Are ye planning to bathe with all your clothes on?” she inquired roguishly.

“Probably not a bad idea.” He grinned. “They smell just about as bad as I do. We’ll have to toss everything in the washer tomorrow.”

“Another word I doona know.” She reached for him and began removing his clothes. When she was done and he stood naked before her, cock jutting in front of him, she walked behind him and unbraided his hair. “Ye have the most amazing hair.” She ran her fingers through it. “Long, thick, shiny. Any woman would be envious.”

“Not you.” He turned to face her. “Your hair is a miracle. I can’t wait to see what our children will look like.”

A soft smile wreathed her face. “I canna wait, either. Just as soon as we are certain there is no more danger…” A shadow crossed her features.

He shook his head and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. “You have nothing to worry about. I will protect you. Care for you always. I set wards when we first entered my home. You can add to them if it makes you feel better. Tonight, there is just you and me, Britta, and our love for each other.” He took her hand, led her down the hall to the bathroom, and bent to start the tub filling.

While they waited, he held her in his arms and rocked her against him. Sexual heat washed over him, receded, and built again. Knowing he would bury himself in her body before they slept was like a balm, a promise of their commitment to one another. “Tub’s full enough,” he murmured against her hair. “Why don’t you get in?”

“What about you?”

He nuzzled her neck, tasting the sweetness of her skin, inhaling the scents that were hers, and hers alone. “I’ll be right behind you. I just want to get a dipper so I can rinse the soap out of your hair.”

He felt aroused but playful too. For the first time since he’d met Britta, it didn’t feel as if the world would implode if he didn’t get his cock inside her immediately. He lowered himself into the tub behind her. She settled against his body. Tenderness for the woman in his arms filled him. Sandwiched between them, his cock twitched against her back. She arched and pressed against him.

“Ye feel exquisite.”

“Nay, lassie.” He aped her brogue. “Ye wrote the book on that one.”

He worked soap into her skin and hair and rinsed her. She twisted in his arms and washed him, all except for his hair, which she couldn’t reach. In the end, he slid down, dunked his head under, and soaped it. Britta stepped from the tub and helped him sluice water over his head until it ran clear.

She wrapped herself in a towel and held one out for him. He glanced at the water, wrinkled his nose, and stepped from the tub. “Wow! Pretty dingy. We probably should have let it out midway and run new.”

“It doesna matter. We can bathe again come the morning. ’Tisn’t far away. Summer nights are short this far north.” She rubbed him dry, turned to him, and winked. “No more excuses. We’re clean, fed, the only thing left…”

“…is to tell you you’re the most beautiful woman in the entire world. And I’m the luckiest man.” His breath caught in his throat, and he crushed her against him. No more waiting. He’d toyed with his passion for hours. He closed his mouth over hers, feeling her open to him. Her tongue sparred with his. He pushed the towels trapped between them aside, desperate to feel her skin against his.

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her hands in his wet hair, mouth still glued to his. Her nipples hardened where they pressed against his chest, and she made a little moaning noise he’d come to recognize. The lust he’d denied roared to life. He ran his hands down her back. She had the silkiest skin. Her scent intensified, along with her passion. He inhaled lavender, amber, and the musk of her arousal.

He raised his mouth from hers and strung kisses down her neck, bending to capture a nipple in his mouth. She gasped and pulled him against her. He moved from one nipple to the other, lost in the wonder of her body. Kneeling, he moved his mouth lower and settled between her legs, licking and sucking the sensitive nub cradled in its nest of red-gold curls.

Britta thrust her pelvis against him; her legs shook where he leaned his head against her thighs. “Hurry,” she murmured. “Och, hurry. I canna stand much more.”

Jonathan cast a glance at the towel-strewn bathroom floor but then opted for the bed. His cock felt like it would burst anyway, no matter what happened next. He rose to his feet, scooped her into his arms, and carried her across the hall to his bed, where he placed her tenderly. She lay in the welter of bedclothes left from their last lovemaking and kindled a mage light. Her skin glowed golden in its glow. Surrounded by her long, damp hair, she looked like a goddess. A Botticelli angel.

“What would you like, my love?”

“Ye. Inside me. Now.”

“I could put my mouth back on you,” he teased. It wasn’t easy to talk. His balls ached. His cock was on fire.

She rolled into a sit and wrapped her hands around his shaft. Her mouth followed. The heat of her was almost more than he could tolerate. When she circled his glans with her tongue, he cried out.

“Och.” She kept her hands on him but tilted her head back. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Everything gets really sensitive when I’m about to come.”

She moved her hands to his hips and pulled him onto the bed. Flashing a coquettish smile, she turned away and got onto her hands and knees. The view of her damp pussy with its halo of tight curls drove everything else from his mind. He wrapped a hand around his cock and guided it into her. He tried to not move, to make the moment last, but she tightened her muscles around him, tentative at first, and then again and again. He moved a hand between her legs, gripped her hip with the other, and drove himself into her.

She came, screaming her ecstasy, almost immediately. He kept rubbing her clit as he slammed into her. Maybe, just maybe, he could hold off long enough for her to come a second time. His cock had never been so hard. Sensation poured through him. Rhythmic contractions began high in her vault, and he knew she was coming again. He let go of any semblance of control.

His climax began deep in his belly. His balls snugged up against his body. Semen hurled from him in huge spasms that shook him to his core. He heard himself cry out and then say her name over and over like a prayer.

Overwhelmed by the intensity that had passed between them, it was all Jonathan could do to guide them back to where they lay next to one another. He turned her toward him and placed a hand on either side of her face. “I love you. God, but I love you.” Emotion was so close to the surface, he felt raw, exposed. But he had nothing to hide from this woman.

“Aye.” She smiled, soft, tender, and brushed her lips over his. “I love you too. We shall be together throughout time, ye and I.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. No matter what befalls us. We are joined, body and soul.” Britta grinned. “And dragon. Doona forget about her. She was with us just now, in my mind. She is happy for us.”