Dragons Don't Cry (7 page)

I smiled and started laughing.

My dragon was full of surprises.

Chapter Eleven

Bastian

I watched her read, her legs curled on the
settee, pillows propped behind her shoulders. “Do you play
chess?”

She gave me another treasure I hoarded—her
smile. “I play checkers.”

“Humph. Chess is the game of kings. I do not
play a child’s game.”

She innocently gazed around the room not
looking at me. “I see no kings here.”

That was why I enjoyed her so much. She
liked teasing me and keeping me on my toes, or talons depending on
my form. “I shall teach you and maybe in twenty years, you shall be
competition.”

“Twenty years?” she scoffed.

“It will take at least that long to train
your human brain in the game of warfare.”

“Only if I may teach you checkers.”

“Humph, when you beat me, I shall learn your
silly game.”

We moved to the table holding my chess set.
The pieces were heavy gold and silver, the board black and white
marble. I’d stolen it from a king in a faraway realm. The fool
thought he’d captured a dragon. I challenged him to a game for my
freedom. He’d agreed, and I won. The set was not part of the
bargain, but I swiped it before he knew of its loss. No one holds a
dragon without losing something. Usually their life.

I carefully explained each piece and how it
moved. “We will play a slow game and I will help you if needed. I
will not be so giving the next time, so beware and accept your
defeat with grace.”

“Yes, my lord, oh great one. I will bow at
your feet when you take my king.”

Her teasing made me laugh. I watched her
study the board with a burning intensity. The game began. It took
me little time to understand she played a mean game of chess. My
hand landed on hers when she tried to move her knight. “You lied,
you have played before.”

“Never, but I’ve watched.” She captured my
rook.

I switched gears. She was a worthy
opponent.

An hour later… “Check.” The delight in her
voice angered me.

I was dragon, I did not lose a war game to a
female playing her first time or even her hundredth. I looked at
the board with nowhere to go.

“Did you expect me to allow you to win?” She
pushed her luck. She did not want to tempt an angry dragon.

I swiped the board and pieces from the
table—my human roar not nearly as fulfilling as my dragon’s.
Tearing my clothes from my body, I avoided her gaze. Anger clouded
my mind. I strode from the room when I was completely bare and
jumped through the window, running for the ledge of the perch. Now
my roar was louder. She beat me. A fluff of nothing, harebrained
female won. I would have swirled around a few times and allowed my
anger to cool, but I heard her laughter and saw her standing at the
doors. I spewed smoke and fire. I knew what I was doing, and
allowed the fire to end twenty feet away from her. She wasn’t
afraid. She laughed louder.

When I got like this, it had scared
Bethanne. She hid in her chamber and waited for my fury to
dissipate. Acasia challenged me. I swooped behind my lair and came
at her from the top, out of her sight until the last second. She
screamed when I grabbed her, but laughter soon replaced her fear.
My anger left, melted with her playfulness. I flew her to the lake,
and hooking my talons under her arms I slowed my flight and dragged
her feet through the cold water.

“No, no, Bastian, it’s ice cold.”

I dropped her. The water reached her
neck.

Her scream filled the night air. “I will
kill you for this, you stupid dragon.”

I made a circle and plucked her from the
cold lake and sat her on the bank. Her teeth chattered and her body
was blue. The gown she wore was wrapped around her legs like a
second skin.

“Yyy…yyyou…arrrrre…crrruel.”

I moved closer and enveloped her between my
legs, settling her against my chest. I pulled the magic in and
released heat from my body. My scales glowed with the warmth, and
her shaking diminished.

“Remove your gown and you will be warmer.” I
had ulterior motives, and she would figure that out soon.

Her teeth stopped chattering and she pulled
the dress over her head and let it splat against the ground. Her
arms grabbed my chest, barely covering half of me, but it felt
good.

“You vex me, female.” I didn’t mean to sound
pitiful, but it came out that way.

“You needed your ego taken down a tad.”

“Not by a slip of a girl.”

“I love you, Bastian. Cranky loser, huge
ego, and all.”

My body went completely still. I couldn’t
love her back. It hurt too much.

“Ow, you fool, that hurt.”

The words startled me from my thoughts.
“What hurt?”

“I kicked you and now my foot hurts. The
proper words, you stupid dragon, are… ‘I love you too,
Acasia.’”

I couldn’t say it. “We must get home. It is
late and we travel to Sarn’s home tomorrow.” I knew I ruined her
good mood. She said very little the rest of the evening and went to
sleep on her side of the bed without snuggling.

***

Acasia

He did love me. And if I said it over and
over, I would make it true and believe it. I dressed for the trip
to Sarn’s lair with care, learning from my last ride. The garment,
which Bastian told me was named blue jeans, was soft and supple.
They formed over my legs and ass. I chose a light flowing, almost
see-through top. The front swooped low, so I added a gold chain
with a large black stone that matched Bastian’s human eyes. The
coolness of the stone rested between my breasts.

Bastian walked into the room naked. He
stared, looking me up and down. “Stay by my side. Do not go more
than a foot away.”

He didn’t say he liked what he saw, but I
could see in his eyes that he did. “I shall do as you say,
dragon.”

“Of that I have no doubt. You would not
enjoy being Laryn’s concubine.”

If Bastian didn’t love me, that’s all I was
to him—a concubine. I shook off my sour thoughts. Of course he
loved me. His stubbornness only kept him from admitting it.

A large leather bag sat on the ledge outside
his room. After he threw the saddle over the side, he took a dive
in human form and flew back up after shifting.

My curiosity was killing me. “What’s in the
bag?”

He gave me an impatient grumble. “We play
cards and I must bring gold and jewels to gamble. Clothes are also
inside for me.”

I adjusted the straps across his chest and
might have tightened them a little too much, but he only grunted. I
ran up his tail and landed in the saddle, loving the feel of the
jeans and the freedom of movement they gave me.

“Did you bring gold for me to gamble with?”
I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice.

“No. This is a game for dragons,” he
blared.

I imagined him rolling his eyes. Someone was
in a bad mood and it wasn’t me. What he wasn’t saying was that his
dragon’s game of cards was too difficult for a little human. “I’m
very good at cards; let me know if you need help.”

He launched himself over the edge, diving
down while I screamed with the thrill. I would make him take me
riding again in a few days just for the fun of it. I loved this
feeling. Bastian ignored my attempts at conversation, but I
wouldn’t allow him to ruin my mood. I decided to sing.

Sweet little baby don’t you cry, we will
sing a lullaby. Sweet little toes go in the air, fingers run
through shiny hair. Pat your feet and clap your hands, fly away to
pixie land. Sweet li…

“Quiet. That infernal racket is driving me
mad.”

“Insufferable oaf.” I couldn’t hit him
because it only hurt me. I was sick of his mood and hoped it
improved when he saw his friends.

Chapter Twelve

Acasia

Sarn’s lair was different. Not as
comfortable as Bastian’s, barren actually. Calista, his bride,
welcomed me with a soft melodic voice. She was much older than I
was, her hair long and grey, her face wrinkled but the beauty she
once held was still evident. It was surreal meeting a claiming
bride whom I’d studied in school. The other, Megan, belonging to
Tahr. She was middle aged, with graceful beauty and still full of
life. The dragons seemed relaxed, friendly, and curious of me until
Laryn arrived. I received a sharp jerk to my hand, which brought me
closer to Bastian’s side within seconds of the devastatingly
handsome man’s approach. With gentler and more subtle moves, Sarn
and Tahr brought their women nearer too.

Laryn nodded his head in greeting. “Tahr,
Calista, Sarn, Megan.” He looked at Bastian, but then his eyes
wandered to me.

Internally, I winced. Not from the leer he
half-heartedly gave me, but from the pain I saw deep within his
dark eyes. They had a blue spark; whereas, Bastian’s was red. I
wondered if this defined the color of the true dragon once they
shifted. I tucked my question away to ask Bastian after we returned
home.

“Will you introduce me to your bride,
Bastian?” Laryn’s low voice ran over my skin, and I shivered. How
could he cause that reaction in me? The perplexity he triggered
made me feel uncomfortable.

With little more than a tight snap of his
lips, Bastian did the honors. “Acasia Laryn, Laryn Acasia. Do you
insist on ogling my bride and starting a war or do you wish to play
cards?”

Laryn’s teeth flashed in what I hoped was a
smile. “Cards, by all means. I plan to take your second-most
precious treasure this night.”

Bastian stomped to the card table, pulling
my hand, causing me to trip behind him. When I righted myself, I
looked up. Laryn winked at me and I gave him a small smile. Bastian
growled.

The women sat slightly back from their men,
able to watch and within reach. The game soon started and I
carefully followed the play. I wasn’t familiar with their game, but
quickly caught on. Mathematics was my specialty and I was soon
counting cards. Bastian held my hand against his thigh. He started
to discard the wrong card and I squeezed the tight muscle. He
looked at me and I moved my head slowly in a barely perceptible
motion back and forth. He chose another card from his hand and laid
it on the table. He won the hand after the others made their play.
After that, he followed every tip I gave him.

Human servants brought food and wine,
keeping us comfortable. The night went on and I wasn’t bored,
because I was too busy following the play.

“Damn, Bastian, your bride has given you the
luck of the gods,” Tahr said with clear disgust, throwing his cards
on the table.

A laugh barked from Bastian’s throat. “Only
half the night is gone. Are you giving up?”

“I will play until I have nothing left to
bid, you demon spawn.”

They all laughed. I saw Calista’s head
nodding to the side, tiredness claiming her. I was sure it was due
to age. Sarn did the last thing I expected. He picked her up and
placed her in his lap, tucking her against his chest.

He loved her. She was old and frail, hers no
longer a youthful beauty, but Sarn’s feelings were obvious. It was
also heartbreaking. She would live maybe ten more years. For the
first time, I sympathized with the dragons and hated the curse even
more. Before, I’d always pitied the plight of the women. My plight.
Now I saw the devastation to all. This was Bastian and me in forty
years. At least it would be if he truly loved me and I knew he did.
All my annoyance with Bastian left. It would be better if he didn’t
love me.

My dragon won the night. His mood lightened
and he teased his friends. “Same time next month? I’m sure all of
you can scrounge up more gold.”

“Go home, Bastian, before I challenge you,”
Sarn said; I could see he wasn’t serious.

“I will fly with you, Bastian,” Tahr
said.

I saw a look pass between Bastian and Tahr.
Laryn grumpily looked back and forth at his friends, but didn’t say
anything. I said goodbye to the women as we stood on the ledge
before taking off. Sarn held Calista tightly as she waved.

Laryn was blue, as I thought, and Tahr
silver. Laryn stayed with us for part of the trip before veering
off. I heard a great roar in the distance a while later. Filled
with grief, I knew it was the blue dragon. A short time later, Tahr
flew away.

“How did you know what cards to play?”
Bastian startled me from my thoughts of Laryn and his lost
love.

“I counted them. I wanted to be a great
mathematician after graduating from college.”

“I didn’t know. Does that make you better at
chess also?”

He couldn’t see my smile. “Yes.”

“Will you teach me your game, checkers?”

My stubborn dragon was giving in. “I’ve been
waiting for you to ask.”

“Humph.”

I laughed delightedly.

The next two weeks were mostly calm. Bastian
and I played chess and checkers, went for rides through the
countryside, and did naughty things. He caught me looking through
an illustrated book of sex positions, which embarrassed me
horribly.

I didn’t hear him come up behind me, too
engrossed in the erotic pictures.

“What have we here?”

I slammed the book shut and jerked around.
He was naked, and my mouth was even with the long length of his
cock. I gulped and said, “Nothing.”

He turned me so I faced the book again,
moved closer so his erection pressed against my back, and read the
title aloud. “‘100 Kama Sutra Sex Positions.’”

I squirmed.

His arms reached over me and he opened the
book to a random page in the middle. The couple sat on a chair, the
woman facing away, her legs spread, hands on his knees, and him
holding her breasts. I gulped.

“You have too many clothes on for us to try
this one,” he whispered in my ear.

“What makes you think I want to?” My breathy
words gave me away.