Shane: Dragon’s Savior – Ménage Erotic Fantasy (Dragon's Savior Book 4) (13 page)

~~~

Lelani fingered the large bracelet. Her name, spelled out in the most perfect gems she’d ever seen, seemed to just reach out to capture the light and sparkle it back to her. The clasp, made of gold, she thought, was topped with the biggest opal she’d ever seen. Onimia had found it one day, thinking to save it for his own mate. He’d given it to her just that morning.

She looked up when Shane said her name.

“Do you not like it?” Telling him she did, Lelani leaned back in her seat and told him that she’d gone to see Rachel. “The other witch that was selling us out.”

“Yes, that’s her. I’m sorry, but she’s gone.” He just nodded. “Did you hear what I said? I killed her. Of course, I only went there to talk to her, to see if we could work something out, but she used her magic against me, and had it not been for Roger, she would have hurt me badly.”

“Then I’m glad that you took defensive actions. I’d rather you were never hurt again. Now, I wanted to talk to you about your magic and what you think we’ve gotten from you.” Lelani just stared at him. “Do you think we can do that visit thing you do?”

“Visit thing? You mean teleport yourself as an image elsewhere? I’m not sure. Why do you want to?” He explained. “You think that’ll work? I mean, it would so long as no one tried to touch you. But why would you not want to go and conduct business in person? I mean, you don’t seem to mind people the way that I do.”

“I love people, usually. But if I can be there and not have to leave here, then I’d be happier. The thought of not being with you would make me nuts.” She thought it was time she told them she needed space, a little anyway. But he continued before she could. “Also, Keion and I were talking and we realized that we’re taking up a great deal of your time. I mean, if we’re not making love to you, we’re thinking about it. I think you had a job before us, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I repaired paintings and tapestries. Why did you think that I’d want to leave here anymore than you would? I don’t, but why did you think of that?” He leaned back in his seat and smiled. “Charming as you are, that is not an answer. I want you to tell me why you want me to work.”

“I don’t. I mean, if you want to, then that’s wonderful. If you’d rather just putter around the house and yard, Keion and I are all right with that as well.” Lelani told him he was making no sense. “I know, and I’m sorry. What I meant to say is, we have more than enough money if that is the issue. If you want to try a new thing—I have no idea what that would be—then that’s great as well. What I’m trying to tell you in my fuddled way is, whatever makes you happy makes us happy as well.”

“I have money. A great.... Have you tried to look into the future?” He asked her what she meant. “I got this thing from the king and queen. I’m pretty sure that’s where it came from. Anyway, I can see into the future. Pretty far too. I can’t see yours or Keion’s, nor can I see my own, not really, but I can see that Asher, Kiaran, and Essie have six more children. Three more girls and three little boys. Jed, Casdon, and Lindsey have one more child, because they find that adopting children that are orphaned because of something in their DNA makes the world a better place for them. They want children that the parents don’t understand or don’t care to that are magical. What I was getting to was that I can see where things are going in the world of inventions. I’ve invested in things that seemed farfetched at the start, yet have become a household name. Perhaps you can do the same.”

“And you profited from them. That’s great.” She told him that she donated a great deal of it to causes. “You do that because you can’t profit from your magic. I forgot about that. Ariannona told us that to take and take will come back to bite you in the ass. You’re supposed to give ten times what you borrow, right?”

“I can so long as a lot of the money or whatever goes not to me but to help others. Yes, I must give back ten times what I use in magic.” He asked her like what. “New burn units at hospitals. Children services. College funds for people that need it. There are a great many ways to help others without anyone ever knowing who their benefactor is. And while I don’t care for people as a whole, there are some pretty good ones and I help them when I can. They don’t have to take it, but it’s there for them.”

“You’re a very generous and wonderful person.” She told him she really wasn’t. “I think you are, and that’s all that matters. Keion thinks you’re the greatest. I have to agree with him there. You’re pretty special. But before I get sidetracked again by stripping you down to that lovely bare skin of yours, tell me what happened with the witch, and I’m assuming Robert James.”

She had told them what she’d been able to find out about the man who was in charge of the fanatical group that was out to kill all witches. But today she’d found out a little more. This was scarier than just them hunting witches and killing them.

“They have it in their heads, this group of men that follow him, that they’re able to kill anyone that they deem unworthy. Such as one man wishes to kill his neighbor’s husband so that the wife will let him fuck her when she has the itch. I never really understood that term, but anyway. A couple more of them are going to kill off their own wives; they either have lost their young appeal for them or they just want them gone to pursue women in general. And they have thought that by claiming that they’re witches, all of them, then they can be justified in killing the people that they swore to love. I have no idea where they get the idea that the police won’t care, but it’s not discussed nor figured into their plans.” She thanked Roger when he brought her and Shane each a glass of tea, as well as a large tin of scones. He also handed her a sheet of paper; she read it over quickly then handed it to Shane. “A list of all the men in the group. Believe it or not, they have a charter with dues and everything. But according to what I’ve been able to find out, most of them are behind in their payments. Also, it might interest you to know that Robert was the one that murdered his first wife and her father. The police don’t have enough to pull him in, but I’m thinking once his current little wife finds out that he’s seeing her replacement, she might recant her story about him being with her all night long.”

“What are your plans for him? I’m assuming that you have one.” She nodded. “Is it bad? Am I going to have to take all our money and bail you out of jail for it?”

“No, nothing like that. But I would like go to one of his little meetings…on his turf, but by my rules. And his clan. Show them a force of witchcraft like they’ve never seen before.” He didn’t say anything. “Also, the dragons. I think they need to see the dragons as well.”

“To what end?” She told him. “You hope to drive him over the edge? I’m assuming you think he’s pretty close to that now.”

“I’m not sure. There are times when he is close to being as insane as you’d think. But then he has moments of clarity that make me believe that he might be smarter than I thought. My plan, if I can get your permission to do so, is to let him see us in all our glory, then have him bring the police in. I can take care that they see nothing but a family living and making the world work around them. Benson is, after all, a very upstanding family name.” He asked her about the dragons. “No one sees them that I don’t want to now. I’ve taken care that they’re not seen even when they fly directly overhead unless they need to be. Rachel needed to see them, so that she’d report them to Robert. He, of course, didn’t believe her, but I’m thinking he needs a dose of reality to give him enough to get his ass in some serious trouble.”

“With the police.” She nodded. “You think that in his fear, he’ll confess to something? Like the killing of his first wife and father-in-law?”

“Yes.” She would explain that to him should he ask, but she hoped that he wouldn’t. Robert was going to confess about his killing the other two. But he was going to have a little help from her in doing it.

Lelani knew something that few did. Beth Herald had been pregnant when she’d been killed. Unknown to anyone not magical, as she’d only been a few days into her child’s life, he’d taken it when he’d killed his wife. And for that alone, he was going to pay.

“You’ll need to bring this up before the family. We would all have to agree to these terms.” She had already figured on that and told him so. “Anything else? Do you need to tell me anything pressing at this very moment?”

“No, not that I can think of.” He told her to lay back. “What are your plans for me, Shane? I thought that we could only have sex when you were both here.”

He paused in reaching for her. “No. There are no rules regarding being with you. Do you only want to have sex with the two of us at the same time? I’m sure if I were to call Keion in, he’d gladly join us.”

“I never thought about it until just now, to be honest. I just assumed.” He nodded and put his hands up under her blouse, and then her bra. “Will Keion be upset with us? I mean, I don’t want either of you upset about us.”

“No. He knows that we’re here together. And he said that if he were here now and I was out at the castle like he is, then he’d surely take advantage of you.” She nodded, still not sure. “We’re not jealous of each other, Lelani. We both love you equally, and want whatever makes you happy. If making love to us both at the same time makes you happy, then I can wait.”

“What are you going to do to me?” He grinned, and she felt her body heat with it. “You’re too sexy for your own good, you know that, don’t you? And so you know, when I go and talk to your family, we’re doing that on my terms, not Asher’s. I love to shake his world up.”

“He knows that too.” Shane kissed her bare belly as he moved her pants down along her hips. “I don’t want to talk about Asher or any of the other members of the family right now. What I want to do is make love to you.”

“Yes.”

When he had her pants down and off her, she wanted to beg him to take her now. But she had a feeling that he wanted to do this slowly, take his time and drive her insane. Keion was thorough in his making love to her; Shane was as well, but he was methodical and sometimes bordering on cruel. She had a feeling that she was going to hurt a great deal before he gave her what she needed.

Chapter 7

Shane loved the taste of her skin, the way her breathing would skip when he nipped at her flesh. The way that she hummed when she was enjoying whatever he was doing to her, and mostly the way that she smelled when aroused. There was nothing about this woman that he disliked. To him, she was perfection.

Swirling his tongue into the small indentation at her belly, he put his hands into the elastic of her panties. He wanted to tear them off her, have her bared for him completely. But he also knew that she came harder when she was teased, and he wanted that more than anything else. To hear her scream out her release with his name on her lips.

When he had them off her, Shane took them to his nose and inhaled deeply. They smelled of her cream, her body, and the lotions that she used when she got out of the shower. Tossing them over his shoulder, he ran his hands up and down her thighs, listening to her breathing change just a little when he touched her. He enjoyed the way she was panting just as well, the heat of her breath when it touched him.

“When I taste you, eat you, do you have any idea how filling I find that? How much it satisfies me when you come in my mouth?” Lelani moaned and nodded, then shook her head. “Are you going to come for me, love? How hard am I going to have to touch you to bring you over?”

“Very little. Shane, please, give me something. I need you to do something to relieve the pressure.” He chuckled a little and moved closer to her open thighs. “I’m going to hurt you if you don’t do something.”

“No you won’t. You love this as much as I do.” He blew over her swollen clit peeking just a little from her equally swollen lips. “I’m going to suckle you, drink from you, while you flood me with your juices. Then when I’ve had my fill, I’m going to take you to the floor and fuck you hard and fast.”

“Please.” Spreading her nether lips, he blew over her again. When she cried out, her climax taking her, he slid his fingers into her and fucked her while he lapped at her cream. Bringing her twice more, he sat up and took off his shirt. “Take me. Please, just take me.”

“Not yet. There is so much of you to explore, and I won’t be rushed.” He thought she growled at him but he didn’t say anything. He was pretty sure that she’d hurt him like she’d threatened if he did. “Would you like for me to come all over your pretty body?”

“Yes. Then fuck me.” He stood up and pulled his pants off with his boxers and shoes at the same time. When she sat up, reaching for him, he backed up. “Let me taste you like this.”

“No, you’ll make me come and I’m not ready yet. Lie back for me. Let me touch you all over first.” She did as he requested, but her body was hard with need. He got to his knees beside the couch, holding his cock in his hand. Shane took her nipple into his mouth and suckled hard at just the tip. Her fingers in his hair had him crushing her into his face when she pulled him closer, but he was a man on a mission. And he wasn’t going to be hurried.

Untangling her fingers from his hair, he moved down her body, kissing her ribs and licking the tiny freckles as he found them. Tickling her navel brought him such joy that he was surprised when she cursed at him. Looking at her face, he could see that she was indeed in pain.

Sliding his fingers into her pussy again, he thumbed her clit gently as he watched her face. “Come for me, my love; scream the house down with your release.”

Her release was beautiful, her voice like a choir of angels singing out his name. And when he buried his mouth over her pussy, never stopping his fingers from playing, she came three more times, each of them more powerful than the one before it. Standing up over her, his cock nearly bursting with his own need, he told her to come to him.

When she was on her feet, a little unsteadily, he picked her up and told her to hold on. As he slammed her down over his cock, he felt his first climax take him. Just like that, he came hard and fast into her. Taking her to the floor—not an easy descent when she was kissing, biting, and touching him everywhere she could—Shane fucked her gently at first, then harder when she wrapped her legs around his hips. Holding her steady, he took her harder than he ever had before.

“Come.” She shook her head, telling him that she had no more in her. “Come for me and I’ll fill you.”

When she bowed up off the floor, her nails digging so deeply into his back that he felt blood, Shane lifted her ass up so that her pussy was tight to his cock and came hard.

He saw stars and dragons, and his body screamed through a second, then a third climax as he took her throat. And when he bit down, tasting her spiked spicy blood sliding down the back of his throat, Shane came a final time and his world simply blinked out.

When he woke he was in the bed. There were no lights on in the room, but he knew that he was alone in the big bed. Laying there, counting his blessings as he did so, he thought of what his life had been before she’d come to him. Rolling to his side, he looked at the box, a very old tin box, that she’d brought into the room her first week with them.

He’d never thought to ask her what was in it. She, of course, never mentioned it either. Shane found that while he was curious as to what it might hold, he also knew that he’d never look without her permission. Lelani was a very private person, and he’d hurt her, he knew, if he did something behind her back. Getting up, he made his way to the shower to get ready to see what the house was doing. He found that he was suddenly hungry as well. The light touch to his mind made him tense up, but when his dad spoke to him, he waited for him to get around whatever bend he was crossing to get to the point. His dad could take more side trips when telling you about something than anyone he ever knew.

There she was, just standing there, and I near had me a heart attack.
He asked him who.
Caroline. I was coming out of the barn, didn’t even know that we had one, when she was standing right there. I’ve been scared before, you know. When you were lost that time. Who would have thought that someone could get so far so fast in just minutes? I do hope that the other two are on their toes more than I was. But then those grandbabies of mine are going to be great.

Dad? What are you talking about?
He said he’d just told him.
I didn’t get it then. Just start over and tell me why Caroline was at the barn door. If that was the point of the story.

You’re not listening very well. I told you right up, she scared me when she came to tell me that the Herald was calling a meeting. We should have more family meetings, I think. I’m sure that we’d be better—
Shane simply said
“Dad.”
I floated off again, didn’t I? But yeah, the Herald is gathering together tonight. Something about a to-do about some witches. Can’t see how that’s even possible that they might have them one when they’re all right here. Speaking of which…no pun there, son, though it was a really good one, don’t you think? Anyway, the witch Rachel, have you seen her around?

She tried to kill Lelani so she had to kill her
. His dad said he was glad for that, her making sure she was safe.
Dad, why did you need Rachel?

Oh, didn’t I tell you? Sorry, I got a little sidetracked again. Happens when your mind is so full of things you want to do now that the babies are here. I’m telling you, Shane, I cannot wait for them to start talking to me.
He wondered if they’d be as talkative as their grandda, but said nothing.
But her husband called here for her. Just a bit ago. I told him that I’d not seen her, which is true. The newer witches, they’re more social than the older ones. This Rachel, I think she’s not considered really old, not like you and me old, but—
He said his name again.
Yeah, well, her husband called and was wondering where she’s gone to. He told me that she was supposed to call him nightly so he can be assured that she’s safe. I thought spouses were welcome here too. I don’t know what I might have done should your momma have been relocated somewhere and me not be able to go with her. I would have missed her something—

Did he tell you how he knew she might be here?
His dad said he’d not thought of that until he’d hung up.
I wonder how he got this number. Or any of our numbers.

Could be that his wife gave it to him. Hang on, son. That lovely mate of yours is here and I’ll talk to her. You come on over to the big house. We got some things going on you need to be working on too.
He told him he’d be there in ten minutes even as he stepped under the spray.
Good. Good. I’ll try and save you a couple of those scones that Elbert is baking now, but I’m not making you any promises.

Not only were there plenty of scones left, but there was hot tea and cream to go with them. He sat down next to Lelani and Keion. She was stressing again; being around all of them did that to her. But instead of leaving them, she took both their hands in hers and let out a long breath. Shane squeezed her hand tightly in his and kissed her on the mouth just as Asher stood up to talk to them.

~~~

Keion listened to his brother, wondering not for the first time how his brother had gotten so smart. Yes, Kiaran was a part of Asher, had basically attended the same classes he had in college, read the same books too. But while Kiaran spoke of what he’d found out from a source at the police department and what they might need to do, he wondered what the hell else could go daisy up, as Elbert said all the time.

“Since the death of his first wife and father-in-law, Robert has had someone watching him from the police department. So far they could only get him on a few things, mostly things that would get him a light tap on the wrist and nothing more. But they’re wanting him for murder, of the both of them. He looks good for the deaths of Beth and Peter, but they have nothing. He has an airtight alibi. His prints, of course, were all over the house and weapon, but as he lived there and owned the gun, there is little to nothing they can do about it. The police admit that they screwed up a couple of things too.” He handed each of them a copy of the report that had been filed back when the murders had happened. “No one bothered to see if he’d fired a gun recently. But it’s doubtful that it would have done them much good. Apparently Robert belonged to a gun club that would meet weekly to shoot a few rounds into the targets that were set up. Also, when the girlfriend came forward to say he’d been with her all night, no one had bothered to check on the tapes that had looped around five hundred times by the time it was thought of.”

“She was in the process of divorcing him.” Shane looked around the room and wondered why no one had thought that was motive enough. But Asher continued before he could ask. “Her father had traveled down from his home, to be there for his daughter apparently, and to have the bastard—that’s what he called Robert even to his face—thrown out on his ass. But when he got there, according to the testimony from Robert himself, the three of them had talked it over and he was simply going to move out for a while. He told the police that he had gone to Lynne’s house to tell her that he was going to make his marriage work. I’m guessing that it became a little more than just a talk, and he ended up staying the night. According to the two of them.”

“What does he say happened to end up with them both dead?” Asher looked at Lelani and she stood up. “You know what he did?”

“Yes. He hit his wife in the face…he was pissed off and thought that he’d killed her. But before he could confirm whether or not he’d killed her then, Peter came in and started telling him he was going to end him. Robert pulled out his gun—he’d only just gotten it back that day from the shooting range after it was cleaned—and killed first Peter, then Beth.” When she started pacing, he knew there had to be more to the story than just that. As he waited, he looked around the room at the rest of them.

Caroline and Gobi had joined them. They were becoming regulars at the dinner table as well when they got together. The babies, both of them doing well, were asleep in the little bassinets that were close to their moms. Keion noticed that each time someone passed the little cribs, they’d reach in and touch them before moving on to whatever task they’d been doing. Even he felt the need to touch their tiny cheeks or hands when they were close by.

Izic was there, along with his mate. There was also Daisy, the dragon that had been staying with Lindsey since she arrived. Essie could be found in the accompaniment of one or two brownies or faeries as well. Shane wondered if Lelani would have one too, and realized that with Roger there, she’d have no need for something magical. When Lelani stopped in front of Kiaran, he watched her carefully.

“The man that killed my sister. You saw him, correct?” Kiaran said that he had. “I would very much like to see him too. And take the memories that you have there, if you don’t mind. I think they might help us with this.”

“You do what you need to do. I can see them there, even sort through them, but they’re not an intrusion.” She nodded. “She hated you, yes, but it was more to do with the things that your mother fed her rather than anything you might have done or said to her, as you thought.”

“Thank you, that helps a great deal. I think, maybe, she and I might have been at least tolerable to each other had I gone to see her after Mother was killed.” She smiled sadly. “Or maybe not. She had Mother murdered. And even with the fact that Mother and I weren’t close, it’s hard to like someone that kills their own mother, don’t you think?”

“I’m sorry, love.”