Sold To The Dragons (A BBW Paranormal Romance Book 1) (4 page)

Tom and I both fell silent while the driver, separated from us by the partition, continued to bring us closer to the city. I thought about how kind and courteous Tom had been to me. I thought about how lucky I surely was. I wondered if I might ever be able to fall in love with him, despite not feeling even a single spark of any romantic chemistry between us.

I wondered if there was any way I'd be able to enjoy lovemaking with him, at least a little. Despite the fact that he was now feeling very, very much like a father figure to me.

Soon, seeming to read my mind, he suddenly spoke. "You do know I didn't bring you here to be my own, don't you? I'm far too old for more children. And I already have two sons, besides.

“They're
who you'll be trying for children with. You'll be working for a baby with both of them. And the one who you conceive with first will become your husband."

I couldn't really respond. All at once, my mind was processing far too much information and going in way too many different directions to form coherent thoughts. Or speech.

With his face illuminated by the approaching glow of the city, Tom softened his normally-stern expression just long enough to give me the briefest of sympathetic smiles. "I know this is a lot to take in. And I didn't mean to make it sound as if the three of you will at once be...." Suddenly clearing his throat a little, he trailed off and didn't finish the thought.

"Well, I imagine Steven and Blake will be visiting you individually at first. Though whatever the three of you decide as to arrangements after that...well, of course, that's up to the three of you to privately decide. You see, I'm sure you realize just how rare fully fertile, beautiful young women like you are. Although...."

He paused to study me for a moment. "Then again, you don't seem at all vain or conceited, so maybe you don't. You honestly strike me as the kind of woman who doesn't fully realize her own beauty. However, the auctioneer in your town certainly did, and he sent me an advance report informing me that the next auction would feature a young woman of rare beauty and grace.

“And then, when I informed my sons about this...well, they're somewhat competitive and not exactly the types to flip a coin. So, we decided that as I'm very eager for grandchildren, and as they're both very eager for children...we'll let fate decide whose child you'll ultimately bear and who you'll ultimately marry.

“Which may not sound terribly romantic, but my late wife and I came to the altar in a similar fashion, and after a very long and happy marriage, and after several of our family members were matched by strokes of fate similarly, we came to believe that fate seems to have a way of creating lasting unions in our family.

“And so, to fate we'll leave it. Whichever brother you create a child with first, you will marry. As for the other brother, back to the auctions I'll go next year."

"But...if I become pregnant, how will it even be possible for us to know whose child I'm carrying?"

Tom gave me another very brief micro-smile. "Our royal doctor and our scientists will be able to determine that with a single drop of blood from your finger, shortly after you conceive."

We both fell silent once again. With my question answered, my mind began wandering in a different direction. Specifically, in the direction of Tom's two sons. I wondered if they were courteous and kind like he was.

I wondered what they looked like, and if they were strong and handsome. And, with my pulse accelerating a little bit, I wondered if they'd make love to me one at a time until I became pregnant, or if, after intimate "introductions" were made, they'd actually make love to me both at once, as Tom had hinted they might. A little rush of heat rose to my face at the mere prospect of this.

Though I'd never actually made love, I'd had one semi-serious boyfriend, and we'd done more than a fair amount of touching and "fooling around" during the course of our relationship. And though I'd ultimately decided this boyfriend wasn't the one for me and I didn't want things to go any further with him, the relationship had taught me that I was a woman who very much enjoyed physical pleasure and intimacy.

Since then, I'd thought about physical intimacy frequently, so frequently at times, in fact, that I could feel as if I were going insane. Late at night, locked in my room, I'd think about different intimate acts I'd like to enjoy, and often thinking about these acts would get me to thinking about different fantasies I had.

One of which was a fantasy involving being pleasured by two men at the same time. But whenever I'd dwell on this particular fantasy, my own touch, even if I touched myself to release, seemed to only frustrate me more.

Just after we entered the city and became surrounded by all its twinkling lights, my face began feeling not only warm, but uncomfortably warm.

Tom pulled something from his pocket that resembled a telephone, though it was much smaller than the phones we had back in Quincy. And it had no long, curly cord that a person would need to plug into a wall. Nonetheless, he began pushing some of the buttons on it. "I'll send Steven and Blake a text message right now so they can meet us very shortly after we arrive at the castle, because something tells me you're just as eager to meet them as they are you."

*

The castle was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life, both outside and in. From the outside, its loftiest stone peak seemed to reach up and literally touch the stars. Golden light twinkled from many of the hundreds of windows carved in the granite face. Tall, domed marble columns lined a long walkway to the front door, which was carved in intricate designs and was at least twenty feet in height and width. A coal-gray flag with a lighter gray dragon silhouette in the center flapped in a light breeze atop a silver pole nearby.

Inside, plush, velvety rugs covered nearly every inch of walking surface, and tapestries in rich shades of green, blue, and red, many of them in dragon motifs, decorated the walls. Tom gave me a very brief tour of the ground floor, which included many libraries and other common areas, and every room we stepped inside had vaulted ceilings, some of them painted with murals depicting dragons in battle. Gilded fireplaces with crackling fires added a warm glow to the light from electric lamps present in each and every room.

I had to remind myself several times not to leave my mouth hanging open like some backward girl from some backward little town, which I now realized that I absolutely was.

While we visited the last room on the tour, a large library with lofty shelves of books, two long mahogany tables, and no fewer than four gilded fireplaces, Tom explained to me that fires were kept burning almost continuously from September to about April, as the stone walls of the castle could make things a bit chilly and damp, and the winds that continually tore across the city could make people feel a bit chilled when coming and going from the castle, as well.

He also briefly explained cellular telephones to me and then gave me a rundown of the different things they could do, including sending and receiving text messages.

Not a moment after he'd finished explaining, a little beep came from his phone, and he suddenly glanced at the screen and swiped a finger across it. "And here's an incoming text message right now. It's from Steven. He says he and Blake are waiting for the elevator. And they'll be going down any minute now."

I exhaled a fluttery little breath, suddenly more than a bit nervous. This was somewhat unusual for me, as I was normally confident and hard to ruffle. At least, I liked to think so.

Seeming to pick up on my nervousness, Tom began pointing out a few interesting books on the shelf nearest us, probably trying to distract me. I smoothed my long, brown hair while he did so, hoping that the two brothers would find me as good-looking as their father and the auctioneer seemed to think I was. Hoping I'd find t
hem
good-looking.

I didn't have to hope and wonder long, because within a minute, Tom looked up at the library entrance with his serious expression softening a bit. "My sons. Please come in."

I looked up at the library entrance myself and just about fell down. Upon seeing the two brothers striding in, my knees had become instantly rubbery.

Good-looking
was so inadequate a term for the two men as to be laughable.
Devastatingly handsome
might have been more fitting, though even that didn't do them justice. They were the most attractive men I'd ever seen in my life. By miles. By thousands of miles.

They both stood several inches above six feet tall and had long, muscular, chiseled physiques. One of the men, who might have stood just an inch above the other, had hair so dark brown it was nearly black and eyes that appeared to be dark gray. The other brother had dark hair as well, though maybe more of a chocolate brown than a black, and he had eyes that seemed to be a deep blue, like my own.

Appearing to be in their late twenties, both of the brothers walked with a confident, purposeful stride, shoulders back and head up. Though when they saw me, they both seemed to do the tiniest of stutter steps and at the exact same time. It was almost cute. Or, it would have been, if men with identical strong, square jaws and features that were on the stern side, similar to their father's, could ever be considered "cute."

If someone had asked me which one I found more attractive, I wouldn't have been able to answer. For one, because they both struck me as equally profoundly attractive, and for another thing, I was having difficulty even keeping my breathing at a semi-normal rate right then. I wondered if I'd actually be able to form words.

But I was going to have to power through my rubbery knees and pounding heart and find a way to speak somehow, because now, the brothers were standing in front of me, and Tom was making introductions.

"Kira, I'd like to introduce you to my sons. Although I myself am chief dragon lord and leader, which you've probably already gathered, their official titles are Lord Blake, who is the eldest by a little over a year, and Lord Steven. However, you may address them simply as Blake and Steven, of course. Blake and Steven, this is Miss Kira Southerly."

The brother with the lighter, chocolate brown hair extended his hand first, literally at the second his father had finished speaking. "I'm Steven. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Southerly."

His voice was deep and rich.

I somehow managed to find my own voice, even while the feel of his skin on mine was sending tingles all the way up my arm. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Steven. And please...call me Kira."

Considering we were likely soon to be making love, I figured we should probably be on a first name basis.

With his mouth curving in a slight grin, Steven surprised me by picking up my hand and kissing it. "Kira, then. And as beautiful a name as the one who bears the name."

I murmured a thank you, despite the fact that the feel of his firm, warm mouth on the back of my hand had made my legs even rubberier than they already were, to the point that I was actually having to focus to keep myself upright.

Fortunately, Blake's handshake was a bit less rattling, though just a slight bit. He was a bit more professional, if that was the right word. He didn't kiss my hand. He was maybe just a bit cooler. Though his handshake, just the right level of firm and warm, like Steven's mouth had been, did make my heart seem to skip a quick beat.

"It's nice to meet you, Kira. I'm Blake."

I murmured that it was nice to meet him, as well, suddenly getting a bit lost in his dark gray eyes.

But before I could get
very
lost, Tom announced that it was late. "Too late for any further introductions, I think."

He let his words hang in the air for just a brief second, as if to let it sink in, for all of us, just exactly what he meant. Though I didn't need the brief second; I'd understood immediately. And, surprising myself, I was more than a little disappointed. Which would have stunned me that morning, if I'd been told that I would be.

Tom continued, his gaze on me. "I'll have your maid escort you to your room shortly, and then I'll have someone bring up your bag from the car. Your maid will help you get settled in. Then, tomorrow, she'll give you a full tour of the castle while Blake, Steven, and I will be taking a patrol trip in dragon form.