chapter Twelve
Hearing the speech of dragons was a novel experience for Krysta. She had a hard time at first when the knights tried to teach her how to project her thoughts back to the dragons, but after an hour or so, she gained at least a rudimentary proficiency. Expertise would come with time, they all knew.
The dragons enjoyed speaking with her, glad to finally be able to express themselves fully to the woman who had come to mean so much to both Mace and Drake in so short a time. Jenet was a little reserved, but Nellin surprised Krysta with his droll observations and wit. She found herself laughing often at Nellin’s wry humor as they prepared a quick dinner of fish the dragons speared with their talons in the shallows and made a crude camp for the night on the moonlit beach.
The men gathered driftwood and the dragons provided the spark for a lovely fire. The dragons also settled down in a semi-circle around the campfire, allowing the humans to lean back against their warm bodies as they ate the fish and the crumbs of what was left in Mace’s pack.
“Well, that’s the last of my provisions. We’ll have to forage from here on.” Mace closed the now empty pack and replaced it with his pile of gear, settling down next to Krysta as they leaned back against Nellin’s smooth hide.
“If the gryphons are to be believed, we’ll be at their island tomorrow. Maybe we can resupply there for the trip home.” Krysta tried to look on the bright side, but deep inside she harbored reservations. Thy gryphons’ rhyming prophecy had lain heavy on her mind all day.
“I can’t believe it’ll be just that easy,” Drake said from her other side. He tossed a twig into the fire and the expression on his handsome face was fierce. “They had to have a reason to take Wil all this way. I can’t see them just letting him go because we flew down and asked nicely.”
“I don’t like that gryphons are involved. They’re altogether too magical for my comfort,” Mace grumbled as he got more comfortable against Nellin’s warm flank.
“They are powerful, but the few I’ve dealt with in the past have been entirely honorable,” Drake said. “If the gryphons I knew are anything to judge by, I’d say we have less to fear from gryphons than we do from whoever lives on that island.”
“Do you think it really could be a wizard?” Krysta’s voice was small in the darkening night. Wizards were to be feared. They’d been banished from this realm for a reason. Some of them were downright evil and the stories of ancient days told of great wars between the evil ones who wanted to enslave all creatures in this realm and the few who wanted to let the world evolve on its own.
“I don’t know. But there are still some in this world who have wizard blood. The royal house of Draconia, the Black Dragon Clan and the Doge of Helios, for example.” Drake tossed another twig to the flames. “That’s why gryphons serve in her court, I suspect. Magic seeks its own kind. Whoever we find on that island, they will have powerful magic, indeed. Of that I have no doubt.”
“We can protect you,” Nellin said softly from behind them. “That’s what the gryphons meant when they talked about our bond. Dragons are mostly impervious to magic, since we are creatures of magic ourselves. Mace’s bond with me will protect him from whatever awaits us tomorrow.”
Jenet shifted her head on the cold sand to look at them. “I believe it’s why they gave you the gift of speech with our kind, Krysta. With that pathway now open, we can bond with you as we do with our knights. Our protection will extend to you.”
“But—”
Jenet sighed smokily. “Don’t fight it, Krysta. It is as the Mother of All wills it. You will bond with our knights and with us. I don’t know why you humans must fight the will of the Mother at every turn.” Jenet shot a despairing glance at Drake. “And now I’m sure you will make some argument about how you’re not good enough to bond with me, though it’s what we’ve both wanted deep in our hearts since the moment I hatched. Go ahead, Drake. Do your worst. But the fact remains. If you do not bond with me, you doom our mission. I would rather have had you willing, but at this point, my pride is in tatters. I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
“Sweetheart,” Drake’s voice was as soft as Krysta had ever heard it.
Drake got up and went to the dragon, his long legs carrying him to Jenet’s side. He tugged her sinuous neck into a loving embrace. Drake kissed the ridges of Jenet’s eyes as tenderly as a lover and Krysta had to look away, lest the love she read in his every move stir her to tears.
“Never think that I’m not willing to bind my life to yours. I love you more than anything in the world, Jenet. I always have and I always will.” Drake didn’t care if his words carried. They should all know how much he loved this dragon who was his closest friend in all the universe. “I’m a stubborn ass.”
He moved back and stared into Jenet’s faceted eyes.
“I won’t argue that point.” Hope glittered in the depths of her miraculous gaze and Drake felt his spirits rise.
“Can you ever forgive me?”
“Are you willing to be my knight and all that entails for the rest of your days?”
His little girl was tough, but he loved her that way. Drake nodded solemnly and bowed his head, answering her in his mind as he knew it must be. He projected his thoughts to all present, knowing they needed to be witnesses to this most momentous of occasions.
“I don’t deserve you or your forgiveness for my many transgressions, but I love you, Jenet, my sister of the skies. I will be your knight and I will work the rest of my life to be worthy of you.”
Nellin trumpeted his joy, his movements dislodging Mace and Krysta, who stood and came to Drake’s side.
“Does this mean what I think it does?” Krysta asked breathlessly.
He pulled her close and kissed her while Mace laughed. “We’ve just witnessed the making of a knight. And about damn time too.”
Mace pounded Drake on the back and congratulated Jenet too, his eyes bright with what Drake suspected were tears. Drake knew there were tears of joy running down his own cheeks, but he didn’t care. The moment was too special.
“Brace yourself now,” Jenet warned, a split-second before the rush of her power hit him like a wave, cresting and breaking over him, reshaping his very soul. He felt the pathways that had always joined them snap into place even more firmly and blow wide open. He didn’t know for a moment where she began and he ended, so close was the bond between the dragon and himself.
Drake would have dropped to his knees if Mace and Krysta hadn’t been there to prop him up. He was stunned by the well of power within the dragon, now shared with him in that blinding moment of revelation. He had only a glimpse of her vast strength and it humbled him. It was something he would remember all his life.
“Drake?” Krysta asked, concern in her lovely gray eyes.
“I’m all right. But I think I know a little bit about how you felt earlier when the gryphon’s magic bowled you over. Damn, baby!” He turned to Jenet and hugged her with the arm that wasn’t still holding Krysta. “You pack a wallop.”
They all laughed then, joy bubbling over as the three humans hugged, surrounded and embraced by the dragons’ twining necks.
“Now comes the hard part,” Krysta said as their exuberance died down a bit. “How exactly do we all bond and what does it mean?”
“That’s really the easy part, my dear.” Drake wiggled his eyebrows. “And the most fun. If you’re willing.”
“You mean—?”
Mace wrapped an arm around her waist. “The dragons will seal their troth. They will take to the air in a mating flight, bonding them—and us—fully, as we join them, by joining with you. Both of us, at the same time, will make you our mate.”
“You want to marry me? Both of you?”
Krysta’s breath caught in her throat.
“I know most women prefer to have the full ceremony, surrounded by friends and family, but I regret we haven’t the option. If you bond with us now, we can always have a party later, when we return home, if you wish it.” Mace was so serious, so earnest, she reached up to kiss him.
“You’re forgetting, I’m Jinn. My family will give you a party whether you want one or not.”
Drake joined in her laughter. “She’s right about that. The Jinn will throw a party on any excuse.”
“Then we can marry now, among ourselves, and seal our bonds.” Mace was still serious, but that was his way. “I could not love you any more if we had a hundred witnesses to our vows.”
“You love me?” Her heart nearly melted at the tenderness in the fierce knight’s eyes.
Mace dropped to one knee before her. “That I do. Forgive me, but I didn’t have the courage to tell you before. My heart is yours, Krysta, if you’ll have it. For the rest of my days.”
“Oh, Mace!” She reached down and kissed him, tears of joy mingling between their lips.
When she drew back, Drake was there, his expression sheepish. “I know it’s sudden, and a giant step to take when we’ve never even been intimate—”
“You haven’t?” Mace interrupted with a cocky grin.
Drake looked over at him, annoyed as Mace got to his feet. “No, we haven’t. Not that it’s any business of yours.”
“Hot damn! I finally came first at something.”
“Hey!” Krysta objected, but laughingly, at being a point of contention and competition between the two men.
“No disrespect intended, my dear.” Mace was quick to assure her, though the grin hadn’t left his face. “It’s just such a novel experience.”
“Would you shut up, please?” Drake shot Mace a pained look. “I’m trying to propose here.”
“What do you know? I beat you to that as well. My luck is looking up!” Mace shied away from the fist thrown negligently in his direction and wisely closed his mouth though his lips still curved in a wide smile.
Drake dropped to one knee, holding Krysta’s hand in his. “I’m terrible at this,” he muttered, “as I am at so many other things.” The earnest look in his eyes sent a pang through her. “But in order to have Mace, it looks like you have to accept me as well. I want you to know that I’ve wanted you since the moment I first saw you. I’ve respected your skills and your heart, your compassion and your courage, for as long as I’ve known you. I’ll honor you and cherish you—if you’ll let me—and love you with all my heart. I don’t know when it happened or how, but I do love you, Krysta. You’ve taken a place in my heart I never thought to have filled. I only hope you can find some room in yours for me, now that we’re forced by circumstance to join.”
Tears rolled down her face at his misunderstanding of the situation. She mustered the will to speak past the lump in her throat, knowing he needed to be set straight before they went any further.
“Drake,” she swallowed hard, “I don’t need to find room in my heart because you’re already there.” She saw hope light his eyes, but he still seemed skeptical. “I’ve been struggling with my feelings for you both. True, I made love with Mace, but I probably would have done the same with you, given the opportunity. But when Wil got kidnapped…”
“My seduction plans went out the window,” Drake finished for her, seeming more confident now.
She nodded. “I’ve been so conflicted. I didn’t understand how I could want two such completely different men—and at the same time. I worried about how to choose between you. And now I see, I wasn’t meant to choose at all. I was meant to have you both, if you’ll have me.”
“If? Are you kidding? Krysta…” his voice dropped with emotion, “…I’ve never told any woman what I’m telling you now. I love you, Krysta Vonris, and I will love you, and you alone, for the rest of my days. Please say you’ll be my wife.”
She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him in answer. The joyful kiss turned passionate and only Mace’s tug on her shoulders finally drew them apart.
Drake let her go, shooting his friend a dark look that promised retribution, but Mace only shrugged.
“We have to do this right, Drake. Vows first. Fun after.” Mace took one of her hands and Drake the other. They stood in front of her, one on each side, facing her, their dragon partners looming over their shoulders.
“Do you, Krysta, take Mace and Drake to be your husbands?” Nellin spoke an approximation of the ancient words, but they were enhanced by his magic, making Krysta very aware of the power they held.
She took a deep breath.
“I do.” Krysta felt bands of power snapping into place between her and the men, though she’d never experienced this kind of magic before.
“Do you, Drake and Mace, take Krysta to be your wife?” Jenet asked in a soft voice.
Each man answered with an “I do”. The bonds that had started to form when Krysta gave her answer now widened and firmed, joining them together in a way she’d never before experienced.
“Now us.” Jenet prodded the trio with the blunt edge of her talon, nearly knocking them over as they broke apart, laughing. The trio faced the dragons, smiles on their faces.
“Do you, Nellin, take Jenet as your mate, to love, cherish and protect for all your days?” Mace asked.
“I do.” Nellin replied.
“And do you, lovely Jenet,” Drake embellished the words, “take Nellin to be your mate, to love, cherish and protect for all your days?”
“I do.” Jenet rubbed her neck against Nellin’s before they both trumpeted their joy to the skies. A moment later, they bounded into the air, circling each other playfully as they rose into the darkness of the night sky.
Mace and Drake swept Krysta back into their arms, taking turns kissing her breathless. She felt their connections to the dragons through the mating bond and felt the fire in their souls. It was a heady experience, but she didn’t have time to really savor it as first Mace, then Drake, kissed her in ways that made her knees falter. But they were there to catch her, wrapping her in their arms as they carried her to the soft sand in front of the campfire.
“It’s going to be fast this time, Krysta, because of the dragons, but we would never hurt you.” Mace drew away and fumbled in his pack, finally holding up a small jar as Drake grinned.
“Thank the stars one of us is always prepared.” Drake took the jar from his new partner, placing it carefully beside him. “That’s for later. First, we need to get naked.” He glanced skyward. “Fast.”
“Why the rush?” Krysta asked.
Mace turned her in his arms as Drake pulled off her boots, then tugged at the fastenings of her pants and tunic. “We are joined to the dragons. When they mate, so must we. Nellin and Jenet have known for a long time that they would one day mate, but they have never been together. So they’re…eager.” Mace’s expression was so adorably embarrassed, Krysta had to lean up and place a nibbling kiss on his jaw.
“Can’t you feel it?” Drake asked, his breath stirring the hair by her ear as he knelt behind her and tugged at her laces. “Through the connection to us, you might feel a residual of their fire, their passion.”
Krysta examined the new pathways in her mind and soul as Drake continued to undress her, startled to find passion feeding into her from somewhere outside herself. The men, she realized, and their dragons. The fire of their arousal was potent. It made her squirm as Drake slipped her tunic off over her head, leaving her naked. Mace thoughtfully made a blanket of her clothing and his own underneath them as Drake cupped her breasts from behind, teasing her nipples and pressing hot kisses to her neck. She was on fire!
Mace came back to them once he’d finished laying their bed, such as it was, and knelt in front of her. His gaze followed Drake’s hands on her body, apparently liking what he saw.
“You are so beautiful, Krysta,” he whispered. “I never imagined how hot it would make me to see Drake touch you like this.”
Mace leaned in and kissed her, one hand going to the curls at the juncture of her thighs as the other grasped her leg, lifting and tugging until she was open to his exploring fingers. With Drake’s hands still on her breasts, Krysta felt as decadent as a harem girl in Helios. Only it was the other way around. She had the harem, and they were concentrating on her pleasure. It made her want to purr.
Then Mace’s fingers found her button, and she whimpered instead. He moved back from her lips, his gaze appreciative as it wandered down her body, past where Drake still teased her nipples, to where his own fingers teased her *.
“Ready for more, my love?” Mace asked.
She could only nod as one of his long fingers speared into her core, surprising her with his speed and sense of urgency. Then she felt the increased heat from the dragons through their shared bond and knew the men couldn’t last much longer. Stars! She couldn’t last much longer under this kind of pressure. The passion of the dragons washed over them all in waves of heat, firing her blood to a level she’d never before felt. Her body wept, spilling her excitement all over Mace’s probing fingers.
He leaned in and captured a nipple with his mouth as Drake offered it up. Having one man hold her breast while another sucked on it was an experience she’d never even imagined, but it felt right. Being with these two was the most right thing she’d ever done.
“Try this one, brother.” Drake’s rumbling words tantalized next to her ear.
Mace grinned at her when he switched from one nipple to the other. Drake’s fingers immediately teased the wet nipple, sliding around the point and making her moan.
“I think she likes it,” Drake said, nipping at her earlobe as she squirmed. The heat from the dragons combined with the heat these two men generated to send her higher than she’d ever been before. Mace’s fingers rubbed inside her, preparing her, inflaming her.
Mace sat back, letting her nipple go with a pop. “I think she does, Drake. I bet she’d like to have her * licked, don’t you?”
Drake’s hands tensed around her soft skin and she knew Mace had surprised him. He’d surprised her too, with his frank talk, but she liked it more than she would have thought.
Mace drew his fingers out of her channel, swirling around the button at the top of her thighs for a minute before pulling back. “Lay her down, Drake. Maybe you can use that golden tongue of yours on her.”
She was lifted and placed down again on the bedding of discarded clothes, surprised to see Drake was naked too. He must’ve undressed while Mace had her otherwise occupied. Drake spread her legs with little consideration for any modesty she might’ve had, but she was too far gone to object. The dragon heat was really starting to affect her and she could see the dragons’ fire reflected in the men’s eyes as they gazed on her bare body.
Drake didn’t ask, he merely swooped in, latching onto her * with his mobile mouth. She felt his tongue licking patterns over her nubbin, making her come with little effort. She cried out as spasms seized her womb, a small completion that only set her up for more as the assault on her senses went on and on. There was no respite while the dragon fever heated them all, only pleasure and more pleasure, each touch, each lingering caress, building on the next in a spiral that grew higher and tighter with every movement.
Much as the dragons circling closer and closer in the starry night above them.
Drake moved back with a satisfied grin as he rolled her to her side. Mace was there, facing her, as she settled on one hip, and Drake snuggled in behind her. Mace lifted her top leg, pulling it high and draping it over his hip, opening her in front and behind as Drake’s slick fingers sought her back opening.
She’d been taken there only a few times in her life, back in her youth. She hadn’t objected to the sensation, but never found even a hint of the pleasure she felt now, from the lightest brush of Drake’s skilled fingers on her skin. She knew this night would be different from all others she’d ever known.
The jar Mace had given Drake suddenly plopped down into the sand above her head, and she realized Drake had used some of the cream it held to make this easier on them both. She knew what was coming and now that the dragon fire had found its way into her blood, she was looking forward to experiencing these two men…together.
They couldn’t wait much longer. The fire inside would not be denied. Drake’s fingers speared inside her, well lubricated with the cream. With her passions running so high, there was no discomfort, only the driving need to have his cock replace those long fingers.
“Please, Drake!” she cried out as he removed his fingers.
“Yes, my love. Take us now. We cannot wait.” Drake slid into the passage he’d prepared, making her whimper, while Mace’s gaze held hers. She saw the fire leap in his eyes as Drake claimed her.
“Join with us now, brother,” Drake encouraged. “We have little time.”
Yet Mace held back, his cock head just teasing the slippery opening that wept for him. Krysta wasn’t yet complete. She needed Mace to make her whole.
“Come on, Mace. I need you!” she implored him, tugging at his shoulders as he seemed to memorize her face.
“I love you, Krysta. For all my days.” His rumbling words preceded his cock as it shoved home within her channel, the two men filling her as she’d never been filled before, the dragon fire lighting their way.
“Oh!” she cried out as they began to move. She could feel the dragons in the back of her mind, joining for the first time as they careened toward the stars. As the dragons became one, so did their human partners.
And as the dragons began to freefall in ecstasy, so too did their knights. A few thrusts and pleasure burst over all three of them, locked together in coital bliss. The men came as the dragons did, bringing Krysta along in a wave of pleasure higher than she’d ever known. She felt Mace tense as his cock swelled, releasing his seed in her womb. At the same time, Drake’s long member spent in her back channel. She clenched and pulsed around both of them as they made her come as she never had before.
Tears streaked from her eyes, but there was no pain, only pleasure. A passion so great, it enveloped three humans and two dragons for a mindless moment in which nothing existed in the world but a pleasure so intense it was all that mattered.
The dragons broke apart in the nick of time, their wings scraping the surface of the sea as they spread wide to resume flight. They looked sluggish—replete with the satisfaction of their first mating. Nellin flamed as he glided, echoing the fire of their passion and the light of their love, visible to all as they winged wearily away from near catastrophe.
On the sandy beach, the human side of the family was feeling much the same.