Sea Dragon (Dragon Knights Book 9) Read online

  “Can you stay here to guard these for a few minutes?” she asked the dragon. “I need to run up to the house and freshen up a bit. I’m also going to grab a sandwich and bring some food and drink down so I can continue working. Can I bring you anything?”

  “I will stay. And I ate some fish while I was out hunting spears, so I am content. Thank you for asking. I regret putting you to such hard work, but this is vital, Livia.”

  “I understand,” she told him. “Don’t worry. I want these things rendered harmless as much as you do.”

  When Livia returned to the boat house, Hrardorr was dozing. He woke the moment she entered, and she smiled. He was a good guard, even as exhausted as he was from his exertions that day. Night had fallen, but the work in the town went on. Fires were lit everywhere, and the normal quiet of the night was broken by dragon snorts and the occasional intimidating burst of flame—coming from the square where they’d put all the prisoners under dragon guard—and people bustling about, carrying supplies and cleaning up after the battle.

  The townsfolk had begun to return to reclaim their home. Livia was proud to see the way Dragonscove was bouncing back from the dreadful events of the day.

  “Genlitha approaches. Can you open the sea doors for her? She is not very good at swimming underwater yet, but she can paddle around on the surface nicely.” Hrardorr’s observation caught Livia off guard. She hadn’t realized Genlitha was coming to the boat shed. Good thing it was large enough to hold two dragons…just barely.

  “I’ll get the doors.” Livia went to the far end of the tall shed, built between two wide piers to her father’s exacting specifications. She tugged on the mechanism that opened the huge doors and stood back to secure them in the open position while searching the area for Genlitha.

  Sure enough, she was making her way toward them at a steady paddle. She wasn’t kicking up any water, so her movements were mostly soundless, which was good, though her light color stood out a bit against the dark water.

  “Thank you, Livia,” Genlitha said as she paddled through the open doors. Livia closed them behind the sky blue dragon. “Oh, this is cozy.”

  “I’m sorry it’s not more comfortable. This place was designed to shelter my sailboat, not dragons,” Livia explained as she walked back down the left side pier toward Hrardorr while Genlitha pulled herself out of the water onto the right pier and padded up toward the main deck where Hrardorr was sitting.

  “It’s fine, Livia. Plenty of room for us,” Genlitha insisted graciously. Her large head rotated, craning on her long neck as she looked all around the boathouse. “You’ve made quick work of those spears. Well done. Hrardorr, did you know Livia has already taken apart so many of those awful weapons? You two are to be commended for acting so fast.” She shuddered as she arrived at the main deck that was much wider than the piers. “I hate to think what could happen if the wrong people get their hands on those things.”

  “I intend to get my most trusted craftsmen working as soon as possible to turn the blades into something a lot more harmless and much prettier,” Livia said with a grin. “We can sell the majority to pay for the damages to the town, but if you want one as a souvenir, I’m sure that can be arranged as well.”

  “I’ll have to think about that.” Genlitha winked one great eye at her. “I’d want to be sure the townsfolk had enough of the proceeds first before we did anything frivolous, but all girls do like sparkly things, don’t we, Livia?”

  Livia had to laugh as she agreed with the pretty dragon.

  “We will stay here tonight to guard the diamonds,” Hrardorr stated, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “I will dive again to check for more of the weapons, once I’ve rested a little longer. It was a big day.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Gowan’s voice came to them from the doorway. Livia spun to find both Gowan and Seth entering the boathouse. She went to them, hugging each of them tightly.

  Gowan walked over to the basket where she’d been placing the diamond spearheads and let out a long, low whistle. “That’s quite a sight, isn’t it?” he asked Seth, who had joined him, one arm still around Livia.

  “I’ve never even seen one diamond crystal that large, much less a basket full,” Seth agreed.

  “Genlitha told me the plan for dealing with this,” Gowan said. “I think it’s great that you’ll be financing the rebuilding of the town from the enemy’s weapons.”

  “It’s sort of poetic justice,” Seth agreed.

  “I’ve already decided to commission new and better harbor gun emplacements, regardless of what the town council says.” Livia was adamant about that. The state the defenses had been allowed to fall into was shameful.

  “A wise move. I’d be happy to share my thoughts on what would work after the day I just had. I saw some areas where we could’ve used a cannon or two,” Seth mused. “And I bet Petr, the smith from the Lair, and the town smiths would have some advice for you as well.”

  “Excellent ideas, Seth. I’m going to talk to them tomorrow. Or as soon as everyone has a chance to catch their breath a bit.” She decided on quick action then and there.

  “If I know Petr, he’ll already be working on it before you even speak to him. He’s proactive that way. As are most of the smiths I’ve known.”

  Seth smiled at her, and her knees went a little wobbly. She wanted so much to just lean on these men after the hell they’d all been through earlier. They were her strength right now. Her security in the storm.

  “Will you two stay with me tonight?” she blurted out the thought foremost in her mind, blushing hotly after she realized what she’d said.

  The men looked at each other and then back at her. It was Gowan who spoke first.

  “Genlitha is staying here with Hrardorr, so I have no reason to go back to the Lair just yet. The leaders got an earful from Gen earlier, and I think I should probably hide out for a bit before going back to face their wrath.” Gowan chuckled, and Livia understood he was mostly joking. Genlitha chuckled too, smoke rising toward the rafters of the boathouse. “I would be honored to stay at your home tonight, and I thank you for the invitation.” Gowan bowed graciously, reminding her in a somewhat comical way of the manners he must’ve been raised with as the son of a lord.

  “I already told Bronwyn I’d be staying in town tonight,” Seth added. “There’s much work to do here, but I do need a place to sleep. I’d be thankful if you’d allow me to stay, Mistress O’Dare.” The twinkle in his blue eyes belied his formal words.

  She knew, if the men stayed in her house, they would also be in her bed, for which she was immensely thankful. She didn’t want to be alone. Not tonight. And though it was still odd to be part of a trio, it felt…right. Somehow.

  She’d have to pay Rosie extra to keep her mouth shut about this one when Father returned, but it would be worth it. So worth it.

  The dragons stayed in the boathouse while the trio shared Livia’s bed. They celebrated victory and just being alive.

  Livia was too keyed up to sleep, even after the languorous lovemaking. Seth had taken her first, hard and fast, burning off all that battlefield energy that had been sustaining him for hours. When he collapsed at her side, it had been Gowan’s turn.

  A more seasoned soldier, Gowan was better able to deal with the built-up stress. He stretched out the love play, finally making her beg him for completion, which he gladly gave. Of the two, Gowan was the more controlled when it came to making love. Someday, she dreamed, she might make him lose that epic control of his.

  But when?

  These moments were stolen out of regular time, she knew. Once her father heard about the attack, he’d be on his way home in a flash. He was not without feeling for her. Quite the contrary. He stayed away so long more because of the memories of her mother than a dislike of his daughter.

  He was in mourning. Livia understood that. And leaving was his way of dealing with it, though she could have wished he’d stay with her and help her through her own loss
. But he didn’t see it. He was too far gone in his own grief to really understand what his absence meant to his only child.

  She’d thought most males were selfish like her father when it came to grief, but now that she’d come to know Hrardorr, her opinions had changed. Hrardorr had shown her that everyone grieved in their own way—some self-destructive, at times.

  Helping Hrardorr, and becoming his friend, had helped her more than anything. She now understood that loss is something everyone comes to know at some point in their lives, though some feel it more than others. For dragons, who had to lose their soul-bonded knights over and over, the loss was no less profound than her own loss of her mother.

  They’d shared their stories out there on the water, where nobody else could hear and no one would judge them. They’d bonded over those stories and the shared sorrow. And they’d both begun to heal a bit, she thought.

  “What happens now?” she whispered, not really sure anybody else was awake to hear her, but Seth rolled over to face her. He bent one elbow, supporting his head with his hand and just looked at her.

  “I’ve been lying here, wondering that myself.”

  “The town continues to clean up and recover,” Gowan added, his deep voice coming from her other side. “You facilitate the grinding of those diamond blades into something harmless. We do the debrief at the Lair and set some things in motion to change the way they run things up there. Seth comes out and tells his parents he is a fighting man after all, though I don’t see why he can’t keep helping Bronwyn too.” Gowan paused, lifting his head to look over at Seth. “I expect you in training from now on, my friend. You’ve proven yourself even more able than most of the young knights. You’ve been blooded. You’ve been in battle. You need to take your rightful place among the fighting ranks, even if you aren’t a knight.”

  Why did she hear an unsaid yet on the end of his sentence? Or was that just wishful thinking?

  Things would be so much easier if both men were knights. Then, she might…just might…be able to keep them both. If their dragons agreed, of course.

  But at least it would be in the realm of possibility then. For now, this trio was a stolen moment. Something not to be repeated unless under extraordinary circumstances. She knew that, but it still broke her heart a little.

  Seth sighed, smiling faintly. “I’ll show up, but I may have to knock a few heads together to prove I belong there. The Lair has gotten used to me being Bronwyn’s errand boy. I don’t think they’ll accept me as a soldier easily now.”

  “Are you kidding?” Gowan scoffed. “Anyone who saw you leading the fight from the battlements knows you’re the real deal, my friend. And we all saw it. While Jiffrey and Benrik held us back, we were all wishing we were down there in the midst of it with you, supporting your valiant defense of the city. You made quite an impression, and when you finally make it back to the Lair, I expect your fathers will have a few words to say to you. As will many others.”

  Seth’s face reddened, and he lowered his head to the pillow, directing his gaze up at the ceiling. Was he embarrassed by Gowan’s praise? Livia thought so, but she also knew the words were well deserved. She rolled toward Seth and put her hand over his heart, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

  “You were so brave. I can’t imagine what you went through, facing those broadsides from the enemy ships the way you did.” She reached up and kissed his stubbly cheek. “You’re my hero. And the town’s hero, if I’m any judge. Many were speaking your praises as I worked among them earlier. Prepare yourself. Things are changing for you, Seth. Even I can see that.” She smiled at him before placing a deeper kiss on his lips, which he returned full force.

  From there, things heated up quickly. She climbed over him to get better access to his mouth…and to other parts. She sank down on his hard cock as if coming home. He felt so good inside her. She felt incomplete without one or the other of them in her yearning core.

  The bed shifted, and she felt something slippery enter her rear hole, along with Gowan’s fingers. Was he?

  Oh, dear. He was.

  She moaned as he slid his cock into her backside, unused to the stretching, the tightness and the unexpected pleasure of it all. Oh, yes. This was something she could come to yearn. It felt so good, so right. These two men were her everything in that moment, her all, her reason to be.

  Then, they started to move.

  Gowan directed the motion and did most of the work, pushing into her, which made her slide upward, making Seth’s cock retreat a bit. Then, as Gowan retreated, his motion guided her downward, fully onto Seth again. It was ingenious. It was incredible. It was heaven itself.

  There was no moment when she wasn’t filled one way or the other, and it didn’t take long to take her to a peak of pleasure that made her cry out. But they kept moving. And another climax hit her out of the blue. Then another.

  She called their names. She begged for…something. She wasn’t even sure what.

  Gowan came, followed swiftly by Seth, filling her, surrounding her, loving her with their bodies in a way that meant the world to her. Gowan collapsed for a moment, squishing her between his heavy body and Seth’s strong muscles, but she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she loved the feeling of being sandwiched between these two incredible men.

  They were so good to her. So loving. So caring.

  She was very much afraid she’d lost her heart. To both of them.

  Gowan rolled away, taking her with him. He placed her gently in the center of the bed while they all recovered a bit. Sometime later, after his breathing had returned to normal, he rose and cleaned up using the water pitcher and bowl on her dresser. Dipping the small towel into the clean water, he came over and took care of her too.

  Such a sweet gesture, though embarrassing to her at first, but he insisted and made her feel comfortable with the way he handled her body. He sat between her legs, splaying them wide as he ran the soft cloth over her, and even within her, which shocked her gaze to his. He only smiled, rubbing over her clit with the towel, then with his warm fingers.

  And then…with his mouth.

  She came again, under his lips, and didn’t know anything further until morning.

  Both men were gone from her bed when she woke. Washing and dressing quickly, she went to find them, hoping they hadn’t left yet. She wanted every last second of this stolen time with them before they had to face the real world again.

  She found Seth in the kitchen with Rosie. He had somehow managed to get on Rosie’s good side. Probably by his heroics and then ministering to the injured the day before. Either way, Rosie was actually not frowning at him, which was a big thing for her. Frowning was her normal mode. If she wasn’t frowning, that was like a full, beaming smile from someone else.

  Rosie was dishing up breakfast, and Livia was pleased to see she had set three places in the dining room. Seth was in the kitchen, helping Rosie carry the heavier things out, which normally would’ve made Rosie growl at anyone else. Today, she merely grunted at Seth, which was another milestone as far as Livia was concerned.

  When Seth saw her, he deposited the heavy tray on the table and came over to give her a good morning kiss. Rosie bustled out of the room, back to the kitchen, and Livia let the kiss evolve as much as Seth wanted. Unfortunately, he let her go far too soon.

  “I can’t stay much longer than breakfast, I’m afraid. I have to help Bronwyn again today. A few dragons were injured yesterday, and they’ll need their wounds tended, which isn’t always easy for her. I tend to do most of the work under her instruction.”

  Was he nervous? Was that why he was so chatty?

  “I know,” she told him simply, holding his hand and trying to convey her understanding. She’d known their time together was short, but she didn’t regret a single minute of it. “Where’s Gowan?”

  “He went down to the boathouse, but he’ll be back any minute.”

  “Have you been to see the dragons this morning?” Livia walked around to her
place at the table, motioning for Seth to do the same as Rosie brought in the last of the trays of food and scurried away.

  “First thing. They passed the night well. Genlitha rearranged a few things to make it more comfortable for them. I told her you probably wouldn’t mind.”

  “Not at all. I’m just glad it was big enough for both of them.”

  Gowan arrived in the dining room at that moment, pausing by Livia’s chair to bestow a fiery kiss on her lips. He sat down on her other side and began serving himself, as the other two had done.

  “They were fine,” Gowan assured Livia, joining the conversation already in progress. “Snug as two birds in a nest.”

  They all laughed as they started to eat heartily of the massive breakfast Rosie had prepared.

  “They’re dragons, not birds,” Livia chided. “And it’s a boathouse, not a nest.”

  More laughter masked the entrance of another male into the room, but when he dropped his sword with a clang on the side table, everyone looked up.

  Livia’s father—Captain O’Dare—had come home.

  *

  Thanks for reading Sea Dragon (Dragon Knights ~The Sea Captain’s Daughter #1). If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.

  The next Dragon Knights story is called Dragon Fire. Scroll down for a sneak peek…

  A complete list of all of Bianca’s books, separated by series, follows the excerpt. You can also check out Bianca’s website at WWW.BIANCADARC.COM. Or you can sign up for Bianca’s Newsletter to be alerted when new books are released.

  EXCERPT FROM DRAGON FIRE

  ©2016 Bianca D’Arc. All Rights Reserved.

  “Father!” Livia jumped to her feet, but the expression on her father’s face wasn’t welcoming. He looked absolutely livid, but willing to listen to whatever paltry explanations the three sitting at the breakfast table had to offer.