The Dragon Healer Read online

  “It is a hazard of my profession nonetheless.”

  He made a sound in between a sigh and a growl that wasn’t hard to interpret. Amazingly, he was jealous.

  She looked up at him, confused, oddly flattered and—she wasn’t too proud to admit—aroused. Again. Still. She wasn’t sure which.

  Brodie was everything she’d dreamed of in a man and never really thought existed. He was a knight. A man of honor, without doubt. Only honorable men were chosen as knights. Dragons, it was said, were excellent judges of character.

  He was also by far the most handsome man she had ever been near. And his attractiveness wasn’t just skin-deep. The obvious love he had for his dragon friend showed in his every action. He had been polite, kind, funny and welcoming. Sexy too, though not in a blatant way…until just now. Her eyes were drawn by the erection he did little to hide.

  Admittedly, his tunic covered him, just barely. But judging by the impression in the fabric, he could not have easily hid his generous proportions even if he’d tried. Her mouth watered at the thought of touching him. There.

  “What is this?” She was baffled by her own reactions. She met his gaze, knowing her flushed face and wide eyes showed her confusion and probably her arousal as well.

  “Whatever you want it to be, milady.” His voice had turned seductive and low.

  On one hand, she wanted him to grab her and take the decision out of her hands, but on the other, she knew he was not the kind of man to force a woman into intimacy—even if she was ultimately willing. No, Silla would have to be bold and make up her own mind. There was no easy way out for her here. She wanted him—a miracle in itself—and yet she was afraid.

  “I am not accustomed to this kind of thing.” She looked down at her hands, knowing the heat in her cheeks only increased.

  Brodie moved, turning so that both of his feet touched the floor and he was left sitting on the side of the bed, next to her. One of his large hands lifted to stroke her cheek, and she found herself leaning into his caress.

  “Don’t you think I know that? You are a special woman, Silla. I recognized that from almost the first moment we met. I know this is fast, but such is the way with knights.”

  He shrugged, and she wasn’t sure what he meant about knights being faster than others. Perhaps it was the danger of the lifestyle they led? Maybe they seized every moment because they were in such constant danger? The thought made her cringe inwardly. The idea that he put himself in harm’s way on a regular basis both frightened her and made her feel pride in him, in his calling.

  He leaned closer, but made no move to claim her lips. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin, feel the heat of him along her side. She knew what he was doing. He was dangling temptation in her path and seeing if she would take that final step, bridge the small distance between them and take what she wanted. In that way, he would know it truly was what she wanted, not something he had persuaded. Silla was both glad of his care for her feelings and disturbed that she would have to make the move.

  Dare she?

  Oh, yes, she thought as she joined her lips to his. She most definitely needed to dare this one time. She might come to regret her choice tomorrow, but for tonight, she would live a dream. She would suspend worry and doubt, and share her body with a man too good to be true. Too good to be hers for any longer than the space of a single, stolen night.

  She pushed him back down onto the large bed and straddled his hard body. Now that she had made her decision, she had become the aggressor—a role she had never played before but found she enjoyed immensely. She was careful of his wound. It would not do to make him bleed again. Not now, when pleasure was on offer.

  She kissed him deeply, plundering and allowing her mouth to be plundered in return. All the while, her fingers were busy with the ties of his tunic, loosening the maddening knots that kept her from her goal—his skin. The more she could touch him, the better.

  After a battle with the stubborn fabric, she finally was able to push the tunic up and over his cooperative shoulders. He lifted, helping shift the cloth. Her focus had narrowed to this one man, this huge bed and her desire to join with him in every way she knew how. At least for this one blessed night, never to be repeated.

  His chest was heavily muscled and scarred like his legs had been. His arms had taken the worst of the cuts over the years, but though many, few looked as if they had been severe when made. The extent of his injuries distracted her for only a moment, but it was long enough for him to turn the tables.

  Brodie rolled, switching places so that she was under him. He’d hiked up the skirt of her simple dress in the process so that it rode around mid-thigh on her. He took quick advantage, planting his knees between hers, using one hand to push the fabric of her dress higher. She wore little beneath, but he was left only in his trews, so she supposed they should be even. Once he rid her of her dress, she would be left with only the thin covering of her pantaloons.

  How she wished all the fabric that remained was gone already. She wanted nothing to come between them. Not now. She was too primed. Too ready. She wanted him, inside her, pumping into her waiting, receptive body.

  She helped him remove her dress, gasping for air as his hands cupped her bare breasts. She thought she could not want him more. She’d been wrong. As he played with her sensitive nipples, then bent to lick them and suck them into his mouth one at a time, she learned the real meaning of yearning.

  A shock of ecstasy made her gasp as pleasure rolled over her in a wave that took her by surprise. He sucked hard on one breast while pinching the other gently in a repetitive motion that made her moan. No man had elicited such responses from her. Not ever.

  He pulled back and smiled, and she knew he understood what was going on in her body. His eyes held knowledge that she did not understand and secrets that made him happy for some reason. She didn’t question it, she only wanted more of the pleasure he had taught her greedy body. She had become a wanton, it seemed, and all it had taken was this man to bring it about.

  “There are still too many clothes,” he complained with a smile, nipping at the soft skin of her belly as he stalked lower over her body. His hands untied the little bows of her pantaloons and pulled them down, his mouth following their path with small kisses.

  She was shocked when his mouth stopped at the apex of her thighs and the fabric continued its downward slide until it was gone from her body. He spread her legs and then his tongue did the most amazing things to her clit. She’d been taught about anatomy, of course. Every good healer knew the parts of the body and their functions. But never had she fully understood the purpose of the clitoris until now.

  Brodie taught her things about her own body that made her want to laugh, cry and scream in pleasure all at the same time. She came again—harder this time, though she would not have believed such a thing was possible—with his mouth on her pussy. Her body hummed and unbelievably, was ready for more when he sat up between her thighs and removed his trews.

  And there he was. Magnificent. Large, erect, well-shaped and all for her. At least for tonight. That lovely cock would be the instrument of her pleasure, if the Lady blessed her with yet another new experience.

  Silla had been bedded before, but never, it seemed, by such a skilled and caring lover. So far, this experience had been everything she had dreamed of. Everything she had never thought she would ever experience. Fairy tale stuff about which young women dreamed.

  She reached for him, wanting to give him a taste of what he’d already given her, but he stopped her and moved out of range. Her gaze met his and found him smiling gently.

  “This time is for you, my dear Silla. It is my time to prove to you what you are capable of. My time to try to convince you this should not be our only time. Maybe tomorrow I’ll let you play.” He shrugged, though the look in his eyes told her he was looking forward to letting her have her way with him.

  “You want more than just this night?” she asked, dumbfounded b
y his words. Could he really want more than just this? She had not dared hope…

  “I want you. Repeatedly. As much as you’ll allow and more.”

  Could he be serious? He looked serious. She began to believe and a small flicker of hope took shape in her heart, a tiny ember that could either be nurtured into flame or left to die on the hearth. Only time would see which way it would go.

  “I want you, Brodie. Will you come into me now?” She spoke in a soft voice, slightly embarrassed by the words, but wanting him to know how she felt.

  The broadening of his smile was her answer as he moved back between her thighs, positioning himself between her slick folds. His tongue had prepared the way, it seemed, eliciting the response from her body that would allow easy passage for his large size.

  She knew the theory of how their parts would fit and had experienced it several times, but never with such a big man and never when she was truly prepared. Never had she responded to any man the way she responded to Brodie.

  He slid inside with only minimal difficulty and then just stayed there, filling her. His gaze sought hers and silent communication seemed to pass between them. His eyes asked if she was all right and seemed to find their answer in her expression.

  She was more than fine, if truth be told. She was experiencing true desire for the first time in her life and enjoying the feel of him inside her, testing her limits, rubbing against hidden points that made her want to squirm.

  It was delightful. And it only got more so when he began to move. A slow rhythm at first that built and built as he watched her every response. A catch in her breath earned her a growl of approval and an increase in the pleasurable assault on her every sense.

  His manly scent enticed her. The sound of his grunts and growls made her passion rise higher. The sight of him rising over her, his body straining against hers, was a new dream come true. The feel of him inside her and against her gave her delicious goose bumps and his skin had an almost addictive, salty tang against her mouth.

  She felt something monumental gathering inside her. Tension of the most delicious kind and much greater than anything she’d experienced before. Her pleasure increased along with his pace until he was ramming into her in short digs that made her keen on every stroke. She came with a cry wrenched from her soul as he tensed above her, his hot seed flooding her womb with his warmth.

  She spoke his name like a prayer as she held on for dear life, her body spinning into the vortex of bliss she had never known. So this then, was what drove so many people. She thought she finally understood. And it had taken this special man to teach her. Brodie was dear to her. So dear.

  She would have said she loved him, if she still believed in such things. But love meant pain in her experience and it never lasted. Still, she was immensely fond of Brodie and would willingly be his bed partner any time he crooked his little finger. She was already addicted to his touch. Addicted to the amazing pleasure only he had ever taken time to show her. Perhaps, she thought, only he could bring it.

  A sobering thought.

  Brodie withdrew after a long moment and reached over the side of the bed to her stack of clean cloths. Holding her gaze, he wiped between her thighs, cleaning her. It was an intimate act nobody had ever performed for her, and it had the odd effect of making her want him all over again.

  Her body was buzzing anew with arousal when he slid his fingers inside her, rubbing up against a spot that made her moan. He captured the sound with his lips as he kissed her senseless.

  And that was when she heard another man chuckle.

  Chapter Five

  “We fly here in the dead of night because we heard you were injured, and what do I find but your hand up a willing woman’s pussy.”

  “Stars damn your hide, Geoff, you always had lousy timing,” Brodie groused, breaking away from Silla’s sweet kiss.

  He kept her legs splayed and his fingers up her cunt for all to see on purpose, even though she tried to squirm away from him. If she was going to be their wife, she would have to get used to Geoff watching them fuck—and Brodie watching them fuck, for that matter. Better to see if she was up for it now, to avoid misunderstandings.

  “This is Silla,” Brodie continued. “She is special to me, Geoff, so be polite and I might even see if she’s willing to bed you.”

  “What?” Silla’s eyes widened, and Brodie knew he had some fast talking to do.

  “Remember when I said marriage in the Lair involved two knights and one woman?” He waited for her to nod, even as he rubbed her clit with slow, deliberate action. “I want you to be my wife, Silla. Mine and Geoff’s. Forever. For always. To have and to hold and fuck together and apart.” He felt a rush of fluid coat his hands, and he knew the idea appealed. “Think about it, Silla. Two cocks to give you pleasure, two men to cherish you for all your days, two warriors and their dragon partners to protect you always, and two hearts to share your love.”

  “Are you serious?” Silla’s words were breathed in a whisper so low he hardly heard it. But the renewed thrum of her body under his gave him hope.

  “As serious as I have ever been in my life. Knights often know right away when they meet the woman who is meant to share their lives. It is a blessing of our kind. I knew earlier this evening that I had met my match. Geoff’s too, though you don’t know him yet. I would bet everything I hold dear that once you get to know him a little, he will feel about you the way I already do.”

  “What way is that?” Her breath caught as he increased the pressure of his fingers inside her channel. He lowered his head to kiss her nipple, drawing it to a peak that made her gasp before he answered.

  “I believe I will love you, Silla.” He phrased his declaration carefully, guessing from the description of her past that she was cynical about love, and had no belief in love at first sight. “Now please let me fuck you again before I explode, then we can sit down with Geoff and you can get to know him a little.” He didn’t wait for her reply, turning to Geoff and jerking his head toward the chair near the bed. “Sit down and be quiet. This won’t take but a moment.”

  “You want him to watch?” she asked in a shocked whisper as Brodie settled between her legs once more.

  He wasn’t about to chance her leaving if he let her up even for a second. She needed to come again and again until she was used to his touch and addicted to the pleasure he could give her. This was also a test of sorts. Dragons were notorious exhibitionists. When the dragons took to the sky in their mating flights, they didn’t always check to see that their human counterparts were in a private place first. Lair life was lusty, and unmated knights often ended up being voyeurs to some extent. It was accepted as a matter of necessity when living with dragons.

  Would Silla be open to the experience? And would she be able to share herself with Geoff as she had done with Brodie? This was the first step to finding out.

  Brodie removed his fingers and slid his cock into her without much fuss. He was sure to spread her legs wide so Geoff could see as much as possible. He played with Silla’s generous breasts as he pumped within her, mindful of the audience, which excited the inner exhibitionist all knights seemed to carry.

  He noted the direction of her gaze. Several times she looked over at Geoff, blushing to the roots of her hair but excited all the same. For it was at those times when she met Geoff’s very interested gaze that her body gave forth its nectar around his cock, lubricating his way. Oh yes, she was interested. She was responding very well to this little unplanned test.

  Brodie slowed his pace, wanting to push her closer to her limits. He pulled her thighs over his and leaned back, cupping her breasts in his hands.

  “Our Silla has lovely round tits, doesn’t she, Geoff?”

  “What in the hells are you doing?” Geoff asked in the privacy of their minds. It was a gift of their partnering with dragons that they could communicate silently with each other as well. “You’re going to scare her off. If she really is the one for us, we have to be careful h
ow we handle her.”

  “Oh, she is our mate, Geoff. I have little doubt of that. She can hear Phelan.”

  “Truly?” Geoff’s tone held hope. “She can bespeak dragons?”

  “Truly, brother. She can. She is our mate. It is time we taught her what that means.”

  Geoff stood and came over to the bedside. They were in the middle of the huge mattress, so there was room for the other knight to sit.

  Geoff reached out and plucked at the nipple standing upright on the closest breast. Brodie still cupped her, but Geoff tugged at her nipple, working together as they would for the rest of their lives—if Silla agreed.

  “Very fine indeed,” Geoff agreed. “But does she follow orders?”

  “And you said I was pushing things? You really want to try your discipline games on her now?” Brodie complained to his fighting partner, who he knew occasionally liked a bit of kink from his bed sport.

  “Why not? If she is the one for us, she will be excited by the idea, don’t you think?”

  “If this goes badly, I will never forgive you.”

  Geoff seemed to rethink his plan and bent to retrieve some of Silla’s bandages. She’d left her satchel open wide so she could easily access things and Geoff was taking full advantage.

  “Does milady allow you to command her pleasure?” Geoff asked aloud. “Does she trust you enough to let me tie her to the bedpost?”

  Silla’s body jumped under him and Brodie tried to read her expression. He bent, placing his lips next to her ear.

  “Geoff is friskier than I, I’m afraid. He likes to play games, but he will not harm you in any way, my love. Nor will I. I promise you on my life. My word as a knight. Do you trust me? I will guide you and protect you, but you must trust me or we will not go any further.”

  “What are you planning to do to me?” The question came out frightened, but Brodie could hear the small quiver of arousal in her tone as well. And the way her sweet cunny clenched repeatedly around his cock told him she was excited rather than truly scared.