Dragon’s Devotion Willa Okati All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2008 Willa Okati
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Dragon’s Devotion Willa Okati Like other former soldiers before him, Kenth has led those eager to escape the cities out to uncharted lands to find new lives. Though happy in his new life, he misses seeing the beautiful dragons flying through the clouds. When an accident with a hunting snare captures a dragon the color of flame, and when that dragon takes on the shape of a man, Kenth falls head over heels in love. Baen’s never met a human, and as a wary, watchful dragon who’s always kept himself to himself, he’s not inclined to like the exuberant frontiersmen and women. Still, he cannot deny his instant connection with Kenth. Kenth’s devotion tempts Baen to stay with this group of pioneers and to create a new life of his own. It’s a hard choice for a loner who’s never known love before, and the decision will change his life forever…
Chapter One “D’you want me to walk the perimeter with you, then?” “‘Perimeter’.” Kenth wrinkled his nose and jostled his walking companion, Paddy. “That sounds a bit military, don’t you think? Puts me in mind of the days when I wore a uniform, and couldn’t wait to walk free again. Do you miss your army days, old man?” “I’ll old man you, you whippersnapper.” Paddy knotted one wiry, knobbyknuckled fist. Tough as shoe leather and lords only knew how old, Kenth was sure he could follow through on the threat, if he weren’t in jest. “Another day,” Kenth said, sparing Paddy’s pride and making peace with two words. “Your military experience is good for more than one thing, and I’ll tell you that for free,” Paddy said after they’d traveled a few more paces, working their way in a rough circle around their people’s encampment in a nearby cave. “How so?” “The armies make a man tough, but if he’s a man of sense he’ll find home all the more precious afterward, and the safety of his people his life’s mission.” Paddy nodded gruffly. “You’re a fine boy to lead us all out of the cities, and we’re smart as tacks to come along.” “You know, I thought you were. All of you took quite the chance on me.” “It was our only chance, but without you there wouldn’t have been neither chance nor choice of any sort.” Paddy shrugged. “The cities will all be gone, soon, and there’ll only be us out here in the empty lands to keep the world alive.”
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“That’s gloomy, grandfather,” Kenth said, using the title as a gesture of respect. Paddy didn’t have any blood family, as far as Kenth knew. Most of the others didn’t, except for a few babes in arms. “That’s truth and nothing but.” Paddy stopped and gazed at the horizon. “There was a lad once, a year or so before I met you. Alan, he was called. He went the other way, up and over.” Paddy sketched the direction in the air. “Toward the seas. Said he’d come back, and I still think he will. Hope he’s happy in the meantime.” Kenth watched Paddy curiously. He’d never heard of anyone successfully breaking free before and might be tempted to anger that this information hadn’t yet been shared, but Paddy spoke in his own time. “Why didn’t you go with him? You were eager enough to come with me.” And glad he was of having the clever old man along to help him manage the settlers. “Because you were a second chance, lad, and the first chance I got, I was too stupid to take. There! That’s a life lesson for you. Now, I’m back for the cave. Too cold out here for old bones.” “As if you couldn’t run a mile uphill both ways and come out smiling.” “Bah.” Paddy waved Kenth off. “Save the sugar for one of the pretty ladies in our company, or one of the handsome young men,” he said slyly. “There’s plenty as would be happy to spend time with you.” Kenth sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not yet.” “When, then?” “When the time’s right, you old busybody!” Kenth deliberately aimed to miss a playful cuff at Paddy. “Weren’t you saying something about going back to the warm cave?” Paddy elbowed him and patted his shoulder, then left. Kenth watched him go, being sure the elderly man was safe, toughness notwithstanding, before changing his focus. He squinted at the winter sun setting over the horizon, its light reflecting off fallen snow only two inches deep -- so far. They’d had a good warm day, one of the last
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for the year if he guessed right, and most of the snow had melted from the peculiarly beautiful twisted trees that grew in arcs and spikes. Hah. That’s odd. Kenth put his hand over his eyes and worked to see past the setting sun. He thought he’d spotted something where there should be nothing, something moving deep within the trees where they grew so thickly among the hills and hummocks they could almost be called a forest. Could be nothing… or could be oncoming danger. Kenth took seriously the task of keeping his frontiersmen and frontierswomen safe. They’d traveled thousands of kilometers by his judging, which some hadn’t thought nearly far enough, to find a good safe place. No looting, no gangs, no shortage of food if you knew where to look, and a warm, homey place to bunk down through the snows. And, the only thing lacking, no dragons swooping in their strange, beautiful arcs through the skies above. Kenth missed them, though he’d never tell. He suspected many of the group he led were still fearful of them, though they had the good sense not to trust tall tales. All the same, he did still wish he could get one more good look at one of the flying beauties who shone fit to rival the sun. Were they frightening? Without a doubt. But they were also beautiful, and every time Kenth had caught sight of one he’d stopped to watch it soar above him, holding his breath in fascinated admiration. People there tended to look at Kenth strangely when he spoke of that and he had the welfare of men and women and children, families and orphans all, to keep watch over out here, so he kept his odd interest in the dragons to himself. If only they could see the beauty for themselves… And then there were stories, of how dragons and men mated. How beautiful it must be…
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Kenth had not had a lover for a long time, and only of late realized it was because when he looked to the skies and saw the dragons flying in intricate patterns, he craved one of them and no other. If only, if only… Ah, well. Dreams, dreams, dreams. They didn’t fill stewpots, and as Kenth recalled he had a rabbit trap or two down there he might as well check while he was at it. He clapped his hands together, fingers cold even in their knitted fibrous mittengloves, and rubbed his palms to warm them. If it’s food, then it’ll come home with me; if it’s something else, well, I’ll worry about it then. He hadn’t seen any predators so far. He wasn’t entirely sure there were any left in this part of the world. Still, he had a good stainless steel knife tucked in his belt. Just in case. Kenth hummed to himself as he walked, his handmade boots with their sedge grass stuffing to keep his toes warm crunching through the shallow snow. He nodded in time to some tune one of their musicians had played that he couldn’t get out of his head; a love ballad, if he remembered right. Gods, but it was good to hear music again! No one ever played in the war-torn cities. He’d just switched to whistling the tune softly when he broke through the tree line to look down the shallow valley where he’d placed his finest trap by a stream thinly frozen over, and stopped in his tracks, staring at what he’d caught. The thing which he’d caught stared right back at him, its obsidian-dark eyes as large as saucers in its proud, finely scaled face. Its long, sinuous body curled in on itself, defensive tail wrapped around its muzzle. Kenth would have thought it was sleeping or hunting if not for the one anomaly, a surprisingly delicate hind leg caught in his trap by the ankle. A dragon. Lords have mercy and saints bear witness. He’d gone and caught a dragon in his rabbit trap. Kenth blinked. The dragon didn’t. It hugged its tail tighter around its muzzle until only its vast black eyes were visible. A shudder ran the length of its magnificent
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body, scales undulating smoothly until the movement reached its trapped ankle. Then, it hissed, steam curling off the snow. That snapped Kenth out of his stunned immobility. Whatever else this creature might be, it was hurt, and he’d been the cause of the damage with his trap. It needed help, and helping others was Kenth’s chosen life’s work. “I won’t hurt you,” he said, holding his hands up palms-out and taking a careful, easy step forward. “I promise on my soul I won’t cause you any pain I don’t have to.” The dragon hissed a second time, scales clattering. It didn’t trust him, and frankly Kenth couldn’t blame it a bit. He guessed he was about to find out once and for all if dragons really did eat people. He’d not turn back, though. “All I’m going to do is open the trap,” he said as he moved at a sideways-forward slant down the length of the dragon’s body. He mimed the unlocking mechanism. “Once the trap’s undone, you can fly away, and you’ll be free. You have my word.” The dragon rumbled, very nearly a growl. Kenth guessed that meant it didn’t believe him any more than it trusted him. Kenth kept his breathing even, the rhythm calming, even humming a little under his breath. Lullabies worked for frightened children and he’d seen hunters lure prey by soothing them thus. The music seemed to be doing its job well enough; he reached the trapped limb with nothing worse happening than the dragon glaring as if he’d like to bore a hole through Kenth’s hide. When he reached the dragon’s trapped ankle, Kenth winced. The damage was far worse than he’d thought at first, almost as if his dragon had tried chewing its way out. No disturbances in the snow newer than the latest snowfall, though. That discomfited Kenth. Had the dragon decided to lie down and die? Not on his watch. Kenth braced himself for a blow to the head from the dragon’s powerful tail, or claws to the neck, and tried patting its heaving side to reassure it further still. “I’ll be as gentle as I can,” he said, amazed at how supple and velvety the dragon’s scales were to the touch, and how warm, like the touch of sunshine. Though
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he couldn’t tell, he suspected the dragon’s dull orange color would be flame-bright red and gold if the noble beast wasn’t in these dire straits. The dragon twitched, then relaxed, surprising Kenth. He tried again, petting the dragon’s flank and crooning nonsense, not really wanting to stop. Touching a dragon was like nothing else in the world. Addictive. He ran his palm over its hip once more, promising himself he’d get back to the business at hand afterwards. With a huff and a hiss, the dragon melted away. And in its place… a naked man. A young man with hair so black it shone blue, his skin as white as the snow, and his muscles lean and rippling as the dragon’s. Kenth jerked his hand back and almost stumbled ass over teakettle in surprise. His dragon glared at Kenth, baring its -- his -- teeth. “Sorry,” Kenth said, clearing his throat. “Forgive me; I meant no offense.” He’d no idea what else to say, too dumbstruck by the man’s beauty for his mind to work properly. The naked man snapped at Kenth and tossed his head, jerking his chin in the direction of his trapped ankle. Kenth had the oddest feeling that he was embarrassed by changing shape. Why? He had nothing to be ashamed of in either form, whoever he was, and he was most definitely a “he,” his limbs long and supple and strong, his shoulders broad and his hips narrow, and his… Kenth coughed and cleared his throat. “It’s been way, way too long,” he said to himself. Gods, he’d have to count the months of his long dry spell on both hands and the hands of another. Too much to do to worry about sleeping alone, wasn’t there? Careful, as careful as he could possibly be, Kenth opened the catch that bound the trap together. He was a master at knots; a human might be able to figure out the intricacy but not if they were in a panic, and it’d have been far beyond what a dragon’s talons were capable of. When the knot came free and the trap unraveled away, Kenth sat back quickly on his heels. “There. You’re free.”
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The dragon glared at Kenth, as if he didn’t believe it for a second, and twitched his leg. He grimaced, face drawing tight, and blinked when he found he could move his entire body. And when he moved, it was almost as quick as lightning, his balance unsteady but stubbornly independent when he stood on two feet. Kenth was torn between staring at the man’s proud, beautiful face, and wanting to doctor his injuries. The damage wasn’t so bad in human form, but the skin was still raw and scored and needed seeing to. “Will you let me --” he started. The dragon changed forms again so quickly Kenth didn’t see it happening -- one second a man, the next second a dragon with newly crimson-red scales -- and in the next blink of an eye, he had flown away as sure as an arrow flew. “That answers that,” Kenth said, still on his knees in the snow, stunned by wonder. He said what’d been on his mind anyway, just to release the burden. “I would have asked you home with me. Taken care of you, if you’d allowed it. You’re beautiful. Handsome. I want to know you, Dragon.” He stood and dusted the snow off, taking one last wistful glance at where the dragon had flown away. “If you ever want to come back,” he called, “you’ll be welcome. I promise.” Kenth hoped that the dragon had heard him. But who could know, save for the dragon himself?
Chapter Two Baen lay with his belly to the snow, his muzzle protected by his tail, and banked his fires as low as they would go to disguise himself in the night. He tilted his head and stared, baffled, at the low cave that disappeared into the hill behind it. Amber-orange light spilled through the cracks of a well-made door cunningly fitted to the rock, along with the smoky smell of a sod fire. Humans built their homes inside rock? Baen had never seen such a thing, and he’d never heard of it either. The humans he’d seen, in the cities, clung together or fought others away in towering, crumbling edifices of steel and broken glass. They were thin, pale, half-mad with fear or anger, and willing to chuck their nearest and dearest under the blade for a half-loaf of stale bread. He’d had far too much of patrolling the cities and witnessing too much misery to make a dent in. Taken too many battle wounds, and lost his dragon’s voice along the way. All he wanted now was peace and quiet, and by the dragon lords he’d been so annoyed at finding this expanse of empty space populated that if he hadn’t been caught in the trap he’d have flown off straightaway. But now that he observed them… These humans were so different from those Baen had seen starving and warring in the cities that they might well have been another species, and Baen wasn’t any too sure they weren’t. From where he’d lain in wait and watched, all unobserved -- the only way the Healer had seen him before was his own lack of caution -- these humans were rosy-cheeked and well-fed, their leanness carved of hard work rather than starvation if he was any judge. They smiled at each other, traded jokes, offered a hand, and even when they bickered it was with the playfulness of dragonling cubs. And, to a man, they all looked to the Healer as their commander.
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Baen wriggled forward slightly, hoping for another look at the Healer. As different as these humans were from the city dwellers, the Healer was as far different from those he led. He stood taller and stronger, yes, as powerful and agile as a buck, but there was more to it. No matter how Baen tried to scoff the notion away, he couldn’t deny what he’d seen in the Healer’s eyes when the man had knelt to free him. Kindness. Honesty. Reverence, respect, awe. Not fear. Admiration. And the touch of his hands, so gentle and sensual… He shuddered, angrily confused at the low thumping in his belly. Too much like arousal for his taste -- no, exactly like arousal. What fresh madness was this? There were stories, of course, dragons always told stories, of dragons mating with men, but those were no more than silly legends. Weren’t they? Then why are you lurking outside the Healer’s home like a lovesick swain, hoping for one more glance at him? Baen growled at himself. He should leave. Take to the skies and leave this place behind and find somewhere uninhabited to lick his wounds. Should, but didn’t. Couldn’t. The door to the cave opened, and the Healer stepped outside, his warm breath forming dense curls of smoke in the frigid air. Snow was coming, heavy snow, and soon. He shut the door behind him and stood, gaze lifted and fixed on the horizon, his well-shaped lips slightly parted as if in yearning hope. He waited for Baen to return. Baen was sure of it. Telling himself it was only for the sake of trying to understand what was happening to him, Baen studied the Healer. Tall as a young oak, his long hair the color of autumn leaves bound in a cord-wrapped queue that hung down his back. Baen couldn’t decide if he was a handsome human or not, his face composed of sharp angles and planes, his eyes a warm hazel, and his skin smooth, his hips narrow and his shoulders broad.
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Baen shook himself in annoyance. Perhaps he did find the human attractive. So he craved the easement of the pounding erotic need pooling heavy in his groin and wanted nothing more than to slake his lust in the human. So what? As a rule, Baen was not a dragon who willingly sought out companionship. He flew alone. Always had and always would. Life was simpler that way, and he didn’t have the knack for making friends, not among dragons. Never had. He doubted it would be any different with humans. The Healer exhaled slowly, his disappointment clear when the skies remained empty. “Wherever you are, I hope you’re well,” he said. “And if you ever come back this way, you’re welcome.” His cheeks colored faintly pink. “In either form, and in whatever manner you want. If you thought of me kindly --” He cleared his throat. “Well. That’s a crazy dream, isn’t it? As if a dragon would care two pennies for a tall, lanky human like me.” Shaking his head, the Healer retreated, firmly shutting the door of the cave behind him. A surge of music, fiddle and flute and a sweet soprano, filled the air for a too-brief moment, and then it was gone, as was he. Baen’s sigh melted the snow in front of him. He pawed the soggy ground beneath, claws hooking deep. Dragons weren’t very good liars. He’d wait a little longer, until all the humans were asleep, and see if he’d changed his mind about wanting the Healer by then. And if he hadn’t… well, dragons were poor liars, but there was nothing more clever. They’d see what they’d see, wouldn’t they? Oh, hells. Who was he trying to fool, anyway? Of course he’d go satisfy his curiosity, as soon as the camp was asleep. Finding answers to questions was a dragon’s natural instinct. It was, often, what they did best.
*** The hand pressed over Kenth’s mouth woke him from his shallow sleep. His eyes flew open, but he held his body otherwise as still as a carven statue, barely breathing. What? Who?
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Dark eyes he’d fixed permanently in his memory hove into view above him, set deep in the snow-white face Kenth would never be able to forget. The dragon. His dragon, returned in human form. Very, very naked human form. He had braced himself over Kenth with his weight on one bare arm and his knees. Straddling him. Kenth tried to ask the question with his eyes. What are you doing here? His dragon shook his head, warning him to keep silent. Intense stare unwavering, he slowly removed his hand from Kenth’s mouth and pressed a finger to his own lips. Message received. Kenth nodded slowly, careful to telegraph his movements. But there was so much he wanted to ask -- not the least of which was, how in blue blazes did you get past the locks and latches and make your way in here? More, he needed to know why. The dragon stared at Kenth, lips pressed together, his assessment bone-and-soul deep. That sort of intensity would make a man wet himself, or so Kenth thought would normally be the result. In his case, the half-erection he often had when sleeping had stiffened with a nearly painful jolt, lying flat and thick against his hip. The only wet here was a bead of precome bubbling from the slit, absorbed by his well-worn trousers. Huff. His dragon’s nostrils flared. He placed his finger beneath Kenth’s chin and lifted his head, turning him this way and that, studying him. Then, in an expression so human Kenth almost forgot the silence and laughed out loud, his dragon rolled his eyes and blew strands of ebony hair off his forehead. For that, the dragon gave him a warning glance. Kenth tried and failed to stifle his grin and nodded again. The dragon shook his head, lips moving silently; if he’d been a human or made any noise at all, Kenth would have said he was muttering, disgruntled, to himself. He shot Kenth an unreadable look and sighed, then lowered the weight of his body fully atop Kenth.
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Kenth stilled, his grin fading. For a half-second he’d been flooded with alarm. He didn’t know dragon etiquette, but he’d have bet humans getting hard-ons for them wasn’t high on the list of polite behavior. That, however, was before he sensed a matching hardness jutting between the dragon’s pale, bare thighs, poking him in the chest for heaven’s sake. His dragon watched Kenth as if gauging his reaction before he moved again. Unwilling to speak, Kenth shook his head and licked his lips and raised his shoulders as best he could when flat on his back, hoping to signal he had no idea what was going on. Snort. His dragon reached to touch Kenth’s face, drawing his fingertips over nose, chin, forehead and cheeks. Something he saw there must have satisfied him, Kenth thought. Otherwise he wouldn’t have shimmied sleekly as a snake down Kenth’s body, twitched the blanket off, and buried his face in Kenth’s aching groin. Kenth kept his mouth shut, but only through a great effort of will -- and, to be fair, because the dragon’s bold move had shocked him into near-speechlessness. After that was when the willpower took a strong beating. His dragon nuzzled his way around Kenth’s throbbing cock, breathing deeply of his musk, even tugging down his trousers to quizzically study the organ in question. When he curiously touched the tip of his tongue to the darkened head and took a taste, Kenth had to stuff his fist in his mouth to keep quiet. His dragon lifted away, shooting Kenth an unreadable look even as he licked his lips thoughtfully. He parted his lips as if he was about to say something. Kenth held his breath, wondering what it would be and what he’d answer in return -And someone, male by the sound of it, coughed loudly before letting rip with a snore and a startlingly loud, indelicate noise, reminding Kenth -- and his dragon -- that they were very much not alone. Kenth’s skin prickled with embarrassed heat but worse, his dragon’s eyes widened to their far-too-appealing saucer size and he all but tumbled backwards, as far away from Kenth as he could. Kenth had no trouble guessing what his dragon must be thinking -- that this had been a bad, bad idea.
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“No, no, no,” he whispered, barely louder than a breath, reaching for his dragon, desperate to coax him back. “Don’t go.” The dragon watched him warily. Kenth didn’t know what he was thinking this time; he wasn’t human, though it was all too easy to forget as much. “Please.” Kenth beckoned him, as cautiously as he would to a wary buck. “It’s all right. Everyone’s asleep but us.” The dragon shook his head, slow and uncertain, and tugged at his ebony-dark hair, so striking over his fair skin. He grimaced and shrugged, looking intently at his fingers. In a rush, Kenth understood, putting together his dragon’s baffled fascination with his hard-on and his watchful assessment of Kenth’s reactions. He’d never done this before with a human, and dragons were probably quite different. No man wanted to own up to inexperience, or at least none that Kenth knew. Be damned and blasted if he could stop now, though. He craved the dragon as much as bread and air and water and fire; the dragon necessary for him to survive the hour. He burned for his dragon as if its own fires permeated his flesh. And so he let his gaze darken, and his movements shift from surprised and awkward to languorous honey and predatory playfulness. The dragon blinked at him, tipping his head to a side. Kenth held a finger to his lips. The dragon frowned but nodded in turn. Kenth fancied he actually saw the question mark popping up over his head and had to stifle another chuckle. Instead he moved, deftly turning the tables on their position. He kept his gaze locked on the dragon’s all the while telegraphing what he’d do next, from easing the dragon onto his back to nudging his thighs apart to nestling between them, palms resting on his already-bare, pale skin, so soft and richly fragrant with his strange musk, a mix of sex and the smell of the air before a thunderstorm. The dragon -- his dragon -- never protested once, though he did watch Kenth with the intensity of a snake about to strike. Kenth loved it. Demanding arousal
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pounded in his gut, urging him on. His dragon’s fragrance dizzied and drugged him; he couldn’t get enough of the aroma and gave into the urge to do what his dragon had done to him -- press his face to the nest of dark curls and breathe deeply. His dragon gasped almost soundlessly and arched his back. The rigid length of his cock brushed Kenth’s cheek, leaving a wet streak in its wake. Wicked, Kenth wrapped his fingers around the thick base and licked a stripe up to the top. His dragon’s lips had parted and his eyes half-closed, though they glittered at Kenth no less brightly and darkly at the same time. The command couldn’t have been clearer: do it. Kenth closed his lips around the fragrant, deliciously salty-slick head of his dragon’s cock, suckled, and slid down till he brushed the top of his own fist. It’d been a long time since he did this, but really it was just like riding a bicycle. An awkward suck, a tug too hard, and then everything came back to him. He refused to close his eyes, even though his body cried out for him to, not wanting to miss a second of watching his dragon react. And oh, but it was worth the effort. His dragon fell heavily back on his elbows, throat arched and head flung back, ebony strands of hair falling loosely over his chest to tighten into waves as they grew damp with his sweat. His chest heaved, silent cries and groans emerging as harsh breaths. The quivering of his dragon’s hips told Kenth, even without words, that it was as good for him as one could have hoped. That he liked it as much or more than any human man and burned hotly with the need to thrust, to push his cock deep into the tight, wet heat on offer -- mixed with the fear of choking his partner. Kenth chuckled, as quietly as he could, and drew off to lap delicately at the trailing strings of his dragon’s precome and his own saliva. “You can move,” he whispered. “I want you to.” His dragon’s lips moved in fairly obvious if foreign, vehement swearing. He lifted his hips once, testing the waters. Kenth relaxed his throat and let it happen, swallowing when the dragon’s cock bumped the back of his throat.
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How anyone could scream silently Kenth didn’t know, but the thrill of pride that shot through him almost -- almost -- outweighed the desperate need to come. The latter replaced the former when his dragon reached to trace over Kenth’s cheek, marking out the shape where his cock must have bulged visibly inside Kenth’s mouth, and released a spurt of bitter-salt sweetness. Kenth groaned, less quietly than the dragon, and sucked harder. His eyes closed at last against his will, the need for sight consumed by his body’s passionate focus on sexual ravishment. Both hands were busy holding his dragon down and he was at the wrong angle to grind, not that he was daft enough to try on a cave floor, so he jerked and quivered desperately, fucking the air in vain for want of something more. For all that, he craved their joining to go on forever, this perfect moment of sex and connection and mutual fires burning bright. He was torn between a moan of satisfaction and a cry of disappointment when his dragon drove deep, coming down Kenth’s throat. The waves of scent, powerfully male and exotic at the same time, nearly brought Kenth off regardless without a hand on him. He drew his mouth off his dragon’s cock to pant, not moving a muscle otherwise lest he lose it. His body screamed at him to flip the dragon over and drive deep. Not without asking, though. He wasn’t that man, who took as he pleased and let the devils sort out the rest. Damn me sometimes for being a gentleman, Kenth thought, dazed. Above him, the dragon’s breathing slowed and deepened. Even as Kenth squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered from the effort of staving off his climax, the dragon’s hand knotting in his hair and then grasping his shoulders moved him. Stronger than Kenth might have thought he’d be in human shape, his dragon hauled Kenth awkwardly up his body. He pressed his lips clumsily to Kenth’s and slid his tongue inside, licking out the traces of his own flavor, and skated his hand down Kenth’s smooth skin to curiously caress and then to circle his cock.
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Kenth’s eyes rolled back into his head, leaving him blind and unable -- unwilling -- for his world to hold anything besides the explosion in his groin, his cock spurting hard, marking his dragon, claiming him. When Kenth came down, he found he had the energy to laugh at his dragon’s stunned expression and the careful, baffled way he held his dripping hand up, but no more. Kenth laughed silently to himself and socked his dragon lightly on the biceps. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “Natural. Like you did.” His dragon frowned, as if not at all sure Kenth was right about that. “You’ll learn.” Kenth yawned, his jaws creaking. “Sleep, that’s natural too,” he mumbled, the urge to rest rushing up to envelop him. “A little nap… just a few winks…” Above him, his dragon snorted. He pushed Kenth’s head down over his chest, where Kenth could hear his heart beat, and smell the fragrance rich on his damp skin. Kenth tasted with a quick flick of his tongue and intended right away to go back for more, but he was sleepy… so sleepy… And then, easily and naturally, Kenth was asleep.
*** For the love of all the dragon lords, what had just happened here? Baen traced his tongue over his lips, still able to taste the mingling of his and his Healer’s sexual emissions, amazed at the teeming life in the salty, musky flavor. He wanted to think about this. To assess and analyze and break this down into components, as he would when studying a dragon’s campaign or a skirmish. Strangely, though, when Kenth had yawned, his own yawn was hardly moments behind, and his eyelids were heavy, heavy, heavy. You are such a strange one, my Healer, he thought sleepily. You make me do strange and fascinating things. Namely, coming there at all, and now, lingering in the fiery after burn, too reluctant by far to leave as he rightly well knew he should. He had no reason to believe he was safe or that these humans wouldn’t try to trap him again. Not knowing them, how could he trust them or believe they wouldn’t attack when they
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found out what he was? His Healer would fight by his side, he was sure, but his Healer was only one man among many and while he had a kind heart, Baen thought that likely made him an exception that proved the rule. His Healer was unlike any other male Baen had ever known. Unique. Addictive. He wanted to stay more than anything. More than common sense dictated was wise. Baen accepted that he would have to leave, soon. He’d stay a moment longer only, then, and no more. There’d be no harm in petting his Healer’s head while he did so, nor any damage inherent in closing his eyes briefly. He’d rest his eyes, yes, that was it, close his eyes just for a moment and nothing more…
Chapter Three “Hello?” Something warmish and firm poked Baen. He hummed, halfway awake, a smile curving his lips at the thought of what he suspected to be nudging him. If he’d known humans could smell as good, taste as good, and do such amazing things with one another, he might have come seeking one far sooner… The poker insistently prodded him again. In the shoulder. Baen frowned. “Are you awake?” That wasn’t his Healer. This was a man, wizened and aged beyond any human Baen had ever even heard of. Strange. Unknown. Hostile? Baen sprang awake in an instant, eyelids snapping open to fix him with what he’d intended to be a glare but which he was uncomfortably suspicious looked more like alarmed shock. “Good morning,” the old man stage-whispered, casting a fond look over Baen’s shoulder at his Healer. Baen bristled. Mine! He blinked, confused, when he turned the same gruff affection on Baen himself. “I wondered when you’d make your way here.” Baen stared at the old man, utterly baffled. What in the dragon lands was he going on about? “Oh, I know who you are.” The codger ruffled his hair. Ruffled his hair! As if he were a boy with smudges of dirt on his cheeks and two front teeth missing. “You’ve got a temper on you, I see,” he said, unperturbed when Baen drew his lips back in a growl. “Good. Kenth needs someone with a bit of fire and vigor to balance him out. He’s a fine-hearted man, none better, but if he’s got one fault it’s that he’s too kind.” “Paddy, what…” Kenth stirred behind Baen, still safely between him and the cave wall. He stiffened in a way Baen found nearly comical and gaped at the wrinkled old man. “Paddy, let me explain.”
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Paddy laughed quietly, showing his teeth, still good despite his age. “I think I can see exactly what’s going on with my own two eyes, thank you,” he said mockprimly. Despite himself and his strong urge to make an escape, Baen found the exchange amusing. He cocked his head, interested to see what’d happen next. Kenth struggled up on his elbows, blushing red as sweet cherries and blinking sleep out of his eyes. He was the sort to be fuddled when he first woke, Baen noted. “This is…” He trailed off. “Well, he’s…” “I told you I understood perfectly,” Paddy informed him. “He’s the one you’ve been waiting on all this time, though you’d never tell us his name or even admit you hoped there was someone out there who’d find you.” Kenth’s mouth opened and closed. Baen was hard-put not to copy him. Paddy rolled his eyes. “Sweet mercy. I teased you about your monkish ways, oh yes, but it was all jests, son! Anyone with a heart could tell you were waiting for your other half to come along, and we’ve hoped so hard that your heart wouldn’t be the one ending up broken for it. So, no questions about when you met, or how romantic it must have been, or how tragic when you were separated, or why he didn’t come with you when you left the cities to lead us here --” Baen swung around to raise one eyebrow at Kenth, who coughed and looked uncomfortable. “Paddy’s half-witted,” he tried to explain. Baen snorted in return. “As I said. Fire,” Paddy approved. “Now, I wouldn’t have come to wake you if breakfast weren’t ready, and you’ll take your full share plus his share too, today. No ‘eating lightly’ so the rest of us can have more; there’s plenty for all.” He lightly patted Kenth’s cheek. “Bread and dripping today, and leftover tubers, fried. Come and get it.” For Baen, he had a stern look. “Make sure he eats.” And with a flurry of neat, tidy steps, Paddy was gone. Baen watched him walk away with a mix of awed admiration and respect. For such a small, ancient thing, Paddy had all the presence of a wizardly dragon in charge of a full clan, and any sane
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member of any species knew quite well enough to let a man such as Paddy get on with whatever he chose to do. Yet what those like Paddy did, sharp-tongued about it or not, was borne of love, not obligation. Baen couldn’t quite wrap his head around discovering that trait in a human. He turned to Kenth instead, still questioning. “Ahh, he thinks I don’t take proper care of myself,” Kenth said, still clearly embarrassed. And do you? Baen queried silently, drawing a question mark on the back of Kenth’s hand. “Of course I do,” Kenth replied absently. Baen frowned and said nothing. Kenth eyed him dubiously. “As you say, or as you don’t. Forgive me for asking, but do you speak?” The directness was, unlike Baen had predicted, refreshing and frankly something of a relief rather than intrusive and irritating. Baen shook his head and pointed at his mouth, shrugging. “You do understand us?” Baen nodded. To underline his previous point, he opened his mouth and pointed at his tongue, then at his throat. No voice. He’d lost it in the wars. “Hmm.” Kenth seemed to ponder that briefly, nodded in simple comprehension and acceptance, and let it slide as if it were of no more a character flaw than a mole on a cheek or a stubbed toe. “I like the quiet sometimes. This crowd’s dearer to me than blood family but they can get rowdy. But I like the noise too. It reminds me that there’s a reason for my life -- to see them taken care of, and safe enough that they can risk being happy.” None of that made more than half a lick of sense to Baen, who exhaled through his nose and slumped on one elbow. “It takes time to adjust,” Kenth reassured him. He turned so that he and Baen mirrored one another in the positioning of their bodies, and studied him. “You’re still
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here,” he murmured, reaching out to touch, tracing the musculature in Baen’s bare arm. “I’d mostly thought you’d be gone when I woke. Flown away.” Baen wrinkled his nose. Why? “You did take off in a hurry last night.” Point, but there were extenuating circumstances, weren’t there? Baen poked his leg out from beneath the blanket and waggled the ankle, mostly healed now save for some lingering red puffiness. Far less appealing than the still slightly swollen fullness of Kenth’s lips. Remembering them sealed tight around his cock made Baen hiss and his hips twitch, wanting that again. Right away. Kenth inhaled, going momentarily hazy-eyed, before he shook himself. “Breakfast. Right. We’d better eat or we’ll never hear the end of it.” He hesitated, looking as if he hated what he had to say next. “It’ll be our secret for now, what you really are when you’re not wearing this shape. All right? I hate shams and games but most of these folk, dragons scare them. We’ll ease them into the idea. If you stay.” He bit his lip. “Will you stay?” Baen didn’t intend to nod. He might not have, if he’d taken the time to think about it. But he didn’t think, and he did incline his head in assent, and once he’d done so, giving his word, he knew deep down he’d not want to take it back. The delight that wreathed Kenth’s face, his boyish grin warming him bright, made the promise given worth it, now and forever. “I’m glad.” He caught Baen’s hand and squeezed. “Paddy was right, you know? I have been waiting for someone, even if I didn’t know it, and somehow I’m sure it’s you.” Neither could that be gainsaid. Baen waggled his free hand in the “uncertain” gesture Kenth seemed to understand. “Good things do happen, sometimes,” he said. Quick as a wink, he dropped a light, all-too-quick kiss on Baen’s lips. “Stay here while I get the food and my healer’s kit as well. Will you? For me?” Baen nodded. He couldn’t see as he had a choice… and truly, surprising himself, he liked it that way.
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***
Kenth made his way carefully back to his dragon, medicine pouch tied to his waist and a wide, deep bowl balanced in each hand. He looked dubiously at their contents. The smell was wonderful, fried tubers not unlike potatoes cooked crispybrown with a sprinkling of the salty coltsfoot herb, and freshly baked bread, still hot, smeared with the richly fatty drippings from last night’s roasted small game. The food itself didn’t bother him; the quantity the cooking crew had insisted on dishing out to him did. He was accustomed to a quarter of a half of what they’d given him. He hoped his dragon would be hungry. If he could share, he’d feel better about taking so much. Signs were promising. His dragon sat up straight, the blanket they’d shared perilously close to slipping off and only just pooling over his lap in the nick of time. His nostrils twitched and he licked his lips, riveted to the bowls. Kenth sat cross-legged by his dragon and offered him a bowl. “I wish I knew your name,” he said. “I’d invite you to break bread the way I should.” His dragon rolled his eyes. His face was so expressive that Kenth found it hard to look away, though when he waggled his fingers Kenth didn’t understand. “What?” With a huff, his dragon took one of the bowls from Kenth and, once it was secure in his lap, pointed at the cave floor. He drew with his forefinger, meaningless shapes until they suddenly became clear to Kenth as crudely-shaped letters. B-A-E-N. Kenth’s grin stretched until it hurt his cheeks. “Baen?” Baen nodded, already digging into his bowl. “Baen, I’m Kenth.” A brief glance up that suggested Baen knew that perfectly well already and that he didn’t know why Kenth felt the need to repeat the information, and his dragon went immediately back to curiously poking at his food.
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“Real meat’s not common for breakfast,” Kenth said. He hadn’t thought about a dragon’s carnivorous appetites. “You could lick the dripping off the bread --” Baen stuffed a handful of fried tubers in his mouth and chewed, moaning in pleasure. “-- or you could do that,” Kenth said, amused. He dug into his own bowl and made quick work of the hot, fresh, flavorful food. Even so Baen was done long before he, and looked as if he wanted to lick the bowl. He didn’t ask for more, though. Kenth hadn’t thought he would, especially after he noticed Baen glancing over his shoulder and his lips silently moving, counting heads and the number of people who shared and shared alike. Baen was plenty rough around the edges, to be sure, but he was a gentleman for all that. Kenth liked that about his dragon. There actually wasn’t very much he didn’t like about Baen, namely the smooth, firmly-muscled chest, his strong thighs clearly outlined beneath the thin blanket, the hint of hair just above where that selfsame blanket barely kept him decent… Kenth cleared his throat, earning a quizzical glance. “There’s a spare set of clothes just behind you,” he murmured, half-smiling because he couldn’t help it. “Not that I mind.” Heat kindled to life in his belly, his cock tempted to fill. “You could go around naked all day and I’d be happy.” Baen’s smile was purely composed of smug satisfaction. He indicated, with surprising efficiency, that he wouldn’t complain if Kenth were to do the same. “Can’t,” Kenth said by way of explanation and apology both. “Humans have their ways, and not walking about with your willie hanging out is one of them.” Baen spluttered on his last mouthful of fried tuber fragments, then once he was out of danger of choking, threw his head back and laughed silently. It would have made the cave echo with peals of mirth if he’d made any sound, and it turned the growing heat and need in Kenth to fire. He tried to discreetly adjust himself -- going mad in the night, when everyone else slept, was one thing. Jumping his dragon and having at it, doing all the wicked
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things he wanted to do to Baen’s tight, firm ass while his people sat about innocently eating breakfast, that was quite another. Kenth regretted the need to wait, part of him still clamoring to take what he wanted now no matter who could happen to walk in and see them, and who would most certainly hear them taking their pleasure. Baen seemed to know exactly what Kenth was thinking and smirked at him, though with a grimace of sympathetic frustration. “You can smile,” Kenth grumbled, shoving him in play. “Put on that shirt while I dress your ankle. I mean, bandage it.” Shrug. Baen obeyed, though it took him a moment to figure out that his arms went through the sleeve tubes and his head through the larger hole. While he was occupied, Kenth balanced his dragon’s human-shaped foot in his lap and examined the fast-fading injury. “Amazing,” he said under his breath. The skin that’d been raw and tattered yesterday only looked to have fading scrapes now. “Do you usually heal this fast?” No response. When Kenth looked up, wondering if he’d said something wrong, Baen had two fingers resting under his lips and a dark look in his eyes. “You’ve been injured before, worse than this, haven’t you?” Kenth asked quietly. Stiffly, the memories obviously dark and unpleasant, Baen nodded. Kenth fought with himself over whether or not to ask, but in the end gave in. “Were you a soldier among your own kind?” Baen drew up sharply. Kenth knew the answer to that was “yes.” He could intuit how the military time had likely ended badly for Baen. Perhaps far worse than his own. Dragons were prouder than men, he thought. If Baen had lost face just as he’d lost his voice, that would be a good reason for him to be out on his own, running away from his kin and misplaced pity or false sympathy. “I’d forgotten that. I’m sorry,” Kenth said, carefully not looking directly at Baen to spare his dignity as much as he could. Baen shrugged, his shoulders rigid and the atmosphere around him -- his mood - growing stormy. He held himself taut and defiant.
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“Rest easy. I won’t ask. It’s not my place, and your secrets are safely your own.” Kenth stroked Baen’s calf to calm him, though it had rather the opposite effect on him, the scent of Baen’s skin inflaming his desire to taste the dragon again and to drive him wild with passion, mad enough that he’d forget his sorrows and never suffer a dark moment like this again. His dragon wiggled his toes, and, clever man, nudged the ball of his foot against Kenth’s half-hard cock. His lips curled, giving Kenth to know he was doing this on purpose -- not a necessary clue, as he next moved his foot as gracefully as a dancer, his toes kneading oversensitive flesh. Kenth hardened so fast it hurt. He grunted. Baen winked at him, roguish. Who knew where it would have gone next if Paddy hadn’t sent up the hue and cry, roaring like a dragon himself?
Chapter Four “Paddy? What’s the matter? What’s gone wrong?” Kenth’s head came up sharply in the utter silence that followed. For a human, he was fast. Baen, a dragon, was faster. He rose to his feet, half-crouched with his arms poised for balance, ready to strike. That’d not been the sound of shrill laughter or indignant anger, no. Paddy either feared for his life or the life of another, and Baen reacted without thinking -- at first. Afterward, for a second’s worth of time, Baen almost wavered. This ragtag, peculiar band of humans was nothing to him. Weren’t they? And only his Healer mattered. Didn’t he? Baen wasn’t certain anymore, and the rapidly-accruing changes in his solitary life made him dizzy. Then Paddy growled, the sound locked tight in his chest, wrath without a means of expression -- alarm for one of his people -- and Baen understood with perfect clarity that he did care. Good enough. He’d deal with the fallout later. All around them, the cave folk had fallen silent to a man, Paddy’s cry still echoing faintly off the dry stone walls. Baen narrowed his eyes, wishing for the far better vision inherent to their dragon shape but making do with human capability to respect his Healer’s -- Kenth’s -- wishes. He scented the air, swinging his head to and fro as he scanned the cave for the source of the threat. Aha. There it was, the wily vermin. Baen’s lips peeled back from his teeth in a snarl of disdain. Snake! One of his lesser brethren, accepted and acknowledged for the most part, but not this breed. They were sworn enemies. As pale as the snow or as dun as sand as it pleased, the snow-loving snake thrived in winter. Its favorite pastime was preying on unwary travelers who might put a foot in their path. They didn’t kill to protect or to hunt. They killed because they liked it.
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This one was fouler than most, for it’d chosen a child not yet walking to stalk. Baen boiled with fury. An attack on a child should not and would not ever be tolerated by a soldier, dragon or human. He’d teach the nasty creature a lesson or two. “Baen,” his Healer murmured, not moving his lips. A clever trick, that. He tugged at the bend of Baen’s elbow. “It’s near Paddy, but with its eyes on the baby in the basket by its mother’s feet. A snake. Venomous. Can you see it?” Baen would’ve retorted that he was neither a child nor blind, if not for the affection he held for his Healer -- yes, affection; he’d think about that later, when he had time to spare for such musing -- and if he didn’t need to return his firmest focus to the snake. Nasty creature. It’d slithered closer still to Paddy while Kenth spoke to him, nosing around his ankles and feinting at his feet in a mockery of play. He held himself still. Wait for it… wait for it… The snake drew back with a sound like the whistling wind, coiling into a tight circle, and raised its head with its jaws wide, hissing. No ordinary snakes, these. Mean. Taunting. They’d come after the wars, tainted by them. Baen knew it’d take a moment to savor its triumph, with no one daring to stop it. Wait… almost… Now! Humans could be quick, when they needed to be. Baen would always be quicker. Faster. More agile. He’d trained himself to be better than other dragons, and it paid off now. His leap carried him to Paddy’s side; the snake, shaken off guard by the vibrations of his feet landing, whipped around to challenge the new threat -And had its spine broken for its troubles. Baen sneered at the thrashing body of the snake and tore its head off for good measure. He threw that head into the fire, followed by the body, and dusted off his hands. No one in the cave spoke. Baen’s triumph faltered. There was something about the new silence that prickled at him. Hostile? Frightened, but of him? He wanted to turn
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to his Healer, but when did a dragon hide behind a human? He squared his shoulders, prepared to fight if need be. “Well done!” Kenth boomed, startling everyone out of their freeze. “Well done, Baen!” He crossed the cave in five quick strides, pounding Baen between his shoulder blades and heartily kissing his cheek. While Baen was still reeling from that, Kenth slung an arm around his shoulders and turned, radiating good humor, to grin at the assembled crowd. “How’s that for a knight of the realm, eh? He’s a fine man to have around, and now you know why!” “Not a man at all, is he?” Paddy asked. With his alarm shaken off he was as shrewd and insightful as ever, and Kenth knew in a heartbeat he’d guessed who -- what -- Baen was. “Dragon, more like.” The cave grew still and hushed again. Kenth stood up straight and tall. “He is, and he’s my chosen own. My mate. Will you accept him here, or cast me out as well?” Paddy reared back. “What, have you gone mad? Don’t be a damn fool, lad. Turn you away? Turn him away? Bollocks!” Baen stared at him. Kenth understood his confusion. “But you know what he is --” “Aye, and I know what he’s done to save a child here. And that you’d hasten your way out if he couldn’t stay, right?” “Yes,” Kenth replied immediately. “It’d break my heart, but I belong to him above all others.” “Then there’s an end to it, and if any of us --” Paddy swung around to give the crowd the stink-eye, “-- object, they’ll either find their own way or I’ll have a word or two with them. And then send them to you. Are we understood, you lot?” He winked. “Hells, if we can sweet-talk a dragon into hunting for us, we might see proper meat on our table before winter’s over, and who’d say no to that, eh?” A nearly palpable crack in the tension, followed by a warm rush of relief, flooded in and washed away the cave folks’ alarm at Baen’s not-quite-human speed and skill. A
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handful of hardy, sensible folk even cheered, pumping their fists in the air to salute Baen; for his part, Paddy threw his arms around Baen and pounded his back heartily. Either he didn’t notice or paid no attention to the way Baen stiffened in surprise before making himself relax and accept the embrace. Humans were remarkable creatures, weren’t they? They’d surprise a dragon at every turn, every time. “Good lad!” Paddy approved. “I’ll give my word on it now and again and as many times as it needs to be said: you’re welcome here. None of us will forget this, I promise you.” “Are you all right?” Kenth took Paddy briefly aside. Baen watched them, frowning, not really listening in favor of thinking about how strange a turn his life had taken. A solitary dragon soldier suddenly the champion of a band of ragamuffin humans? As he kept his gaze trained on his Healer, his mate, Kenth half-turned to look hotly at Baen, his eyes half-hooded and an unmistakable hunger in his slanted glance. Baen’s skin warmed. Champion of humans and, if the overwhelming tide of fragrant pheromones were anything to go by -- and they were -- his chosen mate. Baen knew he should be more alarmed by that than he was, yet couldn’t quite seem to make himself care. All he wanted was his mate, as much of him as he could get, and without waiting any longer, thank you. He returned Kenth’s look with interest and ran his tongue slowly over his lower lip, then tilted his head to one side, toward the cave’s single door. Kenth’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard and a muscle ticked in his cheek. He nodded once, roughly, and indicated Baen should go first. Fine by him, so long as his Healer followed soon after. Unnoticed now in the general bonhomie of humans gratefully returning to life as usual, he slipped outside to bask in the sun, the open sky, and to relish the anticipation of mating. Soon. And if it’d been good last time in the dark, in the cave, then he couldn’t wait to show Kenth what it could be like in the unfettered world…
Chapter Five It seemed like no time at all passed before the cave door slipped open and Baen scented his Healer’s presence, his body heat and unique, addictive musk tempting Baen to block out all senses but touch and smell. To drown himself in the presence of his Healer. This was danger indeed, and madness, and as inescapable as a river’s progress to the sea. Baen listened to the rushing beat of his heart in his ears timed perfectly with Kenth’s footfalls, relaxing fully when Kenth blanketed him from behind and wrapped his arms about Baen’s waist. “They’re all under control now,” he murmured in Baen’s ear, tracing the shell with the tip of his tongue and biting the soft cartilage as playfully as a dragonling. Baen shuddered, wanting more of the touches and tastings, everywhere. “Safe as houses. We checked for snakes, and vermin, and even for mice. We should have cats.” Baen snorted. “Right. I suppose there’d be no need for cats if you…” Kenth trailed off, stroking just under Baen’s breastbone, and drew in a deep breath before going on. “If you were to stay with us. It’s not right to keep a wild thing like you by me; you should be free, flying away and I know it’s what you must want.” Enough of that nonsense. Baen turned in the circle of Kenth’s arms and jabbed him firmly in the chest, glaring. Of course he wanted to fly away, but a dragon could no more leave his mate than he could cease to breathe. He stamped his foot, digging his heel into the snow to get his point firmly across. Kenth wasn’t stupid, yet he was clever enough not to believe blindly. “You moved so quickly that you saved Paddy when no one else could, yet they feared you after they’d understood what you’d done,” he said, his palm cupping Baen’s face,
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thumb stroking over his cheekbone. “What gods smiled on me, that you should have stumbled into my path?” Baen wrinkled his nose. “I’d have spared you the pain of the trap if I could have, but I can’t be sorry we’ve met,” Kenth said. “Can you?” Baen considered that briefly, then shrugged. He frowned thoughtfully. Odd how he hadn’t questioned that Kenth would leave with him. Yet a man such as he would never abandon his duty for love. Would he? Baen gestured at the sky, poked Kenth’s chest and then his own, and made flying motions, his eyebrow lifted in a questioning arch. “I’d have fought for you to stay here, to my dying breath if need be,” Kenth admitted. “Though if I thought you’d be hurt, then I might have gone. Otherwise… I can’t. I wouldn’t. They’re my people.” Kenth looked torn. “Yet if I never saw you again, I’d wither away and die and there’s all there is to that.” Then I won’t leave. Not ever. Baen threw his arm around Kenth’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him, slanting their mouths together. He didn’t let go until the tension riddling Kenth’s body, keeping him stiff in a bad way, melted and Kenth returned the kiss, his tongue stroking in and out of Baen’s mouth in a steady, deep rhythm. Baen’s muscles rippled. He’d wondered how two human males mated beyond mouths and hands. Seemed it wasn’t so very terribly different from a man and a woman, and the rare dragon with such inclinations. Good. He tested Kenth’s boundaries by skimming his palm down Kenth’s back and grasped the firm swell of his ass, giving it a good hard squeeze. Kenth jumped and almost yelped in Baen’s mouth, which made Baen break the kiss to laugh silently. Only one more thing had to be given words and understood before they solidified this union for good and all. Baen wasn’t sure, not sure at all, but an image kept coming to him of he and Kenth flying through the stars. In this image, Kenth had
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taken dragon shape, his hide white-and-honey spotted, and the strange beauty of him left Baen dazzled. It was a true dreaming, he thought. And there were old, old stories of how when humans gave their hearts to dragons, dragons gave them flight in return… “Baen? What’s troubling you?” Kenth nudged him under the chin, giving Baen to know he’d stopped moving. Baen looked up at his Kenth, his Healer, and chewed his lip, trying to think out how to get this across. If there was a chance of Kenth becoming something more and less than human, by all the dragon lords he deserved to know about it! In the end, he pointed to himself, and then to Kenth, and then to the sky. He traced the wing of Kenth’s shoulder blade and pointed again to the stars, then stood back and spread his hands wide in question. Kenth’s broad smile was brighter than the moon. “I would give anything to fly,” he said. “Are you telling me it could be so, one day?” Baen inclined his head, wondering not for the first time if his Healer might be a tad unbalanced in the brain. He jabbed Kenth’s arm and pinched the meat, then took Kenth’s hand and slapped it on his chest. Back and forth, you-to-me and me-to-you and to the skies, until he finally saw a dawning light of comprehension. “Oh,” Kenth said slowly. Baen’s heart sank. He’d known that when Kenth comprehended the ultimate meaning of how he could possibly change -- how he could lose some of his humanity if the old stories were true -- it would make a difference. Would Kenth change his mind? Would they part ways now? Baen held his breath, waiting to find out and hoping with all his heart that his Healer would not turn away from him. “Will it happen right away?” Kenth asked uncertainly. Baen lifted his shoulders in a gesture indicating that he wasn’t sure. “Will I forget who I am?” No! Baen gestured firmly. Of that, he was positive.
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“Then…” Kenth inhaled slowly, exhaled in a rush, and stroked the length of Baen’s arm. The ghosting pressure of his hand made Baen dizzy with relief, and aroused him instantly. His toes curled tightly with the erotic thrill. “We’ll worry about it when it happens, then. Life’s short, Baen; we’re soldiers and we know that all too well. We work for the future, but if we don’t live in today…” Well. Good enough for Baen, that was. He laughed, silently, and squeezed Kenth’s ass cheeks for all he was worth. Kenth yelled in surprise, then guffawed. “So that’s how it is, is it?” Kenth repaid Baen in turn and upped the stakes with a double handful of Baen’s ass, one firm, strong hand on each cheek, kneading him like a cat. Baen both stiffened and melted, hissing in enjoyment. “You like that, do you?” Kenth let go of one cheek to run his hand under Baen’s thigh and lift it, hooking Baen’s knee over his hip and holding him effortlessly up. The other arm went firmly around Baen’s waist, their balance perfect for long enough to kiss again, and once more, and one more time beyond that. When Kenth broke away he was breathing hard, his breath forming white puffs of steam in the chilly air. For his part, Baen found himself nearly surprised they hadn’t melted the snow around them. “We should take this somewhere else,” Kenth said, though he didn’t stop tickling the underside of Baen’s thigh, and more, began rolling their hips together, the breathtaking brilliance of their stiff cocks brushing dazzling Baen. “Somewhere private.” Baen shook his head, hair flying and tangling over his eyes, and moved to meet Kenth’s thrusts. Right here suited him fine. Dragons mated in the skies for all to see. There was no shame in it. Was it different for humans? He wasn’t sure but thought part of the pinkness in Kenth’s cheeks wasn’t all arousal. Location hardly mattered to him as long as they didn’t end up trekking for miles, so he raised one shoulder casually and let Kenth lower him. He looked about, telegraphing the question, Where?
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“By the side of the cave, the far wall. A small alcove, do you see?” Kenth gestured at the shallow groove in the rock. “No one could see us from there.” Baen tapped his ear in question. “It’s not them hearing or knowing what we’re doing that troubles me,” Kenth tried to explain. “It’s that you’re mine, don’t you see? Not theirs to watch or witness, and what I want you to do to me, that’s just for us.” And what did Kenth want Baen to do to him? Baen’s excitement rose. He made a sly gesture that’d have gotten him slapped for rudeness in polite dragon society, forming a circle of thumb and forefinger, and -Kenth laughed raggedly. “Yes. That, exactly. Now, will you come, or --” Would he? Baen made the leap as quickly as he’d gone after the snake, and landed lightly on the balls of his feet. He pivoted and blazed a grin at Kenth, daring him to keep up. Much to his satisfaction, Kenth did. Kenth’s head came up, as would a predator’s with the scent of prey fresh in his nose, his shoulders firm and his stride confident. Baen approved. Really, if he’d been in search of a mate, there couldn’t have been a better one than Kenth, the oddness of his humanity aside. A sleeping tiger who ruled with a gentle hand but a fierce heart, who thought first of his people and then of himself, a warrior in his way and a bold man on the slant. When challenged, he was marvelous. Baen leaned deceptively placidly as a deer on the wall of the cave, teasing and testing to see what Kenth would do. Kenth scoffed, pleasing Baen. Not easily fooled at all. As he’d thought. And quick to act, which pleased Baen far better. No sooner had Kenth come close enough for Baen to feel the heat of his skin than Kenth was on him like a starving wolf, mouths fastened inflexibly together and his tongue stroking deep, fast, hungry. His fire caught Baen ablaze in an instant, drowning out all else but the need to have his strange human mate claiming him.
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Claiming him? Yes. Baen would have questioned that at another time. Now, he didn’t. He only wanted, spreading his legs when Kenth nudged his knee between them and purring when Kenth kicked his feet apart to make room for crowding in, one strong thigh between Baen’s and shatteringly perfect pressure for his aching cock to grind against. Kenth’s mouth only parted from his lips, and then it was everywhere, sucking at the soft skin under his ear, down his throat and over his collarbones, tugging the annoying loose neck of Baen’s borrowed shirt further open to go as far as he could. He caught one human nipple between his teeth and tugged, worrying at the flesh so surprisingly sensitive that Baen gasped. He caught a double handful of Kenth’s hair and yanked, pushing Kenth to him, demanding more. “Greedy, aren’t you?” Kenth taunted, flicking Baen’s nipple with quick, almost draconic taps of his tongue to flesh. Baen growled and pushed at the back of Kenth’s head. Yes, he was greedy, and not sorry at all for it. Kenth laughed low in his throat. His fingers traveled to the loosely tied string about the trousers Baen had borrowed and tugged. “Which would you rather, dragon? My mouth here --” he laved Baen’s nipple, “-- or here?” He ghosted his fingers over Baen’s cock, which surged in an effort to meet his palm. Far too clever, wasn’t he? Baen shook Kenth off, but only long enough to shrug the irritating shirt off and slide the trousers down himself, making his message quite clear. Better still -- he thought this was the way -- he turned, slapping his palms to the cave wall and canting his hips, presenting Kenth with what he hoped was a fine view. From the sharpness of Kenth’s indrawn breath, Baen smugly figured he’d made the right choice. “You…” he said, sounding wondering. Gently, teasing him with a breathless sort of anticipation and a healthy lust for his dragon, Kenth caught Baen by the hips and stroked them. Then, much more satisfying, parted Baen’s ass cheeks and thumbed his opening. “So small.”
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Yes, I am aware of that. Baen shifted his weight. He remembered now stories of how sometimes male and female dragon mates took this route of their own choice, and obviously even a cock as large as he remembered Kenth’s to be would fit. Somehow. He didn’t mind if it hurt, some. He craved the sharp edge of pain to make this all the more real and he trusted Kenth to know that, as well as how to do this as a man should. To that end, he canted more pointedly back, counter-pushing against the toolight pressure of Kenth’s thumb. He couldn’t have said who was more startled when that thumb slipped in, he or Kenth -- nor, a moment later, could he have decided who was more aroused. Both shivered, nearly in sync. Neither moved, their limbs shaking with the effort. “How much can you take?” Kenth asked, his tone under iron control that betrayed, to Baen, how wild he was on the inside. “It’ll damage both of us if I take you without anything slick, you know.” Actually, Baen hadn’t known, though it made sense. Females manufactured their own lubrication; he’d have been alarmed if he’d suddenly started doing the same where that particular orifice was concerned, and that was not a thought he cared to entertain at this moment. Enough was enough, then. He grinned wickedly at Kenth over his shoulder, surprised and thrilled when Kenth took advantage to crane his neck and kiss him awkwardly but hard and hungrily, leaving them panting when they had to part. Though Baen was dazed enough to do no more than blink or beg, he gathered his wits together to wink at Kenth. There were advantages to being a dragon. Among his kind, if they had the gift -- and not all did -- was the ability to perform small, handy magics. Concentrating, Baen cupped his palm, and summoned the nearest acceptable slick he could locate. There was a knack to this trick, and if you did it just right -Aha. There. Something clear and fragrant filled his palm, the smell reminding him of bees and honey, perfectly slippery. He elbowed Kenth carefully in the gut and bent his arm at the elbow, holding the lubricant out for Kenth to take. Kenth swore under his breath and laughed far more loudly. “Clever you!”
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Baen preened. Then, more to the point, he thrust his ass determinedly at Kenth to tell him problem solved and he should be getting on with it. “Impatient, impatient,” Kenth chided, mirth lacing the words. Baen poured the slick from hand to hand, and used the dregs to lubricate his throbbing cock. He hissed between his teeth when his hips jerked and he nearly spilled, even his own touch nearly too much when he was this aroused. How much more could he take? Kenth’s fingers, coated with the fragrant rendered beeswax, entered him with a wonderfully firm thrust, two he thought, and to the knuckles. Baen’s breath escaped him in a thrilled rush. He hadn’t known it would be this amazing; humans were good for many more things than a dragon might think! “Like that, do you?” Kenth asked, rich with satisfaction and amusement. Baen snapped his teeth at Kenth. “Are you asking me to hurry?” Yes, because he’d be blasted if he’d spill his seed before he had the satisfaction of Kenth’s length and heft inside him as he burned for. Kenth seemed to read his mind, thanks be, and rotated his fingers. He hit upon a spot that drew Baen’s mouth open in a silent scream, and from there he could only spasm helplessly under the power of the rolling, thrilling waves of pleasure. Another finger entered him, all three stretching wide and round. When they vanished, leaving Baen empty, he snarled in anger, but oh, the rigid pressure of Kenth’s cock replaced them and it was as far better as the sky was to the earth. Kenth held Baen’s hips still, pressure firm enough to leave bruises the next day -Baen approved -- and slid in, the burn and friction over that sweet internal spot driving Baen out of his mind. “Now hold on,” Kenth said, sounding as if he spoke through gritted teeth, only just keeping the barest grip on his control. “You gave yourself to me. I’m taking you for my own.” He drew out and slammed back in, the slap of flesh on flesh a whole new almosttoo-good shock. Baen cast aside all other thought and became a creature of emotion and sensation, fucking himself on Kenth as equally ferociously as Kenth plowed him, the
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rock cool under his hands, the winter sun bright on his skin, and Kenth’s iron length everything he’d ever wanted, even if he hadn’t known as much. Home, Baen thought, dizzy, though he didn’t fully understand. I am home, home, home… Baen bowed his head back with a voiceless shout, tendons straining painfully in his neck and came without a hand on his cock, spurting jets of seed on the stone before him. Behind him, Kenth made an animal noise and bit sharply at Baen’s throat before going utterly still and flooding him with wet heat. Kenth collapsed against Baen’s back, dragging in rough gasps of air. “Mate,” he muttered, speaking from the strange place where men’s minds went when they’d come so spectacularly. Baen knew, for he’d gone to those wild lands himself. “My mate. Mine. Mine.” Purring, Baen inclined his head and rolled his shoulders back into Kenth’s chest. Yes. Just as you are mine, and just as it should be, and whatever comes next, we face it side by side. Home I said, and home I am, the perfect place to lay my head found where I would never have thought to look, and a mate that already owns my heart. Who would ever have thought being trapped could bring such happiness? He leaned into his human, his Kenth, and closed his eyes, content.
Willa Okati Willa Okati is made of many things: imagination, passion for manlove, creativity and a lifelong love of storytelling. Willa, by the way, looks nothing like her picture -- but she wishes she did! You can reach Willa at
[email protected], visit her at her website (www.willaokati.com) or check her “willandways” Live Journal blog or join her Yahoo! Group for updates at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/got_ink_willa_okati/
