Bree's Dragon (Dragons of Telera Book 1) Read online

  With that the demons disappeared. The instant they were gone, Bree turned and buried her face in Calixto’s chest. She pushed a field out several feet from his body so that he would not get further injured. As soon as the rock slide was done, she released the field and immediately began looking around them.

  “And this is why I had not wanted to get caught away from their home.” The magma underneath them was rising. “I can’t fly.”

  She turned to look at him, “I guess we can try climbing out of here, but I doubt that we will be able to get very far before this stuff over takes us. I am so sorry Calixto.” She wrapped her arms around him and felt his arms gently encircle her. “I am so sorry to drag you into this.”

  “I don’t mind.” He stroked her hair.

  She sighed, “I do. I mind very much.”

  Calixto pulled away from her, “Do you mean that?”

  She nodded, “I don’t mind dying, but I do not want that for you. I think it is even safe to say that I like you a bit.”

  He smiled down at her as the heat from the magma began to reach them. She knew that meant they had a few minutes left. She wouldn’t exactly die happy, not knowing that he would parish too, but Bree could not imagine a better last view as she stared into his smiling face.

  He pulled her close and whispered in her ear, apparently oblivious to the heat, “Do you like me enough to stay with me?”

  Bree giggled, “I think that I can almost imagine a future like that. Almost.”

  “Except…”

  She pressed her face into his neck, “Except that we are going to die here and admitting that I could live such a life now might actually hurt.”

  He squeezed her and whispered in her ear, “Say please.”

  “What?” She pulled back and looked at his face to see if he was joking.

  He was still smiling, but there was nothing to suggest that he was joking, “Say please.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel less guilty now?”

  He squeezed her hips with his hands, “Stubborn sorceress, do you trust me or not?”

  Bree tilted her mouth in a half grin to humor him, “Please Calixto.”

  He patted her on the head, “Good girl. I promise to be gentle.”

  With that, Calixto stepped back and began to transform. His toned body began to expand and change in ways that should have been impossible. Bree watched in awe, her eyes catching every detail of the change, yet she had a difficult time believing what she saw.

  The magma was spitting and bubbling below them as a large red dragon unfurled its wings and gently wrapped its claws around Bree.

  As he moved away from the ledge, Bree looked up at the nearly perfect body of the man who had chosen her. If she had thought his human form was gorgeous, it was nothing compared to the beauty of the creature that he was by nature. “You are right, I don’t think I would have believed you if you told me.”

  The dragon looked down at her, and if dragons could smile Bree knew what that smile would look like as she watched Calixto. She laughed as they flew out of the volcano top and headed toward a clearing that would have taken several days to reach on foot. His wings opened and the shadow he cast would easily have covered a small village. Calixto was big as a human – as a dragon he was gigantic.

  “Do you think you could land us over that way?” Bree pointed to a location far from the volcano, a distance that would have taken several days with a horse. Calixto rumbled as if question was an insult. With impossible speed, they headed toward the place where Bree had indicated.

  Bree was gently placed on the ground and a moment later Calixto stood beside her. His face wasn’t as cold as it usually was, but there was no trace of superiority or an oncoming lecture. The man’s eyes blinked a few times as he watched Bree.

  Shaking her head, the young woman threw her arms around his neck. “And I thought you were attractive in your human form. Ye Gods, how many people know there are dragon shifters out there? It can’t be very many.”

  Calixto looked down at her with a half grin, “A few more people know about the existence of dragon shifters than the continued existence of a sorceress.”

  Bree’s lips formed an oh before she chuckled, “It certainly explains how you understand power. I can’t even imagine what that kind of power feels like.” Her hand ran along his chest.

  Placing his hand on hers, “And I cannot imagine what it is like to have so much power in such a small frame.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

  Stepping forward, Bree pushed her body against his, and she was pleased to hear the sound of his laugh.

  He pushed her away from him, “Now is not the time for that.”

  “There is never a better time for love making than after a near death experience.”

  He looked down at her, “Is that so?”

  “Here let me show you.” She took his hand and pulled him away from the erupting volcano. It was all but forgotten. There was very little life around it, and they were too far away from it for it to be more than a pretty sight to watch.

  The pair reached a large cabin. Bree turned the handle and entered it, pulling Calixto behind her. He pulled his hand out of hers, causing her to turn around. “We cannot be here.”

  Bree looked at him confused, “Is this place dangerous for you?”

  He frowned at her, “It isn’t our place. We can’t go making use of a human’s domicile at our leisure.”

  Bree smiled at him and reached into her storage dimension, “Here, this should make you feel better.”

  He read over a short missive. “You just happen to know the owner of this place?”

  Bree nodded, “I have this kind of agreement in pretty much every province, state, city, country, prefecture, and domain in Letera. A lot of people owe me.” She wrapped his arms around her and pulled him toward one of the rooms. “Now let me show you the proper way to celebrate a near death experience.”

  Calixto did not need any coaxing. He pulled her to him and swept her feet off of the ground. She laughed as he began kissing her neck, a laugh that soon turned into a moan. He slipped her dress off of her body before they had even reached the bed. Bree was tugging at his shirt as he tossed her onto the bed. She laughed as she flew through the air. Almost as soon as she hit the bed, Calixto was on top of her, one hand cupping her breast and the other pulling her leg around his hip. Shocked at how aggressive he was being, Bree murmured in his ear, “I don’t remember you being this eager before.”

  Pulling back and looking down on her, the man replied, “Perhaps it was the lack of a near death experience.” He began kissing her as she laughed.

  His hands were fast and efficient as they explored her body. Calixto had brought her to peaking less than a minute after getting her onto the bed. Bree was panting as she flipped over on top of him and worked his pants off with her hands and feet. Before she could do anything else, Calixto’s husky voice broke her concentration, “I don’t think so.”

  The world spun and Bree found herself once again under him, “I am no one’s pet.”

  Bree laughed as he kissed her forehead and down her face, “It had to sound believable,” she panted into his hair. “If they knew you were anything else, they would have killed you.”

  Calixto stopped and looked at her, “With what? Magma?”

  “Of course, they were-Oh,” she looked into his eyes as he smiled at her. She gave his arm a slap, “I didn’t know you were a dragon.”

  The bed vibrated as he laughed and spread her legs apart with his hand. The laughter stopped as soon as he began to move into her. Bree wrapper her legs around his hips and arched into him. For the first time in a long time, she allowed someone else complete control over her body.

  Several hours passed before either of them was ready to stop. Bree ran her hand through Calixto’s hair as she rested against his chest when a noise caught their attention. Both sets of eyes turned to looked at several wisps hovering over the ground a few feet from the bed.r />
  “We are sorry to interrupt your procreation, but we have business with the witch.”

  Bree sat up and stretched her hand out to her dress. A small, shiny object levitated over it. “It’s quite alright. I didn’t expect you so soon, but it would be best that you get this back into a secure location before something happens to it.”

  The creatures moved in a way that suggested they agreed. “We thank you for your assistance. It was much quicker and far less risky than the other option.”

  Bree nodded, “I know. I was glad to be of service.”

  “Have you decided on your payment?”

  Bree was aware of Calixto watching her as she shrugged, “I still haven’t thought of anything for myself. However, I hear that there is an expedition taking off from Berenice in about a month. I don’t really care one way or the other about the main objective, but there is a young researcher on board. She is quite intelligent and rather witty, so I would like to see just what she is capable of. If you would guide the course of her ship to a location that is suitable for her purposes, I would say that is payment enough.”

  The wisps moved around as if in thought, “Directing the path of ships hardly seems like adequate payment.”

  Bree smiled, “It may not be quite as simple as you may think. The Aeoleans are planning to destroy the ships before they reach their destination.”

  “Ah,” there was a little sound of excitement in the response, “That sounds more like a game than a payment. And what path would be most beneficial for this researcher?”

  Bree shrugged, “I have no idea.”

  “You need us to figure that out?”

  “And that is why it is adequate payment.”

  The wisps moved in a way that was hypnotic and sounded like a breeze travelling around the room. “We look forward to repaying our debt to you. And we wish you health in your future dealings.”

  Bree bowed her head. The wisps and the item disappeared.

  Calixto moved too fast for Bree to resist. His hands pinned her wrists to the bed and his body lay on top of her. He looked down at her, “You said that you were bored, but based on what you said to the magma demons, you weren’t just working because of boredom. It sounded like they were trying to start something more serious.”

  Bree shrugged, “Yes, and I interfered because I was bored. I’m sure that things would have worked out alright because the Sentii are incredibly intelligent, just a little too trusting. All I did was help avert open conflict.”

  Calixto blinked at her, “And roughly how many lives do you think that you saved?”

  She gave him a half grin, “It’s impossible to see the future, even more impossible to see all possible scenarios. Perhaps I save thousands, or perhaps I didn’t save anyone.”

  “You received no payment for your work.” His voice was low and his eyes kept shifting to her breasts. She watched as he forced his lovely red eyes to look at her face.

  “She really is a bright girl, and seeing her potential come to fruition is the best payment I can imagine.”

  Calixto release her hands and looked away, “I am sincerely humbled by what you have done, and I apologize for the things I said to you. You are not selfish and foolish. The world has no idea how lucky it is to have you in it.” His eyes darted back to her, “Well, you are foolish, but not out of selfishness.”

  Bree smiled up at him, “And you are almost the perfect man. The only thing wrong with you is that on the very rare occasion, you are wrong.” Her hand traced an elegant red dragon covering his shoulder. “So, you all literally wear your shape on your body.” Smiling up at him, Bree realized that she never wanted the touch of another man. Calixto complimented her in a way that no one else could. “Gods, I actually found a virtually perfect man. Unbelievable.”

  Calixto smiled down on her, “Your words hurt.”

  Bree sighed, “Next you will tell me that my smile is painful too.”

  Slowly Calixto lowered his head and began to kiss her neck. Bree let him move her thighs apart and stroke them with his hand. “No,” he murmured, “your smile is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.” His movements were slow and deliberate as he gently pressed into her. Bree let out a satisfied groan as his mouth sought hers. His tongue parted her lips as he worked deeper into her.

  The End

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  Taja’s Dragon

  By: Lisa Daniels

  Chapter 1

  Nothing out of the Ordinary

  Taja pulled the bundled-up items to her chest and tried to speed up, despite the crowd around her. The market was always impossibly busy at this time of day, and the acting stable master knew it. Still, he had told her not to be late after giving her all of the chores. Hating that the real stable master had been needed at the noble’s country mansion for a few months to deliver two new foals and take care of them, Taja took comfort in the fact that it wouldn’t be much longer before he returned. She just had to hold out for another week or two and then everything would go back to normal.

  Her blonde hair shone like sunshine, a few stray strands dangling beside her face as the young woman pressed forward. It would be her twenty-first birthday soon, but she had no expectations. The stable master was the only person in her life that actually seemed to care about what happened to her, and he would not be back in time. Not that she wanted to celebrate. The stable master had been like the father she had never known, so she just wanted him to come back so the nightmare that had been her job without him would end. One of the other stable hands had taken to harassing her in the stable master’s absence, and the acting master wasn’t about to do anything to stop the boy. Taja had plenty of experience keeping boys like that away, but it was wearing on her. That and her mother’s steady decline into the bottle. Taja didn’t feel sorry for herself. She just needed that one ray of sunshine back that had made life worth living.

  Taja was not a tall woman, just barely over five feet tall. The first impression people had of her was that she resembled a large doll. Despite working outside, her skin was pale and soft. Her large brown eyes were surrounded by thick lashes that combined with her unnaturally yellow hair, hinting that she was perhaps not fully human. The perfect symmetry of her dainty features was striking, and it had gotten her into plenty of trouble when she was young. It was only after she met the stable master that Taja had calmed down and started trying to make a better life for herself. That had been three years ago. Until that point, she had been a complete mess, sleeping with any boy who would give her gifts and expensive items. Her mother had used her daughter as much as possible, turning expensive gifts into high debts with many of the taverns. The stable master had given the young woman something worth living for outside of her different types of abuse.

  It was times like these as she was darting through the crowds that Taja was really thankful for being so small. She was able to more easily slip through spaces between people.

  Still not fast enough. I’m going to be late. Her mind was already calculating her distance and current rate of speed. Moving her legs a little faster, she shifted to the outside of the crowd. It was risky, particularly since she would be moving so close to the carriages and horses, but it was the only way she was going to get through the crowd in time.

  As soon as she reached the outside of the crowd, Taja’s speed more than doubled. With a grin on her face, the young woman hurried past the throng.

  Without warning, one of the people moving in the opposite direction stepped into her. He had been trying to step out of the way of a noble lady, and did not notice the young woman trying to get by on the other side.

  Taja lost her balance, and fell. Instinctively, he
r arms tightened around the things she had brought, trying to keep them from spilling all over the road. Scrambling to get up without dropping anything, Taja looked up. A horse was making its way quickly right toward her.

  With a little gasp, the stable hand tried to crawl out of the way without getting the things dirty.

  “Seriously? Is that stuff more important than your life?” The voice was unfamiliar, but warm. The accent was light, but it was obvious that the owner of that voice was not from the area. And he was clearly male. Taja felt a pair of hands on her waist and she was suddenly lifted off of the ground. Clutching the items to her chest, she couldn’t believe that someone had stopped to help her. Her mind registered the miracle as a warm and firm body pressed against hers. The sound of the horse’s hoofs rumbled past her as she tried to fully comprehend what had just happened.

  As soon as the horse was past, she heard the rider calling it to stop. The warmth moved away from her body as she tried to get a hold of herself.

  An angry voice was so close to her, and Taja knew it was the rider. “Do you know what you almost did to my horse?”

  Taja turned to look, to apologize, but someone else spoke first. “Are you a fool or an idiot? Oh, yes, I see, you are one of the noble. A bit of both, then.”

  Taja’s eyes went wide as she turned to look at the man who had pulled her from the ground. Her gaze went back to the noble, and his expression read the way she felt. Neither of them had heard a noble insulted so publically before. Her head turned and she saw the people in the crowd starting to watch them.

  The noble had found his voice. “How dare you insult me!”

  “Ah, you make it all too easy. A woman is knocked into the street, and you yell at her for what, exactly? Being in danger? Blaming the victim is easy, but it is also very clear who the villain is in these cases.” He tilted his head to the side. Taja couldn’t see his features very well, but his stance suggested that the man was accustomed to power. He was not tall for a man, but standing this close to him she could tell he was about 5 foot 8 or 5 foot 9. His body was not bulky, but remembering what he had felt like as he held her, she knew that the man was muscular. Sinewy, her mind supplied.