Dragon Wish (6 page)

white hot fervor, and rational thought no longer controlled

him. Just the memory of what they had shared during the

night caused the embers of desire to smolder within him.

He swallowed as he glanced around the room, hoping to

distract the renewed bud of warmth building between his

legs.

The Inn’s common room bustled with travelers who

mingled with vendors. Some roamed from table to table,

others sat on benches lined against the two side walls. Odors

of cooked food and body scents, some good—some not so

good, saturated the place. Laughter interspersed with

conversations swept across the room. Feet shuffled under

tables and across the room as the vendors vied with the

locals for a space to sit or stand so they might break their

morning fast. He ignored most of the noise, allowing the flow

of activity in the inn help him keep his mind away from

thoughts of the strange woman. When he looked around,

several females blushed and twittered to each other behind

their hands.

He frowned at the sight then lowered his focus to cutting

another piece off the steak. The attention he garnered was

the same everywhere he traveled. The women reacted like

they had never seen someone like him. Yet, in his homeland,

all of his clansmen were tall and light haired with light eyes.

They were much like him. The dragon blood ran strong in his

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clan. What would these dark-haired, rounded women say if

he told them that in his land, he was considered rather plain?

Wooden clogs clopped down the stairs, drawing his

attention. The off-worlder had arrived. Dressed like a young

male, her small frame went unobserved by the inhabitants of

the room, but he noticed. His heart skipped a beat. Dainty,

delicate, the soft lines of her heart-shaped face strengthened

the seed of desire she planted inside him last night until it

threatened to bud into a clinging vine, refusing to release

him. He gritted his teeth and unintentionally clenched the

handle of his tankard. No matter what, he had to maintain

controlled in her presence. Never again would he allow

weakness to rule his body. He mustn’t allow a repetition of

the previous evening. She made it clear she didn’t want him.

She stopped on the last step and looked around the room.

There, she glanced at his table, she turned away but her stare

returned immediately. He witnessed her swallow, and then

raise her chin to a higher degree. He tilted his head, smiled

and motioned her to the table.

She stepped away from the stairs, merging with the many

people roaming throughout the room. She was so small,

fragile even when compared to the others in the room. The

muscles in his back tightened, and he straightened in his

chair. Dressed in breeches and a white rough linen shirt, she

still stood out among the patrons. Her slender form served to

refresh his memories of her body, naked, supple, and pressed

against his while her soft cries entered his mouth when he

slid...he tensed, slamming the images to the back of his

mind.

“Good tidings.” He rose from his seat and gave her a tight

smile before holding out a chair. For the briefest moment,

their eyes met. She murmured a thank you as she slid onto

the seat.

Calis’ eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “Now,

Cap’an, I’m not one to complain about yer preferences, but I

draw the line at bedding children.”

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Paladin laughed out loud. The woman gasped, her eyes

wide.

Not giving her time to respond, he slapped Calis on the

shoulder and grinned. His tension slid away under Calis’

comment. He would rather have her ire turned on him than

his first mate. “Well, my friend, I happen to agree with you,

but this is no child. A bit small, but she is indeed a grown

female. This I can attest to.”

She glared at him. Without remorse, he smiled wider.

Calis leaned over the table. He gave her a hard stare.

“Why is her hair so short? She’s not marked for a crime, is

she?”

“No, she isn’t marked. She was a gift to me from the

Cosmos. A shooting star brought her,” Paladin replied,

keeping his voice low.

Calis sat back, frowning at him. “Bah, ye and yer

mysticism. It’s enough to make me sick.”

“Do you mind? I’m hungry,” the woman said. Tension

and perhaps fear more than any other emotion spoke

through her clasped hands with the white knuckles and the

tightened jaw. Paladin curled his fingers into a fist to keep

from touching her in hopes of reassuring her.

“What’s her name?” Calis asked, waving a serving wench

over.

Paladin had neglected to ask her. At the time, it hadn’t

been important. While he stared at her, a strong premonition

filled him. He’d caught a flicker of life within her, separate

from her own force. His stomach threatened to empty into

his throat. The sensation grew until he knew without a doubt

the truth to it.

“I’m Seren.” She held out her hand to Calis. His first mate

cocked a brow at her hand. She pulled back, clasping hers

together in her lap. “Never mind.”

“Yer name is Seren Nevermind?”

Struggling to keep the bile down, Paladin forced a chuckle

past his lips. “No, her name is Seren. Nothing else. My sweet,

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this strapping gent is my first mate, Calis Mer. And of course,

you know who I am.”

Calis grunted. “Ye dern right she knows. Probably why

she sniffed ye out. Any woman in her right mind would want

bragging rights on bedding Captain Paladin Fulcan.”

Paladin grinned and winked at Seren. She rolled her eyes,

her lips twitching.
Well, she took that comment in fine form.

With another grunt, Calis stood. “I suppose I’ll leave ye

two for a bit. I’ll tell Alice, that lazy wench, to bring a platter

for the mite here. Remember, Sire, we don’t have much time

before we sail.”

At Calis’ slip of the tongue, Paladin stiffened. Calis dipped

his head, pivoted on his heels, and hurried to the counter.

Paladin stared at his retreating back, knowing his first mate

realized his error by the slump of his broad shoulders.

Fool, what was he thinking to call him by his long

forsaken title? He’d given up his royal vestiges many years

ago, yet Calis seemed to forget the fact. He glared at the man

disappearing amid the occupants and tables. The woman

cleared her throat, bringing his attention to her.

She laid her palms flat on the table, angling a look at him.

“Do your men call you Sire very often?”

“You have discovered a secret. Not many know of it,” he

said, lifting his tankard and taking a sip. He watched her

over the rim. Calis’ misled loyalty might cause complications

with her.

“So I screwed royalty last night.” She closed her eyes,

swallowed, and then faced him. “Look, I want to go home. I

have friends, people I work with who’ll worry about me if I

don’t contact them.”

He set the tankard down, relieved that the fact he was of

the royal line did not affect her. His interest caught on her

smooth features. The soft curve of her lips tempted him to

lean close enough to cover her mouth with his. She spoke

again, forcing him to pay attention to her words.

“You said the dragons were the ones who opened the

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door. I need to see them. Can you tell me how?” She started

then stopped with a shake of her head. “No, that’s not right.

Can you take me to them?”

Her gaze sought his and she hesitated a moment before

she continued. “If you go, maybe they’ll listen to you more

than me. Then they’ll send me home. To Earth.”

Had she practiced her words before she came to meet

him? Tilting his chair toward the wall behind him, he draped

an arm over the back. “No, I cannot. No one goes to see the

dragons unannounced. A request must go out across Avaris

to the great clan leaders. If they agree to meet with us, a

gathering will then take place.”

Silence passed between them for several moments. She

opened her mouth then shut it. He watched her internal

battle pass over her features. After a few moment of

consideration, she found the strength to speak.

“Fine. Tell me how to send the requests. They have to

listen to me.”

He glanced at the rough surface of the table, trying to

think of a way to make her understand. Taking a breath, he

said, “No matter what you and I desire, I believe the dragons

opened the portal for a reason. They want something from

you, and possibly, me. I care little for their manipulations,

but there is nothing I can do to fix this without their help.”

Taking a chance, he covered her hands with his before

continued. “I deeply regret bringing you here. For now, we

will travel to the land of Bae to visit the other off-worlder.

Perhaps there, we will learn of another way you might return

home.”

She released a shuddering sigh. Her body sagged as a

small smile passed over her lips. “Thank you.”

Under his palm, he felt what had to be relief surge

through her body, making the blood race in her veins. It

spiraled to end at the base of her belly, reminding him, even

verifying what he’d sensed earlier. He had never been a man

to keep silent if another needed important information. She

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needed to know this, now, not later. Still, he hesitated for a

moment before he spoke.

Paladin cleared his throat, turned away from her for a

moment, glanced around the room, cleared his throat again,

then turned back and met her eyes directly and spoke

bluntly. “You carry my child.”

She flinched at his words and shook her head in denial.

He tightened his hold on her hand.

“You do. I could sense it when you came downstairs. The

child’s dragon blood cries out to his sire,” he explained. With

disbelief radiating from her eyes, she seemed unable to

comprehend what he spoke of.

She slipped her hand from beneath his. Fisting it, she hid

it on the other side of her body, her arm formed a protective

barrier across her stomach. He focused on her abdomen. Yes,

a slight flicker. He still sensed it there, growing stronger with

each passing second.

She glared at him. “There isn’t any way you can tell if I’m

pregnant. It’ll take weeks before my body will start showing

signs.”

He half-smiled. Her ignorance of his world made it

difficult to explain things like this. “If the child was pure

human, yes, but this babe carries the white dragon blood in

its veins. A male child.”

Seren opened her mouth to speak, but Alice appeared.

She dropped a platter on the table.

“’ere ye go. Fresh cooked.” Sliding the plate filled with

fluffy eggs topped with plump sausages toward Seren, she

grinned and winked at Paladin before flouncing away.

Grateful for the interruption, Paladin lifted his tankard.

He kept an eye on Seren. She gulped, took a deep breath, and

then picked up the tine. She frowned at it, shrugged and

stuck the two-pronged, metal implement into the eggs.

One small bite and she glanced at him. “Needs a little

salt.”

“Salt?”

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“It’s a seasoning,” she said.

He tilted his head toward her.
A seasoning? Ah, to flavor

foods.
“They have brine sticks. Some prefer to take a lick

before each bite. I’ve never cared for them.”

“It’s okay. I’ll pass,” she murmured, ducking her head

after another small bite.

He studied her, calculating the changes due to occur in

her body from this babe she carried. Her rich human blood,

untouched by magic, would affect the child’s magic. In what

manner, he dared not begin to imagine.

He narrowed his eyes, assessing her slender frame above

the table, watching the vein pulse in her neck. Her blood

carried no magic. He tried to understand why the dragons,

knowing this, granted his wish. She had mentioned a white

dragon. Lior, leader to his clan, was the only white dragon he

knew of who possessed the ability and power to implant