Chapter 3

“Are you well?” Tarkesh didn’t lead her away from the spacecraft. Instead he lifted his hand and brushed a lock of Katryn’s hair away from her face. The attraction that had rolled over her the moment her gaze met his rose to the surface. No matter what she’d said to Varad, it would be unwise to engage in an affair with this man when she would soon be mated to another. She had no idea how conservative the weredragon culture was, and she didn’t want to upset the family she had never met by her ignorance of her own race. Tarkesh cupped her cheek, and she allowed herself to savor the liquid fire his touch lit within her, spreading to heat her sex. Gooseflesh broke out down her arms, and she forced herself to step away from him, away from the pleasure of his skin on hers.

“I am fine. Please do not concern yourself with me. May we go?”

“Yes. Gila. This way.” He smiled gently, and it warmed her. Had she ever received kindness from her own father? She couldn’t recall any. She realized she’d expected all dragon males to be like her sire. Cold, distant, unfeeling. Katryn had simply been a hostess for the Harenan Embassy, just one more person to serve her father’s whims. But Tarkesh seemed…different. And so appealing. It was a shame she had to mate with this Nadir instead.

Tarkesh’s hand settled hot and solid against the small of her back. His touch burned her through the saltwater silk of her gown. She shuddered as longing washed over her, and she swallowed back a soft moan. He guided her around the corner of the landing site and through the maze of sand-colored tents. “Are we very far?”

“Not far. Just there.” He pointed to an enormous animal a short distance away.

Katryn’s mouth flapped open and closed several times before she could speak. No animal that large lived on Vesperi. She’d never even heard of such things. The huge reptile had four widely spaced legs that barely held its belly off the sand, a long tail, a wide, fat head, and tiny eyes. The coloring was unique, though. It was intricately patterned in black with uneven stripes of orange, pink, and peach. Its scales looked like large, rough bumps. “That is a Gila?”

“Yes, it’s a Gila beast. They are used as riding and pack animals.”

“Are they native to Harena?”

He frowned. “Yes, though I do believe they got their name because they resemble an ancient Earth creature.”

“Earth had reptiles so large?”

“I don’t think anyone on Harena can answer that question. Certainly not I.” His eyes gleamed. “Though I would love to speak to the new human women who crash-landed in the werebears’ laps.”

She laughed. “Varad has met them. You could ask him about them.”

“Perhaps I will.” His fingers stroked sensuous circles on her back as he looked down at her. Heat warmed his dark gaze. She leaned into him instinctively, tilting her face toward him. Yes. Something about this man was intoxicating. Irresistible temptation. She wanted to know more, to touch him. She shouldn’t give in to this desire, this unexpected passion for a man she’d only just met. Something inside her pulled toward him, this man who could never be hers. Longing twisted deep within her, and her pussy clenched.

His hand lifted to the back of her neck, threading his fingers through her hair. “Katryn.”

“Yes.” She closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling his simple touch elicited in her. No one had affected her this way before. His fingers on her skin were soft and gentle. Goose bumps rippled down her arms. She laid her hands on his bare chest, stroking her fingertips over his smooth skin.

He groaned and brought his palms up to cup her hands. “I need to…”

He leaned closer, and his lips brushed over hers, still soft, still gentle. She moaned into his mouth, her nipples beading tight as she pressed her breasts to his warm, wide chest. He swept his tongue out to lick her bottom lip. Shuddering, she opened for him. His mouth meshed with hers. Slow fire built within her. Seducing her. His fingers slid down her long hair and then cupped her hips to move her against his erection. She rubbed herself on him, desire whipping through her body.

Someone behind them cleared his throat, and they jolted apart. She fought a moan as the heat of Tarkesh’s body abandoned her. The man who’d interrupted them shifted uncomfortably. “Lord Tarkesh, I am sorry—”

Tarkesh straightened the robe he wore, and offered up a calm smile. “No, it’s fine, Lord Baleel. Please, I’d like you to meet Lady Katryn. Katryn, this is a good friend of mine, Baleel.”

He stood as tall as Tarkesh but had a wider build. A midnight-blue robe covered pants and a shirt in the same color. Brilliant gold scaling peeked out from his sleeves and collar. Unlike Tarkesh, he wore his hair cropped close to his head.

“Hello.” She stepped forward and offered her hand. He engulfed it in his large palm and gave her an easy smile before releasing her hand. Her breath whooshed out in relief as she realized he didn’t seem to be upset about her kissing Tarkesh. Perhaps dragons were as open about their sexuality as tigers were. She hoped so.

Tarkesh’s hand settled on her lower back, and she fought the urge to arch into his touch. “I was just showing Katryn the Gila beasts.”

Baleel’s smile widened, his eyes curious as they looked her over. “You’ve not seen one?”

“No. Never. May I touch them?” They fascinated her with their enormity and complete foreignness. She wondered what their scales would feel like under her fingertips. Silky and smooth like dragon scales? Or hard and rough?

“Yes, they are quite tame.” Baleel gestured for her to precede him.

The Gila beasts didn’t seem to be caged in any way. They wandered close to the tents in a large pack. There were between twenty and thirty of them. She approached the closest one with caution. Tame or not, it was a huge animal that could hurt her without meaning to. She lifted her palm and laid it against the Gila’s side. This one was black with peach markings. The scales rose in high bumps that fit her hand. They were coarse and hard but warm to the touch. “How do you ride one? The scaling would make it uncomfortable.”

“If you were to ride them bareback, yes. But we have padding that we strap around their belly. Just there.” Baleel pointed to an area midway down the Gila’s back. Their bodies seemed to hinge in that area, their forelegs leading in one direction, their hind legs following on a disjointed parallel. She could understand that to sit too far forward or back might give the rider motion sickness from the swaying their movements would create. Every move seemed slow and cumbersome.

The Gila she was petting made a sound between a wheezing groan and a grunt. She jerked her hand back, and both men chuckled.

She flicked a glance over her shoulder at them. “I’d like to see how well either of you would react to the native flora and fauna of Vesperi.”

Baleel bowed low before her with a small grin. “Such a tart tongue. That settles it—it is truly genetics.”

“What nonsense is this?”

“I speak of your cousin, Adriana. She has…strong opinions about everything.”

“And that is an undesirable trait in a dragon woman? Are women not allowed to speak their minds?” What a horrifying thought. Women on Vesperi could not inherit wealth or title, so they sought their power and influence through the men in their lives. However, there were many tigresses who were powerful, and none were forbidden to express an opinion.

Both men blinked at her. Tarkesh glanced at Baleel, and the man nodded and faded away into the herd of Gila. Tarkesh spoke quietly. “I…mean no disrespect when I ask this, but…you do realize that weredragons have a matriarchal government, do you not? Women own all property, and family loyalties run through the female line.”

She blinked. “I—I didn’t know. I don’t know much about dragons.”

“Your father was a weredragon. He told you nothing?” His dark gaze pinned her in place, searched her eyes for the truth, and invited her to tell him everything. And she wanted to. It surprised her. She wasn’t one to share too much or too soon.

She shifted, uncomfortable with how comfortable she felt with him less than an hour after meeting him. “No. My mother died within a Turn of my father’s appointment to Harena. He…I never knew anything but weretigers. They raised me, taught me, befriended me. Father and I were the only dragons. Who else was I to associate with?”

A kind smile slid over his lips. “If you have any questions on our journey, I would be happy to answer them.”

“You won’t—you won’t think me foolish? I feel ignorant for knowing nothing about my people. Shouldn’t I know these things?” How could her father have kept this from her? Why hadn’t he told her? If women were so powerful, so needed, why was she—a woman—so unimportant to him? Despair wrapped around her. A tiny part of her longed for some warmth from her father. To belong to something more powerful than just herself—a unit, a family. No tenderness or kindness had ever been forthcoming. She straightened her spine. She didn’t need to contemplate that. It wouldn’t help anything. She didn’t miss her father; she hadn’t spent enough time around him to miss him. She missed the possibility of the connection with another being, a person connected to her by blood or love. The only people she had like that were Mahlia or Varad, and they were flying away into space in a matter of weeks. Her heart twisted. “When will we be leaving for the capital?”

His mouth had opened to answer her first question, and then it closed. He arched his eyebrows at the change of subject. “Tomorrow morning, my lady.”

Icy fear slipped down her spine, and all her dread at the mating roiled inside her. She felt the blood drain from her face, and she swayed on her feet. “So soon?”

“Yes, my lady. The bonding ceremony takes place in six days’ time, the day after we arrive in the capital.” His hands snapped out to catch her shoulders, and he pulled her close to his chest. His fingers smoothed down her hair. She leaned into him, craving the comfort his embrace seemed to give. Had she ever felt so at ease with someone so quickly? She didn’t think so, but she couldn’t force herself to step back, to step away, to give it up for the short time she had him with her. Five days. That was all she had. She would savor this small moment with him before she mated with a stranger. She pushed away the dread that welled up in her and burrowed her nose into his throat, inhaling the warm, spicy scent of his skin.

She flicked out her tongue to taste him, and his hand dropped to cup her ass. He tugged her hips forward so he could ride against her pussy. He spun them around and backed her against something hard. A Gila. It shifted, and the roughness of its scales abraded her through the thin saltwater silk of her robes. His hard chest pressed to her front, his skin smooth beneath her fingertips as she lifted her hands to touch him. His lips brushed against hers, tentative, questioning. Sweet. Intoxicating.

Sighing, she leaned into the caress of his mouth. Slow fire built in her belly, and she wanted more. Her sex fisted on emptiness, the need to be filled more than she could bear at the moment. Stroking her fingers up his chest, she buried them in his long, silken hair. She shivered as the texture of it slid against the scaling that drew to points on the backs of her hands. Lust slammed into her, deep, uncontrollable. Always this happened when her scales were touched. Always she craved more.

Yes. Please, Tarkesh.

His answering groan reverberated in her mind, vibrated on her lips. She shuddered at the double contact. Arching against him, she rubbed her hardened nipples against his chest. Passion coursed hot and heavy through her, pooling between her legs. She wanted more. She needed—

“Katryn!” Mahlia’s call in the distance reached her ears, and she moaned a protest at the second interruption to her pleasure. Did no one wish her to enjoy her last moments of freedom? She frowned, her mouth setting in a line. Her muscles grew tense with frustrated lust. A hiss bubbled up in her throat.

A low chuckle slipped from Tarkesh. “You sounded very much the dragon just then, my lady. I am a good influence on you.”

Rolling her eyes, she let a reluctant laugh straggle out. “I refuse to incriminate myself by answering that, my lord.”

“Tarkesh.”

“Tarkesh.” She nodded and smiled up at him, stroking a single finger down the centerline of his chest before withdrawing. His dark gaze flashed hot, but he stepped away just as Mahlia broke through the line of tents.

“There you are.” A brilliant smile graced her feline features. “I was beginning to worry. You’ve been gone a very long time.”

“Have I? I hadn’t noticed.” And she hadn’t. Perhaps because all thoughts of time fled her mind when Tarkesh put his hands on her. How unusual for her. She pursed her lips. It wasn’t something she was willing to examine too closely. That way lay heartache. Tarkesh was here to take her to the man she was going to mate with—another man, she reminded herself with ruthless force. She could not get attached to him, no matter how attractive she found him.

“How could you not—”

“Look, Mahlia. These are Gila beasts. Harenans ride them.” Katryn flashed a smile at her friend and stepped aside so she got a full view of the enormous lizard. Mahlia’s blue eyes lit with interest, and she stepped forward.

Mahlia’s gaze landed on Tarkesh, and Katryn watched her fascination with the new creature war with her monarchal duty. Katryn bit the inside of her cheek when duty obviously won. Then her friend froze, her nose lifting to sniff the air delicately. She cut her gaze to Katryn, and she spoke telepathically as she dropped a graceful curtsy. I can smell you on him, Katryn. Did I interrupt anything interesting? Her blue eyes sparkled with suppressed mischief. When she spoke aloud, she addressed Tarkesh. “Hello, I am Amira Mahlia. And you are?”

He bowed before the weretigress. “Amira, I am Lord Tarkesh.”

“It is a pleasure.” She nodded to him and glided forward over the sand to lay a hand on the Gila. Katryn grinned. Even her duty wasn’t going to prevent Mahlia from exploring. “This is a beautiful land with beautiful creatures, my lord.”

“My thanks, Amira. We are honored you are enjoying your stay with us.”

Katryn’s grin widened at the formality they used with each other. Neither used those tones with her. For a moment, she wondered at Tarkesh’s automatic casualness with her. Was it because she was a dragon, or was it something else? Did he feel this strange connection between them? Part of her hoped so, and the more sensible part knew it would be easier to be mated to another if he did not. She reached out to lay her palm on her friend’s shoulder. “Mahlia…I am leaving in the morning.”

“Wh—what? But we will be here for several more weeks trading.” Her blue eyes went wide and filled with tears. Her lips trembled, and she compressed them into a flat line. “I don’t see why you must go so soon.”

“Tarkesh will escort me to the capital. For my mating ceremony. In six days.” If Katryn said it enough, perhaps it would feel real.

Mahlia turned accusing eyes on Tarkesh. “Then, if I will be here for the ceremony, I will go with you to the capital to witness it.”

“No.” Tarkesh shook his head, his gaze hard. “Foreigners are not permitted to leave the landing site. Not ever. Ambassadors and traders remain here.” His wave indicated the city of tents.

“I am her best friend.”

His brows arched, but his voice remained adamant. “Then, as her best friend, you will respect the customs of her people.”

She snorted and turned away. “Fine, but I do not have to be happy about it.”

“Of course not.” He bowed to her, and she swept past to disappear into the maze of tents. He sighed and turned back to Katryn. “I don’t believe I made a very favorable impression with your friend, but it is the law. I am sorry.”

“Why is it the law?” That was what confused her.

“You have met people from all the colonized planets, yes?”

“Yes. My father was an ambassador. I met people from everywhere. It was my duty to serve as hostess to all of them. What does this have to do with weredragon law?”

He flashed a grin, and a sweet feeling clenched her belly at the sight. He was a beautiful man. His hand snapped out to catch her wrist and draw her against him again. His lips brushed over the sensitive flesh where her neck met her shoulder. She shivered. “I’m getting to that. All these other people—what kinds of government do they have?”

She struggled to focus as his tongue flicked over her skin, tasting her. Her hands lifted to clench his strong shoulders. “Ah…the tigers have a monarchy, the merpeople have a republic, and the bears have a feudal lord system. I believe that’s all correct. Why?”

“Well.” His wide palms slipped down her back to cup her hips. “In all those cultures, do not the men have a majority of the power? Even in the supposedly equal mer republic?” He bit down on the corded muscles of her neck.

“Yes.” Her voice erupted as a squeak. This was the most erotic lesson in politics she’d ever received. Her body pulsed with need, reminding her exactly how long it had been since she’d bedded a man. Too long.

His rough voice scraped over her nerves as he continued the story. She struggled to comprehend, to learn, when she wanted nothing more than to drag him into the nearest tent and quench the need building deep within her. “When dragons came to Harena, we barely survived as a people. It was a woman who stepped forward to take control of the chaos that ensued. A woman who created laws that governed the people, a woman who established the first trade with Vesperi. Her name was Kelyn, and she found the tigers unwilling to deal with her because she was a woman, because women cannot have true power among the tigers. Thus the laws. No foreigners can leave the landing site for fear that they will contaminate our society, the balance that keeps us all alive. Weredragon men are warriors and traders—we go out and conduct whatever relations there are with the other weredragon bands and with the other planets. Women stay on their lands. They control all property; they produce the children and therefore ensure our future. The most powerful women have properties in and around the capital.”

“That’s why the mermaid ambassador is the only female I have seen since landing?” She’d only just realized this was true. No women in the tent city. Not one. Then he slid his fingertip down the scales on her arm, and all thought fled her mind. Her breath tangled in her throat. She leaned forward to bite his collarbone and sooth the sting with her tongue.

He groaned, his palm moving to cup her breast and rub his thumb over her hard nipple. “Yes. Your family is descendant of Kelyn, the most powerful matriarchy on Harena. I—”

Standing on tiptoe, she pressed a light kiss to his jaw, his chin. Her fingers gripped his inky hair to drag him down to her mouth. “Tarkesh. Be silent and kiss me.”

Dropping his forehead to hers, he gave a strained laugh. “I cannot.”

“Why not?”

“Because the evening meal is upon us, and if we are late Baleel and the Amira will come chasing after us. I prefer to savor my pleasure. For hours.” She shuddered as he whispered in her ear before sucking her lobe between his teeth. He nipped at her flesh, and her pussy spasmed hard. Gods, she wanted that, too. Savor. Hours. With him. Inside her. Yes.

As though Tarkesh had conjured him to prove his point, Baleel stepped out from behind the Gila. “My lord. The caravan is prepared for the morrow. The dune-racers have been checked, the Gila beastmasters will have them packed or saddled by dawn.”

“Excellent.” Tarkesh nodded to indicate they begin walking toward the tents, and they fell into step with him.

The sunlight seemed to have winked out in an instant, without much fanfare. Twilight lasted for hours on Vesperi, and it was one more reminder that she was out of her element.

An enormous fire danced in the middle of the tent city, with what looked like a Gila beast roasting on a spit. Mahlia and Varad stood on the far side talking to the mermaid ambassador and a rotund dragon with pink scales. The man looked…odd in that color. Katryn bit the inside of her lip to keep from giggling. He laughed, and his jowls shook, the movement making his scales twinkle in the firelight.

“He’s very proud of his scales. As are all dragons.” Tarkesh’s breath brushed against her ear as he bent to speak softly to her.

“I’d heard that somewhere.” She shuddered as his fingers drifted down the scales on her arm. Clenching her teeth, she tried to fight the rising passion that slicked her sex. Gods, help.

She jolted when his hand closed around her elbow, her body arching at the harder contact with her sensitive flesh. Tarkesh gave her an innocent look as he guided her over to her friends. She returned a skeptical glance and snorted.

The evening passed in a blur of feasting and dancing under foreign stars to wild music that tickled her memory. She spun in Tarkesh’s arms until she was breathless with laughter. Sweet, tender emotions wrapped through her that she could do nothing to stop. He passed her to Varad, to Baleel, and even to the pink dragon. Her feet ached, and her mind whirled with too much wine when she collapsed into her bunk onboard the weretiger ship.