DRAGON’S MATE

STORY EXCERPT

Eilidh had, perforce, to put aside her doubts. Everyone knew just how fast the tide raced in when it turned. If Mairi, old and infirm, was injured and unable to move, when the tide came in, inevitably, she would drown. Eilidh tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her something was wrong. She tried to ignore the feeling of evil coming ever closer. It was very hard to do, as the nearer they got to the shore, the stronger the feelings became. Still, for Mairi’s sake, she continued to hasten after Ciarda. At last they came to the shore. Eilidh couldn’t see Mairi.

“Where is Mairi?” she asked.

“Just over there, beyond those rocks. You go on. I have a stone in my sandal and must remove it.”

Eilidh continued down toward the rocks. The bad feelings she had been having grew stronger and stronger. She was forced to grit her teeth and oblige her feet to keep moving. She rounded the rocks, just where she couldn’t be seen from the shore and found not Mairi, but a large, well-built man. He was much taller and stronger than her. He was masked, and she was afraid. It had nothing to do with the mask. He seemed to have an aura of evil about him.

“Where is Mairi? What have you done with her?”

“I know nothing of Mairi. I want you. Come here, woman, and give me no trouble or it will be the worse for you.” He had a set of iron chains in his hands. Eilidh stood no chance against his strength, and he took her by surprise, as he wrapped the chains about her body, pinning her arms to her sides. She was easily overpowered. Loaded with the iron chains, she was unable to shape-shift to her dragon.

“Answer my questions satisfactorily and you shall live.” 

“What do you want of me?” Eilidh asked. She didn’t believe he was going to let her live. She was scared, but she tried not to let him see it.

“Are you mated with Solus?”

“That has nothing to do with you.”

“Oh, but it has everything to do with me. I will rid the world of Solus and then the Clan will be mine, and with it, the treasure from Medina Sidonia’s sunken galleon. Only Braemuir is given that knowledge. If Solus dies, I shall be Braemuir. Feasgar and Maddain are no match for me. Then I shall have all that wealth. Nor shall I make the mistake of squandering the gold on a parcel of peasants, as the Braemuirs do.” 

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“We shall see about that.”

Eilidh felt a huge pressure on her mind-shield. She longed to call for Solus but dared not lower her shield to do so. This man was pushing ever harder against her defences. She let him see a little, hoping it would be enough to convince him she didn’t have the knowledge he sought. He gave a shout of triumph.

“You are his mate. Now I will kill you, and consequently, he will die, too.”

He placed a gag over her mouth to stop her crying out, and then he chained her to the rocks.

“Soon the tide will come in. Don’t worry, your death will be quick. It’s pity I can’t stay to see it. No one can save you now.” He laughed in triumph.

ADULT EXCERPT

 “You’re beautiful, my mate. I want to taste your bountiful breasts. They belong to me. You belong to me now. All of this beauty is mine.” He slid down her body and nipped, licked, and sucked his way to her breasts. When his hot mouth fastened over her nipple, she shrieked.

“Oh. I’m on fire. Help me. What are you doing to me?” She could have said that in her mind, but she cried aloud, and he gloried in the sound. He would make her scream again and again. He turned his attentions to the other breast. She arched her back, pressing her breast into his eager mouth.

“Yes, please, more. I need more. Suck me harder, please!”

He obliged, suckling strongly, holding the nipple between his teeth and flicking his tongue back and forth over it. Then he transferred his attentions to her other one. She threshed her head from side to side, as he lavished pleasure upon her. He nibbled her breasts and she moaned in appreciation. She seemed to like the bite of pain, so he gave her more.

“Oh! Oh! Oh!” she panted. Her sobbing moans were music to his ears. He could scarcely believe this was only the second time he had taken her. She was pliant and responsive, beyond any woman he’d known before. He moved lower. His mouth encountered her curls, and he parted her swollen folds with his fingers. He breathed deeply of her scent.

“You’re so wet and so hot. Your scent is delicious. It’s driving me mad. I need to be inside you now!”

Her cunt was slick, and her folds were swollen. He pushed one finger inside her pussy, coating it in her cream, and then he withdrew it and sucked the cream off. She tasted of citrus. He lowered his mouth to her pussy and licked all the way up her clit. Reaching her little pearl, he flicked it with his tongue. He was good at this. He’d had plenty of practice. His mate, Eilidh, would feel the benefit.

“Eilidh.” He savoured the name. His, all his! She’d never been touched by a man. Her innocence, her maidenhead, had been his to take. He suckled her pearl, and she fell apart in his arms. It was spectacular to watch. Her back arched, her eyes rolled up in her head, and finally she screamed.

NESS’S BANE

STORY EXCERPT

Maddain soared high in the sky. She was jubilant. Solus, her eldest brother and chieftain of the Braemuir Clan, had his mate. Her name was Eilidh and she was already pregnant with the next Braemuir. At the summer solstice, Solus and Eilidh would mate as dragons before the Clan. The black dragon, Oidhche, would be defeated. The future for her brother was assured, but what of her own future? She wouldn’t be able to stay at their home, the Caisteal, forever. It wouldn’t be wise. Eilidh needed to find her feet, then Maddain, or Muireall in her human-form, would have to find a new home or a mate for herself. The men of the Braemuir Clan who were available held no appeal for her. So what was she to do? She had been raised as the daughter of the previous Clan chieftain. As such she’d been taught that it was her duty to mate and that her mate would find her. All females of the Clan chieftain’s house were expected to raise a family, taking a mate from within the Clan. She’d been waiting now for several years but no suitable man had come to her. She wanted a strong man who would care for her but respect her. She was no weak woman and prepared to fight for what she wanted. Her prospective husband would have to be strong, but not just in physical strength. She wanted a man to be a man. She would challenge his right to rule her and only give way if he was the stronger character. She could never respect a weakling. Her mother had told her she would know when the man presented himself. There would be no denying him. Whenever her mother had said those words her face had been wreathed in secret smiles and a rosy blush had stained her cheeks. Muireall wondered what exactly her mother was remembering and was beginning to wonder if ever she would feel those emotions that so affected her mother. Putting those thoughts aside to concentrate on the present, she landed by Drumnadrochit and quickly changed into her woman-form. There it was again. A fleeting thought touched her mind, but when she tried to follow it to its source, all she got was water. That had happened so many times over the last few days. She was curious and just a little afraid. The thoughts were clearer here by Loch Ness. She walked to the bridge that gave Drumnadrochit its name in the old tongue. She leaned over and gazed into the water. A strong thought entered her mind. 

“It’s you, my mate.”

She stepped back, startled. She felt herself compelled, by some exterior force, to walk down shore of the loch. When she was out of sight of the settlement, she stopped and gazed into the water again. What do I expect to see? What am I doing here?

“Close your eyes.” She complied, but she didn’t know why she did. The voice inside her head was soothing but compelling. It offered reassurance that no harm would come to her, and she wanted to know who or what had brought her here and why. There was a sound of rushing, falling water. She opened her eyes and looked up, then up higher. A huge, emerald-green dragon had emerged from the waters of the loch. Water rushed in rivulets off his back, and cascaded off his folded wings. His eyes were a deeper green and, as she looked into them, she saw herself reflected there, small and human. He lowered his huge head until it was level with her face and he gazed at her. She didn’t retreat, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. It scorched her. She was sure that he saw into her very soul.

“Welcome to my lands, my mate.”

“I’m not your mate,” she said. “My mate will be found amongst the ranks of the Braemuir Clan. No dragon from the Clan has ever mated with anyone from outside. I won’t be the first.”

She turned around and left in a hurry. Behind her she heard the roar of the dragon and, in her head, that voice that said, in amusement, “Oh, but you will!”

“I have a dragon mating to attend. I must go,” she answered the voice.

“I will see you there,” he replied.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wait and see. You’re my mate, and I will have you. You won’t escape me. You won’t want to escape me.”

ADULT EXCERPT

 “Soon, my little pet, soon.” Very slowly, he licked and nibbled his way down her throat. Then one hand took hold of one aching nipple. He pressed and flicked, and she moaned and arched her back.

“Yes, yes. Please, more, harder.” He obliged her, and at the same time, his mouth descended on her other nipple and suckled hard. She screamed. She’d never felt anything remotely like it in her life. He’d promised pleasure beyond her wildest dreams, and it seemed he’d been right. She arched her back and threshed her head from side to side.

“How beautiful you are. How sweet your arousal smells to me. Soon I’m going to taste your honey, my pet.” His mind promised more delights to come as his mouth and fingers delivered sensation beyond any she’d known. She burned, her blood boiled in her veins, her breasts throbbed and ached. She felt more moisture pool between her thighs, so she pressed them together.

“No! Don’t conceal yourself from me.” His mouth left her breasts, and he licked, nipped, and nibbled his way down over her belly, swirling his tongue in her navel. He slid down the bed, parted her thighs, and settled himself between them, holding them apart with his broad shoulders. His long, strong fingers parted her pussy lips and he breathed in deeply. “Mm, so sweet and spicy. You smell delicious. I wonder if you taste as good.”

“What do you mean? You’re going to taste me there? You can’t.”

“You’ve such a lot to learn, my little rabbit. I can and I will taste you there.” So saying, two fingers speared her cunt. He pushed them in as far as he could go then drew them out, stretching her. At the same time, his tongue licked her pearl.

“Ness!” she screamed aloud. He flicked the little nubbin with his tongue as his fingers pumped in and out of her. An orgasm, powerful in its intensity, rolled over her, causing her limbs to tremble and shake. He continued to lick and flick her clitoris, not allowing her to come down, prolonging the sensual pleasure. Never had it felt like that when she’d made herself come. She felt his pleasure in her surrender and his delight at her response to his lovemaking, as well as her own.

“It will always be like this. We feel each other’s arousal and delight. It more than doubles the pleasure.” As he soothed her with his mind, his fingers in her cunt located and massaged a spot deep inside her. She came up off the bed.

“Ohgod, ohgod, ohgod! What?”

Gently but firmly, he pressed her back down, and then he withdrew his fingers.

“No, please, Ness. Don’t stop. Don’t leave me!”

“I’ve no intention of leaving you, my love.” His cock was demanding entrance. He felt huge. How was he going to fit?

“It will be all right. You’ll stretch to fit me. Women are made that way. Don’t be afraid. The pain will be fleeting.”

LAND OF ICE AND SNOW

STORY EXCERPT

 “Gudrin, we are here to ask, what is the problem with your daughter? She is past the age of mating and has chosen no man yet.”

“Perhaps she waits for the orange-and-gold one the legends tell of,” a toothless old crone cackled.

“Whatever she does, she is causing trouble. The young men take no mates because they live in the hope she will choose them. The older males sniff after her as she walks the streets. They are restless, and soon we shall have adultery.”

There was a collective gasp at that. Adultery was unheard of, and it was a grave charge to lay at anyone’s door. Sigourney shook her head but remained calm and said not a word.

“We have decided that she must choose one male to mate with today or be banished until she does.”

At that Sigourney looked slowly around at all the women gathered there. There wasn’t one who looked to have any sympathy. They had all chosen mates in the traditional way, when the male had called, and they had responded. No male had called to her in that way. Was she to have less than all these women? They had ever been envious of her position and beauty, and this was a way of getting even.

“No, I will not take just any male. I want what you all have, that communion of minds and bodies. Not some second-rate substitute.”

The woman, Helga, who had spoken before, and whose son had been always sniffing round Sigourney, looked sourly at her. It was as Sigourney suspected, a ploy to force her hand and get her to marry Helga’s son. A fine advance for that family to be so linked with hers. Now she knew whom her real enemy was and would be able to deal with it.

“I choose banishment until I find my one, true mate.” She turned and gathered the thick woollen cloak about her and, followed by her mother, swept out of the hall with regal bearing.

“That didn’t go the way you planned, Helga. There’s more fire under all that ice than any of us suspected,” the old crone said and cackled in amusement.

The next day in dragon-form, sitting atop the icy mountain, Sigourney pondered her fate. Not many mates to be found out here. How long would it be before she could return to her family? She wouldn’t give in to despair. She wanted a mate, but not just any mate. She’d seen the connection her parents had and desired that for herself. What must it be like to find the right man and know he lived for her alone as she did for him? Her mother had said the gods had sent this trial as a test. She would pass it and return in triumph.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Yes, my little one, your cries are my reward. I love to hear them. We are mates and will wed. It matters not who knows we make love tonight.”

He returned to the task of suckling and driving Sigourney wild with pleasure. When his mouth left her other breast, she whined in protest, but he paid no attention. He licked a trail from her breasts, over her stomach. Finding her navel, he dipped his tongue into it, and she giggled. He continued to lick lazy circles down over her belly as far as her thighs. She expected him to take her clit in his mouth, but he had other ideas as he nipped and licked his way down one inner thigh and up the other. She heard him inhale in satisfaction as he neared her pussy.

“Ah your perfume drives me wild with desire. I need to taste you, my love.”

Two long fingers entered her cunt and massaged over the spot that had given he so much pleasure the previous day. He withdrew as she cried out with the almost unbearable pleasure he was heaping upon her. He looked at her as he licked his fingers then sucked them into his mouth and groaned in satisfaction.

“Sweet, spicy, and tangy, the taste of my mate. My love, I can’t get enough of you.”

FOR AULD LANG SYNE

STORY EXCERPT

“Welcome to Alesund, stranger. Where are you from?” a tall blond man asked.

“My name is Hamish, and I come from the Isle of Skye, far south from here.”

“My name is Knut. I see that you are a dragon shape-shifter. Some of our people still have the ability, but they can’t fly long distances anymore.”

“We’re celebrating my son’s wedding today. Would you like to join us? You will be very welcome,” Knut said.

The thought of a wedding made Hamish cringe. The happy couple waiting to be united. He couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to offend Knut, but he just couldn’t hold himself together through all of that, and he wouldn’t disgrace himself by crying in front of these strangers.

“I’m sorry, but I have just experienced the loss of the love of my life and I can’t join you in your celebration. I have no wish to cast a pall over the festivities,” Hamish said, and he was hard put to it not to lose control of his voice.

“Surely…” Knut began, but he got no further.

“No! Go and enjoy your wedding. I must go,” Hamish almost shouted, and Knut didn’t finish what he was going to say as he recoiled from the vehemence of the refusal.

Hamish ran out of the settlement to a clearing where he changed into dragon-form, and where the down-draft from his wings wouldn’t harm anyone one. He’d done enough damage already, and he didn’t want to do any more. He rose swiftly into the air. And where am I to go now? My wings are like lead.

ADULT EXCERPT

 “I just wonder what else we can do that they haven’t told us. We can communicate with each other over a long distance. At the moment we can’t shield our thoughts from each other. It’s not that I want to shield my thoughts from you, but I wonder if anyone else can read some of what I think. What happens if one of us is hurt? Does the other feel it? I’ve so many questions that no-one will answer,” Mairi said in a petulant voice. Immediately she regretted her tone. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t know either. We have so little time together, What am I about wasting it on things I can’t change? Even one year is such a long time, and we have to wait longer. The time passes so slowly.

“I’m sorry, Hamish, my love. I’m impatient. I don’t want to waste what little time we have together. Let’s forget all about it. Come, my love, kiss me.”

Hamish kissed her hungrily, and she responded. She wanted to forget all her doubts and questions, and so she threw herself into their love-making with even more ardour than usual. His tongue danced over hers. She reciprocated, and he sucked the tip of hers into his mouth. She explored the hot wet cavern, loving the taste and the feel of him. The more she returned his caresses, the more heated they both became. She stripped off his plaid as he began to undress her. When they were both naked, they lay on his plaid on the sand. Her hands were busy with his cock, and his fingers tweaked and kneaded her breasts. Her nipples ached for more, and her hand speeded up, pumping his dick with greater intensity as his mouth found her nipples and he flicked first one then the other with the tip of his tongue, and then he blew softly over her heated flesh. She squirmed under him, wanting more. She was on fire, she burned, and she wanted him on top of her. She pulled him over her, and his hips rested between her thighs. They kissed, and she arched her back, spreading her legs wide he moved his body up to keep in contact with her mouth, and she felt something hot and hard push inside her. At first it hurt. It stung. She didn’t want it anymore. Then he withdrew. It was amazing. She clasped him with her pussy muscles and heard Hamish growl low in his throat as he pressed inside her. He withdrew again, but she rested her feet on his lower back and held on, and then she was lost. She wanted more. She needed more.