“Oh, yes. Everything’s fine. I just wanted you to know I was going to bed.”
Rubbing his eyes, Briec sat up. Very early morning light spilled through the windows. He glanced down at himself, relieved to see his exhaustion so deep the previous eve, he’d dropped on his bed fully dressed and immediately fell asleep. Good. Otherwise this could have been a very awkward situation. “You’re going to bed now?”
“We talked a lot last night. So I’m exhausted.”
“All right.” He still didn’t know why she felt the need to tell him this information.
“So I’m going to my bed now and I’ll be asleep there for hours. I left Mum alone.”
“Izzy!” Briec laughed.
She held her hands up. “I’m merely making sure everyone knows exactly what’s going on. And what’s going on is I’m going to bed—my bed—and have left my mother all alone.”
“Iseabail.”
She gave him that smile that always reminded him of Talaith, kissed him on the cheek, and skipped toward the door.
“Izzy?”
She stopped right at the door and looked at him over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me, too—Daddy.” She winked at him and left. He always detested precocious children…until now.
No, he’d definitely be proud to call that mad little girl “daughter”. She already fit in so well with the rest of his kin, and his mother would love her…and not as a meal either.
Briec rolled off the bed and went straight to Talaith’s room. The fur coverings pulled up to her chin, Talaith slept soundly. Not surprising with all she’d been though over the last two days. Trying not to wake her, but needing to be near her, Briec removed his clothes off and slipped into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling her from behind.
“Izzy?”
“That’s just ridiculous,” he growled.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “It could have been worse. I could have said Gwenvael.”
“And forced me to kill my own brother.”
* * *
She was safe. She was home. She had her daughter. And she had the most arrogant dragon in the universe. She had her Briec.
Gods, is that happiness I feel? No, no. Best not to question it. That would only bring disaster.
“And what exactly are you wearing?” Briec demanded.
“A nightdress. You can’t expect me to traipse around nak*d with my daughter now can you?”
“Of course not. But she’s gone to her room to sleep.”
Lifting herself up so that Briec could remove her nightdress without ripping it, which she knew he would do, she frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Because she came to tell me she was going to bed—her own bed—to sleep for many hours.”
Talaith covered her face with her hands. “Why does that girl insist on embarrassing me?”
“She wasn’t trying to.” Briec threw the nightdress across the floor, dangerously close to the pitfire. He pulled the silver chain he had around his neck off and returned it to her. Making sure that once it was on, the pendant fell right between her br**sts and against her heart. “She wants you to be happy, Talaith. And she knows I’m the only one who can do that for you.” He pushed her back on the bed.
“Tell me, Lord Dragon, does your arrogance ever take a holiday?”
“No. Does your mouth?”
He stared down at her now nak*d body and purred. No, she’d never get tired of that particular reaction from him. “Much better. I don’t like you in those things.”
Briec’s violet eyes focused on her face. “When we share a bed, which will be forever, you will not wear anything like that.”
“Well, I happen to like ‘that’ and I will wear it whenever and wherever I…would you get your hand out of there while I’m yelling at you.”
“No. Now put your hands over your head. I think I’ll tie you to the bed.”
“No, I will not put my hands above my head. And don’t think for a second I intend to let what you did to me, go.”
“I have done nothing to you…” he raised an eyebrow, “…yet.”
“Oh? What about this…this thing?” She waved at her back. She and Izzy had spent an hour positioning mirrors so she could get a good look at the mark Briec branded her with. The body of a dragon, outlined in black, stretched from her right shoulder and across her back, its tail snaking seductively around her hip, the tip pointing right at her sex—which she looked at discreetly while Izzy went to get food and water. Once she got over the initial shock of seeing her body marked in such loving detail, she had to finally admit to Izzy, “It’s awfully nice, eh? Bastard did a nice job.”
Not that she’d ever tell him that. Honestly, his enormous ego took up more than enough room in their bed.
He shrugged at her question. “I’ve Claimed you.”
“And?”
“And what?”
She pushed his shoulder. “You never asked me.”
“I had other things on my mind at the time, if you remember correctly, woman. Besides,” he leered at her, “would you have said no?”
What a cocky little… “I might have.”
He snorted and lounged back against the headboard. “Try again.”
“You obnoxious, son of a—”
“I grow tired of this. Come…” he motioned to his lap and steadily growing erection, “…ride me.”
“No.” She sat up on her knees, facing him. “We’re not done.”
The sigh was loud and filled the room. “What is there to discuss?”
“You made the choice for me.” He opened his mouth to speak and she held her hand up to silence him. “I know it was out of your control at the time, but I want to make sure we get this clear now. If I stay with you—”
“If?”
She ignored his roar of disbelief. “If I stay with you, that will not happen again. No one makes decisions for me anymore, but me. We can discuss and work together as a team, but I will accept nothing less. If that is a problem for you, Briec the Arrogant, then we best find that out now.”
She waited for his answer, but he stared up at the ceiling.
“Well?” she pushed.
He looked at her. “Oh, were you speaking?”
“Briec!” She punched his shoulder.
Laughing he grabbed her around the waist, forcing her onto her back. He brought his body over hers, pinning her with his weight while gazing down into her face. “Do you really think I want some docile, brainless weakling for a mate? I’ll leave those for the human males.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you regretting this three, four hundred years from now.”
He scowled and she knew two moons ago she would have run screaming from that look. Now, however, she felt nothing but lust. “Are you going to argue everything with me?” he snarled.
“Yes,” she snarled back.
“Forever?”
“Yes.”
Briec’s scowl gave way to a soft smile. “Promise?”
Talaith reached up, her hand brushing against his jaw. “Yes, Briec. I promise that I’ll spend the rest of my life arguing every point with you, regarding every issue, every moment until the end of our days.”
“Stop, Talaith.” He kissed her until he had her moaning and giggling at the same time. “You’re driving me wild with your anger and resentment.”
She leaned up and whispered in his ear, “Then you’ll love when I tell you to get your bloody hands off me and get the hell out of my room.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Morfyd, so busy thinking about a thousand different things now that her brother had informed her he and Annwyl planned to keep their offspring, never noticed Brastias until she slammed right into him. And even then, it took a bit.
“Sorry,” she muttered, still distracted.
“You’ve been avoiding me.”
Her head snapped up at the sound of that deep, soul-invading voice. “Oh. Brastias. It’s you.”
“Aye. It’s me.”
“Sorry. In a bit of a rush.” She tried to pass him, but he grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her back.
“You can’t keep avoiding me, Morfyd.”
“I’m not.” Except that she couldn’t look him in the eye. “There’s just many things going on right now. I don’t have time—”
“Was our kiss that unpleasant?”
“What? Uh…no.” Unpleasant wasn’t the problem. Waking up, writhing against a human male like a drugged snake was the problem.
He took several steps, still holding onto her arm, forcing her to move back. “Interesting. If the kiss wasn’t unpleasant, then I can only surmise that something else is bothering you. Something about us.”
She felt the cold stone wall at her back. “Look, Brastias, I—”
“No.”
She blinked. “No? No what?”
“No more discussion. There’s no point, is there?”
“You’re right,” she admitted with resignation. “There’s no point.”
He framed either side of her face with his big hands. “That’s what I thought.” Then he kissed her. His warm mouth claiming hers. His hard body forcing her back into the wall.
And just as Morfyd melted against him, he stopped.
“When you’re ready, Morfyd. You know where I am.”
Startled and aching, she watched as he pulled away, but before he got three steps from her, she grabbed his arm and dragged him back. She leaned into him and let her lips brush over his.
“I’m sorry, Brastias. I didn’t want you to think I was a slag…or like my sister.”
He grinned. “I could never think that. I’ve caught your sister with my knights.”
She winced. Damn her.
“But none of that matters.” He stepped forward, pushing her into the dark corner. His big hands caressed her face. “All that matters is you and me.”
“There’s a you and me?”
“There will be.” He kissed her and all those feelings she’d been denying since she woke up by the lake with him, came rushing forth. So intense, it nearly strangled her.
Gripping him tight, Morfyd whimpered into his mouth, enjoying the feel of his hand taking hold of her breast through the thick wool of her robes. If it felt this good with clothes on, imagine how wonderful when they were completely nak*d.
Seconds from dragging him to her room or his—whichever was closer at the moment—she let out a startled cry as her wrist was grabbed tight and she was yanked from Brastias.
“Oi!” Brastias snapped, turning around and clearly ready to fight. But he stopped and stared and Morfyd looked up…into the face of Gwenvael. And, by the dark gods, he was angry. Extremely angry.
“You. Keep your hands off my sister.”
“Excuse me,” both she and Brastias said at the same time.
“You heard me. Both of you. She’s not some slag, human. So keep away from her.”