Sold To The Dragons (A BBW Paranormal Romance Book 1) Page 9

  “The basement floor is said to have walls, floor, and ceiling all made of steel several feet thick, and that's almost sure to be where Tom's being held. He's a strong shifter, even though he's getting on in years, and held anywhere else, he could probably break free."

  "But won't this basement prison place be locked or something? And if so, how will Alec get Tom released?"

  "Well, from what other former hostages have reported, the door is only locked from the outside, and just with a bolt, not a key. And as long as this is still the case, it should be no problem for Alec to slip past any guards, release Tom, and then the two of them can fight their way out of the tower. And then, they will rejoin the other shifters on our side, and all fly away from Dimwood."

  "But what if The Destroyers chase them?"

  "If they do, then they're in for a fight. But it doesn't seem likely they will. They'll hopefully be taken off-guard by all this, and they're not going to want to get too close to our city, here, where the rest of our shifters will be, outnumbering them by about a thousand.

  “Alec's guess, and my guess, is that at this point, they might not want a full war. They at least might want to regroup a bit. They only wanted Tom in the first place because they wanted you, and for some reason, they seemed to think that Blake and Steven wouldn't think anything about handing you over in exchange for their father. How wrong they were about that."

  Reflecting on all the new developments and possible plans, I turned my focus to Ava playing in the grass and watched her for a few moments before turning back to Marielle.

  "This is all so wonderful about Alec’s new gift, and how he might be able to easily free Tom. And now I'm really glad Blake and Steven didn't agree to let me try to free Tom myself. In fact, I really feel like a complete ass, frankly, because I can see that my plan probably wouldn't have succeeded. And by probably, I guess I mean most definitely. I guess it was kind of half-baked."

  Green eyes twinkling, Marielle cocked an arched blonde brow at me. "Kind of?"

  I cracked a smile. "Okay. Completely half-baked. Probably pretty silly, and it probably would have just led to more complication and problems, like Blake and Steven told me numerous times. I guess wanting to play the hero just overrode my common sense."

  Marielle smiled in return. "I more than understand. And although I'm pretty content in my life most of the time, and I really don't have many regrets, I can relate on some level to wanting to do something really gutsy and great. Or, maybe, in my case, it's less about wanting to do something great, and more about wanting to go somewhere great.

  “And even not great, but just somewhere new, period. Just for a short trip or something. Just to get out in the world and travel. Not that Ashcrest isn't a beautiful city, and much, much more beautiful than the city I came from, and not that I'm not happy here, but sometimes I just get the urge for a little adventure, a little step outside the city.

  “Although, with The Destroyers' ramping up their spying and little attacks in recent years, making it not very safe to leave Ashcrest, this hasn't exactly happened. I actually haven't even stepped foot outside the city limits since the day I arrived, eight years ago. But...."

  Smiling again, Marielle paused. "Maybe I'll get my chance for a little adventure now. Maybe you and I both will."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, if Tom's rescue goes off how I think it will, Blake, Steven, and the other men won't just set out from here, fly the several hundred miles south straight to Dimwood, and then attack. They'd be too tired to attack after a direct flight with no break.

  “They'll probably want to use spy-sweepers to clear a path to Dimwood, and then set up an encampment and rest a bit when they're maybe a hundred or so miles away."

  "What are spy-sweepers?”

  "They're shifters specially trained in spotting Destroyer spies and taking them out quickly and efficiently, and also as quietly as possible, so as to not alert other spies or patrol shifters that may be near. Often, spy-sweepers are shifters with very muted eye colors and the corresponding hide colors...usually medium shades of brown or mossy green, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. Gray-hided shifters aren't chosen as spy-sweepers quite as often, and blue-hided shifters are never chosen. Or, at least, there haven't been any since I've been here. Spy-sweepers are also chosen for their strength relative to their size.

  “Again, it helps them to be stealthier and remain hidden better. And spy-sweepers surely aren't infallible, but they're very good at what they do, which is why I think they'll be used to clear a path to Dimwood, hopefully killing all the spies and patrolmen in their way. I imagine Blake, Steven, and the men will be some ways behind them, advancing somewhat slowly, and then probably about a hundred miles or so from Dimwood, they'll set up an encampment, rest a bit, and then charge. And then, with a bit of luck and help from Alec, Tom will be freed fairly easily."

  "Which would be wonderful. But where does our little bit of travel and adventure come into play?"

  "Well, right at the beginning of the whole trip. And it would last right up until we all come home. See, with our men around us and our spy-sweepers ahead of us, I don't think it would be terribly dangerous for us to come along. At least until the final encampment, where we'd then wait with some guards. And when the mission to free Tom is complete, and our shifters return, I hop right on Alec's back, and you hop right on Blake or Steven's back, and we all go home."

  I stifled a sudden, short chuckle. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. Blake and Steven will never go for this in a thousand, million years. My experience in asking them if I could personally help free Tom taught me that there is no way they will let me be in any sort of danger."

  "But, see, here's the thing. I honestly don't think we'd be in any more danger being brought along on the trip than we would be if we stayed here. For one thing, there's always the possibility of some Destroyers coming in from the north and doing some sort of small-scale attack on the town while Blake, Steven, and the other men are gone. They try this on a regular basis anyway, trying to kidnap fertile women, even when all the men are home. But there's also another 'danger' that might make our men think we're safer with them."

  "What is it?"

  "Well, let's just say it's the danger of other men who will still be left in the city. See, Alec trusts me, but he doesn't trust other men around me. It drives him absolutely nuts when he hears about other men making passes at me or even looking at me in an obviously lustful way when he isn't around, even though he knows I'd never do anything to encourage this. This makes him hate leaving me alone for any length of time. It just gets his mind wandering and his anxieties all worked up. And considering the looks you get from some of the men who work in the castle...I'm just guessing Blake and Steven may feel the same way. They may actually consider you 'safer' with them than back here."

  Men who worked at the castle did give me obviously admiring, lustful looks sometimes, though never when Blake or Steven were present. However, I knew they were aware that many shifters who worked in the castle had little crushes on me. And I knew it was completely possible that what Marielle was thinking was right, that they actually might want me to come along on the mission to free Tom. Not only to keep me away from men who might make overt passes at me in their absence, but also because of the possibility of some sort of small-scale attack on the town while they were gone.

  I turned my focus to Ava and watched her playing in the early autumn sunshine, and the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed that Marielle might actually be right, that the two of us might actually be allowed to go on the trip. And this possibility made my heart beat a little faster. Being allowed to be part of a rescue mission, even if I had to stay behind for the actual rescue part, seemed like a pretty good consolation prize for not being able to attempt any great deeds of bravery myself.

  After a few moments, I turned back to Marielle, unable to suppress a grin. "I so hope you're right about this. I really want to go."

&n
bsp; She grinned back. "Probably not even as much as I do. I just really need an exciting little trip. And in fact, I can see this even being like a sort of second honeymoon for me and Alec. With how far we'll have to travel, I can see us having to spend at least a night or two in tents before reaching the final encampment, and to be completely honest, a night or two alone in a tent with my husband sounds absolutely amazing to me. Though I'll, of course, be able to come right over to the royal tent and help you if you need anything."

  "The royal tent?"

  "Oh, you'll love it. From what I've heard, once all set up, it's absolutely luxurious. It's where all royal family members sleep when on long travels. And it's where you'll be sleeping if we do actually get to go on this trip, because that's where Blake and Steven will be sleeping."

  Blake, Steven, and I all sleeping in one tent together. The possibility of this, and the possibility of what this could lead to, made my heartbeat thud just a bit faster. And I must have paled a bit or something, because Marielle looked at me quizzically for a moment and then smiled in a reassuring sort of way.

  "Oh, and don't worry; yes, you, Blake, and Steven will be sleeping in the same tent, but I didn't mean to make it seem as if the three of you will necessarily be sleeping all together. Didn't mean to make you think there might be awkwardness. There are partitions and screens and things in the tent to make up individual room-type spaces, so I'm sure if you want a little privacy with Blake or Steven at different times, it won't be a problem."

  Thoughts about whether or not I'd be able to get privacy alone with each of them at different times was not at all why my heartbeat was racing. It was actually because I was having thoughts about the possibility of sharing intimacy with both of them at the same time, of course. I didn't exactly want to let Marielle in on this, though.

  So, in response to what she'd said, I just nodded. "Oh, okay. There will be partitions and private spaces and everything within the royal tent. Good. So...." Unable to stop thinking about things Blake, Steven, and I might do all together in the same private space at once, I cleared my throat, suddenly a little hot and uncomfortable for some reason.

  "So, anyway. What do you think our course of action should be on this? Wait for the meeting this afternoon, then after, see if what we think is going to be the plan to free Tom actually is, and assuming it is, we then each ask our respective men for permission to go on the trip?"

  Marielle smiled. "Yup. Exactly."

  The rest of the morning and afternoon crawled by with agonizing slowness. The possibility of Blake, Steven, and I sharing the same tent together was practically all I could think about. Which made me more than a little aroused, which in turn made me more than a little edgy and frustrated. When Steven arrived at my apartment late that afternoon after the council meeting, I all but threw myself into his arms.

  *

  Steven and I embraced, kissing, for a short while before I remembered that I should probably find out what the plan to free Tom was going to be before we got too carried away by passion. And so, I broke our kiss and began leading Steven out to the living room, asking him to tell me what had been decided at the meeting.

  We sat down side-by-side on one of two overstuffed cream-colored couches in the spacious, stone-walled living room, and soon Marielle's ideas about what the plan to free Tom was going to be were proven correct. Pretty much every single detail that she'd thought would be included in the plan, was. Including the part about Alec being the one to do the actual freeing of Tom, and including the part about the spy-sweepers being used to slowly "clear a path" for the approaching shifters. Also including the part about Blake, Steven, and the rest of the men having to camp out in tents for a night or two until reaching the final encampment a hundred miles or so from Dimwood.

  So, now in order to stay a night or two in a tent with both Blake and Steven, I just had to convince them to let me come on the trip. Which turned out to be a much, much easier task than I'd thought it would be.

  I'd only just finished briefly listing the reasons why I should be able to go when Steven said all right with a little sparkle in his deep blue eyes.

  I stared at him, incredulous, for a long moment. "'All right?' 'All right' as in, 'All right, that's enough, Kira, because you've said your piece and this is definitely not happening,' or 'All right' as in-"

  "As in, all right, you can go. As can Marielle, as your maid, if she wants to. Blake, Alec, and I have actually already had a little talk about this, because for some reason, the three of us just had a little hunch this request might be coming, and to be honest, when the three of us discussed it, we thought of some of the same points that you just raised. There is a slight risk of some sort of small-scale attack on the city while we're gone, and that makes Blake and I think that we'd rather have you close by, with us, where we can personally guard you.

  “And we're thinking along the same lines when it comes to you and some of the shifters who will be left to protect the city. We trust you, but we don't trust some of the other men. And by some, I actually mean many. There are many men in this city who can barely disguise their desire whenever you're within a hundred-foot radius of them. Blake and I have definitely noticed.

  “Even many of the men who will be coming on the trip are nearly silly in lust with you. So, Blake and I think we'd like to keep you very close for the time being. So...yes, you may go on the trip. And Marielle, too. Blake and I have privately discussed our reasoning with the council members, and they've agreed with us, though you two will be the only two women allowed to go."

  Steven paused for a moment, clearly fighting a little smile. "We certainly don't need half the town coming. Not sure if we have enough tents for that."

  At the mention of tents, my heartbeat began galloping even faster than it had been the whole time he'd been speaking.

  I gave him a little smile, trying to act at least semi-casual and not betray the fact that butterflies were rioting in my stomach. "Right. About the tents. So, from what Marielle said, there's one big royal tent that you, Blake, and I will be sharing?"

  With his expression unreadable, Steven dipped his head in a nod. "That's right. Though it's not quite one big, open area like how you might imagine a tent. It's not exactly made up of completely separate rooms, though, either. However, there will be various partitions and screens in place when the tent's all set up. Just in case you and I might want to enjoy some privacy while on the trip."

  Or you and I, plus Blake, all together, I immediately thought with a rush of heat rising to my face.

  I scooted an inch or two closer to Steven on the couch, so that our hips were touching. His woodsy, masculine scent was intoxicating, as was the mere sight of him. With his beyond-handsome, strong-jawed face and his long, muscular body, he was all male, and his presence positively radiated it. I found him almost unbearably sexy and ordinarily tempting, but now, having thoughts related to sharing a tent with him and Blake, I found him even more so.

  I planted a light, lingering kiss on his mouth before pulling away. "How about if we enjoy some 'privacy' right now? I am suddenly feeling a little 'greedy,' like I was this morning."

  He pulled me into his arms with a low growl rumbling in his chest. "Is that so?"

  "Mm-hmm. Maybe even more 'greedy' than I was this morning."

  That was definitely the truth.

  With another low growl rumbling in his broad chest, Steven pulled me even closer to him, slid a hand down the back of my jeans and underwear, and began caressing my bare rear. "Be careful, Kira. These are dangerous words. Because when I hear that you're feeling 'greedy,' even 'greedier' than you were this morning, it makes me feel a bit 'greedier' than usual, too. I

  t makes me think that I may need to take you several times tonight in order to fully satisfy myself, and I may not want to be completely gentle about it. And I may need to make you cry out with release several times, until you're absolutely weak and nearly hoarse, so that I know that you're fully satisfied."

  Feeling
slickness drenching my feminine lips while the sensitive little bud between them suddenly began throbbing, I exhaled a fluttery breath. "Yes. What you just said. I want that. I want it right now. I need it. I need you to bring me to release so many times that I can hardly take it anymore. And I don't want you to be gentle about it. I want you to take me, in the very most literal sense of the word."

  With his breathing now fast and ragged and his deep blue eyes glassier than I'd ever seen them, Steven began rhythmically gripping and releasing my rear, kneading it really, the hard squeezing of his large hand stopping just short of being painful. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a husky whisper.

  "Are you completely aware of what you're asking for? Because what you're asking for might just take our lovemaking to a level of intensity you haven't experienced yet. And I just want to make sure you're ready for it."

  I wasn't only ready for it, my most intimate parts, which were now tingling and throbbing in a near-torturous way, were practically crying out for it.