Chapter 28

EIRWYN HUMMED AS SHEfound the kitchen. A thick layer of dust covered the petrified wooden table in the center of the room. One wall had nothing but a giant fireplace. Another wall had a door that went outside.

She explored, finding the empty pantry and sighing in relief. After a few hundred years, there were no more bugs feasting on rotten food. Even the shelves were nothing but dust.

She went outside and called to the birds to get a lay of the land around the castle as her stomach growled. The front of the castle held the oak grove and old road that led into the helroses. The side where they"d entered had the flower garden. The back of the house opened onto a beautiful but overgrown pond. The side where she"d exited the kitchen held what used to the be the herb and vegetable garden.

The birds directed her to the pond and several swooped down to hunt fish. A chirp led her to the back corner of the vegetable garden near the helrose hedge. She followed the bird and found a blackberry thicket.

With her cloak held by the bottom corners, she made a type of bag and loaded all the ripe berries she could find. They were delicious, and she might have eaten one for every two she put in her cloak.

When she turned, two blue birds were dancing near the wall of the castle. She walked over and found a few carrots and potatoes. She added those to her cloak and went back to the kitchen, leaving the door open to help get rid of the dust.

She took off her cloak and set it on the table, careful not to let any berries fall. Then she rolled up her sleeves and got to work. A few hours passed, and then Knox walked in with a handful of flowers.

He handed them to her, his cheeks tinging with color. "I brought you flowers."

She inhaled the beautiful scent and looked up at him. "What do these mean?" she asked softly.

He raked a hand on the side of his head and looked away. "I"ve been thinking about how my parents died, and I understand why my mother didn"t want to live without my father. The red carnations are for my devotion to you. The pink roses are to show how grateful I am to be in your life right now. And the white peonies–"

"I remember that one! They"re for admiration, right? What about these blue ones?" she asked, sniffing in the intoxicating aromas.

He lowered his hand and swallowed hard. He frowned and looked around, his brows rising. "What in the world? Did you do all this?"

She beamed at him and nodded. "Not too bad for a princess, eh?" The floor was now swept and mopped, the table and counter wiped down. She"d found a curtain and turned it into a cleaning rag. The broom she"d used to clean out the chimney, what she could reach of it anyway.

It was enough to get a fire started in the fireplace. She"d filled a few pots from the spigot off the back door and had fish from the birds in a skillet with the vegetables.

She put the flowers in a cup of water, then went back to cooking. She leaned over the skillet and tested it with a fork she"d cleaned to a shine.

"There are no spices other than the rosemary and basil I found outside. There"s no oil, so I"m afraid it"s sticking to the bottom of the pan a bit. But it should be edible."

Knox sat with a dumbfounded look and laid a leather bound book on the table. "I had no idea you were so industrious. I know you made eggs at Olive"s but when you said you cooked at the tavern occasionally, I–"

His cheeks tinged pink and he shrugged. "I didn"t really believe you."

She shrugged. "I don"t blame you. Helga doesn"t believe I can do any of it, either. But that"s one thing I loved about vising Bella at the tavern. She didn"t treat me like a princess. She put me to work right alongside the rest of the bar maids. I learned every job in that place, from changing the beds and cleaning to cooking. I even helped in the stables for a few months."

He smiled, crossing his arms and a look of pride shining in his eyes. "I had no idea. Why though?"

She flipped the potatoes and looked at him from the stool beside the fire. "Why what?"

"Why learn all of it?"

She shrugged again, letting the scent fill her. "It"s peaceful for starters. But since I was such a sickly child, I didn"t have the chance to do a lot of things other kids did. I was in a protective cage, unable to do anything that might make me run a fever or vomit."

She stared into the flames. She"d need to find some better wood. This had been a broken table in another room that she"d pried apart with her dagger.

"I"m glad you"re not sick anymore," Knox said softly.

She sighed. "Me too, although it bothers me to realize that it was my brother this entire time."

She shook her head. "When I ran away for the first time, I was worried about how he"d react. I was lost, hungry, tired, and dirty. Somehow I found myself at the square. Lailant took me in and cleaned me up. She said that I was stronger than I knew and to start acting like it instead of a shrinking violet."

Eirwyn smiled, poking at the food. "She took me across the street to the tavern. Bella welcomed me with open arms, and we"ve been friends ever since."

She wrapped the rags around the pan and carried it to the table. She set it in the center and handed him a fork.

"I couldn"t find any plates, so we"ll have to eat out of the pan. Would you like some water? I checked on Ryder and unloaded the saddlebags for the night."

She handed him the canteen, and he took a drink. Then she turned back to the brick stove and pulled another pan closer to the flames before turning to sit across from him at the table. It was an ancient stove but leaked about the same amount of heat as those she"d used at the tavern.

He stabbed the fork into the food and took a bite. She bit her lip and waited.

His brows rose, and he moaned. "This is delicious, Eirwyn. Thank you."

She sat taller, beaming as she picked up her own fork. They made short work of the meal, both of them too hungry for conversation. When it was almost picked clean, she turned back to the fire and brought another pan to the table.

"What"s this?" he asked. "It smells delicious. Are those blackberries?"

She nodded. "With honey and some seeds and nuts. I hope you like it." She took a bite, not waiting for him this time. The sweet burst of flavor made her sigh.

"Darkling hells, Eirwyn, are you sure you"re not a hedge witch? You whip up this fantastic meal out of practically nothing."

She chuckled, her cheeks heating as she took another bite of the sticky sweet dessert. "I have a lot of hobbies and interests. The cook let me help when I was a child but I was afraid I"d burn myself so kept me away from the stove. That was another reason I started to run off into town. By the time I was fourteen, I"d already tried all the hobbies around the castle. I was very bored by then."

He licked his fork. "I guess that means you"ve read all the books in your massive library then, huh?"

She winced. "Not quite. I might"ve read the first few pages of every book, but my attention span is rarely held to finish a book in its entirety."

He tapped on the book on the table. "Speaking of, I found this interesting in..." He paused, frowning. Then he said slowly, "My father"s things."

She took another bite and waited as he flipped to a page.

"Apparently dragons with my abilities can do things I never even imagined. Like with my tail? Apparently it can be used during sex."

Eirwyn"s spine straightened. "Really?" she asked breathlessly. "Care to test it out?"

His eyes glittered from the firelight as he grinned. "Most definitely. Do you want me to tell you the rest or show you?"

Her stomach twisted, and she licked the fork slowly. He watched, his eyes glittering. Then she reached over and grabbed his fork and put them into the now empty pan. She took them to the pail of water to soak.

"Eirwyn?" His voice was soft and sent a shiver up her spine.

She turned to face him, her hands resting on the counter behind her. "Show me. Always show me," she whispered.

She tugged on her shirt, pulling it out of her pants and over her head. She dropped it onto her chair, then walked around the table to where he sat. She hopped up on the table and spread her legs, holding up one foot near him.

"Can you help me take off my boots please?" She batted her eyelashes at him, and he licked his lips.

Then he reached up with shaking hands and began to unlace her boots. They fell to the ground with a thud, one after the other. His hands slid up her legs to the buttons on the front.

His hands hovered over them, lightly caressing under her belly button. "Do you want me to help you take off your pants too?"

She nodded, leaning back on her hands and pushing her breasts and hips up. His eyes flared, and she reveled in the power she had over him.

She was the most important thing in his life right now. After years of being ridiculed, looked down on, and ignored by her brother, having all of Knox" attention was like the sweetest ambrosia on her lips.

He flipped the buttons and slid her pants down her hips, every trace of his fingers on her skin lighting a fire that couldn"t be quenched. She sat back down on the table as he tossed them onto the chair.

Then he stepped back, his eyes growing heavy lidded with desire. "You"re so beautiful, Eirwyn," he said softly, reaching up to caress her cheek. "Sex with dragons can turn violent, and I don"t want to hurt you."

She laid back on the table, now naked, and set her feet on the chairs. Her legs spread, and she traced her fingers up her sides to cup her breasts.

"You could never hurt me, Knox," she whispered, arching her back. There was no doubt in her mind that he would protect her no matter what. It was one thing she loved about him.

Her mind stuttered to a stop. She wasn"t some innocent miss who fell in love with every guy she slept with. She"d protected her heart all this time, yet she"d been powerless to resist Knox.

She bit her lip and pinched her nipples as he undressed. He reached up and unclasped his cloak, dropping it to the floor.

She lay naked in front of him, her heart open and vulnerable. A tiny sliver of fear snaked up her spine. She barely knew him, had only spent a few days with him. She"d only learned he was a dragon yesterday. What else did she not know?

What if he turned out like her brother? What if he put on a good show, said all the right words, but then poisoned her?

He pulled his shirt over his head, and a tiny tendril of green gas snaked out of his nose, sinking to the floor. Her heart raced, and she froze, waiting for the panic to recede.

He kicked off his boots and stepped out of his pants. His eyes never left her, but she couldn"t meet his gaze anymore.

She sat up on her elbows, pursing her lips. "Careful, Knox. Your poison is showing."

He grinned wide, making her heart trip again. "Maybe you should get closer. Give it a real sniff."

Desire and fear warred within her. Her eyes widened. He"d been so careful to keep from hurting her last night, but now he wanted her to get closer?

He fisted his cock and his tail curved up to hover next to his head. It was covered in brown and green scales, the ridges like plate armor. Bright green pooled on the tip, dripping down the side.

She sat up slowly, never taking her eyes off his tail. Fear raced up her spine, conflicting her. This man, this dragon, was more powerful than even her brother. Fear warred with excitement within her.

She bit her lip and slid along the table to the floor. "Maybe we should talk about your book some more."

His jaw dipped as he grinned, stalking her around the table. "I thought you wanted me to show you?" His voice was low, making her shiver as she put a chair between them.

She never turned her back to him as she slowly reached the open door. "I–"

The fear won. She turned and raced out the door, running barefoot into the overgrown garden toward the front of the house.

It was dark now, and the moon wasn"t quite high enough to be seen over the tree tops. The pounding of her feet on the grass made a roaring in her ears. She glanced over her shoulder to find Knox just a few paces behind her, a maniacal grin on his face.

She ran to the oak grove. Surely he wouldn"t try anything in front of his parents, the giant tree and boulder.

She reached the center, and the ground began to shake. Vines shot up from earth, and she tripped. She screamed but didn"t hit the ground. A sharp sting pierced her ass, and she screamed again. The plant ropes wrapped around her, and her ass throbbed as they spread her legs and arms wide.

They held her up, and she gasped, her heart racing as she stared up at the trees overhead.