Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Her sisters chimed in with their agreements by splashing their wings against the water. The creatures leapt out of the pool and into the air. I now saw that they had claws instead of feet, and their wet talons glistened in the bright sun. They flew some fifty feet in the air before they aimed those talons at Thorn and swooped toward him.

I noticed movement behind Thorn’s back, which was strange because he hadn’t moved an inch. Rather, the shifting came from his hands as they transformed into long claws. My heart pounded in my chest as he remained still as they shot toward him with maniacal grins on their faces.

At the last moment, Thorn ducked out of the way and his hands sliced the air. The harpy closest to him let out a screech as he cut deep gashes into her wing and sides. She lost her balance and tumbled into her nearest sister, and the pair fell onto the banks in a mess of feathers and flailing limbs.

The remaining harpy let out a screech that could have shattered glass. I clapped my hands over my ears and shrank beneath the horrible pain to which my eardrums were subjected. Thorn, however, merely stretched himself to his full height and held up one of his bloodied and feather-covered hands.

“Will you leave now?” he questioned her.

The harpy snapped her sharp teeth together and flew at him. Her speed was incredible and Thorn only had time to throw up both arms to block the blows from her talons. She flapped hard in front of him to keep her altitude and clawed at his face with her barbs. The harpy succeeded in tearing his sleeves to shreds and revealing his scale-covered arms. Her talons clashed with the metal-like skin and I saw sparks fly.

Thorn crossed his arms and flung them outward, pushing her away. She was flung backward and he used the opening to sprout wings from his back. He leapt into the air and wrapped one of his clawed hands around her throat. She let out a garbled cry as he flew up a few feet, leaving her dangling in his grasp. The harpy clawed at his arm that held her, but her pitiful nails could do nothing against his hardened scales.

“Mercy!” she choked out. “Mercy!”

Thorn shook his head. “Mercy is only for those who are merciful.”

She gasped as he tightened his hold on her. “Then we will leave!”

He stopped and narrowed his eyes. “You swear it?”

She tried to bob her head. “I swear it!”

“Then leave now,” he commanded her as he opened his hand.

The harpy flung herself backward and rubbed her throat with one hand. Her eyes were full of fury and her lips curled into a snarl. “You filthy dragon. What sort of man are you to torture a woman so?”

A bitter scoff escaped Thorn. “Need I remind you that we are neither of those things?”

The harpy’s attention fell on me and her snarl transformed into a sneer. “No, but I smell your bride. She wreaks of her humanity. Have you not given her the gift of your blood, dragon? What is stopping you from taking her as your own? Are you not enough for her?”

Thorn narrowed his eyes and balled his hands into fists at his side. Each word came out terse and forced. “You will leave now .”

“Not until I have had my vengeance!” she shouted to the skies before she swooped down under Thorn and careened toward me.

I could see the murderous intent in her fiery eyes and instinct kicked in. I ducked behind the tree trunk a few seconds before her sharp fingernails sank into the wood where I had just been standing. She used her long claws and talons to crawl her way around the trunk, so I abandoned the tree and raced around the front toward the pool.

My heart almost stopped when I beheld the look of fury in Thorn’s eyes as he flew past me. He crashed into the harpy and the two tangled, but not for long. Her rage was nothing compared to his and he soon had pinned to the ground beneath one of his feet. His shoes had been torn apart by his transformed feet and even his face had become slightly elongated.

The harpy squealed beneath him as he clutched the front of her face in his clawed hand. A bright orange-and-red-hued light emanated from his palm and the glow flowed over into her. His captive squirmed and thrashed about as her body was enveloped in his light. My eyes widened as I watched her twitching body break apart into countless shimmering fragments like glitter. The pieces flowed into Thorn’s palm and were swallowed up in his light.

The whole process took only ten seconds, and then the harpy was completely gone. Her sisters had awoken from their brawl with Thorn in time to watch their sibling. Thorn turned to them and they screamed before they took flight. In a few moments, they had disappeared over the canopy of the trees.

Which left me alone with Thorn.

The partially transformed dragon man stood and half-turned toward me. His eyes were a brilliant scarlet color as they looked me up and down. He flexed his claws at his sides and his nostrils flared.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest as I held up my hands in front of me and backed up. “Thorn, what’s wrong? It’s me, Rose. You remember me, don’t you?”

He stalked toward me with his wings stretched out on either side of him. I scrambled backward but lost my balance when my heels hit the warm water. I would have fallen into the drink if Thorn hadn’t grabbed hold of one of my wrists.

He pulled me against his chest and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. I was panting hard by the time he pulled away, and his musky scent all around me chased away all my fear. The anger in his eyes had been replaced by a very familiar hunger.

I took a deep, shuddering breath. “Thorn?” I breathed out in as clear a voice as I could manage. “We need to-”

Whatever we needed to do, it wasn’t what he had in mind as he again drew me against his hard, warm chest. His lips left a hot trail down my neck as his hands worked their magic up and down my body. He ignited within me a deep lust, made all the hotter as one of his hands cupped my breast in his clawed fingers. His touch was gentle but persistent. The hard, pulsing bulge between his legs told me he was ready. So was I as I felt my feminine lips wetten.

Thorn’s persistent hands dipped underneath my shirt and stroked my pert nipples. I unbuttoned my shirt but had only gotten the first few top ones off when he dipped his face into my breasts. He nipped and nibbled at my trembling flesh. A soft gasp came from me as I clutched his head. My ill-fitting pants fitted better as I felt my hips expand. My breasts, too, were heavier than they had been as he ran his warm tongue up and down my curved mounds of flesh.

One of his hands worked at my pants, and in a few moments they dropped to the ground. Thorn lay me down on the warm sands of the shore and I squirmed beneath his heated gaze. He tossed aside his shirt and pants, leaving himself completely naked over me.

Thorn covered me with his body and I groaned as he slipped into my wet folds. His thick manhood throbbed inside me, deeply penetrating my body as a shiver of pleasure ran through me.

“Oh God,” I murmured as I entwined my fingers into his hair.

The world around us disappeared. There was only the feel of him inside me as he slipped in and out. His movements were slow at first, but his feral instincts soon took over. He pumped harder and faster, rubbing his thick member against my tingling flesh and sending waves of sensual delight over me.

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes as I reveled in the feel of him taking me, making me his with every stroke. My moans grew louder and louder as a wonderful pressure built inside me. This fantastic ecstasy enveloped me in a hot union of bliss and desire. I wanted more. No, I craved more. It was a deep, savage hunger that consumed me as he thrust hard and fast into my body.

Then I came. A burst of pleasure overwhelmed me. I shuddered and squirmed beneath him as he thrust hard and fast into me. In a few moments he, too, reached his climax and collapsed beside me. Thorn drew his arms around me and drew my back against his warm chest. I closed my eyes and reveled in the lingering sensations of our lovemaking.

It felt good to be a dragon lord’s bride.