Land of Ice and Snow [Cairngorm Dragons 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Chapter Four

  As they sat and ate, Axl recounted the rest of the legend.

  “The saga tells us that the golden-orange dragon that comes to claim his mate from amongst us is a warrior from over the water. He wields a huge sword, and if he is challenged, he must regain the lost golden torc. This is a circlet of gold which was always worn by the brides of our community on their wedding day. It is of ancient Norse workmanship and said to have belonged to the very Harold Hardrada that went over the seas to conquer the lands that lie on the other side of the world. I have never seen it. In fact, it has been lost to us for many generations. Under the mountain, Galdhopiggen, there are caves, and there dwells an old one. He guards the torc and will not allow its removal. He will slay any who attempt to retrieve it.”

  “Father, does he have to do this? You know full well why Helga got me banished. Now she wants to get Lachlann killed, so I will have to marry her revolting son. I will not marry him. Lachlann is my mate. I know that now. I know what it is to meet the one you are destined to love for the rest of your life, and now I could be satisfied with no other.”

  “Do I have no say in this my little dove?” Lachlann’s voice was stern. “I won’t be judged a coward and unworthy of you. I accept this challenge and will go on the quest tomorrow. Now settle down and eat your meal. We have a lot of talking to do, you and I, and not many hours before I must leave.”

  “Yes, Lachlann,” she said quietly. She caught a glimpse of the astonished faces of her parents as they heard their rebellious daughter acquiesce so easily. She’d been surprised herself. Normally she would have ranted and railed and argued, but there was that in his tone that said he brooked no argument and he would have his way. Consequently they sat and ate.

  “Tell us about your land across the sea,” Sigourney pleaded.

  “I come from Scotland. It’s a mountainous land but doesn’t have the amount of snow yours has. We do have snow in the winter, and we have beautiful glens and lochs. My sister is wedded to Ness, a water dragon, and they live on the biggest of our lochs, Loch Ness. My brother is Braemuir of Braemuir, our Clan chieftain. He has charge of the Clan lands and the welfare of the people, as does Ness for his lands.”

  “Are you a water dragon?” Axl asked.

  “No, my dragon name is Feasgar. Only Ness and his Clan are water dragons.”

  “Why do you have to have a dragon name, too?” Sigourney asked.

  “It’s the custom. My name means afternoon or evening in the old tongue of our ancestors. Don’t you have a dragon name?”

  “No, there are so few of us left now. We keep our own names. The ability to shape-change is dying out,” Gudrin said sadly. “Some say it is because of the loss of the torc, but I can’t see how that would make any difference.”

  “Well, I will do my best to get it back, and we shall then see if the legend lies about it or not. I am tired now, and I will need rest if I’m to tackle an old one tomorrow.”

  Gudrin showed Lachlann to a guest chamber in their hall. All was golden wood varnished to a sheen. The bed was huge, and instead of blankets of woven wool as was the custom at home, there was a sort of stuffed quilted cover.

  “It’s very warm. These quilts retain the heat very well even in the coldest winter.”

  Lachlann found that difficult to believe but was too polite to contradict her. She left him, and he placed his bag on the chair. He seated himself on the bed. Gudrin was right about one thing. The quilt was soft. He thought over the events of the day. What a lot had happened to change his life forever in one short day. This morning he had no mate and not a very rosy future. Then he had found his mate in the old way. He knew now what his brother and sister had. He also realised that it was well nigh impossible to describe it to someone who hadn’t experienced it. The bond he had felt instantly with Sigourney he knew was for life. He had been happy then. That had been short-lived when that harridan had issued the challenge. Would he have to fight the old one tomorrow? He wasn’t afraid of any man, but who knew what tricks of magic an old one might possess, and he had no defence against that. Well, it was no use to worry. He’d get a good night’s sleep and face trouble on the morrow.

  * * * *

  Her room was very close to his. She could sense his presence. He was her mate, and she’d spent years waiting for him, and now he might not survive the morrow, all because of that jealous woman. What would become of her if he didn’t return? She’d refused to consider another before she knew him and the bond they had established in that instant of recognition. Now she would die before she lay with another man.

  “I shall be back with you before you know it.”

  “Lachlann, I need you. I can’t lose you now. Where is my maidenly shame? I should wait with downcast eyes for you to speak to me, and here I am offering myself to you.”

  “There’s no shame in it, my little dove. You are my mate. Why should you be ashamed of anything you care to say to me? Will you come to me now? I’m waiting. You must understand one thing, however, before you come. Once we have mated, our lives are linked. If I die tomorrow, you will, too. Think carefully before you decide.”

  Lachlann was hesitant. He wanted to mate with her, but if he didn’t complete the task facing him on the morrow and he had taken her, then she would die too. Did he want that? He didn’t want to harm a hair of her head, but the thought of her mating with another twisted a knife in his gut. Was it selfish to think like that? Didn’t she deserve a future even if it wasn’t with him? Then his doubts vanished like the mist in the morning sun as her thoughts came to him clear and strong.

  “If you are killed tomorrow, there will be nothing left to hold me to this place or this earth. I’m yours now. I want no other man. I waited and faced criticism and banishment because I knew that somewhere there was a mate for me. I have you now, and if we are both to die tomorrow then I want to have been yours in every sense of the word. I will come to you, and we will mate tonight. Whatever tomorrow brings, we will face together.”

  She got up and slipped on her old woollen robe. It was warm but not very pretty, but then she supposed with a blush that she wouldn’t be wearing it for long.

  “No indeed you won’t. I just want what’s under it. Come now. I can’t wait to hold you.”

  Sigourney left her chamber and went swiftly to Lachlann’s on tiptoe. She had no wish to meet anyone and be asked questions. She would have told anyone who asked where she was going. She wasn’t ashamed to tell, and she wouldn’t be dissuaded. She just didn’t want to have to share this moment with anyone else at all. She entered his room and saw he still had the candles lit. She had supposed it would be dark.

  “No, my love, it won’t be dark. I want to see you, every inch of you. Now come over here to me.”

  Slowly she approached him. Her face betrayed her heat as his eyes raked the length of her. He smiled and held out his hands. She took them and found them to be calloused from manual labour or maybe from wielding his sword, but they were warm, too. He held hers in a strong grip and pulled her toward him.

  “There’s no need for you to be afraid. Do you know what’s about to happen?”

  “Yes, we are all prepared for marriage and the consummation when we are of an age to mate. I know what we will do. I know it might be painful at first. I know I may bleed.”

  “Know, too, that I will be as gentle as I’m able. I have wanted you ever since I set eyes on you. My cock is clamouring to be inside you. I want you to tell me if at any time I go too fast for you. I don’t want you to be afraid. There must be complete candour between us. My mind is open to you. Open yours to me, and I will be able to tell if you are happy with our love-making.”

  He pulled her close to him, and his lips were warm and soft on hers. His breath was sweet, and she panted. He held her close to him, and she felt the thick, hot shaft of his cock press into her. He’s so big. He’ll never fit inside me.

  “Don’t think like that. Tell me what you feel and fear. Speak it out loud, and we will deal with it.”

  “I can feel how long and thick you are. That will never go inside me without much pain.”

  “I will fit you, and when I have you heated and wet, your body will assist me. Do you trust me, my little dove?”

  She looked into his eyes and was lost. His soul shone clear and bright out of them.

  “With my life, Lachlann,” she said and meant it.

  He bent his head and kissed her. This time his lips were not soft and pleading but hard and demanding. Her mouth opened, and his tongue dipped inside. He explored her, their teeth clashed, their tongues tangled, and then his retreated. Greatly daring, she followed, letting her tongue slip into his mouth, and then she found the tip of it caught between his teeth as he caressed it with his own tongue. She felt her nipples grow hard and achy. She pressed herself to him and was rewarded by the twitch of his cock against her as she did. Moisture flooded her slit and slipped down her legs. She brought her thighs together, but his long, muscular one pressed her legs open again, and she found herself riding on his thigh. The sensations in her cunt were such as she’d never felt before. She moaned, and he swallowed the sound, releasing her tongue and covering her lips with his mouth again. He backed toward the bed, drawing her with him. Once there, he sat on the bed and pushed off her robe. He took it from her and folded it, placing it on the chair, and then he waited. Slowly she lifted the hem of her nightgown and slipped it off over her head. He placed it with the robe. Then he held her at arm’s length and looked.

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You have perfect breasts and such long, slim legs. I’m a really fortunate man. Come kiss me, my love.” He held her close, and she felt the scratchy plaid and the rough leather on her skin. He kissed her long and deepl
y until he had her panting and writhing in his arms. He stripped off the coverlet and helped her onto the bed, settling her head on the pillows. He began to take off his clothes, and her breath hitched. She had seen males with bare chests but never wholly nude since she was a girl and she and her friends used to hide and watch the boys bathing. She knew this was going to be very different, and it was.

  When he had taken off his jerkin and shirt, he placed them on top of her clothes and unwound his plaid. His chest was covered in short hair from his shoulders down his belly to his groin. His swollen cock bobbed as he moved. It rose from a nest of longer, curly hair. The veins on the sides throbbed, the head was fat and purple, and the tip glistened. Was he wet, too? He came over to the bed, and she put out her hand to touch his shaft. She felt the sticky substance between her fingers, and then she raised her hand to her nose. The scent of him was intoxicating. Strong and male and spicy. Instinctively, she licked her fingers. The salty, tangy taste of him she would never forget.

  “The smell and the taste of your mate. Never to be forgotten, my love.”

  He chuckled, and then he leaned over and kissed her. Her arms came up, and she clasped them behind his head. He pulled her to her knees on the bed and ravished her with his mouth as she held on for dear life. His hand rose to cup her breast. His fingers stroked over her nipple. She arched her back into the caress and sighed her appreciation. He flicked the tip, and she felt a stab of pleasure low in her belly. His fingers grasped, tweaked, pulled, and her knees went weak. He held her up in one strong arm and gently lowered her to the bed. His mouth descended on her breasts, and she would have shrieked had she not stuffed her fist into her mouth. He spent the next few minutes alternating between her breasts until it was almost too much to bear. She writhed under his hands. She burned. Her skin was on fire. She panted. This was too much, but then one hand slipped slowly down and parted her pussy lips. His fingers rubbed her little nubbin, and the pleasure intensified. How shall I bear it?

  “Easily, my love, just let me show you all there is of pleasure for two lovers.”

  Moving down the bed, he held her thighs open as his fingers penetrated her. She felt the invasion of one finger and a strange sensation as he massaged her inside. Oh gods what is he doing? What is that incredible feeling? Each time she adjusted to the increase of pleasure, he heaped more on her. The finger withdrew, and she whined, but it was swiftly replaced by two, and the pleasure more than doubled. He fucked them in and out, scissoring and twisting as he withdrew and stretched her. Then three fingers entered her and stroked over the special spot, and she almost drew blood as she bit her fist trying not to shriek. His tongue licked at her little nubbin, his fingers fucked her, and the feeling built inside her until the explosion of stars behind her eyelids and the experience of pleasure flowing through her body made her limbs convulse and her head thrash on the pillows. Then, before it had all drained away, he entered her.

  She felt the hard rod of his cock demanding entrance. Her slick folds welcomed him in. Her inner muscles gripped him tightly as the spasms of pleasure continued to wrack her body. Slowly and carefully he seated himself within her. He withdrew just as slowly, and then with one hard thrust he ruptured her hymen. She felt the stab of pain and bit down hard on her fist. He stilled and waited. Soon the pain ebbed, and she moved. The feeling of fullness was strange but comforting. Then he began to fuck her. His hips pumped his dick in and out, and soon she caught the rhythm and rose to meet him. She felt the touch of his mind and experienced his pleasure as well as her own. His hips bucked, and she knew he was near his climax. She knew it, but didn’t yet know what it meant. Then he stilled, and she felt the rush of hot liquid from his cock, and the explosion of his pleasure allied to hers was just too much, and it left her senseless.

  * * * *

  Lachlann withdrew carefully and held her in his arms. She was limp and as boneless as a rag doll. He smiled to himself. It had been an experience for him, too. He had been told about the joining of minds when two shifters mated, but it had meant nothing to him. Words were totally inadequate to explain the bond that united them, and the pleasure was more than double because, as well as his own, he felt hers. But he also felt her reaction to his pleasure and on and on. He knew if anyone asked him to explain, he wouldn’t be able to convey in mere words the life-changing experience he’d just undergone. No wonder his poor little darling had passed out. Tenderly he laid her on the bed, and taking a soft cloth, he cleaned her. She had bled little, which was a testament to his self-control, and how he had managed he would never know. His instinct had been to pound into her, but this was her first time and she deserved an experience that was as sweet as it was memorable, and he’d been able to give her that, he was sure. He lay down beside her, gathering her into his arms, and settling her head in the crook of his shoulder, he covered them, nestling his face in her hair and breathing in the scent of his woman.

  Chapter Five

  Morning came all too soon. Lachlann awoke to find Sigourney still cuddled close to him. He woke her with tender kisses.

  “My love, you must wake up and go back to your own room. It’s not right you should be found here with me.”

  “Mmm I don’t want to wake up. I want to stay here forever.”

  He chuckled. “So do I, love, but we can’t. You must go back now, and when I return, then we can have the ceremonies and be betrothed and all the things your mother wants for you.” He slapped her smartly on her delicious little behind. When she didn’t move, he did it again. She wriggled and offered her bottom for more.

  “So you like that, do you? Well, I shall be happy to indulge you when we are wed or when I come back from this quest. Now get up and go…”

  At last she got up, dressed in her nightgown and robe, and leaned down to kiss him. That was almost his undoing. Her tongue slipped in between his lips as if they’d been lovers for more than one night. It seemed perfectly natural to him to seize her and ravish her mouth. She giggled as he pressed her to him. Then he regained control, swatted her behind, and she went to the door, blowing him kisses as she first listened, then cautiously opened the door, slipping silently into the corridor and away to her own room.

  * * * *

  Breaking their fast was a sombre affair. Sigourney hardly ate anything in spite of Lachlann’s urging her. He knew she was hungry but so upset that nothing would tempt her to eat.

  “I could swallow nothing,” she said. She did manage to drink a glass of goat’s milk that her mother pressed on her. Then it was time to take Lachlann to the mountain. She would fly with him and requested that no others accompany them. Helga was about to say something, but Lachlann sent her such a scorching look that she obviously thought better of it. Lachlann changed to his dragon-form and was amused to see how the majority drew well back from him. Sigourney changed, too, and together they took off and flew to the lower slopes of Galdhopiggen. She was to wait on the peak for him, so she took off and settled on the snowy mountain side.

  Lachlann changed to his human-form as he was not too sure just how much space there would be in the caverns under the earth. He supposed that the old dragon had a way to get out so he could hunt and eat but didn’t expect to find it easily. He’d been told where the entrance to the cavern was to be found. He clambered over the rocks and found it. He looked up to where his mate sat and waited. Raising his broadsword, he saluted her, and then he plunged into the cave. With the tinderbox, he lit one of the torches Axl had provided him with and set off to find the old one.

  Lachlann walked along the tunnel. The flickering light from the brand enabled him to see well enough to walk, but his dragon senses were on the alert to catch the faintest wisp of thought. To start with, he caught nothing. Coming to a fork, the tunnel went left and right. He stood very still and waited. There it was, the faintest echo of a… was it a snore? He supposed that the old one must spend a lot of his time dozing, if he was anything like the old ones of the Clan. He turned left and proceeded with caution down the tunnel. He didn’t want to startle the old dragon. The gods knew how he’d react. He felt a tendril of thought reach out to him. In it he read suspicion and fear. He returned soothing thoughts of friendship and the promise of no threat. Cautiously he picked his way along the tunnel for another ten minutes. The tunnel came out into a huge cavern. The feeble light of his brand was not a great deal of use to judge the height of it. He heard a warning, rumbling growl from the other side of the cave. Lachlann changed to his dragon-form and saw the old one. He was crouched at the other extremity of the space. He was green and gold, but his scales were dull. At first Lachlann assumed it was from age, but then he realised it had been caused by some heart-wrenching sorrow, and he was full of sympathy.