A Dragon’s Tale

Alana was lying in her bed, snuggled under a thick blanket while a fire flickered in the fireplace. The fire was odd because she didn't remember her wooden house ever having a fireplace. She felt drowsy, cozy, and comfortable.

Ethan walked in from the outside, closed the door, and then slid into bed behind her. She snuggled back against him and drew his arm around her. They lay there snuggling for what seemed like an eternity of bliss. Ethan leaned over and kissed her cheek very tenderly. Alana sighed happily and snuggled even closer to him.

Everything was right with the world and she felt safe, content, and loved.

"Alana." Ethan said, but his voice sounded strange -- as if it was coming from a great distance.

"You're so comfortable." Alana mumbled.

"Alana, wake up." Ethan repeated, and then the whole house started to gently shake. She ignored the shaking for as long as she could, but then remembered that Hermair had burned her house down, so this couldn't be her house.

"Alana, it's time to wake up." Ethan's voice said again.

Alana jerked awake and instinctively reached for her bow... and hit Ethan's face instead.

"Ow!" they both said at the same time.

"Sorry." She said, making a mental note that punching dragon scales was a bad idea.

"I'm fine, how's your hand?" Ethan replied.

"It'll stop hurting or fall off; either way I'm good."

"Okay, I'm about to fly Beth to that field near Gralden." Ethan said. It was getting near evening and would probably be dark within the hour. "I just need you to watch the boy while I'm gone."

"Of course." Alana said, handing her weight-reduction necklace to Ethan, then turning to the blonde . "Beth, you'll want to braid your hair or it'll be a rat's nest when you arrive."

The young blonde quickly braided her hair, tied it with a thin leather strap, and put on the necklace Ethan handed her. He dropped to all fours and she climbed up awkwardly onto his back.

"I'll be back soon." Ethan said, then leapt into the air, flapped his wings, and was gone.

Alana spent the next two hours watching over Charles. He didn't get up to too much trouble, which gave her a lot of time to think. Her dream kept coming to mind. She was shocked by how much she had reveled in it. She had only known Ethan a few days, but it felt like much longer.

Was it their bond?

Alana examined his emotions. He was feeling blissful -- she wasn't sure why -- but thought it might be because he was flying. She briefly considered that Beth was the cause, but dismissed it. She didn't like the idea that his contentment was caused by the blonde. She liked Beth -- she was curious, intelligent, and fun to talk to -- but what if Ethan liked Beth more than her?

Alana shook her head, refusing to believe she was jealous of the blonde girl. Of course, Alana had no actual claim on Ethan except through their bond, which in elven culture meant they were married. And her mother had once told her that the bond made it nearly impossible to avoid falling deeper in love with a good man.

Ethan was definitely a good man.

But did she love him?

She honestly didn't know, and the practical side of her brain pointed out that it didn't matter. Dragons live longer than elves and it would never work out. One day she would be old and he would still be middle-aged. Plus, he was a dragon and thus a totally different species than elves. But her emotional side countered that different races like humans, elves, and even occasionally some of the more civilized orcs intermarry all the time.

"But they never have children and I want some." Her logical side argued.

Her emotional side countered that there are no female dragons. They use women of other races to carry their young so she could bear his children.

At that point, Alana halted the argument. She was thinking about having children with a man -- a dragon -- whom she had known for less than a fortnight. Bond or no bond, that was too fast. Besides, she wasn't even sure he felt the same way.

She determinedly tried to put it out of her mind.

Eventually, Ethan returned to pick up the boy. He gave Alana a curious look when he landed, but Charles was so excited at being about to fly a dragon, he didn't say anything. At least, that's what she hoped as she helped to secure the boy and watched Ethan take off again.

She lay spread-eagled on her back and looked up at the stars above. She caught herself trying to find a dragon in the constellations, and then closed her eyes and waited for Ethan to come back to her.

* * *

Alana was spread on the biggest and softest bed in the most beautiful room she had ever seen, draped in gossamer scarves that barely concealed her breasts and hips, and left nothing to the imagination elsewhere. She tried to move but found soft silken cords binding her arms and legs to the corners of the bed.

She was completely helpless

The door opened and Ethan walked in -- no, he prowled in -- with a look in his eye Alana had never seen before, a primal, hungry look that made her shudder. It was frightening... but also exciting. He stalked over to the bed and walked around it like a vulture circling its prey.

Between his legs, the scales parted and his cock slipped forward and rose into view. It was at least eight inches long and still growing in length and girth, the sight transfixing the petite elf... She had never seen one before and didn't know they could be this big. Then he climbed onto the bed between her legs and his intentions could not have been clearer.

Alana shivered, but couldn't tell if it was fear or anticipation that made her skin quiver.

"I'm going to breed you, my mate." The dragon stated. It wasn't a request, a command, or even a threat; it was a simple statement of fact.

"Please..." Alana trailed off. She wasn't sure how she wanted the sentence to end.

"Please what?" he asked as he used one of his claws to slit the sheer fabric covering her breasts and cast the scrap of cloth aside. He blew on her nipples and they responded by growing erect and almost painfully hard. His breath was warm and it flowed over her breasts, sending the most exquisite sensations rushing to her extremities.

"Please... I want..." She knew exactly what she wanted, but she didn't dare say it. She was barely able to think it. He leaned forward and breathed on her neck, so close to her but still not... quite... touching.

"Tell me what you want, Alana." He repeated patiently. The heat of his breath was causing shivers to run up and down her body and making her tremble. She wanted him to touch her. Why wasn't he touching her?

"I want to..." Alana couldn't bring herself to say it.

"You want to feel me inside of you." Ethan whispered into her ear. "You want to be wrapped around me while I penetrate you to the core. Is that what you want?"

Alana nodded. Illuminar forgive her, but that's exactly what she wanted.

"Yes." She found herself whimpering,

"You are mine." He said, almost casually. She felt a tug at her core -- their bond. She could feel it at the back of her mind -- a gentle pressure to obey him, to follow and serve him.

"I am yours." Alana repeated. She liked how that sounded.

His long tongue emerged to gently lick her neck. She moaned and tried to embrace him, to pull him down on top of her, but her hands and feet were still tied. Her mind said he should stop -- that this was a bad idea -- but every inch of her body wanted him to keep going. She fought with herself for a whole minute before her willpower won.

"Stop."

The dragon above her growled.

"I can't, we can't." She breathed. "We still have to get back to Gralden and... and..."

That's when she realized she was dreaming. This wasn't real, it was only a dream. This wasn't the real Ethan, not her Ethan. It was all a dream, a figment of her imagination. It was just an imagining of what might have been -- and maybe even what could be... In this dream, she was free to act on her desires and impulses; she could do whatever she wanted.

"Make love to me."

Ethan leaned over her. There was love in his eyes and she could feel his body above hers. It was only a dream. She knew it was a dream, but it was a good dream. The best dream. She stared into his cat-like eyes. He had risked his life for her several times and protected her when she had tried to make him run. Plus, the way that he looked at her...

"Kiss me, Ethan." Alana asked softly. She could never ask in real life and would probably never dream of him like this again. She wanted to take this chance while she had it.

He leaned in for a kiss on the lips, then he started gently shaking her shoulder instead.

"Alana, wake up. You fell asleep again."

Alana groaned as she was ripped from her dream world and back into reality. She opened her eyes to see Ethan's face not far above hers. It wore an odd expression so Alana checked their bond. He was feeling amusement, concern, even shock and... something else.

"Are you okay? You seemed upset and were talking in your sleep."

"How much did you hear?" She sat up against the tree and felt her stomach start tying itself in knots again, this time not from pleasure.

Ethan sat down on his haunches, like a cat or dog, before replying with a toothy grin. "Enough."

She went beet red. "I'm sorry, it was a dream and... and you know it was... I was..."

"I'm flattered."

Alana looked up. "Why?"

"You're a wonderful woman." He said. "Your attraction to me is flattering."

"I never said I was attracted." Alana shot back.

"So, you want to kiss me but aren't attracted to me?"

Her face went even brighter red, and she was glad of the darkness partially concealing her face. She couldn't think of a good response, so she tried to get a little information from him instead. She examined their bond and then asked. "How do you feel about me?"

Instantly, over their bond she felt all the warm fuzzy feelings typical associated with love.

"I guess that answers that question." Alana said.

"I know, but I can't. With my ex I..." It was Ethan's turn to avoid her eye. She could feel pain and hurt flooding through him.

"What happened with her?"

Ethan took a deep breath. "They fixed it so my partner needed to have an important meeting while we'd be away on our honeymoon. She convinced me to give him temporary power of attorney so he could attend it with my authority and..."

His hands curled into fists.

"I knew it was a bad idea. Somehow, I just knew it. She said I should do it a few days before the wedding so I could concentrate on the wedding. He used the power of attorney to wipe my name from a few key documents."

"I'm sorry they hurt you."

"That's not the worst of it." Ethan nearly growled. "He called me into his office a couple days before the wedding once the deed was done. I walked in on them mid-orgasm, and I think they planned it that way. That's when they told me I was out."

"What a bitch!"

"Yeah, it's just so raw and I... I'm not ready for another relationship right now. I want to be, but I'm just not.

"I understand." Alana nodded. "In fact, despite our feelings it would be a bad idea to pursue them."

"Why?"

"You're a dragon. Everyone knows dragons love only one thing. You haven't been a dragon long, but I've seen the way you look at gold. Besides, dragons live a lot longer than elves. I'd rather not make you suffer through my old age when you're barely in your middle years."

Ethan nodded. "I see your point. Plus, I don't know about you, I'd like to have kids and that wouldn't work." Alana remained quiet about that, but either her facial expression or their bond gave her away.

"What?" Ethan queried. "What are you thinking?"

"You don't know...? There are no female dragons. All dragons are male."

Ethan blinked. "Then how do they...?"

"They typically use a human or elf maiden." She replied.

"Well, that explains all the fairy tales about them capturing women. But how does that... You know... Work? Physically speaking?"

"The same way it happens with humans or elves." Alana replied. "Dragons are magical creatures. Somehow, they can impregnate a woman. A few months later the woman lays a dragon egg."

"Women laying eggs?" His jaw had dropped in astonishment.

"It's why so many people hate dragons." She explained. "For a long time, they'd kidnap women and rape them. And just so we're clear." She added. "Even if we were to start a relationship, there's no way I'm laying any eggs for you or any other dragon. Don't even think about it."

"If I ask you not to think about me kissing you, what's the first thing you think of?" Ethan asked. Immediately, the image of Ethan kissing her sprang fully formed into her mind.

"Point taken." She said, blushing again. "Let's just drop it."

Ethan's face was unreadable and their bond was full of so many emotions that Alana couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Perhaps we should just get going?" He said finally.

"Good idea."

A few minutes later, Alana was lying along Ethan's back as they flew toward Gralden.