Chapter 69: Sarn

I finally make it to the tall grass that surrounds the lake. It's a peaceful area with a stunning view of trees and mountains. I shuck my sweatpants and wade in. The water is cool and refreshing. Exactly what I need. I swim out to the deeper section and float while thinking on my sins. There are so many that I'm not even sure where to begin. Burning Laryn's bride is always at the top of the list. Trying to take Ashrac away from his parents a close second. But my mind wanders to all my past brides. Each beautiful in their own way-forced to be with me and make the best of their fate. I know they loved me, but what choice did they actually have? They couldn't escape me and I'm sure loneliness guided their hearts as it did mine. Because they are born in claiming years, they are raised differently than other girls in their village. A group of potential brides must wait until the actual claiming to see who the special chosen virgin is. The others go on about their life while a single woman is flown away by me or one of my brother dragons.
We're not actually brothers by blood but by circumstance. During our lives before the curse, our families were feudal overlords of each realm. Male dragons took women as brides against their will from different realms. It was common to kill any female who wasn't a virgin. Or if the woman was lucky, she was cast aside and lived in service to the dragon. A dragon's destiny was to find a mate and produce children to propagate the line. Up until a dragon found a true mate it wasn't unheard of for dragons to have dozens of brides of varying ages to fulfill their lust.
One piece of the curse was designed to punish the remaining dragons for the sexual excess of our fathers. Bastian, Laryn, Tahr, and I came up with the claiming idea after the curse was put upon us. We, the younger generation of dragons and the last of our kind, had no desire to kill innocent women. It was easy to put the fear of the Goddess into the village. Burning a few buildings and breaking a few legs with the swish of our tails did the trick. It assured that the women who came to us were pure. It was our only hope of breaking the curse.
Two of my brothers have now found mates. I can't help wondering what they did that made their union so special that their brides could transcend to dragon. My brides were each unique and I loved them in my own way. But it's obviously been the wrong way. Or, maybe the Goddess just knows that I'm no good.
I've never enjoyed the first years after the claiming. I always hated when a bride cried and longed for home. It was quite vexing and my patience wore thin more often than not. When they finally settled into their destiny, the good years began. As they aged, my fondness grew to love. Maybe it was knowing my time with them was limited or maybe it's because without sex in the later years, the relationship turns to a deeper friendship. Then, after their death, the lonely years begin again. Each time I swear I won't make the same mistakes. It all starts over again and I don't change. Did Bastian and Laryn somehow figure out how to alter their ways and treat a bride as something more than a beloved possession? After Acasia transcended, Bastian told me each dragon must find the answer for himself. Acasia was so very different from Laryn's bride. I only met Roxanne once before I burned her, but she was quite feisty for a bride, and Laryn was so very proud of her. Laryn was different that time too. He obviously changed his destiny by going against his hereditary traits. I'm not that strong.
I sense Sierra before I see her. My eyes zero in as she stands on a high cliff on an outcropping of rock above the lake. I stop breathing when she performs a graceful dive and enters the water. I don't breathe again until she bursts upward with a large smile on her face. She's naked of course and her impish laughter only makes her more beautiful.
"Did I scare you?" she asks with a sensual, teasing laugh. Without waiting for a reply, she splashes me before diving below the surface.
I love to swim, so I follow her beneath the water to try to locate my spirited she-wolf. The water is murky and it's difficult to see her. A sharp pinch on my ass is not a fish. I manage to grab a handful of hair and bring her against my body. As soon as her mouth clears the surface, she begins laughing.
Her lips are too much to resist. I grant her a hard kiss for scaring me. Our teeth clash as our lips adjust and our tongues tangle in sensual mating. She wraps her legs around me and threads her fingers through my hair demanding more. I'm not yet ready. Oh, I'm ready to fuck her, but I want this to last more than sixty seconds, which is the course we're now on. She tastes wild and passionate, sweet, and spicy all at once. It's all I can do not to ram my cock inside her. I twist her hair more fully around one wrist and pull her head back while releasing her lips. I stroke my tongue along her lower lip and all the way to her neck.
Delicious.
"I want you, dragon," she whispers as I flick my tongue against her throat.
I palm one of her breasts and suck her nipple between my lips. Pure honey. I could eat small bites of her for years and never assuage my sweet tooth. Her head goes back, hair floating in the water and surrounding us. I want her too. So badly. My cock sizzles with need and my heart burns with longing.
I put aside my guilt and all the heavy feelings I've carried for so long. I need to escape if even for only a short time. The precious treasure between her thighs can help me do that. I skim my free hand down to her waist and lift her slightly higher against my chest so I can suck more of her breast past my lips. Her legs tighten around me and sweet sighs travel up her throat.
"Love me, dragon, please."
I know what she asks. It isn't that I truly need to love her just that I fuck her. The problem is that I've fallen just a bit. I can feel a small place in my heart open for her. Calista has been gone little more than a year and this she-wolf is pushing aside the memories of my dead bride. It's happening too damn soon, but I can't seem to stop it. If I've learned anything about taking a bride and caring for her, it's to never waste a day. It doesn't matter that I screw that up with each bride. I have so little time with Sierra and she comes with none of the virgin baggage I'm accustomed to so why waste a single minute?
I release her breast and take the other into my mouth, sucking until her sighs turn to heavy moans. She's more than beautiful. When I release her this time, I give a gentle tug to her hair and watch as her eyes slowly open. My voice is throaty and filled with emotion. "Are you sure, Sierra? I want you badly, but I'm not a good man."
Her lips form the naughtiest of smiles. "The last thing I want is good. Be very, very wicked with me, Sarn, because that's what I will be with you."
Her whispered words careen straight to my cock. Her pussy is lined up perfectly. I release her hair and take hold of her hips. Our eyes stay fastened to each other's as I press her down until she takes my entire cock within her warm folds. Her eyes are glassy, dark pools that draw me in. She takes my cheeks within her hands and kisses me. Our tongues dance as our bodies melt together in a slow friction burn.
Her eyes go dreamy with need as the passion heats between us. She feels so damn good. I have an ethereal connection with her, similar to how I feel with a bride. It's nothing like the mindless release I've had with the women I've fucked this past year. Sierra is different. Our connection is deeper, and a little more of my heart makes room for her.
When I can no longer control myself, I thrust harder and faster into her warmth. Her fingernails rake across my shoulders as her legs clench tighter. The flame between us grows hotter until she pulls her lips away and shouts her pleasure. She pulses around my cock, which makes my balls tighten further. With a final groan, I let myself go and release my seed deep within her.
We cling to each other as cool water laps around us while we settle. Her head rests on my shoulder and my hands cup her ass to keep her close. I should be happy. She gave me the gift of escape. I should cherish this moment and always remember it as special. That's not what I feel, though, because sadness grips me.
When I reach orgasm with a bride, violet light bursts from my body and bathes us. It's unique between a dragon and his bride. This didn't happen with Sierra. I'm very stupid for holding out hope that she could be the equivalent of a bride and help me escape the curse. She wasn't a virgin. I didn't choose her at a claiming. She is not a bride and this realization, the absolute understanding of what it means, casts a shadow over my soul. She can never transcend to dragon and be my mate. All the pain of the last year rears its ugly head and carries me into the dark torment I created for myself when I tried to kidnap Ashrac and I burned Roxanne. Death is preferable to this endless mental torture I cannot hide from. I can't escape it even in the incredible loving arms of a very special wolf shifter.