Chapter 25

"I still don't understand why you allow this barbaric tradition to continue. Or how it began, for that matter. Couldn't you just have left me on that hillside to be found safe in the morning?"
"There is a long-standing pact between the village and the dragon. Many, many years ago, there was another dragon - possibly a real one, ravaging the countryside. My ancestor defended the village. When asked what he wished for in exchange, he chose a young woman to be his bride."
"And? Surely that isn't the end of it?" Her breath brushed his skin as she snuggled into his chest.
"Of course not. Some thirty years later, the crops failed and the village was starving. They offered up another maiden, in return for food. The dragon, the son of the original, was attracted to the girl and accepted the bargain. He left a sack of gold in exchange, and the money kept the village fed for a year."
"And thus a tradition was born. But why maintain it?"
He shrugged. "When my great-grandfather tried to end it, the people were distraught. For the next several weeks, they blamed every ill on the dragon's displeasure. There was talk of arming a party to seek out the beast and slay it. So he left a letter, stating that henceforth, the sacrifice must be on Midsummer. And thus the tradition continued."
Georgie nodded. "Hmmm. We shall have to come up with something. I am content with my fate, but perhaps the next girl won't be."
"Well, I have faith that if there is a solution, you'll be the one to find it. Now sleep, dearest. Before the beast rouses yet again." He nipped her ear playfully. "I can't seem to get enough of you."
"Nor I you." Clever fingers traced a circle around one of his flat nipples. "I can sleep when our interlude is over. For tonight, I want to know what it means to be yours."
"You have to be sore." The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but already he wanted her again. His body, it seemed, had become insatiable. "There will be other nights, sweetling. I've no intention of giving you up."
"Don't be silly, Caddoc. You're an earl. You can't marry a nobody like me. And as much as I lo - umm - like you, I can't live as your mistress. That would set a terrible example for the girls."
Had she started to say she loved him? Caddoc's heart leapt at the thought. Warmth swelled through his chest, burning away any doubt that he might have had. She was his and he was keeping her.
"We will be wed. Just think what advantage that will give your sisters in the marriage mart, my dear. I've no intention of keeping my hands off of you, so you may as well resign yourself to being a countess." He laid one hand low on her belly. "And if you aren't already with child, you will be within the week."
"Surely not." Her hand covered his. "Caddoc, you can't want this."
"But I do. From the moment I met you, Georgie, I knew you were different from all the brainless bundles of fluff thrown at me in society. You're a challenge, a force of nature. A woman meant to be a true partner to her mate - be he man or dragon. How many women do you think I could trust with my secret? Wouldn't most women run screaming, rather than face the dragon with sword drawn? You're one of a kind, my Georgie. I fell in love with you the day we met, and I intend to treasure you for the rest of my days."
"You - you love me?" Georgie couldn't believe her ears. Surely this was more fantastic than watching him change from man to dragon and back again. How could this magnificent man be in love with her?
"With all my heart, Georgie." He kissed her, a slow, thorough mating of their mouths. He cradled her against him like she was a priceless piece of porcelain.
"I..." She tried to say she loved him too, but the words stuck in her throat. "I'm afraid, Caddoc. Afraid I'll wake up in the morning and this will all have been a dream."
"Then sleep, sweetling. When morning comes, you can see for yourself that our love is real. And then our life together can begin."
"Very well." She was exhausted, and perhaps in the light of day, she could make him see sense. "Will you be here when I wake?"
"I promise." He lifted her off his lap to lay her down beside him. She faced away, and he curled into her from behind with his strong arm wrapped snugly around her waist and his cock nestled between the cheeks of her arse.
"Goodnight, Caddoc."
He kissed her shoulder. "Goodnight my love. Sweet dreams."
"They already are," she whispered over a yawn. "Best dreams ever."
The sun was just beginning to tint the sky a pale rose when she woke. He was gone, as she'd suspected he'd be. A stab of disappointment pierced Georgie's heart. She'd wanted so badly to believe in him. His side of the bed was still warm and she flattened her palm on it, as if trying to absorb some last little trace of his essence.
"Georgie!" The door banged open and Caddoc hurried inside, gloriously naked. A wide smile lit his face as he knelt beside her on the bed and caught her face between his hands. "Good morning, my sweet."
"I thought you'd gone." Her voice cracked, giving away the fear she'd hoped to hide.
"No. Just outside for a moment." He leaned down to greet her with a kiss, one that had her melting back into the mattress and urging him down atop her.
"I love you, Georgie," he whispered as he slipped his thick cock inside her waiting sheath. "I intend to remind you of that every morning for the rest of our lives."
"I love you, Caddoc," she replied, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts. She was sore, but as soon as he'd touched her, the pain had ceased to matter. She'd woken with her folds drenched and swollen with wanting him. All she could think about was the wonder of him loving her, fucking her. She dug her fingernails into his buttocks and whispered, "Harder. Please."
"Whatever you want, my love." His tempo increased as he pounded into her core. His shaft had been too thick last night for her fingers to meet around it, and she gloried in every inch of his length and girth filling her cunt.
"You, Caddoc. All I want is you."
"I am yours, Georgiana. Yours in every way a man can belong to a woman. And you are mine, now and forever."
"Yes." The sensations had coiled in her womb again, readying to burst into the firestorm she'd experienced last night. She strained towards it, whimpering brokenly each time he thrust. Each stroke drove her higher until all at once, the dam broke, and her consciousness flew apart, sending her spinning into the heavens.
She vaguely heard his hoarse cry as he poured his essence into her. That thought didn't frighten her anymore; she welcomed his seed, cherished the idea of someday bearing his child. She held him tight until the tremors stopped rippling through her body.