Firelord: A Dark Dragon Shifter Romance Read online

  Firelord

  By

  Delta James

  Copyright © 2020 by Stormy Night Publications and Delta James

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Stormy Night Publications and Design, LLC.

  www.StormyNightPublications.com

  James, Delta

  Firelord

  Cover Design by Korey Mae Johnson

  Images by Period Images, Shutterstock/Gail Johnson, Shutterstock/Sayanjo65, and Shutterstock/Algol

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Similar Books by Delta James

  Books of the Wayward Mates Series

  More Stormy Night Books by Delta James

  Delta James Links

  Prologue

  The Age of Dragons

  “It’s time, brother,” said Gideon, who looked to be a mere shadow of himself. “There is nothing left to do. We’ve lost everything.”

  “Then we die fighting,” Seth rejoined. “We go down with our men.”

  “No, Seth. We agreed we would do as Elspeth suggested. If we do it your way, they will end up paying the price. Better we retreat and hope that another chance at the bastards comes back around.”

  Seth whirled on him. There was no one he respected or trusted more than Gideon. How could he want to admit defeat? To leave their people to the Horde and Stanis? Unfortunately, Gideon was right, however much he didn’t want him to be.

  Duncan put his hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Gideon is right. We have to trust that another time will come around. Kellan,” he spat his name, “is already gone.”

  Seth shook his head. How could he make Duncan understand? “He didn’t know. There was no way he could have known.”

  “Bah!” snarled Duncan. “Kellan should have died with her.” He turned toward Gideon. “Seth is right... better to die fighting.”

  Gideon shook his head. “No. we have to go. Elspeth believes if we don’t go, Stanis and his minions will plunge the world into eternal darkness.”

  “Eternal darkness?” Seth said sarcastically. “Nothing is forever, Gideon... not even dragons.”

  The remaining Elemental Dragons—Gideon, Duncan, and Seth—shifted and flew north to Dunnett Head where the sorceress Elspeth awaited them, shifting back as they landed. Kellan was already sealed in his chamber within the cavern. Seth waited alone in his chamber as she eased Duncan and Gideon into a place where time and space no longer had dominion. Finally, she joined him.

  “You’re sure?” he asked bleakly.

  She nodded. “There is always hope, but only if you live. Another time, another chance may come but you will need to be alive to do anything; you must be ready.”

  “Let the others wait; I would choose to fight and die with my people.”

  “That would be far easier for you, I know. But without you the Elemental Dragons are not complete. Who’s to say if they would be strong enough.”

  “Strong enough for what? Why must you magical folk speak in metaphors and veiled words? Why can’t you just once say what the fuck you mean?” snarled Seth.

  “Perhaps because we don’t always see the whole picture clearly—only glimpses of what may or may not be,” Elspeth said soothingly as she laid her hand on his arm and smiled. “I wonder if the world will ever know who you truly were and are meant to be.”

  He grinned. “Let’s not tell them. Far better for them to believe what they will of me. It gives me an advantage... they will never see me coming.”

  Seth laid down with his sword clasped between his hands, his battle ax at his side. He could hear Elspeth’s words and incantations fading as he closed his eyes.

  Just before darkness overtook him, she whispered, “She will be waiting for you when you wake.”

  Chapter One

  After the Wakening

  Caitlyn watched Kellan, the arrogant Lord of the Sea, remove the other members of the Sanctuary from the mouth of the cave to the beach below. So far, her existence seemed to be unknown to him. She retreated into the darkest corners of the cavern system, the home she had shared with Míorúilt. If she could remain undetected until darkness fell, there was a chance she could get away through their hidden escape door. Once away, she would make her way to Kayleigh to see if there was anything to be done to help them.

  “Cait!” Kayleigh exclaimed as she ushered her into the small cottage she was preparing for her life with her fiancé, Donnacha, when his time at Dragon’s Galloglas was over. “Are you all right? Are you the only one to escape?”

  Caitlyn nodded. “I fear so. I wasn’t sure where to go... where they might have taken them.”

  “They are up at the citadel and Lord Kellan has decreed himself their guardian and protector. Besides, I always thought the idea was that if the Sanctuary was ever defiled, that anyone who managed to escape would do so and live her life for the rest.”

  Again, Caitlyn nodded, tears welling behind her eyes. “I know, but I’m finding it difficult to just leave them...”

  “There’s nothing to be done for them. And other than having their freedom curtailed, Donnacha says that Lord Kellan will ensure they are not ill-treated. Where do you think you will go? What can I do to help?”

  “I suppose I’ll return to Wales. If the dragons are returning, perhaps the Lord of Fire will return to his stronghold, Storm Fire.”

  “Why would you return there? Do you fancy yourself mate to a dragon?” she asked incredulously.

  “Hardly,” Caitlyn snorted. “My family has a long and bloody history with dragons. The legend, which is also law, has always been that anyone who breaches the defenses of the fortress, kills the dragonlord, and cuts his heart out becomes lord of the realm. I’ve been preparing for that eventuality all my life. The time has now come. The dragons are waking. I mean to be ready for the Lord of Fire.”

  “And if you die in the attempt?”

  Caitlyn shrugged. “So be it. Better to live and die as mistress of my own fate than be subject to the will of some man, regardless of whether he is human... or dragon.”

  “You can’t mean that...”

  “Yes, I can. The man who was wed to my mother never sired sons. When my mother kept having girls, he got desperate. He sacrificed my eldest sister on the dragon altar above Storm Fire to try and get a son. And when my mother’s next child was also a daughter, he flew into a rage and threw them both from the high walls of the keep into the raging seas below.” Caitlyn shuddered. “I vowed then and there to learn to defend myself and never, ever be subject to a man.”

  “Is that why you left your home to begin with?”

  Caitlyn laughed bitterly. “No, but I learned from an early age to entrust my safety only to myself. When he realized he was growing old and had no sons, the bastard arranged for me to marry Arnall, a commander from the north. It only took one meeting where I was subjected to his inspection and pawing for me to know I’d rather die than submit. That night I escaped the keep, I was discovered and had to fight my way out.”

  “What happened?” Kayleigh asked.

  “The bastard promised Arnall to one of my younger sisters when she came of age. When the bastard died, Arnall came to rule and forced my sister to his bed. He bred her repeatedly until he finally got her with child. She died in childbirth. I never should have left. I should have killed the bastard myself.”

  “No, Cait, you can’t blame yourself...”

  “I don’t,” she said quietly. “I blame Arnall who ill-treated my sister and the whole lot of them that allowed it. I’ve hoped and prayed the dragonlord would return. I mean to cut his heart out and rule Storm Fire and make it a sanctuary for women.”

  The next morning, Kayleigh helped Caitlyn find passage on a small fishing vessel. When it docked before the sun rose the next morning in a different village far to the south, Caitlyn slipped off and located the public livery. The owner was still asleep, but she found an enormous dapple-gray charger, which she took, leaving more than enough coin to cover the cost of the horse and his gear. Swinging up into the saddle, Caitlyn continued south down the coast.

  Several times over the next few days, she heard dragons overhead. She knew they were looking for her. She smiled; apparently the Lords of the Earth and the Sea were none too pleased to have allowed her to slip from their grasp. She rode mostly at night and found sheltered, hidden places to sleep during the day.

  Their pursuit of her had broken off after only a few days. Her plan to reach Storm Fire, challenge and defeat whoever ruled there, and then wait for the Lord of Fire seemed to be falling into place. The firelord would find he had awakened only to be sent to his eternal rest after she defeated him and cut his heart from his chest.

  * * *

  “She will
be waiting for you when you wake,” whispered Elspeth in his head.

  The words echoed in Seth’s mind as consciousness began to invade the peace of his dreams. And such lovely dreams they had been—a seemingly endless supply of beautiful women to pleasure him. He searched the array of women in his dreams and found her. The one who came to him repeatedly. She intrigued him. Her hair was the color of fire—a mixture of vibrant reds mixed with the gold. She was taller than many females and whenever he chose her to serve him, all the others disappeared; when he didn’t she would evaporate like the mists from the seas.

  God, I hope Elspeth was right, he thought. Seth could feel his body clawing its way back to life, his muscles stretching and his cock becoming engorged and rising to press against the fly of his breeches. He smiled as he opened his eyes, half expecting to see her. There was nothing quite like the feel of a woman’s pussy spasming along your length as you thrust into her... and then the exquisite sensation as she orgasmed and you pumped your seed into her. And no one had ever pleased him more than her. She’d better be waiting, better not be a virgin, and better be ready to be fucked long and hard... repeatedly.

  Sitting up, he knew he was alone before he really came awake. The crush of all they had lost threatened to send him to his knees. Those brave men who had fought and died alongside him. Had they understood why he and his brothers had left them? Had Elspeth been right and that the slaughter would have been longer and even more horrific had they stayed? It was the most difficult thing he’d ever done and everything within him had raged to fight on, but he had listened to Gideon. Gideon, who had been their leader and who always saw things with a clarity he and Kellan often lacked.

  Where was she?

  Seth stood and shook himself taking in the antechamber that had housed him during his long sleep. He could feel it was long, but how long? He looked to the opening and saw that Elspeth had sealed it. Calling upon his inner dragon, he breathed fire upon the rock, disintegrating it and turning it into ash. He heard voices in the main chamber and started toward them. Inhaling, he smiled. There was a woman and she smelled sweet and ripe. Good. He was painfully hard and really wanted nothing more than to have a woman on her back, writhing beneath him.

  He brushed away the last vestiges of sleep as he entered the chamber. Damn, Duncan had her. He hoped he’d be quick, but Seth doubted that would happen. He was rather surprised that Duncan was planning to have her. Duncan had been the most honorable of all of them. But then, if anyone was entitled to have his need eased, it was Duncan. After all, he had lost more than anyone. He wondered if his brother knew how much he had envied him his Neeva. A beautiful girl turned drakaina and devoted to her dragonlord.

  And now, Duncan had some gorgeous female pinned against the large stone, platform with her skirt lifted up over her back, baring a very fetching bottom. His cock throbbed against his breeches. What the hell was wrong with Duncan? He was spanking her. Had he been so long awake that he’d already fucked her and was getting them both aroused for round two? Hmm, no, the girl was beginning to weep, so the spanking must be for discipline and not arousal. The weeping became sobbing. How could Duncan continue? Seth had been glad to never have committed himself to one woman; he’d never felt the need to discipline any of them. He rather imagined he’d be bad at it. The sight and sound of a woman’s tears had always been his undoing. He’d never been able to resist them, although Duncan had once told him when it came to your mate, disciplining them came easy. He’d also confessed one night when he’d had too much to drink that the coupling that followed was always intense and restorative. Seth had always found it amusing that Duncan never called it fucking... well, at least not after he found his Neeva. From then on, if he referred to the sex act at all, it was either lovemaking or coupling.

  Seth could see now why Neeva was, for the most part, a well-behaved drakaina. Duncan was a skilled disciplinarian. His hand was continuing to chastise the girl with a strong and steady rhythm even though she was thrashing around. His hand continued to inflict a level of heat, pain, and, most likely, desire. Seth inhaled again... most definitely desire. She smelled sweet and pungent. His cock was now pounding, reminding him how very long he’d been without. He opened his fly and reached down, meaning to give himself some relief.

  Duncan paused and scanned the area. Seth had his sword, battle ax, and a small bundle of clothing in one hand and with the other, Seth was fisting his cock, his hand sweeping down and back from the base of his shaft to its weeping head. It wasn’t a woman’s cunt, but it was better than nothing.

  “Don’t stop on my account, brother,” Seth rumbled in his distinctive Welsh accent. “If you’re done with the girl and are planning to be your normally obnoxiously noble self, let me have her. I don’t know about you but I’m horny as hell and could use a warm, wet cunt to ease my need. And from over here she looks and smells ripe for the taking.”

  Duncan flipped the girl’s skirt down. Apparently, he wasn’t willing to share. Duncan could be like that.

  “Your sense of smell must be failing you, brother.” Duncan’s brogue was as thick as he remembered. “For while her arousal does fill my head with thoughts of seeing her bred this night, you should also be able to smell heather and thistle...”

  Seth inhaled and smiled. “As well as a bit of violet... the aroma of the true hearts of the Lords of the Skies. I’ve always found it interesting that those of you who are so much of the skies have mates that smell most of the earth. I don’t suppose you’d let me stick around and watch...”

  “Out!” Duncan roared.

  “Ach, why did it have to be you that was still here. Gideon and Kellan are gone, by the way.”

  “I am aware,” Duncan said, swatting the girl when she tried to wriggle away.

  “They left notes as did Elspeth. It seems the sorceress didn’t want us to die.”

  “Again, you’re telling me something I already know,” Duncan said.

  “Gideon bids us to all meet back here at the summer solstice. Think you’ll be done with her by then? Sooner? Maybe this afternoon? I would really prefer a woman’s pussy to my own hand after all this time.”

  “Seth! The lass is still yet a maid; do not be such a crass brute. I’ll thank you to remember she is my true heart.”

  “I am not!” she cried. “I meant to kill you both while you still slept.”

  Duncan flipped her skirt out of the way again and silenced her with three more slaps—one to each of her cheeks and a third one dead center, letting his fingers slip between her legs to make sure that his sense of smell had not been wrong. No, the girl was wet and not just damp, but soaking wet. Duncan slapped her ass twice more in quick succession and covered her back up.

  “Bloodthirsty little thing, isn’t she?” said Seth, raising his eyebrow meaningfully. “Have ye checked to ensure the girl is still intact? They don’t generally send virgins to kill dragons. Usually they just want to sacrifice them to us. Have you ever wondered if they know what we do with them?” Seth shook his head. “Well, I can see you’re not willing to offer me the use of her...”

  Duncan growled and Seth laughed.

  “Yer an annoying bastard, brother.”

  “Nay, Duncan, I’m a horny bastard, but I’m going to head to home and figure out what’s what.” Seth seemed to sober. The Lord of Fire had two moods—angry and joyous... well, three if you counted horny. Seth was always at least mildly aroused. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve slept?”

  “None. But if ye’ll turn yer back, I’ll bare my mate’s bottom once more and get that information.”

  “Are you sure you won’t let me at least watch? It’s not like I haven’t seen a fair maiden’s naked arse before.”

  “Not my mate’s you haven’t,” Duncan growled.

  Seth waggled his eyebrows at Duncan. Despite Duncan’s annoyance with him, with his mate, and with the entire situation, Duncan chuckled. Seth grinned and approached Duncan carefully, avoiding gazing on the girl’s very fetching backside. Gods, Duncan was an idiot; if Seth had an ass like that at his disposal, he’d damn sure be fucking it or better yet her pussy. Gods, he loved the feel of a woman’s pussy. Seth wondered at Duncan’s proclivity for using his hand to spank a woman to get what he wanted. Seth had always found either a good strap, nettles, or a piece of ginger up their bottom hole could get to the crux of the matter far more quickly.