Lord Dragon's Conquest Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Your whole camp is packing to leave?”
    “Yes.”
    “When?”
    “Tomorrow morning.”
    He exhaled. “Good.”
    She put one palm to his chest and pushed him back toward the trunk of the tree behind him. Caught by surprise, Larkan didn’t resist. His spine connected with the bark as she leaned in. “What’s going on? Who are you?”
    “I thought I knew until I met you.” His sense of duty to queen and den had defined him. His rank had granted him liberty, which had saved him from suffocation. And yet all that paled to nothing as he stood there, his skin warm where they almost touched. Why does she have this effect on me?
    The answer was there before the question had fully formed. Because Keltie was brave and beautiful and had tried to rescue him from a seven-year-old playing a prank. Clearly she’d driven him mad. “I should be tying you up and throwing you into one of the trucks,” Larkan snapped.
    “I don’t think so,” she growled back.
    He almost laughed. He had an idea how humans saw dragons—as large, scaly monsters that devoured entire villages in a single banquet. No doubt Keltie would do her utmost to slay him. “I’d rather be persuasive.”
    “By hypnotizing me?”
    The clear moonlight showed the oval of her face and her remarkable brown eyes. They pulled at him like a vortex, drowning his will. “That was clearly a mistake.”
    “You think?”
    “How do I convince you to forgive me?”
    “Give me a reason to believe you.”
    Her expression begged him for the truth. Larkan hesitated, feeling as if he were the one being hypnotized. She had the most remarkable mouth, soft and generous. Her scent surrounded him, the musky sweetness of human female, tinged with sharp emotion. And he liked how incredibly stubborn she was. Yet the only truth he could give her was the pounding in his blood.
    He could stand it no longer, and slid a hand around her waist, searching beneath her coat and sweater until he found bare skin. The silken warmth heated his desire like a powerful drink. This is folly. She has to leave , so why do you yearn to draw her close? You might as well tear off your own wings.
    “Don’t,” she said, though she didn’t move. “You haven’t answered my questions.”
    “I’m tired of talking.”
    “Oh.” The single syllable was a plea.
    She was tall, but he was taller and could look down into her gaze. The darkness made her eyes into a mirror of the night sky. A dragon could lose himself in that much infinity. Just as well she’s going.
    The thought was no comfort. Pain shot through him, anguish born of loss yet to come. Larkan slid his hand up her spine, pulling her closer. Dragons hoarded treasure; they didn’t let it walk away.
    Lifting Keltie easily, he reversed their position so that her back was to the tree. Then he caught the tab of her coat zipper and pulled it open in a long, slow move. “What are you doing?” she protested, but he answered in deeds rather than words.
    He leaned in to her mouth, savoring the softness of her lips as his fingers traced the delicate arch of her spine. She made a noise of protest, putting her hands against his chest, but her muscles softened as the kiss went on, surrendering to his insistent persuasion. But he was far from done, nipping lightly as he deepened the kiss. He wasn’t even going to try controlling her memories this time. Since she was leaving, he’d give her a memory to keep.
    His hands circled to her stomach, then up beneath her sweater to the delicate fabric covering her breasts. This was a garment unlike anything he’d touched before and its clever architecture intrigued him. Warm roundness tantalized him, responding to his caresses without escaping the frail fabric. He slid fingers beneath the silk, making her gasp as he teased her nipples to exquisite hardness. As she arched into his touch, a deep growl of satisfaction rumbled from his throat.
    At the sound, a shudder ran through Keltie. The length of her body pushed