Lord Dragon's Conquest by Sharon Ashwood Read Free Book Online Page A

are plenty of stories about dragons.”
    Larkan couldn’t help laughing. “They’re usually wrong.”
    “How?”
    “Why do you need to know?” He could think of better things to do than talk, and being close to her was rousing his beastly instincts.
    She gave a tiny smile. “I’m a scholar. All knowledge is valuable. How do we know who we are unless we know the world around us?”
    “But we know nothing of the world. Once we lived side by side with your people and even wed and bore children with your kind, but that is forbidden to us now.”
    “Truly?”
    “Truly.”
    She digested that for a long moment. “What about books?”
    “No. We have never had the written word. Ours is a history told in songs of the Old Ones, tales of heroes and kings and the history of dragonkind.”
    “Are there stories about other races besides the dragons?” Keltie asked. “Such as fairies or werewolves? Who else is out there?”
    Larkan shook his head, transfixed by the shape of her lips as she spoke. “Once there were songs of dwarves and trolls, of the dark elves and the emperor of the bears—or so my denmaster told me. I have never heard them. There was one about a human queen who would lead us home to the Summerland, but no one sings that anymore. We only sing of dragons now, because we know nothing else. These days no one leaves this mountain.”
    “But you do.”
    “It is up to me to learn the plans of any humans who come near. That is why I know your tongue. My position, and that of a few others, requires it.”
    Keltie was listening intently, her lovely eyes wide. It made Larkan feel as if the world dangled on his words. “Is that why you were hanging around? You needed to figure out what the team was doing?”
    “At first,” Larkan replied. “And then I had to convince you to leave.”
    “Which is why you kept kissing me,” she said flatly. “That’s a funny way of scaring people away.”
    “I was conflicted.” He shrugged. “You are a most compelling female.”
    Her soft mouth quirked, almost managing a smile. He was still holding her hand and could sense that the fine quiver of fear within her had stopped. He reached up with his free hand, cupping her face. The gesture could speak better than words.
    His breathing grew slow and deep, his earlier anxiety forgotten. Touching her made everything right. Somehow she had become his lodestar, drawing him as metal draws a magnet. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful, or pure, or wise. She was Keltie, as unique and rare as any fabulous gem. And as a dragon, he would hazard all to possess such a treasure.
    The realization speared him to the core. He was not just breaking the rules to preserve her life. He was reinventing his future with her in it. He had always dreamed of a world that went beyond the confines of the den, but now those dreams had gone from fantasy to necessity. By requiring him to step beyond his role, to give her aid, Keltie had changed him. Even after she’d escaped to safety, he could never go back to what he’d been before they’d met. The mountain had grown too small, and the future there was unspeakable.
    Come away with me. He didn’t know where or how. His grasp of the outside world was sketchy, and there was no way to know how Keltie felt. Fresh worry whispered through him, but Larkan always faced fear with action. He leaned in, brushing her lips with his. He heard Keltie catch her breath.
    “Are you afraid that I am a monster?” he asked.
    “Are you?”
    “Most assuredly.” He caught the lobe of her ear in his teeth, nipping lightly and feeling her shiver. “But I might be tamed for brief periods of time.”
    “Why would a dragon want me?” she asked, her spine softening as he rolled closer, touching more of her smooth, vulnerable skin. “Face facts. I’m nothing special.”
    “Face facts, Keltie. You are, and dragons want everything that is precious.” His kisses found the angle of her jaw and she arched her neck, showing