Can't Get Enough (Dragon Kin) - G.A. Aiken Page 0,39
to his stall. She made sure he had ample food and water. She rubbed her hand down his muzzle. “Now listen to me. I want you to let them feed you. Please. I have to go away and—” she swallowed “—and I won’t be back. So I need you to take care of yourself and to let them take care of you. I’ve already had a word with that stablemaster.”
Leaning forward, she kissed his muzzle and stepped back. “I’ll miss you.”
Then, before she did something horrifyingly human—like cry—she walked out the back door.
And right into Ailean.
Legs braced apart, arms folded over his chest, he stared down at her with one brow raised.
“They warned me you would simply try and leave and I didn’t believe them. But you were, weren’t you?”
Shalin sighed. “Don’t you think that’s for the best?”
“No, Shalin. I don’t.”
“I fear if my father sees us together, he’ll know. And we both agreed this would be kept between—where are you going?”
But she knew exactly where Ailean was going and what he most certainly planned to do.
Ailean could hear her charging up behind him, demanding he stop and talk to her. But he had nothing to say to her. He knew exactly what she’d been planning to do and it made him blindingly angry even to think about it.
So he marched on until he arrived at the clearing by the lake. The old brown dragon stood as human, staring up at one of the trees. He seemed to be studying the birds. Why anyone would do that was lost on Ailean, but at the moment he really didn’t care.
“Lord Baudwin?”
The older dragon turned, looked up at him, and took a hasty step back. “Ailean the Wicked? Gods. Did your mother perform spells before your hatching to get you that size?”
Ailean blinked. “Not that I know of.”
“You are simply gargantuan! I thought those twins you sent were big, but you…simply frightening.”
“Well—”
“How do you get around as human? Does no one question someone of your size lumbering around?”
“I don’t lumb—”
Shalin pushed her way between the two males. “Father, we have to go.”
“Where are those large fellows? Aren’t they coming?”
“No. We’ll go without them.”
“Like hell you will,” Ailean snapped.
“Don’t,” Shalin warned, “get in my way, Ailean.”
The old dragon glanced between the two. “Is there something I should know?”
“No!”
“Yes!”
Baudwin sighed. “Somehow I sense I won’t like this, will I?”
“I need to speak with you,” Shalin said softly before walking away from her father.
Ailean followed and when she felt they stood far enough away, she said, “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you know?”
“You have to know this is over. You must.”
“That unhappy with me?”
“Of course not.” She’d never been happier. But she had to be realistic as well. Passion and multiple climaxes did not a future make. And she had to think of her future. She had to stay on this path. “We both know I had a wonderful time here, but we also knew it would end.”
“Why does it have to end, Shalin?”
“You’re mad if you think I’ll become one of your regular trysts.”
“That’s not what I—”
“I go to see the queen and the Elders today to get their ruling,” she cut in. It horrified her when the thought of having any time with Ailean sounded better than none. The fact she’d sunk so low as to even consider spending her life as one of the females he regularly dropped in on when in certain towns made her stomach turn. She deserved better than that. “What happens from now on is no longer your concern. I appreciate everything you’ve done, and it will never be forgotten, but we both knew it couldn’t go any further. So please, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
She’d kept it direct and calm, never once raising her voice or losing her temper. Considering how angry she was, she felt extremely proud of herself.
Suddenly, Ailean asked, “Do you love me?”
Startled, Shalin took a quick step back. “What?”
“You heard me. Do you love me or not?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one. Yes or no, Shalin. Do you love me or not?”
She forced herself to remain perfectly calm, perfectly in control. “No.”
Ailean snorted. “You lying cow.”
“I beg your—”
“Fine. I’ll tell your father the truth myself.”
Shalin grabbed Ailean’s arm. “Don’t you dare!”
“I’ll make it quick,” he said casually. “I promise.”
He started walking, heading over to her unsuspecting father as well as the two males who’d been protecting him, Ailean’s brothers, and the twins who’d just arrived. A veritable