Firedrake - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,10
dragonkind or not.
“She is very pretty for a human, isn’t she, Drake?”
Drake let the observation pass without comment. Jenet had sounded just a bit too hopeful there—almost like his mother when she was trying to matchmake.
“Wayfarer Clan?” Drake addressed the woman. “I had dealings with Rulu, the old clan leader, several seasons past, but I heard he retired in favor of his daughter, Malin.”
“You heard right. Malin is gathering the remainder of our clan and sending them here. Rulu is already in residence though. He set up camp on the Southern boundary.”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Drake admitted with what he hoped was just the right amount of sorrow. “I only arrived today and haven’t had a chance to explore yet.” He moved a step closer, encouraged when she held her ground. “Perhaps you could give me a personal tour?”
One that he hoped ended in her bed, of course, though he would wait for this special beauty if he had to. Something told him she’d be well worth the time and effort.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m on duty,” she said in polite tones, though Drake wasn’t convinced her words of regret were real. The thought irked him more than it should have, but he was beyond analyzing his strange reactions to this spitfire of a woman.
Krysta found it hard to catch her breath between the gorgeous dragon and the equally devastating man. Oh, she’d heard rumors about Drake of the Five Lands. What red-blooded Jinn woman hadn’t, after all? But she’d never seen him in the flesh and had frankly doubted the reports of his charm. She knew now that every word she’d heard was true…and more.
The man was walking, talking, temptation. From the crown of golden blond hair that made her fingers literally itch to run through it to the hard-muscled thighs that made her think of how he’d fit between hers. The man was dangerous indeed.
Add to that the real concern she’d read in his expression and the way he’d come to help her—though he stood back and let her do her job when it was apparent she could more than hold her own with the drunk troublemaker. She liked that Drake hadn’t jumped in and tried to be the big man. Too many male Jinn would have tried something like that and gotten a good piece of her mind for it after the fact. No one underestimated her twice. Unless she wanted them to.
He was looking at her with real interest in his gorgeous blue eyes, but Krysta knew better than to get involved with a man like Drake of the Five Lands. He was a charmer. A seducer of the senses. And while she would enjoy every moment of attention he deigned to bestow, she knew he was the type that would use her and move on.
Krysta had vowed never to let that happen to her again and was wary of glib-tongued Jinn minstrels. Besides, she’d met a very respectable knight who’d shown a marked interest in her just the other day. Sir Mace was a much safer bet than Drake of the Five Lands. He was steadier and equally as handsome, but he didn’t have that same unpredictable spark in his eye that made her want to risk all and follow where Drake led. No, Mace was altogether more mature in his outlook on the world. At least that’s the impression she got. Only time would tell if her first impressions of the handsome knight would prove true.
But Drake was a known quantity. His reputation had spread far and wide. Krysta knew women from her own clan who’d bedded Drake in the past. They all smiled wistfully whenever his name was mentioned, and it was clear he’d left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Krysta would not be just one more in the long string of his conquests.
Devyn bustled outside to shake her hand just then, relieving her of a need to converse more with Drake. Devyn was grateful for her intervention with the drunk and turned away her coin when she would have paid for her dinner.
“I was in back or I would have tossed that ruffian out on his ear for molesting one of my girls. I thank you for doing the job, Krysta. You’re a good woman.” Devyn turned, doing a double take as he finally noticed the peachy-golden dragon looking down on the scene from behind Drake’s shoulder. “Thank you as well, Drake. And you…” He