Dragon Treasure by SJ Sanders
Chapter 23
Since the days following Drathnor’s hunt through the baths, Tania noticed that the dragon had been even more possessive and on edge. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but she noticed that he had begun to steal away every day. When she asked him about it, he had murmured soothingly to her, reassuring her that he was going to keep her safe.
Despite the fact that he frequently went out for long hours at a time, Tania was enjoying the quiet hours that they spent together. The sun riding low on the horizon, Drathnor had several lanterns lit up and even a small illumination stone from his nest tucked onto his desk brightening the space as he worked. His eyes were beginning to faintly glow in the waning daylight. She knew that he could see just fine without them but for whatever reason enjoyed the light as he worked bent over the large chunk of obsidian.
Since their first day together in this room, he had already completed two, each one perfectly hollowed out like a basket and set in one corner as if waiting for something. This was the third that he held in his hands and carefully scraped.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Tania scooted her chair closer to the table, ignoring the gathering shadows on the ceiling. There was nothing up there yet, and even if there was, they were afraid of Drathnor. With that in mind, she refused to allow the descending night to ruin her fun. Her movements completely unhampered, she settled close to him to watch him hollow out the dark crystal. Since they came to an accord about their mating, Drathnor no longer bothered to restrain her with rope, and she no longer tried to escape or maim him.
It was win-win for everyone.
What was more, they had developed an ease around each other lately. Her mate barely glanced up from his work, but the corners of his mouth curved with warmth.
It was hard to see at first on a dragon, but the wrinkle of scales around his mouth and the soft gleam of his eyes—even when fixated on his work—made her feel as if she was given a big hug. It was the kind of sap that probably would have made her sick if someone had described it to her not too long ago, but when it came to her dragon, she was rather enjoying the warm and fuzzy feelings.
And why not? If they were in for the long haul for centuries, there was no one else better to enjoy warm, gooey feelings with.
Now suddenly she was craving a rolled cinnamon pastry from the Talseh market of Aleskarthii. She bit back a sigh of longing and grinned over at her mate across the desk.
“What’s with the rock baskets? Planning on storing more treasure in them, perhaps to hide it from your loving mate?”
His brow ridge rose, his eyes flicking to her. “I have a loving mate? Where is this female so I may lavish worship upon her and return the prickly female the goddess granted me?”
Tania snickered. “Very funny. As if you would know what to do with a female who lived to do nothing but suck your cock. You live for sparring with me, verbally and otherwise, and you know it.”
Eyes dancing with amusement, he let out a sound that was suspiciously like a morose sigh. “It is regretful that we will never find out. As it happens, I am rather fond of my violent female.”
Chuckling, Tania propped her elbows on the desk and peered at the large, rounded stone. “Seriously, what are you doing with that? It reminds me of the ceramic holiday eggs that my great-aunt enjoyed crafting for clients, making little cute spring scenes and all, but yours are rather drab in comparison. There’s nothing in them.”
His brow lowered as he cast her disapproving look that made her smile widen with mischief. He shook his head and huffed an icy mist in her direction, which she greedily sucked in, enjoying the minty burst in her lungs before expelling it for him. He wasn’t too annoyed not to draw it back in with a shiver.
“There will eventually be something greater within them than spring scenes,” he grumbled as he gently turned the stone in his hand. “I have neglected these for too long, but now that I am mated, I find that I cannot ignore this instinctive need anymore.”
She leaned closer. “Oh? So they are treasure-related then, since there’s that link between the dragon’s mate and his treasure.”
He grunted. “Not exactly. They will hold a great treasure, but not as you are thinking.” He gave her a piercing look. “My mate is my greatest treasure, the queen of my hoard. These will hold her great treasures in time.”
Tania stared down at the stones. “I have great treasures?”
She squinted hard at the rocks and rubbed the back of her neck, a blush crawling over her skin. She usually prided herself on being quicker than most, but in this instance, she just wasn’t getting it. Did he expect her to find her own hoard to add to his? If he did, he might be waiting a while. A decent score could be had quite easily enough, but filling three large hollow stones with treasure was a bit out of her league. If she could have done that, she would never have needed to climb the damn mountain looking for dragon treasure in the first place.
“That we create together,” he elaborated patiently. “A gift from my mate to our nest.”
She sighed in relief. “Oh, good, you’ll be helping me. You had me worried there.”
Drathnor’s eyes narrowed on her. “No one else will be,” he growled.
She blinked back at him. “Well, okay. I was just worried you expected me find some great treasure all by myself there. I’m not a miracle worker, and like all thieves, a coin made is a coin spent pretty damn quick.”
He tapped a claw on the desk and regarded her thoughtfully, the sound disturbingly echoing the skitters she could hear overhead. She ignored it to focus on her mate. His eyes lifted, and he breathed out of a puff of ice, making the spindle-legged shadow creatures draw back to the far corner before leveling his gaze once more on her.
His expression softened. “Those offspring you wish to wait on,” he explained at last. “A male dragon is pushed by instinct to prepare for them long before they arrive. It is a driving need to see to their eventual welfare, even as I worked for ages to prepare my nest, even when I had not planned to receive a mate. To prepare for my eventual young is to honor my mate before Tarachna, that sees my devotion to our nest.”
The teasing comment on the tip of her tongue withered at those words, and Tania’s mouth rounded as a full blush swept up her cheeks. How did she miss that? Probably because she never thought of children at all except in a vague someday sort of way. To hear him talk about it, though, caused a strange warmth to settle in her belly at the thought of him working for their future. He not only poured so many waking hours into it, but every touch was clearly full of reverence. All anticipating children… with her. He considered his family, her and their future young, as his greatest treasure.
“These will go to our new nest and wait for us there,” he murmured absently, his voice barely audible as she fawned over the idea.
If she hadn’t been leaning as close as she was, she probably never would have heard it.
Tania stared at her mate. Shooting her gaze toward the shadowy creatures, she leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Wait, we have another nest?” she whispered.
Drathnor’s expression closed, and he gave her a sharp look. Without answering, he picked up the hollowed stone egg and set it with the other two. Upon returning to her side, he very gently scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. Still holding her in his embrace, his large frame settled upon it, his warm tail wrapping around her as one hand ran down her belly.
His muzzle brushed her jaw as he breathed frost against her skin. “Soon, my mate, you will see.”
He enticed her leisurely, his body curving around hers as he worshipped her with hands and tongue. When at last his cock thrust into her, it was with a sweeping rhythm that made her toes curl and her breath strangle on encouraging moans. He gathered her against him, rocking into her, holding her above him so that she could ride him, his hard hands controlling the pace so that he could work her unhurriedly upon his cock.
Despite her patience, and the way her nails raked over his scales to convince him to go faster, her body peaked with his cock buried deep. Her orgasm shattered her around his knotted cock, fracturing her over and over until, with a final grinding thrust up, Drathnor bellowed and released the explosion of his heat within her. She rode that tide of pleasure until she dropped into a satisfied sleep, unconcerned of the creatures watching still.
She did not know why they watched and remained. On some level, it pricked at her, but she ignored it as she allowed herself to drift off in her mate’s warm, protective embrace.
When she woke the next morning, she was alone and the obsidian eggs were gone, along with every book Drathnor had once brought up from his cave. Without them, the room felt void of his presence. With little to do, Tania sat at the desk, staring out at the frost-covered balcony beyond their doorway and wondered where he went with them.