Dragonvein (Book Two) by Brian D. Anderson Page B

the same room together. You know, she even asked King Halvar to make me stay? And when that didn’t work, she went to King Ganix.”
    She regarded Ethan suspiciously. “She hasn’t come to you, has she?”
    “No,” he said. “Not yet.”
    “If she does, you had better not…”
    “Don’t worry,” he said, cutting her off. “I promised that you could come, and I meant it.”
    “You’d better,” she warned. “You need me.”
    Ethan cocked his head. “Is that so? For what exactly?”
    “For one thing, to make sure that witch keeps her hands off you,” she replied.
    “If you’re talking about Lylinora, you haven’t got much to worry about. I don’t think she’s interested in me. At least, not in that way.”
    Kat sniffed. “She’d better not be. Like I told you. You have to wait for me to get older.”
    Having stated that, she grinned impishly and danced from the room.
    Ethan shook his head and gave a soft chuckle. He had enjoyed seeing the change in the girl since she’d started spending time with Lady Thora and her granddaughters. In some ways, it was as if she had recovered a bit of the childhood she’d been denied. And though he knew she was in fact quite serious about wanting him to wait for her until she was older, there was now much more trust and understanding in their friendship.
    After reading for a bit longer, he felt his eyes growing heavy. It was still rather early, but he decided to sleep anyway so as to be well rested for the coming day.
    It normally took him at least a half hour to settle his mind sufficiently to doze off, but on this occasion his body felt uncharacteristically drained. Even the ever-present call of the dragons was but a mere whisper that evening, and within minutes sleep had taken him.
    His dreams were wild and unintelligible. A mass of swirling colors and unfamiliar images appeared, constantly shifting and changing before he could make any sense of them.
    “Lord Dragonvein,” called a soft feminine voice. It came from just beyond his sight. “See me.”
    With a loud gasp, Ethan suddenly found himself sitting bolt upright in the bed. Something had awakened him. The shock from being pulled so abruptly from his dream had his heart racing.
    “Did I startle you?” It was the sweet voice of Lylinora.
    “Yes,” he replied. “I mean…no.”
    At first, he could make out only her silhouette against the light creeping in from beneath the door. As his eyes slowly began to adjust, his jaw suddenly went slack. It was definitely Lylinora standing there – but she was completely naked. Even in the dark, he could tell that her eyes were firmly fixed on him.
    “What are you doing?” he finally managed to croak.
    She made no reply, instead merely advancing with graceful steps to the side of the bed. Ethan tried to scramble from beneath the blanket, but she placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down.
    He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was perfect. Her breasts, her stomach, her hips, everything…perfect. He reached out to touch her face, but she took his hand and kissed the tips of his fingers.
    “Be still.” Her voice was soft, yet commanding.
    As if carried on a cushion of air, she slid into the bed and straddled Ethan’s torso. He could feel his manhood engorging as the heat from her loins hovered tantalizingly just above him.
    She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Sleep,” she whispered. “This is just a dream.”
    He struggled to keep his eyes open, though the harder he tried, the more difficult it became. He wanted to cry out, but his voice was gone. Then, the blackness irresistibly closed in.
    “Ethan.”
    “Lylinora,” he replied.
    “Ethan.” This time the voice was accompanied by a pair of strong hands shaking him roughly awake.
    He opened his eyes, blinking several times until his vision cleared. He saw Markus standing over him, a large smirk on his face.
    Ethan sat up instantly. “Your face…your scars! They’re