The Dragon King's Bride

Chapter 18 : The Snake

Zofia was barely wrapped up in the blankets beside Draegon before she drifted off. She clung to him as he heated her during her cold sleep. An image slithered into her dreams. It flashed it's eyes at her and slithered unnoticed, like a poison, through the castle. The snake she saw opened it's mouth wide, poison dripping from it's fangs. Zofia shuddered in her sleep and muttered something. Draegon held her tighter. The snake had nested in the castle, and it was eating the most beautiful and vibrant dragon eggs one could imagine. Zofia felt so uneasy about her dream that her stomach turned violently. She kicked as she imagined the snake slithering up her leg, then she shot upright and stared down at the man who looked at her with the wildly amused expression.

"Darnit. Bad dreams." Zofia said as she wiped her face. Draegon kept staring at her. He hadn't wanted to wake her, he had thought it was just another dream. If he had known it was bad, he would have had his lips on hers already.

"Come here." He offered for her to crawl back into his arms. She complied, only she straddled him instead. Zofia smiled down at him and ran her fingers over his abdomen. Her breasts pressed together between her arms. He grinned at her sly smile, her disheveled appearance, her sleepy eyes. "I thought I had worn you out." He said as he sat up under her. He pressed his lips to hers and Zofia nearly sobbed at his loving nature. She moved her fingers over his shoulders and into his hair. She pressed in deeper, asking for more. He complied by pulling her hips closer. Their naked skin feeling like it was melting together, like they were only bonding more and more, by the second.

"You did, my king. But I am awake now, and I can tell you aren't going to sleep any time soon either." She whispered to him. He smiled to her lips. It was easy for him to see her in the dark. He just had to touch her and spark up some flames between them. He loved how she didn't burn. Instead she moaned and wriggled under his flaming touch. Zofia squirmed with delight. It only excited Draegon more. He rolled her over, pinning her to the bed as his warm hands roamed her skin.

"Not for a while." He agreed as he kissed her neck. Zofia moaned happily as her hands roamed his strong back. He grabbed her thigh and tugged her closer, pressing his hard length against her. Zofia moaned against his lips at the excitement that he was causing to pulse through her. He was completely and utterly at her mercy. Even though they had been sleeping together since they were married, it had never been as intimate as it was then, after her return to him. With her return he knew she was faithful and true to him alone. It meant a lot to him knowing that. 

Zofia's kisses became more urgent as she bucked her hips up against Draegon's. She ground herself against him and he finally complied, giving her exactly what she wanted. He pushed into her, his hands steadying her, holding her together. She was sure she would fall apart if he wasn't holding her the way he was. His hard, rough hands handling her skin in just the right way. Every time she moaned, he heart it as an encouragement, so Zofia moaned for him as much as she could. 

Zofia complained as Draegon pinched the inside of her thigh and moved his hand upwards. She squirmed again, nearly being brought back to life all over again by one simple touch.

"What was it?" He asked her. She groaned softly in complaint. "The dream." He clarified. He seemed like he was starting to believe her, that the dreams were real and that she wasn't a witch for having them.

"It was a snake." She said, happy to stop there, but Draegon prodded her by tickling his fingers over the globe of her ass. Zofia squirmed again. He could torture information out of her any day. "It had nested in the castle. It ate these beautiful dragon eggs, swallowed them whole." She said to him, keeping her eyes closed. He leaned closer and kissed her forehead, hoping sincerely he would chase away any of the bad dreams she would have. She smiled at him sleepily. If the first two rounds hadn't done it, the third did. She was beyond tired.

"Do you know what a dragon does to a snake?" He asked her, it soothing her to know that he would protect her from whatever her dreams might bring.

"Tell me?" Zofia asked as she burried her face in his neck. She breathed him in and let him move her as she very nearly drifted off.

"I will crack it's head open and then burn the remains." He promised. 

Zofia trapped Draegon underneath her, laying on top of him. She had made sure that he had nowhere to go, no way of him leaving her alone in the bed again. They hadn't had the best of experiences concerning their sharing a bed. It was the first night that things truly did go smoothly, with him being there for her to wake up to. She felt like she had a thousand questions for him, starting with Serena and how they knew one another. She wanted to know what kind of a threat this woman was, with her beautiful face and perfect voice. Draegon moved, sitting up. She imagined that he was ready to run, but he looked down at her. She was smiling happily. He mirrored her, grinning. His fingers carefully pushed some hair out of her face. 

"Have you spoken to Serena?" Zofia asked him curiously. It was an out of the blue kind of question, but she needed to ask him about her. It was seemingly the best way to start. 

"Not for a few days. She was here for a while when you were gone." He explained to her. She nodded. Zofia wondered what she was doing in her home with her husband, but she decided to work her way around to that question. Draegon could see Zofia was thinking, so he sat back and let her crawl on to his chest again. 

"You've known her since you were a kid?" She wanted to know. Draegon nodded. 

"More or less." He shrugged. 

"Is she a dragon too?" Zofia wanted to know. Hearing that they knew one another since they were kids had her realizing that she had to be as old as he was, unaging. 

"She has dragon blood in her, but she isn't one. For the women, it's harder to take the shape, especially if only one parent is a dragon. She isn't going to live as long." He explained to Zofia. 

"She said that I am weak, that she could make you happier than I can." Zofia admitted. She wanted to talk to her mate, to tell him about it. It made sense to her to talk to him, but she was scared of his reaction. 

"She said that to you?" Draegon asked, moving so he could look at Zofia a little closer. 

"She did. On my birthday." Zofia confirmed. She twisted her hair out of the way before she stared at Draegon. "When you and your father thought that I was a witch. She said that I'm too weak to be a witch." Zofia explained to him. She bit her lip nervously. 

"You are far from weak." He protested as he cupped her cheeks. Zofia smiled into his palm. "No one can make me as happy as you. Especially not Serena." Draegon assured Zofia next. She opened her eyes and looked at him, blinking. 

"She tried to make you happy?" She questioned, tilting her head. Draegon was quiet. He seemed to hesitate as she sat up, waiting for her answer. 

"I had a long, unhappy life waiting for you, Zofia. Sometimes a dragon never meets his intended mate. Sometimes it passes us by completely. I was holding on to this idea of meeting you and being happy with you, so much that when it didn't happen I was depressed and angry and I just couldn't be alone anymore." He explained to Zofia. She tightened the sheets around her. 

"You slept with her." She pointed out solemnly. If Serena never had Draegon, never got to have him, then she would have felt like she had won, like Serena wasn't a threat - but she had him, and who is to say he stopped having her?

"It was a long time ago." He protested, grabbing Zofia by her thighs. 

"A long time ago meaning years ago, or before the last full moon?" She questioned him. Zofia was ashamed asking the questions that she was asking, but she needed to know. 

"Zofia..." He pleaded her name, his lips curling into a grin to attempt to lighten the mood. Zofia got up, snatching the burnt and torn sheets with her. 

"I don't want to hear what you did with that snake." Zofia complained as she headed for the door. "Do you truly think it's alright, Draegon? To be fooling around with other women as a married man? You have me, a perfectly capable and willing woman - yet you stay true to the rumors." She wiped her red hot cheeks as she left his room. She hurried into hers, Garison on her heels. He stopped by the door as she closed it, ensuring he was watching her closely. With a queen like Zofia, there was never knowing when she would run off again. Every heartache spurred her on - where confusion managed to make her dig. 

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