Hearts Enchained Read online

  Jaysada lowered her enormous body to the floor and covered them both in a vast pearl-gray wing. The tight, enclosed space was just what Sorcha needed.

  You’re safe now, pet, Jaysada said, snuggling her close. Tengale will not let the males near and in the morning we will ask Benmonth and Annlyss’ pet for assistance.

  Sorcha couldn’t summon a smile but she did appreciate Jaysada and Tengale keeping the Enforcers away from her. She was also very grateful that they realized she’d need another woman to talk to. Tomorrow she’d have to find a way to get back to her room at Addestet House without causing an international incident and Chelsea could help with that as well.

  Sorcha wriggled deeper into the dragon’s embrace. Jaysada was warm and had enough give in her muscles to be comfortable. The slow lift and drop caused by each breath was like the soothing rock of a baby carriage and Sorcha’s body began to relax. The combination of sexual satiation and emotional exhaustion took its toll and within minutes she eased into a dreamless sleep.

  Sorcha woke when she felt the dragons stirring. The lair had plenty of ambient light so she wasn’t sure what time it was but she felt rested enough to assume it was morning. She was still cradled in Jaysada’s arms and the sheltering wing was now tucked back along the dragon’s powerful body.

  Are you well, pet? Tengale asked, his huge black head bobbing perilously close.

  Yes, I’m fine. In fact she felt great, which was weird considering the emotional wreck she’d been the night before. Not to mention the energetic fucking. She moved a bit, testing muscles, consciously checking in on her body. I feel great, in fact. Why is that?

  Because you slept next to me, Jaysada said. Dragons have a strong connection to their riders. If my rider is hurt I can heal him if we can find a safe place to sleep together. You are our pet now, so we can do the same for you. Skin-to-skin is best but your injuries were not of the body so I allowed you wear your clothes.

  Sorcha was grateful for that. She didn’t want to think what it would be like to argue with a dragon about stripping to the skin. Well, I appreciate the care you and Tengale gave me last night. And the safe haven.

  There’s no need to thank us, Tengale said. You’re our pet and it’s our job to take care of you.

  She didn’t bother with her usual denial about pet status. Last night she’d actually appreciated their possessive care and it had saved her from humiliating herself even further with the Enforcer idiots.

  Here comes Xexyl. Tengale made the announcement as if Sorcha should know what he was talking about.

  There was a soft pop, a shower of sparks and a dragonet appeared out of nowhere.

  The dragonets looked like winged seahorses and they came in the most amazing array of colors. From what Sorcha understood they were a species in their own right but they were integral to dragon society. The dragonets ran messages, ferried small packages and—according to Chelsea—snooped for information that would impact the den. When the Sapphire Council had called a secret meeting to try to void Chelsea’s mating contract, it was the dragonets who had alerted the battle dragons and their Enforcers.

  Xexyl was about five feet long from nose to tail, his turquoise coloring bright against the gray and black dragons. His wings shaded from light to dark, and the bottom edges of his wings were patterned in a design that reminded Sorcha of peacock feathers. His scales sparkled in the morning light, a phenomenon completely opposite to the matte hides of the blacks.

  Jaysada’s voice sounded in her head. Xexyl, this is our pet human. Her name is Sorcha. We would like you to take her to Benmonth and Annlyss’ human. When she is ready you may escort her back here.

  Sorcha didn’t hear the word “town” in those instructions and she suspected the dragons had plans for her that didn’t match her own. Will you take me home when I’m ready?

  You are home. Wow, Tengale was arrogant, even by dragon standards.

  All right, let me rephrase. Will you take me to the township when I wish to leave the den?

  Yes. Okay, now she could add smug to Tengale’s list of characteristics. If you wish to leave I will take you wherever you want to go.

  Sorcha looked up into Tengale’s bright-yellow eyes but she had no idea how to read a dragon. You think Jax and Kae are going to try to worm their way back into my good graces. And you think I’m dumb enough to let them.

  The black snorted and a puff of smoke came out, momentarily stinging her eyes and making her cough. My rider will find a way to make amends and you will forgive him.

  And if I don’t?

  Then I will make sure every dragon in this den knows how unhappy I am and I will encourage them to do anything in their power to get you back here where you belong.

  Sorcha put her hands on her hips. Anything short of kidnapping, you mean. Because really, she’d been there and done that.

  Tengale lowered his head until his nose was resting on her bare feet and he tilted his head so he could pin her with one freaky yellow eye. Anything short of nothing. Jaxmyre and Kaelum are ours, you are ours, and we hold what we own.

  Oh my god he was frustrating. I. Am. Not. Your. Pet, she shouted at him.

  Repeating that phrase will not make it true. We have claimed you, you are ours. This is fact.

  “This is bullshit,” Sorcha said aloud. He snorted again and this time the smoke was so thick she almost choked on it. Coughing and wheezing, she collected her boots and corset, did her best to straighten her unlaced dress and gestured to the hovering dragonet. “Lead on, Xexyl, before I give in to the temptation to beat Tengale to death.”

  The dragonet trilled in alarm and flew up and down in obvious agitation. Men. It didn’t matter if they were human, Gemarran, dragon or dragonet, they were all a pain in her ass. She turned to Jaysada who at least had the decency to be female. “Which way?”

  Lifting her ginormous claw, she gestured to a doorway at the back of the room.

  “Right. Thanks for last night, Jaysada, it meant a lot.” She turned to the troublesome black. “And thanks for keeping the idiots at bay, Tengale, I needed the space. Now you can both do me a favor and leave me the hell alone.”

  She stalked between the two blacks—even though one of them was actually gray—and the dragons stayed still, letting the full scope of their size and weight do the talking for them. It seemed to take ages to walk their length and when Sorcha got to the end she realized the muscular, bladed tails were just as dangerous as their snapping jaws and razor-sharp teeth.

  When she’d ridden up to the den yesterday on the back of Jaysada, she’d been so nervous about the flight she hadn’t really thought about the fact that the blacks were born for battle. Now she’d physically walked their length, seen firsthand their scales and musculature, there wasn’t any doubt in her mind that they were one of nature’s sharpest weapons.

  And two of them not only wanted her as a pet but seemed determined to bend her to their will. Holy Mary, what a total fuck-up.

  Chapter Six

  Xexyl caught up to Sorcha in a flurry of blue. He hovered in front of her, trilling at her in disapproving tones before huffing a couple of times and leading her forward. She had no idea what had his panties in a twist, truthfully it could have been any number of things. But she was over males and that included those of the scaled variety. She let his censure wash right over her and continued to follow him, hoping that he was going to lead her to Chelsea and not off a cliff.

  They traveled through a maze of corridors and she was just starting to think the blue demon was taking the long way just to screw with her when she saw a storm-gray head peering around a corner.

  “Thank god.” She quickened her pace and by the time she entered Annlyss and Benmonth’s lair she was pushing the dragonet out of the way. She sped past the blacks, offering them a polite verbal greeting, and burst into Chelsea’s living room in an explosion of nervous energy. Her best friend was waiting for her, arms outstretched, and Sorcha threw herself into them as she burst into tears. Shufflin
g sideways, they collapsed onto the couch in an ungainly clutch.

  Sorcha hated crying and twice in twenty-four hours was some kind of record. Chelsea just held her, stuffing clean handkerchiefs in her hand as the old ones got soggy and making soothing noises that didn’t mean much but were comforting all the same.

  It took a good half hour, dozens of hankies and two glasses of water before Sorcha regained control. With a heavy sigh she pried herself out of Chelsea’s arms and sat up.

  She looked at her Aussie friend through blurry eyes. “Sorry, kangaroo girl. I bet this isn’t what you had planned for the first day of your honeymoon.”

  Chelsea reached out and held her hand. “Sisters before misters, even if the misters are my husbands. You have a place here anytime you need it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Reaching behind her, Chelsea rearranged the cushions, plumped them against her back and settled with the air of a woman in for the long haul. “Spill.”

  Sorcha slumped. “Jesus, really? Aren’t you even going to pretend to ease into it?”

  “Nope. You just used up your lead time crying like a baby. Time to belly up to the bar.”

  God, what a hard ass. It was a pity Sorcha loved her so much. “I spent the night with Jaxmyre and Kaelum.”

  “I know.” Chelsea raised an eyebrow. “Was there sleeping or no sleeping?”

  “Both.” Sorcha leaned back and got comfortable, twisting a little so she and Chelsea were face-to-face. “Can I invoke the Cone of Silence?”

  “Absolutely. This conversation is now officially sisters-in-confidence.”

  Sorcha smiled. “I never had a sister. I had to deal with four brothers.”

  “Yikes. Tansy’s my sister, even though we have different parents.”

  Tansy was Chelsea’s best friend and they’d been kidnapped together. Unfortunately, during the Enforcer rescue the women were separated. As far as they knew Tansy had been taken to the opposite side of the planet to Allsgate, Brightstar’s stronghold. By all accounts those women were slated for bride auctions and worse.

  This time it was Sorcha who reached out to Chelsea. “We’ll find her. Somehow we’ll track her down.”

  Chelsea nodded. “I know. My husbands are working on it and so are my dragons.”

  “Well,” Sorcha said, screwing up her nose. “If your dragons are as interfering as mine you’ll have her back in no time.”

  “Your dragons? Good to hear the claiming is mutual.” Chelsea laughed and the sound seemed to ease something inside Sorcha. “Now, let’s get back to the not-sleeping thing. What happened last night?”

  Knowing it would be better to talk, Sorcha took a breath and tried to get it all straight in her head. “I was a little tipsy when I left here last night but I wasn’t so drunk I didn’t know what I was doing. Kaelum took off my boots and stockings, to get me comfortable I think, but it kind of morphed into something else. I might have had a chance at keeping my head if it had just been one of them but when both of them started touching and looking and talking—it was too much to fight. I didn’t want to fight. I wanted to go to bed with them so bad I would have sold my soul to have them.” And didn’t that make her the Chump of the Year.

  “There’s no shame in that,” Chelsea said. “One Enforcer could turn a girl inside out. Nobody would stand a chance against two. Especially when you already have a thing for them.”

  “Did. Past tense. I did have a thing for them but now I just hate them.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true and hate was too strong a word but she wasn’t feeling charitable enough for a verbal edit.

  Chelsea tucked her feet up under her. “It can’t be because of the sex. You only have to look at those two to know they’d give a woman the night of her life.”

  Bitterness stung the back of Sorcha’s throat. “Yes, that’s the problem isn’t it?”

  “Is it? How?”

  Sorcha rubbed her hand over her face and wondered if Jaysada’s dragon magic had run its course. She felt so tired all of a sudden. “For this to make sense I need to backtrack a bit.”

  “Okay.”

  Sorcha was raised Catholic and she’d been taught confession was good for the soul and at the rate she was going her soul would be ready for complete rejuvenation. Unfortunately no amount of confession would absolve her from spending the night with two men, out of wedlock, who were way out of her league.

  She stared into Chelsea’s pale-blue eyes and felt pitifully grateful for the sympathy she saw there. “I’ve been pathologically homesick since we arrived here,” Sorcha said. “I can’t seem to let go of the fact that I’ll never see my family again. I can’t stop thinking about how they must feel not knowing if I’m dead or alive. I miss everything about Boston, even the shitty stuff I didn’t like. I miss the food, clothes, TV and hairdryers. I miss my friends and family and my job. Every time I eat the food here or get laced into these weird-ass dresses, hell every time I even talk to someone, I’m reminded that I’m not where I should be. I’m not just a fish out of water, I’m a fish in outer space.”

  Chelsea moved back a little, a frown marring her forehead. “And the one friend you made has been so busy settling into her new life she hasn’t had any time for you.”

  “No, honey, don’t.” Sorcha shook her head. “I’m thrilled for you and your men. I’m delighted that someone I care about is so happy and loved. I can feel happy for you and still feel sorry for myself you know, I’m multi-skilled.”

  Chelsea cracked a smile. “Good to know.”

  “I mean it.” She really did. “I’m glad you’ve found your place. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel as lost as I do.”

  “I’m surprised to hear you talk like this. You never seem lost to me.”

  She heard that a lot but Sorcha was far more vulnerable than she appeared. Her public face was real, it was an honest part of herself but it wasn’t the whole of who she was. Unfortunately most people didn’t have the time or inclination to look at what lived beneath.

  “I might not look lost but I feel it. I have no family here, no friends other than you and there is no one with whom I have a shared experience going back more than five weeks. I have no job. Everything that set the framework for my sense of self is gone. I don’t trust anyone in authority at Addestet House and most of the other women are struggling just as much as I am.”

  “So how do Jax and Kae fit in?”

  This was where she threw herself off the emotional cliff. This was where she either trusted Chelsea to keep her confidence or she didn’t. She rubbed her suddenly sweaty palms on the skirt of her gown. “I like them a lot.”

  Chelsea smiled. “I figured that, otherwise you never would have slept with them.”

  And with that comment Sorcha realized Chelsea knew her even better than some of her Boston friends. It was a comforting thought and that sense of connection was enough to drop whatever barriers remained.

  “Last night was the most amazing night of my life. It was like living a fantasy. Two of the most beautiful, sexy men I’ve ever seen—men I like and admire—giving me their undivided attention. Seducing me, telling me all the things a woman needs to hear when she’s naked and horny. When I was with them I felt like a goddess.” She closed her eyes for a moment, took a breath and then admitted the real reason for her desolation. “I felt like I belonged. I felt a part of them in a way I’ve never felt with anyone before. For one bright shining moment I thought I might actually find a home here.”

  “What happened?”

  Sorcha shrugged. “Their desire wore off and my presence was no longer required. Not in the way I wanted or needed.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I know and I can’t go into specifics. I’m sorry.” She might be willing to confess her crap to Chelsea but she would never lower herself to betray Jax and Kae’s secret. “All I can tell you is I felt something real and strong. It seems my heart opened to the possibilities before my head wrapped around the realities.” She leaned back and close
d her eyes. “They don’t need me or want me. Jax thinks last night was a mistake and Kae…well, Kae’s not seeing anything past the fact that I wear a skirt.”

  “It’s a worry, isn’t it?” Chelsea asked. “Wondering if they really like you or if it’s simply a matter of being an available female. It must have been so hard for our men to grow up in a society where only male children are born and women have to be imported from off-world.”

  Which was how Sorcha and Chelsea had come to Gemarra in the first place. Brightstar, the company that controlled the northern continent and who were the only ones with access to space travel, had kidnapped hundreds of women from Earth. They’d been transported here with the sole purpose of servicing Brightstar’s flunkies, supporters and employees, in capacities ranging from wife to prostitute. Apparently where a woman ended up depended entirely on whether she was purchased at the bride auctions.

  Just the thought of it chilled Sorcha to the bone and made her feel petty and whiny for complaining about Jax and Kae. But she couldn’t help those other women right now. At the moment she was busy enough trying to help herself.

  She might be lost and lonely but she wasn’t desperate enough to commit emotional suicide. If she fell in love with two men who weren’t able or willing to love her in return she’d end up even lonelier than she was now. And she was barely coping as it was.

  “Guys either like you or they don’t,” she said, “and there’s nothing you can do about it either way. I need to suck it up and move on. And I will, it just might take me a little while.”

  Chelsea laced their hands together. “Take as long as you want. I’ll be here for you in whatever way you need.”

  “Thanks.” Sorcha hitched at the falling-off gown and decided she’d had enough true confessions for today. “And on that note, do you think I could impose on you and use your bathroom? I’m desperate for a good, long soak.” And even more desperate to get the smell of Jax and Kae off her skin.

  “Of course.” Chelsea rose, pushing stray wisps of her shiny brown hair back into place. “I’ve organized some clean clothes for you too.”