Chapter 4 The dragon's den 4

Draeven's POV

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Draeven stormed through the corridor towards his chambers, each footstep echoing loudly against the marble.

Council members scattered from his path like frightened mice, very smart of them. The air around him radiated heat as smoke curled from his nostrils with each controlled breath he took.

Three hours. Three long torturous god-damned hours of listening to Lord Ronan drone on about trade disputes and Lord Theron argue about military positions and all he could think about was her.

The way she'd felt pressed against him in the water, soft and trembling, perfect.

The way her innocent violet eyes had gone impossibly large with shock and fascination when she'd glimpsed his cock.

The way her tiny hands had set him on fire from the inside out when she'd touched him.

He'd been half hard through the entire meeting as his mind replayed the moment her palm made contact with his chest. That jolt of electricity, raw and primal shooting straight through him like lightning.

And she'd felt absolutely nothing.

Well, not nothing exactly. He'd seen the way her breath had caught slightly and the way her pupils had dilated. But she hadn't felt that soul deep recognition, that instantaneous realization that she was his.

Something was definitely blocking it.

And he blamed it on that damned necklace she always had on. He sensed ancient magic when he had her in his arms.

As he approached the door, he couldn't sense her presence. His hands clenched into fists as he stood in front of his chambers, his claws extending unexpectedly. Blood welled from his palms where they pierced skin, dripping onto the floor and sizzling on contact.

The guards attention immediately snapped to him, their eyes widening at his barely controlled rage.

"The servant," Draeven said, his voice a low growl making the guards flinch.

"The silver haired woman, when did she leave?"

The guard on his left swallowed hard. "Approximately three hours ago, Your Majesty. Shortly after you left...."

"And you let her go?" The temperature in the corridor suddenly spiked as the tapestries began to smoke at the edges.

"We received no orders to detain her Y..your Majesty," the guard said nervously, sweat beading his forehead. "She seemed to have completed her duties so we assumed...."

"You assumed?" Draeven's voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "I gave her a direct command to wait in my chambers, she looked me in the eye and said 'Yes Your Majesty' and ran the moment my back was turned."

Both guards visibly paled.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Sight.

They fled.

His chest heaved as he stood alone, his entire body vibrating with barely suppressed fury. And underneath all that rage, something else, something that made his jaw clench and hands shake.

She'd run from him.

The audacity, the sheer defiance.

No one defied him. No one dared.

And yet she had.

Women grovelled for his attention. They schemed and plotted for a single night in his bed. They wore their most seductive gowns, perfumed their skin and practiced their most sultry looks all to catch his eye.

And this mere servant girl with her drab grey dress and her terrified face had fled from him like he was a monster.

The thought alone should have further enraged him, but instead, some twisted sick part of him found it thrilling.

Part of him wanted to hunt her down and drag her back to his chambers, make her understand what exactly happened to those who defied him.

She'd disobeyed him, the Dragon King. Challenged him. Refused to simply submit and spread her legs like all the others.

His cock, which had finally begun to soften hardened once again at the memory of her wide violet blue eyes and the way she'd gasped when she'd felt his erection pressing against her soft thighs through her wet clothes.

Untouched.

He'd known right from the moment he'd smelled her. That untouched sweetness, unmarked by any male. The knowledge of this had sent his dragon into a frenzy. Mine. Claim her.

He pushed open his chamber doors, stepping into the empty room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the chair by the fireplace where her damp dress had been placed.

She'd refused the fine gowns he'd offered, she refused to accept anything from him.

Stubborn little mouse.

He moved to the bathing chamber, where the water still held traces of her scent....Lavender and something uniquely her. Sweet, pure and intoxicating.

He stripped his clothes off as he tried to figure out what exactly she was and why her touch alone deeply affected him. But his body had a mind of its own.

He looked down at his straining erection, rock hard and aching for release. He'd been in this state for hours making the council meeting absolute torture for him.

Every time the fabric of his pants rubbed against his cock he'd thought of her.

"Fuck" he growled, palming himself through his pants. This was absolutely ridiculous, he was the Dragon King, he could summon any woman, take the pleasure he sought and completely forget about the confusing servant girl who'd managed to get under his skin.

But he didn't want anyone else.

He wanted her. That delicious combination of innocence and a hidden fire.

*Flashback* 6 months ago

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Draeven Thorne, dragon of the scorched peaks, Sovereign of the Obsidian palace, keeper of the eternal flame, prowled the eastern corridor after another mind numbing council meeting, when he laid eyes on her for the very first time.

A flash of silver in his peripheral vision. He turned his head.

A skittish servant girl, carrying linens with her head bowed, moving quickly along the wall trying impossibly hard to be invisible.

She glanced up as he passed, just for a fraction of a second.

Violet blue eyes met golden ones.

Then she quickly looked away, pressing herself against the wall and hurrying away like his gaze would incinerate her on the spot.

His dragon stirred, stopping him in his tracks.

What in the world was that?

He turned to watch her as she disappeared around the corner, silver blonde hair escaping from a messy braid.

Just a servant, nothing special.

Yet something in his chest had shifted when those eyes met his.

Then he shook his head and continued walking. He'd forget this by morning.

*5 months ago*

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"Kael."

His second in command glanced up from the military reports scattered across the war room table. "Yes, my king?"

"There's a girl. Silver blonde hair. Works somewhere in the lower levels. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

Kael's eyebrows shot up. "That's..... remarkably vague. There are hundreds of servants in the lower levels....."

"Never mind." Draeven sharply turned back to the territorial maps. "It's nothing of importance."

"If you say so my King."

But when Dreaven looked back Kael was smiling. The bastard was actually smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing at all." Kael's expression remained infuriatingly amused, "Just that you've asked me about three different girls in the past month. All young women. That's very unlike you."

"I'm keeping my options open. Variety makes things much more interesting."

"Of course, very pragmatic of you." Kael's smile widened "What color was her hair again?"

"Fuck Off Kael."

"Silver blonde, Noted. I'll make enquiries."

"I didn't ask you to...."

"But you would have eventually. This saves much more time."

Draeven seriously wanted to set his second on fire.

That night he dreamt of violet eyes and woke up hard and furious at himself.