I stare at my sister, our fingers laced. Here’s my out. I don’t have to be a dragon’s mate. I don’t have to endure the shocked, horrified looks that my sister and Melina give me on a regular basis. I can just get up and leave the next time Kael goes hunting, and we can sneak away, maybe to Fort Orleans instead of Fort Dallas. Be an anonymous human again. No one in particular, nothing to do with dragons.
Kael would try to find me, of course. He’d cover the ends of the earth looking for me, but there’s always a chance to hide, especially amongst a city full of other dirty, smelly humans. The psychic bond would be tricky, but with distance, he wouldn’t be able to locate me, I think. I could escape, really escape this time, now that I have my sister.
I…just don’t want to. In fact, I find the idea appalling.
I love my dragon. My big, bossy, domineering, half-feral dragon. I don’t care that he’s the enemy. I don’t care if it means I’m exiled from humanity for the rest of my life.
He’s mine and I’m his.
A little surprised at the ferocity of my thoughts, I squeeze Amy’s hand. My sister doesn’t approve of Kael, and…I kind of don’t care what she thinks.
So he’s a bit overbearing. He’s got a good heart.
So he sorta transforms into a bus-sized dragon and tends to flame goats alive as a show of his affection. His heart is in the right place.
He’s also incredibly tender with me, loving, wickedly sharp with his humor, and endlessly fascinating. He protects me, and in turn, he gives me control and he listens to me. I’ve never felt so badass as I do when I’m on his back.
Kael is also really, really good at sex. It makes me hot and squirmy just thinking about how good.
But Amy’s gazing at me with intent, worried eyes, and I need to reassure her. “I don’t want to go anywhere,” I tell her, giving her hand a sympathetic little pat, because I know she won’t understand. Not in the slightest. “I love Kael, and he loves me. I have a better life with him than if I went back to the city.”
Amy gasps, her nails digging into my hand. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do. I mean all of it. In the city, I was just another mouth to feed, and probably a week away from whoring myself for something to eat.” Like Sasha, I think unpleasantly but don’t say it aloud. I still need to talk to Kael, find out how Sasha is. If she needs rescuing from Dakh. “But it’s not like that with Kael. Here, I’m fed, pampered, and adored. I’m his entire world, Amy…and he’s becoming mine.” I give my sister an apologetic smile. “I hope you understand.”
“He’s not human.”
Yeah, I noticed that part,” I say drily.
She blushes bright red. “I just…I just don’t understand.”
“I know. Maybe you will in time.”
She nods quietly and gives my hand another squeeze. “I just…you know. Wanted to make sure you were happy.”
“Of course,” I say, still smiling. I know my sister doesn’t get it. It’s okay. As long as I do, it doesn’t matter.
“I’m going to, um, check on the tea.” Amy gets up from her chair and limps over to the fireplace, and I feel a twinge of guilt. Amy would never be so selfish as to ask what about me, but I know the thought has to be going through her mind. This is the first decision I’ve ever made that didn’t put Amy before me.
It’s…odd.
I know things aren’t perfect for her. I know both she and Melina have to wear my dirty clothing to cover the smell of them, because Kael’s worried other dragons will pick up their scent on the air and come looking for mates. I know they have to be extra careful with everything they do, and wash several times a day with my prized shampoos. But they’re safe here. They just need to realize that.
I snuggle deeper into the blankets, wincing when my side twinges again. I think about Kael and how it’s been a few days since he’s held me while I sleep. I miss it. Well, among other things. I can feel myself blushing, and I press my thighs tighter together.
As if my thoughts have summoned him, the shadow of my dragon circles lazily overhead, even as I feel his thoughts brush against mine. I sit up straighter in bed, resisting the urge to fix my hair. I probably look like hell from a week of being an invalid. I don’t want him to look at me and see a weak, fragile human. I want him to see his mate, to be happy when he looks at me.
Because I’m going to tell him that I love him and I’m staying, and it feels like an important moment. But it also needs to be an intimate one. I glance over at Amy, who’s pouring two cups of tea over by the fire.
Kael settles high on the roof above, his shadow falling over the open cooking area that we still haven’t figured out how to cover yet. To my surprise, he drops his kill, and the dead deer thumps to the ground next to Amy, who drops the tea kettle and stumbles backward. I wait for him to switch to his human form, but instead, he swoops low, claws extended, and grabs Amy.
My sister shrieks in alarm.
32
CLAUDIA
Oh my god. Kael? What are you doing? I struggle to sit up in bed, alarmed as my dragon flies off with my sister.
I heard your thoughts. I saw your mental images. His mind is a naughty purr in my own. I am going to claim my mate, and I do not wish for onlookers to be nearby as I make you scream with pleasure.
Eek. I suppress a horrified—and pleased—giggle. A little warning next time? Amy’s probably frightened out of her wits. And where is Melina?
I am taking your sister to her. They are in a safe place. There is a building nearby that has a heavy stink to it that will disguise their scents. I will retrieve them when I have pleasured you.
Poor Amy. Poor Melina. But…I can’t be all that sorry. My mind is flashing full of lustful thoughts that filter in through our connection, of his clawed hand curling in my hair as he pulls my head back and drives into me from behind. Of my breasts bouncing with each thrust, and my wild screams as he makes me come.
Okay, yeah, it’s probably a good thing he’s making Amy and Melina leave. If it’s safe, we need to set them up with a home of their own, I suggest. So I have more time with my mate. I hear he misses me.
My cock misses his home between your legs, he tells me from far away, and it’s so strongly projected into my mind it’s like he’s here instead of flying away with Amy.
The visuals he sends make me giggle with embarrassment. His home?
It is where I belong, Kael sends, amused. Where he belongs, too. Do you disagree?
Not at all. But I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to participate with my side hurting. I’m still weak, too, but I feel like a wimp in admitting that. Maybe we should wait.
We are not waiting, my dragon says imperiously. And I shall do everything. It would give me great pleasure to put my head between your thighs and make you cry out.
What about you?
All you need to do is lie back and let me touch you. That will be my pleasure.
Well, how can I resist such a compelling argument? I’ve been bedridden for the last week and aching, so I haven’t felt all that sexy. But hearing his thoughts and his desire is making mine return in a rush. Hurry, I tell him. Or I’m going to start without you. I put my hands on my breasts and lazily tease the tips with slow circling motions, mentally projecting the image back to him.