He felt his back slam into a tree and he gritted his teeth. Was he seriously letting some human push him around his own glen? As he watched her readjust the bindings under her shirt to make sure her breasts didn’t slip out, he realized that the answer was yes. Yes, he was letting some human push him around. But not just any human. Annwyl.
“I’m not some whore you can just grab and take as you like.”
He took a deep breath. “I know.”
Annwyl blinked, surprised by his answer. “Um . . . well . . . so long as we understand each other.”
He smiled. “We do.”
“Well . . . good. Now . . . go away.”
“If that is what you wish.”
“Yes. Yes. That is what I wish.” She waved a dismissive hand as she stepped away from him.
“Of course, a goodbye kiss would prompt me to leave just a little faster,” he called after her.
Annwyl stopped and, until the end of time, he would always swear he heard her growl.
Why did he insist on torturing her? What did he want? Why wouldn’t the man just leave? Annwyl swung around expecting him to be where she left him, against that tree. But he stood right behind her. The man moved faster than lightning. Startled, she stumbled back from him and almost fell, but he caught her around the waist. She felt searing heat on her flesh where he held her and her breath caught in her throat as he leaned in, keeping her bent over his arm.
“Are you all right?” His low voice slid softly across her flesh. Teasing. Making her body ache with need for him.
“I’ll be better when you let me go.”
“And I’ll be better when you kiss me. Want to make a deal?” She let out another agitated growl and he grinned in response. “I do like that sound.”
“Let me go.”
“Kiss me.”
“How about I just run you through?”
“I believe you need a sword for that task.”
She realized she’d left her sword lying on the ground at her feet.
His smile softened as he looked down into her face. “Just kiss me.” It came out more a plea than a demand. And, as much as her rational mind railed against it, she wanted to kiss him.
She brought her head up slightly as he lowered his. They met somewhere in the middle, and when his lips touched hers, a bolt of heat swept through her. Heat and . . . recognition? Her hands reached up and gripped his shoulders as her mouth opened and his tongue slid in. He swept strong, dry fingers across her bare skin, slipping easily under her bindings to gently graze her breast. Her body jerked in response and Annwyl realized she hovered moments away from letting this man do anything he wanted to her.
She pushed against his shoulders, while pulling her body out of his arms. She forced herself away and the two stood staring at each other, both gasping for breath. Her nipples were painfully hard now as, she guessed, was the erection desperately trying to push its way through the knight’s chainmail leggings.
“Now. As you promised. Go.”
“Are you sure?” He took a step toward her and she jumped back.
“You keep asking me that.” There was that desperation again.
The knight grinned. “I keep hoping you’ll give me a different answer.”
“I won’t. Now go!”
He nodded and took a deep breath. “As I promised.”
He walked off. Once Annwyl knew that he truly was gone, she walked back to the stream and sat in the middle of it, letting the cold water rush past her. After a few minutes, she stuck her head in as well.
Fearghus dived into his lake. Still human, but so was the raging erection he had at the moment. The girl insisted on making him insane. Whether she admitted it or not, her body definitely called to him. Loudly. And what, exactly, did he think he was doing? Why the hell did he kiss her? A human, he reminded himself desperately. Just a human. Just a gorgeous, big-breasted human.
He gritted his teeth. He really didn’t know how much more he could stand. But he had to fight it. He had to resist her. Simply for his own state of mind.
When Fearghus pulled himself out of the water he’d returned to his dragon form once more. He shook the wetness from his body and wings and settled down for a few minutes to get control of his impulse. His impulse to go back outside and find Annwyl. To find her and to fuck her.
“Dragon!” Annwyl’s voice rang through his lair, causing his whole body to clench.
“Damn.” He covered his eyes with his claw. The woman would be the death of him.
“Dragon!”
Annwyl went deeper into the cavern than she ever had before. She couldn’t find Morfyd, and she wanted to see Fearghus. Now. “Dragon!”
“Here.” She heard his deep, rich voice and followed. She found him stretched out beside an underground lake, his tail swirling through the water. “What’s wrong?”
“Your friend needs to go.”
“Not again. What did he do now?”
She climbed up onto a boulder and looked the dragon in the eye. “He’s very . . . disconcerting.”
“Disconcerting? I didn’t know that was a flaw.”
“It can be.”
“I don’t understand why he makes you so nervous and I don’t. I can turn you into a fireball.”
“Well, you’re very sweet. And charming.”
“They call me Fearghus the Destroyer.”
She dismissed that with a wave of her hand. “And they call me Annwyl the Bloody. I’m not impressed.”
“You’re a very strange girl, Annwyl.”
“You get raised by my family and see how you turn out.” She clenched her fists in frustration. She’d never been so frustrated before in her life. All over some man.
“I think it would be a mistake to send him away. He’s preparing you to fight Lorcan. Eventually you will have to face your brother and kill him.” He sounded as if he’d grown weary of reminding her of that fact. But, once again, she blamed the knight. She should tell the dragon to toss a fireball at him.
“I know.”
“Unless there is another reason you want me to send him away?”
Annwyl thought carefully on her answer. Tell the dragon that every time she was around the man her body cried out for him? Tell him that every time their swords clashed she became wet with desire? That she continually wondered what he would look like naked and on top of her? Did she admit that to the dragon?
“No.” She shook her head. “No other reason.” She sighed. “Just . . .”
“Just what?”
Why can’t he be more like you? “Nothing.”
She looked down at the lake, the water a beautiful clear blue with an active spring constantly replenishing it. She motioned to it. “Do you mind?”
“Uh . . . uh . . . no.” He adjusted his large body. “Would you like me to leave?”
“Why?” She slid down the boulder and went to the water’s edge. “You’ve seen me naked before.” She dropped her sheathed sword to the ground. “Unless human bodies repulse you?”
“What? No! Just do whatever you must.”
She shrugged, quickly undressed, and dived into the water.
He understood now. The gods were testing him. Clearly that must be the only reason this woman now floated naked and face up in his lake, completely oblivious to his presence. The gods had a cruel sense of humor.
“Dragon?” He realized she’d been speaking to him for quite awhile. But he couldn’t stop staring at her breasts. They were amazing.
