Some time later, his thrusting stops, and I’m back to being an exhausted, weak mess beneath him. Rising, he stares down at me, licking his lips. My belly jumps and I tighten my legs around him. Somehow I’m still wanting more.
“Delicious,” he rasps.
He carries me to the ocean until the water is up to our chest. Still planted inside me, he uses one hand to wash the dirt and dried cum on my skin. I touch him everywhere I can in return. There isn’t a place he doesn’t allow my hands to go.
And when the first gulls squawk above us, he releases me, and we walk back to the shore.
“You want to go back?” I ask, curious. I like this time alone with him. Perhaps a little too much.
“It is your home, is it not? Where your family lives?” He runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back. The action makes me melt. His gaze trails over my body. “Is it where you are most safe?”
“Yes.”
“Then we go back.”
Though I will miss this time with him without the others, I nod. Going back is the right thing to do.
My tribe needs me. And with Zaeyr by my side, I have everything I want. Everything they tried to take from me.
I keep reminding myself of this as we make it to the mouth of the jungle river, as I climb onto Zaeyr’s back and he swims us across at great speed. As he enters me again on the other side, mounts me against a tree, pulls my hair, and grazes his teeth over my flesh, I remind myself of this.
But I’m nervous. The elders don’t like having their power taken away.
Will they accept me as Zaeyr’s choice? Will they banish us?
Will they try to convince him there’s another who is better?
My thoughts drift to Delina—Leith—a surge of anger slices through me. Will she leave us alone?
I don’t know if I can forgive my sister for what she tried. I understand she’s been raised differently from me, but she knows better. Whether she is the chosen female or otherwise…
She knows better. I love my sister and am part of the problem with how she’s been raised. There was too much focus on me, and I had always suspected that Delina must’ve been hurt, overshadowed by the attention on me. Now that I’ve been in her sandals for a time, I can understand her more.
But even so, Delina’s always been spoiled. Chastised when she misbehaved, but never facing consequences. If my sister didn’t want to do something, no one forced her to.
While I had to brave dark dangers alone…
Shoving Delina from my mind, I study Zaeyr’s back before me. It’s toned and strong, like the rest of him. Whatever happens, I know he won’t leave me. Whatever my tribe and the elders decide, we’ll be together.
I’m not alone anymore.
I reach out and take his hand, clasping it tight. He stiffens, glances at my hand, then clasps mine back. His hand swallows mine.
I’m used to being one of the tallest females in the tribe, one of the strongest… His hand swallows mine.
Walking next to Zaeyr like this, I find I have to look up to see his face, straining my neck to take in his striking horns. Even when we mate, my feet don’t touch when my legs are curled around him. It’s a little unsettling that I can take his cock when I probably shouldn’t be able to. I eye the hard appendage coyly. Though Zaeyr’s put a loincloth back on, his cock is visible.
I purse my lips. To the deepest waters with you, Delina. He’s made for me, not you.
Lost in my thoughts, time passes quickly. We avoid the few crocodiles we encounter, Zaeyr points out the large fin of a giant mako shark sometime later, and by the time the sun is far past its zenith, the howls of swing monkeys return to our ears.
There hasn’t been a dragon’s roar or mating call in days. Despite the comet’s red hue, everything is returning to normal. Growing antsy, I’m relieved to see Sand’s Hunters cliffs in the distance, though my stomach drops too. Now that the animals are returning, so will the deadlier predators. They’ll be hungry.
Facing Delina and the tribe is safer than facing a hungry jungle cat or prowling naga seeking a nest to lay their eggs.
My fingers twitch, wishing for a spear or dagger, instead feeling Zaeyr’s hand.
“Do not be afraid, Aida,” he says as if he knows my thoughts.
I groan. “I’m not afraid. I’m tired.”
“Have I worn you out so?” he purrs. A dragon purr? The sound goes straight to my heart.
I shake my head. “It will take a lot more to wear me out.”
“Good—”
“But I am still tired.”
He stops and turns to me. “Why?”
I kick at the sand. The scouts of my tribe will be able to see us on the beach. There’s no turning back now. I consider it anyway—for a second.
Already, the lift lowers in the distance.
“I don’t want this to end,” I finally say, pointing between us. “I… like us being this way.” Selfish, I am so selfish. “Not having to worry about anyone else, just us. Just you and me. I can’t remember a time where I have not worried—greatly—for my tribe.” I glance at the rocks, the coming tribemates with torches. “I still worry,” I whisper. “But it’s been different lately. It’s been easier.”
Finding the words to convey why I’m hesitant is difficult. Who am I joking? Relaying my feelings at all is a tremendous effort. I’m not used to having someone ask after them.
Zaeyr moves to stand in front of me, blocking my view of Sand’s Hunters and grasps my chin with his fingers.
“You are a great huntress?”
“Yes…”
“You were once the chosen female of your elders?”
Where is he going with this? I nod.
“You stood up to an alpha dragon when no one else dared?”
Tears threaten to fall. “I wanted you,” I tell him honestly.
The side of his mouth twitches. “Is
