I sigh and get to my feet. Then I head down the stairs until I’m finally hesitating at the entrance to the hot pools.
He’s in there. Naked. So naked. And wet.
“I can smell you,” he says mildly, and if I didn’t know how pissed off he was, I’d think he was bored.
I go through the open door, finding him sprawled in the pool closest to me, gazing out at the lush forest.
No matter how much my greedy eyes want to explore the parts of him that lie beneath the water, I keep my eyes on his face.
“We need to talk.”
He turns his head, and his eyes are pools of liquid gold. “I don’t want to talk.”
“Fine. You can listen.”
I step closer, and then I’m in the air, falling as his hand snakes out and grabs my arm.
I shriek, but in an instant I’m underwater in the hot pool. With Dragix.
Chapter Seven
Charlie
I gasp as I clear the surface.
“What the hell?” I demand, my clothes sodden and heavy on my skin.
“I do not wish to talk, and you do. You do not wish to be in here with me. And I wish you to.”
I grind my teeth. Dragon logic. Even worse than male logic.
“Okay,” I snap. “Now that I’m in here with you, why don’t you tell me why you lost your mind today?”
He snarls at me, and I simply stare at him, waiting. Then his eyes drop to my chest, where my shirt is clinging to my nipples, which have hardened beneath it.
The look he gives me is pure satisfied male.
I scowl at him and sit on one of the rocks in the pool, ensuring that the water covers me up to my shoulders.
His smile is slow, wicked, and so hot that I have to look away.
“I had just killed the Zintas that fired at us. They would have slaughtered you. If you were lucky. If you weren’t, they would have taken you back across the Colossal Water and sold you to the highest bidder. And you would have wished you were dead.”
I shiver. “The Colossal Water?”
He ignores that. “And then, when I came to find you, you were attempting to talk to my greatest enemy.”
My eyes jump to his face. “Your greatest enemy?”
He shows me his teeth. “The Braxians killed my people.”
“The Braxians?”
He nods, and I do the math.
“Are they as long-lived as dragons?”
“No.”
It was their ancestors that killed his family. But he was around when it happened. Each time he sees a Braxian, he must remember.
I’m surprised he hasn’t killed them all.
I must say that thought aloud because he tilts his head.
“I have thought about it. Their people landed on our planet using technology that they no longer have. Their swords are barbaric in comparison.”
“How did they lose that technology?”
He gives a disinterested shrug of his shoulders and moves closer to me. I shiver at the look in his eyes.
“So why didn’t you kill them?”
His jaw tightens. “Because they have females and younglings. My mother—” He breaks off and shakes his head. “My mother would be ashamed if I killed younglings.”
I blink at that. The only thing stopping this giant predator from burning this world to ash, from ripping everyone apart…is the thought of his mother.
My eyes sting. “I…I never had a mother,” I say. “But I think yours would be proud of you. For not making the people here pay for what their ancestors did.”
He’s silent for a long moment, and I sigh. So when Dragix found me with Alexis, he’d just come from slaughtering the Zintas who would have killed us, or worse. Then he found me talking to one of the people who he still holds responsible for centuries of being alone.
“You acted like a jackass,” I say. “But I get it.”
His eyes widen slightly at that.
“I need you to promise me something,” I continue, and he stays silent, his eyes on my face. “I need you to promise that you won’t hurt the other human women. Or scare them.”
His jaw tightens. “I told you I do not hurt females.”
“I know, but if I see any of the other women again, I need you to try not to scare the hell out of them either.”
He’s silent for a long moment. “And the Braxians?”
“If you really need to swing your dick around, you can scare them. But no eating them.”
“If I do this, you will be…pleased with me?”
I blow out a breath. “Yes. If you don’t scare my friends, I will be pleased with you. Alexis is a nice woman, and she just wanted to talk to me. If you act like you could eat people at any moment, they’re going to think that I’m not safe with you.”
His expression darkens. “I do not care what they think.”
“I do.”
Liquid-gold eyes examine my face as he considers it.
“Fine,” he says finally, and I feel my shoulders relax.
While I’ve got him in such an agreeable mood…
“I want to go see the other women.”
“No.”
“Dragix—”
He bares his teeth at me, and I frown at him. Obviously he’s not feeling as agreeable as I thought.
“Why do you wish to leave me? Have I not kept you safe? Seared your food? Given you clothing?”
Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about this dragon. And one thing I’ve learned is that he’s possessive as hell. What’s his is his. He speaks of his lair. His territory. His Maez. And once, I heard him call me his Charlie.
I don’t know how much of this trait is a dragon thing—after all, he’s used to being the king around here—and how much is just…Dragix.
“You have,” I say gently. “And if I haven’t seemed grateful, I’m sorry. I really do appreciate everything
