He stares back at me, zero shame or remorse in his expression.
I almost laugh. “But humans can’t be owned, Dragix. I’m not a pet. I have free will, and I want to be able to at least talk to some of the women I came here with.”
“You are…lonely. I will spend more time with you.”
I sigh. “That’s not it, Dragix.”
He moves closer. “You are disappointed with me.”
“I don’t know how to explain to you that you can’t just take someone and keep them.”
The lack of understanding in his eyes is all the confirmation I need. He believes he can. After all, he did.
I turn to go, and he pulls me back, setting me on my rock and then moving back to his spot.
“I cannot let you go to them, Charlie,” he explains as if I’m a small child, and I grind my teeth. “The Braxians are my enemies. What if they decide to keep you?”
“Do you truly think I’d let that happen? Besides, I thought they had a code of honor?”
“You may decide to stay.”
“I won’t.”
He’s silent for a long moment. “I will think on what you have said. I do not think you are a…pet.”
I smile at that, but it feels like a sad smile. Then he smiles back.
“I find that I now understand why you spend so much time in these pools,” he murmurs. “I am very…relaxed.”
It’s a blatant change of subject, but I have a feeling that the dragon has compromised as much as he’s going to today.
I examine his face. From the look in his eyes, if I glanced beneath the water, I’d find that he’s anything but relaxed.
“Yes,” I say. “On that note, I’ll leave you to your bath.”
“You interrupted my bathing,” he says. “You must give me something in exchange.”
“Oh please,” I say. “Get ahold of yourself.”
He glances down beneath the water, and I slide off my rock, backing away. “I don’t mean literally.”
The puzzlement on his face is replaced by humor. “I would rather get ahold of you.”
And then he pounces.
I squeal and dart to the side, but he’s already anticipated my movement, and in the blink of an eye, he’s holding his arms on either side of me, caging me in.
Ben stands in front of me, trapping me against the wall. “You should know better than to run from me,” he snarls.
“Charlie. Charlie!” Dragix’s voice is harsh, and I realize I’m shaking, suddenly freezing in the warm water.
“I’m okay.”
“Why do you smell like terror?” He frowns. “Do you believe I’d hurt you?” The expression in his eyes is suddenly wounded, and I put my hands flat on his chest.
He’s hot. So hot. And I’m so cold.
“No,” I say, and I’m not lying. Somehow, over the past few weeks, I’ve learned to trust this dragon not to hurt me. It’s ludicrous considering my past, but I trust the biggest predator of them all more than I trust human men.
“Then what is it?”
“My…ex. He used to trap me like this.” I nod at his arms, and he instantly removes them.
He frowns, and I realize he doesn’t get it. And why would he when he was raised by parents who taught him not to hurt women, even if you hold them personally responsible for your own family’s deaths?
“He hurt me,” I say, and his eyes blaze with fury. “And no, I don’t want to talk about it. But that’s why.”
He stares at me, and I go to move away. Whatever weird moment we had going on here has disappeared. The lust in his eyes has been replaced with…pity.
It makes me grind my teeth.
“I don’t think so,” Dragix says as I go to scoot past him. “You still owe me.”
I narrow my eyes at him, and he narrows his back.
“And what, exactly, do I owe you?”
“You interrupted my bath.”
I roll my eyes. “For a man who hasn’t used these pools in centuries, you’re suddenly awfully possessive of your ‘me time.’”
He ignores that. “And you’re wearing clothes in the water.”
“Because you pulled me in!” I can’t help but laugh at the sheer ludicrousness of his argument, and his eyes flare at the sound.
“I like your laugh,” he announces. “Do that again.”
His mouth is close to mine, and I can’t help it. I do exactly what I’ve wanted to do since the moment he shifted into a man.
I reach behind his head and pull his lips to mine.
He freezes, and I jolt away. “Oh God, did you not want to—I’m sorry.”
He moves with me, but this time I don’t feel caged. Now I just feel completely mortified.
“You touched your lips to mine.”
“Yeah, look, I’m sorry. I obviously got the wrong idea.” My cheeks are hot with mortification.
“Do it again.”
I frown at him. “Kiss you…again?” He sure didn’t seem to like the first time.
“Kiss…” He lingers over the word like it’s a fine wine, and my mouth drops open.
His gaze instantly drops back to my lips.
“You’ve never…kissed anyone before?”
“My people do not do this.” His eyes are gold flames as he brings them back to mine. “I do not know why.”
I’m definitely getting in over my head here.
He moves closer still, and this time, he’s the one who presses his lips to mine. He pauses, unsure of what comes next, and I sigh against his warm, firm lips. I brush my lips against his. Once. Twice. And then I lick his bottom lip, and he goes even more still against me.
“Is that okay?” I breathe against him, my body suddenly languid, overheated. We’ve done nothing except press our lips together, but the feel of him around me, the hunger in his eyes…
“More,” he orders against my lips, and I can’t help but let out a giddy laugh as I comply. I’m teaching a dragon how to kiss. How the hell did this happen?
I stroke my tongue against his lips again, and this time, he opens his mouth with a growl. He trembles against me as I
