I will never lose my life for a two-leg.
So why do you not allow her to leave?
I snarl again, and this time, Charlie rolls her eyes with a sigh. I show her my teeth, and she rolls her eyes again, examining her nails.
Maez’s dark eyes float in front of my face. “Charlie has taught you more in days than you have learned in centuries. I’m happy to see you more like yourself. I have…missed the Dragix that I knew.”
Perhaps…perhaps allowing her to go to her people is the best choice. The two-leg has accomplished what I did not imagine possible—she has drawn me from the apathy that haunted me for the last several centuries. She has allowed me to remember that I have two forms. That I can communicate. That I enjoy the feel of warm water on bare skin.
I am…grateful to her for that.
Chapter Nine
Charlie
We’re both quiet over the next few days. Dragix is back in his dragon form, spending most of his time hunting and sleeping on his rock. I don’t ask him to let me go to the other women again. I’m hoping that if he thinks about it enough, he’ll realize on his own that it’s the only solution.
And maybe a tiny part of me is putting off that conversation.
I’m…happy here. The traitorous voice in my head that pops up every so often urges me to stay with my dragon. It tells me that if he doesn’t let me leave, I can’t be held responsible for not helping the other women. For not risking being taken by the aliens who bought us. For not leaving this mountain.
And Dragix.
It’s that voice that makes me look for Dragix when he’s not on the top of the mountain after his morning hunt. I’m a lot of things, but I’ve never been a coward.
Dragix is in the hot pools when I arrive. Instead of giving me the long, heated look I’m used to, he merely glances at me and then returns his attention to the forest.
“You still want to leave me.”
“It’s not that simple, Dragix.”
His eyes jolt to mine at his name, and then he once again glances away.
This obviously isn’t the time for our conversation. I turn to leave him alone, but his low, hoarse voice sounds behind me.
“Don’t leave.”
He’s not just talking about right now, but I sigh and turn, sliding fully clothed into the tub. He smiles at me, but it’s a sad smile.
“Dragix, you know you don’t have to be alone. You’re clinging to me because I was the first person you found after so long by yourself. But I’m sure you could easily find someone else who would want to live here with you.”
My heart twists as I say it. Someone else who would fly on his back, nap with him in the sun…attempt to keep their hands off all the golden skin.
Except they wouldn’t have to show any restraint. They could do whatever they wanted with my dragon. Kiss, touch, fuck…all of it.
I grind my teeth, jealousy stabbing through me.
No. I don’t get to be jealous. Dragix deserves to be happy. I truly believe that now. And I forgive him for taking me. He wasn’t in his right mind.
But someone will get this version of him. The Dragix with the slow smile, hot eyes, and playful words.
He shifts, and I remove my gaze from where it’s drifted down to his chest.
“I don’t want anyone else. I would rather be alone again.”
“Dragix—”
“I don’t wish to talk about this anymore.”
I sigh, and he moves closer, his expression sad.
“Will you let me kiss you?” He lingers over the word, and I feel my cheeks heat. For the life of me, I can’t think of a single reason to say no.
“Yes,” I breathe, and in the blink of an eye, he’s in front of me. I jolt. I forget sometimes how quickly he can move. How he can pounce when he sees something he wants.
And I’m something he wants.
He reaches out, and I blink as he takes me into his arms. I expected him to lean down and kiss me, but instead, he’s reversed our positions so he’s the one leaning against the rock and I’m now straddling him.
“You’re tricky,” I tell him, and he grins. His face suddenly looks so much younger, and I raise my hand, running it along his cheek. He closes his eyes and rubs his face against my hand like a cat.
It’s like he’s touch-starved. And I guess he is. Centuries alone. Centuries. With only Maez to talk to yet not remembering that he can. What must it have been like?
Hell. It must have been like hell.
I don’t know how he survived it and came out the other side with his sanity intact.
“You…pity me.”
Dragix’s voice is a low growl, and he lifts me off him, his jaw tight.
“No, Dragix. I admire you. I think it must take a special kind of man to spend so much time as a predator, forget most of what makes you who you are, and still choose not to destroy the people who you hold responsible for your loneliness.”
“My mother—”
“She sounds like an amazing woman. But it was still you who had to make the choice. Every day, you chose not to seek revenge. She’d be so proud of you. I’m proud of you.”
His smile is a beautiful thing. His hands are still on my butt, and I lean close, almost unable to help myself as I nip his bottom lip.
He goes so still that he barely breathes. So I do it again, this time adding a stroke of my tongue. He growls, and one of his
