About a Dragon (Dragon Kin #2)(10)

“What do you mean he took her?”

She heard the woman swallow before she answered. “He took her.”

“Who took her?” And to be quite honest, she feared the response.

“A grotesque beast. A demon from the underworld. A blight upon—”

“Do not test me, Mer’lle!” the goddess’ voice boomed across the temple built in her honor.

The woman trembled, and Arzhela reminded herself a frightened priestess was a useless one.

“Tell me what the villagers said, Mer’lle.”

“It was a…dragon. A silver dragon, my goddess.”

Arzhela turned from her priestess and stared at the gold statue made in her image. She took a deep breath and sent a silent call to her brothers and sisters, gods and goddesses of this world, to keep an eye out for her little protégé. She couldn’t afford to lose Talaith now. She’d invested too much in the human, using her best priestesses to train her. Prepare her.

The time had finally come when she was to call on Talaith to perform her sacred duty. In fact, Arzhela would have called on her within the next week. Because after the coming full moon, another moon would follow. Among her pantheon, it was the time of darkness and despair. The time when a dark evil would force her priestesses to build up their protections around the villages while keeping all other Magicks and spellcasting to a minimum. Because it was the night the power of the dragon gods would reign supreme upon the land. To the dragon gods’ brethren, the Moon of the Black Fire was a mighty and sacred time when their powerful witches worked their strongest Magicks. And a time that one of the dragon gods had been looking forward to for centuries. She knew all he needed was finally in alignment. All he wanted at the ready. Unless she could stop him. Unless she could destroy his plans. Which meant she must have that viper-tongued little rodent back.

And, if she had to, she’d rip the land apart until she found her.

* * *

It took them much longer than Briec anticipated to get to the next safe place he knew of on this route. By the time he decided to land, both the suns had set and he knew his little human must be freezing. He could hear her chattering teeth over the howling wind.

His feet touched solid ground as he landed, trying not to jar her anymore than necessary. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that she’d plastered herself to his back with her face buried against his neck. She’d dug her hands into his hair, her fingers clinging to big handfuls of the silver strands. She didn’t even look up, instead choosing to tighten her legs around him…if that were physically possible. The woman had remarkably strong thighs.

He liked that.

“We’re here.”

“I don’t care,” she raged into his neck, her entire body trembling.

“Are you going to stay like that?”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“Forever.”

Now why did he like the sound of that? Quickly, Briec pushed that ridiculous thought out of his head. “Listen—”

“No. I’m not moving. Ever. Again.”

“As you wish.”

“You keep saying that like you mean it.”

Briec stifled a laugh and, remembering something his sister taught him many years before, cast a quick flame-protection spell around the girl. It was slight and would only last mere seconds, he thought for sure she wouldn’t even notice, but her body stiffened and she said, “What are you up to anyway?”

Flames surrounded the pair and he shifted back to his human form, smiling at the fact he had this beautiful woman straddling his naked ass. He crossed his arms and rested his head on them, wondering how long it would take her to notice.

For nearly two minutes she didn’t say a word. Then she moved around a bit, and her bare sex—hot and hungry—ground into his cheeks.

She gasped in horror and finally sat up straight. “What in holy—”

“I thought you weren’t moving?”

“You tricky bastard. I knew I felt you cast a spell.”

“Just a minor one. I’m surprised you even sensed it.”

Her hands still tangled up in his long hair, he had enough room to turn over. Which he did quickly, before she could bolt off.

Briec caught her around the waist and pulled her tight against him, her pu**y rubbing against his now healthy erection.

Panicked, she tried to get her hands untangled from his hair, but she seemed to be having quite a time of it.

“Let me go,” she demanded as she yanked one hand and realized she still had his hair.

Wincing from the pain of that pull, he challenged, “I can’t let you go. Because you’ve still got me.” As he made the statement, making sure to sound sad and at a loss, he ground his hips up between her thighs.

This time she pulled his hair on purpose. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry. Accident.”

“It was not.” After a few more desperate struggles, she held her hands up in triumph. She’d finally untangled herself from his hair. But when she tried to jump off his lap, he tightened his grip on her waist.

“You’re not going to leave me like this, are you?”

“I most certainly am!”

* * *

What the hell was going on? No man—or in this case male—had ever pursued her like this before. And he was pursuing her. With every look. Every word. Every devious thrust. And, to be quite honest, she had no idea how to handle it.