About a Dragon (Dragon Kin #2)(14)

“No. But you could have dropped me off at any larger town between here and there.”

Yawning and closing his eyes, he rubbed one leg against hers, which she was starting to find a tad disconcerting. “And leave such a sweet young thing to the tender mercies of those harsh streets? What kind of dragon hero would that make me if I did that?”

Dragon hero? It must be nice in his fantasy land. “Look, I…stop that!” she barked when he tilted his head a bit and rubbed her nipple with the tip of his nose.

The small and rather strange move sent shots of heat coursing through her entire body. “I don’t need you or anyone else to protect me.”

He stared at her br**sts and her now painfully hard ni**les. “But you’re so soft and fragile.”

Soft and fragile? The week before she’d dragged a lost cow out of a mud patch.

“I am not soft and fragile. I’m…I’m…”

Unable to continue, she watched him—with his mouth hovering so close to her breast—knowing what he was going to do long before he did it. Still, she panicked like a young virgin when his mouth opened and his head lowered.

“I thought you said we had to get an early start,” she spat out in a fast rush as his tongue just flicked the tip of her nipple. It took all her strength not to arch her back and beg for more.

The dragon paused and growled. Sleepy violet eyes looked up at her. “Is there not a moment in the day when you’re not talking?”

“No.”

He stared at her and for a bit she feared he’d ignore her and simply go back to amusing himself with her br**sts. If he did, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Mostly because she really wouldn’t want to.

Sighing, he instead pushed himself away from her and immediately she felt the loss of his body heat. Talaith pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. His long hair slid across her bare skin, sending her heart racing, while he sat up.

“Fine. The sooner I get you back to my den, the sooner we can work this out.”

Back to his den? Well that didn’t sound too good. “Work out what?” Her teeth started chattering again and he glared at her in annoyance.

He relit the dead pitfire with a blast of flame. “What do you think?” Absently he lifted his head and sniffed the air. He smiled. “Stay here.”

Then he was up and disappearing into the forest.

With a shake of her head, she grabbed her discarded nightdress—struggling hard not to imagine him slipping it off her body while she slept—and tugged it back on.

Forcing herself up and moving, Talaith put more wood and twigs on the pitfire. She could be wrong, but she wondered if those really were screams and war cries she heard off in the distance. She couldn’t be sure, so she decided not to worry about it since the sound never came closer.

Eventually the dragon returned. He had a large satchel over his shoulder and a beautiful black dress in his hand.

“Here. See if this fits. I can’t stand you in that hideous nightdress anymore.”

She glanced down at herself. “Besides the dirt—which I blame on you—what exactly is wrong with it?”

“It’s dull and plain and boring. All the things you are not. So take it off and put this on. At least this will keep you warmer until we can get you better clothes.”

Talaith took the dress from him. Made of the finest wool, she’d guess it cost more gold than all her dresses put together. Still, her rescuer had no pockets whether dragon or man, so where did he get this from?

“Where did you find this dress?”

He pointed back where he’d come from. “Caravan on the road.”

Talaith shuddered. Now she knew those screams had been all too real. “Are you telling me you killed the girl whose dress this is?”

“No. That’s not what I’m telling you. She ran away screaming. As did her rather plump handmaidens. The soldiers with her, though—”

She held her hand up. “Please don’t.”

“Don’t feel bad for them. They’re enemies of my brother’s mate…I think. Maybe. Anyway, it was like two birds…one stone.”

When she only stared at him, he held up the satchel. “Hurry and get changed so you can eat. They had bread and cheese.”

Sighing, Talaith placed the dress down carefully and proceeded to turn her back to the dragon and remove her nightdress. Once naked, she quickly scooped the dress back up and hastily put it on, knowing the dragon watched her every move.

She tied the bodice and turned to face the dragon. “Well?”

He smiled warmly. And for the first time ever, Talaith felt beautiful. “Much better.”

She reached for the nightdress, intent on washing it as soon as she could manage, but a small blast of fire beat her to it, destroying the garment in seconds.

She looked at the dragon, one eyebrow raised. “Was that really necessary?”

He shrugged. “I really hated that nightdress.”

“I think I’m grasping that.”

* * *

She was hungry. That’s what she said. Even after the bread and cheese. So, a few hours into their flight, he landed in a clearing and now they walked through the forest toward a town so they could get her food. And the entire time she kept talking. Constantly.

Mostly it was complaining. But some of it was observations about everything. Constantly.