A Throne of Ruin (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #2)(30)

He lay on his knees and forearms with his head down. “What the fuck were those beasts thinking shoving my dick between your teeth and twisting my ballsack? My cock and balls are on fucking fire. Your kick crippled me, I think. How’s your pussy?”

This guy’s mood could sure pivot.

“Still mostly numb, I think. It’s a little sore but not throbbing yet. It’s also leaking our combined orgasms. So that’s unpleasant for me.”

He groaned and dropped his head a little more. “I enjoyed it, too. I’ve wanted to thrust into you since you left your family to save them and stared me down in the wood. Your fearlessness, your bravery, the feel of your animal, your smell… I wanted to lay you down right there and have my fill.”

He pushed painfully to his feet, holding his junk.

“But it’s not meant to be,” he said.

“I said okay. I hear you.”

He nodded. “I’m also a broody bastard. I don’t make excuses for it. I wasn’t born with charm.”

“That didn’t need to be said.”

“So don’t sass me.” He grinned a little and looked up at the starry sky. “What sort of mess have we gotten ourselves into?”

“A big one?”

He sighed and nodded, finally looking at me again. His eyes and the bond held remorse. “A big one.” He glanced at the sword in my hand. “Why’d you bring that with a demon on your heels if you don’t know how to use it?”

“I stupidly thought a sword wouldn’t be that much different than a dagger. Or that all you really have to do was stick the pointy end in the creature you’re trying to kill.”

“That is all you have to do. It’s just the way in which you do it that matters.”

“Yes, thank you. I hadn’t figured that out when she easily evaded me and then raked her claws down my arm.”

He glanced at the arm in question. “Flesh wound.”

“Yeah. It stings. She could’ve really gored me, but she kept it light.”

“She probably thought she had a prize for the demon king. I wonder what that dead man offered as a trade.”

I wondered the same thing, and it delighted me that he kept referring to Jedrek as a dead man. Any remorse I might have had about unleashing Nyfain on him had dried up after this stunt. The only problem was that I was wary about siccing the beast on someone so popular in the village. The demons would surely hear about it, and they’d probably tattle to those in the castle. It wouldn’t take long before the whole kingdom full of demons knew that Nyfain could now easily slip past the magical barrier and get into the villages. I didn’t want to spoil things for him because of a grudge. I’d have to, annoyingly, tell him to let Jedrek be. It wasn’t like Jedrek could do anything at this point, anyway. As far as the demons were concerned, Nyfain had ownership of me now.

Nyfain hobbled a little until we reached the demon’s lifeless form. He turned her over with his foot and glanced at her face. “I don’t recognize her. She’s low on the hierarchy. She won’t be missed.” He picked her up and threw her deep into the brambles as though she were nothing but a stone. “Come on. Time to fake your death. Your family will know it isn’t real, correct?”

“Hannon will know, yeah. He told me I couldn’t go back. He’ll know why we’re doing this.”

He nodded and backed away from me. Confused, I followed.

“No.” He held out his hand. “You stay there. I need room, or I’ll crush you. The dragon is very big, remember?”

“You just said ‘come on.’ How was I supposed to know you’re about to change into the thing that just took my second virginity?”

Heat kindled through our bond. He muttered something, but I didn’t catch it.

He grew into his massive creature, half as tall as a tree. Dull black scales covered his body like armor. His back sloped down, with longer front legs than back, and a tail ending in wicked spikes. A dragon without wings, ground-bound.

His head bent toward me, mouth open, large teeth staring down at me. Instead of grabbing me in his maw, like before, he inhaled deeply.

“Gross,” I muttered with a scowl. “Save that for my animal. We two-legs don’t do shit like that.”

His teeth clamped over me a little harder than was purely necessary, so I swung and clanged the sword off his armored face. A rumble that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle issued from deep within his chest as he ran toward my village, the branches thwapping me and the wind tossing my hair. In a moment, we were at the edge of the wood. He stopped quickly, and I screamed.

He dropped me to the ground gently and roared—a deep, rumbling, fearsome sound that turned my blood cold and sent a peal of desire working through me. I really needed to sort out my issues involving fear and arousal. He grunted a couple times, snatched me up again, and waited.

I looked out at the quiet village, no candles at all burning near the edges. Given the disturbance earlier, everyone was lying low.

Nyfain shook me, clamping down a little harder. I squeaked and tried to clang him with the sword again.

He wants you to scream, dummy, my animal thought.

“Then loosen up. I can’t breathe,” I wheezed, clanging the sword off him again.

The pinch of his teeth lessened, and I tried to ignore the large tongue pushing up against me. Before, it had been touching me in a functional way, shielding me from the sharpest parts of his lower teeth, but now it moved a little, the tip running against my leg.