Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,20
waist, but my tank top still stood between our heated flesh.
I want her right here, right now…But this is so wrong.
I jumped back as Talon’s deep timbre reverberated in my mind. “What did you just say?” I choked out, my voice a raspy pant.
He was breathing hard too, and a lusty haze clouded his eyes. “I didn’t say anything.”
I smacked my palm to his chest, and he released me. My knees wobbled when I hit the ground, but I managed to cling onto the wall for support. “Yes, you did. In my head.” I pointed at my temple as my brows knitted.
Even in the dim lighting, I noticed his cheeks flush. “Can’t be.” He whipped his head back and forth.
“I know what I heard, Talon. It was just like when you were in your dragon form.”
“But I wasn’t talking to you. I was barely even thinking clearly.”
“Well, you projected something into my mind, and I heard it loud and clear. Something about wanting me right—”
His hand shot up, and a horrified expression twisted his swollen lips. The same lips that were trailing my flesh a hot second ago. “No, it’s not possible.”
“You already said that.” A streak of embarrassment flooded my cheeks. “Wait, could you hear me?”
He shook his head, the crease between his brows deepening to the size of a small crater. “No, and there’s no way you should’ve been able to hear me, not with a simple blood bond. Only dragon mates can hear each other’s thoughts.” He dug his fingers through his mussed-up hair and tugged at the ends.
“Well, it can’t be that because I’m not a dragon. And we’re definitely not mates.”
“You don’t have to be.” His words were so quiet I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to be a dragon to be another dragon’s mate. It’s unlikely, but sometimes it happens across different supernatural species.”
Duh, I knew that. My human aunt was mated to a dragon.
A vein across his forehead pulsated, and I could almost see the gears grinding in his brain. “But it doesn’t make any sense. We didn’t even… Kissing couldn’t have triggered the bond.” He continued mumbling to himself as I pulled my jumpsuit back up. “It has to be something else—anything else.”
A pang of hurt scorched through my insides. A second ago, this guy was mauling me, but the idea of being mated to me was too despicable to consider. I mentally cursed myself for letting my she-demon get the better of me. “Screw you, Talon.” I took off down the tunnel, leaving the dragon douche to figure out our newest drama.
I never should’ve let this happen. Not today of all days. If I wanted to get into the SIA I needed to bring my A-game, and this was not it.
“Azara, wait. Azara, please wait.” Talon sprinted behind me, but I ignored him and broke into a run.
Pumping my arms back and forth, I didn’t look back once. With the slight head start I had, I hoped I could outrun my bulky shadow and avoid another awkward conversation, for now at least.
The archway of sunlight and pristine snow appeared at a short distance, and I sprinted the last few yards. Right before I leapt across the end of the tunnel, thick fingers curled around my upper arm.
“I said wait!” Talon growled and spun me toward him.
I clapped my palms against his chest, but his hold on me only tightened. “Let go!”
“Everything okay?” An unfamiliar voice echoed from just beyond the tunnel exit.
I whipped my head toward the sound to find a tall, young guy with a spikey bright blue mohawk.
“Yes, everything’s fine, Dash.” Talon’s hold on my arm loosened before it fell away all together.
The warlock tugged at the collar of his coat and wrapped his arms tighter around himself. “You ready to get on with this then? It’s colder than a Winter Fae’s cooter out here.”
Talon threw me a sidelong glance which I ignored. “Yes, let’s do this,” I interjected. “I’m with the warlock, it’s cold as eff out here.”
Dash muttered a few words, and the charred scent of magic filled my nostrils. As if called to life with the incantation, my demon’s mark blinked to life. A faint hue leaked from the end of my sleeve. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest to conceal the magical glow. I didn’t know who this warlock was, but I definitely didn’t want him to know who I was.
The whirling winds of the portal spun to life, sending