Darkblood Prison - G.K. DeRosa Page 0,67

big guy actually squirmed.

I stopped and batted at the canvas until its mad swinging stilled. Pivoting toward him, I confirmed what I thought I’d seen. His lower lip was snagged between his teeth and his eyes refused to meet mine. Was he nervous? I’d never seen the guy so uncomfortable in my life.

I stalked closer and pinned him to the wall. “Then why are you acting so squirrely?”

He barreled by me, his bare shoulder bumping mine and sparks stirred across my skin. A hiss escaped through his clenched lips, but he didn’t stop until he reached the opposite side of the room.

What the devilish dragons was that?

Talon grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, splashed some on his face, then chugged the rest of it. Chucking it in the recycle bin, he turned to me. “Let’s try to get that magic out of you, all right?”

“Okay…” I nodded and moved closer. “How do you plan on doing that exactly?”

“It’s better you don’t know.”

A silver haze lifted from the ground, surrounding Talon in a shimmering mist. His leathery wings snapped out and a guttural growl broke the silence.

I had a pretty good idea where he was going with this.

His barbed tail coiled around his legs as silver scales crawled up his shoulders and torso. Was he seriously going to dragon-out in the middle of this training room? I stared up at the vaulted ceiling, trying to calculate if a full-size dragon would fit or if he’d send the ancient walls tumbling down on us. I’d never seen Talon’s shifted form but judging by his human size I was betting he was pretty damn huge.

He stalked toward me and a breath of relief slid through my clenched lips. Half-dragon wasn’t that bad.

He swiped his tail at me, and the prickly barbs raked over my calf. “Ow!” I squealed. Dammit. Spoke too soon.

“Come on, let’s go,” he snarled, beckoning me forward with a clawed finger. His talons extended at least six inches from his thick fingertips. Talon… I almost laughed out loud. So that’s where his parents got his name. “What’s so funny, inmate?”

I lunged, and the bottled-up energy exploded across my veins. I threw a quick jab, followed by an uppercut and a roundhouse and landed all three hits. “Yes!” I pumped my fist triumphantly. Leaving myself open.

A clawed hand raked at my face, and I barely ducked in time. “What the hell, Talon? You almost got me.”

“I’m not holding back,” he growled, his voice more animal than human. “You shouldn’t either.”

I dropped down and kicked my leg out, trying to sweep his out from under him but he leapt up. His wings caught some air, and he floated down like a graceful freakin’ pixie.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that to get me down.”

I assumed my battle stance as he landed, his reptilian eyes piercing. He stalked forward, his bare feet smacking the cement and my elevated heart rate matched their tempo. When he was less than a yard away, he jumped up and propelled himself forward with a few massive wing flaps.

“Not fair!” I screeched as his ginormous body pummeled into me and pinned me to the ground.

“What are you going to do now, inmate?” Talon’s fangs lengthened, his hot breath swirling between us. He straddled me, his thighs clamped around mine.

“Get off me!” I threw all my power into my palms as I shoved him in the chest. My hands slid right off his sweaty skin.

My mark flared to life, a deep purple hue filling the space between us.

Talon only pressed down harder, boring all his weight down on me. His corded arms caged me in, and I was trapped between his rock-hard biceps. His face hovered over mine, barely a millimeter between us. He inched closer and scraped his fang over my top lip. “Ow,” I whimpered. I jerked beneath him, but he only tightened his legs around me. The metallic scent of blood drifted up my nostrils. His tongue snaked out and brushed over my swollen lip.

I glanced up to meet a pair of burning silver irises. Talon’s pupils were nothing more than tiny slits. I sucked in a ragged breath as his eyes seared into mine. The blood in my veins buzzed, my heart jackhammering against my ribcage.

A steady throb bashed against my chest, meeting each erratic beat with every inhale. It took me a second to realize it was coming from Talon. My brows slammed together as I scrutinized his enigmatic gaze.

He shifted