and hauls them up.
They spit at him and struggle, but at no time are they afraid of him. (Afraid of me, yes, at least initially. But not of their mate.)
Nalle seems shellshocked as she watches her brother haul one woman over his shoulder and spank his hand against her flank, making her scream obscenities. To his other female, he smirks and crooks a finger.
Mutely, she slinks up to him—and Nalle’s eyes go wide when her brother leans down and roughly takes the woman’s mouth.
Her fingers dig into his sides and they only break apart because the woman draped over his shoulder smacks him on his hindcheek.
“When my sister leaves, I’m going to make you apologize properly for that,” Nalle’s brother warns/promises his woman. He turns and carries her out of the hut, keeping his other woman secured by linking her fingers between his.
I like the look of the hold. I reach out to Nalle and knit our fingers just the same.
Nalle glances at me sharply, but then her expression softens, and she sends me an overwhelmed smile.
When all of Nalle’s brother’s harem is where he wants them to be, he turns to his sibling and places his hands on her small shoulders. “I think you’ve picked up on the fact that I want to stay here.”
Nalle blinks up at him, reluctance warring with a bit of disbelief and a lot of shock.
“I’m happy here, Nalle. I can see you’re struggling to understand how that is, but just trust me. I have this all well in hand.”
“In damned ropes, more like it,” one of his women mutters behind him.
His grin flashes for us to see, but his voice sounds dangerously low and full of warning when he responds without glancing back, “I told you what would happen if you spoke without permission.”
The woman’s eyes flash like a scorpion—all sting and killer glare—but the woman’s scent thickens with arousal.
Nalle shudders, making her brother chuckle and pull her to his chest for a quick hug. Then he releases her and looks to me. “So. You say you’re Nalle’s… man.”
“I am,” I say firmly. My gaze is locked with his.
“He’s a dragon,” Nalle shares.
“I gathered that from the scales,” her brother says. To me, he levels a dead-serious look. “You’ll treat her well?”
A woman who’s plucking at the knot situated between her forearms mutters, “Like you’re one to talk, you sadist—”
Nalle’s brother clucks his tongue and wags his finger at her, making her drop the knot and hiss.
“You don’t seem surprised that a dragon can turn into a man,” Nalle informs her sibling.
“That’s because I’m not.” He gestures to his harem. “My ladies are full of stories.”
“You don’t even look surprised that I’m mated to a dragon,” Nalle continues.
Her sibling winces. “I’ve kind of got a lot going on right now, Nalle. And a lot of those things are tied up at the moment.”
His women grumble, making him stifle a grin.
“Aren’t you…” Nalle starts before she stops and shakes herself as if chilly water has spilled down her neck. “How long do you think you can service this many women all by yourself?”
Her brother scratches his puffed chest. “I manage them rather well, believe me.”
“Arrogant dick,” one woman behind him mutters.
His head whips around. “What was that? Maybe we need to put that mouth to good use.”
Nalle shudders beside me again, and I wonder why.
Then she’s straightening and seems to be coming to terms with something. “So… we’re leaving you here?”
Her brother smiles gently at her. “This is where I want to be.”
***
After Nalle exchanges hugs with her sibling, with her looking as if she’s still half stunned, we leave the Qippik tribe, walking past their silent huts on our way to the plains where I’ll shift and fly us out. I don’t tell Nalle, but I spent a considerable amount of attention on the rope configurations I spied among her brother’s harem. I like how quiet this kept his females as they busily tried to pluck themselves free, and I think Nalle’s clanswomen could benefit from being tied up too. I’ll be sure to tell my brothers this when I lead them to our camp.
I feel no guilt at the idea of feeding my brothers to Nalle’s clan. I’m looking forward to it. “Your sibling looks well,” I say to my mate.
“I guess he is.”
“He seems happy.”
“He looks it,” she mutters.
I catch her by the chin, tilting her face up to peer down into her eyes. “Why aren’t you pleased? You worried for