To Tame a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,11

again and released a deep growl.

That growl was cut short when he sneezed hard enough to double him over. The sting in his sinuses increased tenfold.

“Human,” he snarled as he straightened—but he overcompensated and staggered backward. His tail swung wildly to the side, further endangering his balance, but his arms were suddenly heavy when he threw them out to counteract his tail. Through willpower alone, he forced one of his feet forward. It came down hard, as though it weighed as much as a mountain. His head, in contrast, felt as light as a cloud.

He forced his eyes onto the human as he stumbled and fell to one knee. “What…have you…”

She leaned forward and cautiously crawled closer, keeping just out of his reach. “You will only sleep. I will watch over you.”

Falthyris released a huff, reaching inwardly for his heartfire, for his fury. He would not succumb to this human twice. But his fire didn’t come. Drawing upon all his remaining strength, he lunged toward her.

He landed face first on the ground, right where the grass and sand mingled. Fortunately, the void swallowed him, snuffing out his awareness before he could be crushed by his own shame.

Elliya’s heart pounded as she stared at the male sleeping on the ground in front of her. “I…did it.”

She’d claimed and mated a dragon.

If not for the tenderness between her legs and his still-wet seed on her thighs, she would have thought this a dream.

When he’d first thrust into her, it had hurt, but she’d expected that, had braced herself for it. But she hadn’t anticipated the pleasure that had come during their mating.

Or that he’d attack her when it was done.

She frowned as she ran her eyes over his body. After he’d gifted her his seed, he’d curled around her almost reverently, holding her close. Though that had been surprising, she’d drawn comfort from it, and had relished the feel of his heavy weight atop her, his heat baking into her, and his cock filling her. It had felt so right.

All that had fled in an instant when he’d looked at her with such…fury.

She didn’t understand. They were bonded, mated, and she could feel her connection with this male like it were a physical thing in her chest. All the old stories about dragons spoke of such bonds, of the dragons being fiercely protective of their females—of their unwavering devotion.

So why had he been about to attack her?

After wiping her hands on the damp grass to clean away any lingering sleeper dust, Elliya crawled closer to the dragon and hesitantly ran her fingertips over the arch of his outstretched wing. When he didn’t react, she moved closer still to touch the leathery flesh that spanned the gaps between the relatively thin, fingerlike parts sweeping down from that arch. While the rest of his body was hard, scaled, and just a little rough, his wing was soft and supple, like a finely cured hide.

She carefully lifted his wing and folded it against his back. It moved smoothly and easily, belying the immense strength she was sure it held.

Her frown deepened when she noticed his face was pressed into the grass. Slipping her hands beneath him, she lifted, meaning to roll him over. He didn’t budge on her first attempt. How could one person be so heavy?

She shifted her legs to provide herself a firmer base, gritted her teeth, and tried again, grunting with the exertion. His body remained lax in his slumber, one arm dangling as she finally rolled him onto his side.

Elliya had only seen a few males in her lifetime, one of whom was a but a boy and another only a baby. This one was unlike any of them, and it wasn’t merely the scales, claws, wings, horns, and tail that set him apart. He was bigger than anyone she’d ever seen, built large and strong, with broad, powerful shoulders and muscles that were well defined despite the scales covering his body. He was nothing like human males. He was…more.

He was hers.

She trailed her eyes farther down his body to his groin. His long, thick, scaled appendage had partially retreated into his slit. She bit her bottom lip and shifted her legs again, rubbing her thighs together and feeling her core clench. He made her feel strange. He…aroused her.

She’d only ever felt inklings of pleasure when she touched herself, but they had always vanished as quickly as they had come. Those sensations didn’t come close to what this male made her