To Tame a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,16

hands on his thighs as he caught his breath and waited for the pounding in his head to subside.

Expelling a huff of fire, he paced across the sand, snarling whenever his ungainly feet lost purchase and his balance was threatened. His cock throbbed, and seed continuously dripped from its tip. It was so overly sensitive that even the feel of the air against it was painful. He refused to touch it again, refused to debase himself further.

He halted his pacing only when he neared those pieces of fallen stone, slashing them with his claws, striking them with fists and feet, and heaving them across the chamber. That they still cracked and broke under his blows provided little consolation; no matter how much of his strength he retained, he was still trapped in this unwanted body.

And the one who’d forced him into this shape, his female, was still at the river. She was alone, armed only with a stone-headed spear while the red comet was in the sky and its curse worked the world’s beasts into a mating frenzy.

I left my mate alone and undefended.

The mating bond constricted around his heartfire, nearly snuffing it out, and Falthyris stumbled. He slapped a hand onto a nearby stone to keep himself upright, chest and shoulders heaving. The guilt and alarm he’d just felt…he’d not experienced their like in ages, if ever at all. The closest to this feeling had been when the comet first appeared and tore the world—and his life—to pieces.

“No,” he growled, shoving away from the stone.

The human was the guilty party, she was the one who’d wronged him, and she should have considered herself fortunate that he’d not yet exacted vengeance upon her. The human had stolen from Falthyris. That could not be excused. If she were mauled or devoured by a blood-maddened beast, that was simply the universe delivering retribution for her crime.

And yet the very thought of some creature attacking her made his heart quicken and his loins tighten, producing a sinking feeling in his gut.

He needed to return to her now. He needed to ensure she was safe, needed to protect her from the world and the many dangers it posed to beings as small and weak as humans. He needed to be at her side and—

Fires of rage swelled within him, briefly beating back the Heat and his mating bond. Falthyris turned the renewed surge of fury on one of the larger rocks, tearing it apart chunk by chunk amidst a torrent of blows, roaring throughout. His throat burned as his roar echoed off the walls of his lair, building upon itself to envelop him.

And despite its power, that roar was but a ghostly echo of what it had once been—just like Falthyris himself.

6

Elliya stood in the shallows, washing away days’ worth of sweat, dirt, and sand from her body as she listened to the distant roars. She knew those sounds were coming from her mate. What other creature would be throwing such a childish temper tantrum right now?

She snorted as she cleaned her tender sex. Had she traded one spoiled male for another?

“None of the stories mentioned dragons acting like children who have been denied their favorite playthings,” she muttered.

She didn’t understand his anger, didn’t understand what he thought she’d done to him. He had come to her.

Perhaps the Red Star was affecting his mind as much as his body? It wasn’t as though she had denied him access to her, it wasn’t as though she’d pushed him away. He’d used her body to gain the relief he so clearly needed, but then he’d ranted and raged at her. He seemed to have been more keen on killing her than mating her.

Another series of roars sounded in the distance.

Well, at least I know he is not far.

She lifted a hand to touch her chest. There was a coldness there, a tightness, that made her heart ache and subtly sought to pull her toward her dragon.

“Insolent, insignificant insect?” She sneered as she stomped out of the river. “You are little more than a domineering, rude, overgrown lizard. Ha! Yes, a lizard.”

Elliya would be sure to call him that next time.

Wet skin pebbling in the cool night air, she tied on her loincloth, slipped on her sandals, and donned her robe, grumbling as the moisture made the fabric cling to her in several places. Such petty things did not normally bother Elliya, but she was exhausted both mentally and physically. A quick assessment of the stars in