To Tame a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,19

she grabbed the first thing her groping hands could find—a fist-sized rock—and rolled onto her backside to face her attacker.

The shorelurker dug its legs into the sand and launched itself at her, water flying off its body in a fine mist.

A dark figure plummeted from the sky, landing directly atop the shorelurker and slamming the creature onto the ground with a wet crunch.

Elliya’s breath caught in her throat, and her eyes rounded farther as her mind struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. Her dragon stood before her in his human shape, one foot planted on the shorelurker’s tail, pinning the beast to the ground. His wings were spread wide, his pale hair hanging about his face, and fire glowed in his muscular chest, but it was the light of his blue eyes that commanded Elliya’s attention.

The shorelurker’s chitters and shrieks seemed distant and unimportant now.

The dragon bent down and jabbed a clawed hand under the shorelurker’s carapace. He yanked upward, still holding the tail down with his foot. The action seemed to require little effort on his part, and the cracking, squelching sounds of the creature being torn apart were thankfully brief.

Snarling, the dragon straightened and tossed the bloody carapace aside. His eyes, so intense, so ancient, had not left Elliya. Under the light of the Blood Moon, his scales were rose gold, so much softer in color than the ember orange illuminating his chest. Standing over her like this, his muscles taut and wings spread, he was intimidating, majestic…arousing.

Elliya’s eyes dipped to the next most obvious focal point—his loins. His cock was erect, its ridges glistening in the moonlight, and its head was straining toward her. The memory of its feel, of that fullness, flashed through her mind, flooding her veins with a heat to rival his. The ache between her legs pulsed, and she clamped her thighs together.

The dragon’s nostril’s flared, his tongue flicked out, and a low growl sounded in his chest. He closed the distance between them in a single stride. The heat radiating from him sent an anticipatory shiver through Elliya. He’d only mated her once, and she wanted more, more, more.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth when he loomed over her. Hunger gleamed in his eyes. Her skin tingled, ready for his touch, ready for him.

He bent down and scooped her up, cradling her against his chest with one arm behind her back and the other under her knees.

For a few moments, Elliya couldn’t think past her confusion. This was touching, yes, but not the sort she craved—not the sort he needed. Though she did not even know his name—or whether he had one to begin with—she knew by his fiery heat, his throbbing shaft, and the tension in his muscles that her dragon needed release.

She longed to give him that release, it wasn’t merely because of the mating bond that had woven itself into her heart, driving her toward him, urging her to fulfill his every need. She wanted to pleasure him, wanted to run her hands over his scaled flesh, to taste him with her tongue. And she wanted to be pleasured by him in return.

He carried her to the river, his steps hurried, heavy, and a little unsteady. Without a word, he plunged into the water until Elliya was submerged up to her neck. The current swept away the dirt and sweat from her skin and clothing.

“Thank you,” she said as he walked ashore.

The dragon growled and shook himself, snapping his wings out to shed the water from them.

Elliya settled her hand over his chest. Heat radiated into her palm, and she felt the steady, strong beating of his heart. His hold on her tightened, but it wasn’t painful—it was safe, secure, and just a little possessive.

“Dragon, you do not need to—”

Be so stubborn, she’d meant to say, but her words were cut off by a startled cry when he leapt off the ground and flapped his wings, forcing them high into the air.

Elliya’s stomach lurched and twisted into knots. She threw her arms around her dragon’s neck and clung as tight as she could, trying to look anywhere but at the ground, which was increasingly farther away with each pump of his leathery wings. Her stomach fell with every dip as he flew higher and higher.

Unwilling to see just how much empty air was beneath them, Elliya buried her face against his neck. His scent—earth and smoke mixed with something exotic—filled her senses. The dragon’s