To Tame a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,49

not can and cannot. You should not venture out alone, regardless of your skills.”

“I traveled to this canyon alone, beneath the Red Star.” She dipped the tip of her stick into the river, rinsing it, before bending forward to wash her hands. “I faced you alone. And I am still here to tell the tale.”

A little over a week ago, that reminder would’ve irritated him. Now, all he could do was recall her courage, her confidence, and take pride in it. “There are no other creatures in this world that will be overcome by a simple touch, Elliya.”

Elliya stood and turned to face him. “It is the females of my tribe who have provided for many, many generations. We take pride in our strength, our skill, and our selflessness to do so. If I cannot do this, then what use am I? Am I to be nothing but a breeder?”

Falthyris closed the distance between them and cradled her face between his hands, staring deep into her dark eyes. “Your value lies within you, not within what you can provide. You will never be anything less than Elliya, and you are already priceless.” He stroked his thumbs over her cheeks. “I am not commanding you to stop hunting. But if you wish to hunt, to fish, to do anything, do so with me.”

She raised her hands, curled her fingers around his wrists, and smiled softly. “Thank you.”

He leaned closer, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to hers. Her scent filled his nostrils, and he breathed it in deeply. Even though his sense of smell was diminished without sampling the air on his tongue, he detected something different about her scent, something subtly altered. It had taken on a new hint of sweetness. It bore a fresh allure, but rather than simply fanning the flames of his desire, it fueled his possessiveness, his need to protect her.

He shifted one hand to the back of her head and dropped the other to her back, leaning forward and lowering her into a dip as he deepened the kiss. Her stomach bumped his shaft, sending a torturous thrill through him.

Elliya made a startled sound that became a muffled laugh against his mouth as she threw her arms around his neck. When he brushed his tongue against her lips, she parted them willingly.

Falthyris could taste that tiny difference, too. He groaned, clutching her a little tighter.

My sweet, delectable mate. Mine.

“Is my dragon in need?” she whispered against his mouth, nipping his bottom lip with her blunt teeth.

He ground his pelvis against her; it was the only response he could provide at that moment apart from a low grunt. His want for her never lessened, and the Heat already had him worked up, but it was that new aspect of her scent clouding his mind now, driving him to take her, to hold her, to never let go. It was her scent, but it was more.

“I wish to do something new,” she said, trailing kisses along his jaw and twirling her tongue around his jaw spikes until she reached his ear. “I wish to taste you, as you have tasted me.”

Falthyris’s tail perked. His breath was ragged and as heated as the desert wind, and his every inhalation only made his heartfire burn hotter. He had never considered what she was proposing, never would have imagined it, given the pointed teeth in a dragon’s mouth, and he was in no state to contemplate the matter. He needed release, yes, but more than anything he needed her.

Before another thought could cross his mind, his mate slipped from his gasp. She dropped to her knees on the riverbank, grasped his cock in her fist, and took him into her hot mouth.

A wave of pleasure blasted out from his shaft at the simple feel of her lips around it. His wings snapped out, their leather skin pulling taut, and he rocked on his heels, thrown off balance by the sudden, overwhelming, unexpected sensation, which was undoubtedly aided by her boldness. His hands instinctually moved to the only place he could grab in search of some stability—her head. He curled his fingers in her hair.

She laughed, her dark eyes flicking up to meet his, and reached around him, grabbing his ass to steady him before returning her attention to his cock. Pulling her head back, she ran her lips and tongue along his length, over every ridge, toward the tiny, sensitive scales at his base.

Seed oozed from his tip, and