Tropical Dragons Series Box Set - Naomi Lucas Page 0,82
all. Let him go,” I plead.
Zaeyr sneers. “Death!” Leith begins choking.
Delina’s crying turns to sobs.
I drop to my knees and grab Zaeyr’s hands on Leith’s throat. “Please,” I beg. “This isn’t how humans react,” I tell him, trying to keep the desperation from my voice. “If you kill him, you and I are done. We are done.” I pull at his hands. “I should’ve told you. It happened when I ran. But I forgot to tell you. I’m sorry.” I see Leith’s eyes begin to water. “He’s a good male, a kind male. A close friend. Do not do this.”
Zaeyr’s hands stiffen, and more smoke pools from his mouth and nostrils, but my words make it through to him. Leith’s coughing returns as Zaeyr’s grip eases. Slowly, he rises and I rise with him.
Delina falls to Leith’s side, crying over him.
Curling into Zaeyr’s side, he wraps an arm around me, and it’s all I can do to not cry as well.
“This way,” one of the scouts says to us, and they shuffle us toward a corner. In my periphery, I see the elders relax where they stand by the wall opposite us. His tail comes up to curl around my leg.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him quietly. “It happened so fast. I didn’t think much of it after you began pursuing me. It meant nothing, nothing.”
His fingers slide into my tousled hair. “I will not kill him… as long as it is nothing.”
“Kill him!” Delina snaps, sniffling. “You’re the one who should die.”
I snarl at her. It’s been years since our last squabble, and I’ve grown so much stronger.
“Stop!” Father yells. Delina clamps her mouth shut. Zaeyr holds me back from attacking her. “We are not acting civilized.” He slides back into his spot at the table, palming his face. “Delina, take Leith away and make sure he gets what he needs for his throat.”
“But—”
“Go!”
I watch as she helps Leith to his feet and they quickly leave the room. The tension recedes once they’re gone. Taking my first full breath since entering, I pull back from Zaeyr, just enough to glimpse his face.
He stares at the door with barely contained murder in his eyes. Swallowing, reaching up, I cup his cheeks and pull his face down to mine, telling him all the things I need to say in my eyes.
When he finally looks at me, he softens, but his words are laced with warning. “You are never to be alone with him again. If he attempts to touch you, he will die. I may not be a dragon anymore, but once we have nested with a female, we are not bothered. Once the seeding has been accomplished, we are left alone. Honor,” he hisses. “Honor is lacking in this room.”
Before he lifts his eyes to the elders, I lean up and kiss him. Zaeyr melts in my hold as he groans and kisses me back—as if everything that had just happened were a bad dream. Soft and desperate and possessive, the kiss is more than just our lips wetting and rubbing against each other. We speak with our motions and so much is said with such a simple action.
Love. My heart expands. I convey it as I did with my eyes, needing him to understand, needing it in return just as much.
Does a dragon love? Does he even know what it is?
Silly questions. I know the answer; I sense his affection and admiration. The warmth of our bond pulsates, grows. My knees weaken. He tangles his hands into my hair and grasps my head. I need our connection as much as he does.
This time together and these moments.
Father coughs and Mother sighs. We finally separate.
Turning, I find them staring at us. Mortification hits and I blush, wiping my lips. But I’m not sorry.
I’ve never given myself away to affection easily, and here I am… Hard Aida falling. Pulling away from Zaeyr’s grasp, I move to the table and sit awkwardly. He joins me at my side completely nonplussed and I kind of hate him for it—jealous of his coolness.
Silence falls as everyone resettles at the table. The two scouts with their spears move to stand stiffly by the door. My heart thunders in my ears.
But my spine straightens, and I level my gaze at those sitting across from me.
Mother eyes Zaeyr questionably.
“You summoned us,” I snap when no one speaks.
Nata frowns. She looks at Zaeyr. “Can you assure us that you will not attack anyone else in this room?”