To Wake a Dragon - Naomi Lucas Page 0,15

nourish me.

The female examines it, making me shiver. Pleasure stokes my lust and my need to mate grows.

Then I see her.

Her form is blurred in the impermeable darkness my body has created. I can only make out some of her features, and my eyes trail across them as curiously as her hands on me.

She is dirty. There are smudges of dust from the cave-in all over her skin. I inhale again, searching for the scent of blood through the heady aroma of her natural scent, and find it. I do not like that I smell it, finding I am worried for her—and that perturbs me further. I should not care whether she is hurt or not, but I do.

My fingers shake. I care. A lot.

She is moving. She cannot be hurt that badly. The thought does not give me comfort.

I search her face and what I can see of her body, but I do not see the wound. Wherever it is, it is hidden from me. My eyes retreat to her face, and this time, I take the time to study it.

I have never been this close to a human before. In my prime, I saw them from afar, peering down at them from the skies. They ran and screamed as I burned down their villages. Despite my mischief, I have never been close enough to discern the delicacies of their features.

Though the darkness stole the human’s coloring, I can tell she has dark eyes and dark hair, which is long, straight, and pulled away from her face to hang in a messy cinch over her shoulder. Long enough that if it were not tied back, it would be flooding over me, tickling my skin. There are things in her hair as well—feathers perhaps? Or shells? I cannot be certain at my angle.

She is wearing coverings over her chest. Leather, I assume. Animal hide? But perhaps sewn grass. It reminds me how frail humans are and that I lack my own coverings.

There are bands on her arms and wrists, and what I suspect are weapons attached to her body. Beneath them, her body appears smooth and healthy.

Except for the blood I smell.

Her eyes stare aimlessly into the dark, and I enjoy the fact that she cannot see me studying her. But many of her features remain distorted despite my ability.

I discover something odd… I wish to see more.

I am forever bonded to this creature, I remind myself. Any intelligent being would be curious to know more, to learn who they are chained to.

The female’s fingers leave my jewel and discover my horns. Horns! I am also thrilled to have retained these. Horns that I will use to protect us.

My desire to take her and mate catapults inside me. Blood rushes to my loins, becoming excruciating.

I hear her gasp, and it burns. Her hands pull away from me, and I miss their touch immediately.

What I would do if I could move… Take her hands and place them back on me. No… I would do more than that. I would pull her into my arms, bury my nose to her neck, and cover her body with mine.

I practically pant at the thought.

Her breathing labors to match my thundering heart, and I know she is as affected by the bond as I am. I can feel her want for me echo back.

Thankfully, her hands return to my body to probe at my chest. Pleasure jolts me, but her fingers do not remain there long. They are moving down, down, down… They reach my pelvis, and I hold my breath. My shaft rests hard and ready on my thigh. Her fingers slow but stay away from my root, frustrating me. They brush against it—stars fill my vision—but they jerk away and move down my thighs.

And then they are gone, down my legs, searching for wounds I know are not there. Torture and bliss all at once. I vow to make her feel the same once I am free of this poisonous trap… A growl escapes my lips, though it comes out as another groan.

Her perusal ends at my feet, but then grows strangely wild when she finds one of my tails. She finds the other one soon after.

They are limp in her hand.

She finally lifts her hands from me, and this time, does not return them, but at least she moves back up that I may view her again. She gazes into the void, unseeing. She brings her hands to her lips, where she