To Wake a Dragon - Naomi Lucas Page 0,40
and leaning me back.
“I’m hungry,” I whisper, fussy because he left me empty. Actually, I’m ravenous, suddenly starving. My eyes go to his mouth, wondering if it has something to do with his delicious saliva. “Maybe it’s because you made me feel empty,” I grumble.
“You need food before I can rut you again. Let us get you some food, for both our desires.”
He grabs my hand and tries to lead me back to our camp. I tug. “We need to find a way out of here.”
“Why? Are you not empty? It is safer to rut you at our camp. I can forage for nutrition there and keep an eye on you, female.”
All I want to do is go back to our camp and have him inside me again, but we will not last long if we do. And if he means nutrition as in bugs… “Because we can’t survive down here, not long at least.”
“Of course we can. And we will. There is plenty down here to sustain us—creatures and roots—and I hear a spring deeper within. This is my den, and you are my female, fully seeded. You will bring our young to term here where I can keep you safe. Then I will seed you again until you are done bearing my young.”
His words make me shiver with desire and nervousness. “Humans can’t live in the dark. We’re not made that way. We’re not creatures of darkness. We’re creatures of light.”
His eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
“We live in the sun, and eat… more than just bugs. We need warmth and shelter—more than what this offers—and space. We need all of this and more. I like it here, but it will not sustain us. This cave is too cold for us without hides.”
“I am a dark creature,” he says, and as he does so, I sense darkness rising from the jewel on his brow. Darkness that even I can’t see through with my new sight.
“I feast off of the shadows,” he continues. “They comfort and heal me. I create darkness in return. Here I can be invisible, I will always have the upper hand. We will find a way.”
“We won’t. We need to leave.”
He growls. “So you will leave me? The blush on your cheeks has not even left, and you have proven to be a liar.”
I jerk my hand from his. “I am not a liar. I am being realistic! We must leave and go to my tribe if we want to survive. If we want our children to survive. The jungle is too dangerous for two humans, even if we are lethal!”
“With me there is no danger! I will provide everything. I will take care of you as it should be done.”
“You are no longer a dragon! And I am not that kind of female!”
His nostrils flare, and he steps right up to me. I straighten, meeting him head-on. The tension has returned to us tenfold, but not in the way it was before.
“I am what you have touched, what you are bound to, human.” His voice is low and menacing. “You are mine. You will defer to me.”
I return his scowl. “I won’t be yours for long if you keep me here.” I push past him and storm to my supplies. I hear him following behind me. I drop down, gathering what I can into the remaining pouches and tie them to my waistband. I see my dagger by the dead fire and take that too.
“Female—”
“Milaye. My name is Milaye,” I correct angrily.
“Milaye,” his voice remains grave but softens when I rise to face him again. “You swore.”
“I did.”
His tail wraps around my ankle. “Then let me take care of us.”
“I will.”
Relief floods his eyes.
“But not here,” I say. “I need to get back to my tribe, if possible. I have responsibilities.”
“Haime?”
I tense. Hearing her name pummels me with all sorts of unwanted emotions. “Yes.” I push past him again and head back to the ledge. “Haime. She’s my ward. She… needs me.” I hope she needs me, but only the living have needs. I make it to the ledge and turn around. He’s right behind me. “You can choose to come with me or not.”
“And if I do not?”
I shudder. Just thinking of us splitting apart sends terrible jabs of pain through me. But I can’t stay here, and neither can he. I have to convince him. I peer up at him and inhale.
“You will,” I say, keeping my voice level. “Because I need