Screaming in exasperation, she turned away from him. He couldn’t hear what she muttered, but he really didn’t care.
“Let’s be off. I want to get a few more leagues between us and that den of vipers you lived with before the suns go down.”
“You’re really insisting I go with you, aren’t you?”
“Of course. You’ll be safer with me.”
“And how can I be sure of that?”
Briec walked over to her. Gently gripping her shoulders, he said, “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
“But you won’t let me go either.”
“Where exactly would you go? Clearly you’re from Alsandair. I can tell by your color.” He reached up and caressed her cheek, startling her. But he couldn’t help himself. She had the most beautiful brown skin he’d ever seen. Flawless, even when outright cranky. “Do you have family here? Friends? Anyone who cares for you within a thousand leagues of this place?”
She tried to turn her face away at his words, but he wouldn’t let her. “Trust me. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. And we’ll at least get you some decent clothes.”
“Fine.”
He stared at her, but her face revealed nothing. She’d taken control of her emotions and hidden any feeling she had. She was good at that.
Realizing he’d gotten the most out of her he could, Briec walked away. When he was at a safe enough distance, he chanted the old spell of his people and his body shifted. He went from man to dragon in moments. She stared at him, looking duly horrified. It was no longer dragonfear. No, she simply found him a monster. He’d somehow have to get her over that.
With that last thought swirling through his brain, Briec the Mighty did something he never thought he’d do. He lowered himself to the ground as much as possible.
“Climb up.”
Her eyes widened. “Climb up? Where?”
Briec sighed, annoyed he’d even think of allowing this. “On my back. Grab hold of my hair and climb up.”
“Can’t we walk? Or a brisk run is always nice.”
“Woman, don’t test me.”
She glanced desperately around the forest, apparently looking for that last way out. But he didn’t give her one.
“Unless you’d like to make our journey wrapped in my tail—”
Her head snapped around. “No!” she yelped.
“Then climb.”
After another long pause, she finally walked over to him. With a deep sigh, she grabbed hold of his hair and hauled herself onto his back. She actually tried to sit sidesaddle. And he knew why. Except for that dagger she kept on her, she was nak*d under her nightdress.
“That won’t work, little human. You’ll need to straddle me.” He heard her quiet moan of despair and fought back a laugh. Normally he would never revel in someone else’s discomfort. But he knew what she was hiding as soon as she straddled his back. He felt it against his scales as if it were human skin she rested upon.
The woman was wet. Evidently she liked a good fight. Of course, so did he, when he found a worthy opponent.
Add in that heady scent of lust, and Briec knew he’d made the right decision.
She was his…until he was done with her.
Smiling, he unfurled his wings and took to the skies. All the while enjoying the feel of his little human clinging desperately to his back and hair, even as she insisted on squealing like a frightened mare.
Chapter Four
Arzhela, the goddess of Light, Love and Fertility, glowered down at the lowered head of her priestess.
“What do you mean he took her?”
She heard the woman swallow before she answered. “He took her.”
“Who took her?” And to be quite honest, she feared the response.
“A grotesque beast. A demon from the underworld. A blight upon—”
“Do not test me, Mer’lle!” the goddess’ voice boomed across the temple built in her honor.
The woman trembled, and Arzhela reminded herself a frightened priestess was a useless one.
“Tell me what the villagers said, Mer’lle.”
“It was a…dragon. A silver dragon, my goddess.”
Arzhela turned from her priestess and stared at the gold statue made in her image. She took a deep breath and sent a silent call to her brothers and sisters, gods and goddesses of this world, to keep an eye out for her little protégé. She couldn’t afford to lose Talaith now. She’d invested too much in the human, using her best priestesses to train her. Prepare her.
The time had finally come when she was to call on Talaith to perform her sacred duty. In fact, Arzhela would have called on her within the next week. Because after the coming full moon, another moon would follow. Among her pantheon, it was the time of darkness and despair. The time when a dark evil would force her priestesses to build up their protections around the villages while keeping all other Magicks and spellcasting to a minimum. Because it was the night the power of the dragon gods would reign supreme upon the land. To the dragon gods’ brethren, the Moon of the Black Fire was a mighty and sacred time when their powerful witches worked their strongest Magicks. And a time that one of the dragon gods had been looking forward to for centuries. She knew all he needed was finally in alignment. All he wanted at the ready. Unless she could stop him. Unless she could destroy his plans. Which meant she must have that viper-tongued little rodent back.
And, if she had to, she’d rip the land apart until she found her.
* * *
It took them much longer than Briec anticipated to get to the next safe place he knew of on this route. By the time he decided to land, both the suns had set and he knew his little human must be freezing. He could hear her chattering teeth over the howling wind.
His feet touched solid ground as he landed, trying not to jar her anymore than necessary. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that she’d plastered herself to his back with her face buried against his neck. She’d dug her hands into his hair, her fingers clinging to big handfuls of the silver strands. She didn’t even look up, instead choosing to tighten her legs around him…if that were physically possible. The woman had remarkably strong thighs.
He liked that.
“We’re here.”
“I don’t care,” she raged into his neck, her entire body trembling.
“Are you going to stay like that?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Forever.”
Now why did he like the sound of that? Quickly, Briec pushed that ridiculous thought out of his head. “Listen—”
“No. I’m not moving. Ever. Again.”
“As you wish.”
“You keep saying that like you mean it.”
Briec stifled a laugh and, remembering something his sister taught him many years before, cast a quick flame-protection spell around the girl. It was slight and would only last mere seconds, he thought for sure she wouldn’t even notice, but her body stiffened and she said, “What are you up to anyway?”
Flames surrounded the pair and he shifted back to his human form, smiling at the fact he had this beautiful woman straddling his nak*d ass. He crossed his arms and rested his head on them, wondering how long it would take her to notice.
For nearly two minutes she didn’t say a word. Then she moved around a bit, and her bare sex—hot and hungry—ground into his cheeks.
She gasped in horror and finally sat up straight. “What in holy—”
“I thought you weren’t moving?”
“You tricky bastard. I knew I felt you cast a spell.”
“Just a minor one. I’m surprised you even sensed it.”
Her hands still tangled up in his long hair, he had enough room to turn over. Which he did quickly, before she could bolt off.
Briec caught her around the waist and pulled her tight against him, her p**sy rubbing against his now healthy erection.
Panicked, she tried to get her hands untangled from his hair, but she seemed to be having quite a time of it.
“Let me go,” she demanded as she yanked one hand and realized she still had his hair.
Wincing from the pain of that pull, he challenged, “I can’t let you go. Because you’ve still got me.” As he made the statement, making sure to sound sad and at a loss, he ground his h*ps up between her thighs.
This time she pulled his hair on purpose. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry. Accident.”
“It was not.” After a few more desperate struggles, she held her hands up in triumph. She’d finally untangled herself from his hair. But when she tried to jump off his lap, he tightened his grip on her waist.
“You’re not going to leave me like this, are you?”
“I most certainly am!”
* * *
What the hell was going on? No man—or in this case male—had ever pursued her like this before. And he was pursuing her. With every look. Every word. Every devious thrust. And, to be quite honest, she had no idea how to handle it.
Talaith had loved only one man before and lost him at sixteen. After, they handed her over to the one she now called “husband”. Since that man knew she was his as wife, he never bothered pursuing her. She had a feeling he wouldn’t have appreciated it one bit if he’d been forced to either. Yet the more she fought the dragon, the more he seemed to be enjoying himself.
True, she could just give herself to him and get it over with. But something, that inner voice that had never steered her wrong all these many long years, told her she’d never recover from her time spent in this dragon’s bed. And did dragons even have beds? Would she have to mate with him on the cave floor? None of that sounded very comfortable.
“This isn’t fair.”
“What does fair have to do with anything?”
“I’m tired and freezing. I can’t fight you right now.”
“Why does everything between us need to be a fight?”
Because she enjoyed it? No. Probably not a good idea to say that. She’d never get rid of him then. She could tell he liked their fighting just as much.
Shaking her head in exasperation, she snapped, “Everything between us? What are you talking about? We’ve known each other since this morning.” She slapped at his tightening hands on her waist. “Stop that!”
Talaith pushed hard against his chest, but his arms wouldn’t budge. Still, she kept trying. And, finally bored with the struggle she assumed, he released her. Since she didn’t expect that, Talaith shoved herself backward and landed hard on the ground.
“Ow!”
He didn’t even apologize as he sat up, staring down at her. Was he angry? She guessed not when he began to speak to his erection.
“I know. I can’t believe she left us like this either. Cruel wench, isn’t she?”
After the long, frightening, horrible day she had, this was not remotely how she expected to end it. And, against her will, she smiled.
“Look. Now she’s laughing at us.”
Desperately fighting a bout of laughter, she ordered, “Stop talking to it.”
He shrugged. “Well you won’t talk to him…and he’s feeling awfully lonely. And I think you hurt his feelings.” Then he made it bounce twice in agreement.