Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I shouldn’t be surprised at the possessiveness he’s displaying. He killed Brady, didn’t he? He followed me back to the fort, too. Twice. Of course he’s possessive. I’m his mate in his eyes.
My mouth goes dry and it takes everything I have to finish my sandwich.
The moment I’m done with it, he makes another one of those low noises in his throat and leans in, rubbing his face against mine, dislodging my bandages. He tugs at my clothing again, making it clear that now that I’ve eaten, this is make-out time.
“Wait,” I say, pushing his hand aside. “That’s not what I wanted.”
A fierce frown crosses his face and he leans in again, trying to lick my ear.
I lean so far back I’m practically on the ground, and I realize too late what a bad idea that is. The moment his eyes light up, I yelp and scramble backward, using my elbows to skitter away from him.
Jurik jumps to his feet, his expression incensed. His eyes flare black for a moment, and the pit of my stomach drops.
“Jurik?” I ask hesitantly. “Are you okay?”
The dragon-man storms away, and before I can ask anything else, he shifts forms and then the enormous golden dragon takes to the air.
I stare in shock at the retreating golden wings. What the hell just happened?
18
RACHEL
I don’t know what I did, but somehow I’ve pissed Jurik off and made him leave. I stare at the sky for a long moment, thinking maybe he just needed to stretch his legs, but no, he’s really gone.
The realization leaves me hollow.
Out of all the choices I had before me, pissing off the dragon wasn’t one of them. I don’t know what I did wrong, and a little part of me hurts that I’ve driven him away somehow. Mostly, though, I’m just terrified of what’ll happen now. I can get on my bike and return to Fort Dallas…and then what? Azar won’t let me back into the program, I suspect. I’ll be forced to return to working for Tinker, or worse. Lord Azar might get mad that I thwarted his plans of recruiting another dragon and take it out on Jenny and Manda as it is. I don’t know how he’s going to react if I don’t come back with a dragon in tow.
My mouth trembles, and I feel for a long, stupid moment like I want to cry.
Crying does no good, though. It won’t fix this situation or the prickly nature of the dragon. It won’t make Jurik come back. Sure, he was overly affectionate and handsy, but he seemed to be oddly caring in his own way. He’d rubbed his face against my bandages and didn’t seem to care about my scars…or my stump. I touch the bandages now hanging limply from my cheek and peel them off, tossing them into the nearby bushes. My face hurts, but my pride hurts even more.
What am I going to do now?
Before I can come up with a plan, something massive crashes to the ground in front of me. I yelp in surprise, jumping to my feet, and scramble for my knife. To my surprise, it’s a dead cow, and the dragon lands behind it a split second later, tucking his wings close.
He lowers his head, eyes whirling gold and black, and watches me, waiting.
He’s feeding me.
Oh. I remember Azar saying something about feeding. About how dragons feed their mates. I smack my palm against my forehead because of course he got all turned on—I gave him my sandwich.
He thinks I’m feeding him because I want to get frisky.
“I’m sorry,” I say to Jurik, taking a few steps forward. I carefully avoid the poor dead cow and move toward him, unafraid. I lift my hand in the air and he eagerly moves toward it, pushing his snout against my hand. “I misunderstood. I have a feeling that’s going to happen a lot in the next while.”
He rumbles low in his chest, the sound thunderous, and his eyes close with pleasure as I caress his scaly nose. Then I’m caressing nothing but air, because Jurik transforms again and stalks to my side. He’s all golden frame and bulging muscles, and I definitely stare longer than I should.
If I’m forced to be with a guy, I suppose I should be grateful it’s one as gorgeous as him. Even so, the whole situation bothers me. I don’t want to be forced to choose anyone. I don’t want to be shoved into his arms because it suits Lord Azar’s needs. I want to like Jurik first, and right now everything still feels so new.
Jurik gives me an eager look, pulling me toward the dead cow and waiting.
Oh boy. I stare at the dead thing, knowing I can’t refuse. What am I supposed to do with an entire steer? At least, I think it’s a steer and not a cow, judging from the horns and lack of udders. I touch one of the horns delicately, and then wrinkle my nose. “Um…”