The urge to strip her down bare twisted my insides and defeated sense. It tugged at my will and taunted the hatred I’dalways carried for humans. Because I craved her more fiercely with every breath, and it didn’t make any fucking sense why.
Her scent was everywhere, calling to me, beckoning me into swifter action. The smell of oranges was the strongest where her thighs were pressed together. It took every bit of my hard-fought control not to force those strong legs apart so I could bury my face between them and suck in long drags of it. Taste her luscious slick. Be the reason she glared fire and ice.
A brutal need grew inside me, and I hadn’t any clue how to combat it. How could a beast who’d never met his equal on the battlefield win against what lived inside him? What could I possibly do to ignore it?
Send her away? Not on her fucking life.
Kill her? Not before I knew what she was.
What then? How did any of this make sense? What sort of power did this creature have over the leader of the Sky Demons without a day passing between them? Was she a witch? A dragon in disguise? A goddess of temptation sent to beguile and enchant before destroying every poor sod in her path?
What the fuck was she?
My eyes trailed back over to her. Her clear-water gaze hadn’t moved from me. She stayed frightfully still with the dagger I’d given her clutched protectively against her chest. And the feeling of pride was back. My dagger was a source of comfort to her, and for some reason, that very notion made me uncharacteristically smug.
“You can’t have it back,” she said out of nowhere.
My eyes widened before I caught myself.
She moistened her lips, holding the dagger tighter, and I couldn’t stop my gaze from tracking the movement of her tongue as it wet her lush bottom lip.
“The dagger,” she clarified, finding her voice with a lift of her chin. She sucked in a breath and leveled those gorgeouseyes on me, her breasts pushing against the ornate handle. “It’s mine now. No take-backs, demon. Surely you must be at least somewhat versed in the rules of my world. If I touch it, it’s mine.”
She was intentionally goading me. Like earlier, she wanted to see how far she could push things. This dangerous little thing was testing boundaries without an ounce of fear, though she pretended well enough that someone without a keen eye might miss the clever calculation.
“Does that stand true for me then, human? Should I find a reason to touch you, would you then become mine?” I couldn’t help but ask, barely keeping my voice level. I’d nearly sounded playful before the correction.
Her mouth opened and closed, unable to argue with the logic. “But I’m already yours, aren’t I?”
“I thought no one could own you?” I countered.
Fuck, the way her head tilted to the side in confusion was so adorable I nearly smiled. But I never smiled. Never laughed unless it was a humorless chuckle of taunting. I considered such unrestrained acts of emotion the mark of an idiot.
An idiot like Blade.
That goddamn tongue was back to wetting her perfect fucking mouth. “This and that are separate issues, demon. The dagger’s mine. You can’t have it back.”
Before I could stop myself, I chuckled. The sound hit both of us by surprise.
An idiot, indeed.
She crawled forward, nearly at the bed’s edge, and stared at me on her knees. “Did I just hear you right, demon? Find me funny, do you? Think us humans too fragile and weak to pose a threat? Well, I’ll be the one laughing when this blade is buried in your throat.”
Despite the venom she spat, the gorgeous nymph smiled and brushed moon-white hair behind her ears. After seemingly coming to a conclusion, she set the dagger down for the first time since I’d given it to her. Her tempting body was on full display, no longer obstructed by the length of her hair.
Gods, the tragic state of my cock couldn’t be overstated.
The smell of oranges intensified. I shut my eyes and damned myself. Damned her. Damned the ones who brought her here to torment me. Damned the fact that I didn’t damn them at all.
Cursing under my breath, I looked away. “It’s yours, human. You’ll find it won’t be of any use against me, but do your worst,” I growled, tossing the words she’d spoken earlier back at her.
I couldn’t contain my grin when I heard her mumble angrily under her breath, “You should try coming up with your own lines instead of stealing mine, demon. What, are you lot incapable of wit? Ruthless and beautiful, but big and stupid.”
Big and stupid? The fucking cheek on this little human. It was an effort not to throw my head back and laugh like that twit Blade had earlier.
No dragon or human had ever dared to mouth off around me, aside from my brothers and Iris. Very few challenged me. They’d have their tongues cut out—or their hearts, depending on how grave the offense. But with her, I found it…adorable? Captivating? Even hoped to hear more of it before the day end. It didn’t stoke violence and punishment; it made me want to fuck her so those heated glares fell away to a different kind of heat.
Bloody hell, I was starting to sound like that imbecile I called brother.
