“Thorne!” I shot upright, curling my legs in and hugging my knees. “What are you doing?”
“Saving you from a watery grave.” His grin was maddening, those sky-blue eyes warming with amusement.
“You… You’re...” I sputtered. “Despicable.”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before, Princess. Here.” He draped a towel over the flimsy barrier. “Hop out. We both need our rest.” With infuriating ease, he strode back around the screen, once again giving me a modicum of privacy.Gah. I never should have trusted the blackguard.
After a quick scrub with a flowery soap, I dried off and wrapped the towel around my body. Where I’d dropped my dusty garments, the floor was bare. I stiffened, gritting my teeth. “Where are my clothes?” I peeked around the screen to glare at him.
“While you were snoring in your bath, I had our bags sent up and our clothing laundered. Here. Sleep in this.” He flung a swath of fabric in my direction, and I caught it. “I seem to recall you have a fondness for my shirts.”
“Your memory is faulty. I’d preferyouwear one,” I grumbled, stepping behind the screen to change. His smoky scent clung to the material like a brand, and I resisted the urge to bury my face in it and breathe.
Out in the room, I discovered a very bare-chested Thorne sprawled on the bed. Surprise, surprise. He gazed at me with a heavy-lidded look, arms propped under his head. Those mesmerizing eyes traveled down my body, over my exposed legs, then back up again.
A heated tremor rolled down my spine. “Um…are there any extra blankets I can put on the floor?”
He smirked, patting the mattress. “Not a one.”
“I’m not sharing a bed with you.” An image of us lying together filled my thoughts, our naked limbs intertwined. And a shiver of disgust ran through me. Yes. That’s what it was. Disgust!
“Scared?”
“No. I’m not scared.” Flutterflies flipped in my belly. I was definitely not scared.
“Admit it. You’re afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off me.”
The conceit in this man. I whipped a blanket from the foot of the bed, folded it in half, and then placed it on the floor. “Good night.”
I crouched to lie on my makeshift pallet when firm arms wrapped around my stomach. The room spun, and I yelped. My back hit the mattress.
“Dammit, Thorne!” I lurched upright to find the Draconis exactly as I’d seen him seconds ago. Sprawled beside me, hands tucked behind his head. Beautiful biceps flexing.
A picture of innocence on his face, he beamed at me. “Neither of us is sleeping on the floor.”
“Well, I’m certainly not sleeping with you.” I crawled out of the bed, tugging my borrowed shirt down around my hips.
This time, I kept my eyes locked on the psychotic dragon shifter while I backed away. Hands braced in front of me, I toed my pallet, moving it to the opposite side of the room.
“Stay right there.” I pointed a finger.
He sat up, grinning. “I think it only fair to warn you. Dragons enjoy the chase. Some even consider it foreplay.”
“You–You’re lying,” I spluttered, ignoring the warm tingle that pulsed between my thighs.
“Am I?” Something flashed behind his eyes. A dark presence prowling beneath the surface.
My pulse kicked. “Don’t you dare.”
“Dare what?” He scooted to the side of the mattress. “Since that little chase you led me on when we first met, my beast has been itching to take another bite out of you.”
“It isn’t. You’re making that up.” A vision of an entirely different sort of chase flashed in my mind. One that ended with us tangled up together, naked.
“And here you are. Playing with fire.” Smoke rolled from his nostrils.
“Thorne, I’m warning you.”
In a flash, he was across the room. Air shot from my lungs, his shoulder nailing my stomach. Hanging down his muscular torso, I swung my fist, punching him in the kidney.
