“What do you mean?”
“What do you want them for?”
“Status. Bargaining tools.” He presses his body against me from behind, his hot breath tickling my ear. “And I like pretty things. Like you, my finest treasure.”
The urge to stuff these things into my bag is strong, but stealing from Drax already made my life ten times more complicated, so I pull my hand away.
“It’s all yours,” Drax says.
“What?”
“My things. They’re yours now too.” He takes the crown I was just fondling off the shelf and places it gently on my head. “Ooh, you look incredible. Better than the eighth century Persian king who gave this to me.”
I turn to look at him, my dragon swooning. “This belonged to a king?”
“Mm-hmm. He summoned me—also by accident, as he was looking for a warrior demon. I helped him find the right demon, so he gave me a crown.”
“That’s incredible.”
“I suppose. I rarely get summoned intentionally. I have nothing to offer at my rank, which is one reason I joined up with Auri. He offered me a higher standard of living.”
“Are you happy here?”
“Happier now, mate.”
The word rolls off his tongue so easily, and my dragon reacts the way it should if this were at all real. I won’t waste my energy trying to convince the beast though. He’ll figure it out when the bond is broken.
That thought earns me a temper tantrum that sends me stumbling right into Drax’s arms.
“Are you alright?” He brushes his hand over my head. “Sweet dragon. Let’s get you to bed.”
Weaker now, thanks to a thrashing, pissed off dragon in my gut, I give in and let Drax lead me to his bedroom. It’s a circular room carved into the stone, and perfectly warm. A large platform bed dominates the space, covered with lush linens and a pile of pillows. It looks indulgent and inviting and seems to call out to me.
I’m already climbing across it to the center when Drax joins me, peeling my clothes off and tucking me in. He hovers over me, brushing his warm fingers across my forehead and humming softly, lulling me to sleep.
I have so many problems to deal with, but I’ll tackle them tomorrow. For now, I’m going to enjoy this moment of calm.
I waketo silence and complete darkness. Disorientation seeps through me, but my dragon is calm, at least letting me know that no danger is lurking. It takes me a minute to remember where I am.
Drax’s room.
Pulling myself up, I scratch my head and blink to adjust to the darkness, startling when an even darker shadow appears.
“Hello, mate. Did you sleep well?”
“Drax. How long have I been asleep?”
“In human terms, you’ve been asleep for fourteen hours and thirty-six minutes.”
“What? Shit. I must have been tired.”
“You had an adventurous day. I saved some breakfast for you. Come eat.”
“Yeah.” I climb out of bed and shuffle to the main room, where Drax has a buffet of food laid out on the floor, nestled in a furry rug. He’s naked, as I’m coming to expect, and since I am too, it’s impossible to hide my obvious attraction to him.
His piercing blue eyes roam down my body and back up again. “You are such a handsome man.”
“Thank you.”
