He gagged, coughing. “Tastes like soot.”
“Ja, well, it’s usually used for dragons, and we are partial to such flavoring. But this is what you get for hogging all the battle glory.”
A hoarse snort escaped him, and it nearly drew a smile from me. “Blame the bond. I couldn’t stand the thought of you injured.”
He’d said that before. Now, my chest clenched. “You better survive, professor.” I turned, clawed a pit into the ground, stacked wood and kindled it with the hottest flame I could rally. Pink sparks crackled to blazing life. “We have an agreement to fulfill and a bond to break.”
“Don’t worry, majesty. Been bitten before.” A strong, full-body shiver rocked him on the ground. His lips peeled back from his teeth, a testament to his pain. “No… big… deal.”
Yeah. Right. But I appreciated the baffling attempt to comfort me. “When you’re better,” I said, “I’m gonna need some hate fuel, too.”
“I’ll tell you something truly dastardly as soon as I can think straight. Wait, I’ve got it. I often drink out of your teacup.”
Um. That wasn’t a bad thing. It was kind of…endearing.
As the fire’s warmth crept outward, he draggedhimself closer. His wounds were sealed, but his skin had turned a worrying shade of blue. Fighting a rise of panic, I stretched out beside him and hissed. Cold.
He hissed in unison. “Hot.”
I jerked back, thinking I’d hurt him, but he snagged my nape and hauled me down. “Don’t leave. Good,” he mumbled, fitting me on top of him. When he had me where he wanted, he banded his arms around me, tight. Tighter. His shivers came constantly now, but his scent—that heavenly mixture of pine and cedar—cocooned me. “Verygood.”
My chest clenched again, only tighter. “Careful, professor. You don’t want me thinking you’re into me.”
“Never,” he muttered. Then, after a beat, “You smell amazing.”
I chuckled, the sound catching in my throat. Heaven’s blaze, the feel of him. The hard lines, and the leashed power. I’d never fit even Leopold like this.
Guilt surged, but I couldn’t bring myself to cut short this moment with Taron. My fingers petted through his silken hair and across his chest of their own accord. His heartbeat thumped beneath my ear, reminding me of our kiss.
“If anything can get your blood pumping and kickstart your healing, it’s a discussion of what occurred in the cave,” I said, brushing my fingers against the ring and its chain.
Instant ice bath, his features freezing over. Yanking the necklace from my vicinity, he snapped, “Nothing happened. We were drugged.”
The abrupt change in him sobered me up. And yet, I didn’t move away. “You’re currently cuddling me as if I’m precious to you. You think I smell amazing. Excuse me if I don’t believe our kiss can be blamed solely on an enchantment.”
“The bond…” he said, voice barely audible. He didn’t let me go either, but clung tighter.
My dragon stirred, spewing fire into my veins. Blood heated. Hunger rose. The need to prove our connection real choked me.Burn him!
I couldn’t help but wonder… What if I’d gotten it wrong? I’d loved Leopold, but I’d never raged in front of him, as I’d done before Taron. Would my sweet Leo have calmed me?
What if Taron survived my fire?
What if he rose as the phoenix?
What are you doing?My hope was a double-edged sword as dangerous as my flame. As the council was fond of telling me, we received no second chances.
Taron wouldn’t survive, and that was that.
Besides, I didn’t want forever with him. Though he might make an excellent (temporary) consort. He was strong and fearless, and if he held me just like this every night...
Hope sprouted again, and I ground my teeth. Welcome greater temptation? Nein, thank you. And it wasn’t like Taron would agree to such an arrangement.
Eventually, his shivers ebbed. His body relaxed. Sleep claimed him. I kept watch, but the forest remained undisturbed. The moon moved across the sky, and the stars twinkled brilliantly.
As the minutes passed, sleep dragged at me, too. Not just sleep but…something. As if a spell wove over my mind, demanding I fall into a waiting darkness. I wrestled with the urge, determined to protect Taron as he’d protected me. But there was no stopping the tug. My lids slid shut…
Chapter
