Nate didn’t say anything for an endless second, then he nodded. “Are you hungry?”
The thought of food almost choked her.
“Don’t worry, the victuals here at our house are more like Earth meals. Nothing scary, scaled, or with a mouthful of chompers,” he teased.
She smiled. “I’m not very hungry right now.” How could she eat when thoughts of tomorrow had her stomach churning? “Nate, about the fight—”
“Come here.” He drew her to him, and she settled on his inked chest. “Don’t think about it. It’ll be all right. I always come out of it breathing.”
“Yes, but—”
“Shh, Ely. Let’s get some sleep while we can, ‘kay?” He pressed his lips to her head.
She stroked his chest, gently tracing the puckered scar beneath his tattoo of a ruined clock with symbols and wings, realizing it was from the gunshot wound as a child. More abstract ink spread out in a chaos of symbols and swirls, wrapping around his biceps.
“Nate, there’s something you should know.” She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “When Aba and I were looking for you earlier, I overheard two of Azgor’s guards. They have you fighting someone calledSicari.”
He stilled his caressing of her hips.
She jerked upright on the bed again. “Nate, who is he?”
A smile tugged at his mouth. “Me.”
“What?” Her eyes nearly bugged out.
“It’s what they call me here.”
She frowned as he drew her back into his arms, her gaze fixed on his amused features. “What does it mean?”
He sighed, his warm breath coasting over her skin. “Assassin. Killer. And there’simmitis, the cruel. Take your pick.”
She blinked, not sure if she should feel relieved or horrified. But one thought plagued her. “Won’t the beast get stronger with all the violence?”
“Don’t worry about it.” He went back to stroking her spine. “I have never shifted before, and I don’t plan on doing so now.”
Dammit, that didn’t reassure her in the least.
She slid her arm around his belly, careful of his new wound, and held on tight, fear creeping through her. Tomorrow he’d be fighting for his life. And all she had to hold onto was that he’d fought many times and won all because of the beast he housed. A beast who hated her and would kill her in a heartbeat if given the chance.
* * *
As the night withered away and morning drew close, Nate reluctantly eased away from Ely’s warm body. Hell, he didn’t want to leave her.
Bracing on his forearm, he studied her beautiful features, relaxed at finally having some respite from her temperature hikes and roiling powers. More, he hated that she had to rely on potions to help her do so. Gently, he smoothed back her hair, the strands as dark as his own. This female who made him smile now owned his heart. He had even more reason to survive this fight.
While he’d made love to her, it wasn’t in the way he wanted because his damn beast side didn’t want her.
Nate couldn’t understand that.
As vicious as wyverns were, they mated and remained in pairs until death.
He frowned. Did they have to make love properly—for him to release inside her like with a mating fever—for her temperature hikes to subside? He wasn’t sure.
No matter, he wasn’t giving Ely up!
He’d find a way to subdue the damn shit within him and claim his mate properly—
A bolt of pain ricocheted through his skull in payback for his vow.The fucker!Nate blocked his thoughts, refusing to let the Black latch onto them again.
