His heart raced as he created a corral in his mind for his dragon.Prince Kalim was unimpressed by Ransom’s dragon status, and Ransom had learned it was best if his human side took the brunt of Prince Kalim’s torture.
He forced the tension from his muscles and pictured the jewels in his hoard.One golden crown.Two sparkly tiaras, the perfect foil for Scarlett’s glossy black hair.No.No!One uncomfortable crown.Two tiaras.Three.Four.Five ruby rings.Six.Seven.Eight.No, nine of the precious purple stones.All large enough to overflow his fist.He’d make at least one into a spectacular necklace, perfect for Scarlett’s elegant neck.He’d design them at a length to sit above the curves of her breasts.A sizzle frisked his body, and blood flowed into his shaft.
Before he chastised himself and his dragon for placing these dangerous thoughts inside his mind, a fiery pain seared through his brain.A whimper burst free, and his brain crackled, energized and bright.Ripe for plucking.
The prince had arrived.
“Do you have the woman?How close are you?”The prince’s imperious voice, higher than most males, whined to rival a jeweler’s drill.“Report.Give me news.”
Ransom waited for the prince to cease his questions before answering.He’d learned the hard way that the pain could get worse.The prince could crush his mind if he wished but had kept him alive because he needed Ransom’s brain power.Somehow, the prince tapped the energy and used it to remain active.Those dragons who’d perished from resonance in the past had died in agony.There must be a solution, a way to cease this torture.
“Servant, report.Now.”
“I have gathered supplies and fly to your region on the morn.”
“Yes.Yes.Tell me about the woman.She is with you.She is biddable?”
Ransom almost snorted.Biddable, Scarlett Mitchell was not.He focused on the prince in case the alien grew impatient and stung Ransom’s mind with more resonance.He’d done that before, rendering Ransom helpless for two cycles.
“Scarlett is with me.”
“Excellent.I am unable to reach her mind.A strong mental barrier is a sterling quality for a queen.”
“Yes, Prince Kalim,”Ransom said.
“When will you arrive?My people grow weary of this solitude.Our food source is near depletion, and to survive, we must move.”
“I have the map of your location.We will arrive soon.”
“Remember the consequences if you fail me,”the prince said.
“I will not fail,”Ransom said.
A pregnant pause occurred, and it felt as if tiny needles were drilled deep within his brain.He forced himself to stillness, not to cry out or think, and to accept the alien presence drawing his energy.
A long moment later, the pressure eased but still, Ransom remained in place, his muscles locked while his body dealt with the tendrils of pain flickering along his spine and spreading across his torso.He wanted to wake, wanted to stagger from this chamber and from any temptation to sleep.Instead, he remained caught in this nightmare, a captive until the alien prince decided he’d fed enough for this blacklight.
Ransom was asleep when Scarlett returned from the bathing house.He’d removed his tunic and trews and wore a tight pair of black shorts.His bare chest gleamed in the lamp’s light he’d left blazing for her, enticing her to study his tattoos.Hmm, a dragon.A muscular chest.A sexy chest.Scarlett hesitated.Getting close wasn’t the brightest idea, especially with her feline urging her nearer.
The man moaned and tossed and turned on the gel-bed, obviously in the throes of a nightmare.She hesitated to wake him.Something ailed the dragon-man to make him tire so readily, and he needed to recharge for their journey.
Scarlett rechecked their bags and folded her resort attire and shoes.She’d leave them on the ship once they began the walking part of their journey.Ransom fell silent, although his breathing remained choppy.She’d considered shifting to feline and curling up on the floor but decided to keep her shifter status secret for now.
Warm after her bathing experience, she removed her outer tunic and lay on the bed, dressed in trews and a thin thermal shirt that hugged her upper body.
The dragon-man twisted and turned, encroaching on her space.His ice-cold hand landed on her arm, and a shudder ran through him.
Scarlett flinched at the slap of iciness.How could he be so cold?She reached out and placed her palm over his forehead.His entire body radiated this frigid winter-coolness.A virus or something else?
He moaned again, the cry so full of anguish, her feline snarled.The harsh growl didn’t awaken Ransom.He cried out, his limbs thrashing, his face contorted.Sympathy rushed through her, and she curled closer, fitting her warmer body to his chilled torso.She embraced him, and still, he didn’t rouse.
Shifters typically possessed a higher body temperature than other species, and common sense told her Ransom should display the same tendency.She breathed slowly, her awareness of him heightening.His big body thrashed again, another pained moan escaping his clamped lips.She clung to him, instinct telling her he needed her warmth.Gradually, the dragon-man relaxed, the tension seeping from his limbs.His shudders stopped.His moans ceased.
Scarlett sensed the moment he slid into a proper sleep, the restful type that most beings required to recharge their bodies.
Her prickly, preternatural sense tiptoed through her mind again, and she wished she understood the invisible threat lurking in the darkness.Her gut screamed a warning, yet she’d remain clueless until she understood more.So she’d do what she always did.Ask questions.Persist and annoy until answers were forthcoming then make an informed decision.A pros and cons list.
A yawn escaped, and a second one.Maybe she should move to her side of the gel-bed, but she hated for Ransom to get cold again.If he resumed his twitchy tossing and turning, they’d both be exhausted come morning.
