“A trap?”she raises her eyebrows.“Howcould it be a trap?”
“Fuck ifIknow,”Igrowl, getting even more irritated.WhyamIfighting with her?Can’ta male have a drink in peace?
“Maybe you’ve got some kind of magical sex disease and you’re trying to get rid of it by passing it on to some unsuspecting male,”Isay, groping for an explanation as to why she’s offering her luscious, curvy body to me.
“Asexdisease?”Herblue eyes widen in horror.“Iwouldnever—you can see by the color of my eyes thatI’mpure!”
“Well,I’veheard of such things,”Igrumble.Butshe’s right—her eye color speaks for her truth.“Ifyou’re so pure, why are you trying to get dirty with the likes of me?”Idemand.
After all,Icame to theAnvilright from work and the forge was hot today.It’shot every day but in the summer, it’s damn near unbearable.I’vebeen sweating since sunup, andI’mstill covered in the grime and ash from the endless fires it takes to keep the iron hot enough to work.Imust stink—not that anyone in theAnvilgives a damn.
I didn’t give a damn either, until just now,Ithink, my irritation doubling.
“I just need you to take me—you don’t have to knowwhy,”she says, lifting her chin again, a defiant light flashing in her pale blue eyes.
I’m tempted to just turn my back on her and go back to my tankard of theAnvil’sbitter black brew…butIadmit, she has me intrigued.Idecide to test her.
Gripping her by the shoulders,Idrag her in for a kiss.Ihave to bend low to accomplish this—not that she’s tiny—it’s becauseI’ma big bastard and almost every woman is small compared to me.
She gasps as my lips find her andIfeel her small, soft hands, flat against my bare chest.Herwhole body is tense against mine andIget the distinct impression that she’s fighting with herself—trying her bestnotto push me away.
I kiss her rudely at first, shoving my tongue in her mouth—letting her taste the bitter aleI’vebeen drinking.Hermouth is soft and sweet andI’maware that my hands are leaving black marks on her pure white priestess robes but hell, she wanted to get dirty, so let her.
And thenIsmell it—her scent.It’slike wildflowers in a sunny field and clear, clean water—exactly how you’d expect aHighFaewho’s devoted her life to the worship of theGoddessofNatureto smell.Butunder it, there’s something else—something hot and desperate.
What the fuck?
It’s the unmistakable fragrance of a female in heat—now why should she smell like that?Shelooks so pure and innocent, but her scent is telling me she wants to rut in the dirt.
But her body and her scent are giving me two different messages.She’sstill frozen against me asIravage her small, sweet mouth.It’slike she can’t decide what to do.
She makes a small whimpering sound, andIfeel a stab of pity…but that’s not what makes me pull away.It’snothing that the little priestess does that stops me—it’s the feelingIget from inside—from myDrake.
He usually slumbers during the day, though he wakes occasionally to help tend the forge.Wenever lack for fire, that’s for fucking certain.Andno fire can melt metal likeDrakeflame—even anAshDrakelike mine can produce a gout of flame that would rival the hottest forest fire.
But mostly, asIsaid, he sleeps.I’mthankful for that—he was wilder when he first came out.Infact, my mentor,Kline, had to take me to a sorcerer to bind him.That’sthe reason for the intricate ink that covers both my arms and part of my torso.Thespell woven into the tattoos keeps the mindless beast inside me quiet.
For some reason, though, the kiss wakes him up.
I feel him come to life—a rumbling deep inside me that makes me feel like my whole body is filled with light and expanding.
I catch theShiftbefore it can go too far—there isn’t room in theAnvilfor a full-grownDrake.IfIlet him out, he’d burst down the walls and flatten the vats of bitter black ale in a heartbeat with his massive feet.
Still, myDrakeis now fully awake, which is extremely rare, especially during the day.Andall of his attention is focused on the girl in front of me, looking up at me with wide eyes.
The little priestess seems to feel something too because she takes a step back, her hand going to her mouth, which looks bruised from my brutal kiss.Ifeel a stab of shame—Klinewouldn’t have approved.Heraised me to respect women and care for them—no matter their station in life.Hisown wife died the year before he found me, and he never quite got over her death.
“What…why did you do that?”the priestess asks, her voice coming out breathless this time.
“To prove to you that youdon’twant to be fucked,”Igrowl.Althoughher scent says otherwise.Maybethat’s what woke myDrake.
My other half’s reaction to her—his obvious interest—unsettles me.He’snever given a fuck for any other womanI’vekissed before.Hell,Icould bed a whore three times in an hour and not even wake him up from his endless slumber.Butthis little priestess has his interest.Why?
I don’t know and don’t care to know.
“Go on,”Itell her.“Youdon’t really want what you’re asking for.Besides, won’t they kick you out of your order if you show up with your eyes turned a different color?”
Her lower lip trembles.
