Chloe Cole(2)

She sat bolt upright, gaze flickering around the room wildly.

"What the--?"

Her hair was a tangle down her back, her eyes soft and sleepy, her cheeks a pretty pink. Until she saw him laying there next to her. Then, she let out a shocked gasp.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

He squeezed his eyes closed and said a silent prayer for patience. "I'm trying to keep you from molesting me in your sleep."

He saw the fire in her eyes, but right as she opened her mouth to protest, she realized her hand was still planted firmly on his dick.

She let out a squeak and jerked away. "I was having a dream. I didn't realize..."

"What in god's name were you dreaming about, milking a bull?"

Her pink cheeks flamed fire engine red and, in spite of the excruciating case of blue balls he was struggling with, a tiny smile quirked at his lips.

"Or were you dreaming about milking me, little wolf?"

She shot to her feet like she'd been snake-bit and glared down at him.

"Get over yourself, Blackbourne. The other night was nothing more than the unfortunate result of a very long, very hard day. Chalk it up to two near death experiences and total exhaustion. But I promise you this. It won't happen again."

Seeing her all riled up, breasts heaving, only made his situation worse, so he turned away.

"Good thing you aren't a dragon," he said, rolling to swing his legs over the other side of the mattress.

"Agreed," she snapped. She set her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "But why do you say that?"

"Well, like I told you," he said, keeping his tone conversational as he stood. "Dragons always keep their promises. And I can tell you right now, the one you just made? You stand no chance of keeping it. Because what happened the other night is definitely going to happen again."

"So, what? You're going to rape me?"

He let out a short laugh and shook his head. "Hardly. You and I both know that isn't necessary. You want me, Willa.”

"N-no. No I don't."

"You do. And if you keep pressing me like this, I'm going to start playing hard to get."

He lifted his arms over his head and stretched, the dragon in him appeased when her eyes instantly shot to the very prominent evidence of his arousal. His triumph was short-lived when she licked her lips and his cock wept at the unfairness of it all.

Time to cut bait and walk away, before he did something foolish that would set his progress with her back even further.

He could feel her gaze on him as he padded past her toward the bathroom, his cock leading the way like a divining rod.

"I'm going to take a shower. Plan to do the same when I'm done. Then, I'll take you into town for some clothes. I’ve let you sulk long enough." He paused and shot a look over his shoulder. "I trust I don't need to warn you not to leave the keep in the next few minutes?"

He hated the idea of locking her in one of the rooms, but if he sensed even a hint of hesitation on her part, he would have no choice. To his relief, she bit her lip and nodded swiftly.

"I won't try to escape again." He eyed her with one brow raised until she rolled her eyes and amended, "Right now, anyway. I'm not an idiot, Drake. If I'd known I was going to be dragon chum out there, I wouldn't have jumped out the window in the first place."

He'd never thought her an idiot, but desperate people did foolhardy things. Still, the odds of her risking another escape so soon after the failed first one were slim. Not without some more planning and forethought. Besides, Etienne was a creature of the night. She was safe enough for the time being. Hopefully, by the time it was a concern again, she'd have come to his way of thinking and the point would be moot.

"All right. Fifteen minutes. Feel free to head down to the kitchen and make some breakfast. I like my omelets with five eggs and loads of cheese, in case you want to try to step up your wife-ing game a little."

He stepped through the bathroom door, not even pausing as one of his boots sailed past his head and hit the wall in front of him with a thunk. He closed the door before allowing himself another grin.

Why couldn’t he stop himself from teasing her even when he knew it was going to piss her off? Then again, maybe that was exactly why he was doing it. It had been hell watching her sit and stare at the fire for hours on end, lost in her own thoughts and sad. He’d given her some time. Now it was time to see if he could draw her out of it, and he was pleased to see it was working.

She was back to being a hellion and, he had to admit, he kind of liked it. The last thing he wanted was to tame her.

So what do you want, Blackbourne?

When he'd first decided to accept the Stone's offer, he'd thought the answer was simple. He wanted a mate who could handle a dragon like him.