Danil’s Mate(50)

The King must have seen the logic in what Amos said because the blood red dragon leaned back in the throne. He raised a monstrous, clawed paw and dismissed them.

“Go,” Amos whispered to Lucy. She didn't need telling twice as she scrambled out of the throne room and into the cold stone hallway.

“Amos,” the King’s voice stopped him at the threshold. “Make sure she doesn’t attempt to escape tonight. She’ll injure herself if she does.”

Amos nodded. “I’ll assign Rodrigo to watch her.”

“No,” the King said. “Rodrigo will take me tonight. You will stay with her.”

It was not in Amos’s training to argue with King Dalyer. He gave a curt nod of assent. He shot a quick text to Rodrigo. He was professional and a fierce fighter. The King would be fine for the night. He turned and followed Lucy out of the hall, slamming the chamber doors closed behind them.

“Shit,” Amos said as he assessed her. She was white as milk and her eyes were dilated. She was completely panicking. He had to get her to her chambers and calm her down.

He reached out to comfort her, or pick her up, or hug her, he didn’t know. But she swatted his hand away, leaning heavily on the wall. He swatted her hands away in return and took her face in both hands, examining her eyes, feeling her sweaty brow. Again, his eyes dropped to her lips. They were fuller than he was used to, plump. He bit down on the urge to pull her closer and closer. Touch those lips to any part of his body. He didn’t even care.

“Well, I guess now I understand why the throne is so big.” Her voice was surprisingly steady.

Amos nodded and let his hands drop to his sides. “Most of the fortress is designed to accommodate us in both human and dragon forms.”

Lucy glanced up at him suspiciously. And pressed herself a little further away. He realized that she hadn’t guessed that he was a shifter too. She’d thought it was just the King.

“You need water,” Amos said and tugged her away from the wall, ignoring the way she tried to shrink from his touch. Looking back and studying her blanched face he continued. “And meat. And wine. And whiskey. And sleep.”

“What, you want me to puke all over you?” Lucy asked, stumbling along as his pace quickened even further.

Amos turned a corner and immediately halted in his tracks. Lucy kept walking and smashed into him. He felt the imprint of her body on his and felt a flame of lust erupt inside of him. As soon as he locked her in her chambers he was going to shift. Full dragon. And he was going to fly at least 100 miles. And when he shifted back to his human form, he was going to the city to find some shifter wench. It had obviously been too long since he’d gotten some action.

He pushed aside a floor length velvet tapestry to reveal another intricate carving in the heavy stone. He pressed the ruby eye of one of the two carved dragons. The door to her chamber swung open and without hesitating he shoved Lucy into the small room. She stumbled on her heels but he didn’t care, he just had to get out of there before he did something dumb.

Then her words registered.

“Puke?” he asked, pausing at the door. “Why would you puke?”

Lucy turned a circle, taking in her room. “Because eating meat and then drinking wine and whiskey would make me puke. It’s gross. Can’t I get, like, some pad thai or something?”

“No, we don’t have pad thai here.”

Lucy eyed him shrewdly. “So that must mean we’re not in a city. If you can’t order thai food. Are we out in the ‘burbs somewhere?”

“No, Lucy. We’re not on earth.” He spoke slowly and clearly, gently closing the door behind him. She needed to hear the truth.

She slowly sat down on the bed, bouncing slightly. Amos’s mouth watered as her dress snuck up her thigh again.

“Not on earth,” she repeated dully. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering I just watched a Mr. Burns look-alike transform into a bright red dragon.”

Amos shook his head and didn’t ask what she was talking about.

Her face lit with sudden understanding.“That sparkling black hole thing. In the subway tunnel.”

Amos confirmed. “The portal. Between the human realm and the dragon realm.”

“Those men tossed me through it.”

“And I caught you on the other side.” Amos thought about the moment her unconscious form had fallen gently through the portal. He thought of her weight in his arms, the first moment he’d felt her warmth. And the raging erection he’d immediately gotten.

“How are you so calm about this, hatchling?” He had to know.

“No choice, I guess,” she responded. “I’ll figure a way out of all of this. I always do.”