Page 26 of An Accident Waiting to Dragon

“I won’t let them hurt you,” he said. A growl rose up from deep inside him, a rolling bass that was far from human, so animalistic, so feral that the fine hairs all over her stood straight up.

His dragon.

He sounded…

She swallowed.

Asher sounded like she was his to protect.

Only I’m not his to protect. I’m not his anything.

Okay, so she was disregarding the fact that he’d been sent here by her boss, his king, and the green dragon queen to help her. That did kind of make her his to protect, which sat with her about as comfortably as sand up her ass crack. But this kind of growl…

This was different.

Even as she wanted to lean into the spark of warmth that settled in the center of her chest.

Damn it.

Mission or no, he didn’t need to sound like…like he’d tear anything that came near her limb from limb and enjoy it.

Like she was his mate.

He didn’t need to make this harder on her. More confusing because of feelings she’d thought she’d managed to bury years ago.

But hadn’t.

And those dreams she’d thought she’d buried with her feelings were still there too. Against her will, her treacherous heart fluttered, just because of the way he was watching her.

The deep blue of his eyes should have appeared black inside their small cavern, but his fire had ignited in those depths. The flickering glow cast a blue light over his features, taut with…

Her breath lodged in her throat.

She forced herself to do the opposite of what her confuddled heart was telling her to do and took a step back. It didn’t help. A second step back, and she was in the rain again. Asher’s hand caught her in a flash, tugging her back under the cover of shelter, as he also shuffled further inside, taking her with him. Even though he dropped his hold immediately, she still felt his touch like a brand.

The gods or fates or whoever had landed them in this predicament had to be howling with laughter right about now.

Meanwhile, Gwen was starting to regret the fact that the only orgasms she’d had in a very long time were by her own hand. Not that the previous ones with other partners had been all that great. She’d tried to find love. It hadn’t worked for her. But now…now the warmth in her chest was morphing to a different kind of burn, an ache settling deeper inside her that wanted…more.

From one look. From one touch.

What am I thinking?

Familiarity. That’s all this reaction was. Familiarity and forced proximity.

Not the most convincing argument, but she latched onto it all the same.

She pulled her shoulders back. “We might as well get settled.”

The fire in Asher’s eyes banked, his expression going flat like he’d shut down every emotion. “Not a lot of room in here.” He glanced around them, maybe able to see more than she could. “But it’ll do for the night,” he tacked on.

Hopefully.

He reached toward her face, and Gwen jerked back this time.

Asher tensed. Almost imperceptibly, but enough she caught it.

He cleared his throat “I was just going to…” He reached out again and pulled a leaf from her hair, showing it to her before he dropped it. Then he unstrapped the egg and moved the rest of the way into the tiny space, burying it in the sand in a natural crook of the rock.

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