Page 35 of An Accident Waiting to Dragon

When she didn’t say anything but she also didn’t leave, he slowly moved closer, right up against her rock, so that he was standing between her dangling legs. He paused there. “I really want to kiss you, and not just in a dream, but I won’t if you say no, or if you need rescuing for real.”

This close, right in her space where she could feel the natural warmth of a dragon shifter radiating from his skin, feel his breath against her cheek…gods, he was temptation.

Gwen forced her gaze away, dropping it to her lap. It didn’t help. She still wanted to kiss him. “I?—”

She shifted her gaze to the left and paused, then peered closer at his side.

What the?—?

Then she choked.

Asher jerked to follow her gaze, searching the water around him for some threat maybe. “What’s wrong?”

She stared at him with her mouth ajar for enough time that he stopped searching for danger to bracket her face with his hands, his expression growing harder with concern. “Gwen?—”

“I think…” She could hardly make herself say it. “I think you’ve been poisoned.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Asher

* * *

Asher just couldn’t get a blasted break on this mission. Or with Gwen.

He sat on Gwen’s rock at the edge of the pond, shirt off, with her behind him.

Mostly her fingers flitting over his flesh felt…good. Too good. Her touch was the same as the way she moved—pure sensual grace. Every single one of the grunts he hadn’t managed to swallow down had nothing to do with pain. Because he felt no pain. Not even a twinge.

Which explained why he’d had no idea about the poison.

She clicked her tongue. “What about here?”

“Where?”

A small beat of silence, then, “You can’t feel this?”

“No.”

“That’s not good.”

“Gwen, so help me gods?—”

“I think the poison is numbing you,” she rushed to explain. “There’s a wound that’s black and blue…mostly black…the size of your fist here.” She drew a circle, and must’ve gone outside the boundary of the wound, because that he definitely felt.

Asher didn’t quite contain another groan and she pulled her hand away sharply.

“Did I hurt you?”

What a question. Asher gritted his teeth. “No.”

“Um…okay. Good.” She paused, then leaned in closer, inspecting his wound, and his dragon curled up inside him at her nearness.

Then the warmth of her breath feathered across his skin. Fuck. He couldn’t do this. “I’ll be fine.” He nodded toward the dark clouds looming closer that he’d been keeping an eye on. “We need to move soon.”

“Oh my gods,” she cut him off. “There’s a barb in the wound.”

Godsdamn that wraith. “Pull it out.”

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