Page 44 of Rescued By The Dragon

“You did.”

Dorran smiled, leaned down, and whispered against my mouth, “Your taste is still on my tongue. I was right. You’re sweet.”

Dorran left me heaving against the kitchen counter, while I tried to catch my breath. “You’re in way over your head,” Sasha said from the doorway. She laughed loudly. “You look like you’re about to explode right there.”

It was a little too late for that.

Sasha waggled her brows at me. “Come on. We have to get each other ready. And you have to tell me why you’re blushing, and what exactly Dorran’s done to make you that way.”

Sasha was better than I was at hair and makeup. I refused anything on my face other than a smidge of blush and lipstick.

If my mother gave me anything, it was a great complexion and my blue eyes. Sasha sprayed the last of my hair and stepped back in her lavender gown to look at it. “You look beautiful, Amara,” she whispered, wiping away a fake tear. “I can’t wait to see Dorran’s face when he sees you tonight. Are you two going to sneak away and have it out in a broom closet somewhere? Is he going to mark you tonight—,”

“Oh my gosh, Sasha,” I said, grabbing the skirt of my dress to walk toward my closest mirror. “We have other matters to deal with before we can do that—,”

I stopped in front of my mirror and stared. I hadn’t seen myself so put together in years. “You look like pictures of your Mom,” Sasha said.

I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I can’t believe this is happening,” I whispered, my heart racing. “The ball starts in thirty minutes.”

Sasha did a grand twirl in my room.

The front door shut downstairs, and my heart rate picked up. The dragons had finished cleaning the house hours before. Dorran kept his promise, and it was spotless.

This was my stepmother coming home with the girls.

Sasha stared at me as footsteps hurried up the stairs and my door opened. Helena stopped in the doorway staring at me with wide, shocked eyes.

Her gaze swept over me nonchalantly, but I could see the resentment twisting behind her eyes. “You finished, I see,” she said.

“I worked all day,” I said.

She glanced at Sasha and gave her a half-hearted smile. “Well, we are leaving. I guess we’ll see you two there then?”

“You will.”

She shut the door behind her in a hurry. Sasha glanced over and chuckled. “Jealous much? I wish I had a camera. No,” she said, putting her hands on my shoulders. “I wish I had a camera for the look on her face when he chooses you to dance with him.”

Sliding my sweaty palms down my dress, I grabbed my purse from my nightstand and took a deep breath. “Are we ready?”

Sasha and I descended the stairs to an empty house. When we made it outside to the courtyard, it was full of dragons and humans in fancy gowns. Some had dates to come and enjoy the food, but there were mostly single women dying for Dorran’s attention.

I hid my nerves, though I felt like throwing up at the thought of all the attention he would get tonight. Sasha tugged me closer to her, and whispered, “Look at all these tramps.”

I laughed. “Says us.”

She laughed as we made our way passed the front gates and to the double doors swinging open. My gaze shifted toward Dorran’s balcony, and I caught sight of him glaring over.

I couldn’t tell if he was looking at me or not, but deep down, I felt he sensed me.

I lifted my chin in an attempt to appear confident. The doors to the castle opened completely with two dragon guards standing on each side. Toby was one of them and winked at me when he caught me staring.

Embarrassment climbed my body. Toby knew what was happening between Dorran and me. I was sure that he could smell it on us. I hid my face, watching my sandals peek out from underneath my dress as I stepped into the castle.

Sasha squealed beside me. “Can you believe this place?”

The white marble sparkled beneath our feet. Classical music came from the main room, and light chitchat pulled us straight into a Bridgerton episode.

My eyes climbed the grand staircase, knowing if I took those stairs, I could find his room and him.

---