“My name is Drake,” he replies coolly as he pushes a brown bag under my nose. “I brought you breakfast.”
I frown as my eyes flit from the bag back to his face.
Why is he trying to feed me?
And why is he acting like nothing happened?
“Why am I here?” I manage to ask as I lift my weight onto my elbows, moving myself further from him.
“Because it's for your own good,” he replies. “Now, eat.”
Chapter 7 - Draco
Something is happening to Lily. But I'm not sure what it is. The color visibly drains from her face, seeping off as if it's being washed away.
“H-how?” she asks as one last flash of recognition shoots through her eyes.
She remembers who I am from our brief eye contact in the tavern.
Shit! I think, but then remain calm when I remember it doesn't matter. After all, I have her here on the island. A place off the charts, undiscoverable by the humans who walk the Earth.
There's nowhere she can go. No one will ever find her.
So why am I suddenly concerned about what she thinks?
It's not like she has a say in this matter. I didn't, and I'm the leader of the dragon clan in this corner of the Earth.
I must admit, playing tricks on her mind is slightly amusing. Though I never expected to feel excitement about any of this. This isn’t something I’d been looking forward to.
There’s a soft sigh from the woman’s lips before her eyelids flutter closed. Drifting like unsure butterfly wings, she sways and falls forward.
My nimble reflexes kick in, and I grab her by the shoulders. Limp beneath my hands, I groan in utter disbelief.
“What the—” I mumble under my breath as irritation grows like an infested wound. It’s been there all along—ever since the Dragon Council elders decided my fate.
This is exactly why I didn’t want this whole ordeal. Rolling my eyes, I use my brute strength to lift the woman off her feet. Scooping her into my arms with one hand beneath her knees.
“Humans…” I grate through gritted teeth. “Weak.” The scornful reproval comes with the plan of tossing her limp form on the bed. I look down, ready to fling her, when I’m suddenly frozen to the spot.
In all the time I spent watching her from afar in the human world, I didn’t notice how plump her lips were. Or how gentle her button-nose is. The soft tendrils of her dark hair hang over my arm, cascading in silky curls.
I didn’t even notice the freckles on either side of her nose. I mean, I knew she had them. It was evident from the picture on the screen when the Council showed me their decision.
At least, the decision of the Cube of Knowledge. Still, it’s not something I cared much about.
But now, I do.
And I don’t want to care.
“Measly human…” I grouch as I step toward the bed. Despite how resentful I am for this entire situation, I don’t just throw her down. Instead, I find myself being gentle as I lay her down slowly. Swooping her hair to one side as her head lolls onto the pillow.
Fragile, I remind myself as I take a step back. She’s a fragile creature, created to be weak. Mortal. Not a creation built to harness the creation of an immortal dragonspirit child.
But my step back only allows me to see her fully. The way her hips flare out, full enough to carry a child within her plumpier belly. Perhaps she’d be an ideal candidate for human children, I think as I rake my eyes down her body. The paisley-patterned kaftan whispers across her curvaceous body, hugging her in all the right places.
Wrong. I have to correct myself. Gulping as I run a hand through my hand, I’m reminded of how wrong this is.
How wrong she is as a mate for an Alpha dragon-shifter.