Page 27 of The Death King

“You said I always have a choice.”

“And I also said that the answer won’t change regardless of the choice you make.”

He was painfully good-looking, his power so absolute that it filled the room with words he didn’t speak, but I wouldn’t be forced, not anymore. “There’s a long line of women who would be happy to jump into your bed. You don’t need me.”

“I know I don’t need you,” he said quietly. “But I want you.”

“Why?” I snapped. “My fingers are covered with permanent blisters from digging these last seven years. My skin is burned raw from the sun exposure. I was enslaved by your general for a year of torture. I’m pretty, but unremarkable compared to the other women I’ve seen walk down these halls.”

He said nothing, his eyes glued to my face, finding something that captured his interest. He looked for more than a few seconds, at least a minute or two. His stare had the same heat of the sun, burning through my clothes and marking the flesh underneath. “Why do you assume there’s a long line of women who want to fuck me?”

“Because you’re a king?—”

“Because you find me attractive.” His eyes remained hard and unflinching, without a hint of arrogance. “Your answer is no—but I don’t think it’ll always be no.”

“Just because I acknowledge you’re handsome doesn’t mean I want to fuck you.”

“For now.”

“Forever.”

The stare continued, trying to penetrate my skull and see the thoughts underneath. Then he stepped closer to me, the light from the flames highlighting the tight skin over his thick muscles. His eyes never strayed from mine. “I’ve wanted to fuck you since the moment I saw you—and I will.”

“When I was dressed in rags and covered in dirt? When I was desperate enough to try to steal a dragon? When I was stupid enough to risk the repercussions from my captor?” When I was at my lowest point and my greatest high? When I chose to risk being burned alive by a dragon’s fire over surviving the heat across the desert? If I’d failed, General Titan would have broken both of my legs—and then fucked me while I sobbed in pain.

He continued his unflinching stare. “When you were brave enough to run, that’s how I would put it.”

I blinked. And I blinked again. I needed more than a second to process what he said.

“You’re a brave woman, and I find that deeply sexy.”

I swallowed and dropped my gaze instinctively, severing the connection between our eyes so he wouldn’t see the emotion beneath the surface.

“Plus, you have the gift…and I also find that sexy.”

My eyes lifted again to meet his. “What does that mean?” Khazmuda had spoken those words to me but had provided no explanation. No one had ever told me I had a special ability, and I’d never noticed a special ability about myself.

His stare slowly hardened, as if he hadn’t just said those kind things to me. “I’ll tell you.”

He didn’t say another word, but I knew that statement was conditional. And I knew exactly what that contingency would be.

“Give me what I want—and I’ll give you what you want.”

“I’ll ask someone else, then.”

“Only I have the answers you seek,” he said quietly. “Because I also have the gift.”

Khazmuda had said those words to me as soon as we met. He’d said it with awe, said it with admiration. “Is it because I can speak to Khazmuda?” I didn’t know how dragons communicated. Up until I saw Khazmuda when I was fifteen, I’d thought they were just myths and legends. So I really had no one to ask.

He never answered the question, staring at me with his penetrating gaze. “Perhaps. Or perhaps that’s just the beginning of a long and complicated tale.”

I swallowed, feeling the possession in his gaze, feeling the way it gripped me without actually touching me.

“Do we have a deal?”

I wanted to know, but if there was only one dragon on this continent, I didn’t see how that information would serve me. It wasn’t worth the loss of my dignity—again. “No.”

His eyes narrowed in disappointment, and he cocked his head slightly. “This information will change your life.”

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