Page 46 of The Edge of Dawn

She untangled her arms from his neck and rocked backward, only he wouldn’t let her go.

His arm around her waist was like freaking granite.

He was so strong.

He could probably break her in two if he wanted. But right now, he was just holding her.

“If I let go, you will end up bearing your full weight on that broken foot of yours.” His voice was low and deep, a cross between a rumble and a whisper. “It will cause you pain.”

“You are… surprisingly considerate for a…” The words escaped her. “I don’t even know what you are.”

“I’m a lot of things and nothing much. Just someone who can fight well enough to save you from your own kind.” His lips parted, revealing the points of his gleaming fangs. “And I’m very selective about who I’m considerate toward.”

The full force of his attention almost made her melt in his arms. How easy it would be to let him overwhelm her, to let him take control of everything. Stars, he certainly had the strength and power to do so.

It struck Jade that she was completely helpless here. Even more so than if she’d allowed herself to be taken by the MWA. Because in the domain of the Kordolians, she didn’t know a single soul apart from Dragek.

And she had to trust him completely.

If she couldn’t…

She was done for.

“I’m guessing that all of this—you appearing all of a sudden—has something to do with the voices I hear… and the fact that we were able to meet in my dreams.”

“Correct.”

“And you… you know what all of this is, don’t you?” With her good hand, she gestured toward her temple. Her left hand was starting to throb again. Dragek’s mesmerizing appearance could only distract from the pain for so long.

“Not entirely, but I know more than the fools that were trying to take you.” He shifted his weight slightly so she was leaning back against his arm. She felt his biceps bulge and flex against her back.

The raw physicality of him… the immense, carefully contained strength.

Funny, she was only really noticing it now, but he was a big guy.

Being in his arms was starting to make her feel a certain way. If only she could forget about her predicament and drown in this feeling a little.

“So, what happens to me now?” She almost wanted to thank him for pulling her out of the mine, but she still wasn’t convinced that his intentions were entirely pure.

All she could do was wait and find out—and try to keep her wits about her.

His dark brows drew together ever so slightly.

She struggled to read him. She didn’t know whether he was annoyed or just thinking. How could someone be so close—almost intimate—and yet so guarded?

He twisted his body ever so slightly, arching his back.

Then he moved, his body as fluid as water yet hard and strong as granite.

And all of a sudden, she was in his arms, so damn effortlessly, as if she weighed little more than a feather.

It felt like she was floating.

She was so, so tired… and aching all over.

Why fight it? What’s the point?

“Before anything else happens, we get you healed,” Dragek said. “Then, you rest. Worry about what’s to come later. When you’re ready.”

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