Page 16 of Kidnapped Forced Mate

“Erm–can I get some clothes?” Olivia’s faint voice hesitates behind me, jolting me from my thoughts and prompting me to spin around.

I have to look down, her tinier frame trembling slightly in nothing but a towel wrapped around her. A fleeting frown passes through my face, seeing her for the first time as nothing more than a vulnerable human who begs for my protection.

I’m lost in a trance momentarily, my eyes slipping down as my gaze follows a droplet of fresh water that falls from her hair and lands on her exposed collarbone. It flows into the dip, disappearing into her pale flesh, filling me with the sudden urge to reach out and feel the softness of her moist flesh.

It’s a feeling so intense, it moves my feet of its own accord, closing the distance between us until my eyes meet hers, and I stop in my tracks. The accusing depths of the ocean are what snaps me from my daze.

“C-clothes…?” I clear my throat, then nod toward the bed. “Get dressed and eat,” I tell her, turning around to give her the privacy she demands. I don’t feel like fighting her right now.

I’m fighting something inside myself that begs me to look beyond her outward appearance and the need to protect her.

Olivia quietly pads to the bed. The only sound in the bedroom is the whispers of clothing as it slips over her limbs. The dragon’s sharp senses detect every minute sound, painting a picture of her inside my mind. Imagining what her body looks like without the towel, how the sleeves pass her arms or the pants slide up her thighs…

Gulping to stop myself from being utterly ridiculous, I have to remember how absurd I believe the whole fated mate notion is. Just because my brothers found their eternal loves in their human mates, doesn’t mean that it will be the same for me.

I’m not willing to sacrifice my freedom. With that firm mental declaration, I turned around to see Olivia sitting cross-legged on the bed, dressed in the cotton pajamas I’d picked out of the laundry, eating the food I’d brought up for her.

Are you ready to leave, Stryder? Stryker asks through a mind link, forcing me to pause and send him an urgent reply.

I’ll be down in a minute.

We can leave from your floor.

Don’t come up! I warn, a little too violently, my angry grunt startling Olivia mid-bite of her toast. Her eyes widen with horror, and she must notice the way my eyes have changed color because of my focus on the telepathic conversation...

Geez… Okay, Brother, Stryder replies apologetically. I’ll wait for you in the courtyard.

Blowing out steam through my nostrils, I march forward and grip the bar of the bedpost over my head. “You’ll have to hurry up,” I instruct her. “I need to leave.”

“I’m not stopping you,” she shrugs, going back to her meal.

“And I’m not leaving you like this,” I scoff, reaching forward and snatching the plate from her. She gasps from her shock when I remove a thick chain from behind the pillows and instantly wind it around her wrists.

Using brute force seems to work to keep her quiet, so I make good use of it as I bind her wrists and secure her in a restraint I’m satisfied with. I can’t leave for the mortal world and leave her to escape and run around the castle freely. Even if my family is leaving later today, I can’t take any risks. The extra precautions are in place, so Olivia doesn’t get herself into any trouble.

I remember clearly what happened with Yazmine, who'd been kidnapped off the island by a group of female dragon shifters who didn't take kindly to humans. We've long since been able to diffuse any threats and prevent another incident like that from happening.

Felix's wedding on the island, in front of the entirety of the Aurora Dragons, ensured that.

I just can't help but feel like this woman will end up getting into hot water.

“So I’m back to being a prisoner?” she scoffs, rolling her eyes.

“It's for your own safety,” I assure her, tugging on the chains I've safely secured to a metal hook on the wall. With an un-pickable lock, I'm convinced there's no way she's leaving my bed.

“I'm quite capable of taking care of my own safety,” she huffs, defiantly tilting her chin away. She tugs at the chains in an attempt to cross her arms, which proves futile.

“On an island full of dragon shifters?” I taunt sarcastically. “I don't think so.” I lean down to check the restraints one more time, catching a whiff of the floral scent in her hair that almost disarms me.

I can't afford to be distracted right now.

Not when I have to deal with my brother's excitement to find my human mate in the mortal world.

Another mess of my own making that I'll have to navigate.

“Be good,” I warn her before leaving my bedroom, ensuring it's locked and impossible to get through.

***

---