Page 12 of Silent Jay

CHAPTER SEVEN

JAIYANA

Ihit the ground with a thud. Tyson, the red dragon shifter I’d assumed lost the fight, growled something about me belonging to him and hit Rehan again. The shifter I’d just been virtually dry-humping went limp. I forced myself not to scramble to his side like some tragic heroine. The man was a magical dragon shifter. A few hits to his head wouldn’t kill him.

What the fuck are you doing, girl?

That was sexual assault.

You were pretty into it, though.

Dammit.

Before I could keep talking to myself, the air around Tyson rippled. Heat kissed my skin, and fire bloomed around him, distorting his form as his bones broke and grew. The sound made me flinch, my own breaking body still fresh in my memory. Suddenly, the air temperature dropped. Scaled fingers twice my size scooped me up.

I didn’t struggle this time. The only hit I’d gotten on Rehan was by initial surprise. It felt like I broke my foot on his crotch. Even if I wasn’t exhausted and confused, I couldn’t do anything against a shifter without my magic.

Useless piece of shit.

A single tear ran down my cheek, and I scrubbed it away.

The dragon cradled me to his chest, his claws creating a cage around me with big enough gaps for me to see through. I squeaked, wrapping my hands around one of his smooth, rigid digits. With an ungainly lurch, he leap into the air. His massive wings struggled to lift off the ground. We rose and dipped before rising again. Finally, he found an air stream and smoothly shot into the sky.

I trembled, not liking being so high under someone else’s control. The elements of the world shrank into the size of toys. Rehan’s cut under my ear throbbed. I ran my fingers across the new bumpy scar about the size of my thumb. With my magic suppressed, I had no idea what the big shifter did, but I’d bet my fortune it involved magic. Heavy magic which lit up my sex like a fucking lightsaber.

Fortunately, the cold altitude stole my heat and calmed my libido.

The lights of two more cities flickered on the roundish Island below, bringing my total to four. I shivered, the view enlightening but not pretty enough to distract me from my predicament. Too soon, Tyson glided toward the glow of civilization on the nearby mountainside. It was still too dark to make out details, but I recognized a few pointed roofs in what appeared to be a city dug into the rocky mountainside. We flew to the topmost building, where Tyson gently landed on a platform.

His scales heated, and the airwaves around us flickered. Just as he got too hot to touch, he tossed me up, forcing one of those stupid squeaks from my lungs instead of a scream. I landed in his bare, powerful human arms like I weighed nothing.

I was not a size men usually tossed around.

But you fucking love it.

My heart fluttered.

LEDs, mimicking flickering fire, sprang to life as we entered a large bedroom, bathing the space of dark woods in romantic hues. Tyson shut the wide double glass door behind us, which locked with a click.

My heart thudded. I missed a chance to escape, and it hadn’t even occurred to me to try. I was officially broken.

I wiggled, and the dragon gently set me down, his every move tender.

Of course, he’s being sweet. This is a mating ritual–you knew that. The question is, now that you’ve done the hard part, will you reap your reward?

Will I have a choice?

A shiver of fear ran down my back. Standing on the balls of my feet, I studied my kidnapper. Or possibly my kidnapper, who’d kidnapped me from someone who’d abducted me in the first place.

Oh, shit, I’ve been kidnapped.

I blinked a few times as that sunk in. People didn’t wind up on islands in dragon mating rituals by accident. Someone brought me here. Someone who either caused my car accident or took advantage of the situation… which meant they’d been watching me.

Everything took on a dark edge. Faces and names flew through my mind as I looked for patterns. Like most people, I was a creature of habit, but my exit from the gym had been the opposite. Ley Line magic, the source of all magic on Earth, had drawn me out. No one controlled it. I’d been a recluse for years. No one had any reason to stick me here.

What am I doing with my life?

Not dealing with the literal dragon in the room.

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