Page 13 of Bitten in the Wild

“That way,” I said, jerking my head in that direction.

“Off we go,” Izora said, lifting me over his shoulder.

“I could get used to this,” I laughed. “It’s a nice view from back here.” I patted his ass.

By scent or instinct, Izora navigated that ‘cave’ part of my home with little guidance from me. He slid down the dark, narrow passageway that led to the nesting room without banging either of our heads on the wall. The nesting room was lit with tiny orange and purple gems and crystals that I pressed into the walls one-by-one when I was first designing my home.

Izora kept his arm around my legs to hold me in place while he took in the nest room. There was no big overhead lighting, but with the glowing rocks everything was lit up the perfect amount. I couldn’t see the nest that was in the furthest corner of the room as he took it in, but I knew its every piece and part by heart. I was the one who put it together, after all.

“Blankets or giant leaves?” Izora asked.

“I used both.”

“Won’t the leaves rot?”

“Not down here. Not with the way I did it,” I shook my head. “Too much magic in here for them to rot away. We’ll have to change them out and wash the blankets and other reusables between clutches, but they won’t die of natural decay.”

“It’s big.”

“Well, yeah. I’m a dragon. You’re a dragon. We can’t sit around in flesh form all the time.”

“It’s as large as some studio apartments back in London.”

“What’s a studio?”

“A small apartment where it’s one room for everything except the bathroom. Bathroom’s usually tiny too.”

“Sounds dreadful.”

“Eh, it worked for me well enough while I was in uni.”

“Why would they make students live like that?”

“Who knows?” Izora laughed and stepped toward the nest.

“Wait!” I said, trying and failing to squirm out of his grasp.

“Did you booby trap it?” Izora laughed.

“No, but that is a good idea, huh? You need to wash your feet before you get in. I do too.”

“Where’s the bathroom, mate?” Izora sighed.

“Turn around, please,” I said and slapped his ass on the left side because that was the direction I wanted him to turn towards.

A shower head hung from the wall there to make it easy to clean up before getting into the nest. Dragon hatchlings were hardy, but one shouldn’t take unnecessary chances with their unborn children. Without asking questions, he headed across the room and under the shower. The cold water hit right on my ass and I roared and pinched his. He laughed before finally letting me slide onto my own two feet. I kissed him and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth as the water washed down over both of us. I pushed the hidden button between two rocks and the water turned soapy so that we could have a quick wash and rinse.

When the water shut off, I grabbed his hands and tugged him across the room to the nest before he could supercharge the magic again. I really didn’t want stone burn on my knees or ass when we finally exchanged our claiming vows. My dragon was only patient enough to give him a few seconds to take in the fact the he could barely see over the edge of the nest before I showed him the place I made to climb up in my human form. I patted his ass, indicating he should go up first. That way, I’d see right away if he misstepped and compromised the nest in any way.

Kudos to him because he managed to find each hold perfectly without putting undue stress on the structure. Once I was sure the nest wall was still structurally sound, I climbed in behind him.

“It’s bigger than the swimming pool back at the estate,” Izora said, looking around the nest’s interior.

I was mostly a tidy dragon. A few apples, books, and pillows were tossed here and there from the last time I slept in this nest, along with a few of Waj’s fish plushie toys. He was probably the last one who slept here while I was kidnapped into the sky by my own inner beast.

“It’s a very nice nest,” Izora said.

“I know,” I said and plopped down on my back.

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