Page 20 of To Quench Her Thirst

“Oh!” she gasped, feeling dizzy all over again as she was swiftly lifted into the air. “Drago? What are you doing?”

“Carrying you back to your room” he growled. “I’d take you home but I don’t think you’re in any fucking shape to fly or to fold space right now.”

“Ican’t fold space,” Addie protested, thinking he meant that she personally was supposed to construct the pathway between two different parts of the universe to get them home. “Only the Kindred Mother Ship can do that!”

“Goddess give me strength!” Drago muttered, giving her a fierce look. “How drunk are you anyway?”

“I don’t think I’m drunk anymore—I think I’mhigh,” Addie confessed. Indeed, she wasn’t slurring her words anymore but the floaty feeling persisted and so did the way anything in motion left rainbow trails in the air behind it.

The rainbow effect made everything beautiful—even the harsh planes of her Protector’s face.

“You have really long eyelashes for a man, do you know that?” she asked dreamily, reaching up to put one hand on Drago’s cheek. She liked the way his coarse whiskers rubbed against her palm—it was like she could feel every separate little hair caressing her skin like a tiny, rough kiss. “And your eyes are so beautiful—golden, like a cat’s.”

“Yeah, right,” he growled as he strode down the corridor.

“No, I’m serious!” Addie protested. “You’re gorgeous in a scary kind of way. I mean, you’re so big and strong. You always look so angry but that just makes you hotter for some reason.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” Drago glanced down at her disapprovingly. “You better be quiet—you’re going to regret it later.”

As he spoke, they finally reached the door of her bedchamber. Drago shifted her in his arms so he could reach the door latch and then nudged it open with his hip and carried her inside, being careful not to bump her head.

“Why would I regret telling the truth?” Addie asked, honestly mystified. “I’ve always wanted to kiss you, you know,” she added. “Or I guess to be accurate, I’ve always wantedyouto kissme.I mean, I’ve wanted you ever since you knelt down on one knee and swore to protect me with your life.”

Wow, she was really spilling all her secrets here, but somehow it feltright.

Drago’s expression softened as he pushed the black netting that draped down from above like mosquito netting aside with an elbow and laid her down in the bed.

“I want you too, baby,” he growled softly. “But I can’t have you.”

“Why not, though?” Addie protested. “Why can’t we have each other?” A sudden thought came to her and she blurted it out without even thinking. “Is it because you don’t like my nipples?”

“What?” Drago looked honestly confused.

“You don’t want me because I have puffy nipples,” Addie repeated and she wassureit was true. She tugged at the top of the dress and pulled the stretchy material down, baring her breasts. “See? You don’t like them, do you? Because they look weird.”

Drago sat on the bed beside her, his golden eyes roving over her bare breasts.

“They don’t look weird to me,” he said, his voice coming out in a hoarse rumble. “Your breasts and nipples are beautiful, baby.”

“You don’t think they’re too puffy?” Addie asked anxiously. “Jason Grey back in college said they looked weird—that I wasdeformed.”

Drago’s face darkened.

“What? Why would he say such a thing?”

Addie shook her head sadly.

“I don’t know. He was the first guy I ever slept with and he made me feel sobadabout myself.”

His golden eyes narrowed.

“Where does this Jason Grey live? I think I might pay him a visit as soon as we get back to Earth.”

“I don’t know where he is now,” Addie said. “But ifhefelt that way about my breasts, it makes me think every other guy does too—you included.”

“That’s not true!” Drago protested. “I told you—you’rebeautiful, baby.”

“Really?” Addie reached for his hand and placed it over one of her bare breasts. “Feelthem,” she urged. “It’s just a genetic thing—having puffy nipples. I swear it’s supposed to be normal. I know because I looked it up on the internet.”

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