Page 11 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

He speaks in a low, serious tone. It prompts me to think seriously about it.

The truth is, all the police training in the world hasn’t prepared me for dealing with dragons. I don’t know if the marriage really is to protect me—because I don’t understand how these things work with dragons, with their magic, or even with their culture. Perhaps it really will magically protect me from getting kidnapped. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think I could have handled it myself, and that was… that was terrifying. I can’t have that happen again.

“Fine,” I grunt, “I’ll play along with this fake marriage. For now.”

I glare at him as he grins triumphantly.

“But don’t think this a permanent thing,” I say clearly, “This is just a protection measure. I’m trusting you with this.”

“Of course,” Rufus responds, but he still has that annoying smirk on his face.

I give a little growl of irritation. Rufus starts walking toward my door.

“I’m going to go give everyone else a heads up on what’s going on,” he says, “But I’ll be back to make sure you’re safe. I don’t think we should leave for the rest of the night after that, just in case.”

“Wait, are you planning to stay the night now?” I ask, flabbergasted, “Do you think you live here now or what?!”

Rufus looks over his shoulder at me.

“There’s no point in saving you from being kidnapped and marrying you for safety if I’m just going to abandon you,” he says,“What if the dragon is still out there and comes back? You’ll need my help.”

I feel myself pout in frustration:damn, he’s probably right!

He slides his shirt off, and I’m staring at his deeply muscled back for a second before he leans down and pulls off his trousers. My eye is drawn down to his perfectly smooth and round ass.

How does… a man have an ass like that?

Wait, what’s happening to me? Since when do I gawk at people like that?

My face floods with heat, and I look away.

“Besides,” Rufus teases, “if we’re married, we ought to live together, don’t you think?”

Another pulse of irritation courses through me, and I spin toward him. He’s shifted. He beats his wings once to take to the skies.

I run after him out the back door.

“Asshole!”I shout after him, and I swear I can hear him laughing.

Chapter 5 - Rufus

As I soar toward the others, my mind races. There’s so much I could be thinking about, but I keep thinking of Sarah as I fly. I keep thinking about when she snapped at me back in her house. Her green eyes were sharp and flinty, that police uniform clutching to her voluptuous form, her pretty rose lips pulled in a cute little sneer as she argued back. I love her voice when it’s strong like that. I haven’t felt shivers like it when anyone else has ever spoken to me.

And you’re married now.

For a moment, I let myself wallow in the joy the thought pools in me, but then I snap back to reality for a moment.

Stop. You’re married just to protect her. Just to protect her. No other reason.

I don’t know who I’m going to convince, but with Lena’s house appearing on the horizon, I’m going to have to be convincing andfast.

When I swoop over and land, I grab some spare clothes from a random hiding space and dress myself before heading inside. As soon as I walk in the back door of Lena’s house, beaming eyes make me recoil.

“Cyrus—” I start, but his stern voice cuts me off.

“Just explain where you’ve been all day,” he says, “Where were you?”

The Alpha stands and walks toward me again. He inhales slowly, then growls lightly.

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