Page 32 of Kidnapped Plus-Size Mate

“No, Camilla. I don’t need you to thank me for anything,” I whisper earnestly. “I just need you to know that you’re safe here.”

Camilla scoffs again. Her unwillingness to look at me has me crossing the room to stand before her.

“It shouldn’t be this way, Camilla,” I gulp.

When she lifts her eyes to mine, there’s a flicker of hope that she might hear me out. But when she rises abruptly to her feet and staggers, I’m about to reach out to steady her when her hand comes flying up between us to stop me.

“I don’t care about anything you have to say, Sterling,” she counters. “I just want to go home.”

“About that…” I wince remorsefully. “My name isn’t Sterling. It’s—”

“So, you lied to me about your name?!” she cuts in angrily, her eyes widening with horror.

Sighing defeatedly, I hand my head again. “Well, I couldn’t just tell you outright that I’m a dragon…”

“So, youarea dragon?” she laments, prompting me to frown with confusion.

Did she doubt what she saw earlier today?

“You—you tricked me?” she chuckles sardonically. “Why am I not surprised?!”

“I didn’t mean to trick you,” I say as I warily reach out toward her face.

She quickly slaps my wrist away, the brief physical touch making it impossible to ignore the inevitable pull toward her when a flicker of electric current shoots through my arm.

“No!” she exclaims. “Don’t touch me!”

Pulling my hand back, my heart seems to drop to the soles of my feet. Being rejected like this isn’t something I imagined would happen.

Least of all after everything that happened between Camilla and me.

“Camilla, please hear me out,” I attempt to console her with a gentle tone, but it doesn’t work when she grabs the mug of steaming chamomile tea and flings it at my face.

I flinch when boiling liquid hits my face. It’s like it’s not enough that I suffered second-degree burns thanks to Rakon’s attack. The heat of the tea isn’t as burning hot as a dragon’s fire, but it’s enough to stir my inner dragon’s irritation.

I turn to her, my inner dragon rumbling in my chest with a growl.

“Will you stop this?” I ask calmly, even though my inner dragon is fuming right now. With my fists curled at my sides, I fight the urge to grab her in my arms and remind her of our undeniable attraction by crushing my lips to hers.

Did she forget what that felt like? Does she not care?

“No!” she bites back in a bitter tone I didn’t even know she possessed. “I won’t stop until you take me home!”

“That’s not possible!” I roar, my inner dragon taking over now. “Do you have a fucking death wish, huh? Out there, you’re in danger! Get that into your fucking head!”

She flinches and gasps as if my nasty words physically scorched her. The look of dread in her eyes is a painful realization that I can’t take those words back. She recoils, her shoulders curling into herself as she turns her face to the floor.

Filled with deep regret, I can only spin on my heels and bolt for the door. With fiery rage simmering inside me, I need to get out to calm down.

When I’m at the door, the last stroke of compassion I have for either of us comes rolling off my tongue when I barely glance over my shoulder and say, “My real name is Stryker.” before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

Chapter 10 - Camilla

“Stryker…?” I whisper between the deafening silence that follows the loud bang when he shuts the door behind him, mulling over the name he’d given. His real name.

The fumbling of keys on the other side prevents me from pathetically rushing forward to try the door. It’s pointless, and I’m not about to break my head trying to find a way out.

The dragon man made it quite clear that he believed he was protecting me by keeping me a prisoner in this lavish bedroom.

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