Page 84 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

Since I wanted him amiable, I walked right up to his snout and draped myself over it. The sheet I was wearing snapped against his nostrils when he inhaled. I hadn’t thought about his breathing, only that he seemed to like it when I touched him.

I started to push myself off of him, but he moved underneath me, shrinking. His arms closed around my waist before I could pull away, and he went straight for the cheek to cheek rubbing thing he liked. What the hell, I thought with an internal shrug before rubbing back.

The clicking exploded to a purr, and his arms tightened around me.

Conflicted, I stopped. Sure, he hadn’t reacted to me in the shower, but the way he was acting now seemed a little too affectionate.

I tried pulling back, and he resisted for a second before releasing me. I clasped his upper arm and tried not to notice the way his muscles twitched under my touch or how smooth his skin felt or the way his gold eyes dilated.

He didn’t fight me as I started tugging him around the pool, and the clicking remained just as rapid.

Until I veered to the left.

He stopped moving.

Scowling, I turned toward him. If I hadn’t, I would have missed the way he looked at the bed. Then I wouldn’t have looked down to double-check that I was still safe-zoned. But I did catch his glance, and I did look down.

I wasn’t safe-zoned. Not at all.

My panicked gaze flew to his. His clicking slowly died. He didn’t move to grab me. He didn’t need to. I still held him. Jerking my hand away like it was on fire, I struggled to breathe.

I wasn’t some clueless virgin. I’d been with a man already. A man, though. As in human, and on my terms. I didn’t know a damn thing about dragons or what was going on in Vedar’s head, and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know.

Yet, a small part of me itched to touch him again.

He exhaled heavily. His skin started to turn red, an indication that he was going to change back into a dragon.

Swallowing down my panic, I flew at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Wait.”

I felt a shudder rock through him, but he didn’t keep changing. His hands returned to my waist, lightly holding me as my heart continued to race.

“Wait,” I whispered again.

It was a struggle to focus on what I needed to do with the evidence of his interest between us. But I managed after a few calming breaths.

This time, when I pulled away and met his gaze, he watched me with a wary expression, like I was somehow the issue here. Weird dragon. Yet, the hesitation I saw in his eyes was enough for me to clasp his arm again.

He followed me to the door and did nothing when my hold trailed down his arm to his hand. The clicking started when I wrapped my fingers around his and died again when I lifted his hand toward the door.

A rumble of laughter startled me, and I glared up at him.

“This isn’t funny.”

“It is,” he insisted, amusement lighting his gaze.

“You said everything in this room is mine. Did you lie?”

“No.”

“Then you’re mine.” The purring reignited, and I scowled harder. “I want you to open the door.”

“Treasure rarely listens,” he said, flashing his teeth at me a moment before he turned away.

He frustrated me so much I wanted to pull my hair out.

Instead, I strode after his gloriously bare and retreating backside.

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