Page 32 of Dance with the Dragon Duke

“Tell me your realization, Starlight.” He nuzzled her, tickling her neck with the stubble at his jaw.

“I’ve never seen a dragon without his clothes on,” she confessed, voice wobbling with suppressed amusement. “I was nervous you might be dangerously well-endowed . . . Perhaps you grow bigger than your tail.”

Dark’s husky laughter reverberated through her.

“On the one hand,” she continued, her nose brushing his affectionately, “you’d kill me . . . On the other, what a way to go.”

They stifled their laughter to no avail. Their sniggering bounced off the paneling in the enclosure. Tomorrow hiccupped. Dark snorted. If she’d been an onlooker, she’d have thought they were both drunk, by the way they carried on.

It took great effort to pull herself together. Her eyes watered.

“Murdered by dragon cock,” he said, and they fell to pieces all over again.

Dark took her hand and placed it between their bodies, over his shaft.

She fisted him, tightening her hold in increments, sliding soft skin over his hard member until his eyes slid closed and his lips parted around a jagged breath.

“Impressive. Very, very warm,” she said, “but probably not deadly.”

His smile slanted. “Probably not, but I’ll do my best.”

Tomorrow released him to rub at her brow. Their bout of laughter had gone straight to her head, making her feel dizzy. “Forgive me, but I’ve had a change of heart. Slow sounds lovely.”

Dipping his chin, Dark touched the curve of his horns to the crown of her hair, the sign of fae deference. He held her eyes for several heartbeats before he spoke words that made the organ in her chest stop altogether:

“What you say goes, Sunshine. You can always change your mind, no forgiveness needed. You’re safe with me. Understand?”

“Perfectly,” she breathed. Tomorrow hugged his neck, imbuing the gesture with an immortal lifetime’s worth of gratitude. She’d had other lovers before. Not all of them had been so considerate.

Dark rebuttoned his trousers and lifted her from the wall, scooping her over his shoulder. He gave her ass a playful pat that knocked a giggle out of her, then he carried her down the hall.

And into the wrong bedroom.

“Beg your pardon,” Dark said hurriedly, backing out of the chamber.

Tomorrow craned her neck, catching a glimpse of a blindfolded man tied to the headboard, his naked bottom in the air. A courtesan dressed in nothing but her underthings held up a wooden paddle. “Knock next time,” she scolded.

As the door slammed shut, Tomorrow laughed uproariously.

“You’ve got me in a fog. I hardly know where I am anymore.” Dark gave her backside a firmer pat, a playful admonishment that jolted through her.

“Oh, I like that,” she said.

“Ha. You’re full of surprises, Sunshine.”

Dark hefted her into his bedroom—the correct one—and just in time. Being carried was beginning to make her lightheaded. He set her by the bed. Wobbling on her feet, she felt moisture slide down her upper lip. As Dark shut and locked the door behind her, she swiped at her nose.

“Oh dear,” Tomorrow said, blood slicking her fingers. The walls were spinning. “Dark . . .”

Her knees knocked together, and the floorboards lurched beneath her. She felt herself falling moments before everything went black.

Chapter 8

Dark

Time stopped as Tomorrow fell. Dark leapt to catch her, cushioning her head with his hands before she smacked her skull against the floorboards.

Had he done this to her?

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