Page 21 of Dragon Unhinged

I groan, wishing I had water. Hell, I wish I had any control over my own body, the ability to sit up, to pull Brianna into my chest, and hold her close.

“He’s okay. Drugged, but okay.” Ewan’s voice calls out, and I’m grateful for him telling her what’s going on. “It should wear off.”

Brianna lets out a sigh of relief. “God, Declan, I thought you were dying. For a minute, I thought you were dead.” She cups my cheek again, and all I want to do is press into her palm. To feel her warmth and absorb it until I feel more like myself again. “What did they do to you?” This time, it’s softer, less accusatory, more concerned. “Did you have to fight tonight?”

I barely shake my head, but it seems to be enough.

She runs her fingers gently through my hair, smiling softly. “I was so afraid when I saw the vans leave tonight. I was so afraid you wouldn’t come back.”

I don’t know how long I lay there, with Brianna just running her fingers through my hair, talking softly to me, before finally, I regain some movement in my body.

Slowly, carefully, I reach up and cup her cheek. “You don’t know what it means to me that you’re here. That you stayed here with me.”

Brianna blushes slightly and looks down, away from my gaze. “I couldn’t leave you. Not when I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea if you would be okay.”

Gingerly, I sit up, making sure I’m securely against the back wall of my cell before I reach for her. Pulling her into my lap, I finally let out a sigh of relief. “I’m okay now. Or I will be. The drugs they pushed into me are strong, but all I wanted was to pull you into my arms.”

She snuggles into me, and the mere action makes my dragon fucking purr in my chest. Or as close to a purr as a dragon can make.

“You came back. Even after you spent so much time with me today. After you brought me, the other boys, gifts.” I gently touch her hair, wanting to touch so much more. Wanting to kiss, to touch, to feel every inch of her.

If only to feel alive again.

“If I’m being honest, it wasn’t just because I was worried about you. I mean, I had a shit night. My father invited people to dinner. A boy he thinks would be worthy of marriage.” She looks up at me again, and my lips tingle, wanting to kiss her. “He said such horrible things, and then seeing those vans disappear…I was afraid that speaking up at dinner made my father send you out.” Her lip quivers and I hate that it seems like her eyes are welling with tears. “I was afraid that my defense of you, of shifters, even in the vague way I said something was going to get you killed.”

I shake my head. “What they do to me, it isn’t your fault. I wondered, at first, if you were a new way to torture me, but I know now, you could never be involved with what they do.”

Tentatively, I lean down and barely brush my lips against hers.

Brianna practically melts against me, curling into my chest as her mouth presses more firmly against mine, her hand sliding over my shoulder to get even closer.

I want to deepen it, to slip my tongue into her mouth, to taste her, but the wetness on my cheeks makes me pull away.

She blinks a couple times before wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Princess, what are you crying for?” I reach up again, cupping her cheek. “There’s no need for these tears.”

Brianna sniffles and gives me a watery smile. “They’re not sad tears. Not exactly. It’s just…” She shakes her head. “You could say that was my first real kiss.”

Chapter

Nine

BRIANNA

My lips tingle from his soft caress and burn with the heat of his touch. I can’t believe he kissed me.

Declan is holding me, his hands completely chaste, even though his eyes seem to be telling me he wants more, even as his brows furrow and he kisses the tears from my cheeks.

He doesn’t push me, doesn’t try to get more information from me or even try to get me to stop crying.

He just holds me. It feels so silly, but I’m emotional. I spent too long wondering if he was dying, wondering if he would die in my arms. The kiss just made the drop on the roller coaster of emotions I’ve been experiencing hit too suddenly, and any control I had dropped right out of me.

As my tears slow, I gently kiss him again, enjoying the coarse feel of his chapped lips against mine. I warm quickly surrounded by him, and the feel of his body heats from me inside out.

“I’m sorry. I came down here to make sure you were okay, and now you’re comforting me.” I give him a watery smile, and sigh. “You really do deserve better than being trapped down here.”

Declan cups my cheek and rubs his thumb over my lower lip. “If I weren’t down here, who knows if I would’ve met you. And my life would definitely not have been complete without you.” With a smile, he takes my hand and entwines our fingers, giving me a small squeeze. “To be honest, I don’t have a lot of experience kissing either. Female dragons are rare, and up until recently, we were always told that we could only mate with another dragon.” He kisses my cheeks again and whispers softly, “Thank you for sharing your kisses with me.” The purr of his voice gives me chills and I shiver.

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