Page 42 of Pierce

“No.”

We stared each other down.

“Fine. I will.” She turned her back and dropped her arms. I took in the sight of her perfect, full, firm ass and dug my nails into my palms as the dragon demanded I touch her. Grab her. Fondle and squeeze until she squealed in pain.

It was almost a relief when she slid into a pair of sweatpants, then covered up her smooth, creamy shoulders and back with a t-shirt.

“Now.” She turned back to me and sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded. “What did you want to talk about?”

“You know damn well.” My fury hadn’t cooled in the moments I’d spent waiting for her to dress—if anything, it was worse than ever.

“You want to know about the life you’re keeping me from? Is that it?”

“What could I possibly be keeping you from?” I sneered.

She shook her head, making red hair spill over her shoulders.

I caught the scent of the shampoo she used and it went to my head, spinning around and inflaming my dragon more than ever.

“Your fatal flaw is your pride,” she mused.

“What’s that mean?”

“You should ask Smoke about it, since he’s obviously a deeper thinker than you.”

“If you’re trying to hurt my feelings, you’re wasting your time.”

“Are you sure about that? It seems to me right now that you’re throwing a tantrum because you can’t get your way.” She sighed, crossing her legs. “You think your life is the only one that matters. Your world is all there is. I hate to break it to you, but my sister and I have a family—a clan—of our own, and since our parents died, we’ve taken over their positions.”

“You lead your clan?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Why is that so hard for you to understand? Because we’re women?” She scoffed, but didn’t wait for me to reply. “No. It’s not cut-and-dried. Our uncle is acting leader, but Alina is a highly-respected healer who cares for every member of the clan.”

“And you?”

“I’m my uncle’s advisor. He’s training me, I suppose you could say.”

“So, you don’t actually have a position right now. You’re only learning.”

“Something like that,” she scowled.

“And if you never go back, nothing’s actually been lost. Your uncle will still have his position, and your clan will still be under his leadership. Right?”

“You don’t understand. It’s not that simple for me.”

“What else is there?”

She didn’t flinch or even blink. “I’m promised in marriage. I’ve been promised since the day I was born.”

No! It means nothing! Tell her it means nothing! Nothing that’s happened to her until now matters!

“That doesn’t matter now.”

Her mouth fell open—then, she laughed. “You’re kidding. How can you say that with a straight face?”

“Don’t laugh at me,” I barked.

The laugh ceased immediately, like I had flipped a switch and turned out the lights.

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