Page 9 of Must Love Dragons
He one hundred percent did not accept that she was his truemate.
In an act of pure defiance—or tomfoolery—he forced himself to sit up, every muscle screaming in protest.His vision went wonky as he sat up, heat surging through his body, his skin burning where the warlock’s magic had hit him.As his vision went dark at the edges and spots danced in his periphery, he clenched his jaw and pushed through it.No way in hell was he going to pass out again, not in front of a damn witch.
And his dragon wasn’t helping him get away from her in the slightest.
On the contrary, it was purring again, happy and comfortable, like they hadn’t just crashed, half-dead in a strange place.The worst part?The beast wanted to be close to her, to lean into her warmth, and not get the hell away from it.
Traitor.
She moved toward him again and he flinched back instinctively, which made a fresh lance of pain shoot through him.
“You’re really bad at accepting help,” she said with a wry tone.
“And you’re really bad at minding your own business,” he retorted.
He cursed under his breath at the weakness that was numbing his body and making it impossible for him to simply shift and fly away.
She reached out a hand again and he stared at it.She was certainly determined to help him.
“I’m not going to hurt you.I already said that.Now at least tell me your name.”
Her friend handed over a blanket and she draped it over his shoulders, and as she leaned over him, he got another whiff of her scent, all sweet chocolate and ripe strawberries.
“Zay,” he answered finally, as he fiddled with the blanket and covered himself, handing her back her coat.She put it on and hummed, her eyes darkening slightly, and he wondered if she liked how he smelled.
Not that he cared, of course.
He didn’t want to lean on her, but he couldn’t get up onto his feet without help.
She pulled him to his feet, and the moment he put weight on his legs, his knees buckled.A sharp growl tore from his throat as pain lanced through his side, burning from the inside out like wildfire licking at his bones.He braced for the impact with the ground, only to find himself caught by something warm, soft, and surprisingly strong.
Kinsley.
His arm had instinctively looped around her shoulders, his fingers gripping the thick fabric of her coat as she steadied him with a grunt.
“Whoa,” she huffed out, adjusting her stance to take more of his weight.“You’re like a furnace.”
Her impossibly sweet scent was utterly intoxicating and wrapped around him.His dragon hummed, pressing against his mind with a deep growl of satisfaction, reveling in how close they were to the beautiful female.
Zay, on the other hand, positively hated everything about this situation.
His jaw clenched as he tried to straighten, but his body was not on board with that decision.After taking another step, he listed sideways and was forced to press even closer to her, their sides touching, her curves molding against him.
Shit.
A shudder wove through him, and it was not entirely related to the pain.
“You’re so freaking stubborn,” she muttered, her breath warm against his skin.“Just lean on me already.I’m not impressed with you trying to get yourself mobile when you should be dead after a fall from the sky like that, not to mention the dark magic that’s clearly still wreaking havoc on you.”
He growled in frustration.“I don’t need?—"
“Clearly you do,” she interrupted, tightening her hold on his waist and forcing him forward toward the rescue.Whenever she touched him, his skin tingled.
Was that her magic?
His dragon was doing somersaults in his head.
He inhaled slowly through gritted teeth, refusing to acknowledge how his instincts were screaming for him to pull her even closer, to trust her, to let her take care of him.
