Page 51 of Cruelly Fated
The dragon’s essence surged through me, no longer dulled by iron cuffs or magic suppressants. It blazed in my blood, ravenous and wild, as if awakening from a too-longslumber. I had nearly forgotten this feeling. The raw, unfiltered strength of being whole. No chains to blunt my instincts. No walls between man and beast. Only power humming beneath the skin.
My heart pounded, more heavily than it had in months. I flexed my fingers again, marveling at the primal heat burning at my core. At how the air now tasted crisper, the dirt beneath me pressed harder, like the world had grown teeth and was daring me to bite back.
I wasn’t merely alive again; I was lethal.
Then a new scent split the stone-cold air: human fear. Someone else was in the cavern with me. And that someone was trembling. The dragon inside me prowled closer to the surface, tasting the air… Beneath the terror lay a note of impossible sweetness. Peaches and cream.
Allie.
My head snapped toward her so fast my neck cracked. She stood against the far wall, small and fragile in the dim light, arms cinched tight around her waist as if to keep herself from falling apart. Wide lavender eyes like twin amethysts in the gloom fixed on me. A few strands of hair clung to her flushed cheeks; the thin fabric of her mid-rise top quivered with every shallow breath. She looked like something torn straight from a dream, too pure and too vivid for the ruin that was my world.
And she was terrified of me.
The dragon inside me howled, raking at my ribs. Not her. Never her.
ALLIE
Kyon’s dark eyes pulsed in rhythm with the power still coursing through him. Was the dragon under his control now? Or was it still lingering, ready to surge back?
“Kyon?” My voice trembled.
His throat bobbed. “Your voice…” He pushed himself to sitting, his profile turned towards me. He draped his long, muscular arms over his bent knees, his broad back curving over his lower body.
“What?”
His eyelids dropped to half-mast. “It’s intoxicating. Like your scent. Like your trembling body.”
A charged pause stretched between us. He studied me, his gaze sweeping over me like he was memorizing every curve…or craving a taste. Then he dropped his head low, hunching his shoulders as if ashamed of the hunger in his eyes or, well, losing control of his dragon in a way that could’ve ended deadly…
“There’s a hidden passage behind you,” he whispered. “Reach for the boulder above your head. The steps will take you down to the gardens behind the house.”
I whirled and groped along the rock until I found the release. A flat slab gave way with a dull click. I peered into the passage,ready to flee, but hesitated at the entrance and glanced over my shoulder instead.
Kyon hadn’t moved. A vision of masculine perfection, sculpted, thick calves and powerful thighs tapering into a lean, sinewed waist, his back stretched wide with muscle, his arms corded like those of a gladiator. He resembled an ancient Greek warrior.
What would it feel like to be held by those arms? Carried by this man? Claimed by this fierce, untamed beast? The dangerous thoughts swirled through my mind, heat coiling low in my belly, while my heart pounded with raw anticipation.
I stepped toward him.
His head snapped to the side, eyes locking on mine in an instant. Desire swirled in their depth. That look alone emboldened me. I shuffled closer until a low growl rumbled from his chest.
“My dragon wants you…” he rasped.
Like…to hunt me? Or—
I bit the inside of my cheek.“Doyouwant me?”
A dark laugh escaped his lips as he tilted his head back, the sound thick with something I couldn’t quite name. I frowned. Had I misread everything? But then his smoldering gaze met mine again.
“Baby girl, I’ve wanted you since the moment you walked by that fence. Before you ever spoke. Before you even noticed me, while I was sitting there, praying to fae gods to make you mine.”
My face flushed hot. His words set me on fire. Tucking loose hair behind my ear, I placed a foot forward, making a clear statement, and followed with two more steps.
Kyon growled. “I don’t know if you realize…I haven’t been with a woman in a while…”
I scrunched my nose. So, what if he was rusty? I hadn’t been with arealman. Ever.
“I feel like I have to spell this out for you, sweetheart.” Warning laced his voice. “When I take you, there won’t be anything gentle about it. I’m already hard just looking at you in that ridiculously short skirt.” His jaw clenched. “I’d like to believe you wore it for me, but I was half-dead in that bed, so…”
