Page 24 of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human
I tilted the mirror a little to the side until Dante came into view. As expected, the dragon-shifter was still watching me. Well, more like burning a hole in my back. The look in his gray eyes so hungry and full of longing it made my stomach clench.
Right. He wasn’t sharing an endless amount of treasure out of the goodness of his heart. Slowly, I set the earrings down, noticing how his gaze turned pensive as soon as the jewelry left my hand. I decided to test his reaction and picked up a necklace, then pretended to inspect it. After turning it around in my hand, I set it back down and watched him through the mirror. His mouth formed a thin line, and he pushed himself off the chest he was sitting on and wandered off.
The Big Book Of Beastsdidn’t have a chapter on dragons. If it did, I’d bet money that there’d be an entire section dedicated to the importance of treasure. This didn’t feel like a normal man trying to impress a woman with money. I got the very distinct feeling that Dante didn’t just want me to take something from his hoard. Heneededme to.
The weight of the emerald in my pocket suddenly felt very heavy. I fished the jewel out of my pocket and placed it next to the necklace. Boohail would need a protector from the demons that were now roaming free. For that purpose, I was willing to give Dante a chance. But there was something so… final about the way he watched me pick through his treasure. Sure, he says we’re married, that doesn’t mean I’m fully ready to jump all in yet.
I shivered, thinking about what normal couples would do in their first few days of marriage. Last night, Dante had guided me to my room and then promptly left, much to my relief. The last thing I needed was for him to push for sex. Even though the rush of dragon magic in my veins kept telling me what a fantastic idea that was. But the separate bed situation might change if he thought I’d fully accepted him. I reached for the tiara on my head, and set that down too.
“What are you doing?”
His deep voice came from right behind me. I whirled around to find him mere inches away. The earthy scent of rain and crisp apples curled through my body, making my senses flutter.
“What?” I brushed a braid behind my ear. “Oh, I’m just looking around still.” I gave a friendly smile and gestured to the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“In a minute,” he murmured in that smooth, rich voice of his. He reached out and took my hand, before sliding a gold bracelet onto my wrist. Instead of letting go, his thumb found the vein at the base of my wrist and stroked it gently. An action that had no right to be so arousing. Yet my lower belly fluttered, as if my lady bits had just woken up to say hello.
“I thought this would match your tiara well,” he said, nodding at where I’d placed it next to my other discarded pieces. “Unless you find that it’s no longer to your liking?”
“I like it just fine,” I said. Hating how rushed my voice came out. “It’s just… I figured we should travel light, ya know? If we’re going to be gallivanting around a forest, I don’t want to risk losing it.”
“Hmm.” His gaze was piercing, and even though the grip on my wrist was gentle, it felt like a trap pinning me to him. And I was so drunk off the heat of his body that I walked into the snare like a suicidal doe. “Yes, that would be a pity.”
His hand came to rest on my hip. My breath hitched as he leaned in close, only to reach past me and pick up the tiara. “However, I enjoy seeing you wear it,” he said, placing it on my head once more. Goosebumps raced along my arms as the hand on my hip tightened. His rough fingers sank into my skin. Just tight enough to hold me in place. “You’ll keep an eye on it for me, won’t you?”
“Yes,” I blurted out.
Fuck.
How does he do that?
Dante’s grin came straight for the cartilage in my knees and I had to focus to stay upright. “Good.” Satisfied, he released me and made his way out of the treasure room. “I’ll grab our things and meet you at the entrance. Try not to get lost this time.”
Absently, I touched the tiara. Then flinched when I heard the bracelet clink against it. There was no engraving etched in its band, but the message Dante sent was clear: you’re mine.
When the sound of his footsteps faded, I sank to my knees. All he had to do was touch my wrist and I snapped to give into his demands like an excited dog. Even now, my skin tingled wherever he touched.
“Get it together, Cherry,” I growled, slapping my cheeks. If this was going to work out in my favor, then I couldn’t let myself get turned into a simpering ninny anytime he looked my way. Sure, maybe he was freakishly good-looking. Did I wanna get carried around in those strong arms like a pampered princess? Gods yes.Also, ya know, the fact that he’s stupid rich ain’t bad either. But snapping gators, I will not be pushed around!
I breathed in deep, forcing the fireflies in my tummy to cease their infernal dance. The first order of business would be to get out of Volsog. Luckily, Dante was on the same page with that one. Next, I’d have to see if he was really being honest about Myva.I’ll know he is telling the truth if we run across any demons outside the gate. If he’s lying, then I’ll do whatever I need to in order to get away from him. If he’s not lying then… well, I guess I’ll have to figure out whether I can trust him to protect Boohail.
In the meantime, I guess I’m actually going on a road trip with a dragon.
To see a unicorn.
I snorted, then burst into giggles the more I thought about the situation. “If I live through this and make it home, Cumin and Cin are going to split a rib at this story.”
Chapter 9
Cherry
My face hurt. Why would anyone live in a place so fucking cold that their face hurt? I brushed the snowflakes off my half-frozen eyelashes. Every last part of my body aside from my eyes was covered in several layers of thick clothing. So much so that I had to waddle my way into the courtyard after Dante. At least it was a little brighter outside. The dancing aurora still couldn’t hold a candle to actual sunlight, but it was better than nothing.
Even though I was freezing my ass off, the dragon-shifter only had on simple travel clothing and a black cloak. The bastard even had the audacity to look comfortable. How, was beyond me.
Two kobolds strapped our travel pack to a long rope and tightened down the small cage holding the white kitten I had seen before.
“You never told me your cat’s name,” I said, waddling over to the cage.
