Page 14 of Captured By the Scaled Outlaw
I shift in my chair, making my scowl overly animated. “I don’t know what you expect me to do. Revitalize an entire ecosystem with my bare hands like some fictional wizard? I’m already doingallI can, and I’ve already told you that it would take years to change the terrain in any meaningful way,” I mumble, pushing away my empty plate.
In truth, I only had one major idea left, but it is entirely idiotic. An idea cooked up while my brain was scrambling in the heat of the sun, and not something I wanted to present to a bloodthirsty Lizardfolk.
But since my arrival, I’ve gained no intel. Not a single inkling of anything I could present back to Nilsan, and my window to escape is steadily closing. I’m exhausted, frustrated, and tired of Lowell’s antagonism. The mask of my composure is steadily slipping, and with that comes the suffocating feeling of hopelessness.
My breath catches in my throat when Lowell presses his snout to my ear, his hot breath sliding down my neck. I shiver, a warmth spreading across my abdomen as my anxiety slowly dissipates.
My body is acting weird again.
The hot sensation feels similar to when I first met Lowell — like being wrapped in a warm blanket that also prickles my skin.
I don’t understand what’s happening to me, or why, but I can’t seem to stop it. The feeling is foreign, but not… bad.
“Why are youtellingme that I no longer have a use for you?” he whispers, his teeth grazing my ear.
A zap of electricity shoots down my spine to between my legs, flesh tingling with goosebumps. My cheeks heat with each puff of air that licks across my skin, Lowell’s scent of musk and worn leather fillingmy lungs.
I swallow, suddenly feeling hot. “You wanted my knowledge, so I gave it to you. There are no short-term plans I think will be sustainable. If I tried to deceive you, you would eventually find out the truth and punish me for lying. I’m not going to beg you for my life.”
Lowell hums, sniffing my neck feverishly. “You’re not going to beg? That’s a shame,” he breathes, his tongues slipping out to trace the shell of my ear. “I’d quite like it if you did.”
I press my back deeper into the chair with surprise, eyes widening when my core twitches in reaction. I squeeze my thighs together to snuff the growing flames, my heart rate beating loudly in my eardrums.
“I’m not afraid of you. I know you need me. Your subordinates are useless without my constant instruction to build those damn fences,” I say through a tight throat. Complicated emotions ripple through me, fear and heat mixing in my lower body, fighting for control.
“You’re right. I do need you. But I’m also not known for my self-control,” he threatens. “I warned you not to push me, didn’t I? I gave you every opportunity to submit, yet you continue to misbehave.”
My gaze slips to the small area of Lowell’s exposed chest, still wet from the liquid of the meats. The cream-colored scales glisten in the candlelight, a stark contrast to the deep obsidian that runs along his head and arms.
I wonder if the scales are soft.
“Would you rather I lie to you?” I ask, gripping the table runner to restrain myself from reaching out.
Lowell chuckles in my ear, leaving a trail of saliva when he retracts his tongues. “But you’ve already been lying, sweetheart.” The vein on Lowell’s neck throbs with a heightened heartbeat, his scales rippling with each flex of his muscles.
The tension in the room becomes so thick I think I could grab hold of it.
“Lying about what? Being scared? What nonsense.” My voice betrays me, stumbling and breaking with each vowel.
Lowell’s tongues dart out to trace my jawline, leaving more sticky saliva behind. “Yes, but you’re also lying about something much more interesting.” He continues to huff my neck until every hair on my body stands on end.
My body shifts into full survival mode, my senses heightened.
Lowell sniffs me again, humming. “Among the many things you claim to think of me as… insufferable isn’t one of them.”
Chapter 6
My jaw tightens. Saliva builds on my tongue.
“I’m correct, aren’t I?” Lowell prods, pressing a smile to my cheek. I worry he can feel how fast my heart is beating.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” I say, my hands trembling. I grip my fork discreetly, remnants of vegetables still clinging to the prongs.
He’s smart enough not to give me a knife.
Lowell’s tail swings behind him as he excitedly huffs my scent, dragging his nose from my jaw to my shoulder.
I slowly sway my wrist, gauging Lowell’s attention — or lack thereof — over any other part of my body.
