Page 37 of Don't Tempt Me (Nora Jacobs 4)

I can practically hear his eye roll.

Without warning, Nick scoops me up in his paw and tosses—yes, literally tosses—me onto his back. I scream and hit the spot between his shoulder blades with anoof!“Nick!” I screech, scrambling to get a good grip around his neck. “You jackass!”

He does that coughing chuckle thing again, and his body shakes beneath me.

“I hate you.”

You love me.

“I do not. I sincerely hate you.”

Come on, Jacobs. You should feel privileged. Do you know how many people in my long, long life I’ve allowed to ride me?

“Oh, I don’t know. Half the women in Detroit?” I deadpan.

That gets a real laugh out of Nick, and as nice as it is to have some of his playful attitude back, when he laughs, his body shakes, and it rattles me from the inside out. I start to slip and squeak again—a high-pitched, embarrassing squawk. I cling to Nick like my life depends on it. His scales are smooth and impossible to grab onto, but the crevice between his shoulder blades is so big it’s like I’m sitting in a nest. A warm nest. Nick wasn’t lying about his body being a natural heater. It’s so nice that I lean forward and plaster my whole body against him.

You ready?He spreads his wings out, and I shiver at the feel of power beneath me.

“No!”

The bastard ignores me.We’re going to fly low against the water to avoid being seen. Hang on tight, Jacobs.You don’t want to fall off.

With that last helpful piece of advice, he flaps his wings and we’re off the ground. My stomach leaps up into my throat, and a scream rips from my chest. I cling to Nick’s neck so hard I start to lose feeling in my fingers, and I bury my face against his scales. I pinch my eyes shut and send out a prayer to the universe that Nick doesn’t kill me.

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