Page 28 of Slay Me

He glares up at me. “You have no idea what you’re taunting right now.”

What.Not who. Before I can allow myself to think too closely on that, I uncross my arms and try to look mildly apologetic. This man might have pissed me off, but he owns me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect.” I crouch down. “I only came here to tell you that I’m sorry we didn’t run the change by you. We knew better and did it anyway.”

The Ringmaster cocks his head to the side, and the light shines on his neck, revealing thickened skin—scales—in a deep purple before slipping down his arm and shifting to a deep mahogany.

They glisten in the light, the beauty stealing my breath. “Your neck—” My eyes widen, and I stand as he does, taking two full steps backward, still focused entirely on his changing flesh. “You’re a shifter.”

He completely ignores me. “I wanted to rip his fucking throat out for dropping you,” he growls.

“What—” I trail off when my gaze shifts back to his. The copper of his eyes is shining like twin spotlights. They’re so bright it almost hurts to look directly at them, but I can’t tear my gaze away. “What are you?” I finish.

“A shifter,” he replies. “Is that not what you surmised?”

And then it hits me. Honestly, I’m not sure how I missed it before. His rage, strength...combine those with these scales, and he really can only be one thing. “You’re a dragon shifter.”

The Ringmaster moves so quickly that I don’t have time to get out of the way before his gloved hand encases my throat. He slams me into the far wall and leans in. “You taunt me.”

“I-I don’t mean to.” For the first time since I met him, I’m honestly frightened. Because if he is, in fact, a dragon shifter, he’s something of legend. A creature that—up until this point—shouldn’t exist in this world. “Are you?” I whisper. “A dragon?”

“Yes,” he whispers, leaning in so close I can feel the heat of his breath on my cheek. “You now know something only three others here do, and I know they will not out me. Anyone finds out what I am and the fact that I crave you won’t matter. I will rip your heart out even if it kills me to do so.” He releases me and backs away in three large steps.

I gape at him, the threat resonating. I’m not surprised he’s keeping it a secret. Ernesto would often speak of dragons. Of a world full of creatures that were faster, stronger, and far more powerful than any other shifter.

He’d been obsessed with getting his hands on a scale because, as rumor has it, if it’s ground to a dust and snorted, the user will gain the strength of the creature it was taken from. And not just that, but the user would become impervious to injury. They would become damn near indestructible.

Of course, it’s not permanent, but for a man like Ernesto—temporary is good enough. In a world where magic is currency, a dragon scale would be priceless. “I won’t say anything,” I promise. It’s an easy one to make because, while I do not particularly like the Ringmaster, intentionally bringing harm to him is something I can’t make myself do.

“I will rip your heart out even if it kills me.”His words replay through my mind, and while the rational part of my brain tells me he likely doesn’t want to lose his prime-time performer, there’s another side, a darker side, that hopes my death would cause him pain for another reason entirely.

“Why would it kill you to rip my heart out?”

His shoulders heave with a heavy breath. Pupils dilated, he looks at me as though I’m the single most gorgeous thing he’s ever seen. Not too different from the way he watches me perform. Is it possession or obsession? Perhaps something more?

Lust warms my blood, pooling in my belly and making my heart race.

This is why I love performing for him. This is why the rush of being here in his space is so alluring. Why, even as I am desperate to escape, I’ve waited so long to make my move. Truth is I believe, without a doubt, that if I offered Apollo even a hint of a future together, he would leave with me in a heartbeat.

But the Ringmaster makes me feel important. Even as I think it, I flex my fingers. What will his skin feel like? His scales? Are they smooth? Cool to the touch? Or as hot as this fire burning within me?

Before I can stop myself, I’m reaching forward. The Ringmaster jumps backward, moving so quickly he nearly falls over. “Do not touch me,” he snarls once again.

My cheeks heat, and I drop my hand, turning toward the door. “Fine. I’ll go—”

“Stop.”

I do as I’m told because, if I don’t, he’ll likely punish me for it later. “I don’t like being touched, either,” I say softly. “I’m so sorry—”

“What did I tell you about the constant apologizing?” he demands, closer now. His breath fans over the back of my neck, and I shiver.

I don’t answer. Just close my eyes and breathe him in. He’s so close now, right behind me, and I have to actively fight the urge to lean back and press against him.

“You have no idea how fucking badly I want to touch you,” he says. “My bare fingertips sliding over your milky flesh.” A gloved finger touches the back of my neck and then slides down my spine.

My lips part, and I let out a breath as the throbbing between my legs intensifies.

“How badly I want to run my hands over your body while you’re bent over my desk. It’s all I fucking think about,” he growls. “The way you would sound when you come on my cock.”

The heat between my legs turns to an inferno, so I clench my thighs together in an attempt to ease some of the ache. A problem I have only in his presence.

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