Page 68 of Payne's Envy

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“Hang on.” I ordered my mate as she screamed, “Behind us!”

Reaching back, I tried grabbing her, but couldn’t reach her.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I had to keep Joy safe. It wasn’t easy to fly when I feared throwing her off.

“Move toward my shoulder so you can ride in my hand.”

“Do whatever you have to kill them, Payne.” There was a slight thrill in her voice as she gripped my scales. “I can take care of myself. Hurry! It’s coming.”

With a growl, I swooped upward. The dragon’s teeth snapped at my tail before I tucked my tail closer toward me. The fire built in my chest. I spun around to meet the dragon head on. I opened my mouth as the beast came toward me.

What was with those creatures? That one was multicolor and odd. His body had abrasions everywhere. The cuts almost looked stitched. Just what had been used to create those foul-smelling dragons?

Joy’s grip on my scales disappeared. I took my eyes away from the dragon to glance down. I didn’t see or feel her. “Joy!”

My insides twisted until I felt her touch on me again. “Payne, look out!”

The creature collided with me. The force of his attack pushed me backward. His teeth clinked together as he snarled and snapped. Grabbing his jaw, I held him away from my neck and squeezed his snout. He howled and shook his head, trying to free himself from my grip.

The creature’s attempts to harm me were futile. No matter how much it clawed or bit, it wasn’t strong enough to break my scales. Satisfaction buzzed through me, boosting me with energy. Such strength wouldn’t be wasted on me. I had my mate to protect.

Before I could set him on fire, Joy jumped from my shoulder. She landed on the creature’s head, and her green blade sank between its eyes. Black blood splattered across my scales. The rotting scent filled my nostrils. The dragon descended and Joy, still on top of the beast, fell, too. She reached her hand out. My hand was too big to grip hers, so I grabbed her by the waist instead. I opened my palm to let her stand on it. Cheeks flushed; she looked up at me as she panted.

“Don’t scare me, mate. I thought you fell off my back. What did you do?”

With a huff, Joy wiggled her brows and jumped out of my hand. My stomach twisted as I hurried to grab her, only to see my mate floating. There was a twinkle in her gaze as she let me come to terms with what she did. “I should have guessed this. I saw one of your brothers do it before.”

She dropped back into my palm and curled her arms around one of my claw-tipped fingers. The potent scent of her hit me then. Her arousal wreaked havoc on my senses, and my cock pushed against the protective layer of scales to get out. I brought my snout close to her chest and inhaled.

She sucked in a breath. “I can’t control it.”

“I know, mate. I will take care of you.”

“Not if Harvest keeps sending the dragons,” she whimpered as she dropped her head against my snout.

She was so small compared to me. So precious. I was happy to exist in that world with her.

Another ghastly beast roared beneath me. Glancing down, I saw it flying upward. I flapped my tail as my mate’s scent overwhelmed my senses. “I grow tired of this.”

Joy’s soft touch paused on my scales. “Payne…”

“Brace yourself,”I said.

“Payne!” The panic in her voice was like a lightning bolt straight to the heart. “Don’t flip. My, my powers!”

“What is it?”

“I’m mortal right now,” she stated.

Terror coursed through my joints and my left wing dipped as I stiffened. I quickly corrected my glide to keep Joy from falling.

“Mortal?”

“We’re in danger,” she cried. “This is what Harvest wanted.”

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