"Oh." She tore her gaze off of him. "Sorry..." Her cheeks blazed. "No, actually I"m not... sorry that is. You can"t whip that thing out and expect me not to look."
He chuckled. "You can look at my c.o.c.k any other time you want, just not right now."
Julie was staring at the ground. "I"d prefer it if you kept your pants on."
He chuckled some more. "I"m going to shift now. Please don"t be afraid."
"I won"t." She hoped she wouldn"t be. She prayed she wouldn"t be but all bets were off. He was a wild beast underneath that human skin. A wild, overlarge reptile. A shiver ran through her. Fear and excitement. What a combination.
There was a cracking, pulling sound. It sounded like ropes being stretched to their breaking point. Julie had to look, how could she not? Her eyes flitted to where he was standing just a foot or two in front of her. Her neck craned as she watched him... expand, extend. Muscles rippled and roped. His skin broke out in scales. They were dazzling. The most beautiful hues of blue, green and even oranges. Gold. There were a ton of gold scales as well. They covered his chest... it expanded out.
His jaw elongated, fangs burst forth. His limbs cracked as they extended. His tail... oh my G.o.d... he had a tail. It lengthened. Wings sprang open. They were huge. So wide. She could almost see through them, yet she could tell that they were as strong as they were fine.
He lifted his great head and roared. A sound so terrifying, so powerful, yet beautiful. He was beautiful...period. His chest was a bright golden color. So rich, almost too bright to look at for too long. Coal lowered his head. His eyes locked with hers. They were the same dark orbs, only they were in slits now instead of whites and irises. She couldn"t look away. So mesmerizing. Coal looked deadly, ferocious and mighty.
Without thinking, she raised her hand towards him. Coal lowered his head some and she rubbed him between his eyes. His skin... scales were warm to the touch. So smooth and soft. Next, she touched the scales on his breast. Just as warm only hard as metal shields. They were like a built-in armor.
There was a soft rumble that emanated from deep inside his ma.s.sive body. If she thought he was big in human form, she was greatly mistaken.
"Wow." She sighed. "Just wow."
He gave another rumble, deeper this time. When she looked into his eyes, they were sparkling with... humor.
Slow and steady, he began to flap his great wings. They hardly seemed to move as they beat in graceful arcs, he rose from the ground, moving vertically. Coal lifted and lifted until he was a few feet above her head, then he gave an almighty push with his wings and shot into the air.
Julie couldn"t help but to laugh with excitement as he launched himself into the sky, moving almost too quickly for her eyes to register. Then he dropped like a great rock falling quickly, and then with an almighty stroke of those ma.s.sive wings he was soaring again. Julie laughed again as she watched him fly somersaults. Forwards and backwards, up and then down. He was showing off, for her. How cute! This arrogant barbarian, caveman was showing off. It was surprisingly touching.
In this moment, he reminded her of a young boy trying to impress a girl for the first time. He could be sweet, arrogant and down right bossy. There was a quirky side to him as well though.
Coal had slowed right down. He flew towards her, stopping a few feet above her head and slowly lowered himself down. His claws were huge and sharp looking. She should be afraid, but for whatever reason, she wasn"t.
Julie lifted her arms so that he could wrap his scaly, talon tipped claws around her waist. She took ahold of one of his legs. It was like holding onto a narrow tree trunk. A scaly, hard as granite tree trunk.
Don"t look down. Don"t look down. His wings beat as they lifted up and up. Not so fast that her stomach lurched but quick enough that the windows seemed to grow bigger by the second. She looked up as adrenaline coursed through her. This was both nerve wracking and exhilarating all at the same time. It didn"t take long and they were swooping over onto a balcony. Julie almost felt sad that the flight was over. She"d never experienced anything like it in her whole life. Okay, she"d experienced it twice but not like this. Not with her eyes open. Not with him... Coal. Not that it mattered.
The balcony seemed to have been built into the rock. The railing looked ornate, made from a dark metal that blended into the side of the cliff. The ground was cut rock. Her feet touched down. It wasn"t lost on her that Coal held onto her for a few beats before letting her go. Only doing so once her feet were firmly planted on the ground.
If her eyes hadn"t been on him, she wouldn"t have seen the change. It was much quicker to go from dragon to human. It was like everything pulled in on itself. Within two seconds, he was a man. A very naked man. She had to work to keep her eyes from drifting. Coal slid his arm around her and drew her against his body.
He was warm and big. She pretty much fit in the crook of his arm. His hand curled around her hip possessively.
"You are mine." His voice was rough, with a smoky edge. Smoky funny that, since he was a dragon.
Mine.
Wait just a minute with the mine s.h.i.t. She was about to say something when he cleared his throat. "If anyone asks, you are mine. Do not dispute it or you will be fair game."
"Oh... s.h.i.t! Okay. I"m yours." It felt weird saying it. She had never belonged to anyone before. No parents, no siblings, no sense of belonging. Not ever. Till now. It was horrible and oddly comforting and all at once.
Coal squeezed her side. "Don"t let go of me unless I-"
"Yeah, yeah, unless you have to make someone bleed." Her heart was pounding. She could hear the roar of the blood as it rushed through her veins.
Coal sniffed and then gave a chuckle. "You like the idea of me fighting. You may not want to admit it but you"re enjoying this."
"Um... no." Half-hearted.
He smiled down at her. "You like the idea of me fighting for you. You are a strange female, Julie." Oooh the way he said her name. It gave her b.u.t.terflies. It shouldn"t give her b.u.t.terflies.
He leaned in. "You say you don"t want me. You don"t like that I called you mine..." he paused. "I felt you tense when I said it. Yet, you like looking at me naked and you want me to fight for you. You like my dragon as well." He said the last like it was important to him.
She shrugged. "I like animals and I"ve always enjoyed watching wrestling and those cage fighting matches. I told you, if you let it all hang out there, I"m looking. Aren"t you going to get dressed now?"
Coal shook his head. "I left those tattered rags at the base of the cliff."
She giggled. "Isn"t it dangerous to fight without pants?"
Coal grinned. He was really cute when he smiled. "No. Dragons are honor bound. We would never purposefully hit below the belt."
"Purposefully?" She raised her brows.
His smile widened. "Accidents happen but we are able to heal and regenerate quickly."
Julie choked out a laugh.
"The thought of my d.i.c.k being ripped off or badly burned amuses you?"
Julie put up a hand. "Why is it that every conversation we have is about your... man part?"
"I don"t know; why do you think that is?" He raised his brows, his mouth quirked up at the sides and his eyes were bright with amus.e.m.e.nt.
"Oh no..." She huffed. "Don"t turn this around. Forget it."
He leaned in close, his mouth was close to her forehead. "I think..."
The door to the terrace opened. "Are you going to hang here all day?" A tall, blond guy with a broad smile stuck his head around the jamb. He had the most beautiful blue eyes and was good looking in a preppy kind of way.
His shoulders were broad. He wasn"t wearing a shirt. He had similar tattoo type markings to Coal, only his were silver instead of gold. From what she could gather, that meant that he wasn"t of royal descent.
Coal growled low in his throat. It sounded like a warning. "Flame."
"Relax, my lord." Flame closed the door behind him. He held clothing in his hands. Thank G.o.d he was wearing a pair of blue, cotton pants. They reminded her of lose fitting yoga pants or the type of garment a martial arts person would wear. His smile didn"t falter. "I won a female. Her name is Pauline." He took a step towards them and handed Coal the clothing.
She felt Coal relax as he took the pants. He put them on, one pants leg at a time. Thank G.o.d! Not looking, down there, was becoming difficult. Not that she wanted to look, it"s just well, she was a woman and he a man and he was naked and hung and... thank G.o.d he was dressed.
Flame patted Coal on the back. "I would never try to take what is yours." Flame looked at her for the first time. "I am Flame." He extended a hand and Coal growled. He sounded like a p.i.s.sed off lion or bear. A big, vicious man-eating beast.
She elbowed him. "Stop it!"
"Ignore him." Flame winked at her. "He"s going to be very possessive of you until he claims you fully."
Julie swallowed hard. What did that mean? Forget it, she didn"t want to know. She took Flame"s hand and shook it. "I"m Julie." She smiled and Coal growled louder. She elbowed him again but it was like knocking her arm against a slab of stone. Pointless.
Coal sniffed loudly. He chuckled. It came out sounding raw and deep. "You"re looking relaxed and happy. Where is your female?"
Flame smiled some more. His cheeks reddened. "She is sleeping in my chamber. I think I wore her out."
"You claimed her fully so soon?" Coal sounded shocked. He was frowning.
Flame nodded. "I am a handsome son of a b.i.t.c.h. I know my way around a human. Pauline is a"- he huffed out a breath-"beautiful, sweet female. I am so lucky to have her. I cannot wait for her belly to swell with our child."
Julie pulled out of Coal"s embrace. He tried to pull her back against him but she slapped his hand away. "I thought you guys weren"t allowed to use force."
"What is your female talking about?" Flame looked at Coal.
"Firstly, I"m not his female." She almost stomped her foot.
Coal snarled. "I told you to be very careful about what you say. Do you want to be fair game? I will not be able to fight them all off and someone else will take you from me. You are mine, Julie. Mine. I won you."
"This is so f.u.c.ked up!" Julie yelled. "I"m n.o.body"s. Not yours or anyone else"s, am I clear?"
Coal took ahold of her wrist. "You are on dragon territory-"
"I"m sick of hearing that. It"s not by choice." She s.n.a.t.c.hed her hand away. "This son of a b.i.t.c.h raped one of the women, aren"t you going to do anything about it?"
"Flame is a good male, he may have rutted his female but that does not mean that force was used." Coal narrowed his eyes. "Stop to think for a moment, maybe the female wanted him. Maybe she invited him to her bed?"
Julie shook her head. "We were all afraid. We ran for half the day." Was it possible? She didn"t even know Pauline. h.e.l.l, she"d had a couple of one night stands herself. No biggie! Girl meets guy, they have wild s.e.x and go their separate ways. It was unlikely but possible.
Flame looked a little sh.e.l.l shocked. "I didn"t force the female. I would never"-he turned to face Coal- "ever do such a thing. I do not wish to discuss it because it is private. My female is fine. She-"
"I want to see her," Julie blurted. "We were kidnapped. Kept in a room with two idiot women who fed us a whole lot of bulls.h.i.t and then we were hunted like animals by, well, animals. You"ll forgive me if I"m a little touchy and if I lack trust." Trust was hard for her on the best of days.
Coal stepped towards her, right into her personal s.p.a.ce. She had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact but stood her ground even though he looked, scary. "I have painstakingly explained things to you. I thought that we were becoming... friends." He said the word like it pained him and Flame laughed, despite still looking upset. "I thought that I had won your trust. I am sorry to hear that this is not the case. You will stay close. If you dispute being my female, I will be forced to claim you in front of every male in there. I will not hesitate to do it. If need be, I will kill to keep you... am I clear?"
Julie was stunned. She didn"t know what to say. Part of her felt angry and another felt guilty because she seemed to have really hurt his feelings. Tough luck! Claim her? What? "What does it mean to claim me?" She put her hands on her hips.
"Back to the forcing argument. I wouldn"t rut you if that"s what you"re asking. To think we had made headway." He shook his head. "I was wrong. I would need to show ownership but without claiming you fully."
Guilt overtook the anger and she huffed out a breath, letting her shoulders slump.
"Answer me," he growled. His eyes on her. "I need you to understand that your actions will have ramifications. For now, you are a sheep amongst the wolves."
"What does that mean?" She managed to get out over the lump in her throat.
"Not now, female," Coal growled. "Do you understand what I have just told you?"
"You can"t say something like that without explaining. I"m not a sheep. You also don"t own me. I am my own person."
Coal sighed loudly and rubbed his eyes.
Flame laughed.
"This isn"t funny." Coal said, under his breath.
"I beg to differ, my lord."
Coal put his dark orbs back on her. "I said that I would explain it, just not now. Do I have your agreement? You are mine. You cannot say anything different."
"Do you agree to take me to see Pauline?"
"Later."
"Right now." She grit her teeth. "I need to be sure that she"s okay. I want to see all the women, for that matter."
Flame choked out a laugh.
Coal made a noise of frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You can see the females still on fire territory."
"What does that mean?" She growled.
Flame stepped forward. "The dragon territories are divided between four kingdoms. Each with their own king. We are the rulers of the four. We won three females. Two of the them are no longer here. I a.s.sure you that they are fine."
"You will need to prove it."
"If Flame says that they are fine then they are fine," Coal said.
She shook her head. "You will need to prove it."
He was silent for a good long time. He finally huffed out a breath. "Fine." He said between clenched teeth.
Flame laughed even louder. "You have your hands full, my lord."
"I"ll clip your wings, you insolent little p.r.i.c.k." Coal grit out between clenched teeth. He didn"t look like he meant it.
"Nah..." Flame slapped him on the back. "You"ll be too busy to find time for that. Pauline is sleeping, you will find her in my chamber." He glanced at her and then back at Coal before chuckling some more. He walked back in through the door. It was loud inside. A whole lot of voices. All male. Her heart fluttered. What the h.e.l.l had she gotten herself into?
Coal turned to face her. s.h.i.t! He didn"t look happy. "Ready?" His voice was rough and short.
"And if I say no?" Why did she insist on causing s.h.i.t with him?
He didn"t answer, he hooked an arm around her. "No is not an option. You are mine." He growled. "Mine!" he added, more forcefully.
A shiver raced up her spine. Her hands felt damp. Her legs felt like jello. The thing was, she wasn"t sure if she was more afraid of what was waiting inside or the man that was beside her.
She sucked in a deep breath and nodded anyway.