by Hope Hart
“Dragix…”
His finger begins to move, and he adds another, filling me up. He shifts his mouth to my clit and blows on it gently, watching as I writhe.
“Dragix…” He grins up at me, and I can’t help but let out a breathy laugh. “You look far too pleased with yourself.”
He withdraws his fingers, and then he’s pressing himself to me, rubbing against me. I spread my legs even further, and he gently eases inside me. He goes slow, careful not to hurt me, and I’m so desperate for him that I’m the one lifting my hips, encouraging him to move faster.
“Gently, Charlie,” he murmurs. He leans down and nibbles against my lips, and then with one smooth thrust, he’s filling me up. He leans back and stares at me, and I’ll remember the look on his face for the rest of my life.
Tenderness, elation, and desperate need. He kisses me again, and then he moves, easing in and out as my body becomes used to him, so large, inside me.
“I don’t need you to be careful anymore,” I murmur, twisting my hips. He groans as I tighten around him, and then he plunges into me as we both gasp.
I can hear someone moaning, and I realize it’s me. I’m close, so close, and I pull him down, pressing myself against him as he grinds into me with each thrust, hitting my clit.
My body trembles, spasming around him, and I cry out as he thrusts again and again until it seems like the pleasure will never end. I come once more, my orgasm ripping through my body as I gasp, and this time he comes with me, burying his face in my neck with a growl.
We’re quiet for a long time as I stroke my hand down his back. I don’t know about him, but I feel vaguely shell-shocked. I didn’t know sex could be like that. Didn’t know I could be so undone by pleasure that I could barely remember my own name.
Dragix lifts his head and grins at me, as if we’re two children who have gotten away with something we shouldn’t have. I laugh, and he slowly moves off me, rolling over onto his back and taking me with him.
“Are you sure you feel okay?” I murmur.
“I could not feel better. Tell me about your life,” he says softly, his breath warm against my neck.
“There’s not much to tell,” I hedge, and he pulls me up his body so he can look into my eyes.
“I want to know everything about you, little two-leg.”
I laugh. “You know, that’s a ridiculous nickname.”
He smiles, tracing my mouth with his finger. “Tell me.”
“Well, to be honest, I didn’t have much of a life,” I admit. “I was living in my car in Houston when I was taken. I wonder if that was why it was easy for the Grivath to take me. I haven’t talked to the other women about where they were taken from.”
“What is a car?”
I explain—as best I can—how a car works.
Dragix frowns. “Why did you not have a home, like this one?” He gazes at the rock walls surrounding us, and I can’t help but laugh.
“No one has a home like this one, buddy,” I say with a laugh. “I was…running. From my ex.”
“Your lover,” he says, his face hardening, and I nod. “Why were you running?”
I take a deep breath. “It’s hard to talk about. Women on Earth…one in three of us are abused by our partners. It’s a sick club that I belonged to. I think it’s getting better, now that the Arcav are there. At least for those that are mates.”
“Your lover…hurt you?”
I nod, and Dragix’s face flushes with fury. And then I stare as his body slowly begins to turn shades of blue and green. He trembles against me.
“Dragix?”
“I am sorry,” he says. He grits his teeth, fighting the shift, and his skin reverts back to smooth gold silk.
“I wish I could travel to your planet,” Dragix murmurs. “Why is he not dead?”
“That’s not really how it works,” I say. Dragix blinks in incomprehension, and despite the topic, I have to hold back my smile.
“Why did no other males help you?”
I almost laugh at the sheer misogynism in that question, but on a planet as barbaric as this one, the question is valid.
I try to explain. “It’s not like he just hit me out of nowhere. We met at a club in New York originally. He was in the VIP section, and I was celebrating my friend’s engagement. He was loving at first. Charming. I’d never dated anyone like him.”
Dragix snarls at that, and I stroke my hand up his back. My possessive dragon. Somehow, his jealousy doesn’t scare me the way it should. And maybe that’s a red flag in itself.
“It started with backhanded compliments, veiled insults. I never went to college—my parents died in a car accident when I was a teenager, and they had no life insurance.” I wave a hand. “Never mind. Basically, I had no support. I was seventeen and all alone when they died. My grades plummeted, and I had no hope of scholarships. So the moment I turned eighteen, I took a job waiting tables.
“Ben was a high-priced defense attorney. When we first got together and I did something to piss him off, that’s what he would throw in my face. My lack of education. My minimum-wage job. He’d make jokes about it, sometimes in front of his friends.”
I clench my fists at the reminder of the humiliation of it all.
“I was so young. So alone. Looking back on it now, I was the perfect target. When he said I should quit my job, that it wasn’t bringing in any money anyway, that it embarrassed him, I did it. He said he wanted to spoil me, to take care of me.” Dragix’s eyes are hot on my face, and I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“No,” he says, his voice hoarse with rage. “Finish it.”
I swallow. Maybe it’s best to get it out. So I can finally take the first step toward forgiving myself.
“The first time he hit me, it was because I wouldn’t let him read my texts. He was being stupid, and I told him so. He slapped me across the face, and I stood there like an idiot, in shock.” Dragix inhales, and the air around us goes cold. My eyes widen, and he simply gestures for me to continue.
I sigh. “He apologized profusely, bought me flowers, and treated me like a princess for the next three months. I thought it was a one-off. He was stressed with work.
“Long story short, by the time I finally left, I had no friends to call. I’d basically disappeared. They thought I’d been too wrapped up in my new relationship to care about them anymore, and I had nowhere to go. They would’ve helped me if I’d told them. If I’d let them know what Ben had done to me. But I was too ashamed. I moved out, and he found me. Then I moved again, and he found me again. The threats, the pleading, the constant fear—it got to be too much. I thought I loved him. So I went back.”
A tear rolls down my face, and Dragix kisses it away. “You were alone and scared.”
I nod. “And weak.”
He catches my chin in his hand. “No.”
I shrug, still disappointed in myself. “A few weeks later, I did something to annoy him. I don’t remember what it was. All I remember is that he wrapped his hands around my throat.”
Dragix pulls me close, his huge body shaking as he kisses every inch of my face. I sigh, catching his lips with mine.
His lips are warm, gentle. He kisses me like I’m precious.
“You survived.”
“Yeah. A stroke of luck. He’d forgotten that one of his friends was about to arrive. He told me to go into the bedroom and shut the door. I did, and while I was there, I shoved whatever I could find into my backpack. And the moment he took his friend into the living room, I bolted down the hall and straight to the police.”
And then I spent three years on the run.
Dragix is silent for a long moment, and then he draws away from me. “And then you landed here, and I took you and stopped you from leaving. Stealing your freedom away. No wonder you hated me. No wonder you want to leave.”
I shake my head. “Yes, when you first took me, I thought you were just like Ben. But you’re not, Dragix. You’d never hurt me. If you
didn’t do it when you were more beast than man, you won’t do it now. I know that deep in my bones.”
“I will take you to the other two-legs tomorrow,” he says, and my mouth drops open.
“What?”
“If I do not give you your freedom, I am no better than the male who tormented you for so long.”
My eyes sting. The dragon learned about autonomy. About freedom. For me.
I gaze down at him. I don’t want to go, and that’s why I need to. This is the smart choice. The only choice.
Dragix
I mate with my little two-leg over and over again, throughout the day and night. I do not yet trust my wings to hold us, so I will have one more night with Charlie before I give her her freedom.
Guilt plagues me at the thought of her terror when I took her. Not just because I was a creature that she had never seen before but because she had already been abused.
I am…ashamed.
“You’re thinking about it again,” Charlie says softly, and I glance down at her. When the day began to heat, we moved down to what was once my parents’ room. The room is large enough for me to lie in dragon form, which would help me heal.
But I don’t want to miss a moment of this. Of lying with Charlie, my Charlie.
She sighs at my silence. “I forgive you, Dragix. You never hurt me, not even that night when I tried to escape.”
“I would never harm you.”
“I know.”
The sun is rising, the room turning a light gray. If I do not make myself take her soon, I will not be able to.
“We should go.”
Charlie sits up, her dark hair tousled around her beautiful face. “Are you sure? Can you fly?”
I nod. “We will go now.” Before I change my mind.
She suddenly looks so sad that I have to turn away.
“I will meet you upstairs,” I say.
“Okay.” Her voice is small. “If that’s what you want. I’ll go say bye to Maez.”
I nod and stalk out. Maez will not understand my choice. For a long moment, I regret ever seeing that ship fall from the sky. Regret ever being curious enough to fly toward it, to investigate the scent that drew me. If I had resisted the urge, I would have stayed in my winged form, never knowing any different. Never knowing this…loss.
But then you would not know Charlie.
She is wearing billowy dark-gray pants and a shirt the color of her eyes when she steps out onto the top of my mountain. She’s clutching a bundle in her arms, and I can smell my scent. My scales. She looks fragile, and sad, and so beautiful that I have to turn away as I shift into my winged form.
It hurts, but I embrace the pain. I would rather feel this pain than the pain of losing Charlie.
“Dragix…”
“We will go now.”
Her expression is sad when I finally look at her, and I have to glance away as a tear drips down her cheek.
“Okay,” she says softly. “You’re right.”
I help her onto my back and stretch my wings, ignoring the ache that lingers from the healing. I eat three udazin as we fly and immediately feel less drained.
And I take my little two-leg to her new home.
Chapter Eleven
Charlie
Thanks to the tears streaming from my eyes, I can’t even enjoy my last flight with my dragon. Dragix, thankfully, gives me privacy while I cry, but I know he can likely smell the salt from my tears.
He eats a few animals along the way, and it seems to help him fly faster. I hope he’s completely healed, but I’ve got a feeling that he’s still not yet at his best.
I wipe my face as he moves lower, no longer using his wings but soaring on an air current.
This is the smart choice. The right choice.
So why does it feel like shit?
Dragix lands, and I realize I’ve paid no attention to where we are. We’re in a small clearing close to a forest, and he transforms as I watch.
“The other two-legs are through there,” he says, pointing.
I’m not ready to leave him. “Will you…come with me?”
He studies me, and I wonder if he’s internally cursing me for making this even harder. But he nods, reaching for my hand.
“Wait. Maez gave me these for you.” I reach into my sack of clothes and beneath the precious scales I’ve collected. Finally, I find what I’m looking for, and I hand Dragix the pants. I knew that small line would appear between his eyes. That his lower lip would jut out just the tiniest bit. Not a pout but a clear sign of his displeasure.
“Come on, Dragix,” I wheedle, holding up the pants. “Don’t you want to see where I’ll be staying? To meet the other women?”
He hesitates, staring at the pants, and then meets my eyes. “This is what you want?”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” I sigh. “Honestly, I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet.”
That makes his gold eyes lighten slightly, and he looks at me for a long moment. “If this is what you want, I will come with you.”
“I realize I’m asking you to get close to your enemies. If you don’t want to do it…”
He angles his head as he gazes at me. “I would like to see these other two-legs. To know that you will be safe with them.”
It makes my heart hurt, but I nod, and he takes the pants, pulling them on. It feels incredibly weird to see him clothed—like watching a tiger put on a pair of shoes.
I thought it would make him look more civilized, but the way he tilts his head, looking down at his pants in distaste, makes it obvious that he’s not exactly a fan of clothes.
“Thank you,” I say.
He nods, and I take his hand as we walk in the direction he pointed.
It’s not long before a Braxian approaches, his eyes widening as he sees me.
“A human female,” he manages to get out, stuttering a little. “You are the one who has been missing.”
I nod. “I’d like to talk to the other women, please.”
He stares at Dragix, and I glance at him, almost laughing. The dragon has obviously decided to attempt to look unthreatening. His hands are by his sides, and he’s ducking his head, avoiding the Braxian’s eyes.
The Braxian waits for one long moment and then turns. That’s when Dragix raises his eyes, and I catch the look in them.
Pure, unwavering fury.
I must make some sound because he shifts his gaze to me, and his eyes soften slightly.
“You know what? We don’t need to do this,” I say. “This was a dumb idea, I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “I find that I need to see that you will be safe here,” he says.
My chest tightens. How could I have ever thought that Dragix would harm me? Not only is he giving me my freedom, but he’s getting close to his enemies just to make sure I’ll be safe.
I nod and squeeze his hand. And then we’re following the Braxian into a huge, sprawling camp. There are tents everywhere, and while Dragix explained that the Braxians are usually nomadic, nothing about this camp looks temporary.
“Charlie?”
I turn, and my mouth drops open at the woman who is trotting toward me. Her bump is small, but she’s still visibly pregnant, and she beams at me as a huge Braxian follows her, his gaze scanning me and then landing on Dragix, where it lingers.
“Ellie, right?”
She nods, and it’s hard to reconcile this happy woman with the one who had a broken arm and looked like she was about to pass out when we were following the Voildi.
“We’ve been looking for you for weeks.”
“Wow, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”
“Nevada,” Ellie calls over my shoulder, and I turn as I see another woman standing near a pen of weird scaled creatures that would be similar to horses if they weren’t bright green and horned.
Nevada turns, and her eyes widen as she spots me.
“Well hell,” she calls as she strides toward us, and I fee
l a moment of envy for her long legs, showcased in tight leather pants. “Here we are coming up with plan after plan to find you, and you end up strolling right in the front door.”
I remember this woman. She was the one who told the Voildi we were going to stop so I could rest. She grins at me and then gestures to some of the other women.
It’s a little overwhelming, having the same conversation over and over again as the other women appear. Apparently, some of them are at another tribe, also coupled up with their Braxian warriors. I feel like I’ve entered the twilight zone. I imagined that these women were working their butts off to get off this planet, but most of them seem more than content to stay.
Dragix is silent next to me, but he tenses each time one of the Braxians comes close. I stroke my thumb over his hand, and he tolerates the men, but I can tell he’s not happy.
“How’d you escape the dragon?” Nevada asks. “And who’s this guy?”
This is awkward. I glance at Dragix. We didn’t discuss whether he wants everyone to know what he is. And that he has a more vulnerable form. My head is spinning at everything that’s happening, and I take a moment to think.
Nevada is standing next to a Braxian who introduced himself as the tribe king, Rakiz. He wraps an arm around her, and she smiles up at him before returning her attention to me.
I suddenly don’t feel comfortable allowing these strangers to know Dragix’s secret.
“Uh, he’s, uh, a friend.”
The look he gives me is not pleased, and out the corner of my eye, I catch the other women glancing at each other doubtfully.
I haven’t attempted to use our mental pathway while Dragix is in this form, but I try anyway.
“I’m guessing you don’t want them to know what you are.” I stare at him, hoping he’s picking up what I’m sending. I’m aware that I’m being unforgivingly rude and likely still look constipated with the effort it takes to send my message as the other women watch. “If you want to go now, it’s okay. As you can see, I’ll be fine.”