“Aye, I did, Annwyl the Bloody.”
“Do stop calling me that.”
“You should be proud of that name. From what I understand, you earned it.”
“My brother also called me dung heap. I’m sure he thought I earned that too, but I’d rather no one call me that.”
“Fair enough.”
“And do you have a name?” He opened his mouth to say something but she stopped him. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”
“Really?”
“It will make beating the hell out of you so much easier.”
She wanted to throw him off. Make him uneasy. But his smile beamed like a bright ray of sunlight in the darkened glen. “A challenge. I like that.” He growled the last sentence, and it slithered all the way down to her toes. Part of her wanted to panic over that statement, since it frightened her more than the dragon himself. But she didn’t have time. Not with the blade flashing past her head, forcing her to duck and unsheathe her own sword.
He watched her move. Drank her in. And when she took off her shirt and continued to fight in just leather leggings, boots, and the cloth that bound her breasts down, he had to constantly remind himself of why he now helped her. To train her to be a better fighter. Nothing more or less. It was not so he could lick the tender spot between her shoulder and throat.
Annwyl, though, turned out to be a damn good fighter. Strong. Powerful. Highly aggressive. She listened to direction well and picked up combat skills quickly. But her anger definitely remained her main weakness. Anytime he blocked one of her faster blows, anytime he moved too quickly for her to make contact, and, especially, anytime he touched her, the girl flew into a rage. An all-consuming rage. And although he knew the soldiers of Lorcan’s army would easily fall to her blade, her brother was different. He knew of that man’s reputation as a warrior and, as Annwyl now stood, she didn’t stand a chance. Her fear of Lorcan would stop her from making the killing blow. Her rage would make her vulnerable. The mere thought of her getting killed sent a cold wave of fear through him.
Yet if he could teach her to control her rage, she could turn it into her greatest ally. Use it to destroy any and all who dare challenge her.
The shifting sun and deepening shadows told him that the hour grew late. The expression on her face told him that exhaustion would claim her soon, although she’d never admit it. At least not to him. But he knew what would push her over the edge. He grabbed her ass.
Annwyl screeched and swung around. He knocked her blade from her hand and threw her on her back.
“How many times, exactly, do I have to tell you that your anger leaves you exposed and open to attack?”
She raised herself on her elbows. “You grabbed me,” she accused. “Again!”
He leaned down so they were nose to nose. “Yes I did. And I enjoyed every second of it.”
Her fist flashed out, aiming for his face. But he caught her hand, his fingers brushing across hers. “Of course, if you learned to control your rage I’d never get near you.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently. “But until that time comes, I guess your ass belongs to me.”
She bared her teeth, and he didn’t try to hide his smile. How could he when he knew how it irritated her so? “I think we’ve practiced enough for the day. At least I have. And the dragon now has a scouting party for his dinner. But I’ll be back tomorrow. Be ready, Annwyl the Bloody. This won’t get any easier.”
Fearghus entered what he now considered her chamber, but immediately ducked the book flung at his head. Clearly she’d been waiting for him. And she was not happy.
“He’s the one supposed to be helping me?” she roared at him.
“Did you just throw a book at me? In my own den?”
“Yes. And I’d throw it again!”
Fearghus scratched his head in confusion. He’d never met a human brave enough—or stupid enough, depending on your point of view—to challenge him. “But,” he croaked out, amazed, “I’m a dragon.”
“And I have tits. It means nothing to me!”
“What exactly is wrong with you?”
“That . . . that . . .”
“Knight?”
“Bastard!”
“Me or the knight?”
“Both of you!”
His anger crawled up his spine and settled itself against the back of his neck. He briefly closed his eyes, taking in a deep soothing breath. She was making him angry, and Fearghus the Destroyer didn’t get angry. “I’ll come back when you’ve calmed down.” He turned to go, but she seized his tail . . . and pulled.
“Oi! Don’t walk away from me!”
If Annwyl could have punched herself in the face, she would have. Anything had to be better than watching the dragon turn, oh so slowly, to face her. She had clearly angered him. Really angered him. And when he just as slowly walked over to her, Annwyl knew that she might finally see her ancestors waiting to welcome her home. But no matter, Annwyl planned to stand her ground. She wasn’t going to let some dangerously grumpy dragon make her cower. Of course, she did let him back her up against the far cave wall. But she had no choice—he just kept coming.
Annwyl thought briefly about panicking, but that seemed about as useful as punching herself in the face. Instead she straightened her shoulders and looked directly into the dragon’s dark eyes.
“You don’t scare me, you know.” Impressive. She almost sounded as if she meant that.
“Really?” His tail appeared and the dangerously sharp point smashed into the cave wall right beside her head. Her body tensed as bits of stone hit the side of her face. He placed the tip of one of his wings on the other side of her, effectively boxing her in. He leaned in close to her, the flaring nostrils of his snout almost touching her face. “I should scare you, beautiful one. I can turn you to ash where you stand.”
The beast had a point, but no use backing down now. “Then do it if you’re going to.”
The dragon’s eyes dragged across the entire length of her body. Then he breathed in deep, his eyes closed, as if he were sniffing a really good meal. . . . Well, that’s not a soothing thought.
“No one’s ever thrown anything at me,” he finally got out as his dark eyes again focused on her.
“Well, you deserved it. You should have warned me about him.”
Fearghus took a step back. She realized that she’d held her breath the entire time. She let it out as the beast took another step away from her. She guessed he’d decided not to eat her . . . today. “Was it really that bad, Annwyl?” His anger seemed to have dissipated. She wondered how he did that. Control his rage. She envied him the skill.
“Yes. It was.”
“But did you learn anything?”
Damn dragon with his bloody life lessons. “That’s beside the point.”
“Annwyl?”
“All right. Maybe a little.” He chuckled and Annwyl, without meaning to, smiled in response. “I’ve always been better than anyone I’ve ever fought.” Not that she had a choice. Her father knew teaching her to fight was the only way she would ever survive her childhood. Her brother had actively tried to kill her on more than one occasion and she had a tendency to say things that caused some men to want to see her dead. She guessed, though, that none of the men—including her father—expected her to be as good or as brutal a fighter as she turned out to be. “But your knight. He made me feel like I couldn’t fight off a ten year old boy.”
Fearghus sighed. “Give it time. He’s . . . uh . . . doing what I asked him to.” She didn’t want to give it time. Or give the knight a chance. She found him . . . disconcerting. And she didn’t like that feeling one bit. And she hated him for making her feel that way. She hated him a lot.