Laughing, he leaned across the table to kiss her lips before she could notice the blush burning across his cheeks. She had surprised him again. Touche. Settling back in his seat, he pinned her with his stare. “So, who’s dying?”
She sat up straighter in her chair. “What do you mean?”
“You came all this way to obtain the saji from me, a dragon. There has to be something big to drive you to this extreme. People don’t come looking for me, Sandra.”
She fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth. “My little sister. Well, she’s not exactly little, she’s in her twenties, but she’ll always be little to me.” A small chagrined laugh escaped her. It endeared her to him, tying her strings around his heart even tighter. “Anyways, it’s cancer.” She glanced at him. “A wasting disease.”
“I do read and have television. I have a clue.”
“It’s non-operable. Chemo and radiation were shrinking the tumor in her head, but three months ago they found spots on her liver and lungs.” She clutched the pocket on the chest of her dress tight in her hands. “It’s her only hope.”
“You have the saji with you?”
“Yes, I didn’t want to risk leaving it in the den.”
He leaned across the narrow table. “Why?”
“You were in such a foul mood I wondered if you’d take me back to the den.”
A drum began to pound inside his head in time to his heartbeat. “You still don’t trust me?” Her actions cut him deeper than any weapon ever had. Pain sliced through his chest where she’d been weaving herself around his deprived heart. Was all this aching worth it? First her leaving, now this. Sure, she made him happy, but she also gave him insurmountable distress. He grabbed her wrist across the table so she wouldn’t escape.
“You’ve been tricking me ever since we’ve met.” She struggled within his iron gaze. “What do you expect?”
He tossed enough bills on the table to cover three meals, and dragged her from the restaurant. Once outside in the cool air, he pulled her into the alley next to the restaurant for privacy and spun her to face him. “For fun, but nothing I did hurt you except maybe your pride. You should ship the saji to your sister instead of waiting for the plane flight. I’d pay for expediting the package. We could have it there by tomorrow morning and she’d be healed before you ever reached her bedside.”
She stood up straighter as if poked by a sharp stick. “You’d do that?”
A growl escaped him and he almost snapped his teeth. All this time, she thought him a monster, yet treated him like a person. Who was the one being tricked now?
She jumped. “It’s doesn’t matter. I can’t ship it. No one believes in magic where I live. They’d never use it on her.”
He retreated farther down the alley.
“Where are you going?” She didn’t follow.
“I’m taking you back to my den where both you and the saji will be safe until it’s time for your flight.” He shifted form, tucking in his tail so it wouldn’t roll out onto the street. The night should cover his flight well enough. Even then, most residents knew about him in some form.
“I don’t think–”
Not bothering to listen anymore, he snatched her in his claws and took flight. His injury was sore, but he could manage the short flight now.
Sandra punched at his palm until a sharp pain ran up his finger.
He winced. The bitch had bitten him.
Chapter 13
Watching his step, Ishi landed on the ledge, making sure not to squish his precious cargo, even though she had teeth small enough to pinch the skin between his fingers. What was he thinking when he’d admired her ferocious streak?
He sat on his haunches and opened his hand, but Sandra didn’t tumble free.
She bit down even harder.
“For the love of all that’s golden, let me go.” He shook his arm and watched as she dangled from his flesh like a human turned pit-bull. He brought her up to his face. “That hurts.” With his claws, he plucked her by the dress and yanked her off.
The sound of material tearing filled the silence. Sandra slipped from his grasp and landed hard on the stone ledge with an umph.
Shifting to human form, he raced to her side. “Sweetie, did I hurt you?” He rolled her over. Only his centuries of training saved him from the punch she swung in his direction.
“You jerk!” She rolled to her feet, not an easy task in a torn dress, and he marveled at her grace. Her sleeve hung loose, exposing the smooth pink skin of her shoulder. Stepping forward, she took aim again.
He caught her fist in his hand. “Easy, Rambo.”
“Stop lugging me around like baggage. I thought you were too injured to fly.” She attempted to jerk her hand from his grip with no result.
Her struggles ignited something primal in his dragon soul. It bloomed deep in his gut and he fought the strange urge to–to mark her. “I heal fast.” He tugged her into his arms and held her tight against him. His arousal was hard and ready, pressing into her thigh.
Damn it, he should have recognized the signs before now. He’d seen enough males of his race go through this. He was courting her as a mate. His stupid animal instincts were so powerful. He wanted to take her against the ledge wall and rut with the passion of his kind.
“Let go.”
“Why? You didn’t when I asked.” He stopped her acid response of foul language with a kiss, plundering her mouth with his tongue. He expected her to bite it, was a pinch disappointed when she didn’t. Instead, she swung her knee between his legs.
His balls screamed in silence just before he blocked the cheap shot. “Easy, I have plans to use those.” With a simple move, he bent her over his shoulder and carried her to the bedroom. He understood her need to return home, but he’d leave his mark so she’d remember to come back.
“Put me down.”
He winced as her fists pounded against his back, her legs flailed about, their odd angle the only reason he didn’t receive a black eye from a well placed kick.
“You ogre!”
Ignoring her, he captured her legs with one arm, tilting up until she squealed and grasped at the back of his shirt.
“Is there a problem with your hearing? Let me go, Ishi.”
He didn’t answer.
“What are you so upset about? So I took the saji with me.”
That she had showed just how much she trusted him. He’d thought they were progressing in their courtship. He’d lured her into his den, helped her shed her fear of him, seduced her and yet, she still treated him like–like some common thief.
She made a frustrated noise and slapped his back.
“While you’re at it, can you slap a little lower?” He slid her farther along his back so she’d have better access to his ass.
She went limp.
He passed through the threshold of the bedroom and paused to glance over his shoulder. Had she passed out? “Sandra?”
She began to shake.
Gently, he knelt to set her down, but she swatted him on the ass before he released his hold. The sound of her laughter finally reached his ears.
Sliding onto his knee, she grinned. “You’re impossible.” She leaned and pressed a tender kiss on his forehead. The gesture meant more to him than any blowjob or fuck.
He closed his eyes at the soft feel of her lips and sighed. Nothing would keep him from claiming her. If she didn’t come back, he’d fly across the ocean to find her. No matter how many times the gate returned him here, he’d go out and try again. “Remember that trait, Sandra. You’ll never escape me.”
“Why would I ever want to?” She rose to her feet and meandered to his bed. When she pivoted toward him, he saw she’d already undone the buttons running down the front of her dress. She let it slip to her feet. The saji clanged again the stone floor.