Dragon Blood

Nine: Uncertain Plans

Skylar gave up fighting; she had no chance of breaking out of this man's grasp. He was solid as a rock and broad as a barn. She didn't like the vulnerability of being in his arms, but since there wasn't anything she could do about it, she sat quietly. Where was he taking her? She didn't think he was going to kill her, if he was he would have done it already. But the uncertainty of her situation made it impossible to calm down. Her dragon didn't like their situation anymore than Skylar, but she preferred it over being in Draco's grasp. Besides, she was quite curious about the man and his dragon. 

Skylar's dragon had been thrilled to be in the presence of another of her kind, and she liked this one a lot. He was powerful and knew what it meant to be a dragon. Skylar didn't care for him, since he was pushy, arrogant and very physical. He wasn't afraid to try to intimidate her with his size, which was exactly what he had been doing when he'd pulled their bodies flush. To her dismay, she hadn't minded the proximity to the good looking man. In fact, she'd been quite intoxicated by his woodsy, musky scent and the hard strength of his body. But when he'd leaned in and sniffed her, that had quickly reminded her of her situation. Luckily, Skylar's dragon had had similar feelings about the uninvited investigation. She wasn't some female for him to take at his leisure. Skylar's dragon wouldn't go easy to any male, especially one who presumed to have authority over her. For the second time in a night, they were on the exact same page. 

She glanced up at her new captor, took in the squareness of his strong jaw and the dark stubble that covered it. Shaggy brown hair fell around his sculpted face and brushed his shoulders. Those shoulders stretched his shirt tight across his solid chest, which was unnervingly close to Skylar's face. The man was built like a mountain. 

"What are you looking at?" he snarled down at her. She responded with an instinctual growl of her own. The sound generated in her chest so naturally, she didn't even have to think about it. The way she gave into her more animalistic qualities, the snarling, growling, and baring her teeth, was something completely new to her. Being in the presence of another dragon was affecting her in unpleasant ways. She was starting to act like them. But it felt like the only way to voice her irritation to this burly man in a way he would understand. 

"Nothing of importance," she told him steadily. Her dragon made a noise in her head, and it took Skylar a moment to realize that it was amusement. She'd never experienced such a positive emotion from the beast and it was the most pleasant sensation. Why the animal was amused, Skylar couldn't tell, but that didn't matter. 

The man snorted and scrunched his elegant nose in distaste. "I could say the same."

Their gazes clashed, gold versus blue, and neither was willing to give. She felt him projecting his strength at her, willing for her to submit, but her dragon shrugged it off. The beast met the challenge readily, sending out waves of her own to let this male know who exactly it was he was dealing with. If he felt her power, he gave no indication. Skylar hadn't expected her dragon to have such an enthusiastic, strong response to this brute of a man. No matter what her dragon thought of her, the monster wasn't about to let this male push Skylar around. It was surprisingly comforting to know she wasn't all alone in this, even if her companion was a monster inside her head.

"Since I have no choice in the matter," Skylar huffed, "you could at least tell me where you're taking me."

He took a few more long strides before he answered. "To my clan. You can't endanger anyone there."

His clan. Where other dragons lived. Her own dragon sang in joy of this new development, but Skylar's stomach dropped right to her feet. She likely wouldn't be in danger, she was a dragon herself, but she was an outsider. She knew absolutely nothing about being a dragon, and she wasn't keen to learn.