looked extremely discontent.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
It was at least a minute before he answered, and she could see the dragon’s mind working overtime to process whatever foreign emotions he was dealing with.
“When you say that I am your ‘first’, it implies that there will a second,” he said. “There will not be.”
He’s jealous , she realized. As a dragon, Sevrrn was naturally possessive of everything he owned, Madja included. But jealousy, that must have been an entirely new experience for him. It implied resentment, which in turn implied a sense of injury, real or imagined. The night before, Sevrrn hadn’t been being his normal possessive self. When he’d smelled the other men on her, he’d been jealous. How had she not realized that?
Had Madja been a slightly better woman, she would have sat him down and had a long talk about the new feeling he was experiencing. She would help him better understand jealousy, teach him how to cope with it, and even offer him reassurance that she was his and his alone.
But, she was only human and still a little mad and a little jealous herself. And so, she screwed up. Royally.
“Who knows?” she said, casually tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. “Maybe there won’t be a second man and maybe there will. Maybe I’m also curious to find out what other men have to offer.”
For a split second, Madja felt supremely smug. After everything he’d put her through in the past two days, those words were exactly what he deserved to hear.
Then, she felt bad. Sevrrn genuinely didn’t know the effect his words could have on others, but she did and she had deliberately tried to hurt him during a rare moment when he was vulnerable.
Then, she felt frightened. Much like jealousy, hurt and sadness were two things Sevrrn had yet to understand and he handled them the same way he handled any other offense. He got angry.
Face contorting with rage, Sevrrn’s hand shot out. He grabbed the front of her slip and gave it a hard jerk, pulling her in close so that he could glare down at her. His pupils had narrowed to thin slits.
“There is nothing another male can do for you that I cannot,” said the dragon. “If you ever let another male touch you again, I will kill him.”
For a moment they stood like that, both trembling. Madja could hear nothing except her own shallow breaths and the sound of her heartbeat hammering in her ears.
When she got over her own shock, she saw that Sevrrn was just as alarmed as she was. Eyes wide, he released her and took a step back. He stared at his hand and then at her slip, which he had torn. Her gaze moved to his face and Madja recognized another new emotion in them.
Regret.
She knew that it was something he needed to feel, but her first instinct was to soothe him. Taking a step forward, she placed her hands on his face. For the first time, his skin felt cool to the touch.
“I don’t want any other man. I only want you.”
She pulled him down for a slow and gentle kiss. He allowed her to set the pace for a few seconds.
Then, something within him snapped.
Her delicate sense of equilibrium was overturned as he gave her a forceful shove. Too startled to react quickly enough, she went falling fast. Her back hit the floor with a hard thud and all of the breath left her body. Vision blurring, everything temporarily became a haze of gold.
She drew in a breath—to cry?
To scream?
To whimper?
She wasn’t sure, because no sooner were her lungs full of air, Sevrrn was on top of her, kissing her savagely. Sound erupted from within her in the form of a prolonged moan. The noise only incited him further.
His sharp fangs cut her bottom lip, drawing blood. It wasn’t the first time he had done this in a fever of passion, but this time it felt deliberate. While his tongue thrust into her mouth, drowning out protests that weren’t there, his claws raked up her thighs, leaving a trail of burning flesh.
Knowing
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
It was at least a minute before he answered, and she could see the dragon’s mind working overtime to process whatever foreign emotions he was dealing with.
“When you say that I am your ‘first’, it implies that there will a second,” he said. “There will not be.”
He’s jealous , she realized. As a dragon, Sevrrn was naturally possessive of everything he owned, Madja included. But jealousy, that must have been an entirely new experience for him. It implied resentment, which in turn implied a sense of injury, real or imagined. The night before, Sevrrn hadn’t been being his normal possessive self. When he’d smelled the other men on her, he’d been jealous. How had she not realized that?
Had Madja been a slightly better woman, she would have sat him down and had a long talk about the new feeling he was experiencing. She would help him better understand jealousy, teach him how to cope with it, and even offer him reassurance that she was his and his alone.
But, she was only human and still a little mad and a little jealous herself. And so, she screwed up. Royally.
“Who knows?” she said, casually tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. “Maybe there won’t be a second man and maybe there will. Maybe I’m also curious to find out what other men have to offer.”
For a split second, Madja felt supremely smug. After everything he’d put her through in the past two days, those words were exactly what he deserved to hear.
Then, she felt bad. Sevrrn genuinely didn’t know the effect his words could have on others, but she did and she had deliberately tried to hurt him during a rare moment when he was vulnerable.
Then, she felt frightened. Much like jealousy, hurt and sadness were two things Sevrrn had yet to understand and he handled them the same way he handled any other offense. He got angry.
Face contorting with rage, Sevrrn’s hand shot out. He grabbed the front of her slip and gave it a hard jerk, pulling her in close so that he could glare down at her. His pupils had narrowed to thin slits.
“There is nothing another male can do for you that I cannot,” said the dragon. “If you ever let another male touch you again, I will kill him.”
For a moment they stood like that, both trembling. Madja could hear nothing except her own shallow breaths and the sound of her heartbeat hammering in her ears.
When she got over her own shock, she saw that Sevrrn was just as alarmed as she was. Eyes wide, he released her and took a step back. He stared at his hand and then at her slip, which he had torn. Her gaze moved to his face and Madja recognized another new emotion in them.
Regret.
She knew that it was something he needed to feel, but her first instinct was to soothe him. Taking a step forward, she placed her hands on his face. For the first time, his skin felt cool to the touch.
“I don’t want any other man. I only want you.”
She pulled him down for a slow and gentle kiss. He allowed her to set the pace for a few seconds.
Then, something within him snapped.
Her delicate sense of equilibrium was overturned as he gave her a forceful shove. Too startled to react quickly enough, she went falling fast. Her back hit the floor with a hard thud and all of the breath left her body. Vision blurring, everything temporarily became a haze of gold.
She drew in a breath—to cry?
To scream?
To whimper?
She wasn’t sure, because no sooner were her lungs full of air, Sevrrn was on top of her, kissing her savagely. Sound erupted from within her in the form of a prolonged moan. The noise only incited him further.
His sharp fangs cut her bottom lip, drawing blood. It wasn’t the first time he had done this in a fever of passion, but this time it felt deliberate. While his tongue thrust into her mouth, drowning out protests that weren’t there, his claws raked up her thighs, leaving a trail of burning flesh.
Knowing
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