The Dragon’s Appraiser: Part Two (6 page)

With each thrust inside her tender core, Sevrrn tightened the coil inside of her belly. As the tension mounted, her entire body seemed to tighten in anticipation. Her breasts felt too full and her nipples became taut. Her throat closed and her abdomen clenched.

Abruptly, Sevrrn gave a final, hard thrust. Not quite at her own peak, she felt a flash of disappointment. Then, a shudder ran the length of his massive body. Hot seed poured into her, accompanied by a torrent of power that lit up every fiber of her being. The coil within her snapped as ecstasy tore through her body with the force of a cannonball. For a moment, she lost all sense of herself as pleasure engulfed her.

When she came back to her body, Sevrrn was holding her in his arms. Rather than appearing satisfied, he appeared concerned and she realized that she was sobbing. In an effort to reassure him, she pressed a kiss to his damp chest and then buried her head in his neck. She remained like that for a while, letting his otherworldly scent coax her body into a more relaxed state.

After she quit shaking, Sevrrn carried her to the lake. Thoroughly drained, she let him maneuver her like a doll as he washed the sweat, blood, and fluids from her flesh. Once she was clean, he dried her off and took her to her bed. The pile of silks felt glorious on her tortured skin, but Madja vastly preferred the feel of Sevrrn’s warm body as he cradled her.

As he held her, one of his fingers traced a lazy path over her nude form. At first, she thought that he was petting her—something he often did without thinking. But then she noticed he was only touching the parts of her that he had marked. Scratches, bruises, scrapes, and bites.

“I must be more careful next time,” he murmured.

He sounded as though he was talking more to himself than to her, but she responded anyway.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she lied.

“Sometimes I forget how easily you are damaged,” he told her. “I was careless. I will never harm you again.”

Madja’s brows rose. Was that an apology?

Feeling some of her energy return to her, she couldn’t resist testing the boundaries of their new dynamic.

“What if I do something you don’t like? Will you hurt me then?”

“No,” he immediately replied, seeming surprised by his own answer.

“What if I try to leave?”

His face hardened and she almost felt bad. He was already dealing with enough tonight and she’d just thrown him for a loop. But if they had any hope of ever having a real relationship, she had to be something other than his prisoner.

After a brief pause, he asked, “Were I to say no, would you leave?”

It wasn’t quite the answer she’d wanted, but it spoke volumes to the state of his mind.

“As long as you don’t hurt me, I’ll never leave you,” she countered.

He nodded, appearing satisfied for a moment. Then, he looked suspicious.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Why would you stay if you knew I would not hurt you?”

Now, it was her turn to feel vulnerable. “Because I love you. And I think…maybe, just a little, you might love me, too.”

Sevrrn arched a skeptical brow. “What does that even mean, to
love
someone?”

It means valuing someone above other things, even yourself.

But how did she explain that to a dragon?

Madja swallowed hard. “Would you die for me?”

Sevrrn didn’t hesitate.

“No.”