“That’s … not what I meant.”
He pries the remaining chain free from my manacles, popping more links like they’re made of clay. “I’m aware.”
Damn.
“Underachiever. I see. No judgment here.”
Releasing a hearty rumble, he begins to stand, then throws his weight forward, wrapping his large arms around me. He flops me onto his back and lifts me like a sack of grain.
“What are you doing?” I scream, hanging over his shoulder as he lumbers toward … his dragon.
My heart leaps so far up my throat I almost choke on it.
“Kaan, no. I did not agree to this!”
His body stiffens, steps slowing, a low, grating sound coming from him. “Say it again …”
“What?”
“My name, Moonbeam. Say it again.”
If it’ll get me out of this saddle ride, I’ll scream it to the sky until my voice box ruptures.
“Kaan. Kaan. Kaan. Kaan. Kaan! Now put me down. Quick.”
He fills his lungs, his entire chest inflating—like he just took his first breath since he began a deep dive. “You didn’t say please,” he finally says, then kicks forward again.
Wha—
“Please!”
“Too late.”
I’m going to shatter his bones and use them for toothpicks.
He reaches the side of the heaving beast, to where lengths of knotted rope dangle from its saddle, garnished with an array of foot loops—one of which he threads his boot into.
“Put me back in his mouth!”
He heaves us up the ropes one jerking motion at a time, and I watch in wide-eyed horror as the ground drifts farther and farther away, giving up my wriggling struggle when I come to the gut-tumbling realization that I cannot squirm or slaughter my way out of this.
Reaching the drape of patched-together hides that saddles the mammoth beast, Kaan battles the final few loops, then tosses his leg over the saddle and thumps me into his lap.
Straddling him, I look up into his eyes, mouth dropping open, battered breathless by his immense presence. He looks down upon me, his rough exhale pouring over my upturned face —the air between us becoming charged with a static that makes my skin pebble.
Creators.
Drenched in the smell of leather and the heady blend of his intoxicating scent, this tightening feeling low in my belly yearns for something every other part of me is utterly opposed to, and I consider whether it’s prudent to ask this male if he’d like to fuck before I slit his throat …
Probably shouldn’t.
“You have until the count of ten to decide which way you want to sit, at which stage I’ll kick Rygun into the sky and you’ll be stuck that way,” Kaan grinds out past gritted teeth, my heart plummeting a little more with each condemning word.
I open my mouth, about to spit something sharp when he says, “One … Two …”
Shit.
I wiggle, heaving my right leg up, getting a foothold atop his thigh.
“Three … Four …”
I try wrestling to a stand but lose my balance and flop back down again, face-planting against his chest as he rumbles a deep “Five.”
“Count slower,” I growl, flattening my hands upon his abdomen, introducing myself to a stack of muscles that feel more like rocks …
My mouth dries.
“Six,” he says, his voice gravel against my pebbling skin. “Seven.”
Definitely need to move.
I kick my foot up again and shove to a wobbly stand.
“Eight …”
I turn so I’m facing forward, heart pounding hard and fast as I glance around us, my feet tingling with the sudden realization of how high up we are.
That this is our starting point.
“Nine …”
Creators, slay this male.
I let my feet slide either side of the saddle, landing perfectly between his legs so hard I garner a deep grunt from him that brings me a burst of satisfaction.
“Ten,” I chirp, and he clears his throat, reaching between us to readjust himself—no doubt throbbing with the wrong kind of ache.
I smile.
“Feel free to drop me off at the nearest village. I can find my way from there,” I say, deciding it’s a good time to strike now that the male’s cock is bruised. Figure I have two ways to relieve myself of his presence: kill him or make myself disposable.
“Like it or not,” he grinds out, gripping my waist and lifting me, settling me into a more comfortable position—so flush against him my cheeks burn for reasons other than the stifling heat. “You’re coming with me to Dhomm.”