Stripping her of the wet clothes was the only way to ensure I did everything I could to make her warm and give her the best odds of recovery. I had been clinical while removing them from her, only glancing and touching where needed.
Despite being a beast, I still had been taught manners from my mother before she died, and I wouldn’t dishonor her memory by taking advantage of the situation.
It was cute, though, the way she woke up and instantly chose violence.
The thought hit me hard and I scowled. She was not cute, and she was clearly feeling better and needed to leave my bed.
“Did you remove them?”
Her ire was clear in the way she carefully articulated each word.
Heading toward my closet and plucking a long, white tunic from my wardrobe, I grunted in response. I tossed the material at her when I returned, before leaning against the stone wall near the door.
She quickly snatched the tunic before tugging it under the furs and going beneath them. Odd bits of her limbs stuck out as she struggled to put the tunic on under the weight of the furs.
Her attempting modesty was entertaining, considering drackya were open with such things in the shared bathing chambers. I allowed myself the faintest of laughs at her ridiculousness before she reappeared.
She quickly smoothed down the tangled hair that obscured her vision.
She let out a huff, likely to scold me for stripping her, but my hand went to the handle of the door and tugged it open. “As you said, we find each other equally disgusting. I didn’t enjoy it. Now, get out. Your room is at the other end of the hall.”
Her full lips separated as she stared at me in shock. It was only momentary, though, as she found her claws once more and attempted to surge to her feet as she threw the furs from her body.
She didn’t make it far, stumbling like a newborn deer as soon as she tried to put weight on them. Still, despite her strength being far from recovered, she tried to keep going, throwing her hands out in an attempt to regain her balance.
It was honestly pathetic, and as I saw her knees start to give out, I crossed the short distance between us, catching her as she began to fall. The last thing I needed was her to further injure herself. It seemed she wasn’t out of the woods yet.
She settled against my chest as her limp body dangled in my hold, and once more, a rumble came from my core as my dragon stirred.
Our eyes met, both wide but for different reasons.
Mine from embarrassment at her hearing that reaction, and hers from fear, as I’d seen the same reaction when I’d encased her arm in ice with my magic.
It was better this way. Her fear was something I could use to make her compliant to my rules.
“Let me down,” she roared, her body wiggling in a weak attempt to break free.
I sighed in annoyance as I walked back to the side of the bed and held her out over it. “As you wish.”
Dropping her unceremoniously from my shoulder height, I smiled in amusement as she let out a shriek.
“You bastard!”
Padding over to the other side of the large bed, I settled in, giving her my back. I felt the heat of her gaze as I closed my eyes and muttered, “Go to bed, wench.”
We’d see if she survived the night, and tomorrow we’d figure out how to keep her alive with the new dangers awaiting outside these walls.
For the first time that I could remember, I drifted off to sleep with ease as my dragon curled up in peace, feeling her near.
Chapter Eight
SIYANA
I’d fallenasleep with a scowl on my face and awoken to a similar one on my husband's face as I found him staring at me, his cheek still on his pillow with a large, muscular arm tucked beneath it.
My scowl had been due to how damn attractive his physique was and the way my body betrayed me in coming alive at the thought of him undressing me. Despite the roaring fireplace in the chambers, a chill had still crept in through the night, and I’d chided myself many times as the thought to scoot closer to him had crossed my mind.
The reason for his scowl? I hadn’t a clue. Probably my ability to breathe, irritating him, if I had to guess.
