AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Morning. Late morning." Hywel shrugged.
The gryphon huffed and turned for the stairs.
"You should…you should be with him," I managed, trying and failing once more to put my own feet back on the floor.
Hywel spun away with me in his arms and I stilled, dizzy from the fall, from the sudden halt of the fall, from the dragon who was now a man who was also a dragon.
"He missed you," I said as Hywel headed for a shadowy corner of the cavern.
"I know," Hywel said, opal-gray gaze glowing down at me. "Why did you fall asleep? Did you feel drugged?"
I pressed my lips together, and the dark tapestry of red roses ahead of us slid to the side, revealing an even darker opening.
Hywel's eyes narrowed. "Did youwantto have a nightmare,blodyn bach?"
"Not want," I said, flinching and freezing in Hywel's hold as we stepped into blackness.
He tutted, and three lanterns in three corners of the room flared to life. One was made of red glass, one of blue, and the third of green, all the colors painting over Hywel's pale skin and hair, catching in the open light of his eyes, dazzling and strange. The shadows changed his face, and now at last he was familiar. This was the dragon I'd touched and flirted with.
I gasped and pressed my face to his throat and jaw, breathing in the damp, earthy scent of him, wisps of smoke and lavender too.
"Hywel."
His hand soothed over my hip. "There now, I have you. Down we go."
I hadn't taken note of the bed, but it was soft and dense beneath me, sinking under my weight, swallowing and cradling me. Hywel came next, stretching me by his weight on top of mine, lifting my hands above my head and pressing my legs under his.
"You didn't want a nightmare, but you went to sleep knowing you'd have one," Hywel murmured, more to himself. "You were upset. Did Asterion say something foolish?"
Hywel's long, lean frame on top of me was shocking and relaxing all at once. His hip bones dug into mine, and I squirmed beneath him to open up, but he braced his knees outside of mine, holding my legs closed.
"We'll assume he did, because Laszlo's far too wise."
"Kind," I whispered. "Laszlo is kind."
"Mm, that's true too." Hywel released my hands, patting them, and then pushed himself up. I could just make out his face, one half green, the other red. "Doeskindnessbother you?"
My eyes watered, and Hywel's head tilted. "I can't—I can't—He let me groom his feathers. He washed me. I can't be—"
"Mate," Hywel said.
I squeezed my eyes and lips shut and shook my head roughly, refusing tears and refusing that word too.
"Hm. I still think I'll blame Asterion."
My breath hiccuped with a watery laugh, and the humor in his voice cleared away the threat of weeping. "Blame me," I said.
"No," Hywel said, sitting up on his knees and staring down at me. "I'm going to undress you,blodyn bach. You were very small before. I'd like to look at you when you don't remind me of a meal. No, don't move. I will unveil my treasure myself."
"What woke you?" I asked.
"Your scream," Hywel said, scowling, shifting on his knees to pull the hem of my dress up to the tops of my thighs. "I warned Laszlo not to let you sleep alone."
"It's not his fault."
"Mm. Ahh, just as lovely as I recalled. But perhaps more accommodating," Hywel said, leaning back to admire my hips as he pushed the fabric up to my waist. He lifted one knee and then the other, nudging my legs aside to kneel between them. I moved to reach for the dress, to pull it over my head, and he tsked. "Don't move, pretty morsel."
I stilled and glanced around the room. The walls were rough stone, a glimmer of some metal vein in the rock sparkling in the green lantern out of the corner of my eye.
