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Maybe Bethany should run.
And yet—
And yet this was Math Draco, the guy who thought making a move was patting a bed, who had given her a keycard to his room rather than drag her inside, and who had said before he kissed her that if she told him to, he would back up and walk away.
Math wouldn’t hurt her.
Bethany rose to her knees, then struggled to her feet, keeping her weight off the one that the sea serpent’s tentacle had stung.
The wind whipped her dark hair around her head as she watched the dragon pad in a circle to turn and face her, his giant, eagle-taloned feet scraping the cement.
Harsh sunlight gleamed on his skin, throwing shards of mirror-glare on the casino’s white façade.
The dragon stalked toward her, its reptilian body swaying as it moved, beautiful and terrifying.
Bethany stood her ground, hoping Math’s intelligence controlled the dragon that towered above her, blotting out the sun. Its cool shadow spread over the wide courtyard and stretched toward the casino, protecting her skin from the harsh sunlight.
The dragon bent his long neck, peering down at her with his glittering, golden eyes.
Bethany’s legs trembled.
Maybe she should have run away when she’d had the chance.
His head lowered toward her, trailing wisps of smoke from his nostrils.
This was it. Bethany was going to be dragon lunch.
She squeezed her eyes shut. Her muscles clenched, and she hoped that getting chewed wouldn’t hurt too much.
Still a better death than being gassed by rogue algae slime. Less stinky.
Sunlight warmed her face.
Bethany opened her eyes.
The dragon had laid its head on the cement beside her, stretched out. His legs were bent where he was crouching. He’d rolled his head to the side to watch her.
His skull was the size of an SUV.
Surviving another day seemed like a great idea, and she was glad it had happened.
His gigantic head had softly overlapping scales, and his beaded skin was the glittering metal of Math’s eyes.
She reached her arm straight out from her shoulder, settled her hand on his forehead, and stroked his scales.
Yes,beadedskin.Her first impression had been correct. The dragon wasn’t scaly or slimy, but his beaded skin was warm to her touch.
Tendrils of fire escaped his lips, curling in the warm sunlight. She kept her arm back from those, though the golden fire appeared magical, not ordinary.
Her fingers wandered over his face and traced his pale horns that curved back over his head and neck. Hard muscle wrapped his neck and shoulders under his steel-woven skin. He was a machine built for flight and war.
Bethany touched him with both hands, stroking him. “You are beautiful, aren’t you?”
He was still watching her, though his eyelids drooped when she said that.
Beyond his neck, his strong, lean body looked more like a well-balanced Komodo dragon than a pear-shaped Tyrannosaur, and his wings fit tightly against his spine and tail. Clear crystals like diamonds encrusted the delicate bones of his wings and lined his spine between them.
She whispered, “I never realized dragons were so beautiful.”
