Maggie
“You want me to kiss you?” My heart pounds in my chest, my head spinning.
I had sort of expected…some other request from Driok, given how sure of himself he is. It could be worse, I suppose, and it’s not like we’ve not been intimate before.
Very intimate. I like to pretend to myself I didn’t know what I was doing, but I did. All the ale wine did was take away my admittedly very minimal filter where a hot male was concerned.
And boy! Driok was so hot. Hot enough it would seem I could see past his enormous ego.
Or I was so desperate for Sarkarnii cock, I could ignore who he was.
“Kizz?” Driok says, cocking his handsome head on one side. “Is that what it’s called?”
“Do Sarkarnii not kiss?”
“Touch mouths and tongues?” Driok queries. “And risk envenomation?”
“But once you’ve taken a mate, because having seen all the dancing, that’s perfectly normal, do you not kiss then?”
A muscle in Driok’s jaw jumps. I’ve asked him a question he doesn’t know the answer to, and it irks him.
“Mouth mating is not a sensible thing for any Sarkarnii to do,” Driok growls. “Mated or not.”
“But you still want to do it with me, even though there is a risk of envenomation,” I growl back in what I think is a fair imitation of Driok’s baritone.
And also it makes sense to keep him guessing as to the whole ‘I might bite him’ thing. Driok shouldn’t be allowed to take anything for granted.
“I liked it,” Driok says with less of a growl this time. “But then”—his eyes glitter with badness—“I like danger.”
“You like being an arse,” I respond.
He contemplates my reply. “If being an arse means I get what I want, then yes, I am an arse. Plus, I am your arse.”
“You’re a pain in my arse.” I tap my foot as he gazes at me. “And apparently, you’re about to make my life a whole load better.” I raise my eyebrows. “In return for a kiss.”
“So, we have an agreement?” Driok queries.
“Providing it’s all to my liking, we have an agreement,” I reply.
I’m hardly going to be out-manoeuvred by this great lump of muscle and scales, after all.
“Then, my spitfire, will you accompany me?” Driok swirls into his dragon form, his huge tail curling around my feet, and he extends a massive clawed paw towards me.
“You want me to ride you?”
I’m not entirely sure, but I think Driok’s scales ripple with a different color.
“Yes.” He pushes the word past his fangs. “If we’re going to get anywhere fast, then you’ll need to ride me.”
I am not sure, but in for a penny and all that…I clamber up his paw onto his elbow and heave myself up onto his back.
The spines I saw on his more human form are now huge, but there is an area just behind his head where they are small enough I can sit astride him, like there’s a natural saddle.
“Hold on,” Driok rumbles, and with a single downbeat of his wings, we’re in the air.
I forget myself for a moment and laugh out loud.
We’re flying, actually flying, and it is incredible.
The wind in my face and hair, whipping water from my eyes.
We’re so high up, I can look down and see the collection of the warlords’ ships, collected together like a starfish, with the occasional trailing limb looking like a tentacle.
There are other Sarkarnii in the air, but we’re higher than them as if Driok is showing me what he can do. I open my arms, feeling the blast of air on my chest until he increases his speed and drops, making me clutch at the spine in front of me.
I’m still laughing. I don’t think I’ve felt this alive in years, maybe decades. I’ve been hollow, directionless, and now I am here, on the back of a dragon, riding like I’m some sort of teenage princess.
I have a massive dragon between my legs, and I feel like I could conquer galaxies.
That last thought is sobering in the extreme. After all, I know very well what happened the last time I had a dragon between my legs.
I’ve ended up with an accidental pregnancy and an arrogant, handsome Sarkarnii I can’t get rid of. One I absolutely swore I wouldn’t end up in this position with again.
The Sarkarnii who left me. Who didn’t even say goodbye.
And the Sarkarnii I’m riding like I’ve been a dragon rider all my life.
My heart flip flops in my chest. None of this makes any sense. I’ve never felt like this before, and I’m not sure what it all means. I suppose I could ask my friends.
But then that would mean admitting I don’t dislike being here with Driok, and I’m not ready to do that, not yet.
My dragon flips over, and a half scream is ripped from my lips as we descend rapidly to the ground.
It looks like it’s always going to be a rollercoaster ride when he is around.