Chapter 9
9
O ctavia
I gasp as my eyes open.
Where am I?
Arms close more tightly around me. There’s warm skin and a heart beating beneath my right ear, which is plastered against a chest. Creed’s chest. I’m on his lap, straddling him. His breath tickles the top of my head as he breathes in a rhythm that tells me he is fast asleep.
We’re okay. We’re alive. I must have fallen asleep while he carried me. He ran for what felt like hours. I can’t believe I fell asleep.
Trying not to move, I let my eyes rove around our hiding place. Through the thick canopy, the sunlight casts dapples all around us. We’re nestled inside a grove of thick, thorny bushes.
I suck in a breath when I realize that Creed is rock hard…down there, pressed up against me. It’s hard to miss because he’s so big. I know that this is perfectly normal. I mean, I was with Joshua for almost three years before we split up. We never actually moved in together, but we slept over at each other’s houses all the time. We shared a bed; we had sex. I know that it’s normal for men to wake up like this. It doesn’t mean anything. It isn’t a reaction to me or anything. I shouldn’t be alarmed or upset about it.
Having said that, I am straddling him, so this is far from normal. His very erect cock is pressing up against my sex. Thank goodness for my jeans, which are the only barrier between us. I’m not going to freak out. I’m not! Even though my bra-clad breasts are mashed up against his chest. Even though freaking out has become my situation normal since arriving at Mistveil…I still refuse to let it happen.
His breathing changes, then his hand moves up on my back a few inches, and his body tenses. Crap! He’s awake. His cock gives this little twitch against me, making me gasp. Then he pulls me away as he sucks in a breath. He lets me go, and I scoot back across the dirt to the closest thorn bush. I stop just shy of getting my back scratched up.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “Shit.” He scrubs a hand over his face and then uses that same hand to cup his junk. “Sorry…I…” He looks everywhere else before his gaze fixes on me.
“It’s fine. It’s one of those things.” I flap a hand. I don’t want him to talk about it. I’m praying he just drops the whole thing.
“It…it isn’t like that, I…I won’t hurt you, I swear. It’s—”
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I know you didn’t mean it like that. It’s fine. I’m sorry I fell asleep last night. I made you carry me all that way.”
“You are a tiny human. You’re much weaker than I am. It was nothing.” He shrugs.
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“What? Tiny?” He frowns. “You are very small, especially compared to me.”
I warm up inside at the thought that he thinks I’m tiny. Although I’m not overweight or anything, I’m hardly tiny. I like my food. I shove the thought aside and concentrate on our conversation. “No, you keep calling me a human.”
“Because you are one,” he says.
“So are you. It isn’t normal, Creed. You say it like you aren’t human, which is insane because you look like one to me.” I look down at the thin slice on my arm. It has scabbed over. “Why did you cut me? What did you use to cut me? I’m getting a funny feeling about all of this. I don’t like it.”
“I used one of my nails.” He holds up a finger. His nails are short and blunt. There’s no way he used them to cut my arm. Why would he lie? Maybe he used a sharp stone. Why doesn’t he just tell me the truth? This makes no sense.
“I needed your blood to make it more believable that you fell down the gully.” He goes on, “I hung your shirt up by the edge, snagging it on a branch. I made it look like you went over the edge. I did it to buy us time, or we would never have managed an escape.”
“It must have worked.” I lift my brows.
He nods once. “It did, but a group of the guys went down there. They will know by now that you are still alive. They will be looking for you as we speak,” he says under his breath. “More of them will catch on soon enough.”
I frown. There is a part of me that doesn’t want to ask the question, but I do anyway. “What made those loud screeching noises? And the flapping? It sounded like something big.”
Please don’t say it.
Please!
His jaw tightens, and his eyes seem to darken. “Dragons. I know you don’t believe in them, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.”
“Dragons.” I swallow thickly. “Are you sure?” I replay the sounds in my head. I’ve never heard a dragon before, but if I did, I’m sure it would sound very much like that.
“Of course I’m sure. I live here.”
“Why didn’t you correct me before?”
“Would you have believed me? You looked pretty convinced that they don’t exist. I left it at that. I figured you’d soon realize that you were wrong. I thought that everyone on the Mainland knew about them.”
Crap! I don’t want to believe him, but how can I not? I’ve never heard anything like it.
I lick my lips. “I always thought it was a load of bull. That the pictures were fake. I thought they used the fear of dragons to control us. I always suspected something sinister was behind the sending of Tributes. I still don’t understand why they need us. I’m not sure I buy all that crap about Sky Wardens.” I sigh. I can’t really deny what’s staring me right in the face. “Are they dangerous?” I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that question.
He nods. “Yep…extremely dangerous.”
“Do they eat people?”
“No, but you are in danger, Octavia.”
I frown. “They don’t eat people? I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t they eat people?”
“They prefer eating game. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t kill you. If one caught you, it would tear you apart…okay? That’s all you need to know. Dragons are to be avoided at all costs.”
“No…that’s so far from okay.” I can feel that my eyes are wide. Aaaand…yep…I’m on the verge of panic again. “So, we have to watch out for sex-crazed mountain men and killer dragons. How many dragons are there out here, anyway?”
I’m expecting him to say one or two when he says, “As many as there are humans.”
“What?” I spit out, getting an immediate shushing from Creed. “You can’t be serious.” I whisper-shout. “You said that there are as many as eighty mountain men out here. There can’t be eighty dragons.” I shake my head. “Why haven’t we seen them? Heard more of them?”
He rolls his eyes and sits up, forgetting to cup his cock. I note that he has a semi-erection. It’s still huge. Holy moly! These mountain men are…they’re…different.
Don’t look!
Eyes on his face.
This is an important conversation.
“I am very serious. There are plenty of dragons out here. Just because you haven’t seen one doesn’t mean they do not exist. Just because you haven’t heard more of them doesn’t mean they’re not there…they are.”
“O-okay.” I hang my head for a few moments. “We’ve avoided them so far. If we could keep doing that, I would be really happy…ecstatic even.”
“You and me both; just keep quiet. Keep calm, no matter what, and keep doing exactly what I tell you.”
I nod vigorously. “I will. Believe you me, I will. Now, please tell me all about these dragons. How big are they? Where do they live? How do we keep avoiding them? I mean, aside from keeping very quiet. I don’t want to be torn apart or eaten.”
“They’re big. Probably bigger than you imagine them to be. They live all over the island, so they’re hard to avoid. We will try to stick to thicker vegetation; it’s slower going but safer that way.”
I nod. All over, but not in the city. The key to escaping all of this is to get there and as fast as possible. I hope we make it. We have to. My life can’t end here.
“Aside from sticking to denser parts of the jungle, we avoid them in the same way as we’ve avoided the men, by being quiet, masking our scent, and staying hidden wherever possible. The dragons have excellent senses. They’re built to hunt and kill,” he says in a deep voice, his dark eyes on me.
I shudder at the thought and then nod because it all makes sense. “I’ve spent my whole life being a nonbeliever. I was sure that there was more to it. That dragons didn’t exist and that something else was being kept from us…something bigger.” I know I already said this, but I still can’t quite believe it. An island…two islands infested with dragons, and I have yet to see one. It doesn’t make much sense.
His jaw clenches again. “They do exist. You were wrong on that note.”
On that note.
There it is! I get the distinct impression that he’s keeping something from me. My gut is telling me that he is, but I can’t seem to put my finger on it. Everything about this place is wrong, somehow.
I very carefully unzip my pack, wincing when it makes a hint of noise. Then, I pull out a bottle of water. I drink a small amount and hand it to Creed. I think he lost the waterskin since I don’t see it anywhere.
He nods, drinking a few sips before handing it to me. “Thanks.”
I don’t take it. “You need more. You ran for half the night. You have to be thirsty.”
“I’m okay. I’ll last until we get to the river.”
“I have another two full bottles,” I tell him. “You should have more.” I hold out the bottle again, and he takes it. I watch as his throat works, the clear liquid disappearing down his throat.
“Thank you.” He hands me the empty bottle and his mouth with the back of his hand.
I dig around in the bag, my hand closing on two protein bars. “Chocolate peanut butter or chocolate raspberry?” I hold them up.
He frowns.
“They’re protein bars. They’ll give us energy,” I tell him, my voice a low murmur. “Unless you have a better idea for food.”
“I don’t want to draw attention to us.” He looks around. “I don’t think I should hunt or start a fire.”
It’s my turn to frown since I’m not sure how he plans on hunting without any kind of weapon to speak of.
“I saw some coconuts not too far from here, but it would be noisy to crack them open.” He leans forward and takes the chocolate peanut butter bar from me. “I know what they are; it’s just been a while since I had anything like this.”
He scrutinizes the wrapper for a few moments before carefully opening it. I follow suit. We both take a bite at the same time. Creed closes his eyes, leaning back against the tree. He makes a soft, groaning noise that I feel in my lower belly. I’ve never seen anyone who looks like this. He’s all raw muscle and power. His thick cock is still at half-mast and resting against his thigh. His stomach is ripped, his shoulders broad. His face is all male, and yet…very handsome. His lips are full, his lashes long and thick. He’s quite something.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” His eyes flash open; they’re a rich brown like chocolate.
I stuff a huge bite in my mouth and start chewing. I don’t taste anything much; I’m too embarrassed. I was just caught checking out the only man standing between me and danger. I’m on an island infested with dragons and crazed mountain men, and I’m lusting over a brooding, hulking mountain man. That could be the title of my book if I wrote one about my adventures: Lusting over the Mountain Man .
I snort out a soft laugh.
“What?” Creed whispers.
“Nothing! Just nerves…” I add when he cocks his head, scrutinizing me. “It’s really nothing, I swear.” I shake my head, taking another huge bite of my protein bar, praying that he leaves it alone.
He does.
His narrowed stare stays locked with mine for a few moments and then drops to my chest, where it heats. The word “smoldering” comes to mind. His jaw clenches, and he looks away.
Shiiiit!
This is bad…so, so bad. Creed was checking me out right back. I look down at my lace bra. I can see my nipples right through it. I can tell he liked what he saw. What’s wrong with us? We could die at any minute. The last thing either one of us should be thinking about is sex. I need to get my head right out of my ass.
I finish my protein bar. “When do we head out?”