Chapter 23 #2
That had been frightening, yet exhilarating.
Then, like a curtain falling, he appeared in the space before her, crouched on the balls of his feet with his hands dangling between his trouser-clad thighs. His approach had been silent; he’d cornered her without her knowing.
Her face screwed up at being caught already. It was pathetic. She could’ve done more. If she’d known he was right there, she would’ve cast another barrier.
His hand darted down to grab her boot, and he dragged her across the ground until her legs were forced around his feet.
“You and I are going to talk.”
His other hand came forward as if to cup the side of her head.
Carwyn threw her gloved hands up to block his while jerking her head away. “Don’t touch me.”
His hand curled into a fist as he withdrew it. “If I remember correctly, you crawled into my arms.”
A roaring blush flared into her cheeks, and she hunched her shoulders to appear smaller. Carwyn averted her gaze.
“I prefer you as a dragon,” she murmured.
He scoffed. “Surely not.”
Her hands lowered as she frowned, and she turned that puzzlement to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her heart fluttered, the betraying thing, when her gaze met his.
“I made my intentions quite known yesterday,” he stated, refusing to remove the intensity of his stare. It was brazen, bold, overconfident, and only made his next words appear even more so. “Are you saying you’d prefer me in dragon form between your thighs?”
Carwyn choked on her gasp. “No!”
He cocked his head. “So, human then?”
“N-neither!” she stated around a cough.
She sucked in a sharp breath when he shifted forward onto his knees and placed his hands down on either side of her legs. She shuffled back, only to now be met with a wretched wall!
“But you do desire me.”
Could her cheeks get impossibly hotter? At this point, she was afraid of melting. Not a comforting thought after the other night.
“I do not!” she lied.
With his nose barely a few inches from her own, his eyes narrowed into a suspicious squint.
“You’ve been overly informed about dragonkind to the point of concern.
It would be strange for you to know of our laws, yet be ignorant to the fact that I can smell when you’re aroused anywhere within my presence, which has been multiple times. ”
She was wrong. Her cheeks could burn further, and the heat spread low into her belly. He was too close. Too pretty. Why did he have to smell and sound so good?
Why did she have to be like this?
His eyes darted down, as if he could smell it lifting from her skin, and Carwyn wanted nothing more than to expire. She turned her head away.
“It doesn’t matter,” she answered solemnly.
She shouldn’t have looked away. The moment she did, he cupped the side of her face to pull her gaze back to him.
Her chest squeezed with a horrible ache, full of sadness, confusion, and hurt. All his. Enough to rip into her soul until she thought it would shatter. It was too cold, too much; it pained in a way she couldn’t handle.
A cry ripped out of her as she dived to the side to escape the onslaught, cupping her own cheek and wishing that was enough to erase it. To ease the sting that had nothing to do with his warm, gentle touch, and everything to do with his clawing emotions.
He snatched his hand back in surprise before frowning in concern at his own palm.
Carwyn couldn’t do it anymore.
Whether it was his emotions leading her or not, she needed to make this end. So she caved.
“I’m an empath,” she rasped, shuffling to the side to get away from him. The stone wall scraped against her back.
“What?” He backed up like a skittish creature, and terror cut through her when he let out a bursting snarl. “So this entire time, you’ve been able to feel my emotions?”
She held her hands out in front of her in an attempt to placate him. “N-no. I can’t feel them through your scales.”
“What?” he asked more softly, his dark brows furrowing.
She cringed. “I’m guessing they’re comprised of the same material that makes up hair and nails, and I can’t feel through those.”
“I see.” He cast her a wary glance, only for his nose to crinkle in anger. “Does that mean you’ve been toying with my feelings?”
The hurt and betrayal that cut through Carwyn was entirely her own. It instantly made tears well, even as she glared at him.
His eyes widened at her expression. “What I mean to say is...”
“I know what you meant,” she bit out spitefully. Why did she know that was one of the first accusations he’d throw at her?
Like his own feeling were too unbelievable that learning she magically caused them made more sense.
He’d obviously doubted himself to begin with, which she’d already guessed after his initial reaction of disgust at the idea of being with her kind, like the WitchSlayer was.
Not to mention the uncertainty she’d felt from him when he’d kissed her the day before.
He didn’t understand his own feelings, and she’d felt that.
“Carwyn,” he grated, wincing at her. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like–”
He choked out a pained grunt when she kicked him in the gut. He managed to stay kneeling, but he steadied himself on one hand as he curled forward, throwing his arm across his stomach with a pained groan.
“For your information, oh great and rude dragon, I can’t do that! I cannot control other people’s emotions like other empaths.”
“Then what is the fucking problem?” he snapped out between wheezes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”