Page 1 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

1

Riley

Put Me Down

“Put me down you giant lizard!”

I screamed so loud my voice was hoarse, beating my fists against the scaly, oversized fingers tipped with golden claws that curled around my waist in a vice-like grip.

Not hard enough to crush my ribcage, but definitely firm enough to let me know I wasn’t going anywhere.

I looked down again.

Why do I keep looking down?

My belly swooped as nausea made its way up my throat.

I wanted off this ride. Now.

My purse was trapped against my side, pinned there by beastly talons, and I couldn’t wiggle my hand inside to grab the pocketknife I’d taken from Ember.

The wind whipped at the bottom of the stupid thin dress I was wearing as I tried to kick my feet.

Somewhere over the last mountain peak, I’d lost my sandals. I was barefoot and dangling hundreds of feet above the earth, warmed by a giant mythical reptile’s claws.

This wasnotmy day.

I struggled again, feeling pathetic and weak as I pounded my fists against the scaled flesh. “I swear I’ll…”

What exactly are you going to do, Riley?

Nothing.

I wasn’t going to be able to do a damn thing to help myself out of this mess.

Clouds passed us by in a lazy blur as his massive wings beat through the air. The altitude this high up had me lightheaded and dizzy. Rolling hills of brown and tan gave way to snow-packed mountaintops and forests of thick evergreens below.

I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing through my nose and trying to calm my overactive nervous system. It was a trick I’d learned dealing with my ex-boyfriend. If it could help with Drew, it should work when getting kidnapped by a dragon.

Just think positive thoughts. Be grateful for…

I couldn’t find much to appreciate at this particular moment in time.

“Stupid dragon.” Another wave of fury passed through me and I made my anger known with my fists, no matter how ineffective they might be.

I wasmad.

And I was scared out of my wits.

It was shocking how much the world could still surprise me. I was used to death and didn’t fear it, working at a retirement home was basically exposure therapy.

It was the living that terrified me on the daily.

The earthquakes and crashing economy weren’t as scary as the way people handled their panic. When the government started failing us, it was the fighting and blaming each other that really worried me.

And it’d been Drew’s chaotic moods I lived with moment to moment.

I’d thought that escaping to the middle of nowhere with Ember and Willow would be the start of something new.

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