Page 31 of The Dragon King's Curse
I scanned the small area we were tucked into. Sleeping would put us dangerously close to one another.
“You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you, princess?” When she shot me a warning look, I raised my hands and added, “Hey, you didn’t like sugarplum. Give me something to work with here.”
“Me? You’ve clearly spent too much time handing out orders while taking none. Will I have to knock you unconscious for you to rest? I may be a princess but I’m sure as hell not an ego driven king who—”
Seizing her shoulders, I pulled her closer and silenced her with a kiss. Her lips were warm and soft against mine. She immediately stiffened, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, her lips moved on mine as she kissed me back.
A reckless move on my part. One that I couldn’t resist. Impulsive as hell, I’d merely acted without thinking.
I kissed her with purpose, sliding my tongue between her lips. She opened up to me, her tongue dancing against mine. I fell headlong into her, losing myself in Feryn.
No doubt I’d just made a grave mistake. Yet in that moment, I didn’t give a damn.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
FERYN
To say I was stunned by Noxx’s kiss would be a massive understatement. He most definitely took me by surprise. The way he commanded my lips, his mouth moving firmly on mine. It left me reeling.
Although I knew that I should put an end to it, there was no bringing myself to do so. My entire body was engulfed in heat. My heart pounded in my chest so that I heard it in my ears. The musky, masculine scent of him seemed to mesmerize me.
Noxx’s controlling nature came through in his kiss. Sweeping the inside of my mouth with his tongue, he stole my breath with every passing moment. I found myself reaching for him, sliding a hand along his neck, up into his disheveled black hair. I clutched a handful as the kiss deepened, taking me to a place I’d never been.
Despite what some may believe about me, I was no virgin. That didn’t mean I’d had plenty of experience with men though. Aside from the one night when Leif and I had indulged in too much drink, I’d never been with anyone else. Certainly nobody like Noxx.
He was older than me and most certainly more experienced. Perhaps that should’ve intimidated me. All it did was excite.
I stared at him in stunned silence when he pulled away. Noxx had no such issues.
“Now get some sleep, princess. We have to get moving soon.”
Somehow, I resisted the urge to touch my lips. Reminding myself to breathe, I arranged my sword beside me and laid down in the small space. Noxx remained sitting near the opening to our shelter. He stared out into the forest beyond.
How the hell was I supposed to sleep after a kiss like that? Try as I might to calm myself down, my racing heart would have none of it.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’d foolishly been attracted to Noxx, something I had no control over. I’d suspected that he may have felt the same. Now I knew for certain.
Most likely our forced proximity in the prison had encouraged these feelings. They couldn’t possibly be real. We barely knew one another. When this was all over, we would go back to our separate realms. Our separate lives. We would once again be enemies.
That thought left me unsettled. This wasn’t right. There could be nothing between us. A mere chapter in our lives. That was all.
Time passed and still I couldn’t sleep. Being at rest felt good after exhausting myself in the forest, yet slumber escaped me. Noxx was insane to think I would simply lie down and fall asleep after a kiss like that.
Frustration gripped me as I tried and failed to sleep. Finally, I gave up. Speaking softly, I asked, “What did you do to make my family curse you?”
A few moments passed before Noxx answered. Was he deciding how much to tell me?
“Are you sure you want to hear this story? I get the feeling your family didn’t want you to know the truth, although I can’t imagine why.” He shifted his position so that he faced me.
Tucking my hands beneath my head like a makeshift pillow, I met his gaze in the darkness. “I’m not sure either. That’s why I want to know. Will you please tell me?”
“It feels like so long ago. I suppose it wasn’t really that long. A decade. I was away with an army of my people. The elves discovered that I was gone. They saw an opportunity, and they took it.” He paused, shoving a hand through his hair as he sighed. “They came to my land and tried to enslave several of my dragons. When the dragons fought back, a battle ensued. I returned home to find many of my people dead. Some of them had been horribly mutilated. Stripped of their scales, claws, and fangs. Do you really not know any of this?”
Slowly, I pushed into a sitting position. My mind strayed to my father’s trophy room. To the dragon scale he’d hidden away for magickal purposes. To the fangs he’d proudly displayed as a badge of honor. Of victory.
“I knew there was a battle with the dragons. I was so young at the time it happened. I didn’t know the details.” As much as I wanted to believe he lied, deep down I knew that Noxx spoke the truth.
“I couldn’t allow them to get away with what they did to us,” he continued. “I rounded up an army, and I came for revenge. The elves knew I would be coming. They met us at the border between our lands. We slaughtered as many of them as we could. Still, it didn’t feel like enough.”
