Page 39 of Maiming
“You got me a gift?”
Hands down the best birthday I’ve ever had, and I don’t even know what present is. And it doesn’t matter.
Because he loves me. And I finally figured out how to tell another person how I really feel.
He doesn’t reply, he just starts walking toward the back of his mother’s house, carrying me around like he’s never going to let me go. We pass Chaos, Rime, and Sinister near the cellar door just past the perfect white picket fence.
“At least fuck her in a bed like an honest woman,” Chaos hisses for only us to hear.
“Their entire relationship started with a lie. Honest women get a bed. Arlow gets railed behind the back of a house. She’ll like it. It’ll be romantic.” A true smile pulls at Rime’s lips and the sexy smirk alone causes warmth to flair through me.
My thighs tighten around Kain’s lean hips, and I try to pretend like the thought of getting screwed against a house isn’t as appealing as my filthy mind is making it out to be. I try really hard to appear insulted. I give my best effort, really.
Instead I smile like an idiot.
Kain doesn’t look at the three of them as he carries me away.
If my present really is Kain’s cock I’ll be the happiest woman in the world. Throbbing happiness, I tell you. I’ll unwrap it with care. I’ll put it to good use. It’ll be a hard present to beat.
Witty puns are an endless loop inside my dirty mind, but they halt the moment he turns the corner.
Rays of sunlight shine through the lingering leaves left on the trees. It’s warmer back here. A metal stove circulates heat and it’s then that I see two small creatures in a wire pen against the house. A rodent with soft feathers held tight against his back nibbles on a square of cheese.
Minue. His beady little eyes watch us closely, but his small paws never lower the food against his mouth. Next to him through the thin wires is long inky feathers that flutter lightly as the sparrow comes a little closer to the stove near her cage.
Prince Linden loaned me both little animals and I’ll forever be in his debt. I kind of owe him several ships in exchange for the three asshole dragons I never gave him. It’s a fair trade, really; a month’s worth of work to create countless ships in exchange for the sweet man holding me against him.
I’m literally in his debt. And I won’t forget.
Another animal moves, sauntering in a slow predatory way as it comes toward us. Bright pink scales sparkle in the morning light. Big blue eyes blink at me slowly while sharply pointed snout sniffs out at the air that lingers between the beast and me. My lips part as my gaze takes it all in. From the length of its spiky flat tail to the long claws that press into the dirt. It’s twice my size but the most beautiful animal I’ve ever seen.
Slowly Kain lowers me until my shoes meet the ground. His hands settle low on my hips as his chest presses against my back.
“Kain.” I don’t turn away from the four-legged creature. “You got me another shifter?”
Seconds pass as the beast and I watch one another.
“What?” His hands lift from my sides, palms up with frustration. “You think I got you another shifter? You think for your birthday I threw in another man for your life? Really?”
“No, I—I mean really who needs this many men? It’s not exactly a blessing all the time, I promise. Four is more than enough. It’s a surplus at this point. If I take any more I’ll start being taxed by the King for monopolizing dick from the other villagers.” I ramble and force myself to stop talking as the beast tilts its big pink head at me in a questioning look.
Kain arches a fiery brow at me.
“I meant, does it shift? Do all dragons shift?” My voice is a bit smaller now but it’s a reasonable question.
Stop looking at me like that.
Kain’s soft red hair meets mine as his head tilts closer to me. “No. It’s a drake, not a dragon. They’re more of a canine dragon mix. I didn’t get it for you for your birthday. She’s just trying to keep warm. That’s why I brought you back here. I thought you’d want to see the creatures that have started to dwell around the woodstove.”
I take a slow step forward and the big creature never makes a move. It watches me carefully.
My palm extends ever so slowly. Farther I reach out. Slow, gentle, oh so carefully I lift my palm to the drake. Inches separate us, and then its neck lifts and the end of its bright snout is against my fingertips. The tension in my chest blooms into warmth the moment it offers the gesture of friendship.
“Why is it pink?” I whisper to the man lingering several steps behind me.
Twigs snap and I hear him come closer. His big hand lifts as well and with caution he places his palm against the rough scales of the beast’s neck. Slowly he brushes back and forth there.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen such a strange color on a drake before. Most creatures of the dragon descent aren’t full dragons. I’m not, Chaos isn’t. Rime …” His voice trails off, and I recall that they have no idea where Rime came from. “Whatever this one’s mixed with, it’s mutated her genes enough to disturb her scales. They’re softer too. Not silky but not as durable as normal.” Kain continues to stroke his palm along the shining pink color of the drake.
