Page 80 of Let Us Prey
I blink, watching her face screw up and before I can stop myself, I burst out laughing. Her expression goes from teary to murderous in a blink, and she lets a hand fly, punching me in the jaw. That only makes me laugh harder—I mean, fist vs. dragon—and despite the loud racing of her heart, she lets out a screech that would rival a goddamned pterodactyl.
“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?!”
It takes a moment to get my mirth under control, and when I do, I push her back into the wall with a smug grin. Pinning both her hands above her head with one of mine, I shrug, unable to keep from smirking down at the enraged bunny shifter. “Because, lunchable, you seemed to think any of us would give a chicken-fried gazelle you’ve been exiled. Newsflash:allof us were exiled from our families for being fuck-ups.”
She sucks in a shaky breath, sniffling a little, and I almost let go, but I sense she needs someone else in control right now. Dolly has been a mess since we found out about the parents’ meeting, and working here in the archives was her idea. I assumed the thought of having to face her mother was distasteful enough to make her volunteer to do work study on a Friday night, ensuring no one could find her down here if they were looking. Of course, I’d never turn down her help, and she seemed determined to continue searching for clues about Nico’s stained glass project. I didn’t realize she was doing it out of fear.
“How would I know that?” she shoots back, equaling me in fire. “Bash and Nico have hinted at the reason they were thrown off of Bloodstone, but everyone else hasn’t deemed me worthy of their story yet!” I smile as she fights against my hold, throwing my own words from our first meeting back at me.
Very clever, little dessert.
Snorting a smoke ring, I pause for a moment as the dragon lumbers inside, stretching and pushing against my skin. He likes her—who the fuck in their right mind wouldn’t—and this proximity is making it difficult to focus on the conversation. Dolly seems to notice my quandary, and she softens a bit as she waits for me to answer.
“Touché. I’m used to everyone knowing my sordid tale of rejection from the throne of my clash. I promise I will elaborate at the proper time. But, for now, do you have any other questions, bite size?”
Her body bucks against mine rebelliously, trying my tenuous hold on my control. “Yeah, are you going to kiss me or what?”
That does it—the fire in my belly ignites, and my dragon takes the fucking wheel before I can blink. Our lips crash together in a blur of movement, and my body curls around hers as she tries again to wiggle her arms free.
It won’t be that easy, bunny rabbit. I’ve been thinking about doing this since the moment you first sassed my dragon in the library.
Gently nipping her bottom lip, I growl low as my hand tightens on her wrists. Dolly gives me an adorably shy grin, almost making me give in as she pushes up on her tiptoes, presumably to kiss me again. The slide of her body against mine distracts the hell out of me, and I have to count to ten in Sumerian to hold back from delivering a harder bite. I know this girl is inexperienced—since Sebastian won’t shut up about it—and…
Holy fuck, the minx just BIT ME!
A roar escapes me as her surprisingly sharp teeth dig into my neck, and I immediately let go of her wrists. Backing away with a shudder, I desperately try to maintain control of the flames bubbling up inside of me before I roast my entire godsdamned collection and get myself banished from another library. Her lips are curved up in a satisfied smirk that makes me want to teach her a lesson, but I can’t. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.
“You... " I croak, straining to hold both my cock and my rampaging animal in check. “You can’t… simply do that. Shifters… can’t ... "
Her expression drops into despair, and I swear my heart hits the floor.
If I’ve hurt her…
“I thought you’d like it.”
I clear my throat, still not able to move any closer to comfort her, without fear of losing control. “I.. It’s not that I didn’t. It’s that… Oh, I can’t do this. You need a shifter sex ed class. I’m sure we can get it added to your syllabus for the spring.”
“Ohmygod, I did it wrong again!” she wails.
Shaking my head, I rush over, fighting my animalistic urges so I can gather her in my arms. It aches to see her upset, and I don’t have the slightest idea why. “No. But you need to understand what an action like that means, before you do something you didn’t intend to.”
Nodding against my chest, she sniffles pitifully. “Okay. If you promise I didn’t mess everything up, I believe you.”
“I promise. It’s time to get you home now, anyway. It’s getting late,” I rumble as I run my hands over her back soothingly.
“Don’t wanna go to the dorm. Bruiser will be waiting for me there,” Dolly mumbles as she looks up at me.
That must be the lizard from the back. Another growl escapes as I realize she fears the fucker. “I can escort you to the townhouse if you like. The wolves may still be awake.”
“Can’t I stay here with you?” She pauses for a moment and gives me a sly smile. “Or wherever, since I know you don’t sleep here.”
Horus, take the wheel of destiny, because I have definitely veered off course.
She keeps looking at me with big, teary eyes, and I crumble like a fucking cookie. I can’t allow word to get out that I let her spend the night, or I will never hear the end of this.
“If you stop crying, I’ll take you.”
The satisfied smile she gives me does absolutely nothing to calm the situation in my fucking pants, but it makes the scaly bastard inside of me smug as hell.
