Page 13 of My Demon Desire
And my stupid ass was too trusting, thinking escaping three monsters was the right thing to do. Reis had said he needed my blood for some oath or something. More likely it involved some strange ritual that would bind my soul to theirs.
I shiver, not from the cold, but from the intensity of Reis’s dark eyes when he looked at me. A hunger. That’s how I would describe it. But not to kill or eat me… a lustful gaze that had me pushing aside crazy thoughts of being tangled up in his arms with him.
A monster… a demon… a beast. I shake my head. Must be my lack of eating anything since I left work this morning that was making me loopy.
I feel like I’ve been walking for hours and not getting anywhere. At least I can’t feel the burning cold on my feet anymore, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a good sign.
* * *
Dawn peaks on the horizon and the unease in my chest loosens a bit. Soon it'll be light enough even with the storm to see my way better.
But the scar on my arm pulses with pain and I grit my teeth.
Fine time to warn me now. I'm out here in the middle of god knows where and the only sanctuary I'd felt since landing in this world was in three monsters' home. I bark out a laugh at the absurdity of it all. There's no way I would've been safer with them than on my own.
Yet, my arm aches, and I swallow the lump pressing into my throat.
I take another step, a low growl sounds from the shadows and my heart nearly stops.
“Show yourself,” I yell, my voice trembling. This time, I can’t blame cute, little animals or the darkness. I slowly turn to the left, my gaze locking with a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Suddenly wishing I had stayed where I had been, surrounded by monsters and all.
I squint, turning my head in all directions, trying to pinpoint the source.
Its growl deepens and a low rumble echoes. Then a thunderous roar sends me back a few steps and I scramble for the closest tree.
The creature emerges from the darkness, its hulking form illuminated in the lightning, its glowing eyes the color of a stormy sky.
It’s even bigger than I imagined, its gargantuan form barely fitting into the clearing.
A dragon. It’s a freaking dragon! Or at least a dragon without scales and huge teeth. It tucks its leathery wings, its tongue darting out like its trying to taste the air.
My heart is pounding so hard I can barely take a breath.
It prowls closer, its gaze tracking me like prey, and I barely suppress a panicked cry. I can’t outrun a freaking dragon.
I spin around, running blindly with my hands out in front of me. The dragon huffs behind me and I spill out of the woods into a clearing. Oh god, oh god, it roars, charging behind me.
There's at least five hundred yards between me and the next patch of woods ahead. I can't turn back as the dragon will chomp me in half.
I trip over a hole in the ground, landing on my face. Trembling, I look over my shoulder, and the dragon spreads its wings and dives straight at me.
Terror sweeps over me as I brace for impact. The dragon's claws pierce into my shoulders. I scream as pain burns through me and I feel like it's going to rip my arms off. I struggle to get free, but the dragon is too strong and we're soaring through the sky toward the sun.
My stomach lurches as we whirl around and around, higher and higher until all I can see are the tops of the trees.
The wind batters me and rips the screams from my lungs.
My hair flies around us like a banner and tears stream down my face from fear. I have never felt so alone before in all my life — so powerless. Dread floods my senses.
The dragon suddenly swoops downward, heading for the enormous cave against a mountainside that looks like a black abyss. We fly close to the entrance and I cry out as the dragon releases its grip on me, sending me tumbling headfirst toward the jagged rocks at the entrance of its lair.
Rocks scrape against my clothes, tearing them and my skin. Pain lashes through me at each tumble I do across the rocks and inside the dragon's lair.
The stench of rotting meat and blood choke me. With ice in my veins, I scramble to my feet. I limp to the opening with a cry in my throat.
But the dragon blocks the escape and I shuffle backward, my hip hitting the inside wall of the cave.
It's going to eat me alive. I fall to my knees, hunting through the mutilated carcasses that line the cave floor for a bone long enough to use as a weapon.
