Dragon in the Dark (Kindred Tales)

But for right now, at least, he could take care of her, Dra’vik reminded himself. And that started with healing her wrists.

Have to wait until my Fire is completely cooled, though, he told himself. Hearing that bastard of a Lix’dorian male asking if he could “use” Iyanna had gotten him angry again. He needed some time to cool down before he healed her.

Looking over her shoulder, he could see into the bathing room of the hotel room—it featured a large marble tub which gave him an idea.

“Little girl,” he murmured in her ear. “Wanna take care of you tonight. Will you let me?”

She pulled back to look him in the face, frowning uncertainly.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’ll show you,” Dra’vik told her. “Just let me take care of you, all right?”

She searched his eyes with her own and he thought again how beautiful she was, with her soft brown skin and those big, dark eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the universe in them. Finally, she nodded.

“All right. I trust you.”

“Thank you.” Her trust meant a lot to him. Gently, Dra’vik kissed her lips and then her cheek. “Come on, little girl—let’s go,” he murmured.

Sweeping her into his arms, he rose to his feet and headed for the bathing room. An overwhelming feeling of protectiveness rushed over him as he cradled her to his chest. Iyanna was his—his to protect, his to cherish. He was going to heal her and make her feel good and reassure her that he would keep her safe. There was nothing he wanted more in the whole world.

He only wished he could claim her for his own as well—but he knew that was impossible.

THIRTY-FIVE

Iyanna gave a little gasp as the big Drake swept her up into his arms and carried her through the opulent hotel room. Her lips still tingled from his gentle kiss. Like the palms of his hands, his lips were one of the places on his body where there were no scales. Kissing him had been like kissing any other guy…except it had been completely different, she thought.

She had never felt this way when she’d kissed a human man—so filled with need and desire. Ian’s kisses had never made her tingle all over, had never made her heart pound and the blood rush in her ears.

She also liked the way he had lowered himself to her level and held her. He was so big and warm when he enfolded her in his arms and his bonfire and masculine spice scent filled her senses, making her feel slightly dizzy.

But mostly, when she was in the big Drake’s arms she felt safe. She wasn’t a woman who needed reassurance often, but once in a while everyone needs someone to hold them and tell them everything is going to be all right. Dra’vik had sensed that and had given her exactly what she needed.

What else is he going to give you, do you think? whispered a naughty little voice in her head.

It sent a little shiver of desire through Iyanna—she couldn’t help remembering the gentle, skillful way the big Drake had touched her on the shuttle, the way he had made her come and called her his “good girl”…

And then, to her dismay, he was putting her down.

“Hey, what—” she began.

“Need to get a bath ready.” Dra’vik was already leaning over the vast marble tub, twisting knobs and pushing buttons. After a moment, he seemed to get what he wanted. “There…” He sat back, hands on his thighs and nodded in apparent satisfaction. Pink, foamy water that smelled of some exotic flowers was rushing out of the wide faucet and rapidly filling the tub.

“You’re going to give me a bath?” Iyanna asked blankly. When he’d kissed her and picked her up, she’d had visions of him taking her right to the vast, round bed and laying her down on it to make love to her. So this wasn’t exactly what she’d been hoping for. “I kind of thought you had, er, something else in mind,” she told him hopefully.

“Gonna help you relax and heal your wrists, little girl,” Dra’vik said sternly. “That’s first. After that, we’ll see about taking care of the rest of you.”

His words gave Iyanna hope for more than just a bath, so she nodded.

“Okay, I’ll get undressed.”

“No—I’ll be undressing you.” He gave her an intense look. “I’m going to do everything for you tonight, all right? You just relax and let me take care of you.”

“Well…okay.” Iyanna nodded. To be honest, she liked the idea of giving herself completely over to the big Drake. It certainly aligned with her D/s fantasy—she wondered if he knew that. Somehow, she thought he did.

Obediently, she held still as he stripped the red Lix’dorian outfit off of her. It really didn’t make that much difference since all her “lady parts” as her Granny would have said, had already been on display through the triangular cut outs. Still, she felt a bit more vulnerable standing there nude before him.