“What did you do to me?”
“Nothing, Kymri. You need to mate.”
“I won’t give you the satisfaction.”
Kolina’s brows shot up at the ridiculousness of the comment, “Kymri, you’re not behaving like yourself. If you don’t mate, you will jeopardize everything you value.”
Kymri recognized it as soon as it passed her lips. She refused to let Kolina manipulate her. She ignored the glimmer of compassion in her mother’s eyes. Fighting for reason, she turned and left her mother. Kolina didn’t stop her.
She didn’t go to her office, as was expected, to fill out the report needed to complete her shift, instead she headed out to look for Marli to vent to.
Unable to find her, she went to her room to try to find her self-control. This was foreign to her.
The haze of frustration slid over her. She felt as though she were losing her mind. Locking her door, she unbuttoned her robe and hung it on a nearby hook before going to bathe, hoping the process would calm her as it usually did.
Whatever this was, it wasn’t simply desire. She’d mated before, always careful to not conceive, and while it was enjoyable, it was just an enjoyable activity with a man. There were very few men on the island at any given time. Almost none at all. The queen didn’t want them here.
Would Jori want to stay for her? She knew she wouldn’t want to leave, even if she did want him with her, the pressure for him to go would be intense for both of them.
Did she want him that much? How could she possibly know that already? The little tickle at the back of her mind hinted otherwise.
Shoving her face under the flow of the water sprinkling over her to drown the budding thought, she switched topics on the same subject; remembering the feel of his kiss and his body. He clearly desired her, the length and hardness of his male organ was obvious. She sighed, reaching for the soap and lathering her hair and body. He’d bathed in the ocean. Her soapy hands slid over her peaked nipples, sending a thrum of desire straight down to the apex of her thighs, making her whole body jerk. She was too tense. With water flowing over her, one hand worked her breasts while the other slid into herself, moving her fingers through her own heat and wetness. Imagining they were his strong fingers and lips on her, she came with a shudder, allowing the flowing water to wash away the tension.
It wasn’t enough, but it was enough for now. Stemming the water, she reached for a towel to wrap around herself and moved to the small vanity in her room. She thought about her mother’s words as she pulled a brush through her hair.
Heat.
She’d suspected as much from what she’d been able to find in the archive on dragon anatomy. It didn’t happen to everyone— then most dragonesses had their young long before the point she was in her life now. In reality it was rare and seemed most common for metal dragons. Physicians and philosophers had theories without anything solidly clinical to explain it. Astrologers said it was a cosmic tie to the dragon stars and the coming of the comet that begat the mutation of their particular dragon species.
Kymri didn’t know what to think of any of it. It seemed to be happening, and happening to her. Now.
She thought it had more to do with Jori in some way. It wasn’t a factor until he appeared within their boundaries. She couldn’t be sure what was causing it, only that he affected its intensity. Jori muddled her ability to think straight.
Would the problem go away if she just bedded him? She didn’t have to conceive, no matter what her mother expected of her. Mate with him, then see him on his way. Maybe. She sighed. It was just mating; it wasn’t a big deal.
It wasn’t as though other men hadn’t been to the city, they just were expected to go back to where they came from.
So, what was she afraid of?
Tossing her brush on the vanity, she rifled through the collection of brightly colored nail polish.
She could bring him to the city. Just for a little while.
Then he’d learn their secret, which he’d come all this way to expose to the world.
Would he change his mind? Could she trust him?
She picked the hot pink.
Did she have to? She’d destroyed his batteries, and the equipment wasn’t functioning properly inside their magnetic field. Maybe it was a moot point.
The varnish remover stung her nose as the old color worked into the cotton.
Yes, she could just bed him and send him home.
Her heart twisted a little as an image of his charming smile popped into her mind.
She had her duty and he didn’t belong here.
He’d said he didn’t really belong anywhere.
The brush flicked the hot pink color onto her nails with quick practiced strokes.
That didn’t sit well with her.
Lips pursed, her breath was gentle across the fresh paint.
That was better.
Dressing, mind settled, she returned to the patrol office to complete her report. It was almost time to go to the council.
Almost.
7
There was little to do on the island.
Jori had already jogged the perimeter, collected fresh water and coconuts.
His notebook had gone from pages of notes to attempts at sketching Kymri. His talent wasn’t enough to do her justice.
Wisps of cloud slid over the island and the horizon was shrouded in a haze.
Gathering up his sleeping bag and pillow, he moved it to the plane. He’d already rearranged the cases and equipment out of boredom. The space was adequate to keep him dry while he slept.
He blew out a breath, longing for a proper bed and shower. He was tired of the grit of sand and sea salt. His skin never felt smoother, but the stuff got everywhere.
Hands on hips, he surveyed the monotonous view of his camp. Wreck, fire pit and chairs, palm forest, beach and sea. And sky. Plenty of that too.
Dropping his head back, he peered into the endless blue, masked here and there by cloud wisps and a long-tailed bird high above.
He still had no idea what breed it was. That was the first thing he’d do when he got home - after a long hot shower.
If. If he got home.
What was taking so long for Kymri’s people to help a guy out?
Did they know he existed? They must.
A cold chill swept through him.
What if they didn’t?
What if she was keeping his presence a secret for some crazy reason?
“Nah... She’s not crazy.” There was a good reason for his continued stay here.
Right?
How long had he been here? Just a few days.
They have to decide if you’re a threat, he reminded himself.
He recalled some of the villages he and his mother had visited in his youth. Some places welcomed visitors. Others, well, other villages required his mother’s solid negotiation skills.
This was probably one of those instances.
The photo of his mother from his control panel had been lost during the crash. He’d hoped to magically find it lodged somewhere in the plane. Despite several attempts to find it, he hadn’t.
God, he missed her.
“I know, I know. Be patient.”
He stripped off his shirt, tossing it into the open door of the plane.
Jori hated waiting, may as well go for another run to kill the time. He’d be triathlon ready by the time rescue came with all the running, swimming and palm tree climbing lately.
This trip wasn’t supposed to have gone like this.