Niressa opens her mouth to speak but quickly clamps it shut, making her way toward the tunnel. I roll my eyes shut as her perfectly round ass sways in front of me on her way out of the room. “His clan rules the dragonkin, now,” she calls over her shoulder.
I shake my head, trying to focus on something other than Niressa’s body. How is she so comfortable being nude? Is she intentionally teasing me? For Gods’ sake.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I point out. Though I understand the need for secrecy and the importance of loyalty, something tells me Niressa isn’t truly loyal to that dragon. “Why would he care I’m here? Dragons attack shipments and things all the time, and I’ve never seen any golden dragon intervene to police the situation.”
“Oh? Have you met many dragons, princess?” Niressa asks as I follow her down the tunnel.
“No,” I admit, pausing by the entrance in some effort to offer her privacy. “But I’ve never heard of it, either.”
“They allow what is beneficial to their politics,” Niressa murmurs from inside the room. “Your presence here obviously isn’t.”
I lean my head back against the stone wall, considering that. I had no idea there was such a thing as dragon politics and I have no idea how my presence can possibly affect them. “Am I interfering in some . . .” I struggle to find the word I want, chewing on my lip. “Courtship?”
Niressa strolls from the room, lacing her tights. She grins wide at me and shakes her head. “I’d no sooner mate that dragon than I would a squirrel, Tiny Treasure. He’s a vile creature.”
“Oh,” I squeak. Niressa laughs and turns back toward the main cavern and I follow her. What else am I supposed to do? As we near the end of the tunnel, a brisk, cold wind fills the cavern and I rub my arms together. As we make our way closer to the ledge, I can see why.
“Snow?” I gasp. “Now?”
“I told you there was a storm coming,” Niressa chuckles, pausing by a stack of treasure to rearrange it with the utmost care.
“But snow? It never snows this time of year. The mountains block it all.”
“I’ll start a fire so you can be warm, Taryn. Don’t worry, I won’t let you freeze.” Niressa shakes her head and reaches for my hand. She grabs some wood I didn’t notice with the other and starts leading me back down the tunnel.
“Why do you call me that?” I ask, curious. I’m not a treasure, and I certainly am not tiny.
“I’m not sure,” Niressa admits as we turn into her bedchamber once again. I take a seat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my arms as I watch her build the fire in the floor. She breathes fire across the wood, barely blowing, like a child trying to fog a windowpane so they can vandalize it.
I hold my hands out to the flames, thankful for the heat. The cold air is quickly filling the caves and I’m not dressed for such weather. Niressa moves around, kneeling in front of the bed, in front of me, and my eyebrows rocket toward my hairline. She smirks, taking my hands in hers and begins massaging them, warming them with her own heat.
“You’re so warm,” I sigh as my eyes roll shut.
“There is fire in my blood. Of course, I’m warm. You can sleep in here tonight, if you want. The snow will delay anything from your father, I’m sure. The fire will keep you warm.” My eyes open slowly and I nod as my gaze meets Niressa’s where she kneels in front of me.
My core clenches as all the possibilities of that offer tumble through my mind over and over. Niressa’s nostrils flare and she bites her lips against a smile before rising to her feet.
Carefully, she climbs onto the bed and pulls the blanket down, patting the soft mattress beside her. “Come lay down,” she murmurs. “You’re freezing.”
I swallow, scurrying further up the bed with much less grace than I wish for. I slip beneath the cover and lay on my side, facing away from her. The nervous breaths sawing in and out of my chest are so loud, I feel like they fill the entire room with noise.
But they stop when a warm arm slips around my side, curling over my waist. Heat floods my body as Niressa pulls me firmly against her chest. I swallow a sigh, wondering if the heat is her inner fire or mine.
Chapter Eighteen
My head rolls to the side and I jerk away, just to be pulled firmly against something hot behind me. Tensing for a moment, my eyes roam the stone wall above me.
I’m in Niressa’s room, I remember, as I watch the firelight spread strange shadows across the ceiling. Niressa’s heat behind me is almost stifling. I’m not sure the fire is even necessary if I’m in her arms, to be honest. My lips curve up in a smirk as I snuggle deeper into the luxurious bedding.
I suppose her greedy nature is good for something, at least. This bed is divine.
Niressa moves in her sleep, her hand sliding over my waist to the curve of my belly. I bite my lip, trying not to move, not to wake her. She blows out a tiny little sigh, a sound that is so unlike the snarling, growling, etherealness she usually shows me, that I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from giggling.
She’s very affectionate when she’s asleep, I realize, as her chin finds the crook of my neck and snuggles in there. Between the heat of her body pressed against mine and her hot breath dancing against my neck and ear, I’m barely able to keep still.
My thighs squeeze together when she moves again, and her lips brush my skin.
For Gods’ sake, Taryn, I scold myself. Have some self-control. The woman is sleeping! And that’s true enough. It’s not like I can hold her accountable for things she does in her sleep, but Gods if it doesn’t feel nice.
I lay there like that for what feels like forever, trying to control my own breathing as her breath tickles my ear. My hips wiggle as I try to stop the aching between my thighs and Niressa lets out a little moan.
My eyes press closed as I swallow, trying to ignore that sound. It’s hard to ignore the chemistry brewing between us; I’ve seen the same desire reflected in her strange eyes. But I shouldn’t get involved with her. She’s a dragon, for Gods’ sakes. There’s nothing I can do to change those facts. And she kidnapped me.
I’m becoming one of those princesses they write children’s stories about, who falls in love with the knight from a faraway kingdom after he stelas her from the tower. I don’t want to be that sort of woman, that sort of princess. I’m not so silly that I’d trade my autonomy for simple affection.
But, even though Niressa did kidnap me . . . she’s been kind to me, hasn’t she? She’s made sure I have what I need, and she has gone out of her way to keep me warm during this snowstorm. Still, even if I gave into whatever it is I’m feeling for her, there would be dire consequences. I can’t have a dragon in Vanir, and I have no doubts that the greedy nature of a dragon extends to their love life.
Somehow, I know, sex with her would be a commitment, one I’m not sure I can fully agree to.
I blow out a puff of breath, ignoring the pounding in my head that these thoughts bring and slowly edge my way out of the bed. Niressa’s arm falls onto the mattress and I glance down at her sleeping body with a small smile.
“Even if I want her, it wouldn’t be fair,” I whisper to the fire where it dances on the floor. “These feelings will pass.” There’s nothing I can do about the attraction I feel toward her, though. The slick heat brewing between my legs is proof of that. I shake my head and pad quietly toward the bathing chamber. It’s too cold to fully wash, but I can at least clean my most important bits and change my clothing.