But not all the things that answered my call were tiny. A series of barking croaks heralded the arrival of a flock of flying creatures the size of crows that had leathery wings resembling bats, only there were four, and not just two. They swarmed up the tunnel from the outside and raked their little claws through his hair. Two managed to squeeze past his bulk to hover in his face.
Hardly more than a distraction, really, but it would have taken a very strong individual to ignore such an assault. He was an experienced enough warrior to keep his sword arm pointed at me, but he turned to fend them off, batting at them with his hand.
I ran right at him.
There might not be room for me to swing a sword, but the same was true for him. He moved his weapon in front of him, but I bound the spikes at its base with my sword, and held it off me as I twisted around it.
He pretty much filled the available space, but I managed to wedge myself past his shoulder and ended up behind him. I yanked my sword free from his and slid it up against his throat.
He stiffened and growled. “Stupid female. No way that’ll go through my scales.”
He was likely right—he’d grown them right up under his jaw, but they were small near his ears, and I had the blade right up beneath the lobe.
“Not interested in sawing off your head,” I snarled. “But do you like your ear?”
As he growled and debated, I sank my fingers into his hair until the tips touched skin.
For just an instant, I remembered touching Talakai. He’d said I couldn’t hurt him, but the thing coiled within me was determined to take on this Dragon.
I let it loose.
As I did so, the little batlike creatures renewed their assault from the front, ducking and diving. His free hand moved to grab at me, and I dug the blade up beneath his ear. He froze again as blood trickled down his neck.
“Some things won’t grow back,” I said, taking a wild guess. Anything to keep him distracted from what I was trying to do.
But Talakai had been right, at least in part. My inner beast was meeting resistance as it tried to drain his energy. And if he decided he didn’t give a damn about his ear, he could yank me right off him.
He inhaled. The muscles beneath me twitched. A moment later, he said, “You and I could find ourselves a less slimy spot and have some fun.”
He couldn’t be serious? But the scent coming off him was pure beast, so maybe he thought threatening me was excellent foreplay. I needed time, and this might buy it for me. “Oh really? What did you have in mind?” To my shock, my voice had altered, deepening and growing husky. I pressed my body up against him, and moved my hand until its entire length rested against his face, the fingertips caressing the rough skin.
He inhaled again, drinking in my scent. And I sensed the first few tendrils of his life essence tear free.
I moved my face up along the other side of his head, resting my cheek against his so that his head was pinned between it and my hand. “C’mon, big boy. Tell me what you’d like to do to me.”
He rumbled, a deep, vibrating sound. A strong animal musk drifted off his skin as I sucked more of his life essence to me. “You haven’t been fucked until you’ve done it with a Dragon,” he said. “I’ll have you screaming in minutes.”
I had no doubt that was true, just not for the reasons he was assuming. “Always wanted to screw a Dragon,” I purred, running my leg up along the side of his body. Which was also true. Just not this Dragon.
I hooked my boot around the front of him and then ran it down his belly. There was a prominent bulge beneath his scales, and I rubbed the heel back and forth over it.
His breath gusted from him, and the barrier my beast had been working its way through dropped. I sucked the energy as greedily as a vampire would blood, pulling it into me.
“Put the sword down, baby, and let me fly you nowhere you’ve ever been before.”
Like he hadn’t been planning to slice me to pieces only moments before. But I had him now. I gathered the energy I’d absorbed into myself and went hunting.
Everything about a Dragon was built strong, including their hearts. I gritted my teeth, pulsed the energy in, and started to tear things apart.
But it was too slow.
At first, he didn’t seem to notice—his focus on my heel as it rubbed on him. But then he stiffened, his free hand rising to his chest.
Dammit.I couldn’t do enough damage this way. I pulled out of the heart and raced my awareness along the blood vessels to his head.
No time—he was on the cusp of figuring out what was going on. This mass of cells was unfamiliar, but I gave it my all, flooding the last of the power I’d taken and a chunk of myself, blasting it through his brain.
He reared back, crushing me into the tunnel ceiling. As his body heaved, I slid free from him and backed away. The Dragon gave one last, violent spasm and lay still, blood pouring from his nose and ears.
