The thought of my unconscious, naked body being manhandled pissed me off on a deep, visceral level. And hanging from my arms was growing old real quick.
Figured it was better than hanging by the wings, though. I had no idea how Talakai had stood it. They’d unhooked him from the grapples and let him fold them away for the trip. He now hung by his arms, just like me.
Still painful as hell. But then again, by all appearances, the Dragon had developed a thing for pain. Hadn’t changed other aspects, though. He still wasn’t much of a gabber.
I cleared my throat, no response. Was he still knocked out?
He hung with his eyes closed, but then he moaned. His muscles twitched as though he were dreaming. By the looks of it, it was more a nightmare than a sex orgy.
“Hey, you scaly bludger. Wake the hell up!”
His entire body convulsed, and his eyes snapped open. For just an instant, I caught a flash of torment within them. Then he closed them again.
“Nightmare?” I asked.
No response. Maybe he was imagining himself a million miles away. Guess I couldn’t blame the bloke—I wished I was too. I scanned his big body, noting how he’d lost weight in the three days since Xumi had reacquired him.
Didn’t bode well for me getting fed anytime soon.
I noticed other things too. Like the scars all over him from overlapping talon marks. “She likes to slice and dice?”
He answered without opening his eyes. “You have no idea.” His voice, always deep, now sounded as though it came from the depths of hell itself.
“Messed up your tattoos, mate.”
Talakai snorted. “I paid good money for those.” His metallic eyes snapped open as he lifted his head, then stiffened. “She’s here.”
A moment later, the door opened, and Xumi paraded in. Her hands fondled the butts of the Dragons on each side of her—a bronze on one side, and a green on the other. By all appearances, they were enjoying the attention.
I was pretty sure I’d seen the bronze bloke in the tunnels. They stopped in the middle of the room, and Xumi’s eyes flared.
Her eyes then narrowed. “Meet my surviving sons. Brock,” she gestured to the bronze Dragon, then the green. “And Dietrik.”
Brock pushed into my space. “Your bastard Bellati friend killed my twin.”
Xumi stroked her hand down his side in a distinctly unmotherly manner. This was her son? Was this a Dragon thing? Or a Xumi thing? My gut twisted, but I managed a sarcastic... “My condolences.” Then I added, “And he’s not my Bellati.”
Xumi bared her teeth as she approached me. “He would have beenmyBellati if you hadn’t got in the way of a perfectly good plan.”
“See, we have something in common. I thought it was a perfectly good plan too. You weren’t supposed to know about it.” I figured if she was talking, she wasn’t slicing and dicing. And I was good at keeping people gabbing.
She offered the big bronze a stroke to his substantial balls and offered me a cats-with-cream smile. “You will soon learn that there is no hiding anything from me. I knew all about Haki and his tunnel entrance. I also knew that he’d betray me.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Talakai stiffen, and I hoped he could hold on to his beast this time. But she had answered a question that had been much on my mind. “I guess you’re hard to fool?”
Her eyes flashed. “Very.” She left Brock hanging to walk right into my personal bubble and transfer her grip to my own personal bits. I had to stifle a flinch.
“So,” she said. Her voice had a growly undertone that I might have found sexy if I wasn’t an owned Dire. “What shall I do with you? I understand Dragons. Never had much use for fur.” Her thumb ran up and down my shaft, and I couldn’t squelch a reflexive shiver. But I knew her quest was destined to cactus pretty damned fast.
“He won’t respond to your games,” Talakai rumbled.
Xumi turned away from me and strolled up to him, pulling a vial from somewhere beneath her scales. She fisted the long braids hanging over his shoulder, popped the lid off with a finger, and poured it over his face.
Whatever was in it, his reaction was intense and instant. He groaned through gritted teeth, and a pronounced bulge formed beneath his scales.
Brock leaned in to inhale. “Tasty.” He stroked himself with one hand, and reached with the other to grab one of Talakai’s rib scales and yank it clear off.
Talakai hissed at him, but his bulge grew more pronounced. As did that of Xumi’s sons.
