"Kellen has a lot of friends in low places," he said. "You're not safe on your own. Not just yet. He's probably already realized you're gone, and it won't take him a lot of time to realize where you went. You're staying with me. You'll be safe with me."
"Safe with you?"
He nodded.
"I'll protect you, little kitten. Now get back in the basket."
The thought of disobeying didn't even cross her mind, and besides, she didn't want to disobey. She wanted his protection, and his care. She wanted him to take care of her and look after her and make sure that she was okay.
And most of all, really, she wanted to feel safe.
She got in the basket and he started taking off his clothes. She knew this was because he was going to change into his dragon form. He probably didn't want to rip his clothes, or to tear them. That was what shifters had to worry about, wasn't it?
They couldn't tear their clothes or ruin them. Not when they wanted to shift into their final forms. It seemed as though Zoa had a lot to learn about shifters. Maybe they weren’t all bad, after all.
"No peeking," he said, and he tucked the shirt around her in the basket.
"But..."
"Close your eyes," he said, winking at her.
She wanted to peek, though. He was broad and muscular, and she wanted to see what was under his pants. What did his cock look like? Was he shaved? She could tell he was hard when they kissed. She had felt his hardness pressing against her body while they touched. She wanted to see it, though. She wanted to see it now.
"No?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Please," she whispered, eyeing his crotch, and she was a little embarrassed that she was basically begging him to show her his dick. She didn’t have to finish her sentence for the man to know what she was asking.
It had been a long time since she'd had sex with someone. Kellen hadn't raped her - yet - but she knew he would have done that soon enough. He'd been waiting for something, but what? She didn't know. Maybe he was going to sell her. Maybe he wanted to hurt her over time.
She had no clue.
But this guy...
Yeah, she wanted to see this guy's penis.
She bit her lip, waiting. What was he going to do?
She was a little surprised when he smirked at her and pushed the pants down over his hips. They hit the sand and she looked directly at it. Was this like the sun? You shouldn't stare right at it? Only, she wanted to spend a lot of time looking at this.
Heat filled her belly, and she felt her body growing more and more excited. Shit. Was she seriously getting horny as she looked at this dude?
He sniffed the air subtly, but she noticed, and then he smiled even more.
"Naughty girl," he said, grinning. "Now it's time to go."
He brought the pants over and dropped them in the basket with her. She was kneeling up, and he gently pressed on her shoulder, urging her lower into the basket.
"There will be plenty of time for you to touch me later," he murmured quietly. "That is, if you want to do that."
Somehow, that sort of gentle promise filled her with comfort. He was full of all sorts of promises today. She did want that. She shouldn't. She didn't even know this guy's name. She didn't know anything about him.
All she knew was that he made her feel safe. He had rescued her, and she liked that.
And then he changed.
Before she even had time to think about what was happening, he had changed. It happened in the blink of an eye, really. He was a man, and then he wasn't. He was human, and then he wasn't. The beautiful dragon walked over to her, lifted the basket with one long talon, and then leapt into the air.
And they were flying.