ion of which made her frown. He wasn’t a horse. He was a shifter. As intelligent as she was, if not more so, and yet she was treating him like an animal.
“We need you to eat this,” she said softly. “It should stop the poison.”
At least, she hoped it would. Every time they had to try something new, it would get more dangerous for him. Closer to whatever was in his blood spreading further and causing some lasting damage.
She wasn’t okay with that.
He nudged at her hand, then carefully took the sticky ball between his teeth and threw his head back to swallow it down. It was amazing to watch, if a little stomach churning.
The effects were almost instant, and Drey began to sway back and forth at an alarming pace.
“I hope you’re ready,” Diana said, watching with a worried expression on her face.
“For what?” Aledwen asked, trying her best to hide her own concern. It wouldn’t do for people to see her as anything less than sure of herself.
“I can’t treat a dragon, Princess. He should shift back any moment.”
“Shift back?!” she half-shouted. “Couldn’t that kill him?” She gnawed on her lower lip. While it hadn’t been long, Aledwen didn’t think she was ready to give him up just yet.
Quicker than she expected, his scales retracted, and he shrank in size until he was human again. It was a sight to behold, and she wasn’t quite sure how to take it. Seeing the wolves shift was one thing, but a dragon...well, they were considerably larger than humans. And that was probably an understatement.
Human Drey, thankfully still clothed, swayed even more than he had in dragon form, and she rushed forward despite the firm hand Diana tried to place on Aledwen’s arm. But no one was going to stop her from getting to him.
Just as he was about to fall, she held out her arms and pulled him into them. He was heavier than she expected, but then shifters did tend towards muscly, but she just about managed to keep him upright. Carefully, she lowered him to the floor so she could tear up more of her skirt to use as a pillow.
Looking up, she spotted a couple of attendants still watching.
“Prepare a trundle bed in my rooms, please. And get Diana anything she needs.”
Twin looks of shock crossed over the two fae she’d addressed, but they curtsied anyway, and ran off to do her bidding.
Aledwen turned back to Drey, and stroked her finger down his cheek. “We’ll get you fixed soon,” she promised, sure that was going to be the truth.
Ten
Aledwen watched as Drey’s eyes flickered open, relief surging through her. He really was okay then. That was always a good sign.
“Hi,” she whispered breathlessly.
“Hi,” he returned, groaning low as he tried to move himself. The sound went right through Aledwen, and left her tingling all over in a way she’d never really experienced before. “Where am I?”
“In my room,” she replied, thinking about the outrage it had caused to get him there. No one had been particularly happy about bringing him here. More fool them, really. It was far too late to protect her virginity, and he clearly hadn’t been in any fit state to hurt her anyway.
He chuckled deeply.
“Yes, it went about that well,” she told him, stroking a hand down his cheek and enjoying the smooth, warm skin against hers.
Hesitating for a moment, not wanting the same rejection as she received before, Aledwen leaned down and pressed a kiss against his lips.
It took him even less time than before to kiss her back, even going as far as tugging on her lower lip gently with his teeth. She moaned into his mouth, moving from the chair next to the trundle bed, and positioning herself on the mattress next to him.
She pushed her body against his, feeling her breasts press against his naked chest, only the fabric of her clothes between them. It was too much. She wanted them gone so she could feel skin on skin.
Where was this coming from? She was never like this. He just awoke something within her that hadn’t been there before. She didn’t want to admit how much she liked it just yet.
His arms snaked around her, pulling her closer to him. Not that she was complaining. He was so warm. So enticing.
Aledwen slipped her hand over the hard muscles of his chest, comparing how soft his skin was compared to his scales. She loved the feel of both, but this probably held the advantage.