Chapter Ten

Chloe

Ihalf-stumbled along after Silas as his hand swallowed mine in its grasp, prompting a cascade of reactions up my arm and throughout my body. He was too preoccupied to notice, however, forcing me to pull myself together.

Not an easy task when every inch of me insisted I let go and give myself to him. It would be so easy to stumble and fall into him. To look up at him through my eyelashes and wait for him to lean down and kiss me. How could I not? Look at what just a touch of his hand could do to me. The press of his lips as they devoured me would make anything else look like a pinprick in comparison.

I almost let it happen. Tugged along by his grip, I nearly fell down the stairs. Thankfully, Silas noticed in time. Turning at the waist, he lifted me and casually carried me to the ground, where he immediately set me down.

By then, he was breathing harder, and his pupils were beyond dilated. His nostrils flared, and he stared at me with sudden intensity. I wondered briefly if I could convince him to just bend me over the stairs and get it over with. Perhaps then I could think clearly without a raging desire to feel him thrusting deep inside of me, making my ass shake with every stroke.

Get a grip on yourself.

From somewhere deep inside, the part of me that made the perfect spy, that had to always be in control, was exerting itself a bit, rebelling against the sudden lack of control.

"Well, that was fun," I found myself saying between breaths.

"I should have slowed down," Silas rumbled.

"Oh. Not that. I was referring to the ‘family meeting' your dear old dad called," I said, choosing my words carefully, suspecting correctly he wouldn't object to the sarcasm.

Just like that, I was back in control. My pussy was still dripping, and if I didn't play with my clit soon, I would explode from sexual frustration, but I was thinking straight. Mostly.

"You heard that?"

"Most of it," I said. "Thank you, by the way, for defending me."

A surge of guilt rose in my stomach, sinking its teeth in and beginning to gnaw away at me. Not that I would do anything about it. As defensive—and sexy—as Silas was, I had to remember I was there on a mission. Everything his father had said about me was true. But I couldn't admit it.

"I suppose he's not quiet, is he?" Silas said, calmly accepting I'd overheard the entire thing.

I just smiled back at him. It was easier than pointing out neither of them were soft-spoken. In fact, it was quite easy to see they were father and son. Right then, though, that was the last thing Silas would want to hear.

"So, what does it all mean? What proposal was he referring to?" I asked, pausing at the edge of the landing area while Silas moved to its center. I was beginning to understand some parts of their culture.

He shifted before replying.

I stepped back, the abrupt change still catching me by surprise with its speed. It felt like it should take time, but in reality, it was over in an eyeblink. I wondered if I would ever get used to that.

"My father sits on the ruling Council for all dragons," Silas explained, his voice deeper but less gravelly and more melodic when in his dragon form. It wasn't quite his voice, but it was definitely still him. "I'd hoped to get him to push forward a proposal regarding the territory we now control on your east coast."

He extended one wing toward me as he talked but fell silent while I climbed up it, still a little unsteady on the slightly stretchy membrane. When I was firmly seated behind his neck, he resumed speaking.

"Right now, we guard the borders, but that's about it," he said.

"I'd heard something to that extent," I said, recalling the briefing I'd been given before departing. "That it's rule of arms. Some dragons carving out sections for their own, while in other areas, human ‘warlords' are setting up shop. It's not pretty."

"No, it's not," he agreed. "We can do better. What I wanted was for him to advance a proposal before the sovereign that would see the creation of a dragon governor for these territories. Someone who could rule and decide how things are to be done. With his current pull and allies, we should be able to get someone from our family installed in that position. Doing so would give us tremendous power, securing our future for a long, long time."

Never once did he talk about the humans. He wasn't doing it for them. It was a play for power. But it would help them. Bringing stability would be good for all.

"Why was he backing it in the first place?" I asked, curious about the motivation there. "It doesn't seem like he suddenly started hating humans because of me."

"I may have led him to be under the impression I would finally cave and accept a proper dragon woman as a mate," he said, looking away. "Not quite possible now with you around."

"So, does that mean it's no longer possible?"

Silas set his jaw. "My father is just one man, and the proposal had a lot of support from his allies because they would benefit from the stability it would grant by keeping us as the strongest of the families. Today was … a changing point, I think, but it's too early to see how in terms of his sway. But in the meantime, I intend to teach you how to be a ‘proper' dragon lady."

"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"So, when we visit the others, they'll see there's potential merit in having humans who don't hate us. Which we can get if we rule them properly."

I didn't love the idea of being his show human, but it would certainly expose me to a lot more of life on the Isles. Not to mention, lead to meeting many of the influential dragon leaders. Who knew what they might slip with me around.

"Maybe we can get enough support," he added, stretching his wings wide and leaping into the air. "I'm sure others will see the strength in you as I do. Then we can get it passed."

His determination was palpable. He wanted this badly. But why was he so intent on doing it all himself?'

"You want the governorship for yourself," I said, understanding dawning.

"Yes," he said without reservation. "It'll give me a power base. Then, when I take over the house from my father, Caleb will take over for me. It will secure our family's position for the foreseeable future."

I nodded, my brain playing through the scenarios. I leaned forward against his neck as he increased speed, trying to focus on the politics in play and not the ground rushing away from us below. It was hard.

"And if we don't get the support you need?" I asked, not having enough knowledge of dragon politics to know how that would play out long-term.

"Then there's a good chance my father will manufacture evidence that points to you being here on some sort of agenda or mission just as he said."

"Will that lead him to get rid of me?" I asked, not having to fake my nervousness.

"Likely," Silas grunted. "But we'll be careful. You'll stay with me at all times. Just in case."

"Oh, great," I groaned cheerfully. "Nothing like a little pressure."

Silas' great lizard head craned around to look at me with one of his giant yellow-orange eyes, the vertical pupil watching me closely. "You took that rather well."

"On the outside," I said, giving him what I hoped looked like a false, unsteady smile I'd plastered on to hide my fear. It felt real to me because I'd looked down briefly and channeled those emotions into it.

The truth was far different. As a spy, every mission meant running the risk of death. At least with the dragons, it sounded like I didn't have to worry about being tortured. They would just bite me in half or burn me to a crisp. A quick death.

Silas seemed to accept my response and focused on flying. I exhaled slowly. That had been too close. I had let my true self shine through with that flippant remark. I had to be better going forward.

Otherwise, Silas might realize just how right his father was.