Of course, she could be completely wrong and make things even worse. A sex-crazed dragon was bad enough; what would a pissed off dragon look like? Even though she trusted Bram never to hurt her, she had no idea about his inner beast. Clan Skyhunter hadn’t allowed her to roam their lands and study how any of the couples interacted. Was it even possible for a dragon-shifter to harm his or her mate?
Bloody hell. She hated not knowing. As soon as everything was righted with Murray and the clan, she was going to take Melanie and Samira up on their offer to learn more about being a dragon’s mate.
First, however, she needed to deal with Bram. She refused to believe he was a lost cause. Mostly because of the strength of Bram’s will, but also because Evie wasn’t about to let anyone else die on her watch. To prevent that from happening, she needed to keep Stonefire cohesive.
Then you’ll just have to succeed and bring Bram back. No worries, right? Evie resisted a wry smile. The situation with Bram was the farthest thing from a “no worries” scenario.
Pushing aside the inkling of doubt, Evie focused back on her task. She would bring Bram back, but she wasn’t stupid. If she was going to stand up to a sex-crazed dragonman and try to make him angry, she needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Evie needed a weapon.
Keeping her eyes closed, she recalled every detail she could about the room. Granted, she’d only seen it in snippets at a time, but she was trained to notice details. A human sacrifice’s life often depended on it.
There was the bed under her side, which was next to an end table with a lamp. Since the lamp was small and currently the only light source in the room, she couldn’t use that. The tiny kitchen was on the opposite side of the room from the bed. Bram was currently rustling around over there. Since she didn’t possess super-human strength, she couldn’t lift the sofa and toss it at Bram’s head to distract him and find a knife.
No, her only option was to find something inside the small bathroom. Dragon-possessed Bram had allowed her to use the toilet in private once before. It was time to see if he would allow her again.
Taking a deep breath, Evie slowly sat up, trying not to wince at the soreness between her legs. Before she could even think about the last time she’d been this sore from sex, Bram was standing in front of her. His pupils were slits, meaning his dragon was still there.
His voice was low and growly when he said, “I must scent you more. Again.”
Evie put up a hand. “Please, let me use the toilet first.”
“Then again?” She nodded and Bram moved aside. “Hurry.”
When faced with a possibly irate and soon-to-be out of control dragonman, Evie pushed aside her soreness and rushed into the toilet. Once she locked the door, she turned toward the sink. Despite the bathroom being inside a cave, the sink and toilet were simple yet modern with nondescript white porcelain. Bram had spent some time constructing the cave hidey-hole.
Squatting down, she opened the door to the cabinet under the sink and peeked inside. There was toilet paper, soap, shampoo, and a plunger.
A quick glance around the bathroom told her there was nothing else apart from the shower stall, a few towels on a rack, and the toilet itself. Reaching inside the cabinet, she took the plunger and stood up. No doubt, the wooden handle would break if she had to swing it at Bram’s muscled body, but at least then, she could use the jagged edges, if it came to that.
Catching her reflection in the mirror, Evie tried not to smile. A naked woman holding a plunger like a cricket bat was not something you saw every day.
Pull it together, Evie. This plunger might end up being your ticket to freedom if things go south.
With one last deep breath, Evie tightened her grip on the plunger and opened the door. It was time to provoke a sex-crazed dragonman.
~~~
Inside the partition of his mind, where Bram’s dragon had put him, Bram paced. Right before Evie had gone into the toilet, he had noticed a determined glint in her eye. What in the bloody hell was she up to?
His inner beast might be too preoccupied with sex, but Bram wasn’t. Knowing his female as he did, she had a plan. Hopefully, the plan involved bringing Bram’s human-half back into control.
The first fifteen minutes after entering the cave dwelling, Bram had fought tooth and nail against his inner dragon and lost. He’d never appreciated his logical other half until it was gone. He also finally understood what Tristan had gone through with Melanie. Given the other dragonman’s temper, Bram realized Melanie was stronger than he’d given her credit for.
After the losing battle with his dragon, Bram had hung back to conserve his energy. Sure, he enjoyed sex with Evie. Under normal circumstances, he would love nothing more than to lock her away for two days and make her come until she couldn’t think straight, but he needed to find a way to break free and save his clan.
His inner dragon roared inside his head and screamed, Why is she taking so long? I need her. I must scent her. She is mine.
Ours.
Mine.
Fuck. He’d never seen his beast act so stubborn and possessive before, and he had no bloody idea how to fix it. He was ninety-five-percent certain the beast wouldn’t stop until Evie was pregnant.
Yet that was impossible. Maybe his beast, being so dominant, was extra possessive. He had no reason to believe Evie had lied to him about being incompatible with dragon-shifter DNA.
Before he could dwell any longer on his dilemma, the toilet door opened to reveal Evie clasping a plunger in her hands. Even his dragon blinked for a second at the sight before rushing toward her. Evie said, “Stop. I’m tired. I’m sore, and I’m hungry. I want a break from sex.”
His dragon growled in Bram’s voice. “No. You are mine. I must make sure the others know it.”