“Good.”
Fraser took a deep breath before sitting upright. “Come, lass. At least let me hold you. The contact will calm you, me, and my dragon.”
Holly’s heart thundered inside her chest as she scrutinized Fraser’s face. His pupils were still round and the lightheartedness had returned to his gaze. “I have a compromise. I can sit with you, but the lamp’s coming with me.”
The corner of Fraser’s mouth ticked up. “As long as you don’t try to shove it up my arse, then aye, bring the bloody lamp if it makes you feel safer.”
Holly smiled. “Thanks for the idea. Tell your dragon to mind his manners or I might just have to try it.”
Shaking his head, Fraser murmured, “You have gumption, I’ll give you that.”
“I’m just glad my idea worked. Angering a dragon is risky, but he needs to learn some manners.”
“I may have spoiled him a bit.”
“So not all dragon halves act that way?”
Fraser motioned toward the bed. “Come sit with me and I’ll answer your questions.” She raised her brows and he added, “It’s not like I’m going to ravish you, lass. Not even a dragon-shifter can sustain a punch to the dick without needing a little time to recover.”
Darting a quick glance down, Fraser removed his hands. He was indeed no longer standing at attention.
Still, she kept the lamp gripped in one hand as she sat on the edge of the bed. In the next second, Fraser moved her to his lap. The skin-to-skin contact helped to ease her concern and she relaxed a fraction. When Fraser rubbed his hand up and down her arm, it helped a little bit more.
He whispered, “What would you like to know, Holly?”
~~~
Fraser reveled in the soft, heavy weight of the female sitting in his lap.
Never before had he sat naked with a female and been content with merely holding her. Yet as he rubbed up and down her arm, Holly’s feminine scent helped him to not only forget about the pulsing pain in his cock, but it also helped to slow his dragon’s pacing. Fraser said to his beast, What happened to wanting a challenge?
His beast huffed. I didn’t expect for her to punch us there.
At least you’ll think twice about trying to force her again.
With a harrumph, his dragon fell silent.
He kissed the side of Holly’s neck and her body relaxed a wee bit more. “What would you like to know, Holly? Ask me anything.”
She turned her head to meet his eyes. “Why couldn’t you control your dragon just now?”
Fraser shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve never had a reason to try and contain him before. Some might say I’ve spoiled him. To be honest, we’ve never really disagreed about anything until we met you.”
Holly raised her chin. For all that she was trying to look brave, her wild, frizzy hair and nakedness made him want to laugh. Thankfully, before he did, Holly answered, “Well, if he tries something like that again, I’ll be ready. I might even find a taser and use it instead of my fist next time.”
Fraser winced. “Whatever you do, don’t mention that option to other humans who come here. The last thing we need is a group of dragon-shifter males with fried cocks.” Holly smiled and the sight made his stomach flip. He brushed her cheek with one hand. “It’s good to see you smiling again, honey.”
“That’s still not my name.”
“Aye, I know. But no one else has used that name for you, have they?” Holly shook her head. “Good. Then it’s yet another way for me to claim you.”
“I should be offended at that.”
He grinned. “But you’re not, are you?”
She sighed. “Answering that may feed your ego, and you definitely don’t need that.”
Nuzzling her cheek, he murmured, “I could do with some ego feeding.” He nipped her earlobe. “It might help me forget about the pain.”