Pain thudded through his head. His limbs tingled. Sparks of red bounced behind his closed eyelids.

When he tried to move, his body felt heavy. He pushed his hands against the ground to sit up. A touch between his shoulder blades held him chest down.

His eyelids flickered open. Even that seemed to take too much effort, and he let them drop.

There was a soft touch to the back of his head, just a whisper, yet it sent another shot of pain shimmering through his brain.

He groaned, raising his hand to bring it to the back of his head. His palm was captured. Soft gentle skin seemed to melt into his.

“Hold on, big guy,” she whispered.

It brought back to him where they were. On an island after his boat had capsized, which was how he’d got hurt.

He hadn’t realized how bad the injury had been, not even when his head had spun as they had swum through the storm. He’d been too focused on pushing ahead, keeping up with his dragon to notice.

It wasn’t until they’d come to shore that he’d let the sickness pull him under.

“This is going to hurt.”

That was the only warning he got. The sting of antiseptic radiated out from the back of his head.

“Putain de merde!” The sound of his own voice grated against his nerve endings.

The caustic bite of the disinfectant faded away as quickly as it had rushed in. The pain settled to a dull throb.

He pushed up on his arms, biceps trembling with the effort of holding his body up. Her arms reached around his shoulders.

He found himself being turned around, his head cradled to her chest.

Her face hovered over him, lips bitten in worry, color pale under her tan. “You didn’t tell me you were hurt.”

He coughed. “I didn’t realize I was hurt.” His jaw felt sore.

She raised a coconut shell filled with water to his lips. Its rind was uneven against his tongue as he sipped from it. It slid down his throat, soothing away some of the roughness.

He glanced around at their surroundings, taking in the thatched roof, the mud walls, the dirt floor. They were in a shelter of some kind. He was on a bed.

“How did you find this place?” The makings of a massive headache crawled up his neck. He bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from groaning.

“Went looking for shelter when it started to rain.” She jerked her chin to the window where the rain battered the pane. “The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge which is broken. Whoever lived here is long gone. I couldn’t scent anyone here or around the place.”

He forced his muscles to relax. At least for now they were safe. No one could harm her.

She clutched at his sodden shirt, her fingers wringing the material. “How did I miss that you were wounded?” She banged her fist on the bed. The frame shuddered with the force of impact.

The jolt vibrated through him. It clanked around in his head, setting off a fresh wave of pain. “You really are hurting me now.” He grunted. His shoulder muscles bunched. It felt like he had run into a wall.

The breath rushed out of her, and what color was left leached from her skin, leaving her even paler. “Did I open the wound? I didn’t, did I?” She moved around him to examine the back of his head.

“Hey, kitten.” He placed his palm against her cheek, a smile pulling at his lips. “I was just kidding. It’s kinda nice to see you like this.” He dragged his thumb down to make lazy circles over the pulse that fluttered at the base of her wrist.

“Like how?” She hung her head so her lank hair, stiff with sea salt, fell across her face, hiding it from him.

She was at a loss for words? His dragon queen, alpha of the dragons, was embarrassed and stumbling to redeem herself. “You know, all concerned for me, instead of being all prickly.”

“I’m not prickly.” Her lower lip jutted out. “And I am concerned about you, all the time, you big oaf.” She raised her hand as if to touch him, only to let it fall. “I care for you.” Her shoulders slumped.

She looked shocked, hearing her own words. She peered up at him from half-closed eyelashes, her teeth worrying her lower lip.

He swallowed a chuckle.

Maybe it was the pain that made him punchy and light-headed, but just then, as she looked at him, nervousness leaping off her skin, she was the sexiest thing he’d seen.

Ignoring the growing throb at the back of his head, he reached for her hair. Winding the strands around his fist, he tugged her head toward him.

Her eyes widened, flecks of gold glinting back at him. The pulse at the hollow of her neck quivered. She didn’t protest or pull back.

That told him she was more upset than she’d let on.

He wanted to fold her to him and kiss her, possess her like his lion had been wanting to since he’d first set eyes on her.

Her attention fixed on him. She rubbed her nose, and that gave her away. She was nervous and embarrassed that she had been too caught up in her own competitive spirit.

It sent a pulse of affection through him. “You never accept what you are told and getting you to agree to anything is always a fight. You are willful and stubborn, and sometimes you stir me up so bad I can’t decide if I want to smack you or kiss you.”

She thrust out her chin, her eyes narrowing.

Pain thumped at his temples. The back of his head throbbed. He pushed away the discomfort. “You’re not as cynical a leader as you think you are.” He pulled her close so her breath seared his cheek.

She pushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead. “Careful, you sound like you almost like me.” Her lips twisted in a smirk.

He chuckled, the sound without humor. “It’s not that simple. Nothing about us is simple, Evie, or haven’t you figured that out yet?”

The pain turned up another notch. A groan rolled up, and he couldn’t stop it.

Above him, Eve swore. He heard her fumbling around.

She thrust the pills she’d found in the medical kit toward him. “Painkillers.”

Urging him to open his mouth, she placed the tablet on his tongue. He swallowed it down with the rest of the water.

Cradling his back to her chest, she dug her fingers into his shoulder muscles and tugged. A knot of tension dissolved, sweet emptiness sprawling out in its place. A groan, this time of pleasure, was drawn out of him.

“Don’t stop.” He pushed back into her touch, letting as much of his skin rub against her as he could. His lion quivered, soaking in her gentleness. His voice sounded drowsy even to his own ears.

A light rustle as she rubbed her cheek over his head.

A sound rumbled up his chest—he was purring. But he couldn’t stop himself. Warmth bled from her, over his shoulders, sinking into his skin.

Sleep tugged at the edge of his vision. His eyelids fluttered down.

“I’ll watch over you.”