Amos tried hard not to grimace at the look on Lucy’s face. She was looking at the King like he was an absolute psycho. King Dalyer was not going to put up with that for long until he took offense and punished her insolence.

Perhaps thinking that she didn't understand what he'd said, the King went on. “We will mate. You will bear me offspring that will be the heir to this throne.”

With that, Lucy’s mouth clapped shut. She brought one hand up and rubbed across her forehead, like she had a headache. Crossing her arms over her ample chest, she looked up at the King.

“Yeah. I’m gonna take a pass. Hard pass.”

“Excuse me, human?” The King’s eyes glittered like stones at the bottom of a well. Amos knew what was coming, even if Lucy had no earthly clue. He took one step in front of her, not blocking her, just getting ready.

“What makes you think you have a choice in the matter?” The King’s voice dropped to a level so deep it bounced off the walls like bass. “It’s laughable to think you are even capable of refusing me. You're powerless here, human.”

Amos heard Lucy gasp behind him as the King tossed his head backwards and his long, suddenly reptilian tongue lashed out at the air. Bone spikes shot out of his spine and his skin took on a blood red hue as scales unshackled and clicked themselves into place. His tail curled around him and landed with a wet thump on the floor. He shot upwards and outwards, tripling in size in the blink of an eye. With a sharp sound, his claws clicked out and there he sat on the throne, full dragon.

Amos could hear Lucy’s panicked breath, but could also feel King Dalyer’s rage directed toward her. Something in him told him to shift to his dragon form as well. But never once had he shifted to face off with the King. It made him sick to think about it. But he had to de-escalate the situation. If the King hurt Lucy, it could forever doom the royal line.

“Your highness, she's not safe here right now.” He stepped fully in front of her. “I’m taking her away. We can finish this later.”

The King must have seen the logic in what Amos said because the blood red dragon leaned back in the throne. He raised a monstrous, clawed paw and dismissed them.

“Go,” Amos whispered to Lucy. She didn't need telling twice as she scrambled out of the throne room and into the cold stone hallway.

“Amos,” the King’s voice stopped him at the threshold. “Make sure she doesn’t attempt to escape tonight. She’ll injure herself if she does.”

Amos nodded. “I’ll assign Rodrigo to watch her.”

“No,” the King said. “Rodrigo will take me tonight. You will stay with her.”

It was not in Amos’s training to argue with King Dalyer. He gave a curt nod of assent. He shot a quick text to Rodrigo. He was professional and a fierce fighter. The King would be fine for the night. He turned and followed Lucy out of the hall, slamming the chamber doors closed behind them.

“Shit,” Amos said as he assessed her. She was white as milk and her eyes were dilated. She was completely panicking. He had to get her to her chambers and calm her down.

He reached out to comfort her, or pick her up, or hug her, he didn’t know. But she swatted his hand away, leaning heavily on the wall. He swatted her hands away in return and took her face in both hands, examining her eyes, feeling her sweaty brow. Again, his eyes dropped to her lips. They were fuller than he was used to, plump. He bit down on the urge to pull her closer and closer. Touch those lips to any part of his body. He didn’t even care.

“Well, I guess now I understand why the throne is so big.” Her voice was surprisingly steady.

Amos nodded and let his hands drop to his sides. “Most of the fortress is designed to accommodate us in both human and dragon forms.”

Lucy glanced up at him suspiciously. And pressed herself a little further away. He realized that she hadn’t guessed that he was a shifter too. She’d thought it was just the King.

“You need water,” Amos said and tugged her away from the wall, ignoring the way she tried to shrink from his touch. Looking back and studying her blanched face he continued. “And meat. And wine. And whiskey. And sleep.”

“What, you want me to puke all over you?” Lucy asked, stumbling along as his pace quickened even further.

Amos turned a corner and immediately halted in his tracks. Lucy kept walking and smashed into him. He felt the imprint of her body on his and felt a flame of lust erupt inside of him. As soon as he locked her in her chambers he was going to shift. Full dragon. And he was going to fly at least 100 miles. And when he shifted back to his human form, he was going to the city to find some shifter wench. It had obviously been too long since he’d gotten some action.

He pushed aside a floor length velvet tapestry to reveal another intricate carving in the heavy stone. He pressed the ruby eye of one of the two carved dragons. The door to her chamber swung open and without hesitating he shoved Lucy into the small room. She stumbled on her heels but he didn’t care, he just had to get out of there before he did something dumb.

Then her words registered.

“Puke?” he asked, pausing at the door. “Why would you puke?”

Lucy turned a circle, taking in her room. “Because eating meat and then drinking wine and whiskey would make me puke. It’s gross. Can’t I get, like, some pad thai or something?”

“No, we don’t have pad thai here.”

Lucy eyed him shrewdly. “So that must mean we’re not in a city. If you can’t order thai food. Are we out in the ‘burbs somewhere?”

“No, Lucy. We’re not on earth.” He spoke slowly and clearly, gently closing the door behind him. She needed to hear the truth.

She slowly sat down on the bed, bouncing slightly. Amos’s mouth watered as her dress snuck up her thigh again.

“Not on earth,” she repeated dully. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering I just watched a Mr. Burns look-alike transform into a bright red dragon.”

Amos shook his head and didn’t ask what she was talking about.

Her face lit with sudden understanding.“That sparkling black hole thing. In the subway tunnel.”

Amos confirmed. “The portal. Between the human realm and the dragon realm.”

“Those men tossed me through it.”

“And I caught you on the other side.” Amos thought about the moment her unconscious form had fallen gently through the portal. He thought of her weight in his arms, the first moment he’d felt her warmth. And the raging erection he’d immediately gotten.

“How are you so calm about this, hatchling?” He had to know.

“No choice, I guess,” she responded. “I’ll figure a way out of all of this. I always do.”

Amos understood what she was saying but it made his stomach drop. She still believed she had the option of a different fate. He had to get her to understand. “The King usually gets what he wants, hatchling.”

“This is too much.” She flopped backwards on the bed, arms outspread and Amos jammed his hands in his pockets. Let his eyes rove hungrily across her curvy body. Let himself look all he wanted, considering she was staring at the ceiling. She sat halfway up and he averted his eyes.               “You’re right,” she said. “I need water. And food. And sleep.” She stood up abruptly. “And to pee.”

Amos raised his eyebrows at her and gestured toward a small room off of her chambers.

She closed the door behind her and Amos sat down in her place on the bed. Felt the warmth her body had left behind.

“Are we alone in the fortress?” she called out from behind the closed bathroom door.

For a second Amos thought she meant just the two of them. But she continued on. “Shouldn’t there be servants, or courtiers, or something?” She opened the bathroom door, wiping her hands on a hand towel that she tossed back toward the sink.             

Crossing the room back toward Amos, she toed out of one high heel then the other.

Amos cleared his throat and stood up to fill a goblet of water for her. Handing it over, he sat next to her on the bed, his weight creating a valley she couldn’t help but slip into.

“Just the King and I are allowed to know you’re here. The men who captured you have no idea… what you’re for. We’ve forbidden anyone from this part of the fortress for now. And it’s impossible for anyone to enter without me knowing. Or for anyone to exit.” His eyes narrowed meaningfully.

“Don’t worry. I’m too tired to try and escape tonight.” He almost believed her.

She looked him up and down. “Why all the security to keep me a big secret?”

“Because no one can know about you. Ever.” He found he had trouble looking in her face as he told her the shameful truth.

“Because then it might get out that the King and his offspring are weak?” she asked.

Amos nodded. “Yes. But also,” he paused. “Dragon shifters don’t breed with humans. It’s taboo.”

Lucy cocked her head to one side. “Let me guess. Dragon shifters think humans are disgusting?”

“No,” he shook his head. “Not disgusting. Just… less.”

Lucy nodded and ran a hand through her long hair. It had gotten messy through all the events of the evening, but Amos found he liked it that way.

“In a weird way, I kind of get that,” she said. “I mean, in terms of supernatural stuff I offer zilch. I’m not even good at sports. All I can do is jog.” She grinned at him and he felt completely disabled. As if she’d just stabbed him in the stomach.

God, she was so beautiful. Disturbingly beautiful. Inconveniently beautiful. Disastrously beautiful.

 “And it was pretty impressive,” she continued. “Watching the King hulk out like that.”

She put her water on the ground and turned to face him, crossing her legs on the bed. “Can you do that?”

“Shift?”

She nodded. “As fast as that?”

Amos scoffed. “Much faster than that.” He snapped his fingers to show just how fast.

“Can I see your dragon?”

The question was asked innocently enough but Amos found he had to shift his elbows onto his knees to hide his enormous erection. It was already too much having her warm and smelling so good and sitting so close. But now she wanted to see his dragon form. God.

He shook his head.

“Why not?”

He gestured around to her chambers, spacious enough for a human, he supposed. The King had made sure she’d be comfortable there. “I wouldn’t fit.”

Lucy’s eyes widened as she looked around her. “The King would fit in here in dragon form. Easily.”

He looked down at her. “I’m bigger than the King. Much bigger.”

Amos realized that her eyes had dropped to his lips. And, fuck, was she leaning toward him? He froze.

Her ice blue eyes went back up to his. “Can you show me just a little? Like, shift just a little bit?”

“Fuck,” Amos said. He was so screwed. He was going to do it. Anything she asked.

She smiled. She knew she was getting what she wanted.                                           Not breaking eye contact with her, Amos allowed his eyes to shift. He knew the pupils would turn to slits, they’d go iridescent, like a cat’s.

Lucy gasped and leaned in for a closer look. “More,” she whispered.

Thinking of what other minor shift he could do, Amos held one of his arms out in between them and let his scales cover it. They were a glittering amber green in the flickering candlelight.

Lucy’s eyes widened as she leaned even closer to him. “More.”

Well, she asked for it.

Her breath went out in an amazed whoosh as he let his wings unfurl behind him. He could barely open them halfway in this confining room.

“Oh my gosh.” Her eyes filled with tears but he knew she wasn’t scared.              

She reached out to touch his scales but he immediately sheathed them. Her hand landed on the human skin of his arm.

“The scales are sharp,” he explained, his voice gruff. She hadn’t moved her hand from his arm. She trailed it up to his shoulder.

“You’re beautiful,” she said.

He blinked his eyes roughly and when he opened them, they were human again. His wings folded up and disappeared. He was to his full human form again. “Not beautiful. Fierce. Scary.”

“Very beautiful,” she disagreed.

“You’re very beautiful,” he said, before he could stop himself. Her face was so close to his and he was hyperaware of her hand on his shoulder.

“Nah,” she said, her eyes searching his. “I get ‘cute’ a lot. In a chubby way. But not beautiful.”

His brain fogged over in angry confusion. “You’re not chubby. You’re a woman. With all the stuff a woman is supposed to have.” He gestured to her chest and ass. He quickly dropped his hand. This was not going as planned.

She cocked her head to one side and finally let her hand fall away from his shoulder.

“That’s not the general consensus. Most people-”

He cut her off by grabbing her hand and placing it back on his shoulder. He didn’t want her to keep talking like that. He took her other hand and brought it around her back so she wouldn’t get any more ideas of touching him elsewhere. He would snap if she did that. But their fingers tangled behind her back. He allowed himself that much.

“Most people are fucking idiots,” he said gruffly. “I’m not most people. And I say you’re fucking gorgeous.”

She let out a loud breath, just a kiss away from being a moan. She licked her lips. He pretty much wanted to fuck her mouth with his mouth. 

He mentally shook himself. Control, control, control.

She was not his to touch. She was the King’s. She wiggled a little in his grasp, like she wanted to get closer to him. And he couldn’t close himself off completely.

 He leaned into her neck and deeply inhaled her scent.  It was warm and made his mouth water, something he couldn’t quite place.

“So goddamn hot, I’ve been hard since you came through the portal.”