We fuck like animals.
She shuddered and accepted how he pulled her more tightly against his chest. He was warm. She needed his warmth. She needed this strangely numbing balm of pleasure. The eager tension of passion overruled every other emotion. All she knew was that Tallis held her.
He angled his head to claim better access to her mouth, then trailed hot, openmouthed kisses down her neck. He licked one of the parallel cuts, then the other. The heat of his tongue was replaced almost instantly by the cold whip of the wind. She shivered beneath that hot cold, hot cold. Every movement, whether feathering or forceful, said he would take her if she lay down on the ground.
It would hurt.
It would be madness.
It would be marvelous.
She moaned, but she couldnt believe the sound came from her throat. He matched her primal desire with a growl of his own. He cupped the back of her head and returned to her mouth. The press of his lips and the welcome invasion of his tongue felt like hed come home to her.
No.
She struggled. He wouldnt let go. She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed. He kissed her deeper. Panic replaced pleasure. She struggled, fought
Then bit his tongue.
He reared back. Dragon damn it, woman.
I thought your kind never forced anyone. Besides, youre not the only one who can bite.
He wiped his mouth and grinned. So Ive learned. Adding some variety to our real-life encounters?
Were back to you being a Pendray in the throes of some delusion. Weve never met before this afternoon.
Oh no, he said, tightness replacing his brief humor. Dont play coy now, goddess.
I rather liked when you used my real name. At least then I was a person, not some figment of a lost mind.
You made me lose my mind. Thats why Im here, you witch.
He stalked in a tight circle, then returned to face her. His skin was scented with blood. This man, for all his infuriating delusions, had saved her from Pashkah. That explained why she put up with his erratic moods and accusations. It couldnt be because she hoped for more of what hed done in the tentbinding her, tempting her. It couldnt be because of moments like these, charged with expectation that balanced between ferocity and passion.
Moments that left her guessing.
She wanted all of it, but just a taste. She wanted it from a man who wouldnt probe her thoughts while doing so, who couldnt manipulate her while she took what she wanted from his body and he took what he wanted from hers.
Shed remained untouched for just that reason. Indranan men could not be trusted.
Explain yourself, she said. Please. I might be able to alleviate whatever madness has led you to these extremes.
Theres nothing you could say that Id believe.
Try me.
Nothing passed between their minds. Kavya could only read the grim shadows that accentuated his straight nose, his tightly pursed lips, and the hollows of his eyes.
He bared his teeth before appearing to come to a decision. Youre a manipulative seductress. For as long as I can remember, youve used dreams as a portal into my mind. Youve directed my actions for decades, using every method possibleincluding visions of the Great Dragon so convincing that Id swear Ive looked our Creator in the eye. These kisses arent new to me, goddess. Theyre as familiar as the pace of my feet on the ground. Theyre a base attempt to divert me from the truth.
Despite her confusion and the impulse to defend herself, Kavya refrained. What truth is that?
Youre a liar and a user. Your plan for the future of our people is the worst sort of insult. Unite the Dragon Kings through selective murder? Its a beautiful idea cloaked in blood. No more. Im walking away. Everything between us ends tonight.
With a voice barely strong enough to be heard, she cast a parting sentence toward his back as he walked away. If I can reach you in dream, Tallis, why cant I read your mind?
CHAPTER 
SEVEN
Hed never see her again.
Unless he slept.
Nothing had ever scared him, except for
the night when obeying the Suns first command meant leaving his family behind. Hed never see them again either. That was enough to strike hot jolts of fear into the bravest man. To be alone. No family. Not ever.
He wasnt scared of falling asleep, but he never looked forward to it. Months would pass, until he began to think he was free. Maybe . . . finally. But she haunted him like a peripheral shadow. Some night, when Tallis nodded offtoo exhausted to wonder if shed really left him for goodshe would appear. The Sun. Kavya. She had a real name, a real face, a real body that hed touched and kissed.
A womans whose life hed saved. A woman whod wiped his face clean of blood.
Tallis reclined on his pack, propped against an evergreen, protected from the worst of the wind whipping down the mountain.
Hed walked away, just as hed said he would. Now he would sleep alone in a forest that bordered the Beas River in the Valley of the Gods. Why did he feel dissatisfied, as if so much remained unresolved? Shouldnt he experience some sense of closure? He hadnt expected her to apologize, beg, justify, thank himall in the span of twelve hours. In fact, he hadnt imagined what she might do. She and the completion of his goal had been too nebulous. All hed wanted was to find her. Discredit her somehow. And rid her from his dreams forever.