A Shade of Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page B

aches and pains were emerging in every joint.
    “Your dad, then, is very lucky.”
    “That’s sweet of you to say,” I allowed, grimacing as my fingers dug into the torn muscles of my neck. “He’s been ‘very lucky’ three times now. But his luck always runs out.”
    “Unfortunate,” Theon replied. “Would you like me to help you?” He advanced, hands outstretched, but I bristled.
    “You’re really a jack of all trades, huh?” I was beginning to feel uncomfortable in this cave with this total stranger volunteering to rub my body. “Did you say the tide was resting? How long will that take?”
    “Not much longer now,” he informed me, kneeling to peer into my eyes again. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. My touch is strong, but it will relent at even the slightest resistance. Would you like to stand at the fire?”
    I stood, still uncertain of him, and hobbled toward the bonfire. I winced with every step.
    “You will not be able to walk to your home in that way,” Theon stated. I imagined how my father would swaddle me in blankets and feed me soup if he saw me limping into the house late at night. “May I touch you?”
    I weighed my options. Denying him really made little sense at all. “I guess,” I said, still hesitant. “Do you really know what you’re doing back there?”
    His thumbs dug into the flesh at the nape of my neck and the pain melted away instantly, replaced by a shudder of pleasure. I wrapped my arms around myself and shifted into him subconsciously. “I believe so,” Theon answered casually, working down either shoulder and massaging my arms. I felt the warmth of his chest on my back and my cheeks heated. It’d been a while since I’d been in a position like this with anybody. Six months, to be exact, and that’d been Andrew freaking Hardy… not exactly comparable to this guy, who looked to be all of six and a half feet in height and two hundred plus pounds of pure muscle.
    “How long will you be in Maine?” I asked him as he worked his thumbs along my spine again, all the way down to the muscular crevasse just above my tailbone.
    “As long as I must be,” Theon responded. “Turn for me.”
    I turned without even considering not turning. He dropped to his knees and touched my ankles, prodding them gently. Even there, the pain melted away. My eyelashes fluttered as he migrated along my legs, one hand braced over my right and the other braced over my left. His fingers explored the backs of my thighs, receded respectfully at the curve of my buttocks, and grasped my hips without regard for how sensually the gesture could have been interpreted. His thumbs probed over my oblique musculature and I bit my lip. His expression was one of concentration; he hardly seemed to realize that this gesture might make me feel good—really good—and that it could be awkward… nor did I possess the strength of will, for perhaps the first time ever, to tell him to stop. To my horror, a sigh came purring up from my throat.
    Theon lifted his head and examined me. His firm hands did not leave my hips. “You seem much better now.” He nodded and dropped his grip on me. “The resting period of the tide will have passed by now.” He turned and began to stalk through the cavern without waiting for a response. “Shall we?”

Chapter 8: Nell
    T he cave seemed like something from another life. I remembered it as terrifying and frigid. Now that the water had receded, it was cluttered with rocks but otherwise harmless.
    “Allow me,” Theon requested, stretching out his hand for me to take. I hesitated, but accepted, and he led me through the stalagmites until we were safely deposited back on the beach. It was no longer snowing. I expected Theon to lead me to the dark house crowded up against the cliffside, but he ignored it and advanced along the beach. I tried not to be offended. After all, I had made it clear to him that I needed to get home. That my family would be worried.
    “Do you live