Page 11 of The Ice Prince's Fated Mate
She was fighting with her dragon. Neither was in control. I couldn’t take her. Not now, not like this.
“Shhh,” she whispered, soft and feminine with a ghost of sensuality that tortured every fiber of my soul.
Oh, how I wanted to give in.
“Ella,” I said, my hands still up, trying to ward her off.
Before I could say more, she grabbed my wrists and directed my hands to her breasts, gripping the backs of my palms and forcing me to massage the small bumps. Her head dropped back and she moaned wildly. Her nipples hardened under my attention.
“Wait,” I gritted out as she leaned in to kiss me.
If I didn’t stop it now, there would be no holding back. I would bear her to the ground, mount her, and claim my mate right then and there.
And I could not let that happen, for more reasons than she knew.
“No!”The cry tore from Ella’s throat at the last second, and she let go of my hands, the glow in her eye fading once more.
I forced myself back a half step. It wasn’t enough, but it was a victory anyway.
“Ella.”
Her eyes flickered rapidly. Glowing. Not glowing. Glowing.
She was fighting, and fighting hard.
Strong mate.
“Listen to me,” I said, ignoring my dragon’s approval. “Ella. You need to …”
Six
Dirk
Without warning,I was hurled backward with incredible force as something abruptly occupied the area I had been standing in. Wood exploded in a million splinters as I was thrown clearthroughthe trunk of a tree that was thankfully not a brellwood and into the air.
My head ricocheted off another tree branch, spinning me around like a pinwheel, even as it tore a huge gash down my face. I hit the ground, bouncing several times while the world around me went insane.
I came to a stop facedown and spread my arms to get up, just as something very heavy crushed my left hand. Roaring in pain, I lifted my head, only to be greeted with the most incredible sight in front of me.
Ella’s dragon had come forth, and the sudden bulk was what had tossed me backward as she occupied all the space around her.
“Beautiful,” I whispered, staring at the white scales of an ice dragon, outlined in earthen browns and golds that darkened as they disappeared under the belly of the beast.
But the wonder of the moment was turned to horror as the beast spread its wings.
“Ella! No!” I cried, spitting blood. “You must stay on the ground. Don’t do it!”
But the newly freed dragon wasn’t listening to me, or to anyone, and it did the worst thing a newly shifted dragon could do it. It leapt into the air, wings beating frantically to carry it higher.
“Get up,” I growled at my battered body, the muscles taking longer to respond than I cared for. “You have to get up. Get to her.”
Ella had no idea how badly this could go. New dragons needed time. If she was high in the air when it happened …
Fear jolted through me, the lightning burst shooting me to my feet and helping me ignore the pain.
She needs you. Now.
My dragon surged forward, free to emerge as I shifted, mighty wings the color of icy tundra spreading wide. I crouched and leapt into the sky, ignoring the strange groan that sounded from nearby. The only thing I had eyes or time for was rapidly disappearing deeper into the mountains. I had to be fast. I had to catch her.
