Page 27 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
CHAPTERELEVEN
Nia drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. Her entire body felt weighted, relaxed. It was such a delicious feeling that she savored every second. Her body was utterly sated. Her mind was calm. Even her soul felt happy.
The magic Shaw was using on her could become addictive. The peace was so soothing, she never wanted it to end.
But it had to.
She had no other choice—despite the enjoyment she felt spending time in Shaw’s arms. The dragon knew how to pleasure a woman. There wasn’t a single space on her body that he hadn’t caressed and licked.
She turned her head to find his eyes closed. His breathing was deep and even. Now would be the perfect time to leave. She could clear her head of his magic, but she would only return. So, what was the point? Besides, she didn’t want to leave. She would have to be careful of how much his magic changed her. She couldn’t lose sight of her goals or objective.
Nia rose and walked naked to the window. She looked down upon the world she had been born into. Her gaze took in the dirty children with their sunken eyes and cheeks, their skin stretched tight over their bones. She had been that dirty and hungry once. If the Divine hadn’t seen her and pulled her from the streets, how long would she have survived? Not long, she wagered.
How long would the children she watched now live?
Only a few months of summer remained. Fall was generally mild, but their winters were severe. She wanted to help them. But how? What could she do? It wasn’t as if she were a fine lady with riches to spare. She had no money. The Divine granted her everything she had in exchange for her skills.
Nia pulled her hair over one shoulder and began finger-combing it. Her face and body had gotten her the position, but her determination and intellect had allowed her to climb to her current station. Eventually, her beauty would fade. There would be no need for a courtesan with wrinkles and gray hair. If she didn’t earn her freedom now, the best she could hope for was to escape before the Divine tossed her out like garbage.
She had dined with rulers of other cities.
She had seduced those the Divine felt threatened by.
She had pulled so many secrets from her targets that she’d passed on to the Divine.
It was those that frightened her. They meant nothing to her, but would anyone else believe that? Once she had her freedom, would the ones she had taken to her bed seek her out to mete out punishment? If she were in their shoes, she would. Would the Divine allow her to leave with everything she knew? That was something she hadn’t considered. She had been so intent on the prospect of the offer of her freedom that she hadn’t looked at all the angles.
Some of the secrets she had gathered had destroyed lives, careers, and even families. It wasn’t as if it gave her pleasure to do such things. But she had a job. If she hadn’t done it, someone else would have. Nia had learned to lock away her feelings during each assignment. It was the only way she could successfully do her job. She couldn’t feel. Couldn’t concern herself with the lies she told.
Because she never failed. No matter what, she found a way.
Awareness stole over her. She looked over her shoulder to find Shaw on his side, his head propped up in his hand as he watched her with a smile that made her insides turn to mush.
“Lass, do you have any idea how stunning you are?”
Instead of answering him, she returned her gaze to the residents out the window. “What do you think of Stonemore?”
“I’ve told you. It’s overcrowded, smelly, and noisy.” The bed creaked as he got to his feet and came up behind her.
The feel of his heat suffusing her as he wrapped his arms around her was bliss. She stopped combing her hair and laid her hands on his arms. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Ah.” He sighed and rested his chin atop her head. “I doona know much about the city, but the fact that those in charge doona help the ones in need says a lot.”
“I know.”
“Does no one help?”
She thought of the few times she had managed to steal some coins from her assignments to pass them on to children. She felt a sharp pain of regret for not doing more. “The priests teach that we’re on whatever path the gods have deemed we must walk. We are meant to walk it ourselves without the aid of others.”
“That’s shite.”
Nia agreed, but she had learned a long time ago to keep her thoughts to herself. The only way to survive was to follow the rules—but to think for yourself, and plot to get away. She leaned her head against his chest. He was so tall, she didn’t even reach his shoulders. If he had wanted to hurt her—anyone, really—he could have. Not that she ever forgot for a second what he really was. “Stonemore didn’t always look like this.”
“What changed?”
