It takes me a few minutes to understand what's happened. Plain, stone, white walls surround me in a round room with one large floor-to-ceiling open doorway that leads to a balcony, which I can see because there's no covering to keep the light out. The bed I'm on is a canopy with gauzy pink material over the top. It flows gently with the breeze coming through the window. When I move, dust rises from the white comforter and I sneeze. It may be pretty but it isn't clean. I'm in a tower and the damn dragon kidnapped me.I leap from the bed and rush to the door. It's locked. I head out the door aka window and stop on the balcony, which appears to be a landing perch for a very large dragon. Rolling mountains eat up the landscape for as far as I can see. I remove my glasses, which thankfully made it through the kidnapping. There's a touch of blue to the east, or at least I think it's east, and I see what must be a large pool of water about a mile away. Nothing in the distance looks like home

Insufferable.He kidnaps me, brings me here, and deserts me. It doesn't help that he's too good looking for his own good. Okay, I'll admit he's more than good looking, but a man cannot survive on looks alone, and it will do him no good when it comes to winning me.I grab the sword I found yesterday and work it in my hand for a moment to warm up my wrist. I doubt my dragon will appreciate landing on his knees with a knot in his throat that won't go away completely for a few days. He's lucky I pulled the punch.I don't have long to wait, and I'm in my fighting stance when he storms into the room with a roar. Man, does he have a set of lungs when he can breathe.Flick, flick. I twist my wrist again ready to strike.He stops and drills me with eyes filled with perplexity. "That's my sword.""Mine now," I answer with seeming boredom."Give it back."I lift my arm to an en garde position ready to remove his head. And such a gorgeous head it is. His hair may be dirty but it's lovely.

Go fetch.See to it.He's insane, and if he values the tiny little appendage between his legs, he'll rethink keeping me here. So the hot peppers backfired. My next plan won't. Now I just need to come up with another plan."Who are you?" a female voice asks from behind me. I turn and my mouth drops open. Before me is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Her facial features are those of a pixy. Tiny nose, high cheekbones, and a mountain of braided hair so blonde it's almost white. She has it in some kind of arrangement that wraps around her head and trails down over her shoulders. The woman doesn't appear happy to see me if her tight lips are anything to judge by. Her stance makes a statement too-her legs are equally apart and in perfect balance for a fight. Every inch of her is toned and sculpted. Even her breasts are the perfect size-not too big not too small. She's naked, so believe me I get the full effect of her beauty. Whoever she is, irritation is evident in her expression.

Jewel's and Pepper's laughter is not helping the situation. They've gone from gasping for air to hugging each other and falling to the floor just like the woman back at my castle. I don't see how death by brittlemortis and being green causes this reaction. They should display dignified horror and loads of sympathy.Jewel looks up at me from the floor, wiping her eyes, and still chuckling. "You... you've been had," she lets loose again. Pepper is doing no better."What the hell?" I hear from behind me. "You're giving frogs a bad name, Ashrac. What the hell happened?"I glance toward the door where Tahr stands with his hands braced on his hips. "I'm dying of brittlemortis and your wife and daughter seem to find it hysterical. I will never find the solution for our electricity problem now. They'll bury me in a cold dark grave and all my knowledge will go down with me."Even Tahr looks surprised when the women's laughter takes them back to the floor. I shrug at the absurdity of dying w

He's consuming me-his mouth, his touch, his very presence. The world around us stops revolving, or at least it feels that way. It's as if I've been waiting for his lips my entire life. They're firm where mine are soft. I consume right back. He plays with my mouth and I realize he understands the finer finesse of kissing. Who would have guessed that an egotistical megalomaniac would take the time to learn to kiss a woman properly? He explores my lips like they're an exotic treasure. When he bites my bottom lip, I open for him and he accepts my invitation. His tongue twirls and parries with mine. His head moves slightly and he pulls me closer to deepen the kiss. I swear my brain rolls out of my head, across the floor, and out the door.There's something else going on too. His incredible body, which is now fully pressed against mine, burns a trail of fire everywhere we touch. My hands go to his forearms and they're as big as my thighs but not soft at all. He's pure corded muscle with ama