Page 21 of Court of Rivals (Their Dragon Rider #1)

Then, I pull back watching him. He looks like a man who just won a hell of a lot of money. Shock and happiness dance over his face, followed by pure disbelief.

“You want to know what I’m doing tonight?”

I move my hand a little higher on his thigh. “Yeah, are you busy?”

There’s a flash of movement and suddenly there’s a knife sticking into the counter between us.

My head whirls in the direction it came from, and I see Prince Gareth holding another knife, looking prepared to strike.

Those deep blue eyes of his are filled with absolute rage, and his stance is that of a man ready for a fight.

“Is that Prince Gareth?” the man beside me asks in shock.

“The one and only.”

Did he just notice me here? Can he really just not stand me existing? I know exactly what his problem is, he hates me, but I don’t know what his problem is specifically tonight. I’m nowhere near him and his men. He should be grateful I’m over here keeping myself busy and away from him.

Grabbing the dagger out of the bar, I toss it toward them underhanded, so it goes sliding across the floor. I’d loved to have thrown it right back at him, but I’m pissed right now. Knowing me, it’d end up in his head, and I’d be being hung for murdering the prince.

I turn back to Lee. “Want to get out of here?”

“Yes,” he says so quickly that I can’t help but laugh.

As I make my way out of the tavern, I realize that most of the men are staring at me.

Glancing toward them, I see that all three princes are focused on me with some mix of surprise and anger coloring their faces.

But I pretend not to notice. They can hate me tomorrow.

Tonight? Tonight I’m fucking the brains out of a nice man.

Desire burns through me as we step out into the warm air. I lace my fingers with Lee’s, trying to spot a dark place for us to have some fun. Beside me, he’s got a worried look on his face.

“Listen, I’m just a farmer.”

“I know,” I say.

“I’ve only been with two women. I’m not exactly experienced. I don’t know how I’m going to…. Do. I’ve never been with a woman as beautiful as you before.”

Unable to help myself, I pull him closer and rub my lips against his neck. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you a few things.”

Suddenly, I’m yanked back from him. I ball my hands into fists, ready for a fight, when I spot the three princes standing there, chests heaving, blind rage written across their faces.

“What are you going to teach him, Peasant Queen?” Prince Lucien taunts.

“What the hell?” I say. “Leave us alone.”

“Oh, no, slut, we’re not about to do that,” Prince Gareth hisses, and I swear his jaw is going to snap by how hard he’s clenching.

I glance at Lee. “Let’s get out of here.”

We start to walk when Prince Alaric grabs my arm and hauls me back. I try to escape, but he holds on tight, a look of outrage on his face. Lee is staring back at me, and I can see it on his face. He’s wondering if I’m worth the trouble.

I turn and push Prince Alaric with my free hand, but he doesn’t budge an inch. “Let go. This doesn’t concern you.”

Prince Gareth walks up and grabs the back of my neck, forcing me to look at him. “You’re a dragon rider now, everything you do concerns us.”

“ You’re a dragon rider?” Lee asks, sounding shocked. “The only female one? The one everyone is talking about?”

I jerk free from Gareth and look at Lee. “Yeah, but–”

He backs up, shaking his head. “Sorry, but I have to go. It’s late,” and then he runs the hell out of there.

Prince Alaric releases my arm. “What the hell did you just think you were doing?”

I glance from one to the next of them. “The same thing as all of you.”

Prince Alaric snorts. “You’re a woman. You don’t have needs like that.”

“The hell I don’t!” I counter.

“Well,” Prince Gareth says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “As long as you’re under our supervision, you won’t be fucking anyone.”

“Excuse me? Since when are the three of you the gate keepers to my panties?”

“Since you rode in on a dragon,” Prince Gareth says, not missing a beat.

I laugh at the three of them. “If you think you’re going to stop me from enjoying myself, you have another thing coming. You may be able to make my life at the academy hard, but you’re not going to do a thing to my personal life.”

Prince Lucien’s green eyes are burning with rage. “Try that theory, Cock Sucker, and see how it goes.”

I give them all my dirtiest look I can muster, then begin marching away. I’ll just find another tavern. They can try all they like, but they’re not going to tell me what to do.

Behind me, Prince Gareth says, “I got this.”

Hurrying along, not recognizing anything around me, I hope I’m heading in the direction of the academy.

It’d be easier to find a tavern along the way so I can find my way back easier later.

But as I go, I sense someone behind me and glance back.

Prince Gareth is there, like a shadow, stalking my every move.

I decide the hell with it, dart down an alley, and then start running.

Like I did in the air, I duck and dive down different roads, trying to lose him.

Not sure if I have, or if he’s still behind me, but not willing to slow to see if he’s made it.

I’m halfway down a dark and creepy alley when it hits me that I may have lost him, and also put myself in danger by not paying attention at the same time.

Suddenly, a hand clamps around my arm, and I’m thrown up against the side of the alley.

I react, my hand springing out to dig into my attacker’s eyes, but fingers clenched around my wrist stops me.

As I prepare to give a sharp knee to their groin, a sliver of moonlight peeks into the alley, revealing Prince Gareth, angry, and breathing hard.

In the shadows, towering over me like this, it occurs to me just how dangerous a man like this could be to me.

“Listen, Cock Sucker–”

“Don’t call me that.”

I hear his teeth clench together. “Well, you are a cock sucker, aren’t you?” Except, I get the hint of arousal instead of anger.

“Maybe with that man tonight.”

He turns away, working his jaw. “Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Talking like that.”

“Talking like what?” I challenge. “Talking about all the dirty things I was going to do to that farmer. Things he'd be thinking about for the rest of his life with a hardon.”

He hisses, like he’s in physical pain. “Stop it.”

“Is it so shocking to you assholes that men want me?”

He looks back at me, uncertainty in his face. “It’s not a shock that you’re a whore.”

Without thinking, I try to slap him.

He catches my hand, leans down and lightly bites my wrist. My pulse jerks, and I can’t seem to draw in a full breath. He shifts so that his face is near my throat, then rubs his nose against my neck really slowly.

“What are you doing?” I finally manage.

He moves in closer, pushing himself against me. A massive erection pressing into my belly. The size of it shocks me. Sends waves of arousal rolling through me that have nothing to do with my dragon.

“Stop it,” he says again, but this time, the word is a growl.

Then, he pulls away from me, and the air around me suddenly feels cold. He grabs ahold of my wrist and begins to drag me out of the alley. “You’re going to go home, and you’re going to sleep. I don’t care how wet and sticky those thighs of yours are.”

“I bet you’ll be thinking about my wet and sticky thighs all night.”

He pauses, cracks his neck, and swears, before storming forward once more.

I may have lost a man for the night, but I kind of feel like I’ve still won.