Chapter 2

The girl wrapped her arms around the dragon, squeezing tight. She didn't want to fall off, but she also didn't want to hurt the dragon by pulling on the fur. The ride was surprisingly comfortable. The fur was softer than the clouds, and the dragon flew smoothly through the air as though he was swimming. It didn't feel as though they were moving very quickly. The air brushed past her face as though it was just a gentle breeze.

Although the girl thought the excitement would keep her up, her exhaustion won out in the end, and she quickly fell asleep. When she awoke, she was in an elegantly decorated cavern, sleeping again something warm and soft. It gently rose and fell to the pace of the breathing sound next to her. She opened her eyes to see that the beautiful white body of the dragon had curled around her, stacking on top of itself as it wrapped around again, with the tail gently covering her like a blanket.

She found that the tail was not uncomfortably heavy, but that she couldn't move out from under it. The body of the dragon was so long that it could wrap around her thrice. She could barely see over when she raised her head. She thought she would feel claustrophobic or afraid, like a snake's prey being wrapped tightly, but she felt protected instead. It felt warm, comfortable, and safe.

Since she was still alive, she decided to enjoy this comfort for a while longer. She told herself that she would definitely take a good look at his teeth when he ate her later. His teeth would surely be just as beautiful and the rest of him, and it would be a waste to not take a good look when she would be given such a perfect angle to view them from. Then, she closed her eyes and snuggled as best she could into the dragon.

Feeling this motion against him, the dragon stirred and slithered, slowly unraveling from around her. He was careful not to drop her as she was still leaning against him.

"You're awake," a low voice said gently right by her ear.

She was surprised to find his head so close to her own. Entranced by the voice, she could not respond. Instead, a shiver of pleasure ran down her spine. Even his voice was enchanting. Then she realized…

"You can speak!" she blurted, and then felt her face glow bright red. She'd made a fool of herself again.

She felt the dragon's low chuckle through the vibrations against her back. Then, two giant paws gently supported her as the dragon moved to face her. With his giant snout now facing her, he gently leaned her back up against his body.

"You're a strange one," he said.

She was too embarrassed to reply.

He stared at her red face for a while longer before heaving a long sigh and shifting her weight to his large paws again. Then, he moved out of sight, and the giant paws changed into human hands, holding her gently but firmly, her back pressed against a sculpted human chest.

"Close your eyes and wait here," the smooth deep voice said gently, his breath tickling her ear.

Obediently, she closed her eyes, and the man behind her slowly slipped away. She listened to his footsteps walk away. Then, there was the creak of hinges being opened quickly and a slam of it closing again.

After that, she heard some rustling sounds before the footsteps approached her again. Her mind was blank. She finally understood that all the research she'd done had been useless. The information was all either too shallow or completely false.

"You can open your eyes now," the voice told her as she felt a finger tap her nose.

She obeyed, opening her eyes to see an incredible handsome man standing in front of her. She could do nothing but stare. None of what she'd witnessed and experienced within the past day made any sense to her.

As much as she wanted to be optimistic, she had expected to be dead by now. She had even been so enthralled by the majestic appearance of the dragon that she was glad to die as his food. Yet she fell asleep while flying on his back, and when she awoke, he became this devilishly handsome man.

As he watched her stare blankly at him, his facial expression slowly changed from amusement to confusion to concern. After a while, he began to wave his hand in front of her face. When that didn't elicit any reaction, he began snapping around her face and even around her ears. Finally, he gave up and walked out of the cavern, slamming the heavy wooden door of the cavern behind him.

Before long, he was back with a group of human attendants by his side. She could see them, but no matter how hard she tried, she found that she could neither speak nor move. Was this… shock? Were the events of the past so unexpected that her body went into shock? Was that even possible.

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. When was the last time she ate? Her stomach gave a small grumble in response. At least she thinks it did, she felt it, but she didn't hear anything. She couldn't hear anything anymore.

That was when she realized that the group in front of her had been moving their lips for a while now, but she didn't hear a thing. She could only watch silently as the group in front of her flitted about.

She found herself pondering what it mattered if she was paralyzed with shock. Didn't everyone say she was just going to get eaten in one bite? Did the dragon prefer chasing his prey? He seemed far too majestic for such a primal, sadistic hobby as that. So why did they look so worried?

That must be it. They wouldn't eat on the altar, otherwise the hot spring would be polluted with blood. They must bring the sacrifices home, and let them try to run while they eat. As out of character as she thought such an act seemed, she had to remind herself of how little she truly understood about dragons.

She couldn't decide that the dragon was gentle, polite, and majestic just because of his enchanting, breathtaking appearance. Why else would they let her sleep like that? And, when she woke up, he had her completely trapped in his body.

The man with the same silver hair as the dragon finally released such a deep sigh that his shoulders drooped. He slowly walked over and reached his arm behind her. With one smooth motion, she felt a sting on the back of her neck and blacked out.