Chapter 36: Roxanne

I'm standing in front of the mirror, washing my face, and fuming. He actually said fucking! I don't care that his blue eyes are incredible. Or give me a mallet and I can play a tune on the muscles of his belly. The girth of his biceps is larger than my waist. And his face is more than pleasing. I may need to kill him just because he is too good and it's hard to tear my eyes away from him.
Fucking, really?!
I broke a chair over his head and I'm the one with the wound. It's because there is nothing inside his skull but rocks. No, that's an insult to rocks. Worms, that's better. They've eaten through the brains he might have been born with and passed them through their system as compost. Mushy... smelly... compost.
I'm beyond furious. My virginity is a very sore subject. If we are the dragon's chosen bride and it's discovered we are not a virgin, the lives of our entire family are forfeited. Along with the lives of the man who took a bride's virginity and his family too. No village male so much as ever looked at me. I'm twenty-one. Younger girls born outside the claiming years are already married and pregnant with their first child or second child. Not me.
No one in the village even knows if the bride lives through the first night. The chosen bride is never heard from again. I could have died today. Died as a virgin. And the stupid blue dragon wants to discuss fucking.
I will take him up on his offer of a better weapon. I need something to cleave his head in two. Right between the eyes. Maybe he'll bleed blue. I can handle rolling in blue blood. I look at the bare walls and think about using blue blood to paint them.
I suddenly jump when he pounds against the door. "I'm hungry, bride. My manservant is delivering dinner. You best hurry or I shall eat it all."
My stomach growls at the mention of food. I ate sometime yesterday and barely managed to keep it down. I planned to die today, so food was of no consequence. I throw open the door and march out. A tall man, dressed in some type of formal clothing, is placing a tray on the table. I no longer have a chair and from the looks of it, the dragon has no intention of being a gentleman. He scoops most of the food onto his plate before the other man turns to leave. I try to catch the servant's eye with no success. He proceeds to cover the bed with new, singe-free bedding. When he's done, he leaves without a word. Acasia told me there are other humans in the castle. We didn't have time for her to explain where they come from. She said something about another realm.
There are only a few scraps of food left for me. I quickly slide them onto the empty plate on my side of the table. The dragon scoots his chair out from the table and pats his knee with one hand. "Sit here since you destroyed your chair."
I look at his knee, turn my back, and walk over to the bed. When I start to sit down, I catch the grin on his face and the spark in his eyes. I don't sit. I'll just stand. Using my fingers, I pick up a strip of meat and place it between my lips. It's mouthwatering and I sway at the incredible taste. I eat a little faster than normal because of my hunger. My food is gone quickly. I look at the dragon's plate, which is still piled with food.
A slight grin plays around his full lips. "I'll share if you have a seat right here." He pats his knee again.
I turn my back.
"Have it your way. You need to be quicker to the table from now on. I want you to keep your strength up."
I look over my shoulder. "Have no fear. I will be ready when we next eat. With added strength, it will be easier to end your worthless life."
His brows arch and he slowly draws his fingers to his lips and licks them clean. He lifts a long strip of meat from his plate and brings it toward the sharp side of my blade which is still embedded in the table. It cleanly cuts the meat. He looks at both pieces then gazes at me. "At least you know how to properly sharpen a blade." He pops both pieces of meat into his mouth.
I refuse to give him the satisfaction of stomping my foot. I really need another chair, or maybe a sledgehammer to hit him over the head with. I refuse to watch him finish his meal. I remain hungry, but there is no way I will sit on his lap. That is not where I want to be while we discuss... fucking.
I don't hear him approach and suddenly he grips me at the top of both arms. I jump and my first instinct is to pull away. His breath runs over my skin and his hands are no longer tight. They slide upward. On my left side, he moves my hair from my neck. I hate my hair. It's constantly in the way. I have it down only because of the claiming and now I have nothing to tie it back with. The dragon's warm breath hits the bare skin of my throat and my knees go weak.
What the hell is wrong with me?
He breathes deep. I never showered. I'm pretty sure I don't stink even though he said I did. His tongue flicks out and runs across my skin. A tight ball forms low in my belly. My eyes close and his body heat soaks into the entire backside of me. His mouth remains at my throat while his hands skim down my sides until his fingers clasp my hips. He pulls me sharply against him.
Something hard hits my bottom. In my dreamy state it takes a moment to realize what it is. Not that I've ever seen or felt one. I've only heard it spoken of when people weren't paying attention that I was there. The dragon's whisper against my skin sends chills clear to my toes. "I think we should forgo the conversation and just get to the fucking."
What?
Oh no. Hell no. I jerk away and turn while bringing my fist up and striking him directly in the nose. I shake my hand to dispel the shooting tingles of nerves while he brings his hand up and cups his hurt appendage.
"Why in the hell did you do that?" he asks stuffily.
There's blood. Red blood. I watch as he lifts his hand away from his nose and stares at the evidence of my assault.
"Your blood isn't blue," I say in consternation.