“Flame might have touched her briefly, so that he could put his scent on her and he will have kissed her, but that is where it will have ended. Why do you keep speaking of rape and force? Where did you get this crazy idea?” He had a notion but he wanted to hear it from her.

She chewed on her bottom lip. “You seriously don’t plan on raping me and impregnating me? Why am I here then? You just told me a whole sob story about how you dragons don’t have any women. What is this all about?”

“Dragons are not without honor.” He felt anger rise up in him. “We would never force a female to do anything she did not want to do. I’m sorry that you were abducted. This too is not normally something that we would do. I won you which means that you are under my protection. I hope that you will get to know me and that you will agree to mate with me, in the long run. This could be mutually beneficial for both of us”

Her mouth fell open in a gape.

“I also hope that if things work out, that eventually you will also agree to carry my children. To continue my species. This will be your choice though. I will not force any of it on you.”

What the hell was he saying? It was her choice, but she didn’t need to know that. Coal needed to keep some leverage in this situation.

It seemed that his tongue was not done flapping because he went on. “In the long run, should you decide that you wish to go home, I will take you back. You have my word as the fire prince.”

“You’ll take me back?” She didn’t sound like she believed him. Not even one little bit. “I’m never going to agree to this whole marriage and children thing so you might as well take me back right now.”

“You need to agree to give it some time. Get to know me. I wish to get to know you.” Intimately. Where the hell had that come from? He had gone far too long without rutting. It was wreaking havoc on him.

Time.

Get to know him.

Had he gone completely mad? They didn’t have time. He had no idea how to go about changing her mind. Blaze was going to roast his ass.

“No need. I know enough.” She shook her head.

“A couple of weeks,” he blurted. “You would be under my protection. Safe, warm, a roof over your head.”

“I’m not some hooker that you can bribe with things in return for...” She let the sentence die.

Coal frowned. He didn’t always understand what she was saying. “What is a hooker?”