Read Online Dragons Among Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice) by Kyra Jacobs - Free Book Online

voice, she’d be much happier in her homeland with these cameras than she could ever be here with him. With a heavy heart, Zayne shifted his gaze to the road ahead and reminded himself that he must allow her to return home.
    * * * * *
    Eventually the group came upon a wide, shallow stream. One by one, the men dismounted to cool and water their frothing horses. Brom appeared at Will’s side to relieve Zayne of his passenger, his face stone sour and eyes averted from her skirts.
    As the men settled down upon fallen logs or the rocky soil, a satchel of food containing bread, meats, and cheeses was passed around. Though she knew she should eat, anxiety had robbed Addie of her hunger. She told herself it was worry over whether or not the people in this other kingdom would be able to help her find her way back home. Or if they’d even let her attempt it.
    Truth be told, she wasn’t looking forward to leaving Zayne either. A foolish thought, she knew, and yet she couldn’t seem to help it. When she spoke, he listened with such rapt attention that at times it was nearly unnerving. Never had anyone cared so much about what she had to say—yet another reason she’d fallen in love with photography. While she often struggled to connect with her peers, their attraction to her work had always been undeniable. Smiles and nods weren’t any more than backhanded acceptance, but acceptance all the same. More often than not, though, she spent her time on the perimeter of the social elite, trying to fade into the scenery rather than stand in the spotlight.
    She took a drink from their crude buckskin water canister, then gathered her skirts and moved a short distance off from the raucous crowd. The edge of the stream zigzagged through the foliage, and Addie walked along its pebbled banks, finding solace in the low murmur of the water’s travels. The sun struggled to reach the ground here, and a chill washed over her.
    Then again, she’d felt chilled since the moment she’d dismounted and left Zayne’s arms. The man certainly was a bit of a furnace. Maybe he is part dragon…
    Addie shook her head. She’d played along with the charade today, had kept her face neutral when he spoke of the whole dragon-blood thing. But of course that wasn’t possible—there were no such things as dragons. Surely she’d been hallucinating yesterday. They’d crossed paths, she’d looked into those unusual golden eyes of his, and her mind had built him up to Hollywood proportions. Probably just a mixture of dehydration and jetlag was all.
    Dehydration and jetlag. Yep, that had to have been it.
    She rubbed at her arms to ward off goose bumps and cast a brief glance back at the group of warriors. All were rugged and muscular, but none as stunningly handsome as their lord. Nor did any seem to care that she was no longer in their midst.
    Funny, she thought. They’d looked like a group of hungry hounds when she’d first stepped out of the manor house this morning. Then again, that was before Zayne had lifted her onto his horse. Had that been a signal to the others, him staking his claim on her?
    A thrill rushed through Addie, chasing away the cold. It was one thing to be in his arms, pressed against his fully clothed body. To be warm, protected. But what would his bare skin feel like against hers? Would his touch be warmer still? And while he’d been quite the gentleman on the first leg of their trip, there was something about the way he’d looked at her last night, the way his eyes had mysteriously glowed, that made her feel more like his prey, his conquest, than a guest. In passion, which side of him took control: the man, or this supposed beast within?
    Curiosity drew her gaze to Zayne, and she was surprised to find him staring at her. Embarrassed for being caught in such a conspiratorial line of thinking, she quickly looked away. He was a prince, an heir to the throne of an entire kingdom. She was a nobody from Indiana. There wouldn’t be any