Free Mate Of A Dragon Villain (Skeleton Key) by Skeleton Key, Mandy Rosko Page B

hadn’t hurt her or whatever he was worried about. The ground tilted a little too sharply beneath her feet, and she fell to her knees. Amanda sucked back several deep breaths, putting her head down and hands on the grass.
    Hargreave was down with her in an instant, hands comfortingly on her shoulders. “You are not accustomed to flight.”
    He said it not as a question, but a revelation.
    She didn’t know how to tell him that she was used to flying, but only inside a plane that was big enough to have a couple hundred people in it, and strong enough for her to not feel any of that turbulence that was making her shake and tremble right now.
    The men behind Hargreave chuckled at her. “Delicate little thing, is she not?”
    No one had ever called Amanda delicate before, and try as she might, she really wasn’t feeling good enough to glare at…whoever it was that said that.
    Hargreave took her by her arm, gently pulling her to her feet. “Come. You can rest and have water. Go tell the cooks to bring bread.”
    Amanda didn’t know who he said that to, and she didn’t care, either. Crackers and soft sips of water were usually the thing she needed to make her stomach stop acting up. She leaned against Hargreave like he was her lifeline, and as queasy as she felt, she could totally tell how much he liked that.
    “Don’t get any ideas,” she said, holding a hand to her stomach. “I’m just…not used to flying like that.”
    He didn’t seem to pick up the like that part she added to the end of that sentence. His expression remained concerned as he helped her to walk over the grass and gravel.
    Amanda had to admit, even though she thought of herself as a strong, independent woman, for the most part, it was nice having a guy holding her hand like this, as though he was waiting to spring into action to catch her if she happened to faint from the shock of the trip.
    He didn’t need to go that far. Amanda was already recovering. With every step, her body felt more and more grounded. The world stopped tilting in a lousy attempt to throw her off her feet, and she was able to walk with a straight back instead of bent over because her stomach was still acting up.
    She didn’t pull her hand away from his, however. His grip was warm, and his red eyes soft with compassion.
    She’d written him to have red eyes because she’d thought it would make him more villainous. Not that it mattered because she clearly hadn’t written this world, and now, as she got lost in his stare, she also knew that red wasn’t a villain’s color. It actually managed to look both pretty and handsome on him at the same time. They looked like a hero’s eyes.
    Amanda had to look away. It was one thing for her to be feeling these things for him, to be looking at him like he might be heroic, but she wasn’t going to be sticking around for long.
    The second she found that skeleton key, she was out of here.
    The thought made her chest ache. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
    “Are you well? Did I…frighten you? When I took you from the castle?”
    Why did he have to be such a bad boy who was so…right? That was like her kryptonite whenever she was writing her fictional heroes. Strong, risk taking men who lived on the wild side, but knew how to read the emotions of the women in their lives.
    “I was just…thinking. You didn’t scare me. Not really. This is all just so new.”
    Hargreave nodded. “I do not know where you came from, but I will promise you this, you will feel more than at home in my castle. It does not have the same…comforts as Eldric’s castle.” He said that with a certain bite to his tone. “But it’s still home.”
    Amanda smiled. “I can’t wait to see it.”
    She wasn’t lying. Considering how different everything else had been that she’d written, she wanted to see Hargreave’s castle. She wanted to know what was different and what was the same.
    Amanda only then realized they were walking up a hill. Not a steep one, at