�I think you should come to the central warehouse.� Said the voice in his phone.
 
He took a deep breath, annoyed, and put the palm of his hand on his face. A quick glance at the window taught him that the evening was here; the daylight was already weakening. Barely emerging from his sleep, he had answered the call without thinking. Apparently, the old warrior he had hired to feed the creature he kept in the warehouse, converted into a cell, thought that something was worth attention there� But after what had happened the day before, he had decided he was done with anything that wasn�t directly connected with the physical health of the so-called creature.
 
�What�s going on?� he muttered.
 
�You wouldn�t believe it if I told you. You need to see this by yourself.�
 
He exhaled loudly, really bothered. Wouldn�t this man ever be clear? This wasn�t the first time he called him for an urgent matter without explaining himself. The last time, he had run insanely to the warehouse, deeply worried, just to have this old man regurgitating all his science and experience on a subject that wasn�t such a big deal. He was beginning to think he just wanted to appear smart and wise... And the young man was clearly not in the mood or in the state for a lesson about dragons�
 
In fact, he thought he had probably learnt much more on the subject in two weeks than the old warrior in his whole life. He might even have learnt too much� especially on how these reptiles were able to fool their prey before finishing them�
 
He had tried his best� He had taken too much implication� He just wanted to follow the steps of his parents, to study dragons to understand how they really were instead of accepting the common �knowledge� of people who had learnt to hate them since their youngest age. He had thought there could be a way to coexist in peace, like his parents always claimed. He had tried to be nice, and to act in the right way. And just when he thought he had found success, the reality had caught him.
 
This dragoness he was working with had appeared friendlier each day, but in the end, she just wanted him to lower his attention to� He didn�t even want to remember it. He just wanted to forget everything. He wanted to forget about her, about his life, his loneliness, his sorrows and his misery. That was why, today, he had taken down the whole bottle of whisky he knocked when he tried to get out of bed.
 
If it really was the evening, then he had slept a big part of the day after he had fainted. He didn�t want to get up� It was too hard�
 
�Look, I have the worst hangover in all human history and you just woke me up� Couldn�t you just tell me?�
 
No response, No sound at all. He looked at his cell phone, and saw his usual wallpaper. This old bastard had just hung up� Sighing, without the slightest motivation, he decided to get up and go, skipping the shower. After all, he didn�t care anymore about the nose or eye comforts of the others�
 
Outside, the daylight was dying. He took his time, walking painfully in the direction of the central warehouse. He never suffered headaches the days following his drinking binges. But he felt nauseous, shivering, and aggressed by the weakest lights. He had no energy, and each step felt like an earthquake. It better had to be important.
 
Finally, after minutes that felt like eternity, he reached the warehouse and entered. He knew he didn�t have to get his keys out of his pockets. If the old man wanted to teach him something, he was probably still there. He was the only other person to be able to unlock the doors of this place. It was like this since the day a young boy went at night to try to kill the prisoner kept in here. Restraining the number of keys was a way to protect her.
 
He missed these times when he was still able to believe in this dragoness� And he couldn�t help but feel terribly hurt to remember how she had betrayed him after all the efforts he had deployed for her. But for his own safety, he couldn�t trust her anymore�
 
When he entered the room, the old warrior welcomed him with a judging look.
 
�You look awful. And� you smell awful��
 
�At least, I can�t deny your honesty�� He replied, totally not willing to argue about it. �So what�s wrong?�
 
He hesitated, visibly disapproving his state, but didn�t say any additional word on it. Instead, he pointed at the dragoness that was lying on her mattress, turning her back.
 
�This. Congratulation.� he said. �This time, you really amazed me. I don�t know what you did, but even I have never seen that. And I�ve seen a lot of wild creatures.�
 
�What do you mean?� the young keeper asked, staring at the dragoness.
 
�It didn�t even touch its food.� He explained, pointing at the bucket still full of meat. �At first, I thought it was sleeping, but I kept hearing strange noises. Then I finally understood these were actually sobbing. This is the first time I see this, but I think that what we have here is a very sad beast.�
 
The young keeper looked at her, in silence. She was perfectly still on her mattress, apparently peaceful. But when he focused on his ears, he finally heard it. There was no doubt about the nature of these sounds; she was discretely crying. He kept staring at her, feeling something twitch deep inside him. His last experiences with her had revealed she was only a manipulating and remorseless reptile. But he couldn�t hold back some emotions: hearing these were heartbreaking.
 
�I thought it was worth calling you.� Said the old warrior, insensible to this sad scene. �This isn�t a very common show... Anyway, I just wanted to signal it. I think I might let you handle this from now?�
 
�Of course, thank you for your services��he replied, understanding that the old man actually asked for permission to go back home after his evening tasks. �And thanks for not avoiding me like the others��
 
The warrior looked at him, sighing.
 
�You�re really weird� Like your parents were� But you�re a good kid� I think people are a bit too tough with you� Anyway, I wish you good luck and� Please, don�t try to drown into alcohol� It only works for some times, and it�s just poison in the end� Trust an old boozer on this one��
 
�I don�t mind if it kills me, since I don�t have the guts to do it by myself�� he replied, grumpy, focused on the dragoness. �But thanks for your concern anyway.�
 
The old man hesitated for a moment, apparently worried for him. But the young keeper didn�t really care about it. He meant every word he spoke. After all, what was the point of living if each day was nothing but another fight to stay alive? Why should he keep standing up when everyone wanted him down? Since no one really cared about him, he would have been better dead. On the other hand, because of his principles, he just couldn�t directly do anything to actually die. Besides, he had a mission he was decided to accomplish, even if it was the last thing he�d do in his life.
 
Because he had promised� He had promised that he would find a way to set her free. Back when he had given his words, this goal seemed to be noble. But now that he knew the real nature of this dragoness, all that kept him on the way to help her recover her freedom was this promise. Doing everything in his power to do what he was committed to was another of his moral principles. Sometimes, he thought that his ethic code was the most annoying thing he had invented to himself to complicate his life� It only brought him obligations he didn�t want to fulfill�
 
�Just keep being careful, this isn�t a dog you�re dealing with�� said the old man as a last warning before leaving the room.
 
He detached his eyes from the crying dragoness to go lock the door after him. He wasn�t expecting anything from this encounter, but some talks could turn out to be too personal. After all, he had done� several things with her in the past� Things he didn�t want to be known.
 
Of course he knew she wasn�t a dog� Of course he knew she was dangerous� he knew it better than anyone� But he wasn�t harmless either, even if he was still recovering from his excess. He just had to keep his distances and everything would be alright. He just needed to make sure she wasn�t sick. Her physical integrity was the most important. For the rest, he had to remember she was only acting, trying to move him to pity. He didn�t believe at all in some kind of real sadness. However, if it was the case, she would just have to do like him and deal with it.
 
He got in, focused on her to avoid any risk of sneaky attack. But she didn�t even seem to notice him while he locked the door of the cell after him. He walked in her direction, suspicious, and heard her sobbing more clearly at each step he took. Arriving nearby her, he kept standing motionless for a moment, observing her, before deciding to talk.
 
�Amaria� He called, trying to keep a tough tone despite his misplaced compassion. �You didn�t touch your food. Are you ill?�
 
She raised her head by reflex and turned her face toward him in surprise. What he saw broke his will for a moment. Tears were actually dropping from her eyes, which had lost their sweet yellow to a reddish shade. For a fake crying, it seemed quite convincing�
 
�My human��She said as if he was some kind of ghost, before rising with a smile and trying to get to him. �I thought I would never see you again...�
 
He didn�t let himself fall into her comedy and stepped backward to get out of reach. He gave her a hard look to make her understand he wouldn�t accept any kind of unnecessary contact. She seemed disappointed, but didn�t argue on it. Instead she kept smiling sadly to him and began to look worried.
 
�You look sick, my human��
 
�This is not your business.�
 
�I want to know, your smell is different too��
 
�I said it was none of your business.�
 
�What happened to you?�
 
�I drank, that�s what happened!� He replied toughly, exasperated by her insistence.
 
�Why drinking would put you in such a state?� she replied, deeply confused.
 
�Because that�s what alcohol does.� He said, realizing she probably didn�t understand the expression.
 
�What�s alcohol?�
 
He sighed. For once that she wasn�t trying to invade his personal space, she was being too talkative� He didn�t even know why he kept answering her questions. As he said, she wasn�t concerned by his outside activities, or by the consequences of them. He didn�t want to talk about it at all. Especially with a creature that would try to use it against him. But he didn�t want to have to explain his reasons to keep silence either�
 
�Poison, mostly.� He said, remembering the words of the old warrior.
 
�Then why did you drink it?� She asked, apparently shocked.
 
�Because that�s what humans do when they suffer too much. It helps to forget. It helps to feel better for a time.�
 
He didn�t like to be mean on purpose; that wasn�t in his nature. He even found himself a bit too hard with her. But he had to make her understand how badly her attempt had hurt him.
 
She stayed stoic for a moment, then the tears that had stopped flowing began to drop again from the corner of her eyes. Even if he knew all this was intended to trick him, he found her acting pretty touching...
 
�That�s because of me�� she said in a sad tone. �Please, my love� Forgive me� I want you to trust me again��
 
�Of course you want��He said, keeping his distance. �But I�m not a fool, Amaria. I came here to see what was going on. I�m here to see I can do something, that�s all...�
 
She smiled sadly, and tried again to come to him.
 
�You�re already doing something, my human. You came back� You�re so concerned, even when you�re mad at me... You�re such a good caretaker� Come here, I�m going to heal you.�
 
Raising his hand, he firmly rejected her and took another step backward. He knew what her �healing� was; it mostly consisted in licking him, since dragon saliva was a natural painkiller. But he also knew how she was able to take advantage of it as soon as he would lower his alertness. If she thought he would be so easy to trick again, she was clearly underestimating him.
 
�I prefer to stay sick. I�m not here to play, Amaria. And I�m ready to defend myself if I need to. Now, you would make things far easier if you would just agree to eat your food without discussing it, so I can go back home.�
 
She glanced at the bucket of meat, nearby the door of the cell, and began to get up in silence. For a moment, he thought that was just obeying, but she suddenly rushed on him, taking him by surprise. Probably because of his hangover, his reflexes were not enough and she reached his thigh with her maw before he could do anything.
 
She bit him in one sneaky strike, and then got away.
 
�What the hell?!� he shouted in pain and anger.
 
�I�m sorry, my love.� she said promptly with a convincing expression of sincerity.�This was necessary��
 
�Necessary?!� He yelled as he began to press on the injury to calm the pain.�Necessary for what?!�
 
�To inject you my venom.� She said naturally.
 
He felt himself freezing in fear. He had never heard or read any note about such a thing. But if she had venom in addition to all her other natural weapons, considering the effect of other reptiles�, it might as well be a deadly poison�
 
�Since when do dragons have venom?!� he panicked, feeling suddenly dizzy.�What�s happening to me?!�
 
�Don�t worry.� She said with a warm smile. �It�s a sort of hunting trick dragons use when they need their prey to calm down. It�s like getting really tired. You�ll be soon unable to move, but you�ll still be awake. You�re going to be good.�
 
At first astonished by her words, he realized in fear that he was the prey that needed to be calmed down. He needed to get out of here right now, or terrible things would happen to him�
 
He tried to run to the door, but his body became heavier. He was a warrior, well trained to fight against altered states of health, but the toxin was too strong. Just when he was about to reach the handle, his legs collapsed under his own weight. Seeing the ground getting closer, he closed his eyes in anticipation of the choc.
 
But something held him just in time, catching him in his fall. Opening his eyes again, he found himself� in the forearms of the dragoness which was still smiling at him. Among all his memories, he couldn�t relate his current feelings to any other kind of fear he might have experienced with her before. He had never been so scared by her confident smile.
 
�There, I�m here for you.� She said, licking his now defenseless face. �I won�t let you down. You�re with me now� You�re mine� We�re going to have fun together, and then you�ll trust me again��
 
�I�m� getting� paralyzed... Why are you� doing this to me?�
 
�Isn�t that obvious, my love?� she whispered, rubbing her snout against his cheeks. �Because I need you to be a nice while I�m eating you, of course.�
 
�Wha�� He began to scream, but the rest died in his throat. He realized he was now unable to articulate anything�
 
�I think you�re getting ready.� she said in a naughty grin that made him shivering.
 
She bit the collar of his shirt, and began to drag him carefully to her mattress. Despite his paralysis, he still felt the frictions of his body on the ground. But this was only a little annoyance compared to the fear that tore him deep inside. She was joking� She had to be joking� He didn�t want to end like this� There had to be something he could do�
 
When she arrived at her destination, she installed him on the soft surface. She used her forepaws and her maw to start getting his shirt off. And he could only feel her actions, unable to fight back or even to move a finger. It didn�t take her too long to throw it away, and to begin to get interested into his pants. He realized in horror that she was dealing so easily with his belt because he had shown her how to do it in a not so remote past�
 
Struggling to get it off, she removed his shoes and socks to make it pass his ankles. In no time, he was lying on his back, with only his underwear left. He was totally at her mercy, and she was showing no sign of mind changing. In the contrary, seeing his body almost fully naked began to make her drool.
 
�Don�t worry, my human.� She said, still grinning. �I�m going to make sure I eat all my food without discussing, as you asked. But before, let me remind you a little something you seemed to forget��
 
She opened her mouth, closing her eyes in anticipated pleasure, and leaned down toward his head to close it around his jaws. He felt her teeth on his cheeks, and never wanted her to get back so hardly in his life. Her tongue began to run on his skin, giving him soft licks that finally stopped on his lips. She played on them for a few second, trying to tease him before slowly sneaking her way through.
 
Entering his defenseless mouth, she began to play with his tongue, caressing it the same way she did when she wanted him to relax. He wasn�t foolish enough anymore to take it as a sign of affection he previously thought it was� She didn�t actually felt anything for him but hunger� She already had him under complete control, and she was still trying to trick him. A last game before the final goodbye�
 
She moaned as she investigated his mouth a last time, licking the flesh of his cheeks and sliding her tongue under his, before slowly pulling out. Leaving him, her tongue returned to her closing maw, agitating to release his taste inside her mouth. Eyes closed in a delightful expression, she swallowed all the saliva she had made.
 
�I love you, my human.� She whispered, taking an affectionate lick on his cheek. �I�m so happy to do this with you. I�m sure you�ll like it too. I�ll be really gentle for you. After all, I don�t have a meal like you everyday� Now, relax� Focus on my love� I�m with you� And you�re mine��
 
She got out of his field of vision, and he felt her moving around his lower body. For a moment, he hoped she was just interested in the usual part she liked to �eat�. Maybe he had misunderstood her� Maybe she just wanted to scare him to feel dominant.
 
He had a rush of panic when he felt something wet, soft and awfully familiar touching his two feet in the same time, and guiding them into a warm place. Although he was totally unable to move, he felt every sensation his nerves were transmitting through his body. And soon, a movement of tongue lowering and soft muscles grabbing his feet accompanied a loud recognizable sound.
 
She wasn�t joking; she had begun to swallow him�
 
Invaded by fear, he couldn�t even see what was happening as his eyes were blocked on a frozen vision of the roof. But he felt in horror a soft pressure spreading from his feet to his ankles, then to the low part of his legs. While her throat was still pushing down, he felt her tongue working softly on his legs. A week ago, such sensual movements would have surely been mistaken for affection. But now, he had no doubt that she was enjoying, and even lubricating his body to make it easier to shove down.
 
He began to feel her tongue licking the back of his thighs as she engulfed his knees in a loud gulp. He realized in fear that half of his legs were now inside of her, and that he was feeling on them the characteristic inner throat vibrations of her delighted moans.
 
Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his toes, as if he had reached a soft but firm barrier. But he knew well enough about anatomy, and was able to determine by her size that this wouldn�t resist for long: this was the valve separating her esophagus from her stomach. Indeed, he felt it opening widely to welcome his feet in while she took another big swallow that shoved his hips into her greedy maw.
 
His body rose as she managed to lift him up. A regular creature of her size would have just lowered its head to swallow its prey more conveniently, but a dragon wasn�t a regular creature. They were the most powerful beings in the whole wildlife, and they liked to show it.
 
For the first time since she had begun, she was appearing in his sight. He could only helplessly watch her taking big bites, eyes closed in an obvious delight. Her tongue was running really fast, covering the entire surface of his back on a minimum amount of time, keeping up with the greedy rhythm of her throat waves.
 
Such a pleasure in eating would have probably fascinated him, if he wasn�t the victim. She was moaning, panting, like if swallowing him alive was some kind of erotic act to her. And there was absolutely nothing that could stop her from enjoying it until the last bite. He began to feel his own tears of fear running over his cheeks, as he felt his feet landing in her stomach and the rest of his body still following through her merciless throat.
 
Barely emerging from her expression of bliss, she passed her forepaw behind his head and lifted it as his hips disappeared into her gullet. She extended her tongue to reach the top of his back, running passionately over his skin. In her bliss, she finally opened her eyelids, made eye contact with him and�
 
�stopped everything neatly.
 
In any other situation, he would have taken interest in this phenomenon. He would have asked himself why she was suddenly pausing something she was obviously enjoying when she was nearly done with it. But instead, he kept looking straight into her eyes with fear, breathing hard. For an incredibly long moment, nothing happened, like if time itself had frozen.
 
Then, he felt another throat movement, and saw her swollen neck waving. For a moment, he feared that she had just gathered the motivation to end her work, but the pressure he felt on his body was� reversed?
 
She began to cough.
 
Even her stomach contracted on the little meat quantity it had obtained, pushing up like if it was rejecting it. He felt her tongue sliding down his body, and saw his hips reappear after another hard cough. She was regurgitating him. And unlike the previous process, this one seemed to be anything but pleasant. Her whole body was tensing, the noises she made were tougher and there wasn�t any sign of pleasure in her attitude.
 
He couldn�t believe it. Yet, she was preferring an unpleasant task over a blissful one. And there could be only one motivation for that... Him... She was doing it for him� No, that was not likely; she had to have other motivations� But what were they?
 
She helped him landing softly on the flat stones nearby her mattress, using her forepaw to assist her inner muscles in releasing him. In another cough, she let his knees out, and easily spat out the rest of his legs. Confused, the young man began to breathe again with difficult. She hadn�t eaten him. She had spat him out. He was totally covered in her saliva, resting on the cold stones of the cell, unable to move, but he was going to live. Yet, he couldn�t let himself go to a relieved smile, probably because of the venom�
 
Her head appeared above him. Surprisingly, her face seemed� sad� and worried.
 
�I� I�m sorry, I didn�t mean to�� She began to articulate.�I didn�t want to� I� I��
 
She seemed to struggle to find words to describe what she felt. What was she trying to do? Did something happen? Was this something the reason why she had let him out? He didn�t understand such a behavior twist� After a moment of hesitation, she simply put her forepaw on his chest, and looked at him straight in his eyes.
 
�I�m really sorry. I�ll understand if you don�t want to forgive me. I� I�ll just leave you now. Don�t worry; my venom will disappear in a few minutes and you�ll be free to leave. I will not bother you anymore.�
 
She then just turned back and got away. Because of his paralysis, the young keeper couldn�t even ask for explanations of this illogical behavior. All he could do was waiting, alone.
 
The minutes passed, very slowly. He wondered if he would ever come back to normal, as each second felt like an eternity. Nothing was longer than a moment of pure loneliness�
 
Then finally, he managed to bend one finger. His legs began to respond too, still numbed. Eventually, the rest of his body followed and he could roll on his side to try and get up.
 
It took a few more minutes for the poison effect to fully disappear. And his head kept feeling a bit dizzy when he managed to get on his feet. But he began to feel normal again. Even his hangover seemed to be gone. He looked for the dragoness as soon as he felt able to move without falling.
 
She was showing her back, lying on her mattress near him. He focused on his ears, and heard the same sobbing she was making when he first entered her cell. Her whole behavior made absolutely no sense.
 
Inside, his instincts yelled to get out of the cell while he still could, but his curiosity was too strong. He had to solve this mystery� And after all, if she had spat him out, she probably wasn�t so eager to kill him� He took his clothes back, rapidly put them on to not tempt her anymore, and then kneeled next to her. He put his hand on her neck, confused by the experience he just went through.
 
�Amaria, it�s me.� He whispered, trying a soft approach.
 
�You shouldn�t come to me. I�m dangerous.� She replied in her crying.
 
�I can�t deny it�� He confirmed.
 
As he had just admitted, not only coming to her had been a mistake, but staying was the biggest of them all. Yet, he sat down next to her, laying his back against the wall. He wouldn�t go anywhere until the moment he will be given explanations.
 
�What are you doing?� She asked half crying, noticing his intentions and turning her head toward him. �You should go away from me before I hurt you again.�
 
�That�s true, I should��He admitted once again, exhausted and nearly depressed. �But I�m tired of this all. I can�t take it anymore. I run away and each time, I come back to be trapped again� It�s been long enough; Now, I stay here whatever you want to do to me. Even if you kill me, I�m fine with that��
 
�I wouldn�t, my human!� She protested immediately. �I don�t want you to get hurt!�
 
�Then why?� he asked, deeply confused, turning his head to face her. �Why did you do this to me? I want to understand��
 
She lowered her gaze, as if she felt some kind of shame.
 
 �I thought you would like it.�
 
�How did you come to such a crazy idea?� He said, surprised by her answer.
 
�I thought you liked when I was ravenous.� She explained. �I saw you were kind of disturbed when you watched me swallowing and since I always loved your taste, I thought we�d both enjoy it. I thought it would be fun to play this way, now that I�m big enough� Every time I wanted to try something with you, you were reluctant at first. But we always ended up enjoying it together. I thought you just had to let yourself go, as usual. But this time� When I saw your eyes� I understood that I had hurt you, inside. I saw it. I was nothing but a bloody beast to you. You were afraid and feeling betrayed. You thought I took advantage of your trust and kindness. And that�s true, I did!�
 
He stayed still, hardly believing it all, while she was starting to cry again. So, this was just another game to her? He still didn�t approve it but� thinking about it, it followed her previous playing logic. She saw in his reluctance a challenge to overcome. And this was a way to ensure a dominant position she had been enjoying since the very first of their moments spent together.
 
�I don�t know if I can really trust you, Amaria� You could as well be lying to me.� He spoke. �But it doesn�t matter anymore� I�m a social outcast, and I lost all my self-esteem� There is no turning back left� My only options are success, or death. Truth is that I don�t care reaching one more than the other; I don�t even care about dying��
 
�Please promise me you won�t use this poison anymore.� She asked, nearly begging. �That�s dangerous for you! I know it! I�ll leave you alone, and I�ll be a nice prisoner if it can make you happy. I�ll do whatever you want, but please, you mustn�t die!�
 
He paused a moment, taken aback. He was about to tell her that he was ready to stay with her whatever she wanted him for, just because he didn�t care anymore� just to end this whole comedy� But proposing to give him up in exchange of his promise to not endanger his life didn�t enter the logic of a greedy predator planning on devouring a prey� He seriously doubted his own conviction of her lack of real emotion toward him�
 
�I want to ask you a question, Amaria. And I�ll ask you to answer the most sincerely possible. It will not make me leave and I will not judge you for it. All I want is your complete honesty.�
 
�Ask your question, my human.� She replied without a hesitation, suddenly focused. �You have my words.�
 
�Do you really have feelings for me, or do you do this all to manipulate me? Tell me, because I don�t know where the truth is� I was sure you loved me, then that you were just trapping me to get to me and now� I don�t know��
 
She smiled sadly and seemed to want to place her forepaw on his chest, as she used to do. But she dropped her paw just after she began to raise it, and kept her distance.
 
�You still don�t believe me, do you? I don�t know how to prove it to you� But of course I have feelings� I love you� You�re my human� You�ve always cared for me, always been kind and soft to me when others humans just wanted to hurt me... I never forgot this day, when I was smaller; you took me in your arms and watched over me for the entire night. You saved me and stood up for me, several times, just to protect me� I feel safe here, only because I know you protect me even when I can�t see it� And� I can see your pain in your eyes� You�re lonely, you�re sad� I know the only moments you�re happy are when you�re with me, when we talk and play together� With you, I feel important� I just want to keep being able to make you happy� because that makes me happy��
 
He had listened to her carefully. Somehow, he found her way to put in simple words things he wouldn�t have been able to express quite touching. He even had hard time to contain his own emotions�
 
It could have been faked, like a prepared speech� But for her, it seemed so natural that he felt it was sincere� Was it another elaborated plan to take over him? After all, what she had nearly done a moment before wasn�t a simple accident; she had intentionally tried to eat him, nothing less. Yes, but she also had spat him out while she could have just ended her meal�
 
Having no way to be completely sure of that, he resigned himself to doing the only thing he could to solve this situation once and for all�
 
�I guess I�ll trust you on this one� �He said, opting for a ceasefire.
 
Under he worried look, He passed his hand behind her head, just after the horns, and applied it on her neck. He began to caress her scales softly to make her understand his will to stop fighting her�
 
�You told me my eyes gave you the impression you were a bloody beast. I was terrified, that�s true. But you�ll never look like a bloody beast to me, Amaria. I�ve seen much bloodier humans� I saw the face of pure evil and it was nothing like yours� I�m aware of all the efforts you always did to be nice to me. And I can�t blame you for your instincts� If you really love me, please understand that some limits need time before being crossed.�
 
�You� You�re not mad at me?� She asked, suddenly looking hopeful.
 
�I can�t be... I feel too lonely to not take the risk of trusting you� I told you that even if you want to kill me, I�m fine with it��
 
�But I don�t want to kill you, why can�t you understand that?� She protested once again, before lowering her head and beginning to cry. �I just wanted us to have fun� I didn�t mean to scare you� I don�t care if you don�t love me but do not accuse me of having such terrible needs! I just want you to believe in me��
 
Even if all this could have been acting, he wasn�t able to resist to it anyway. Seeing her like this broke his heart despite his attempts to stay strong� He reached her lower jaw with his hand and made her rising up the chin. In front of her confused look, he hesitated for a moment.
 
�Here�s the deal.� He said. �You don�t do anything on me without my permission, and you commit to tell me how you feel about me. And I�m not talking only about emotion; I want to know when you feel the need to do things on me. Show me your honesty, and we will come back to the games we played. I promise I won�t be scared or run away, but I want to know from now.�
 
 �I� I don�t think this is a good idea. It will disturb you and make you want to avoid me� I prefer you when you�re happy� and with me. It�s best for you not to think about what I want to do.�
 
She kept her distances, but had begun to drool slightly at the second he mentioned their games. She had to be suffering a terrible inner conflict between her desires for his body and her fear to make him disappear definitely.
 
�I�m not scared of you. After all, you spat me out� He said softly.�Every fight we had happened because you were not honest with me and crossed lines I wasn�t ready for�.�
 
She looked at him sadly and guilty. At her expression, he had no doubt that she felt deeply hurt by the accusation. But he wanted her to understand once and for all that their relation had to follow some rules.
 
�I� I�m sorry�� She apologized, lowering her gaze.
 
�It�s alright.� he whispered, holding her head to face her again. �Tell me, I won�t be scared. I just want you to be honest, so I know I can fully trust you.�
 
�I� I�ve always held myself back� I swear��
 
He smiled to encourage her and slowly grabbed the collar of his shirt. Pulling it down, he leaned his head on the side to reveal his throat and tease her. He knew she particularly loved this area of his body; it was one of her most visited. This would be a good motivation�
 
She stared at his neck for moment, visibly conflicted. With a nod, he made her understand she was invited. She instantly plunged on it and bit him gently. Despite her obvious greed for his taste and her fast attack, at this precise moment, he knew she wouldn�t hurt him.
 
�Forgive me, my human, but you�re so delicious�� She moaned.
 
�It�s okay.� He said, amused by her guilty pleasure. �I said I won�t blame you for your instincts. They�re part of you. Just keep being honest and we�ll be fine.�
 
�I love you, my human� You�re my sweet little treat. My� sweet� little� treat�� She said with a tender lick for each of her words, nearly crying from happiness.
 
�At least, I know what I represent to you.� He giggled, uncomfortable.
 
�Yes� you�re my favorite meat� I definitely want to eat you��
 
As he suddenly shivered by reflex, she came back from her delighted trance and looked at him, worried.
 
�What? You told me to be honest�� She complained. �You promised you wouldn�t be scared��
 
�Yeah� my� my bad� He stumbled. �I� I just didn�t expect that� but� it�s okay� you were being honest.�
 
�I knew it wasn�t a good idea, my love.� She said softly, licking slowly his cheek with concern. �I know I must look frightening to you, and I appreciate all the efforts you do to accept me but� let�s keep it simple. Let�s simply enjoy it together, like we always do. You and me, my human. Don�t think about my instincts, this is only you and me.�
 
He didn�t answer, and simply nodded to that while she leaned on him once again. He regretted to now know what he had demanded to hear. He was unable to completely relax under her soft embrace, his mind kept focusing on what she was now able to do to him. She didn�t insist when she felt his tension. Her frustration was obvious, but she probably didn�t want to risk losing her keeper again. She backed up, laying on her mattress and put her forepaw on his chest to rub him softly.
 
�I think it�s too soon for this, my human.� She said, warmly smiling at him. �For now, I just want you to be with me. We have all the time we want for this later.�
 
�I guess you�re right but� you can keep going if you want. I won�t leave.�
 
�Thank you for giving me another chance, my love� But I don�t want to push you. We�ll go at your rhythm; you don�t have to force yourself. I promise I won�t screw up this time� What could I possibly do to make you comfortable again?�
 
�Amaria, I don�t expect any favor.� He replied. �I just want us to go back to normal, to play together again, to just be happy because I feel you getting excited by my taste, to have you savoring me� All these kind of crazy things I should be afraid of��
 
She smiled, unable to resist to the invitation despite her good resolutions.
 
��But you aren�t, are you? You don�t fear me when I do this� I can feel it� You enjoy it�� She said, closing tenderly her maw around his throat and licking him slowly.�That�s why we�re meant to be together, my human. I love you. And you love me. I promise you�ll have your nice dragoness back.�
 
�Well� the dragoness I know isn�t always nice�� he replied, amused.
 
�That�s right.� She admitted. �So would you want a naughty dragoness tonight, my human?�
 
Joining act to her words, she put her clawed forepaw on his crotch, only protected by his clothes. He reacted instantly by removing it, not ready for such a fast switch of mood.
 
�My nice dragoness will be totally fine for tonight.� He assured.
 
She seemed a bit frustrated, but she didn�t dare to contradict him. Not just after he had forgiven her for her bad acting. She went to his mouth and began to run her tongue tenderly over his lips.
 
�Then you�ll have the nicest and sweetest dragoness in the world, my love.� She said with a slow tongue movement.�Anything you want�I never want to lose you again��
 
She passed her paw under his head, wrapped his body with her wings and his legs with her tail while he caressed the back of her neck with his hand. In a normal day, he would probably have felt really wrong about letting himself getting into this. But he had gone through too many emotions, too many fears to reject any kind of affection anymore.
 
�Would you invite me, my love?� she asked with her softest voice.
 
Understanding what she meant, he didn�t even take the time to think about it, and began to open his lips.
 
�Thank you.� She whispered, before entering her tongue.
 
He hadn�t realized it on the moment, but she just had asked him for his permission for the first time. Probably was it the reason why he hadn�t hesitated to give her what she wanted... and the reason why it felt so good�
 
She began to lick the inside of his cheeks, moaning in her tasting. For once, she hadn�t closed her maw around his jaw; she probably didn�t want to remind him what she had tried earlier. He didn�t always like feeling her tongue investigate him like this. But she was really outdoing herself, this time, making the most sensual movements he ever felt in his mouth. Or maybe was he just feeling it for real on the moment, since he had totally stopped fighting her for the very first time.
 
To be honest, he was quite relieved to be able to fearlessly come close to her again. He just wasn�t able to avoid her, simply because she always occupied his mind even in his dark hours. She was the last thing on earth he was still caring about. She was his life, and even if he was still not sure he totally accepted it, not only for work.
 
He loved her; he couldn�t deny it. She was the only one he was able to be close to. And he didn�t want to lose her either. He would have preferred to keep the things going slowly in their relationship, but on the other hand, he continuous need for physical affection made everything more� passionate� and enjoyable... Screw morals and everything that made his life harder� Tonight, he was just relaxing and enjoying her kiss, happy to have her back.
 
�You really like this, don�t you?�He asked her as she pulled back.�You really like the taste of my flesh and skin.�
 
She froze, suddenly looking embarrassed. Obviously, she didn�t know how to answer to this and didn�t want to speak the truth either.
 
�It�s okay.� He reassured her, smiling and caressing gently her neck with the back of his hand. �It�s alright. You can tell me.�
 
�I� I think we would have better to get some rest now� Today has been long��
 
�Amaria�� He insisted as he understood her way of avoiding the question.
 
�I said no, my human.� She replied, pressing gently on his chest with her loving forepaw. �It�s too soon for that. We have to take it slowly. We already made a huge step. Let�s just sleep, now. I just want you by my side. You�re staying with me tonight, right?�
 
�Of course.� He answered after a moment of hesitation, glad to see her so careful about him.
 
She gave him a last affectionate lick on his throat, and then rested her head on his chest, next to her paw. She closed her eyes, smiling peacefully. Also tired, he watched her getting comfortable on him and then followed her example, relaxing on the mattress.
 
She slowly turned her snout toward him, and gently nuzzled at his throat as she began to fall asleep. Enjoying her soft contact, he decided to let her enjoy his presence on her way.... At least, she wasn�t trying to get more� which could be happening again soon, considering her latest desires for him.
 
He kept looking at her for a moment, moved by her peaceful face that made her kind of cute. She was softly breathing with her clawed paw resting on his chest, probably already asleep. She seemed so harmless with her eyes closed and her lovely smile... But now, he knew she was up to a little more than affection.
 
Despite what he said about the perspective of dying, he couldn�t fight his survival instincts that kept answering one question: was it really safe to stay so close to her? She seemed really attached to him, and he doubted she would ever want to harm him. But the things were getting quite complicated�
 
As he felt himself falling, he hoped he will find out how to deal with this all�