Dragon Heat 1 - Dead Sexy Dragon (13 page)

brother danced in her mind. “You know what I don’t get?

Why didn’t the Knights go after Stig when he was in

Afghanistan or Iraq?”

“There are rules. Human wars supersede our blood

feud. Places of conflict, churches, and homes are strictly

out of bounds. We don’t trespass on the Knights at their

homes and they don’t come to ours.”

Cora frowned. “All these rules are confusing.”

“You’ll learn them in time.” He caught her gaze. “If you

intend to stay, that is.”

“I’m staying with Stig.”
Whether you like it or not,
she

added silently.

“I’m glad.”

Cora scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. I make you

vulnerable, remember.”

Ignatius nodded. “You do, but you also make Stig

happy. And he deserves some happiness after all these

many years of solitude and war.” His voice grew soft.

“We all do.” He angled his head a bit to the left. “Perhaps

it’s time to reconsider some of our older, more draconian

regulations. Maybe we all need something to fight for,

something more than our Brothers.”

Cora sensed his sadness. From the scars on their

bodies, it was clear the Brotherhood had seen some truly

awful times. They’d fought to protect their species from

Knights and sacrificed so much. How lonely it must have

been all those years for all of them.

She stared at Stig, his face relaxed and calm. “I wonder

if I’ll ever understand what he’s been through.”

“I don’t think you can,” Ignatius said bluntly. “Your life

experience is so miniscule compared to his.”

Cora’s stomach pitched at his frank reminder. He must

have seen her fallen face because he quickly added,

“Don’t let that discourage you. The very fact that you care

enough to want to understand him is what matters.”

Ignatius’s gaze landed on Stig. “And he knows that.”

Ignatius stood and walked around the bed. “In six

months, Stig will go through his heat phase again as a

completion of this cycle. This time you’ll be with him

through it all. You can have a proper mating ceremony. I

suspect the binding magic will force your body to make

the full change. Once you make your final transformation,

your new life with Stig is all that really matters.

Everything in the past is just that: the past.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“Your new life will have hardships, I’m sure. The

Knights will always be out there lurking, waiting. But

there will be love and laughter, children and

grandchildren.”

Cora bubbled with happiness at the vision Ignatius

painted. She laughed and playfully slapped Ignatius’s arm.

“You had me convinced you were some mean hard-ass but

listen to you! What a softie,” she teased. “You’re just a big

old dragon-shaped marshmallow.”

His jaw twitched. “Hardly.”

Giggling, Cora sat back and watched Ignatius leave. He

paused in the doorway. “He’s waking.”

“Oh.” Cora set aside the tray, leaned forward, and

touched Stig’s hand as Ignatius disappeared. Energy

sizzled between them, a tingling static arcing between her

fingertips and the top of his hand. She caressed his jaw.

The thick stubble covering his face pricked her fingertips.

“Stig?”

His fingers flexed. It was the first positive sign she’d

had from him in days. His eyelids flickered and parted

briefly before closing again. Cora tried to temper her

excitement. It might be too soon. He could still be too tired

or in too much pain. The deep sleep of regeneration

spared him from most of it, though.

If it came down to a choice between his comfort and

feeding her need to hear him speak, she’d happily choose

the former.

Stig’s breaths grew shallow and quick. His limbs

twitched as a grimace contorted his face. Cora’s heart

twinged at the obvious sign of his discomfort. She gently

stroked his face and whispered encouragingly, softly.

Finally, Stig woke. He jerked wildly and sucked in a

noisy breath. Cora placed her arm across his chest to

prevent him from bolting upright. Her touch seemed to

startle him. Stig’s face whipped toward her. For a

moment, he looked confused and fearful. In the next

instant, his muscles relaxed as he seemed to realize they

were safe and alive.

Cora pressed a gentle kiss to Stig’s lips. She nuzzled

their noses together and swept her fingertips along his

forehead. “Hey there, sleepyhead.”

Stig gripped her hand in his strong fingers. A broad

smile curved his sexy mouth. His eyes brightened. The

heat of his adoring gaze warmed Cora. They needed no

words. She read the depth of his love in his face. Not that

she had any doubts. He’d nearly died for her, had thought

only of her safety in what might have been the final

moments of his life, and hers would never be the same

again.

And that was okay.

She’d found her happily-ever-after.

The Dragon Heat series continues

with another sizzling tale of primal lust…

See the next page for a preview of

Red Hot Dragon
.

A Preview of RED HOT

DRAGON

Chapter One

Awash in adrenaline, Griffin Cadogan eyed his opponent

across the sparring cage. He danced from foot to foot as he

waited for Mad to make his move. The springy mat was

cool beneath his bare soles. Though he and Mad had been

at this for nearly half an hour, it wasn’t the physical

exertion making him so hot. No, tonight his mating phase

would begin. Already his body was beginning to show the

subtle signs as his forced shifting approached.

Like a raging bull, Mad charged him. Griff stepped into

the oncoming assault but twisted his upper body just

enough to escape the brunt of Mad’s impact. He kneed his

cousin right in the stomach and slammed his elbow into the

other man’s back. It wasn’t enough to slow Mad down and

he wrapped his arms around Griffin’s waist. They fell to

the mat with so much force they bounced.

Limbs entangled, they grappled and slapped. Anyone

who caught a glimpse of them fighting would have

assumed they were engaged in a death match. Without

gloves or protective headgear, they were breaking the

rules of the mixed-martial arts training facility they

owned, but since they had the place to themselves for the

afternoon, no one would be the wiser.

Griff tried to get Mad in a headlock but the other man

twisted and arched his back to avoid being pinned in a bad

position. His inner beast snapped to be set free. The

primal urge to destroy threatened to overwhelm him but he

wasn’t worried about hurting Madoc. They’d been fighting

this way for centuries. If anyone had the strength and skill

to beat his ass when he was on the verge of going into heat

and unleashing his dragon, it was Mad.

But today his cousin seemed off his game. Quite out of

character, Mad let Griff get the upper hand. It was only a

fractional slip but enough for Griff to wrap his legs around

Mad’s waist and clamp his arm around the other man’s

neck. Though Mad kicked and smacked, it wasn’t enough.

With a frustrated howl, Mad slapped Griff’s forearm three

times and tapped out.

Griff let go immediately and rolled Mad onto his back.

“You okay, man?”

Mad shot him the finger and dragged a long, shuddery

breath into his lungs.

Laughing, Griff plopped down on his backside and

stretched out his aching legs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Leaning back on his hands, he studied his cousin. There

was no mistaking the tiredness in him and it wasn’t just

from this fight. “Are you still having those dreams?”

Mad threw an arm over his eyes and breathed slow and

deep. “Yes.”

Concern rippled through him. “Have you talked to

Ignatius?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And he told me sometimes we have to slay the beast.”

Griff rolled his eyes at their leader’s cryptic reply.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Mad said, his voice filled with

resignation. “Maybe he means I’m literally supposed to go

out and hunt down whoever is filling my head with all

these crazy images.”

Griff grumbled softly, “I don’t think that’s such a good

idea. You could be walking into a trap. It wouldn’t be the

first time the Knights used a seer or someone with

empathic abilities to screw with a dragon’s mind.”

Mad let his arm fall back to the mat. He met Griff’s

gaze. “I can’t go on like this. I may not have a choice.”

“Will you at least wait until I’ve finished this mating

phase so I can come with you?”

“Sure.”

Griff opened his mouth to ask him where they would

start their search but the wild vibration of an approaching

dragon gripped his gut. Every dragon of his acquaintance

had a specific feeling but this one he didn’t recognize. The

vibrations in his gut filled him with a bright, trembling

sensation of excitement. The alien sensation unsettled him.

Griff pushed off the mat and rose to his full height. Mad

was a little slower getting off the floor. They climbed out

of the ring and crossed the gym to the main entrance. The

vibrations in Griff’s stomach pushed into his chest. A

pulsing heat burned him. He rubbed the spot just over his

heart and glanced at Mad. His cousin didn’t seem to be the

least bit affected.

The double doors burst open and a woman appeared.

Her scent hit him like a ton of bricks. Swaying on his feet,

Griff backed up a step and tried to clear his hazy mind.

Alluringly sweet and spicy, the smell invaded his lungs.

His inner beast snapped with lust and need. This woman,

whoever she was, had ignited his desire.

Griff let his hungry gaze roam her petite frame. He’d

never seen a skirt look so good. The hip-hugging fabric

outlined her body in all the rights ways. A fitted blouse

with the top buttons popped open displayed her curves.

She wore her jet-black hair coiled at the back of her head.

Emeralds dangled from her earlobes. The glimmering

green jewels accentuated her silky brown skin. His

fingertips buzzed as he wondered what it would be like to

stroke her face.

She turned her dark eyes on him. Something about her

was so familiar. When she waved her hand up and down,

he spotted the white handkerchief.
What in the hell?

“Griffin Cadogan?”

Her gentle voice spilled over him like sunshine. “Yes?”

“I’d like to request we put our family’s little blood feud

aside for the duration of my visit.”

Blood feud? The shock of her identity smacked him

right in the face. “Avani Monroe?”

Her lips curved in a teasing smile. “They told me you

were the smart one.”

Trying to ignore the needful pull tugging at him, Griff

narrowed his eyes. “You’re either very brave or very

stupid to come into our gym.”

“I assure you I’m neither stupid nor brave. It’s

desperation that brought me to my enemy’s door.”

Her somber tone struck a chord in him. Against his

better judgment, he asked, “What do you want?”

Her sexy, sinful grin knocked the air right out of his

lungs. “You.”

* * *

Feeling anything but confident, Avani ignored the

nervousness wobbling low in her belly and tried to

maintain the cool, controlled façade that had served her so

well in business. Her gaze skipped to Ian Madoc. Griffin’s

cousin stared at her with amusement and interest. She

glanced back to the man she desperately needed to help

her.

Surprise filtered across Griffin’s face. She spotted the

briefest flare of crimson in his pale blue irises as that

beastly Welsh Red tried to surface. Like her, he was only

hours away from going into heat. She figured that was the

reason the two cousins had been knocking the crap out of

each other in here. She preferred the more enlightened

methods of fasting and meditation to ease her transition but

apparently these two dragons still clung to the more

barbaric old customs.

She examined Griffin more closely. His size still made

her nervous. She’d heard he was a big man but hadn’t been

expecting this. Nearly seven feet tall, he sported the

broadest shoulders she’d ever seen and muscular arms

emblazoned with heavy tattoos. She didn’t recognize any

of the symbols or markings but they were probably

significant to his old tribe or his Welsh homeland.

Griffin lifted one huge hand and crooked a finger. His

deep, rumbling voice made her heart race. “Come with

me.”

Gulping down the anxiety clogging her throat, Avani

followed him across the gym to an office. She glanced

over her shoulder and found Ian making his way to an

arched doorway on the other side of the gym. The

realization that she would have a few moments of privacy

to plead her case with Griffin bolstered her courage.

He entered the office and kept one hand on the door for