Page 48 of Dragon Awakened

I didn't think it was possible to be more embarrassed. "Kind of."

"Ember." His voice softens, and he crosses the space to take me by the shoulders. He waits until I look up at him, and I find nothing but kindness and love in his eyes. "Sneaking into his kingdom and kidnapping his dickhead brother is the exact opposite of pathetic. It's badass."

I laugh despite myself. "Really?"

"Really," Jianyu promises.

"But..." I'm gnawing on the inside of my cheek so hard I'm afraid that I'll draw blood.

Malik brushes a hand down my arm. "Tell us."

And this is it. All of my defenses have been stripped away. I've voiced every possible concern--except this one.

My vision blurs.

Storm is probably my fated mate. The gods alone know why our connection never formed, back when we were together. But that's irrelevant.

The bond between true mates is absolute. They can't be denied, or torn asunder.

But Storm's rejected me once already.

Even if we find him--even if this crazy plan my other mates are hatching works...

What's to keep him from rejecting me again?

I flinch, blinking hard, my eyes stinging and hot. I gaze up into my other mates' eyes, and my heart clenches.

Barely a whisper, I breathe, "What if he still doesn't want me?"

Rafe's face goes hard with anger, a raging fire burning in his eyes. The bedrock beneath our feet vibrates to the exact frequency of Jianyu's growl, and the tattoos on Malik's arms ripple with light.

But before any of them can say a thing, a sudden wind whips through the air.

And the next thing I know, the roof of the building tears itself clean off.

The dust has barely cleared before the huge silvery form above us takes shape. I suck in a harsh breath, deafened by the roaring wind and by the pounding of my own heart.

I rarely got to see Storm's dragon, but it's unmistakable now. My insides flutter at the sleek, powerful beast hovering over the garage, all silver scales and gleaming talons and teeth. As it beats its wings, my own dragon breathes hot steam into my ribs, imagining being chased through the skies by such a specimen in a mating dance as old as time.

We're almost as turned on as we are terrified.

Rafe releases his grip on my arms, turning to shield me with his body. The taste of dragonfire fills the air as Jianyu and Malik's inner beasts rise to the surface.

"No," I breathe.

They still, just on the cusp of transformation.

In a shattering of dragonscale and wings, Storm descends from the sky. He touches down on the ground in front of me, half man and half dragon, and oh.

My heart aches at the sight of his golden skin and firm musculature, his trim waist and broad shoulders and the line of his throat, leading up to that sharp jaw. I used to run my hands through his thick, dark hair as he hovered over me, and I loved him, I loved him, I loved him.

I'm breaking inside, every part of me at his mercy.

But I'm also strong.

He tore me apart once before. He'll never do it again.

I brace myself as he opens his eyes, the last glittering scales of his dragon receding to leave him fully human before me.

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