Page 14 of Burned

Lord startles back a step and then laughs with what sounds like relief.

“You’ve never killed a dragon?”

I bristle, drawing myself up to my full height. Fuck. Was this a misstep? This is what happens when I let my guard downfor even half a second. Stupid snickerdoodle. Stupid confusing dragon. Now he thinks I’m weak, that I’ll be easy to kill when he decides he’s finished with whatever game he’s playing.

“Not yet,” I say in a low voice, leveling him with the most dangerous look I can muster.

His smile fades, but instead of looking afraid, he looks… horny again. My cock twitches and lust pulses through me like a tangible force. I push my stool away from the counter in a hurry and take a few steps back. I need to get out of here.

“Never mind the tea. I think I’ll just go lay down.”

Lord gives his head a small shake like he’s clearing his thoughts, then nods.

“Of course.”

I stare at him across the kitchen for another few beats, wrestling with the almost irresistible urge to get closer to him rather than running away.

“Thanks,” I say after a moment, turning on my heel and practically sprinting out of the room.

Chapter

Six

LORD

This is not good. Not good at all. There’s an obvious attraction between me and Alrick, and it was only heightened, at least for me, when I learned he hasn’t actually spilled the blood of a dragon. His emotions are a twisted mess, and I imagine mine would be similar if my inner dragon wasn’t largely in control right now.

I blow out a breath, releasing the smoke I’ve forced back, and practically moan as tension drains from my shoulders. Our interactions are both tense and intriguing, and luckily for me I’m aware that Alrick feels the same. The desire to touch him, to comfort him in some way, is intense, but I have bigger issues to deal with than my awakening libido.

With tea in hand, I return to my study to continue the research. I’m certain from my dragon’s poor reaction that I must be getting closer to a solution. He doesn’t want the bond broken, that much is certain, but I have no idea why. Confused? Longing to have what my brothers have found? Who knows? My human side has to drive this endeavor, because if I let the dragon takeover, we’ll drag Alrick to my hoard room and spend the next century pleasuring him.

Another surge of heat burns through me, my cock instantly swelling and a ripple of scales breaking out across my chest. Just the thought of touching him that way is more enticing than anything I’ve experienced in decades. The logical side of me knows it’s because of the bond though. There is absolutely no way I could allow myself the pleasure, and certainly Alrick won’t allow it. It’s for the best, really.

I shift my focus from thoughts of sex and mates to the subject that got me into this mess in the first place. I flip through a few more pages, reading the antiquated language easily. My brothers made fun of my studious endeavors as a young dragon, but I knew it would come in handy someday. As the eldest of our clutch, it’s my responsibility to carry on traditions.

My eyes focus and home in on text that causes my dragon to thrash wildly with discontent. Aha. As I read though, my hopes dim. An immortal holds the key—a woman, both dragon and mage, last known to be tucked away in a mountain cave in Scotland.

Scotland.

How the fuck am I going to get Alrick to a mountain in Scotland without revealing myself and confirming his suspicions? Gods of fire, what a mess.

I need a plan. One outside the box. What would Arson do in this situation? He’s the least levelheaded among us, yet he’s managed to survive all these years. He would… I let my thoughts drift, recalling hundreds of chaotic situations Arson has gotten himself into over the millennia.

There was the time he used his fire to set the alarms off at school to get out of a test he didn’t study for. Only Arson was brave enough to figure out how to disable the dragon-proofprotections on the device. He was caught and put on cleanup duty for a month, but the distraction worked.

Or there was the time he thought he could steal from the fae folk in Ireland and found himself trapped and forced into servitude. He managed to convince his captor that dragons die if separated from their clutch for too long and it actually worked.

I have to throw out logic and appeal to Alrick’s emotions to get him to trust me and follow me on an adventure that will hopefully end in our mutual release… Unfortunately not the kind of mutual release my dragon is craving though.

My chest tightens as my dragon thrashes again, straining against my human shape, but I’m able to keep him contained after all these years.

“We have to let him go,” I whisper to the dragon. “He’s not ours to keep. He kills our kind. Or at least he wants to.”

The words do little to calm the beast inside me, and when I exhale, a tendril of fire follows. This is going to be just as hard on me as it will be on my dragon. I’ve mated someone forbidden and dangerous. The irony is not lost on me.

Heavy footsteps coming down the stairs get my attention, and within seconds, Alrick is in the doorway, his eyes wide and breathing heavy as he clutches his now bare chest.

“What have you done to me?”

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