Page 104 of Tempting Her Dragons

“Could be that,” Mav says.

“Still, he’ll have a hard time replacing me,” I say, not believing it for a minute.

“Firefly, you hated the job,” King says.

“That’s true,” I mumble. “I was hoping for a little begging.”

“Ryker doesn’t beg,” Mav says.

“He would die before he utters a word in the realm of begging,” King says.

“What’s wrong with a little begging?” I ask, licking my lips. They roll to their sides.

“We don’t mind hearing it,” King says, pressing his palm to my stomach.

“In fact, we encourage it in the right moments,” Mav adds, tucking my hair behind my ear.

“I have to have the right motivation,” I mention lightly. “It has to be something I want really badly.”

“Hmm…” Kingston slides his hand under my shirt. “What could you want desperately?”

“My mates are pretty tempting,” I whisper as Mav bites my ear.

“I disagree,” Mav says. “We are the lucky ones. Our mate is stunning inside and out. She is the tempting one.”

“Does that mean I’m going to hear some begging?” I groan as King pushes up my shirt and licks his mark.

“Begging isn’t in our nature either, Firefly.” He sucks.

“There’s no need to beg when we all want the same thing,” Mav says roughly and sucks my nipple through my shirt.

There may have been a little begging: from all of us.

Epilogue

Heath

As I walk through the crowd, they move quickly out of the way. The tap of my cane is drowned out by the fists being thrown in the ring and the shouts from the watchers. Many of them know I own the place but have never spoken to me. It could be the mystery surrounding me or the coldness in my eyes. Either way, I’m grateful. I don’t need or want their curiosity or friendship.

Opening the door to the floors below, I shut it softly and lock it. I enter numbers in the keypad, ensuring no one but my most trusted can come through. I can count on one hand who that is.

I wind down the stairs, the noise dimming the deeper I walk, and the darker the light becomes. The tenseness in my shoulders relaxes the further I go. This is my home. I belong in cool, damp places. I don’t need light to see or heat to keep warm. My body can regulate its temperature depending on the environment, but I despise the heat. I don’t like people or noise, so living down here is comforting.

Another door blocks my path, and I enter another series of numbers. Bane and Hunter stand on either side of the door. They are the only two men here that I trust.

“Everything taken care of?” I ask, and they nod. “You can go.” I watch them leave, reset the lock, and continue down. I come to the final door. I press my hand to the screen attached to the wall, and once I’m verified, I lean down and it scans my eyes.

The click of it opening is loud in the silence. Even Hunter and Bane can’t get in the rooms beyond the door without my permission and presence. I allowed them to enter today to bring the man I’m going to kill.

Don’t worry; he deserves it.

After the door is secure, I move through the space to the room at the end. It has no windows and no furniture. Another keypad allows me to walk inside and to the man chained to the wall.

“Who are you?” he screams, yanking uselessly on his bindings. Turning, I press my palm against the steel door, shutting it tight.

I don’t form many attachments, but my chosen sister is one of them. She was bleeding on the street, broken and assaulted when I found her. The man in front of me was one of ten who abducted her. I have killed five, this is the sixth.

My blue eyes brighten and my pupils elongate. I don’t often let my beast out to play. He’s more often angry and unpredictable, much like the man who holds him. Only five people know what animal is inside me. Now there will be a sixth, but he will take his knowledge to hell.

---