Page 73 of Shifter Marked and Claimed

“That’s what I just said.”

The jackass holding me gave a final shove, which sent me to my knees halfway between the two men.

I looked at our neighbor.

“Finally,” he said. His triumphant smile morphed into something sinister when he looked away from me. It widened, showing large, sharp teeth that were growing. It wasn’t just his teeth, either. His smile stretched, showing more teeth as his face elongated. Scales emerged on his face, reddening as he expanded. I tried to scramble to my feet. Instead, I fell backward and stared up in shock as our neighbor transformed into a dragon before my eyes.

He was still growing when he darted forward, his massive jaws opening, and chomped the hissing guy in one single bite.

Just as quickly as he’d grown, he shrank back into a man. A very naked and very smooth-skinned man, who reached down to grab my arm and pluck me up to my feet. His touch sent another jolt of awareness through me. He smelled like wind and rain and sunlight all balled into one. It was a wildness that I couldn’t name but one that made me want to close my eyes and breathe him in.

I didn’t, though. I still had a thread of common sense left. However, my hold on sanity didn’t stop him from leaning in close and inhaling deeply. A second later, he rubbed his cheek against mine.

A shiver ran through me, and a weird clicking sound came from him.

Was that a purr? My thread frayed a little, and I almost grinned at the thought he was purring for me.

When he pulled back, the sound died. He didn’t say anything, just started leading me toward his house. That snapped me back to reality, and I tried to tug free of his hold.

“Wait. No. Please. My sister.”

As I begged and pried at his fingers, Zoe shouted, “Hey, asshole!”

I looked back in time to see her heave her rock-puppy at him. It flew with precision right at his head. My hope that it’d knock him out died when he caught the rock in his free hand. He looked at it, then me, then Zoe.

The scowl on his face deepened as he let the rock drop.

“Come,” he said to her before he resumed dragging me.

I looked back at Zoe and shook my head.

“Get back in the house. Call—”

My words died as the giant shuffled far enough into the side yard to remind me he was still there, waiting for his chance at revenge.

She followed my gaze and didn’t hesitate to follow me inside the naked dragon-man’s home.

CHAPTERSIX

I forgotto keep trying to tug free of the dragon-man’s hold the minute we stepped through his door. Instead, I stared at the space before me. The vast entry echoed with our footsteps, and I tipped my head back in wonder, taking in the gold leaf designs that swirled on the domed ceiling far above. There was no way all of this could fit in the small ranch beside our house. The entry alone was as big as our kitchen and living room.

“What in the Poppins is going on here?” Zoe asked. “How is this possible?”

“A druid spell,” my captor said, snapping my attention back to him.

The minute I looked at the gloriously naked lines of his muscled back, though, I knew I was in trouble. The man was just as decadent as his surroundings, and I could feel the urge to simply continue staring at him. Zoe was right. He did have a nice back side.

Realizing what I was doing, I quickly averted my eyes. I couldn’t let myself fall under his thrall. Zoe and I needed to get out of here.

Focusing, I looked for a way out.

The entry opened to a large, well-furnished living room. To the right, just inside the room, there was an arched entry to a dining room. Through another arch, I spotted a kitchen. He didn’t lead us that way though. He led us to the left, past an arched opening to a study or library. I couldn’t be sure which because he was moving too fast.

When I saw the opening to a hallway ahead, I started tugging again.

“Where are you taking me? Let go.”

He didn’t listen, not that I’d actually expected him to. I glanced over my shoulder to see Zoe jogging to keep up as we entered the hallway. Her expression said she was ready to hit the guy dragging me. Not that he was hurting me. I just couldn’t tug free as he strode past several doors and stopped at the second one on the left.

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