Page 13 of Defy Me

What the fuck was he thinking? No, he didn't want that. He would never mean anything to anyone. He had one goal in life and that was to free his brethren and kill the Black Dragon. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. What did he think? That he was going to mark her, claim her? That she was going to be his mate or some shit?

He did not have what the Dragon warriors he had. He was the bastard son of the king of hell. Love was not something he would ever have in his life and he needed to pull his head out of his ass right this second and forget he'd ever met this beautiful, lush, sensuous woman that made him feel more alive than he ever had in his hundreds of years of existence.

His growl rumbled low in his belly. His head screamed at him to set her down, fly the fuck away from here. Now. Fly away. Right now. He couldn't do it.

"Uhh, you're setting the field on fire."

What?

Jett set Yvaine down and batted at the grass under his feet. He's been so damn far inside his own ass he hadn't even noticed he'd been spewing fire. He'd singed a black path of burnt grass and earth marking his every step. He was lucky the entire field hadn't gone up in flames. That wouldn't be a literal smoke signal to the Black Dragon to come and find them or anything.

Jett ran a hand through his hair and stared at Yvaine. "Release me from your spell, witch, or fairy, or nymph, or whatever the hell you are. These thoughts and feelings you've put into me are going to get us killed."

"I didn't do anything. You're the one who turned into a dragon and carried me away. It's not my fault you lit everything on fire."

Turned into a dragon? "You must have bumped your head harder than I thought. I'm in my human form."

He waved his hand up and down his body to punctuate the 'duh' in his tone.

"You are now. But you weren't when you picked me up. One second you're calling me names and poof, the next second you're Poof the Magic Dragon."

"That is not how shifting magic works. I have to consciously change my form. It doesn't happen by accident."

"Are you sure?"

Yes.

"Well, then I think your shifter is broken, because you're a dragon again."

Jett glanced down at his hands, but they weren't there. His scaly talons and claws were.What are you doing to me? How are you controlling my dragon?

He flapped his wings and lifted up into the air. If she had the power to control his shift she was very bad news. Even Ereshkigal, the Black witch didn't have that power. Maybe she was the fabled White Witch the Dragon warriors were all on about. She was supposedly the one who'd given all of dragon kind the ability to shift in the first place.

If she was he needed to stay. The White Witch was also the mythical being who'd given the dragons the ability to find their mates. They all got a soul shard, given to them by the white witch when they came of age. It contained a small piece of their souls intertwined with that of the First Dragon. When they were in the presence of their mates it glowed and told them who she was.

Jett had once thought that if he could possess a soul shard he could find a mate of his own. A woman who would complete his soul. He thought she would be the key to breaking the curse.

He'd been wrong.

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe, Catch a Dragon by the Toe

Dragons. What the duck, man? One second he was a hot guy, the next he was a fire-breathing monster. Which somehow was Yvaine's fault. Yeah, no.

"Whatever dark spell you're weaving, stop it, now. If you were sent by Ereshkigal or Geshtianna you can go straight back to them and then to hell. I will not be captured or fooled by either of them again."

A minute ago she'd thought he was dragging her off to the bushes to have some sort of make-out session. A minute before that he'd been concerned about her well-being after their car had crashed. She could kind of see why he thought she was the one doing a magic trick on him. She had super duper transported them out of the battle in Glückstadt and out here to the middle of nowhere. That had never happened before. None of this was even a part of her abnormal normal.

This was not her ducking fault. She stomped her foot. It was the last thing she needed. "I'm not doing anything."

Black light, red sparkles and poof. Once again man became dragon.

Obviously you are.His tail swished in the grass behind him and caught a gopher or a squirrel or something, flipping the poor thing up in the air and into a nearby tree. Jett spun in a circle like a puppy surprised by his own tail and then narrowed those big dark dragon eyes on Yvaine again.God dammit. At least leave me in one form or the other for a half a fucking minute.

Smoke poured out of his nostrils and Yvaine did not relish getting lit on fire. He was pissed. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her his anger wasn't entirely directed at her. She'd hoped it was right, because she was about to get real with him. She spread her hands out in a placating gesture and instead of stepping away like she should, she moved toward him.

"Look. I don't know what's going on with you. I didn't even know dragons existed until like a half an hour ago. But I do get that you're scared and frustrated." She could relate. His body was seemingly out of his control and he didn't know what to do about it. Samesies.

I'm not scared.He huffed even though the words were in her head and not out of his shiny black snout.

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