Page 64 of Born in Fire

At the elevator, he kisses me again, more deeply this time. The heat of his body envelops me, making me acutely aware of the inhuman nature now revealed. Yet, instead of fear, I feel only fascination and a deepening attraction.

“Tonight,” he promises as the elevator doors open.

“Tonight,” I agree, stepping inside.

As the doors close, I catch a final glimpse of him—eyes still glowing softly, watching me with an expression of mingled wonder and concern.

The elevator descends, and I lean against the wall, hands cupped over my mouth, mind racing. Dragons exist. Dorian is centuries old. The world is wider and stranger than I ever imagined.

Amid the shock and wonder, I feel an unexpected lightness. As crazy as it is, it’s all starting to make sense now. He wasn’t trying to deceive me. He was trying to protect a secret I couldn’t comprehend.

Outside, the sun seems brighter somehow, the world more vibrant with possibility. I’m halfway to the bus stop when I realize I’ve left my scarf on Dorian’s couch.

For a moment, I consider going back for it, but time is short. As I board the bus to work, I touch my lips, still warm from his kiss. I should be questioning my sanity, doubting what I’ve seen. Instead, I feel like an astronomer who’s finally seen through the telescope what she always knew must exist among the stars. I’ve always known there was more to this world.

Dragons are real. And somehow, against all logic, one of them recognizes something in me worth revealing his most guarded secret.

The implications are both terrifying and exhilarating. But for the first time since meeting Dorian Craven, I feel like I’mstanding on solid ground—even if that ground is far stranger than I ever imagined.

This is a bold new world, and I can’t wait to explore it.

Chapter 18

Dorian

I slam the Jag into third, engine snarling as I take the corner too fast. The beast under the hood’s got nothing on the one under my skin—the one that’s been crackling through my veins since leaving my apartment.

Fuck yeah!

I’m grinning like a fucking idiot, tapping the wheel with restless fingers. Like some goddamn teenager who just got his first taste of something real.

Juno hadn’t run. Hadn’t screamed. Hadn’t done any of the things humans typically do when you tell them you occasionally turn into a fire-breathing monster.

She’dkissedme instead, fingertips tracing the dragon inked across my arm.“Not just for show, huh?”

The memory alone makes my chest burn. Not with fire—with something else. Something I’m too fucking elated to pull apart right now.

I roll down the window, letting Seattle’s rain-drenched air cool my face. My dragon’s close to the surface, heating my blood to near boiling. For centuries—centuries—I’ve kept him locked down, compressed like coal under a mountain. Only letting him out when absolutely necessary, keeping him on a leash tighter than Caleb’s designer suits.

But with Juno…

Fuck. It feels like breathing for the first time after drowning.

My phone blares. Caleb’s name flashes on the dash display, and I consider letting it go to voicemail. Big Brother can wait. I’ve got a high to ride.

But something—intuition, twin connection, whatever—makes me hit “Accept.”

“Caleb,” I say.

“We have a situation,” he gets straight to the point.

“What’s going on?” I gear down as I change lanes.

“Malakai has Elena. I think he’s holed up somewhere in the city. We need to pull together on this. I think he has something up his sleeve, but I don’t know what.”

The words hit like a bucket of ice water. My dragon recoils, growling.

“Shit!” I brake hard, earning a chorus of honks. “Back to the boardroom for a clan meeting?”

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