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The house seemed to shudder a little bit, shimmer, and he thought he heard, “Take Elliot and go. Go to Cosmo. I’ll deal with this.”

Then the door opened, and he came face-to-face with what he was sure was supposed to be a wise and old man. Really what he saw was the pretty little purple guy dressed in an old man suit. “This is private property. Go away.”

“Oh, now don’t be like that.” God that was cute. Orion was simply enthralled.

That earned him a blink, and then Mr. Violet and Vivacious picked up a cane. “I wasn’t joking.”

That seemed to be considerably more serious.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone, sweet man.”

“The land has been posted with keep-out signs, private property. You’re not going to hurt anyone at all.” Now the voice was deep, damn near a growl.

He was going to explode in a giant ball of happiness. Just a joygasm. “That was really hot.”

“I’m going to count to three.”

“And then what? Are we going to wrestle?” Sparkle. Hands on that violet skin? Oh, yeah.

“No, I’m going to kick your fucking ass.”

“You’re gonna try, and I’m going to enjoy it.”

The sweet one bared his teeth. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

“Look, sweet pea, no amount of aggression from you is going to do anything but turn me on.” He winked. “So what are you? Dragon hybrid, clearly, but then what else?”

That mouth firmed into a hard line. “I am none of your damn business!” He raised the cane. “Get off our land!”

“Look, I represent a local beaver shifter. He just wants to know if his ancestral dam-building land is safe.” He held up his hands, trying not to spoil that ridiculous-sounding statement with too much humor.

Now sweet and lavender blinked hard. “A beaver shifter…”

“Yep.” Orion moved a step closer to the door. “His name is Yarrow. I intend to buy him a trucker hat up at the pass. I think it will perfect for him.”

If they weren’t impressed with charm, dazzle them with bullshit. That was his philosophy.

Of course, this one he wanted to be madly in love with him.

“I—A trucker hat.” Those lips twitched.

“On a beaver. Just imagine it. He’s a good egg, though, and he’s worried about the family who lived here.”

Sorrow passed over that mobile face. “I’m sorry. Did you know them?”

“No. No, I pass through every so often, but Yarrow was fond of them, I gather. He’s a sucker for kids.”

The purple beam of light shook off whatever he was thinking. “The kids are safe. They’re with relatives.”

The iridescent hairs all over his body stood up at attention. “But the adults… Was it vamps? Dammit, I was hoping Yarrow was full of shit.”

“He wasn’t wrong. It was?—”

“Get out of my house!” Now that roar was dead serious, and it literally shook the walls. A huge red-and-black dragon came soaring down the stairs, and Orion tilted his head.

“How did you manage to do that without knocking any pictures off the wall?”

“What?”