Page 7

Her mind raced as she headed toward the bedroom quarter of the space.

This dragon man was out of his mind. If he thought she would bind herself to him for eternity, he better think again.

No way, no how. When she got to the bedroom, she took in the huge bed, much bigger than she’d thought.

It was just as long as it was wide. She didn’t let her mind contemplate what could and would happen between her and the big guy on the other side of the room.

There was another fireplace to the left of the bed, and it looked clean and empty, as if no one had used it for a while.

She hoped Aodh would find some kindling and start a fire there, too, because the blaze in the sitting area only reached half the space. The air around her was cool again.

To the right, there were two doors. She went to the first one and opened it.

There were clothes inside, more pants and vests of varied shades of dark, and a few shirts, all large enough to fit Aodh.

When she pushed open the second door, she recognized a bathroom.

Excited to get washed up, she started in.

“Kai.”

The rumble of his voice set off a firestorm in her core. She stopped at the bathroom threshold, then turned in the direction she’d last seen him. However, he was only about fifty steps from her. How did such a massive man walk so fast and light?

“Aodh. I’m tired and filthy. I just want to wash up and rest. For now, we can agree to disagree.” She turned away.

“Face me.”

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip to keep from screaming. This man was stubborn.

He waited until she turned around before he continued, “Tell me when you feel me.”

Confused, she just stared at him.

When he started to stride forward, she got nervous.

She had an urge to run. But, after all she had been through in the last few years, there wasn’t a cowardice bone in her body.

Standing her ground, she watched the confidence of his strut.

The man walked like he knew the structure they stood in would crumble at his word.

Aodh’s steps ate up the distance between them.

When he was roughly thirty steps away from her, something changed.

The hair on her arms began to rise first, even though she could feel warmth surrounding her like she was moving closer to a furnace.

Something in her told her that the source of the warmth was Aodh.

When he was fifteen steps away, the heat infusing her skin seeped into her body, simmered in her blood, and filled her core with a scorching desire.

Aodh was consuming her, and he was still ten feet away.

“Stop!” she held her palms up to him. He was now two feet from her hands.

“Little flame, I know you felt me a while ago.”

She only got one shake of her head, attempting to refute his claim. Lie.

One side of his sexy mouth tipped up. “Liar. I know because I could feel you, too. It is the mating lure. The growing need inside of you has dilated your pupils.”

“It’s hunger.” That was the gnawing ache in her belly, she told herself.

“Yes, hunger.” His turquoise-opal eyes flashed sapphire and emerald, then a hot crimson.

She moaned as she smelled the same sulfuric cinnamon. Her sex pulsed with each heartbeat, and the absence of her underpants caused the resulting wetness to coat her thighs.

Her cheeks heated when he leaned in and inhaled slow and long, filling the room with a rolling, thunderous groan. She lowered her arms.

“You can’t fight it. It wasn’t your vehicle in our territory that drew me, but you.” Aodh wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and drew her to him.

She only had a moment to brace herself from the impact of her breasts being crushed to his chest before his mouth claimed hers. His kiss was hard and deep. His firm lips slanted over hers. She gasped at the brush of his tongue gliding along her bottom lip.

He took advantage of her open mouth to enter.

His thick, long tongue was inside of her, sweeping across every sensitive surface, and she couldn’t do anything but yield.

The sweet heat of Aodh’s kiss was bold and erotic.

He stroked along her tongue into her throat and out again.

The kiss wasn’t one of a lustful teen boy.

No, Aodh was a skilled man who knew how to turn a woman inside out.

Kai was no exception. Her sex throbbed, swelled, and wept. His hand was fisted in the curls at the nape of her neck as he commanded her mouth. She wanted his hands all over her to soothe the aches. She found herself gripping his vest and pulling him closer to her.

Tearing his mouth away, he denied her.

She wasn’t fast enough to stop the whimper before it escaped her throat. When she opened her eyes, she met the heat of his gaze. He was just as affected as she, so why he’d stopped was lost on her. “Aodh—”

“There is time later, little flame.” Dropping his hand, he stepped back.

Where had her strength gone? She moved back, increasing their distance on trembling limbs. “After I shower, I want to check on Morlie.”

Keep your sister first in mind so you don’t get carried away by hot emotions toward Aodh.

“Soon.” He caressed along the bridge of her nose with one thick finger.

She shivered at the small touch.

“First, we must talk.”