Page 95 of The Mating Claim

“Lacey is not a magnet. She is a female dragon.” He growled a little. “Though she does attract males, which I do notlike.”

“Possessive much?” Tristan raised a dark brow. “Welcome to the land of the alpha male, my friend. Lacey attracts more than lusty males. She attracts trouble as well. Thus the wand. You will need it. It is a powerful weapon, so use it judiciously. In emergencies. Like those fire extinguishers Skins use when dragons like you have bad morning breath.” Tristan grinned his usual cocky smile, making Drust relieved. Perhaps his friend was merely overreacting about Lacey’s potential to draw introuble.

“My morning breath is better than yours. Let’s hope I have no need of this. In the meantime, are you letting your wolf get the better ofyou?”

“I was, but no longer. As for you, are you taking lessons from Xavier in fashion? Those blue trunks arehideous.”

Drust looked down. “I like them. Be grateful they aren’t lime green.” He pointed to the hole in the ground and shook his head. “Better fill that in before Niki or the children trip in it. And for the love of Danu, stop marking every place with your scent,wolf.”

Tristan offered a lopsided grin. “I will try if you promise not to do thesame.”

“Dragons do not have the base instincts of wolves. We are higher on the intelligencespectrum.”

With a final grin at Tristan’s scowl, he dematerialized back to Lacey’sbedroom.

She wasgone.

Curious, he turned the wand over in his hand again. Perhaps best to test itfirst…

Channeling a smidgen of his powers into the wand, he flicked it at the exterior wall. With a shattering roar, the wall exploded outward, showering the ground below with concrete anddust.

Oops.

Perhaps best to not test itanymore.

Drust repaired the wall with a wave of his hand, and studied the wand with rueful insight. Best to find a safe place for this. He put it inside a drawer in his bedroom, chanted a spell to lock it with magick. Now to findLacey.

Searching with his powers, he found the tattoo on her wrist pulsing on the beach. Drust went outside to find her and discovered things had changed since the short time he’dleft.

Thunder grumbled in the distance. Indigo storm clouds scudded across the blue sky as beachgoers, chairs strapped to their backs, scurried away from the approachingstorm.

Hairs rose on up the back of his neck. This was no ordinarystorm.

He scanned the tawnysands.

Most people had left, nudged into action by the ominous thunder. Two pretty dragon shifters sat on a striped beach towel, sunning themselves. Seeing him, they bowed their heads. The redhead was bolder, staring at him in clear invitation. The brunettegiggled.

“Ladies,” hemurmured.

“Drust, the Coldfire Wizard. Sire, it is a pleasure seeing you here. Care to join us for a cocktail?” The redhead held up a glass filled with pinkliquid.

He shook his head and looked at the water. A pod of dolphins, hunting bait fish near the shore, suddenly took off, heading north from the storm. Gulls and sandpipers flew east from the storm. Their behavior was normal, yet every cell in his body warned this wasdifferent.

Lacey walked in the shallow water, her long braid swinging as she bent over to examine seashells. The turquoise blouse and white shorts showcased her figure and tannedskin.

So absorbed in studying her, Drust almost did not see approachingdanger.

He felt it instead in gooseflesh that broke over his bare arms. It was such a novel feeling that he stared at his arms with abject fascination for amoment.

And then he saw it and his immortal heart nearly stoppedbeating.

A mini tornado rotated lazily on the water, looking natural. Except this was no mere weather phenomenon. Wind picked up, blowing granules of stinging sand into his face and bare torso. Squinting, he stared at thewater.

And saw the realthreat.

The shifters who’d flirted with him suddenly squealed and then shifted into their dragon forms, rising into the air and flying away from the Gulf ofMexico.

Lacey continued shelling, as if oblivious. He was at her side in seconds, lifting her from the sand and jogging away from thewater.