Fury of Desire

male’s chest. The idiot should know better. An immobile dragon was a dead one. Good for him. Not so great for the Razorback trying to kill his best friend.

The frigging asshole.

Rising like a viper over rooftops, Venom exhaled hard. Luminous green fog shot from between his fangs. Like a pulsing wave, the venomous froth ate at the air, devouring the oxygen in a toxic curl. The rogue squawked. Too late. The glowing toxin engulfed the bastard, settling into his lungs, making him grab his throat.

The stream of flame ceased, turning off like a tap.

Talons deployed, Venom broadsided the male. He dug in, sinking his claws through scales to reach muscle and bone. The rogue screamed. Warm dragon blood flowed over his talons as the Razorback flailed. Showing no mercy, Venom bared his fangs and increased the pressure. Pain, oh the pain. Great fun to deliver to the male in his grasp. Well deserved too. The asshole had tried to scorch his brothers, so… yeah. He wanted to take his time, make it last, hear every last scream as the rogue begged for death.

Not that it would happen that way.

With multiple rogues converging on him from behind, he didn’t have time to screw around. Adjusting his grip, he pinwheeled, spinning the rogue full circle. An instant before Venom let go, he grabbed the bastard by the throat. A quick slash. A sharp upward thrust, and…

Eureka! One dead rogue. Nothing but an explosion of dragon ash.

The gray cinder flew, colliding with a building facade. The puff swirled like smoke, coating the glass as another Razorback attacked from behind. An instant before enemy claws touched him, Venom tucked his wings. With a grunt, he rotated into a somersault and scanned the street below. Blistered from the flames, tar bubbled up through the asphalt and—

Thank God. Cherry-red SUV dead ahead.

Ass end smoking from the almost charbroil, the Suburban roared toward the other end of the street, heading toward an intersection. Both the driver and passenger side windows opened. Mac and Forge slid out. Shitkickers planted on the running boards, the pair made like a couple of natural born surfers.

Relief grabbed Venom by the balls as Forge left his perch. As the Scot leapt skyward, he shifted, purple scales flashing, his growl loaded with nasty undertones.

On the move behind his buddy, Mac’s feet landed on the truck’s rooftop. Aquamarine eyes aglow, his gaze narrowed on a spot over Venom’s shoulder. “Ven… hard right.”

Muscle torqueing, Venom banked wide, and Mac unleashed. Water hissed through the air with violent intent. Forming mid-throw, a triple-headed javelin whistled toward him. Venom ducked. The rogue behind him squawked, then wing flapped, pulling up short, but—

Crack!

The water spear struck, piercing scales to reach the enemy’s heart.

The rogue gurgled, choking on his own blood. Another round of ash swirled in a wind-filled updraft.

Forge hoorahed, and claws leading the way engaged three rogues at once. “Top marks, lad. Keep that shite coming.”

“Will do,” Mac murmured, his eyes on the sky.

Venom grinned, showing fangs as he swiped at an enemy dragon on the flyby. Blood splashed up his forearm. Mac hurled another javelin and… thud! Match. Set. Game. Another Razorback down for the count. Goddamn. Top marks was right. Mac owned a first-class arm. One that would make the Seattle Mariners drool. But just this second? He was glad his buddy played for Team Nightfury, not in the human world. That water spear crap was wicked.

“Mac, move your ass,” Wick growled from behind the wheel. Hitting the brakes, he locked the tires. The SUV’s ass end swung around. Rubber pulsed against asphalt as the truck went into a controlled skid, snaking onto 23^rd Avenue. The second his best friend cleared the corner, he gunned it. Big V8 screaming, huge trees from a municipal park casting shadows across pavement. “Get airborne, for fuck’s sake.”

“Wick…”

“What?”

Balanced on the SUV’s roof, Mac slid on steel as Wick changed lanes. “Get ready to pop the hood.”

“Say when.”

“Now!”

The cherry-red panel flipped up.

Shifting into dragon form, Mac leapt up and out, clearing the truck as he grabbed hold of the steel shield. Two Razorbacks attacked. Venom snarled and, flying in fast, grabbed the second rogue by the tail. Sharp spikes bit into his palm. He hauled him backward in midair. Idiot number one squawked. Venom ignored the outcry. With a quick twist, he snapped the enemy’s neck while Mac shit-canned the other, treating the rogue to a face full of steel. Another smash with the sharp edge of the hood and—

Dragon teeth flew through the air. The splatter hit Venom in the chest, spraying across his scales. “Ugh.”

“Suck it up, Ven.” Flashing a grin, Mac attacked another rogue.

“Easy for you to say.”

Course set to intercept, focus riveted on a bright-blue Razorback, Venom rocketed over a high-rise. Stone dust flying in his wake, he reached out and grabbed the tip of the male’s wing. Enemy claws raked his chest. Venom clamped down, ignoring the pain along with the Razorback’s freak-out routine and… crack! Bone snapped, disabling the asshole as his wing’s webbing tore.

“You don’t have…” Already looking for his next target, Venom sent the bastard into a free fall and growled, “… teeth stuck in your scales.”

Mac laughed.

Sloan streaked past, chasing a pair of rogues.

“Ven,” Wick said. “Heads up. I’m getting off the road.”

“Headed into the park?”

“Going to lose ’em in the trees.”

Good plan.

With Razorbacks in full swarm, and only four of them to hold the line, finding a safe place to hide the female sounded about right. Excellent strategy—really, it was—but for one teensy-weensy problem. Wick lived to fight. Hated to be left on the sidelines. Which meant… what? His friend would be hard-pressed to stay put while he and the others cleared the sky. The knowledge gave Venom a bad case of indigestion. But then, that tended to happen with a male as unpredictable as Wick in the mix.

J.?J. woke up like an astronaut shooting into outer space, with gut-wrenching velocity. Surging awareness sliced through her. Sensation cut deep, making sound explode inside her head. Somebody cursed. Something high-powered rumbled. And the wind. God, it was howling, whistling against…

She frowned. Where the devil was she exactly?

Good question. With her sense of bearing shot to hell, she couldn’t tell. Too bad, really. She could’ve used a clue, particularly since she kept getting jostled. Each sway rolled her forward, then back. Surge and release. Bump. A lot of noisy rattling. More bone-jagging shudders and—

Her stomach clenched. Ah, crap. Not again.

The nausea, though, didn’t care what she wanted. The sick feeling spread, scalding her insides, tightening her throat, making her stomach heave. An awful taste washed over her tongue. J.?J. gagged, but refused to give in. Nothing but pain lay in that direction. Raising her hand, she cupped one hand over her mouth. Bad decision. With her arm raised, her side squawked and agony swirled, joining the party, pulling at her ribs, forcing her to remember…

Everything.

The attack at the prison. Her injuries, all the stitches, the god-awful drugs, and something else too.

A guy. There had been a man at the hospital. A stranger, an angel with a compelling voice and calming