Natalie’s brow creased. “A voice? What does it tell you to do?”
She rubbed her temple. “He doesn’t tell me to do anything. He just...”
Natalie held up a hand. “Wait. You hear a man’s voice?”
“Yes.”
Natalie’s eyes narrowed. “Is he cute?”
Mara covered her face with her hands. “You’re not helping.”
Natalie put her arms around Mara’s shoulders. “Sorry, but you are the most stable person I know. I don’t believe you’re having a break with reality, no matter what this voice tells you.”
Legion’s voice echoed as if he were in the room with her. Your friend is wise. I recommend you listen to her.
Go away.
I am already here, Mara.
Mara looked around the room. Where?
The door chime made both her and Natalie turn. The man who entered couldn’t be called big. He was massive. He had to duck under the short door to enter the shop. His muscles flexed under his tight black t-shirt as he walked toward them. His eyes were the color of amber. The gold crystalline glow identical to the dragon in her dream. “Hello, Mara.”
Her entire body reacted to the low predatory voice. In her head, he seemed powerful. In person, he was a thunderstorm in human skin. Currents of electricity raced through her blood. Her nipples peaked as she took a stuttered breath. “How can I help you?”
“You know who I am. I am here to help you. Protect you. Guide you in the coming years.”
Mara shook her head. “Get out of my shop. I don’t know you. I don’t owe you anything.”
Legion’s eyes flared. The air heated, surrounding them in waves of distorted air. “You owe me everything. Two thousand years of pain, loneliness and betrayal. I am here to collect that debt.”
Mara wanted to tell him to go to hell. To tell him he was insane. Her lips froze as the words refused to leave her mouth. He wasn’t lying. He believed every treacherous word.
“I am not who you think I am,” she whispered.
Legion leaned forward as the surrounding air returned to normal. “You can change your name, but you can not change your soul. It is as powerful as it ever was and it belongs to me.”
Legion tracked the single tear as it rolled down Mara’s face. It took him a moment to realize she wasn’t sad. She was terrified. Her body trembled under his fiery gaze. He had thought he wanted her to feel his pain. His loneliness was a result of her actions, but as he watched the torment on her face, his dragon grumbled. Time was a bitter enemy. While the centuries had been unkind, the woman in front of him knew nothing of her responsibilities or her guilt.
He took a long breath. “I am sorry if I scared you, Mara. That was not my intention. You are in danger and my emotions are... chaotic.”
Mara looked him over. “Yeah, you seem really warm and fuzzy.”
The acrid smell of her fear dissipated, but her friend was clutching at the back of Mara’s shirt like it was an anchor. He dropped the tone of his voice. “Hello, Natalie.”
Natalie swallowed hard. “This is your...”
“The voice in my head. Yeah, that’s him. Honestly, I didn’t think you would see him. I thought he was imaginary.”
Natalie looked Legion over. “He’s the size of a Woolly Mammoth. Of course, I can see him.”
Mara pinched the bridge of her nose. “This can’t be happening.”
Natalie pushed closer to Mara. “How do you talk to him? Is he psychic? Are you?”
Mara whispered in Natalie’s ear. “I have no idea. He pretended to be a dragon in my dream.”
Legion frowned, then motioned Conner forward as he entered the shop.
“Good day, ladies,” Conner said with a smile.
Mara looked suspiciously at the large blond man. His copper crystalline eyes glinted in the dim light of the store as he walked behind the counter. His large frame crowded the two women before he held out his hand. “Please come with me, Natalie.”
Natalie shook her head, clinging to Mara. “No.”
Conner held out his hands as Natalie’s eyes rolled back. Her swaying motion was reminiscent of a snake before she crumpled into his arms. He picked her up as Mara grabbed the material of Natalie’s shirt.
“What are you doing to her?” Mara snapped.
Legion reached over and took her hand from Natalie’s shirt. “Conner has simply put her to sleep and wiped her memory of us. He will lay her down upstairs. You can return her memories later if you wish, but I warn you to be wary of those apart from our world. You would endanger her needlessly.” Her fingers felt warm and inviting in his. His dragon rumbled its approval. Dormant emotions rushed to the surface, forcing Legion to go rigid. Lust. Want. Power. All swirled in a hurricane of fire within his body.
Mara pulled her hand from his. “What world? What are you?”
He pulled his magic back. It threatened to explode in the haze of lust he was unused to containing. His body was hard. As a dragon, this was usual. This was the first time the uncomfortable feeling included his dick. It throbbed with a painful reminder that Mara was the only creature in the universe who could assuage his hunger. “You know what I am.” The hitch in his voice had never existed before today. Doubt.
Mara glanced at the sculpture. “You are not a dragon. You used some kind of hallucinogenic drug on me.”
Legion’s body trembled with the force of his anger. “You know that is not true,” he growled.
“You are not a dragon!” she yelled.
His eyes flared as his magic exploded from his body. He should have controlled his dragon’s outburst at her denial, but it had waited centuries for her and it would have no misconceptions between it and its chosen mate. Every light within the shop died out, accenting the fire that burned behind his pupils. There was nothing human about his eyes when his
