He heated the air around him, creating a shimmer that would make him hard to see. He wanted to watch her and get an idea of what plans she might have for escape. She was heading down a path in the woods that could eventually lead her to a road if she didn’t take a wrong turn, but she was moving slowly.
A test run?
A feminine squeal followed by running footsteps came from around a bend in the path. The brush was too dense for him to see her yet. There were basilisks in the woods, three at least. Maybe one had startled her.
He stopped heating the air so she could find him more quickly.
“Jess?” he called.
“Wrath!”
She came around the bend and threw her arms around him. He automatically returned her embrace, reveling in the feel of her firm little breasts against his chest.
“Are you okay?” Wrath asked, stroking her dark silken hair.
“Snake,” she said, pulling back from him.
He immediately missed her warm body pressed against his.
“Like, a tiny wild snake or a big shapeshifter one?” Wrath asked.
“It wasn’t tiny. I mean, it was like...four feet long,” she said, a smile creeping across her lips. “Don’t laugh at me. I’m a human and we’re afraid of snakes.”
Wrath grinned. “I’m not laughing.”
Jess narrowed her eyes. “Were you following me?”
“Yes. I need the address of your apartment. We could find it eventually, but it seemed easier to ask.”
She brightened. “So, the ancient dragon can forget things?”
“I can and do. This pleases you?”
“It does,” Jess said, looping her arm through his as they headed back toward the house.
“Why?” he asked, wondering if the physical contact was having the same effect on her. He hoped so. His heart was pounding, and he felt almost feverish. At least what he imagined being feverish would feel like.
“You can be a little frightening,” she said. “What with the being able to change into a giant killing machine and being really old and all. It’s bad enough that you’re hot as sin.”
“You think I’m hot?”
Jess hit his arm. “I’m sure you’re really shocked by that. I’ll give you a moment to collect yourself.”
He grinned like a damned fool and said, “Thank you. My heart’s all aflutter.”
He wasn’t kidding. That was the kicker.
Jess was exactly the type of woman his dragon should want for him. Maybe it did. His body was certainly reacting to her, but it was more than that. Warmth began to permeate a part of his heart he thought was dead.
He didn’t really need to force her to stay to find out what Etel was up to, did he? Was he just keeping her there because he wanted to be near her?
It was infuriating that he couldn’t be sure.
Where are you? Tell me what to do.
No response from his dragon.
No woman had affected him this way in longer than he could remember. He was adrift in a sea of his own conflicting feelings. The last thing he wanted to do was interpret his own feelings. Emotions were a minefield he’d rather not traverse.
Still driven to mate, he knew it would be a disaster to try. He didn’t want more kids. While that wasn’t a deal breaker for all women, it was for many of them. Then, he couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t reconsider after a few decades or centuries.
He had changed his stance on having kids at one point, why would he expect any less from someone so young? After the torture he went through as a child, he couldn’t imagine bringing another child into the world. Then he met an imp named Zahra. His dragon wasn’t happy with his choice, but at the time he didn’t know that dragons had true mates.
She was sexy, fun, and her magic smelled like cinnamon.
After a hundred years together, she wanted to start a family. Wrath softened to the idea and before he knew it, they had three kids. Those kids were all basilisks.
They were the reason he couldn’t mate a human. He’d be bringing dragons into a basilisk family. He didn’t want his children at war with one another. That would be too much to take. Even Kur couldn’t handle it.
No, Wrath couldn’t have more children and he wouldn’t drag Jess into a childless life. He could have some fun with her, though. Maybe that would ease the ache in his chest.
Once they were inside, Wrath couldn’t help but notice that Jess’s heart rate was still elevated, and her pheromones indicated she was primed for a little action.
He sent a text with her address and then poured a glass of wine for Jess while they waited for Iris to come over for the keys.
Wrath carried her wine and his whisky into the living room. Jess was seated on the couch by then. He handed her the wine as he sat beside her.
“You’ve had a trying day,” he said.
“One I’m not likely to forget, though.”
“True. So, what work do you do for my little brother, other than playing waitress.”
She took a drink of her wine and then said, “He owns a cybersecurity company. A lot of times, the fixes companies and government agencies need are all just software. Sometimes, it’s more than that. They have people on the inside who are the real security problem. Not intentionally, most of the time. They’re just lazy or they don’t know how to keep people from using their passwords. I find that kind of security issue. With management’s permission I walk into a workplace and see what I can find. If someone delivering sandwiches could stumble upon client files or a list of passwords, it’s a problem.”
“So you help them see how their own people cause data breaches.”
“Exactly. People are often the weakest security link. A law firm had three breaches in one month. They swore it was the new hardware we’d installed, but there was no evidence of that. I proved it was their people. What do you
