“Thorne! You’re on fire!”
Frantic hands smacked my shirt sleeve. “Hey. Hey! Watch it.”
As my vision cleared, Serafina’s face came into focus, framed by a cloud of smoke. She grasped my cheeks, using her thumb to pull down my lower eyelid.
“What are you doing?”
“Your eyes are red. Something in here doesn’t agree with you. Better wait outside before you burn the place down.”
“I’m fine.” I wiggled my stinging nose.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She pinched my nostrils shut and pointed at the door. “Go. Now.”
“So bossy,” I grumbled in a nasally tone, passing her the basket. “Don’t be long. I’ll be right outside,” I said to nobody, as she had already resumed her shopping.
With a disgruntled sigh, I stormed out of the shop and filled my lungs with fresh air. Both my itchy nose and watering eyes began to clear. I leaned against one of the light posts that held the solar crystals. The angle gave me a fair view of her puttering about through the window.
Who knew you could make a living out of selling a bunch of weeds and twigs?
“Hey, handsome.” The sultry voice tugged me from my thoughts. A woman sauntered closer, hips swaying with deliberate allure. Her gown dipped low, baring a generous swell of cleavage, while kohl-rimmed eyes traveled down my body in open appreciation.
Now this was more like it. I could use a distraction. “Hello, yourself.”
“Don’t suppose you could help a lady out?”
I’d little doubt she was no lady but a professional. Still, I played along. “I always have time for a damsel in distress.”
“Such a gentleman.” She gathered bleached curls on top of her head, turning with a coy smile. “You see, my necklace is tangled in my hair, and it’s pulling something fierce.”
“You don’t like your hair pulled?” I reached for the clasp on her necklace, finding several fine strands tangled with the chain.
She hitched a shoulder. “Not without a bit of coin.”
“I see.” My assumption was correct. How long would Serafina linger in the store? I wasn’t above paying to work the frustration out of my system.
“You’re not from around here, are you?”
“I’m only visiting.” Gently, I untangled her clasp before righting the chain along the back of her neck.
At the touch of my fingers, she shivered theatrically. “Staying long?” She batted lashes over eyes that, to my disappointment, were dull brown instead of sparkling green.
“Long enough.”
“Long enough to show a girl a good time?”
“Perhaps.” Perhaps I’d tie Serafina to the chair in our room. Keep her out of trouble while I exercise the image of the infuriating woman from my mind. And yet…even at the thought, my body stirred not for the harlot, but the image of Serafina bound. For her. Always her.
While trailing a fingertip along my shoulder, the woman prowled a slow circle around me. “Mmm, yum.” She patted my ass with a purr. “If I’d known how handsome you were, I’d have done this job for free.”
My dragon stirred, spines bristling beneath my skin. I narrowed my eyes. “What did you say?”
The harlot blanched, her rouged cheeks stark in her face. “Nothing, sugar. How about you and—”
“Serafina.”
Alarm blazed along our golden thread.
I lurched back, only to have the woman’s crimson nails sink into my biceps. “You can’t!”
