The thief storms out of the shop, huffing smoke like he’s an overheated car and grumbling under his voice. He smells like a smoldering bonfire, the scaly lizard scent that distinguishes dragons from other species, and an absolutely mouthwatering jumble of emotions. Shame, rage, a hint of affection that comes with a tasty side of resentment…
I lick my lips and hop down from my perch, landing easily on the sidewalk below without a sound. With my glamour still in place, none of the humans passing by can see me, but they can feel me instinctually, and they avoid me. I savor the tiny pricks of fear that spike their heart rates even though they have no clue what they’re scared of—not consciously anyways. There’s something deep in their animal brain that recognizes danger… recognizesme.
I follow the young dragon, picking up my pace so I fall into step just a few paces behind him. I lift my glamour a fraction, just enough to let my scent start wafting out to reach him. He’s so wrapped up in his own thoughts that it takes nearly a block before he sniffs loudly and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He trips over his next step but catches himself quickly, straightening his shoulders and purposefully projecting an air of confidence that doesn’t reach his scent at all.
I smirk and greedily gobble up the morsels of fear that pulse around him.
I could reach out and grab him right now. I could drag him to the demon realm and back to my apartment where I could pluck one scale at a time from his body until he decides he’s had enough and wants to give back what’s mine. I don’t think his big brother would like that much though.
I frown at the thought. It would be a shame to make Valentino angry with me before we’ve had a chance for more fun. Besides, I don’t need to physically harm the twerp to teach him a lesson.
He looks over his shoulder and I project a terrifying image of my true form directly into his mind, with snarling teeth and glowing eyes that are sure to haunt his nightmares. He shouts and trips over his own feet again in his haste to spin around. The pants-pissing fear that rolls off of him is so delectable I nearly moan out loud as I lap it up. Every bit of his exposed skin ripples with scales and a burst of flames surges past his lips. Lucky for the out-of-control baby dragon, my glamour is strong enough to keep the humans passing by from noticing his little display. I drink in every second of it though.
“Just leave me alone. Please. I’m sorry, okay?”
I let out a deep, menacing laugh that he can hear, even if he still can’t see me standing over him.
“Sorry?” I tut with a hiss. “It’s not enough to be sorry, naughty lizard. You need to learn not to take things that don’t belong to you.”
He whimpers.
“Mac,” the familiar, sultry voice of my new favorite dragon interrupts what was gearing up to be a top-notch villain monologue. I swallow the rest of my words and lock my glamour down tighter so Valentino won’t know I’m here.
His footsteps thunder against the sidewalk as he sprints up to rescue his menace of a baby brother.Mac. Twerp suits him much better if you ask me.
“Tino,” he sniffles and scrambles to his feet, launching himself into his big brother’s arms as the other dragon looks around with a protective, ragey look that makes my cock perk up.Want to sink your teeth into me, dragon? I’ve been a very bad demon.
“Was he here?” Valentino growls, his voice several octaves deeper than usual. I wonder what he looks like with his scales out and his dragon close to the surface. I bet it’s glorious.
The twerp nods and then seems to realize that he’s crying in his brother’s arms like a small child. He wipes his hands over his face and steps away, putting on a brave face.
“I was about to roast him when you ran up. I just couldn’t see him.”
I snort a laugh, then slap a hand over my mouth when they both whip their heads in my direction.Oops.
Valentino narrows his eyes and sniffs the air.
“He’s still here,” he says through gritted teeth.
I’m here, gorgeous. I smirk, drawing close to him without touching, just barely resisting the urge to drag my tongue over his skin again for another taste.
Later.
“Come on.” Valentino grabs his brother’s arm. “We need to talk about why you shouldn’t run off on your own when you’re being hunted by a goddamn demon. And then we’re going to sit down for a family meeting and make a plan for how to keep you from ending up dancing in a cage with a collar around your neck at a demon strip club.”
Ooh, now there’s a punishment I hadn’t considered. Let’s call that plan B. The twerp would make a pretty pet, and I’m sure he would bring in enough tips to more than cover the cost of whathe stole from me. Except that thecostof the item isn’t what’s important. Of all my things he could have stolen, he took the only one that actually means anything.
With a smirk and a sigh, I enjoy the sight of my dragon’s tight ass as he leads his brother away.
Chapter Five
VALENTINO
Hours later as we all file into Lord’s living room, I feel uneasy. I haven’t been able to shake it since the incident at Dempsey’s shop. That demon got too damn close to my brother for comfort, and my scales threaten to explode and take over. At least I know he’s safe here.
Lord’s face is a mask of tight concern. He really doesn’t like demons after the tussle we had a few centuries ago over a house we were both interested in. They let us have it, or so they said, but continued to basically haunt it until we gave in and left. Fuckers.
Mac sits like a petulant child in an armchair, his body language an odd mixture of contrite and defiant, like a teenager bracing for a lecture from their parents. Lake is practically vibrating with need to soothe him, but Nico holds his mate back. What our little brother needs now is action, not soothing words.
