My dragon immediately reacts to that, thrashing wildly, something both Drax and Alenor can apparently feel given the way Alenor raises his eyebrows and Drax rubs my back.
“How about a scale, dragon?” Alenor asks, leaning closer to me now. “Just one.”
A shiver moves down my back. “What will you do with it?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He shrugs and a wicked gleam dances in his eyes. “But what fun I could have.”
“I don’t want it to hurt anyone. Or hurt a dragon.”
He taps his chin. “Fair. What if I promise I won’t use it for harm?”
“How do I know I can take you at your word?”
He lifts his hand to show the tips of his fingers glowing and pulsing blue. “My word is a bond. I can’t break my bond.”
I lift my hand and press it to his, my breath catching as my fingers tingle and a sense of understanding and security washes over me. I nod, pulling my hand back.
“Okay. You can have a scale. But tell us where Rune is first.”
He licks his lips. “Rune spends most of his time in a mountain cabin located in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland.”
“Thank you,” Drax says, tugging at my arm.
“Not so fast. A deal is a deal, yes?”
I nod, calling forth my dragon and allowing my scales to ripple across my flesh. Alenor sucks in a breath, reaching out to drag his fingers over my dragon skin, which doesn’t please Drax at all.
He growls, “Hurry up, sorcerer.”
Alenor chuckles. “Relax, demon. I’m not trying to steal your mate, pretty as he is.”
Alenor runs his hand down my arm again, then yanks on a scale on my bicep. It tears away, stinging as it does, but instantly begins to regenerate. Alenor holds the scale between his fingers, lifting it to let it catch the light of the club.
“Amazing,” he says. “If Rune isn’t in Scotland, he also likes to hide out in the Shinjuku district in Tokyo.”
“Thanks again,” I say, rubbing my arm where the scale is regrowing.
“My pleasure,” Alenor says, tucking the scale into his vest pocket. “Word to the wise, Rune is a shifty guy and very skilled. He won’t hesitate to use his magic to deter you.”
“I’m a demon and he’s a dragon.” Drax puffs his chest out slightly. “We can handle a mage.”
“Just passing on what I know.” Alenor eyes us up and down. “He can be dangerous if he wants to protect something.”
“Understood,” I say. “Thanks again.”
Drax and I walk off and before I process anything, we’re back on the dance floor and Drax has his arms wrapped around me and his lips pressed against my neck. He smells like everything I love: a flower garden filled with the wildflowers of home, my mom’s apple cinnamon cookies, and the cleansing scent of spring rain.
We dance in a slow circle and my eyes catch on Cassius, perched on the lap of a much larger man and drinking from the man’s neck. I search the room for Atlas and Roman, finding Atlas first, sitting with two people who look like a man and a woman from here. They look deep in discussion.
Finally, I spot Roman, dirty dancing with a tall, lanky, man. They grind on each other and I can smell the pheromones rolling off Roman even from here.
Then there’s Drax. This beautiful demon moving against me like his body was made to tuck up perfectly against mine. I gaze down at his face, covered in his human glamour at the moment, and the desire to taste his lips is strong, but I hold back. I’m only complicating things this way.
“Should we go now?” Drax asks.
“Where?”
A sweet smile spreads on his lips. “To the Northwest Highlands in Scotland.”
