Taunting laughter echoed in his head. Race wanted to punch him.
Think, man. Or ask your dragon. He’s sharp.
Damn asshole.
His dragon side stirred.Mortal shall wear immortality’s claim.
The words hit like a flare in the dark.
Is it true?Race demanded of Blaéz, hope sparking in his chest.
Look, I get these flashes. Words or images,Blaéz’s murmur sounded faint in his head, distracted.Just know this. Once mated, Ash will take on your lifespan, but she will not be immortal—have to go.
Their mind-link disconnected.
Hell.Race slumped against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. So, he was still fucked.
His venom would rewire her DNA. It could also strike her heart like lightning, stopping it cold. Yet it was the only way her body could accept his cursed molten seed.
He stilled?—
Of course!Vargol.
Once back in Lemuria, he would seek the old hermit out. He must know a way a dragon shifter could claim his mate without harming her. For now, he had to cage his damn desire. Lock down the mating fever?—
The elevator doors slid open, and Kira stepped out, pushing a serving trolley. Her eyes widened when she saw him, then her expression turned anxious. “Is Ash okay? We felt her power surge through the castle.”
Race straightened from the wall. “Yeah, she’s fine.”
“Oh, good.” She thrust a pile of clothes into his hands. “For Ash. And food for you both.” She patted the cart’s handle.
“Thanks.”
“No worries.” With a wave, the female reentered the elevator, humming a little.
Race mentally opened the door to his quarters and froze.
Ash sat on the bed, wrapped in a towel, drying her hair with another. He’d seen her naked, but seeing her now, with her arms and shoulders bare, made him long to strip the towel away and lick her from head to toe, then settle in at his favorite part?—
Hell.
She lowered the towel from her head. Her champagne-hued eyes warmed when she saw him. “What did Nik want?”
He set the clothes on the bed. “Just checking everything’s okay.”
“Oh…” She pushed back her damp hair, the ebony waves framing her beautiful face, but unease clouded her expression. “I have to learn control, Race. What if I accidentally shatter this place or seriously hurt someone?”
He glanced around the once again tidied room, which she’d likely put right. “I’ll teach you how. I promise. For now, just stay calm until we get to a safer place.”
She rubbed her throat, and the towel slipped a little, revealing the curve of her breasts. With his control hanging by a thread, he got his ass moving away from her, parked the food cart near the crackling hearth, then froze.
Even with his back turned, her presence closed in, wrapping around him, and he longed to turn and drag her to him, to take her mouth?—
Godsdamn.The mating fever strained under his skin, too hot, too consuming, and he gritted his teeth. He pivoted. She stood a step away from him. “I need a shower. I reek of blood and sulfur.”
He sidestepped her, ripped open his torn, blood-spattered shirt, the buttons scattering everywhere, then strode for the bathroom.
His dragon snorted.Chicken.
