Page 8 of Dark Dragon’s Wolf

“I just want to—to live,”she said. “I want to go out in the world—in the worlds—and experience everything. I want to go to Earth. Ride a roller coaster. Eat in a restaurant. See the ocean. Dance all night.”

“I know,” he said. He came up next to her and leaned on the parapet. “Damn, I know.

“I used to dream about that,” he said softly. “I grew up in this small town in the middle of nowhere. I always wanted to be somewhere else. And then my parents were killed by hunters, and my sister Terin and I went on the run. I managed to lead the hunters away from her, but they finally got me.”

She started moving slower, listening hard. Tristan hardly ever talked about himself. The times he did were precious to her.

“I was held captive for ten years by guys who were no better than Ragnor. The only break I got was when I escaped and got to live on the run for a while instead. Got my mind fucked with, like you. Bad. So bad I wanted to either destroy myself, or destroy everyone around me.”

She reached down, and Tristan took her hand. His was big and warm and comforting. She tried to send some comfort back, for all he’d been through.

He went on, “Now all I want is some kind of fucking normal life. To see something that isn’t the Silverlake territory or the inside of a cell.” His voice grew soft. “To maybe take you to ride your roller coaster, see your ocean.”

Did he really want to do that? Seeing all those things with Tristan would be amazing.

He stepped back, still holding her hand. “So would you please come down? I hate heights, and you’re scaring the fuck out of me.”

She turned and looked down at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt myself. Not after everything I’ve been through. I’m going to live forever, and piss on Ragnor’s grave every single birthday.”

Tristan grinned. “Good plan. I’d still feel better if you were on the ground.”

“Scaredy-wolf.”

He shook his head. “I just care about you.”

As a healer. As a friend. Could he possibly care about her as more than that?

She looked down at his shoulders, the way they filled out his t-shirt, and she couldn’t resist. Because no rules.

“Only if you catch me.”

She reached for his shoulders and jumped into his arms. His body was solid as a rock, and he was so strong she didn’t even begin to knock him off balance.

He smelled amazing. Like pine forests, and warm skin, and a hint of vanilla bodywash. Yum.

She slid down his front until her feet touched the ground. She was a bad, bad dragon girl, rubbing up against her healer, and she didn’t even give a fuck.

His arms felt so good, and she was getting one minute of fantasy. Just one.

Chapter 4

The minute Mayah slid into his arms, Tristan was done for.

She was way smaller than him—unusual for a Draken—and she had amazing soft tits that were now pressed against his chest. He’d had to grab her perfect ass when she jumped into his arms, and it was ridiculously hard to let it go.

She looked up at him with that heart-shaped face surrounded by wavy dark hair, and he wanted to kiss the fuck out of her right then and there.

More than that. Back her up and have wild wolf sex right there, her sitting on the parapet with her legs wrapped around him, and the starry night behind her.

But he couldn’t. That would lead straight to the crazy, and broken hearts for them both.

Want. Ours, his wolf said.

Can’t. She wasn’t for him. She’d been stuck here all alone with her brother for her whole life. She didn’t need to be saddled with another broken crazy guy.

He wished he could give her all the things she’d talked about, and more. A life. Good times. Happiness. But it wouldn’t work.

Even knowing that, he couldn’t let go. He should be taking her hands off his shoulders, but he wasn’t. They felt like they belonged there.