Page 15 of The Heart of the Dragon

My stomach seized at that thought. Now was not the time to let a beautiful woman distract me. Without my dragon, I was vulnerable, and it would do no good to let her know just what that meant.

Just thinking about him, made my chest ache from the emptiness. For as long as I could remember that part of me wasalways there. I might refer to the dragon as its own entity, but it simply wasn’t. He was me and I was him.

"For the last time, I didn't drug?—"

"Enough!" I growled, interrupting her before she could once again proclaim her innocence. I may not know much about this woman, but she was far from innocent. "I'm tired of having this argument with you. My physiology is far different from a human’s so what may be an innocent plant for you, could be deadly to me. Take me to these plants and let me see for myself before I end up dead."

Her eyes widened a moment before they narrowed again as her face turned beet red with anger. If this wasn't such a serious situation I would have been amused. Maybe I was anyways, but it wasn't an emotion I could appreciate. Not when I didn't have my dragon.

"Fine," she spat. "But don't take my acquiescence to your rude demands as a sign that you're in charge or that I'm going to let you order me around. This is my house."

I bit my tongue against reminding her that I was only here because she forced me here. A fact I wasn't going to forget. Once I got a handle on my situation, I'd come up with what it would take to teach her a lesson or two about messing with a dragon.

"The plants," I said, choosing to ignore her until I got what I needed. We'd definitely address the rest later.

She turned and stomped towards the back of her house. While I took note of some of the details of her home. The soft furniture adorned with pillows, the bookshelves stuffed with more books everywhere I looked, my focus stayed primarily on her as I followed. Her skirt swished around her legs, making it difficultto look away. The ample curves of her hips were somewhat lost in the practical fabric of her clothing, but they couldn’t hide everything even if that was her intention.

Not even the cloak she still wore that protected her from the cold outside could hide that she had the perfect amount of curves for a man to hold firmly onto while?—

I jerked my attention away from her body and those insane thoughts. This woman had done something to my dragon. She was my enemy.

And I showed no mercy when it came to my enemies.

With all these thoughts rioting through my mind, I barely noticed we'd entered an entirely different section of the house until the warm, tropical air slapped me in the face and took my breath away. I breathed deep, trying to take it all in. The thick moisture in the air, the dense foliage covering every possible spot and the distinct scent of faeshade practically drowning me in its sweet, succulent draw.

Now I finally understood. Why I'd been drawn to this woman more than any other since arriving in this hell on earth.

I sucked in a sharp breath the moment I saw it. The purple flowers of the faeshade plant. The most seductive scent known to fae and the most dangerous to a dragon.

And I'd eaten a ton of it.

Dear Goddess, I was fucked.

Chapter

Seven

Rose

As the beautyand scent of my plants welcomed me home, their vibrant hues and earthy aromas enveloping my senses, I momentarily forgot about the man behind me. The familiar comfort of my sanctuary pulled me in, inviting me to come closer and let all of my problems fall to the wayside.

Until a sharp intake of breath and some very choice words, colorful enough to make a sailor blush, dragged me back to reality with jarring abruptness.

What in the ever-loving hell had I been thinking bringing him here? This was my private sanctuary that I shared with no one. The gravity of my impulsive decision hit me hard, leaving me dizzy with consequences.

I had to be out of my mind. There was no other way to put it.

But a dragon? No.

I blew out a puff of air before plastering a smirk on my face and turning to face him once again.

I don't know what I'd expected to see, but the abject fear burning in his eyes was absolutely not it. "What's wrong?" I asked, hoping that his answer wouldn't freak me out.

"Faeshade," he said hoarsely. "That's what you fed me."

It wasn't a name I recognized. However, I followed his gaze to the corner where my valerian collection resided.

When it came to anxiety, most people focused on ashwagandha, or chamomile. But I'd discovered that using valerian produced far better results.

---