Page 16 of Burn Dragon Burn

“That’s King Pussy Cat to you, Lizard Boy.”

Feeling his temperature rising and the push of scales against the skin covering his spine, Rafe whipped around and stormed out of the station. Once outside, he gulped in the fresh air, pushing his Dragon King to fall back, needing to stay in control.

He’d never snapped at his brother, Max or anyone for that matter like he just had. This whole mating thing was messing with his head and an unfocused Dragon meant trouble – something Rafe had no trouble finding in the best of times.

Walking to his car, deciding that getting the four blocks to the Morgue was better than going back in and facing a smirking, supremely smug King of the Big Cats, he got in his rented SUV. Driving through the back streets, taking his time, trying to think of anything but Donatella Hale and the way she made him stark, raving crazy, he focused on everything he knew about the killer they were trying to catch.

Not only was the bastard clever, but he was finding a way of keeping his evil mysticism hidden from all the Supernaturals who called DFW their home. “And that’s no easy thing,” he mumbled to himself. “That shit stinks to high heaven and leaves a taint that never goes away.”

Pulling up to a four-way stop, it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. “He’s underground.” Going when it was his turn, Rafe sped up, nearly jumping out of the SUV when he saw Nat pulling into the parking lot behind him.

Quick-stepping it to her car and opening the door, he held up his hand as she opened her mouth to speak and hurriedly explained, “The killer is underground.”

Waiting for her to applaud his genius, Rafe instead huffed as Nat furrowed her brow and shrugged, “And…that gets me closer to finding the asshole how?”

Rolling his eyes, tired of playing nice when his feisty mate absolutely refused to do anything but poke at him, he gripped the top of her door until his knuckles were white and slowly ground out every word. “It means, Miss Sass-in-Boots that to do what he’s doing, subdue the girls with black magic, remove their organs and make them look like their sleeping instead of dissecting – he has to be using black magic.”

“Yeah, you said that before. I still have no clue how I can use that to find him.” Getting out of the car, she stared at his hands on her door and raised her eyebrows. “You mind?”

Letting go and taking a step back as she closed the door and locked her car with abeep-beep, started walking towards the entrance to the Morgue. Catching up in three strides, trying hard not to get angry but failing just the same, Rafe grabbed her upper arm and stepped in front of her. “It means, Detective, that I can find him. I can use the heightened senses of my Dragon to track the black magic.”

Pursing her lips and looking anywhere but at him, Nat finally let out the breath she’d been holding and looked him right in the eye. “Okay, I get it. You can change into a Dragon. You’re one of the Universe’s chosen Warriors.”

“How did you…?”

It was her turn to raise her hand and make him be quiet which reminded him exactly how much he was growing to love her need to control anything and everyone in her orbit.

“Nona gave me a book,” she went on without missing a beat. “It was old and musty and contains way more information about things I thought only existed in story books than I care to admit, but I did read the entire section about Dragons, and I get it.”

Waiting as she looked one way and then the other, he was shocked when she added, “What you can do is nothing short of amazing, but I have to be able to write a report that my bosses will buy. I have to be able to explain how we found the asshole. I just can’t…”

Tired of watching her hem and haw, needing to calm her worries and ease her conscience, Rafe cut in, “How do you explain what happens when you use your Gift? I know there have been times when you just got a feeling or a hunch from your Sight and ran with it. What did you put in your reports?”

Her silence only served to make him push harder. “Admit it. You’ve gone through your entire life hiding who you are from everyone but your family. You have learned to mask it, work it into your everyday life, tone it down and make it seem ‘normal’, right?”

Stepping closer, his hands sliding down her arms until his fingers slid alongside hers, he leaned forward and whispered, “But from now on, you can be exactly who you are, who you were meant to be. You’d be surprised what people don’t see or simply refuse to acknowledge.”

Giving into temptation, he closed the scant distance between their lips. What was supposed to be a small gesture, a promise of what would be, proof that they were meant to be together, caught fire.

Wrapping his arms around Donatella, pulling her body tight to his, craving her more with every beat of his heart, he pushed her against the side of his SUV, and deepened their kiss. Demanding entrance, growling low in his throat as she immediately surrendered, he slid his tongue alongside hers, reveling in the currents of electricity caused by their cosmic connection, pushing their desire higher and higher.

Working his hands across her wondrous curves, gripping the round globes of her ass, he lifted her feet off the ground and rolled his hips to hers. Ecstasy was the only word he could think of to describe what it felt like to finally hold his glorious mate in his arms. His life was complete. He could…

“Ahem.”

Moving with the speed afforded him by the gift of his Dragon King, Rafe ripped his lips from Donatella’s, whipped his head to the side and snapped at Max, his voice more Dragon than man, “Go away.”

Another growl rose from his chest as Nat’s palms slapped against his shoulder and she wiggled her hips trying to get down.Digging his fingers into her butt, he pushed through gritted teeth, “Stop. Moving.”

Her eyes opened wide, like two coffee-colored saucers as her body became still as a stone and her lips formed a perfectly shaped ‘O’. “Sorry,” she whispered right before thinking,“Oh damn, he’s one big man,”to herself.

Too aroused for tact, Rafe winked as he spoke directly into her mind,“Oh, mo chroí, you have no idea.”

If possible, her eyes got even bigger before she schooled her features and demanded, “Put me down, ya’ damn beast.”

Ignoring the King’s snickers, Rafe let go of her luscious body and took a step back but not before whispering, “Soon, very soon.”

Stopping as she was straightening her shirt, Nat’s eyes snapped to his as she questioned, “Soon what?”

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