Page 12 of Dragon Blood

The wind changed direction, dragging Red’s scent across Kai’s sensitive nose, bombarding him with his most intimate and cherished memories of her.

She reminded him of the tropical wildflowers that grew around the beaches where they’d met and made love, and spent the happiest days of his life.

He turned to go.

“Want a drink?”

He paused, tail swishing, her scent swirling around him in an eddy, urged him closer.

Tread carefully, Kai.

But he couldn’t force himself to take that step away from her.

Run.

He swung his head around, body following, prowling toward her.

His gaze slid to the bottle and back to her face.

“Hell yeah, I’m drunk and I’m going to get drunker.” She took a swig for emphasis. “This stuff doesn’t leave the wine cellar often, so I’d take advantage if I were you.”

Kai eyed the rich sapphire blue bottle with its yellow-gold detailing.

Red stared up at him, challenge glittering in her eyes, body taut despite the relaxed position on the boulder.

Taut in the way that only ended in fighting or fucking. She never, ever, fell apart. There were no bars around here for her to brawl in, so that left her one option.

Faces of the other single guests filtered through his memory.

He huffed, shifting back into his human form.

Kai stood before Red, gaze locked on hers, accepted the bottle and drank.

The wine was spicy and sweet as it slid down his throat, pooling around his heart before settling in his stomach.

The corner of her mouth curled as her eyes slid down his naked body, which responded to her attention as though time and her abject rejection were nothing.

“Tiger or man, you’ll always be magnificent, Kai. I never deserved you.”

Kai’s heart jerked at the unexpected words. He handed the bottle back. “It was never about deserving. It was about taking what you wanted. We had some fun. You made it clear you didn’t want more than that.”

Closer now, Astred’s scent combined with the sound of her voice and the fierce look in her beautiful face blocked everything else out, snapping him right back to their shared past and his overwhelming desire to touch her. To claim her again. To remind her of what they were and could have been.

She was on her feet, blinking. Regret and anger warred in her eyes. “I can’t—,”

Within reach, heart pounding, Kai’s hand instinctively stretched out, cradled her nape, dragging her against him.

His lips closed over hers to shut her up.

Chapter 6

RegretsatheavilyinAstred’s throat as she stared at Kai’s naked body, bathed in moonlight.

Desire curled through her at the sight of his response to her attention. Electricity shot through her and she was instantly ready to take him.

Kai always did that to her.

Her fingers tightened around the bottle in her fist.

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