Page 52 of To Match A Dragon's Fire

I pushed open the door, sending Willow and Riley scrambling backward from where their ears were no doubt pressed against the wood.

“And another thing,” I turned on my heels, fuming, “the next time you come around here with ‘come fuck me’ eyes doing the lip licking and arm caging thing, you better be prepared to follow through.”

Kieran’s jaw dropped open. “Fuck me eyes?”

“You know what I mean.” I waved my hand in the general direction of his gorgeous face. “The brooding, darkened expression thing. I want to be swept off my feet if you try it again.”

“You want me to court you?” He didn’t have to sound so incredulous.

“Did I stutter?” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down.

“I don’t think you did.” His instant grin was dizzying.Dangerous. Dragon.Maybe those were the words I should’ve been saying.

“Go on now.” I shooed him away. “Get off my porch.”

“Don’t forget flowers next time,” Riley yelled.

Harper ran to stand by my side. “You should get her a gift. Something sweet.”

“Can we not press our luck?” Willow’s exasperated voice came from within the cabin.

“Flowers, gift. Anything else?” Kieran was still grinning like a loon.

“You’ll figure it out.” I closed the door in his handsome face.

I looked down at Harper.

She stared up at me. “Is that how you’re supposed to train a dragon?”

16

Kieran

Come On Baby, Light My Fire

She makes courting demands.My dragon preened.

Never had he been so enamored by a female, but here we were, dissecting the actions of the fiery human woman who’d blown into my life.

He’d spent the morning like some love-drunk, brooding dragon youth replaying every word she’d said and admiring them as jewels.

It’s not like that,I gently reminded my beast.

In all our stories, fated pairs would begin the mating process with females making their demands.

But it’d been so many years without mated pairs connecting that—like all things with time—the process was romanticized.

More likely, my beast was grasping for shapes and trying to make them fit where they had no right to go.

A human couldn’t be a dragon’s mate.

But Ember was something that I wasn’t quite able to figure out.

Mine,my dragon grumbled.

Yes, I know you’ve staked your claim.I dug through the archives stacked on my desk, trying to make sense where there was none to be had. No stories spoke of humans and dragons successfully completing the mating bond.

Scientifically, it was possible to procreate.

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