Page 3 of To Ignite a Dragon's Desire

Are you happy now?

Satisfied.My dragon heart slowed to a steady beat as the female fell asleep in my talons.

While I was content that the warring sides of my being were in harmony again, worry replaced the internal rage I’d suffered the past few weeks.

I had a mate.

Kieran’s warning still rang in my mind.“Fragile.”

I think not,my beast tutted, still awed by the amount of fight this soft human had in her. This one was a warrior. I knew it like I knew every scar on my scales.

If she’d been a dragon…

But she wasn’t and I didn’t mind in the slightest. I had a mate.

A human mate.

Who’d have thought it was possible?

It’d been a punch to the gut when I’d scented her feminine smell the first time, tasting it in the air on the tip of my tongue. The richness of cinnamon and something spicier like nutmeg mixed with citrus was burned into my senses.

I should’ve known that day who she was to me. If I hadn’t been thrown by Kieran’s actions, I might have shifted to meet her in human form. But it’d been centuries since I’d seen my cousin fly with that much fire in his eyes and aggression in his blood.

He'd sent me away from his property, enacting a dragon law that he’d never used with me before.

The scholar’s territory was neutral ground. Any dragon showing aggression or refusing Kieran’s command to leave would be breaking dragon law—risking the wrath of our entire species. It was why I never needed to protect his home with my wards.

As hatchlings, we’d grown up together and frequented shared spaces with as much familiarity as a brood from the same nest. We were family. He knew I never meant him harm.

But the years had driven a wedge between us.

I didn’t want to make the divide bigger, especially not when there was so little time left to rebuild that bridge. Although I knew I could kick his ass—I’d done it plenty of times before—I wasn’t going to physically hurt my cousin without reason.

So, I left at his request, flying back to my home and trying to erase the scent from my mind.

That night was the start of many sleepless nights. My beastly instincts were never wrong and Iknewthis woman was meant to be mine.

I’d fought the compulsion to return to her side as long as possible, giving Kieran time to calm down.

When I’d gotten the call, the one where he explained that he’d met his fated mate and claimed her, I almost lost control.

He couldn’t have her.

Not without me getting the chance to prove myself worthy first. I’d been a fool, wanting to give space for dragon tempers to cool before I visited again. But he’d stolen her from me and chased me off––stealing that which was rightfully mine.

It'd taken Kieran two days to get through my blinding rage long enough to explain that there were other females present when I’d landed in his backyard. The misunderstanding of the decade.

I’d been so blind. I hadn’t noticed more females standing there that day and hadn’t scented any other woman thanher.

I didn’t even know her name until Kieran told me as I flew away. My beastly fury calmed enough to memorize it, repeating the sweet word like sugar rolling on my dragon’s tongue.

Riley.

My sweet and spicy Riley.

The one who’d fought a losing battle and hadn’t given up until her physical body forced her to rest. She’d be angry that I’d taken her the way that I did, but I had plans to make it up to her.

Night edged on the horizon, turning the sky a deep purple as the last rays of the sun illuminated the mountain ridge. I crested the peaks and headed toward the glow in the distance where my wards guarded the property, naked to the human eye.

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