Page 6 of Dragon Thief of New York
Maybe.
Her eyes are cloudy and unfocused. It’s clear she still doesn’t remember me, even though she’s a dragon now. And what will Otto think when he finds out about our past? Will he assume I’m trying to steal his mate? It feels more like he’s stolen mine.
But she didn’t choose me.
I guess she didn’t choose him either. So where does that leave us?
“Come on.” I help her onto Otto’s back. “Let’s get you home.”
Chapter 4
Kat
Home.Good.Yeah.That’swhere I need to be right now. I was already running behind, and now I’m definitely late. I don’t even have my purse or phone anymore to call Lincoln and let him know. He’s probably worried, wondering where the hell I am. A cackling laugh scratches my throat. Where am I? On the back of a fucking dragon! If he ever believes me, he’s gonna think this is amazing.
Me, on the other hand? Not so thrilled.
It’s not the dragon part that’s upsetting—dragons are pretty damn cool—it’s the fucking mate part! I’ve read enough paranormal romance to guess what’s going on here. But this isn’t a fucking romance book. I don’t know this guy. I don’t love him. He’s at least ten years younger than I am and as impulsive as my son.
He fucking abducted me right off the streets of New York and forced me to become a dragon!
Shit, I’m a dragon…
My mind keeps spinning, re-living what just happened over and over. I should be shocked and afraid, but none of that registers. I’m fucking mad as hell. Fire burns under my skin, itching to get out, and each breath I take blows hot smoke out of my nostrils, reminding meI’m a fucking dragon!
And I didn’t choose this.
“Breathe, Kat.” The man who didn’t steal me—guess I should ask his name—climbs up and situates himself on Otto’s back a respectful distance behind me. At least one of them has some damn control.
Otto flaps his wings and lifts off the ground. I hold his neck for balance, but quickly decide that’s a bad idea and reach back for… “What’s your name?”
“Damian,” he says in a deep voice that does strange things to my stomach.
“Well, move closer, Damian. You’re supposed to make sure I don’t fall.” The last thing I want is to plunge to my death and end up splat across a New York skyscraper.
I’m reaching blindly behind me, and my hand lands on his thigh. High on his thigh. The tips of my fingers brush against something much harder than his muscled leg under his pants.
I pull back so quickly, my balance teeters, and I slide. Damian grabs me just before I fall, yanking me quickly against his firm chest. His arms wrap around my middle, just under my breasts. His thighs flex against the outside of mine. The hard length I grazed is now firmly trapped against my backside. I’ve still got the blanket draped haphazardly around me, but as aware of him as I am, there may as well be nothing between his very hard, very enormous cock and my ass.
“You okay?” Damian’s breath fans across my ear.
“Uh huh,” I squeak.
He loosens his grip and scoots back, cold emptiness rushing into the space he left, shocking me into a new alertness. The only part of him still touching me is his hands on my upper arms, applying gentle pressure to help me balance as Otto swoops through the air out over the ocean.
“Oh no, you don’t.” I scoot back and grab his arms, wrapping them around me again. Just because I don’t want to fall. But the moment he’s close, it’s hard to think again. I’m hyperaware of the heat coming off him and that we’re riding the rocking, pulsing back of a man who’s supposed to be my mate.
Not sure what that means for my future, but I’m pretty sure Otto wouldn’t love how close Damian is to me right now. I smirk at that and snuggle more deeply into Damian’s arms.
“Alright, explain what the hell’s going on.”
With his arm banded around me, Damian’s fingers move lazily over my forearm. “We should wait until we land, so Otto can tell you.”
“No. I want to hear it from you. Well, really, I wanted to hear it from the gracious woman who didn’t leave me naked in front of a crowd of men, but apparently I’m not getting much of a say in how my day goes.”
Damian sighs. “The short of it is that we’re dragons, and dragons have one fated mate. The single person in the world who’s made for them, the only person they can reproduce with.” He pauses, dropping his forehead onto my shoulder from behind and letting out a long sigh. “Sometimes that person is a dragon. Sometimes human. If they’re human, they have to become a dragon the first Goddess Week after their dragon mate finds them or they’ll forget all their memories of their mate.”
“That seems like a crap deal.”
