Page 2 of Dragon Thief of New York
The pressure around my left shoulder increases as the thing lets go of my right. Is it finally going to drop me? Nope. It uses its claw to shred my dress, then rip through my bra and underwear. It scratches my skin in the process, not drawing blood, but leaving angry welts. My clothes flutter to the ground, leaving me in nothing but my earrings. Fuck, this is bad. Time to fight.
I pitch my body forward, kicking my legs back and forth, hoping to create enough propulsion to make it difficult for this thing to keep hold of me. I swing twice, and to my surprise it lets go.
That was too easy. Almost like it dropped me on purpose.
I fall toward a pool of gold, silver, and red. And suddenly the dragon is gone, and a man’s arms wrap around me. There’s barely a splash as we drop into the pool together. The liquid parts smoothly around us, as soft as silk. I struggle to get away, to reach the surface, but with no light, I’m immediately disoriented. The man pulls me deeper.
Shit. Fuck. I’m gonna die down here.
My lungs burn, my body shakes. I think of my son, and hope against all hope that he’ll be okay without me.
Then, just as I think it’s all over, my body explodes.
Chapter 2
Otto
Fuck,whatamIdoing? What have I done?
Just when I worry my mate might actually die in the sacred pool rather than transform, her lush body bursts and expands. Scales form beneath my palms, muscles rippling as her wings shove outward and she shoots upward out of my grasp.
I shift back into my dragon form, chasing her out of the liquid gold and silver. She lands in the center of the temple, snarling and shooting huffs of fire. Her head swings from side to side, eyes wide. Shit, she looks panicked.
The full weight of what I’ve done suddenly catches up with me, hitting me like a sucker punch. I turn back into a man, holding up my palms as if I’m innocent, which is far from true after what I just did. Laughable even. Fuck!
“I’m sorry, beauty. I’m so sorry. Just let me…” I run a hand down my face.
“What the hell is going on?” Midas bellows. Our Ra, our king, storms into the temple in a rage. He’s naked, of course, having just shifted, taut muscles rippling as he stomps toward us with his mate, Jeslyn, on his heels. She’s wearing a gold crop top that shows off the tattoos on her belly that denote her as our goddess-chosen queen.
I’ve never seen Midas so angry before. Smoke puffs from his mouth, and flames burn in the center of his eyes. Shit. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t really think about the consequences. What’s Midas gonna do to me now? And how will that affect my mate?
I position myself between her and Midas, waiting for his wrath.
Normally, when a human mate transforms in the pools, there’s a ceremony, procedures, traditions, rituals. What I just did broke so many dragon laws. I’m gonna get skinned.
Fuck.
Okay, okay, it’s alright. One thing at a time. Right now, I need to focus on calming my mate, not deal with an angry dragon king.
Ignoring Midas, I turn my back to our king and take a tentative step closer to the woman whose name I still don’t know. Shit! This is so fucking bad.
“It’s okay, beauty.” I suck in a breath and try to calm my own racing heart. “Shift back, and we’ll talk.”
She blows fire at me, so hot it singes the hairs on my chest. If I weren’t a dragon and standing a few feet back, it would hurt like hell. As it is, all I feel is pride. Her righteous anger is stunning, even if it’s directed at me. She’s right to be pissed off. I’m the one who stole her from the street like a damn dragon of old. What the hell came over me?
But, goddess above, she’s so gorgeous. Her scales shimmer red and gold. Her neck is long and elegant, her flank thick and perfectly curved. And her eyes! I didn’t get to really see them when I scooped her up, but now she’s staring right at me I can tell they’re a pale, sea-foam greenish grey, like tinted smoke. Breathtaking.
Of course I didn’t think. Of course I became immediately feral for her. How could I not. She’s perfect.
I move closer, hands still raised. “Just think about being human,” I instruct in as calm a voice as I can manage. “You’ll change back, and everything will be okay.”
She blows fire at me again. Shit, I’ve got to get her to settle down before she burns the temple to ash or hurts someone.
Jeslyn, our queen and Midas’ mate, steps past me, holding a blanket out like a bullfighter. “It’s okay. I know you’re scared. But it’s gonna be okay.” She throws a furious glance in my direction. “He’ll be dealt with. Just shift back, so we can talk.”
My mate closes her eyes, huffs through her nose, and shifts. My knees go weak, every cell vibrating with need. I only caught a glimpse of her before I grabbed her, but now I see all of her. She’s got shoulder-length hair as red as fire, a round face dotted with freckles, and a full, plump figure I want to squeeze in all the right places. Damn, those are the sexiest curves I’ve ever seen. The need to feel that soft skin has me stepping forward again, but Jeslyn throws the blanket over my naked mate, and the action pulls me from my fog.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, unable to take my eyes off her.
