Sacrificed to the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 1)

For a second, he wondered if she would acquiesce. Then she raised her face. “You kiss me and then I suppose I can watch you shift.”

His dragon loved that this human kept challenging him. She would make a fine mother for their young.

Tristan lowered his head and took her mouth in a demanding kiss. He squeezed her arse as his lips swept against hers, her taste making him growl. He had wanted this afternoon for him and his human, but it wasn’t to be.

At least now he had a bloody good reason for coming back alive from the rescue attempt. He had many more dirty things to do to his female while his human-half was in charge, and even more creative ideas from his dragon-half.

He gave her one last swipe of his tongue before he retreated, bit her lower lip, and said, “Toss my shirt over you. It’ll dwarf you since you’re short, but it’s the quickest way to hide your nakedness from other males.”

She smiled at that and pushed against him. He reluctantly let her go and watched her walk over to his shirt and bend over. His cock took notice of her full, soft arse in the air and became as hard as steel.

Thankfully, she tossed the shirt on quickly and pulled on her underwear to hide her tempting curves. After reaching over to grab the rest of her clothes, she stood up and said, “There. Now I’m covered in your scent. I’ll keep it on until you get back. Will that satisfy both you and your dragon?”

Yes. Ours.

Tristan nodded, walked over, and handed her his mobile phone. After she tucked it into the pile of her clothes and shoes at her chest, he took her hand. “Now, come with me so I can shift and go help the teenager.”

He thought he saw sadness flicker across her face, but it was gone before he could be sure. Was his human female growing attached to him as well and sad because she didn’t want him to leave? His dragon crooned at that idea, and his human-half was more pleased than he would’ve guessed.

He tugged her gently behind him. When they reached the tree line, he dropped Melanie’s hand and scooped her up. She let out a noise of surprise, but he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as if he would allow her bare feet to become scratched by the fallen debris.

For once she didn’t argue and just curled up against his chest. He squeezed her tighter with his arms, as if to reassure himself that she was safe. He trusted the other Stonefire dragon-shifters not to harm her, but there were more than a few who despised the human female sacrifices. They could make her sad with words, and he growled at the thought.

Melanie looked up and said, “What was that for?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Her eyes were skeptical, but she didn’t question him. Not that she wouldn’t do it later, but he reckoned she wanted to save the young dragon-shifter as much as he did and didn’t want to waste time arguing.

The brief flash of hatred that had coursed through him at the news of Miles’ capture faded. Melanie Hall would never be like the barbarous poachers who hunted his kind. Her heart was too soft for betrayal or deceit.

And for the first time, he started to realize how much of a bastard he’d been to the big-hearted woman in his arms.

Guilt was a distraction, so he pushed it aside. He needed his brain to focus on the upcoming take down and rescue operation. He could make it up to his female later.

He made his way through the trees, careful not to allow Melanie to get scratched by any of the branches. Within two minutes, they were back on the open landscape of the area. He set her down and said, “Stay here. I need more room to shift.”

As he walked away from her, he started to feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time—nerves. Tristan was nervous.

So far, Melanie Hall had been understanding about the dragon-shifters and their ways, but could she handle him changing into a dragon? Some humans found dragons beautiful, but a much larger portion saw them as monsters.

She won’t be afraid. She is strong.

He decided to listen to his dragon. Once he was about ten feet away from Melanie, he stopped and turned around to face her. Her gaze was curious and a touch impatient, which was a hell of a lot better than scared or nervous.

Hurry, his dragon urged.

Right. The teenager. They needed to save the young. Delaying his shift wasn’t going to help anyone or change the way Melanie would look at him after this.

Tristan closed his eyes and let his dragon into the forefront of his mind. As he imagined his body merging with his dragon’s, a low hum of pain sizzled through his bones, signaling he was about to shift.

It was time to see what his human was made of.

~~~

Melanie watched Tristan walk away from her and it took everything she had not to run after him and jump back into his strong, muscled arms. Given the chance, she could revel in his heat while breathing in his spicy male scent for days and still not get enough.

Her dragonman’s touch was becoming addictive, and she didn’t think it was just because he was the father of her unborn child. No, she knew it was because she was growing to love it.