Ember (The Dragao 1)

He was crowding me, drowning me with his delicious scent. “What’s that smell?” I murmured though I’d meant to keep those words to myself.

“It’s me. It’s the scent of the Cord. It’s an aroma created strictly for you.” His voice was almost too low to hear, and gods, I loved the way it made me feel. “My body created it solely for you, Emma.”

My eyelids fluttered as if they were about to close on their own.

“It’s my pheromones, an aphrodisiac.”

Yes… it certainly was.

My brain was a scrambled mess, and I shook my head to clear it, knowing I had to focus on the important things. “Why did you take me?” I was surprised I’d been able to form a coherent word.

“Because you’re my mate, and that human male was going to hurt you.” He said that last part in a growl, and I did look at him then, surprised to hear the malice in his voice.

“And what does that mean… to be your mate?” Obviously I knew what mating meant, had seen many in the Pit participating in the sexual act as they hid behind darkened corners, sneaking away to shadowed and abandoned alcoves. Is that what he meant? Is that what he saw in me? Did he want me just as a sexual vessel?

And why the hell did that turn me on as much as it did?

I stared into his eyes as he came closer, and closer still, those dark, inky pools so beautiful yet so frightening.

“You understand what that means,” he said deeply, the sharpness to his voice like a tangible touch. “You feel what it means.”

I shivered as those words moved over me. Through me. Yes… yes, I did feel what he meant, even if it made no damn sense.

“You’ve awoken the Cord within me.” He took a step forward and stopped; he was like an animal stalking his prey, and I was the poor creature he was after.

Yet could I really feel sorry for myself when I was anticipating his next move?

“The Cord?” I whispered, realizing I was breathing harder and faster, unable to control myself, because the closer he got, the more that wonderful smell enveloped me.

He lowered his head ever so slightly, his eyes trained right on me, never missing a beat as he moved another step forward. “The awakening every Dragao male has when he finds his mate, when their life is finally complete.”

I realized I’d been backing up as he came closer, as if instinct told me I needed to tread carefully, that I needed to put up a fight. Not because he’d harm me, but because it’s what he wanted.

And yeah, I could admit only to myself I wanted it too.

“You’re mine, and I’m yours. It is the way of my kind. It is binding in all ways.” His voice got deeper, harsher. It sounded rougher, as if it wasn’t just him speaking to me but… something else.

His dragon, a little voice whispered in my mind. His dragon is looking at me, speaking to me. Wanting me.

And as I stared at him, I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask before it even came out. But I wanted to hear this Dragao, this dragon-shifting man, tell me what my fate was.

So I kicked up my chin and feigned a strength I didn’t have at the moment. “And being your mate means you won’t ever let me go, will you?”

He didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as he stared at me, as my question hung in the air between us. And with my back to the stony wall, with his chest so massive it blocked everything else out, I didn’t know if I wanted the truth. But he’d give it to me whether I wanted it or not. I knew that to be fact.

And whatever this Cord was, this bond that tethered me to him, it affected me as much as it did him.

Azar leaned in, his face inches from mine, so close that if I reached out, I’d be able to wrap my hand around his nape and pull him in, let him devour my mouth like I desperately wanted.

“You won’t let me go, will you?” I asked again.

He shook his head slowly and moved in more so I felt the warmth of his breath move across my now-parted lips. I couldn’t stop myself from trying not to shiver for how good it felt to have Azar so close.

“Never,” he whispered huskily. “I will never let you go, Emma.”

11

Emma

The silence was… deafening.

I could hear this buzz in my head, all the things Azar had told me about being his mate bouncing around as if it was having a hard time catching purchase.

I didn’t know how long we’d sat there, Azar on one side of the cave, me on the other. All the things that changed my life irrevocably in the blink of an eye.