The Dragon's Choice (Tahoe Dragon Mates 1)

She took a deep breath and tossed her backpack into a chair. And even though her cheeks still burned, she couldn't tear her gaze away from Jose's, his eyes flashing and full of heat.

No man had ever looked at her like that, as if she were the most desirable woman in the world.

It would be easy to get used to that look.

No. No thoughts of the future. Raising her chin a fraction, Victoria took a few steps closer to the couch, debating when to try and strip for him. Not that she was an expert in any way. But, hell, if this was going to be the biggest adventure of her life, she was going to start doing her best to make it a good one.

Even if she ended up with her hair getting stuck on a button and she had to hop and ask for help to get free, which would be just her luck.

That would most definitely not be what the dragonman expected.

Biting her lip to keep from laughing at his imagined reaction, she unzipped her jacket slowly, loving how Jose's eyes followed the movement. As she tugged the sleeve off, she puffed out her chest and leaned forward a little, ensuring he could see down her shirt.

And yes, he stared down her shirt, his eyes flashing as he growled.

Her heart pounded so hard it was all she could hear. But still, she tossed the jacket aside and reached for the hem of her top. Slowly she brought it up, making sure to rub it a few times over her aching nipples, and moaned without thought.

Jose ran a hand over his mouth as he murmured, "Fuck, now I'm jealous of a shirt."

His words boosted her confidence, and she tugged the top all the way off—carefully avoiding the decorative enemy buttons—and tossed it at him.

He caught it, bringing it to his nose, and inhaling deeply. His pupils remained slitted longer than she'd seen since meeting him, eventually becoming round again.

He reached out a hand, then pulled it back. "Keep going, human. If you stop again, I'll shred the rest of your clothes off with one talon."

So she'd been right—he could change a nail to a talon only.

Then it hit her—the man could shift into a who-knew-how-many-feet-tall dragon. One she didn't even know the color of. And for some reason, she needed to know something, anything, about him to make this seem more real.

Jose took a step toward her, and she blurted, "What color is your dragon?"

He blinked, clearly not expecting the question. He answered, "Blue."

"Will I ever see him?"

"That depends on whether you finish stripping right this second or not."

She tried to muster up the courage she'd had a few seconds ago, and failed. It seemed her boldness had been temporary, which made sense, given that she usually wasn't that way.

He closed the distance between them. But instead of ripping off her clothes, he put a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze—a searing look, filled with desire. "What's wrong?"

Now he was surprising her. Patience wasn't usually at the top of the list of traits she had for dragon-shifters.

With anyone else, she probably would've looked away and said nothing and tried to change the subject.

However, as Jose stroked the underside of her chin, the words simply flew from her lips. "I know so little about you and yet I'm about to have sex with you. It's kind of weird."

One corner of his mouth kicked up. "You must not be the one-night-stand type of human female, right?"

He had no idea. "Honestly? I didn't think you'd pick me back at the hotel. And I think the more we interact, the more the shock and excitement fades, allowing reality to set in." She paused a beat before forcing out the rest, "And that makes me a little nervous."

Leaning closer, Jose asked, "Did you change your mind?"

As she stared into his eyes, a deep brown filled with curiosity, she thought about it. But "no" screamed through her mind. She'd put her name into the lottery on a whim and had accepted her place in order to learn as much as possible, and nothing more.

But now that he'd touched her skin, nibbled her earlobe, and made her the most turned on in her life, she couldn't go back to only wanting to study him.

No, she wanted to get to know him better, in all ways. Because there was no way she was going to wonder "what if" for the rest of her life. "No, I didn't change my mind. But maybe we could slow it down a little? You haven't even kissed me yet."