Surrendering to the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 5)

With a frown, Kai crouched down. “Don’t bloody apologize. Dragons are persistent bastards. The only question is what do you want to do?”

“You know better than anyone what it’s like to find your true mate and not be able to have them. What should I do, Kai?”

Kai’s pupils flashed. “Stay here. I’m going to talk to Hartley.”

Nikki opened her mouth to reply, but Kai was already gone.

Resting her head on her knees, Nikki took a deep inhalation, held it, and breathed out. Thanks to instinct and her dragon’s desire to breed, Nikki had just lost everything she spent the last six years working for.

Her beast roared and sent wave after wave of desire and lust. Why are you sitting here? Find him. He’s ours to claim.

No.

Her dragon pushed to the front of her mind. Nikki pushed back but knew it would all be for naught. In a few seconds, Nikki would think of nothing but finding Rafe Hartley and having sex with him until she became pregnant.

Even if she never saw Ra

fe again, it was going to take her months to get the mate-claim frenzy and her dragon under control. Her hopes and dreams about proving herself to the clan had just shattered into a million pieces.

Chapter Two

Rafe paced the small room Kai had shoved him into.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. While Nikki hadn’t spelled it out to the letter, Rafe had learned enough from his sister, Jane, to know about dragons and their true mates.

And unless he’d misread the situation, he was Nikki’s.

He stopped pacing and ran his hand through his short hair. What would the dragon-shifters do to him? As far as he knew, it was illegal for human men and female dragon-shifters to dally. Sure, people did it in secret. But a child in nine months’ time would be a fucking huge red flag of what he’d done.

There was also the matter of their mission. As much as he never admitted it aloud, Nikki was the glue holding the Stonefire side of things in place. Without her, the mission might fail.

He tried to think of a way to salvage their operation, but the image of Nikki’s face, crestfallen with eyes full of defeat, kept flashing into his mind.

And Rafe didn’t like it.

Nikki should be attempting to punch him in the face, or arguing with him about the best way to kidnap their enemy. She most definitely shouldn’t be in pain and fighting her dragon’s instinct to mate.

But what the hell could he do?

The door opened to reveal the piercing blue-eyed gaze of Stonefire’s clan leader, Bram Moore-Llewellyn.

Rafe kept his “oh shit” thought to himself and merely waited. Rafe’s sister spoke highly of the Stonefire dragons; he was about to find out firsthand exactly what they were made of.

Bram entered the room. Kai was right behind him, but Bram looked over his shoulder. “Wait in the hall, Kai.”

“But Bram—”

Bram’s steely voice rang inside the room. “Out.”

Kai met Rafe’s gaze. The head Protector narrowed his gaze and shut the door.

Rafe didn’t look forward to talking with his brother-in-law later.

“Sit down,” Bram ordered.

Rafe shook his head. “No. I want to know if Nikki’s okay first.”

Raising an eyebrow, Bram crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m surprised you care.”