Craved by the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 8)

His mismatched eyes found hers and her heart rate kicked up. While she'd thought him attractive via the video conference, being in the same room as him stole her breath away. He wore the traditional dragon-shifter garb of a kilt-like outfit, complete with a dark green swath of material tossed over his shoulder and fastened with a brooch. The outfit displayed his muscled chest dusted with gray hair. Her gaze traveled up to his broad shoulders, lightly stubbled jaw, and she met his gaze once more.

More than his physical features, it was the kindness shining in his eyes that made her relax a fraction.

When he smiled at the sound, showing his white teeth, her mind went blank.

Lorcan chuckled. "You look like a deer caught in the headlights, Caitlin. I assure you that I'm not going to run you over." He waved at Adrian and they were instantly alone.

With the young man gone, Caitlin found her voice. "I wasn't prepared to see you in formal attire, is all."

"I wanted you to see what you were getting, Caity."

She tilted her head. "No one's ever called me that before."

He took a step toward her, but Caitlin didn't have the urge to move away. "It suits you, I think. Caitlin is a bit formal for such a shy lass."

"I hope you don't think shy means weak."

Amusement danced in his eyes. "Of course not. Any clan leader who thinks that clearly doesn't understand people. Especially since you've raised a clan leader yourself, and a former head Protector."

At the mention of her children, Caitlin remembered why she was in Northern Ireland. "Do you have the documents ready to sign?"

Lorcan didn't blink at the change in subject. "I'm hoping for this to be more than a mere transaction, Caity. I want you to have a chance to know me before committing your life to me."

"A more conniving person would use that to their advantage."

"I don't think you will."

The certainty in his eyes unsettled her. It seemed unfair that he could read her so much better than she could read him.

Her dragon whispered, Give it time.

Placing a hand on one of the plush chairs in the room, she asked, "Why me? I'm not sure I've ever understood your attentions in recent years, ever since that visit to Glenlough with your daughter."

He raised his brows. "You don't remember, do you?"

She frowned. "Remember what?"

Lorcan took a step closer, but Caitlin didn't move. For some reason, being alone with the male wasn't terrifying, as it probably would've been with another stranger.

His voice filled the room. "In the late 1970s, both the humans and dragon-shifters started to grow tired of the Troubles. There was a brief truce between Northcastle and the Irish dragon clans for a few years. Glenlough and Northcastle had a celebration of sorts, near The Giant's Causeway."

She vaguely remembered the party, as it was her first time meeting anyone from Northcastle. "In 1978."

"Yes, you were sixteen and I was nineteen. I found you lurking on the edge of the gathering, staring up at the rock formation known as the Chimney Stacks. I came up and told you the story of Finn McCool, the giant who lived on the causeway with his wife."

A memory niggled at the back of her mind. "The one who built a bridge to Scotland to challenge his rival, saw how big the rival was, fled back to Ireland, and his wife hid him by dressing up her husband as a baby."

"Right, and when the Scottish giant saw the size of the baby, he ran back home, afraid of how big the father was."

The hazy image of a tall, gangly boy with mismatched eyes and brown hair came into her mind. "You said your name was Lorry."

"Aye, well, at the time that's what everyone called me. But the bigger question is, do you remember what happened next?"

Caitlin had long suppressed the memories of that evening since Glenlough and Northcastle had become enemies again within a year.

Not that she hadn't thought about it for weeks afterward. "You told a few more legends and then kissed me."

It had been Caitlin's first kiss, and she hadn't known what to do. Young Lorcan had patiently guided her, until she'd allowed his tongue to stroke the inside of her mouth.