I shivered at the heat in his eyes and the sensations his fingers made as they danced across my underwear.

“Why don’t we get you out of all this leather, and then I’ll indulge myself, hmm?”

“All right, but I think we should get your undies off as well.” I slid off the bed onto my knees when he stood to shuck his briefs, the material strained to its limits. “Here, let me do it.”

He frowned. “You said you wished for me to pleasure you first.”

“And you will. But I get to do this. Because I’m the dragon chick, remember?”

“Rawr,” he said, mimicking my claw gesture.

“You learn quick.” I caressed the bulging front of his underwear. “Glorioski, that’s… you’re… were you this big before?”

“Sophea,” he said in a strained tone. “Stop tormenting me with your heated looks, and teasing fingers, and for the love of the saints, don’t stroke me! You have no idea how close I am to disappointing you.”

“You could never do that,” I said, but stopped stroking my fingers lovingly across his bulges. “Now, if I ease your undies down just a bit, just enough to give you some breathing room—”

Something stopped me just as I was about to slide his underwear down his hips. I felt something move behind me, but when I glanced over my shoulder, there was nothing to be seen but the other side of Rowan’s cabin.

He stiffened, and stared past me.

“What… did you see something?” I asked him, releasing the waistband of his underwear.

He frowned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at… nothing.

I turned to look, but didn’t see what held his attention… until a movement in the air caught my peripheral vision. Over by the porthole, the air began to shimmer. That’s the best way to describe what happened—it was as if the air was collecting itself, twisting and twirling upon itself, tiny little motes of nothing collecting to form something.

The little motes grew brighter until they gave a little shake, and a man emerged.

Only he wasn’t a man. Oh, he looked like one—he looked perfectly normal, but there was something about him that wasn’t human. It was his eyes, I think. He stepped forward, his eyebrows rising as he took in the sight of me kneeling before Rowan, the color in his eyes seeming to shift and change subtly. And his pupils weren’t round… they were elongated, just like Mr. Kim’s had been.

“Um…” I said, glancing up at Rowan. His face was absolutely without emotion, a circumstance that scared the crap out of me. Hurriedly, I got to my feet to face the intruder. “Er… excuse me, this is a private room. The kind you shouldn’t materialize in without first asking permission.”

The man looked surprised at my words, and I realized that any being who could just appear in a room the way he did probably shouldn’t be addressed in that manner.

“That is,” I said quickly, clearing my throat a little, “it’s polite to knock before you enter a room where other people are staying.”

“Ah,” the man said, after eyeing me curiously for a few seconds. “You are the red mate. But my red children are no more.” His gaze flickered over to Rowan, who visibly flinched. “As you well know, Rowan Dragon Breaker.”

Oh, no. A horrible suspicion began to form and I took a step closer to Rowan so that I was pressed against his side. This had to be Mr. Big. “Are you the dragon daddy guy?” I asked, glancing at Rowan.

His expression was still blank, but I saw dread in his eyes, and that pierced my heart like nothing else could. I wanted to hold him, to make love to him, to make him forget that dread. I wanted to bring him light and happiness and lots and lots of sex. I moved forward a step, as if to protect him, but his hand pulled me back against his side.

“The dragonkin are all my children,” the man acknowledged with a little tilt of his head. I remembered that the others had referred to him as the First Dragon, a nomenclature that was evidently his name as well as a description. He looked back at Rowan. “Payment is now due for the lives that were lost.”

Rowan’s arm tightened around me. “I don’t know how to give you back the dragons who died. I told you that when you bound the danegeld to me, and I say it again. If I could, I would bring them back to life. I would stop them from interfering with magic they knew nothing about, but I can’t change time. I can’t repair the past.”

“The penalty is the loss of your own life.”

It was all happening again, just as it had with Jian. I met a man with whom I had an instant chemistry, started building thoughts of a life together, and then he was taken from me.

“Not this time,” I said aloud, and stepped forward in front of Rowan. “Listen here, Mr. First Dragon. My husband died horribly, and I don’t see you blaming the drunk driver who took him down. What Rowan did was just as much an accident as that, so you have no right to blame him.”

Rowan gave a martyred sigh and pulled me back at his side. “Love, I appreciate you standing up for me, but it’s not necessary, and might well get you killed, too.”

I turned to gawk at him. “Did you just call me love?”

His eyes flickered toward the First Dragon. “I don’t really think a discussion about my choice of words is in order at this time.”

“But you did say it.”

He made an exasperated noise. “Yes, I said it. We’re sleeping together—I felt it appropriate to use such terms of endearment in that situation.”

“All right. I’m willing to accept that. But I want to have a pet name for you, too.” I smiled at him, and for a moment, forgot about the person watching us.

He didn’t forget us. “What makes you think the death of your mate was an accident?”

I stared at the First Dragon. “What do you mean? Jian was run down by a drunk driver.”

“So the mortal police told you. In fact, he was killed by demons because he could not be turned to their lord’s purpose.” His eyes, those uncanny, ever-shifting eyes, glowed with a gold light for a second. “That demon is no more.”

I glanced at Rowan. “Okay, he’s more badass than we are. We could only break their forms.”

Rowan’s expression grew serious. “You have no idea.”

“And now the time has come for you to pay for the loss of the four dragons who were taken,” the First Dragon said, raising his arm as if he was going to just smite Rowan where he stood.