Drake rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. “That will do.”

Pál and István exchanged glances before István asked, “Who will be bodyguard?”

“Aisling’s going for blood,” Jim said, snickering. “I can’t wait to see what Uncle Damian makes of Fiat. You think I could place a bet on who’s left after the dust settles?”

Stephano’s smile faded completely. I leaned into Drake and breathed in his dragon essence, allowing it to seep deep within me, content in his arms.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. Everything is going to be all right. You’ll see—Uncle Damian can be a badass when he wants.”

4

Cold air suddenly swirled around me, causing my bare nipples to harden painfully. Startled, I jumped, and was grabbing for the towel when a familiar voice said, “There you are. I wondered where you were hiding.”

I let the towel drop and smiled as Drake stood in the doorway of the sauna, quickly removing his clothing. “You’re letting out all the steam,” I pointed out.

The look he gave me could have melted asbestos. “I assure you that you’ll have as much steam as you can stand. If you don’t mind me joining you, that is?”

“That ‘Occupied’ sign on the door to the sauna doesn’t apply to you. Although…how did you know Paula and Dad weren’t the ones in here?”

He laid the last of his clothing on the bench outside of the sauna, closing the door behind him. His emerald-eyed gaze took its time moving along my body, making me shiver a little with its intensity.

“They just went to bed. Paula said you were going to take a late night swim,” he answered, dumping a ladleful of water on the hot coals. Steam boiled up around him, obscuring the sight of his body for a moment.

“Yeah, well, there’s nothing like a relaxing steam after a nice dip.” I lay back on the bench, my breath catching in my throat at the sight of his sleek muscles moving as he picked up the towel that had fallen on the floor. “So, I was thinking about you.”

“Good things, I hope?” he asked, his eyes glittering brightly as he watched me.

I stretched a little in order to arch my back in a shameless display. “I was thinking about how you shift for a second into dragon form when you have an orgasm. It got me musing over what it must be like to be an animal in human form.”

Drake had started for me, but at my words paused and cocked an expressive eyebrow. “I am most decidedly not an animal, kincsem.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’re a man. But sometimes I have a hard time remembering that there are other emotions that you must be feeling than those experienced by the average joe.”

His other eyebrow rose. “I am not a man, either. I am a dragon. I have simply adopted this form as one which is both comfortable and practical.”

“You’re certainly not getting any complaints from me about it. But I wondered…” I allowed my gaze to wander over his impressive expanse of flesh. “Perhaps if you got in touch with your inner dragon, you might be able to shift at other times?”

“It is common for dragons who stay in one form for a long period of time to lose their ability to shift into their traditional form,” he said quietly. “You seem to be under the impression that we are at our most dragon when we are in the latter form—which is not true. We are dragons no matter what our appearance.”

“I’m not disputing that at all. I wonder, though, just how dragon are you?”

He was on me in a heartbeat, his body warmed and slickened by the steam. “You question my dragonhood?”

“I want to know if there are deep, primal instincts driving you that I have yet to see,” I answered, gasping when he took the tip of my breast in his mouth, bathing it in fire.

“I assure you that I have many primal needs,” he answered. “Needs which only you can fulfill.”

“Good. I thought we’d explore your dragon side tonight. Just to see if it has any effect on the whole shifting thing,” I said, squirming underneath him.

“I am more than happy for you to explore any side of me you like,” he answered, nuzzling my other breast.

I allowed my hands to play along his sides, sweeping down to dig my fingers into the heavy muscles of his behind. “You want me, don’t you?”

“Do you need to ask?” He wiggled just a little. He was quite obviously aroused, his body slick against mine.

“Not really. “I nibbled his neck, then bit him on the shoulder. “I want you, too, in case you didn’t notice.”

His hand, which had been busily stroking a path up my thigh to parts northern, paused. “I noticed,” he said, plunging a finger inside me.

I damn near came off the bench at that. “Let’s try a little experiment…oh, god, yes. Do that again!”

His fingers flexed. My eyes crossed, but through the haze of steam that filled the sauna, I could see a quizzical look on his handsome face. “What did you have in mind?”

It took some effort to remove myself from the paradise of his hands and mouth and body, but I wiggled out from under him and snatched up a towel, saying as I did so, “Dragons like to hunt things, don’t they?”

“That depends what the prey is,” he answered, blowing a ring of fire at me.

The towel, not one that had been specially treated to inhibit fire, burst into flames. I dropped it and picked up another one.

“How about me?”

He stood up slowly, his eyes lit with a strange look. “Run,” he said.

“What?”

“You wish to see the predator in me, do you not? Very well. Run.”

My mouth opened to tell him that there was no way in Abaddon I could outrun him, but at a low growl deep in his chest, I turned on my heel and ran.

My heart was beating wildly, adrenaline spiking through me as I ran across the room, hesitating for a moment as I tried to decide where to go. Drake emerged from the sauna, his head lowered slightly, an intense look on his face as he stalked toward me.

“Do you know what it is to hunt, kincsem? It is a feral drive, one of the most primal urges in dragons, the need to find and possess. It heightens my senses until I can hear your heart pounding, hear the rasp of every breath you take. Your scent lies heavy in the air, sinking deep into my blood, teasing me, tormenting me until all I can think of is possessing you.”