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and certainly frowned upon.
“You know, I feel as if you and I have met before. I don’t know why but when I look at you I get the strangest sense of déjà vu. Maybe we’ve met in a dream.”
“I don’t think so. Dragon shifter dreams are a lot different than the sort of dreams you wizards have.”
“There you go again. Every time we try to have a conversation we end up biting each other’s heads off.”
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of biting your head off. I’m not into that sort of sport.” She directed her attention back to the road. “This would be so much easier if we were allowed to fly in this realm.”
“You’re not allowed to fly? I can … our government doesn’t prohibit flying in non magical realms.”
“Good for you. Our governments are a lot different then. My government
doesn’t want us to be exposed. If we are, the humans might decide to start hunting us again.”
“Well, then, Draconian Law must be a lot different from ours.”
“What did you say?” She turned onto the isolated back country lane that led to her small cottage.
“Draconian Law.”
“I thought I heard you correctly. We don’t like that particular name anymore.
Not since the war broke out. My side has sort of blacklisted it.”
“Why?”
“Because the leader of our opposition is Lord Draco. He might have been the
man that instituted many of our laws back when we started to settle Dragonia, and yes, he is related to the Queen by marriage … but now that he has rebelled, his name is mud.”
“I think your red hair is getting brighter. It’s the color of flames, but when you get heated up, it looks like it really is a halo of fire. Come to think of it, your passions are getting riled up. Do me a favor and keep that beautiful red hair of yours from bursting into real flames. I don’t feel like getting a little crispy around the edges, if you get my drift.”
“Was that meant as a compliment?"
“I guess. It is quite enchanting … I think it is your best feature.”
“Thank you.”
“So why does the mere mention of this Draco’s name shake you up so much?”
“Are you telling me you actually don’t know?” She turned into her long gravel
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
drive and drove up to her sixteenth century cottage. She’d had a hand in building this cottage, and the lands that surrounded it were just what she needed when she underwent the shifting. Sometimes she even went against her kind's law by taking a nightly fly now and then.
“I don’t know. Contrary to whatever you believe, I’m not that educated in dragon shifter lore.”
“History. It’s our past … it’s our history. It all happened, and it’s well
documented.” She got out of the car and stretched. She watched him stand up to his lanky height. “The mention of his name rattles me—because—he’s my father.”
“Poor you.” Without missing a beat, he turned and headed toward her cottage.
“I’m knackered. I want a nice hot cup of tea, some beans and toast and then I need to sleep. Since you want to stick so close to me, why don’t we just share the same bed?” He laughed. “I’m up for little bit of loving if you are. It will be a grand hook up.”
Groaning, she followed him to the cottage door and unlocked it. She could see she was in for a lot of fun guarding the smart assed, wizard. “I love being a loyal subject to the crown.” Rolling her eyes, she stepped into the house.
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
Chapter Two
The dragon shifter known as Grania was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever set eyes on. Her flaming red hair and emerald green eyes had already entranced him. In truth, he was falling fast for her, but he needed to keep his distance.
So, he’d fallen back into his comfort zone of being a right and proper prick. Soon, she’d go running from him. She’d forget her vow to protect him and leave him in peace. And in turn, he’d hold onto the last vestiges of his sanity. He had to focus all of his energy into finishing the spell he was crafting, since without it the world he knew and loved would be destroyed or changed forever.
“The bedrooms are upstairs. Yours is the one to the left of the staircase.”
“Pity. I thought we could keep each other warm tonight.”
“Well, if you have an issue with being cold, I’ll be sure to light a fire in your hearth before I go to bed … custom made.” She snapped her fingers, and he started at the spark fizzing between her fingertips.
“Don’t worry, my kind mastered fire conjuring more than three thousand years
ago. I don’t need your assistance in that area, though I’m always open to helping you keep your bed warm.”
“You just never give up, do you?”
“Well, when the first dragon shifter representative from your King and Queen
came to me, they didn’t exactly say they’d be sending one hell of a dishy sweetheart to watch over me. I told them I didn’t need a fire-breathing dragon, but they were determined to see me protected. Fortunately for me, they sent someone I can really get into.”
She groaned. “You can’t possibly be this annoying—you must be pulling my leg
for some reason.”
“Pulling your leg, no … though, I could take a look at your legs for you—I’m
quite sure they must be just as beautiful as the rest of you.”
“I’m being slathered in compliments … and you know what, I like it.” Her voice turned to a seductive drawl. He watched her face transform from slight irritation to a look of complete adoration.
“Wait a second.” He coughed. He could feel the blood draining from his face.
He suddenly felt lightheaded. Breathing was becoming difficult. His groin ached.
She walked toward him.
“Sure—I’ll let you keep my bed warm … I’ve stayed chaste long enough. I think I could use someone like you to make me feel again. And, I warrant you’ll make me feel like one hot-blooded human woman.”
“Whoa. Steady on, Grania. Don’t be jumping the wand.”
She smirked. “What’s the matter, Dylan? Can’t you handle a forward woman?”
“Forward? You’re bloody fresh that’s what you are.”
“You said you liked the fact that they’d sent someone that you could really get into. Why don’t you prove that you’re not just talk?”
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“All talk and no action … that’s not me.” He knew what she was doing … she was calling his bluff—the question was, would he return in kind? Did he really want to get skin to skin with a dragon shifter? His mother would think he had lost his marbles.
His father would probably tell him to blow up Grania rather than sleep with her.
“Really? Prove it.” She was tempting him—she was goading him … and she’d
called his bluff—again. He’d never had another woman stupid—or spirited enough—to do that. He swallowed, hard, trying to forget the other part of his anatomy that was becoming more than a little stiff.
“We’ve only just met,” he said hoarsely. Her emerald green eyes sparkled like the gemstone they mirrored.
“Yes. But we’re both wise and we’re both old enough to know what we want.”
“You think so, huh?”
“I do. I think we should take chances in this life. We are living in very uncertain times. Any moment now, this entire world could be thrust into complete chaos.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed, Earth isn’t the most peaceful planet as it is.”
“Throw in blood hungry dragon shifters and I guarantee you, the way that Earth is right now will look like Paradise.”
"You know what I think? I think you’re trying to rebel by proving to your people that you can screw with a wizard and have fun thumbing your finger at them.”
> She took a step toward him. “You might be right on track—and then again, you
might be right off the beaten path.”
He took a step backward with every step that she took forward. “I think you’re being a bit hasty.”
“Hasty? You shouldn’t have stirred the pot. As you said earlier, my passions are up. You should not have riled them. Keep in mind, I haven’t had them stirred in many years.” Her eyes flashed again. He swallowed, trying to force down the thick lump erupting in his throat. He was getting hot. He pulled at his collar.
“Yeah … but I have a distinct feeling that I didn’t do that. I’m an asshole, yeah
… but I’m not normally this effective. I usually really repel women by now. This is the time where you slap me, and leave in a huff.”
“Show me how effective you can be. You know we shifter females don’t believe
that wizard males have what it takes to satisfy females.”
“You want satisfaction? I can give you satisfaction.”
She took another step toward him—he didn’t realize she’d been backing him into the corner until he slammed up against the wall.
“You look good enough to eat. You underestimate your sexual appeal to the other sex, Dylan.”
He swallowed again. He felt like fanning himself.
“Your face is quite red, Dylan. Maybe I should help you out of your clothing—
you look as if you’re overheating.”
She put her hands on his chest. A jolt ran through his body. She must have felt the force their physical connection caused because she jumped back, almost as if she’d been electrocuted.
“This can’t be ....” Her voice grew faint. She seemed stunned. Her eyes went wild—and he could pretty well guess they were not wild with passion.
She shook her head. As if she needed to prove to herself that it wasn’t true—she DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
touched his chest again. Again, the jolt ran through his body and back into hers. He noticed that her right hand rested right over his heart. Her eyes contained a soulfully mournful look to them. She seemed as vulnerable as he could ever imagine. Her ferocity and her tenacity melted away. He didn’t know what made him do it. He just couldn’t seem to hold back. He rested his hands over hers. The touch of her skin felt like silk against his somewhat calloused ones.
She drew in a shaky breath, and then slowly exhaled it.
“This is not to be. I can’t—no, this can’t be right. It must be a mistake!” She pulled her hands out from under his, and staggered backward. Were those tears pooling in her brightly lit eyes? Suddenly, he felt like a really big asshole.
“I never meant to have it get carried away this far—I just wanted to push your buttons a bit. I guess old habits die hard.”
She licked her lips at the word hard, and continued to back away from him.
“I—we—you simply don’t understand what this means, do you?”
“I have no idea what you’re going on about. All I know is that I’m intensely
attracted to you. It goes against all of my values and beliefs, let me tell you.”
“Sex on the night of our first meeting isn’t what I ever thought would happen
either. I’m not that sort of woman. In fact, I’ve never truly joined with anyone before
....”
“Hey—it’s okay, you don’t need to continue elaborating. You don’t owe me an
explanation. Your life is your life—there is no reason for our lives to intersect. You’re my bodyguard, nothing more, nothing less.” Now, he was rambling.
“You need to listen to me.”
“I don’t see where I wasn’t listening to you.”
She put as much distance between him and her as he possibly could. She still
looked inclined to either run from him, or give him a kiss of fire.
“We can’t touch ever again. Or at least I can’t touch your heart, and you can’t touch mine. If we do it at the same time—we will both be lost. You won’t be able to resist me and I won’t be able to resist you.” She took another shaky breath.
“I don’t understand. Sure, I’m highly attracted to you, and I admit the thought of kissing you appeals to me and .…”
She put her hand up. “I know. I know. I feel the same way. But as you said you don’t understand. A dragon shifter's heart is one that will call and find it’s true mate.”
“You mean like a soul mate?”
“Aye. A soul mate like no other .…” She lost her color. She seemed
overwhelmed by whatever had occurred between them.
“You mean when you touched my heart .…”
“The jolt it gave me wasn’t a normal experience for me. I’ve never felt it with any other man—not even the man I thought I once loved.”
“Look, if it were up to me—I’d be off somewhere on my own, working on my
spell. I prefer living the life of a hermit. Sure, it doesn’t have many perks—but it keeps me out of trouble. I definitely don’t need you distracting me—even if you are supposed to be my protector.”
Something changed in her eyes. Something, that looked like anger.
“Well, get off that bloody high horse of yours, Dylan. You are stuck with me for the foreseeable future, and if we aren’t careful we will be stuck together forever.”
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“I still don’t understand .…”
“Let me put this into words you just might understand! The feeling that passed between us when I touched your heart is the most soul shattering feeling for our kind.
Even now, I can feel your essence seeping into my heart and my blood. If we ever, ever happen to connect again, I won’t be able to stop it.”
“Stop it?”
“I won’t be able to control the mating fire.”
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
Chapter Three
“The Mating Fire?” She watched as the blood gradually drained from his face.
The pompous smugness he’d worn with such pride no longer gave him an air of
invulnerability. His barriers were down, and the flustered way he looked made her heart lighten. At least she wasn’t the only one deeply disturbed by the revelation.
Her palms tingled from the force of their connection. She flexed her fingers, trying to still the odd sensations the echo of his touch left on her skin. Already, she could feel the edge of his mind lightly pressing against hers. Already, she could hear the beating of his heart. She dragged in a heavy breath, slowly putting herself into a state where she could drown out and protect herself from the building blocks of the bonding.
Soon, within a few days, they would both be drowning in the effects—they would not be able to avoid the call to mate no matter how hard they tried.
“This Mating Fire ….” His voice halted on each word. “It won’t happen when
you are in your dragon form will it?”
Her patience finally snapped. “No.” She turned away from him. “We do not
make love in our dragon skins. As dragon shifters we hold keenly to our humanity.”
“And yet, you live part of your life as a dragon.”
“You know not of what you speak.” She gazed down at the floor—suddenly,
staring right into his eyes made her feel vulnerable. She had never felt so close and yet so estranged from a person. Mustering her courage, she looked up briefly at him.
“I know enough. You’ve given me a sickness. Thanks for that. You were
supposed to protect me. Fat lot of good, that was. Instead of protecting me from the fire—you’ve thrown me into the bloody pot!”
She whirled back on him. “You just don’t get it, do you?” Looking to the ceiling she gave a frustrated sigh. “The Fates mock me! They have given me a man like you to spend the rest of eternity with! If we aren’t cautious, we will end up destroying each other!”
“Eternity? Now don’t go jumping
to any conclusions. Steady on, there.”
“You are an immortal wizard, are you not?”
“The last time I checked—yeah.”
“Then, when we finally give in to the Mating Fire you will be mine forever.”
“I don’t like the way you word that—you’ve put it like I’m going to be your first course.”
She laughed. “Well, I tell you, you’ll enjoy the afters. You are the most
irritating, most obnoxious man I’ve ever met. You put some of my friends from back home to shame.”
“I take that as a compliment.”
“Good.” She closed her eyes, trying to curtail the rioting emotions battling inside of her. She had to breathe before she set something afire.
“Those candles over there just lit on their own. I swear I didn’t do it.” He raised his hands up in a gesture of submission.
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“That’s me. I’m overheating.”
“Oh, okay. Well, maybe you should make a fast getaway out the back door …
there isn’t room for you to transform in here … I’ll be squished.”
She resisted the temptation to smile. Sweat beaded on her forehead. “Aren’t you feeling it?”
“I’m randy most of the time—so don’t worry, I can deal with it. A good cold
shower should just do the trick for both of us.”
“As our bond forges more and intensifies, I guarantee you won’t be able to deal with it. You’ll be trying to rip my clothes off just as much as I’ll be wanting to tear your clothes off.”
“And on that note … where are your brown beans? I’m starving—I need to eat
something soon, unless you’d like me to conjure some food up.”
“No. You don’t need to use magic. My world doesn’t revolve around calling
upon dragon magic—I know how to live like a human—it would seem far better than you do.”