The next morning, Farrah woke up groggily, vaguely remembering being ushered to bed by Nic after their dinner and her drunken antics afterward.

She leaned forward over her knees, rubbing her hands over her face, wiping sleep and regret from her eyes.

Had she really come on to Nic? And had it really been a mistake, something to regret?

Yes, she’d had wine, but her attraction to him had been building. Sure, part of it was that shifters were naturally more attractive than most human males could hope to be, but she’d never cared about that when they’d been jerks like the ones who captured her.

But with someone kind, thoughtful, caring like Nic, it was a little hard not to fall for them.

And it wasn’t just his looks or strength; it was the way he didn’t know how to take compliments, the way he didn’t seem to have any idea how good of a person—well, dragon—he was. He understood his strength and that he was good at his job, but he didn’t seem to understand the other things that were good about him and so rare.

Rare amongst humans and she guessed among shifters as well.

He hadn’t once tried to come on to her, and even with her drunk and coming on to him, he hadn’t tried to pull anything with her.

Was he not attracted to her or something? She rumpled her sheets frustratedly, not having any idea. And why was it so important when she intended to forget it all anyway?

Perhaps because last night, for the first time in so long, it felt like she was starting to live.

She sighed, stretched, and decided to go downstairs and eat breakfast before her shower. She also wanted to check on Arsenic, make sure he was okay after last night. Would he be… mad?

That seemed unlikely, but she could imagine she’d been frustrating.

She threw a robe on over her pajamas and tied the belt around her waist, then crept down the stairs, listening for now-familiar sounds in the kitchen.

Sure enough, she heard the clanking of dishes that meant Arsenic was cooking breakfast.

So maybe things would be business as usual?

When she walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to see him in a robe as well, a black one with black flannel pants underneath. He looked over his shoulder at her and then pulled a plate from the cupboard and shoveled eggs and bacon from it before setting it on the table.

The he turned back to the cooking and spoke to her with his back turned. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Fine,” she said. “A little headachy, but that’s normal. I drank a bit too much. I guess I’m a lightweight.”

He nodded. “You should be more careful in the future. What if I’m not around?”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “Yeah.”

He served himself a plate and came to sit at the table on the opposite end. “Anything I can do for you?”

“No, you’re already doing enough,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”

“I’m not doing much of anything,” he said, poking at his eggs. His dark hair was a little wild, as if he’d showered and slept on it, and it gave him a look somewhat like a caged animal.

Like all of his looks, it was still hot.

His green eyes were hesitant, almost nervous. “I haven’t had a chance to be of much use since the day at the Christmas tree lot. Not that I really want you to ever be threatened or anything.”

“Nonsense. You’re doing a lot,” she said, taking a bite of her eggs and smiling at him as she chewed. “Helping me live again, for one thing.”

“How so?” he asked, looking slightly suspicious.

“I mean, lots of ways. Listening. Holding me. Taking me out into the world and reminding me I can still do all the things I like doing.”

“Oh, good,” he said. “That makes me feel better, then.”

She gulped down enough of the eggs and bacon that he hopefully wouldn’t gripe about it and then slid over a chair to be closer to him. She put a hand over his on the table and watched carefully as his gaze widened in alarm.

She knew this was forward. That she shouldn’t be doing it. So why did the feel of his skin against hers feel so right?

He swallowed slowly. “What are you doing?”

She rubbed her hand slowly over his, feeling the velvety skin that was just slightly coarser than hers. “It’s just… Something odd has been happening. While I was captured, I forgot my body was mine. I forgot it was anything but an experiment, a capsule of pain for inserting syringes, to be stripped or invaded or studied without my say-so. I found myself slowly detaching from it, as if it didn’t belong to me anymore. As if somehow making it not a part of me any longer made everything easier to bear, because it wasn’t happening to me.”

He nodded, looking at her carefully, and she was grateful that he didn’t take his hand away, though he made no attempts to further their contact.

“And, um… lately, with you, the past couple of days, something odd has been happening. I not only feel my body again, but I want to. I look at you and I want to do things I never thought I would again because they involved my body. I look at you and I’m not just a spirit and a body. I just feel my urges, my feelings, my need coursing through me, like there’s no separation anymore.” She rubbed his hand gently and then squeezed it, staring into his green eyes, which were now blazing. “When I touch you, I come alive.”

“Damn,” he said through gritted teeth, pulling his hand back. “Don’t get me wrong. Anything I can do to help you makes me feel amazing, but I think I’ve reached the limits of where I can help. I’m here to protect you, not take advantage.”

She grabbed his hand, pulling it back, and he didn’t struggle. “If anything, it’s me taking advantage of you. Because I know what I want, and it would help me, but I know it isn’t exactly a fair position to put you in. I mean, you didn’t come here for this… and who knows if you’re even attracted to me?”

“What?” He jerked slightly, sitting up taller and pulling his hand back to fold his arms. “What gave you that impression?”

“You haven’t… I mean, you don’t look at me like…”

“I’m not an animal,” he said. “I have control of my urges.”

She pressed her lips together. “Then…”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said.

“Is it even possible between humans and dragons?” she asked.

“I can fuck you, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said tersely.

She let out a tense laugh. “No, I mean… is that why you aren’t—”

“Aren’t what?”

“You haven’t come on to me. At all. You turned me down flat. You said it was because I was drunk, yes, but lots of other reasons.”

“I told you,” he said flatly. “I am not here to take advantage of you. As for if it’s possible, of course it is. How else would my brethren in the dragon guard be with their mates?”

“But what if she’s not your mate?”

He cocked his head. “We can fuck whoever we want. Whether we want to is another question.”

She sighed and sat back in her chair. “So I was right. You don’t want me.”

He’d left his chair and was next to her in a second, leaning over to place his hands on the table, crowding her in against it. “You know nothing about what I want.” His breath tickled the side of her neck, and she felt totally frozen by need.

She wanted to turn around, pull his lips down onto hers, drink him in, and feel utterly alive again.

But it had to be his choice, too.

“What do you want, then?”

“If things were simple, if things were different, I’d want to fuck your hot little cunt until you couldn’t walk straight, ‘til you couldn’t speak anything but my name, think of anything but needing my touch,” he said against her ear, tickling it and creating a pool of need that was warm and urgent inside her, making her squirm.

Then he stepped back as if he’d made his point. He walked to the counter and leaned back against it. If he thought he’d scared her, he was so, so wrong.

“What if I want that?” she asked. “What if it is simple? How can things be different?”

“You’d want that?” he asked, looking astonished. “You are asking me to separate this from my feelings. To do it as a purely physical act. Without care for you.”

“Feelings?” she asked. “You barely know me.”

“It doesn’t take any time for a dragon to find his mate. Feelings follow quickly.”

“I’m not your mate, though,” she said.

There was silence between them.

“So does that mean we can’t?”

“It just means it will be hard,” he said.

“What if you just kiss me first? If it doesn’t feel right, if you don’t want to, we’ll stop.” She got out of her chair and walked toward him. “We’re both single. We’re trapped together for now, and this can at least release our frustration.”

“You deserve more than a simple release of frustration,” he said, expression tight as she drew closer. Now she was the one trapping him, pinning him against the counter as he looked down haughtily.

But she could tell he was affected. His pulse was hammering at the base of his muscled neck. His hands were white where they were clenching the counter. His whole expression was just too tense, as if he were holding back more than he would ever let on.

“Come on. One kiss,” she said. “You may say I deserve more than a release of frustration, but that’s all I want now. It’s all I can have.” She bit her lip and pulled it slowly through, watching his tortured reaction. “It’s what I need.”

That seemed to do it, and with an uttered curse, he finally pushed away from the counter and caught her head gently in both his hands, forcing her to look up at him.

“Don’t you understand? One kiss and then stopping… I’ll never be able to do it…”

“I’m counting on it,” she said, parting her lips slightly and running her tongue along the lower one in invitation. She’d never been so sure about wanting anything, about something being right. She’d never have guessed she would come this far in such a short period of time, but just being with him was… healing her.

And she knew this was the next step.

“Damn you,” he said, finishing the words as his lips closed over hers. Warm silence overtook as she reveled in the feel of his hands on her face, keeping her encapsulated and safe. His fingers were playing gently in the hair around her ears, and his tongue stroked the seam of her lips, opening them slightly.

When she opened, he swept inside, and she nearly collapsed at the warmth that engulfed her like a tidal wave as he thoroughly claimed her mouth.

He pulled her in closer, molding her to his hard body, making her feel safe and so risky at the same time. Safe because here in his arms, nothing could ever happen. Risky because, with every touch, every lick, she was in danger of falling in love.

She pushed away those thoughts. That had nothing to do with this moment. A hot, momentary release. That was all.

As if he’d heard her, he pulled back from her lips and looked down into her eyes.

“What do you want from me now?”

She reached up on her toes and wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down so she could whisper in his ear. “Everything. I need you, Arsenic.”

As if the sound of his name snapped the last of his reservations, she felt herself swept quickly into the air, landing in his arms.

Then they were headed for the stairs, and she stifled a giggle at how quickly it was happening.

Perhaps her dragon wanted her after all.