Three hours later, Cao landed his helicopter on his island, his private island. Yeah, it was a thing with Eight Immortals. They loved their secluded getaways. This one was enclosed in enchanted mist, so no chance of anyone popping by.

Definitely, no meddling Matchmaker.

He glanced at Ling, who’d fallen asleep on the ride. The sun had set an hour ago and darkness descended over the island. She didn’t even flinch as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the manor. The woman was a dead-to-the-world kind of sleeper, that was for sure. Gently, he laid her on the bed in the master bedroom and then went to get the estate ready. Since he didn’t come to this island often, and he also didn’t have any staff looking after the place like some of his Eight Immortal buddies, the preparations fell on him when he visited.

Though he’d switched on the generator, he decided to light candles instead.

Seemed like the appropriate romantic shit to do.

Hopefully, Ling concluded the same.

Nerves twisted through his muscles. What would he do with her here? They hadn’t clarified their intentions on the ride, mostly because Ling had fallen asleep.

Cao raked his hands through his hair and decided he needed a shower, so he headed for the bathroom. After tossing off his clothes, he flipped on the warm spray and stepped beneath it, basking for long minutes. Wasting the hot water. Ling would kill him.

He grinned at the image of her cute, scrunched up nose. Fury blazing in her molten silver pools.

She was damned good at putting him back in line when he’d crossed the wrong ones.

He’d just have to determine which ones were the right ones to cross with her.

Spikes of awareness zinged along the back of his neck. Ling was here.

In eager anticipation of confronting his little voyeur, Cao spun around, on full display. If she came for a spectacle, he’d give her one.

A feminine figure propped against the far wall, hands on the tiles on either side of her, one knee crooked with her foot flat against the wall. Twists of blue locks cascaded down to her hips and, as she emerged from the shadows, the mischief glinting in her sapphire orbs had him immensely regretting his cocky exhibition.

Damn, but she was not Ling.

* * *

Well, hello there, gorgeous,” a feminine voice purred next to Ling’s ear.

The weight of sleep plunged right off Ling and she bolted upright, whipping open her eyes. “Who the hell are you?” She gaped at a blue-haired female.

Dressed in tight-fitting black leather, the woman bent forward enticingly, showing off her pert curves. “I’m Ry,” she murmured, fluttering long, blue-black lashes. “Qinglong, if you haven’t already guessed. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time.” She glimpsed over her shoulder toward the door.

Never mind this woman’s overt sexuality, what had she done with her guardian? “Where’s Cao?” Ling rose from the bed, side-stepping the pretty dragon lady perched on her bed.

“Don’t worry.” Ry’s smile gleamed, highlighting her shimmery blue lip gloss. “He’s safe with my kin.”

Kin. Right. Qinglong. They were her mother’s breed. Did they know Princess Tasi? “Why are you here?”

“To bring you home, of course.” Ry scuffed her nails on her forearm and arched a brow at Ling. “Wouldn’t you like to meet your family?”

That was a question she hadn’t figured out the answer to. Yet. It would seem, the answer was no longer her choice. “How did you even find me? Or know who I am?” Cao had insisted this island was safe. Dammit.

“Oh, that was a bit of fun.” Ry’s lips curved in mischief. “Come on. Meet the den.” She hopped off the edge of the bed and sashayed through the door, leaving Ling free to follow, or not.

Should I try to escape? They have Cao. Grab a weapon? She snorted. Yeah, right. Against a group of dragons? She’d stand no chance.

The Matchmaker had warned Ling of her many enemies, but if these dragons had sought her death, she’d already be without a heartbeat. Loyalty was paramount among dragon breeds. Being the daughter of their princess, Ling might hold some kind of sway.

Steeling her shoulders, she treaded toward the door and peeked into the living space. Cao was on his knees, surrounded by a half-circle of badass-looking dragons in human form, wearing leather outfits to match Ry’s. Oh, gods. She counted seven, including Ry. Far too many to take on between the two of them.

She swallowed hard and stepped into the room, praying this was the right move.

Because if she was wrong, Cao was as good as dead.

* * *

The moment he caught sight of Ling, Cao stopped struggling. Sweet Emperor. She’s safe. Which meant, these dragons had other plans for Ling.

He wasn’t certain that was better.

He’d ask how they’d penetrated the enchanted mist surrounding the island but, of course, the answer was, they’re fucking dragons.

The apparent leader, a provocative, blue-haired, leather-clad female by the name of Ry prowled about the room, seeming to enjoy every second of this. At least she’d let him dress before binding his hands with invisible bonds. “Ling, meet your den mates.” She swept an arm toward the other six dragons.

“Hi.” Ling lifted an awkward hand.

“Don’t you remember us, dear?” One of the other female dragons sauntered forward and a bright flash blasted over her, changing her form into that of…a little old woman?

Holy. Shit.

The other dragons mirrored her, taking the various forms of elderly humans, false teeth, canes, white and gray hair, and wrinkles included.

“No way.” Ling sucked in her breath and shot him an incredulous look, her rounded eyes losing some of their fear.

“You recognize them?” He narrowed his gaze on the grouping. What the hell was going on?

“Kind of?” Ling pursed her lips and arched her brows. “They’re, ah, Da Xia’s mahjong buddies?”

“You got us.” Ry gave an impish shrug, and the whole lot transformed back into their youthful human shapes.

“I don’t understand.” Ling studied the other woman. “Why didn’t you ever—”

“We had a deal with Da Xia.” Ry curled her lip at Cao. “By the way, your new guardian? Definitely a downgrade.”

He wrenched his arms, but his bonds held tight. Fuck them.

“What kind of deal?” Wariness crept back into Ling’s tone.

Yeah, he was afraid of that, too.

“Nothing nefarious.” Air puffed from Ry’s lips. “When we learned of your existence, we had a right to keep an eye on you. Qinglong have scores of enemies, you know.” Her spine went rigid. “We look after our own.”

There it was again. The threat which wasn’t a threat, but yet, it was.

“Mmm.” Ry leaned close to Ling’s hair and sniffed. “My, but you really are something special, aren’t you, darling.”

Ling squirmed beneath Ry’s sexual advances, so the woman stepped back. “You take your time, love, no pressure.”

Take her time? Cao scowled, sensing he’d missed something. Why had these dragons come now? Why leer at Ling like she was some prize to be claimed…through fucking?

Sweet gods. He swallowed hard, the pieces slamming into place. Ling was special, the Matchmaker had said. Damn, she should have explained better. Special equals virgin. There were no other guys. Because if there had been, they’d be dead.

Ling hadn’t yet freed her dragon, which would be released through jīng energy—sex—and suddenly, a horde of dragons show up on his doorstep, kidnapping her? How had they even discerned she was ready for this? Had they been spying on him and Ling this whole time?

Hell, no. That didn’t mean he could stop this. Sadly, he didn’t have any choice at the moment. Any action he took would make this situation worse.

“Thanks for checking in on me, but I’m fine,” Ling intoned, her tongue rolling over each of the words precisely.

From the corners of his eyes, he caught the other dragons closing in on Ling, tightening their circle to trap her in.

“I realize you believe that, hon, but the truth is, you’re not safe. Not with him.” She jerked her chin toward Cao. “We’re here to take you to where you belong.”

“No, please.” Ling quivered, and the blur of Sheep cloaked her, blasting through the room with a rush of crisp air. “Leave, now,” she ground, Sheep’s head bending low, its wooly body braced for a fight.

The dragons reacted lightning fast, exploding into their beastly forms, claws poised and eyes blazing.

One slipped a razor claw beneath his chin before he’d had the chance to break these bloody bonds. “Oh, we’ll leave, all right.” Ry smirked, baring her fangs. “But only if you come with us.”

* * *

No, Cao. Ling swallowed hard and scrambled for a plan. Instead of fight in his eyes, Cao stared at her in resignation, giving his head a slight shake. They were outnumbered. Humans or demons, they might take on, but not dragons.

Her, they wouldn’t harm, but they wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Cao. The outcome would be the same. They’d make her leave with them.

She’d pondered visiting her mother, true, but she took that back. The last thing she sought was to go anywhere with this bunch. Though she recognized them, she didn’t know a thing about them. What were their plans for her?

She lowered her head, Sheep’s cloaking dissipating. “Fine, I’ll go with you. If you swear not to hurt him.”

Outnumbered or not, those dragons did not want to experience the depths of her fury if they crossed her.

Ry crooked her fingers at a male dragon. “Well, I can’t promise that, because he’s going to follow us, but I can vow not to kill the immortal. Good enough?” She circled to Cao and snapped her fingers. “Now, Bron.” The male dragon carried forward a chest, opened it, and dumped the entire pile of coins and treasures on top of Cao, encasing him to his mid-chest. A second dragon opened his mouth and a gust of fiery blue blasted over the gold, melting it.

Cao howled, then clenched his jaw tight and dropped limp, head slumping forward.

“Cao,” Ling rushed forward, but another dragon clamped his clawed foot around her arm and held her back.

“Don’t worry, love, he’ll live,” the dragon snickered.

She blinked back tears and exhaled shakily while studying Cao for any sign he was all right. An agonized groan rumbled from him, reassuring and devastating at the same time.

“A waste of good treasure.” A female dragon clicked her tongue.

Ling shot her a furious scowl. Damned dragons.

“Let’s go, before he regenerates.” Ry clapped her hands and the gang switched into their human forms, two of them ushering Ling between them to a transport helicopter outside.

They piled inside, hoisting Ling into the middle. She contemplated the open door, but jumping out wasn’t appealing. Neither was falling to her death. They’d rescue her, anyway.

No choice in this. She was as good as a prisoner.

The helicopter took off, leaving Cao’s island behind in the distance, and traveling across endless miles of smooth ocean toward the sunrise. She was packed in tight between two burly guys, both of whom kept eyeing her up and down, smug glints in their expressions.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but we’d all like to take turns fucking you,” Ry purred into her ear from the seat behind her. “Actually, we’ve got bets on which one of us can free your dragon.” She pressed a tiny kiss beneath Ling’s ear, making her flinch. “Personally, I hope it’ll be me.”

Oh, gods. M hadn’t been exaggerating about dragons and sexual energy. It poured off these potent beings, drenching her. According to Jade, dragon orgies were a thing…a thing Ling didn’t seek to learn more about. Definitely not first hand.

She squeezed herself into as small an area as possible, until the helicopter landed on a floating dock in the middle of the water. Ling couldn’t spot anything for miles, but before she had a chance to question the dragons, they hopped out, hauling her between them.

“Time to swim, hon. Don’t worry, Qinglong can breathe under water.” Ry nodded at her, grabbed her wrist, and leapt off the dock.

Ling didn’t have a chance to seize in a respiration before she was dragged under. Her lungs burned, demanding air. She flung open her eyes and fought off Ry’s grasp, but the woman was crazy strong, and besides, Ry was breathing. Smugly gulping in water and not drowning.

Sweet gods. I’m only half dragon. Ling jabbed her finger toward the surface, but one of the males nabbed her other wrist and towed her deeper.

This is how I die. The searing was unbearable. She wasn’t able to hold the air in her lungs any longer. Ling opened her mouth and sucked in the water. Her body bucked, and she waited for her lungs to reject the liquid, but strangely, they didn’t. The water went in like air did and, tentatively, she blew out her breath, forming a trail of bubbles.

What the hell?

Maybe I already died.

This might be some crazy attempt of her brain to ease into the afterlife.

Or, it could be real.

Slowly, she drew in another inhalation. The water went in; the water went out. Her muscles relaxed, the tension and fear of drowning dissipating.

I’m Qinglong. A sapphire-scaled water dragon of the East Sea. The ocean is my home.

She blinked at a bright illumination before her. They approached some kind of underwater feature. A massive waterfall within the ocean that should have been impossible. Ling braced as the two dragons on either side of her pulled her through the briskly flowing water creating an invisible field, but nothing happened to her. No electric shocks or the like. Because I’m one of them.

Curiosity overruled her trepidations and Ling gaped at the expansive cavern sprawled before her. The hollow was at least a city block wide, with carved rock formations forming columns dividing the entrance at equal intervals.

Amazing. This was where she belonged. This was home.

* * *

Ughn. Cao groaned, his head groggy from the spike of pain his body had endured. Bloody dragons.

They’d smelted gold around his torso, which had melted through his flesh until it had hardened, and now, his body attempted to regenerate itself.

The sizzle of his own flesh had never been one of his favorite sounds. Or smells.

None of that mattered. They could do with him what they wished. His fears were for Ling. What plans did the Qinglong scheme?

He wriggled, but his flesh hadn’t healed yet, and he winced, holding his breath against the searing reminders of burns.

How would he get out of this on his own? He wouldn’t. That was the sad truth. He might rot here for centuries, and never actually rot.

It was a damned good idea. Stupid dragons. He grimaced and focused on a solution. Had Ling already been in their clutches too long? Ry hadn’t revealed what her plans for Ling were, but her hints had been suggestive enough.

Ling hadn’t freed her dragon form. Yet. Dragons loved a challenge.

He was pretty sure they wouldn’t force her into anything, but the idea of Ling going with them willingly stung worse than this liquified gold poured across his flesh had.

He surmised where they were taking her. To the Qinglong palace in the Eastern Sea. Cao winced as he recalled the last time he’d ventured there. The time he’d gotten pissed drunk with the other Eight Immortals and wound up in a battle with one of the Dragon King’s sons. That hadn’t ended well, although they’d eventually come to a peaceful pact.

The Dragon King had warned him never to come back. When Cao managed to get free, that was exactly where he planned on going.

If he ever got free. He sighed and wiggled his still-forming toes. Argh. Not a good idea.

“Hey there,” a cheery and familiar voice echoed into the room.

Who was it? Cao twisted, but he couldn’t confirm the owner. Perhaps, he was hallucinating.

A low whistle crashed through his ears and thudding steps circled him. Two big guys paused in front of him, crossing their arms and cocking their heads in unison. “Now, that is a cool idea.”

Cao lifted his head and squinted at the pair. Wait, he did know them. “Delun? Price? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Clearly not the same thing you are.” Delun unfolded his arms.

“Having a time out, are we?” Price snickered, bending to peer closer at the smelted gold.

“We came because we sensed Sheep’s distress,” Delun elaborated. “Where’s Ling?”

Oh. Right. Chosen were linked and, since Ling had joined with Dragon, they’d detected her outburst.

“Gone.” He shook his head. “Qinglong came and took her back with them. Can you get me out? There's a torch in the shed.”

“No need. Dragon can do the trick,” Delun cloaked his spirit animal, “but mate, this is going to bloody hurt.”

“Bring it on.” He gritted his teeth against the first blasting wave of dragon fire.

The second he was free of these bonds, he was going after her.

He’d bring Ling back.

And make those dragons pay hell.