Max was having fun, something not very common for him. Heather was delighted by the small village filled with humans and changelings, half-dragon and half-human beings. She delighted in the stores and in the smell of the flowers growing wild along the meandering streets. He kept watching her face closely, wondering if she had been truthful when she had said that she did not want to have a child with Blake.

That she had just met Blake, he knew. That she was a rather unwilling visitor to his land, he also knew. But Blake, for all his faults, could be very charming when he chose to be. It was clear that Blake had no thought of abandoning his rather ridiculous plan to have children with either Heather or her crazy friend. That Max also wanted Heather rather complicated things. That he wanted her was not something he could deny any longer.

However, he had been truthful when he had told her that what had happened had not been Blake’s fault and that it had been unfair. The law had been broken, and that punishment had been severe but necessary. The law never took into account the reasons why someone committed a crime, only that they had.

The evening was gone now in darkness way across the land. Heather asked, “Are we going to climb back up the mountain?”

He shook his head. “No. We’re going to walk off to the side a bit and then were going to fly.”

She asked, “Why do they get so disturbed at the sight of you if they have changelings in their midst?”

He regarded her carefully. Her lack of knowledge of what went on in that world floored him a bit, but he could understand it. If he had to stay in her world for more than any amount of time, he would’ve been just as confused. In truth, he was always confused by her world even if he was just popping in briefly as he had during that moment when he had accidentally snatched her. He said, “Well, changelings have no powers. They don’t have the ability to fly. At most, they can transform, but they don’t have wings.”

She stared at him, her mouth agape. “So, you’re saying they kind of look like T-Rex?”

He blinked. “What is that?”

She shook her head. “Never mind. So, it’s the fact that you fly that bothers them?”

He said, “It bothers the changelings. Those who do not have flight regret that they don’t. It’s neither fair nor wise to show them what they lack.”

She said, “I can see that.”

He pulled her a few hundred yards along the base of the cliff, out of the sight of the glowing lights that shone from the houses. He changed and let her climb aboard his back and then he set off, winging his way toward the castle.

Her laughter came from overhead, and he craned his neck around asked, “What is it?”

She said, “I don’t know. I just felt like laughing.”

He turned his head back forward. He knew exactly what made her laugh. He often felt the same joy while in flight. He could not imagine being a human and not possessed of the ability to fly. He often felt pity for the changelings for their lack of flight. The worst thing that could happen to a dragon would be to lose his wings.

Some dragons did choose that. They chose to live in the other world as mortals: something else he knew he would never be able to do.

They landed on the roof. His wings folded and he lowered himself gently so that she could dismount. The phantom warmth of her body lay over his body, causing his to ache all over again and in a way that said the next ride he wanted to give her would be in his bed.

She stood beside him, the gown molded to her body by the wind. The outlines of her figure, all lean angles and sharp curves, pert and high breasts and gently belling hips, made his rod throb and then throb again. She was beautiful, no doubt, but there were plenty of beautiful females in that world. What was it about her that called to him? That sang like a siren song in his ear and inflamed his lust to the point that he could feel it boiling just below the surface of his skin?

He moved, meaning to just walk away. Instead, she stepped toward him, and he forgot all the words of caution that had rung through his head just a few seconds before.

She was dangerous, this human. She could and would change him somehow: he was sure of it. There was no way he was about to kiss her.

Only he did. His mouth touched her lips and the taste of her ripe and warm mouth sent his senses into overdrive. Her lips parted, and his tongue plunged into the wet and warm depths of her mouth, making him go harder than ever before. His hips arched forward and he felt hers respond to that wordless demand. Her pelvis bumped against the fat and long expanse of his organ, sending even more blood into that girth and making a low growl spill from his mouth.

She came to her senses it seemed because she moved away, her hands flattening on his broad chest. Even that touch made his lower body pulse and ache with unrequited desire.

She whispered, “I don’t think we should be up here doing this.”

He muttered, “You’re right.” Then he picked her up in his arms, cradling her body against his as he asked, “Would you rather go somewhere besides this roof with me?”

The only thing she said to that question was a vehement yes.