“A dragon? Really?” Savannah threw her arms in the air, flopping back onto Mack’s couch. “I mean, I guess I knew that night.” Letting her head fall back, staring at the blades of the ceiling fan going round and round, she went on, “But he was so handsome and such a good dancer…”

“Not to mention, a helluva kisser,” Mack snickered, taking a seat on the other end of the sofa.

“Shut up,” Savannah glared. “You didn’t pick up on the fact that he was a dragon either.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t the one with my tongue down his throat.” Mack winked over the rim of her glasses.

Blowing out a long-suffering breath, the Queen knew when she was beaten and sighed, “Yeah, I know.” Then turning her head to the side, “But, oh my Goddess, that man has all the right moves. He is just so…so…”

“I believe the words you’re looking for is freakin’ irresistible.” Mack set down her glass of tea and scooted closer to her sister. “And I also believe this is the second time you’ve made a hasty retreat, leaving him in your wake. So, tell me, great and wonderful Queen Savannah, what are you going to do now?”

Hating when any of her sisters teased her by calling her ‘great and wonderful’, Savannah groused, “Don’t call me that. You know I left the bar with the hopes of drawing the jaguars away from all those innocent shifters. It’s me they’re after, me who they’ve been trying to kill since the day they murdered mom and dad.”

Getting to her feet, Savannah began to pace. “Today, well, it was just too much to handle. That blasted dragon has been on my mind every minute of every day since that night. I can’t get a moment’s peace. Everywhere I look, I see his face. I sleep and dream of his kisses.” She turned towards her sister and growled, “It’s absolutely driving me crazy.”

“Then give in.”

“What?” Savannah spat, looking at Mack like she had three heads.

“Give in.” Mack shrugged. “Go to him. Call him. Have dinner with him. Do something. You obviously want to spend time with him.” Her sister stood, closed the distance between them and put her hands on Savannah’s shoulders. “You deserve to be happy. Deserve to have a man who completes you in every way, someone who loves you, and you love back.”

“Love? Have you lost your mind?” The Queen pulled away from her sister, taking a step back. “I can’t be in love. I have responsibilities, a Pride to run, lions to keep safe.”

“And you have done it very well for many years, but it’s time you have something, someone, for yourself. You know it just as well as I do, you simply refuse to admit it…at least out loud.”

“But he’s a dragon, and they are so….”

“So what? What the hell do you know except what other people have said? Tessa is mated to one and I’ve never seen her happier.” Mack stepped up to Savannah again, this time smiling as she added, “What is that saying mom used to always recite? The Universe doesn’t make mistakes. Fate won’t be denied.” She patted Savannah’s arm. “This is Fate, Sis and for once in your damn life, you gotta go for it. You’ve faced way bigger obstacles than a head-strong dragon without batting an eye.”

“Maybe…”

Sighing and shaking her head Mack backed away, suggesting, “Tell me about the meeting. How did you handle it after you heard his voice in your head? After you knew for sure that he was the one?”

Snickering despite the stress she felt, Savannah plopped back down on the couch and answered, “I ignored him. I kept it very professional and when we were done, I made an excuse then hightailed it over here like a young cub scared of her own shadow.”

Sitting up on the edge of the couch, turning towards Mack who had also taken a seat, Savannah agreed, “I know you’re right. Have no idea what I’m so scared of or why I’m stalling. It’s obvious we belong together. And the Goddess knows, I’m so damned jealous of our sisters with their mates and their kids and their happily-ever-afters that there are days I can’t see straight.”

“Then for all the catnip in the world, do something about it.” Mack swatted her arm. “Be that take-charge woman I’ve always looked up to and go get your man. This wishy-washy, mamby-pamby bullshit might work for other girls, but you, my lovely sister, are the Queen of the Jungle and as such need to get off your lazy ass and go for it.”

Jumping to her feet along with her little sister, Savannah hugged Mack before agreeing, “You are absolutely right, and I know just the way to do it.” Pulling back but keeping her hands on her sister’s upper arms, the Queen grinned, “Put on your best shit-kicking boots and your favorite jeans, tonight’s Country Music Night at The Sundowner and I’m going to lasso me a dragon.”

“Yeehaw!” Mack shouted with a fist pump.

*****

Somewhere between getting dressed and driving out to the bar, Savannah’s courage went from a hundred to nonexistent. Gripping the steering wheel of her champagne-colored SUV, she lamented, “I’m doing the right thing, right?”

“Of course, you are,” Mack emphatically agreed in a matter-of-fact tone, touching up her lipstick before adding, “And please dear Goddess, tell me that wimp that was in my house earlier this evening isn’t rearing her ugly head.” She shifted in her seat. “Because that chick makes me want to throw up. You are not a withering, little flower, so just shut the hell up and get us to that bar.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.” Savannah mock saluted. “Maybe you should have been the Queen,” she added with a snicker.

“Oh, hell, no. I would’ve had us in a war within an hour of taking the crown. Someone would’ve popped off in a meeting, and I would’ve gone all ‘Queen of Hearts’ on their ass, screaming ‘Off with their heads’!”

Laughing out loud, Savannah teased, “What does that make me, the White Rabbit?”

“No way, the Mad Hatter, my love, definitely the Mad Hatter.”

Still chuckling when they arrived at The Sundowner, the female lions got out of the SUV, the honky-tonk sounds of country music filling the night air. Walking past a row of Harleys, Savannah breathed in the warm, succulent aroma of burning cedar and male dragon. Determined to take what she deserved, what the Universe had made for her, what Fate was offering up on a silver platter, the Queen walked taller and with infinitely more confidence than when she’d stepped out of her vehicle.

Side-by-side with her sister, Savannah opened the huge, oak doors of the bar and marched in like she owned the place. Her eyes panned the crowd, a nearly packed house, until they landed on Hayes. Handing Mack her keys, she winked, “Don’t wait up,” and headed towards the tall, muscular man who made her heart beat fast and her lioness purr.

With his back to her, Savannah took the opportunity to let her eyes roam his mouth-watering physique. The longer she looked, the more her fingers tingled and her thighs trembled just remembering what it felt like to close to him.

Her breath came quicker as visions of their first kiss filled her thoughts. Her body warmed as her eyes roamed the wide set of his shoulders stretching the cotton of his plaid shirt to its limit. Taking in the long lines of his torso narrowing to his waist and the way the worn denim of his jeans lovingly caressed his ass before perfectly outlining the powerful muscles of his thighs, she couldn’t help but smile.

Reaching out to tap her dragon on the shoulder, Savannah gasped when Hayes turned, spearing her with his brilliant blue gaze. Not willing to let this moment pass, the Queen dropped her hand and smiled, “How about a dance?”

With a shit-eating grin and a twinkle in his eye signaling he was most definitely up to something, the blond Guardsman bowed before looking up and answering in an extremely exaggerated Southern accent, “Why I’d be delighted, Miss Savannah.”

Placing her hand in his, electricity raced through her veins, landing in the center of her womb, heating her body to near boiling. Leaning into him, loving the feel of being wrapped in his arms, Savannah shivered as Hayes’ voice once again flowed through her mind, “Sweet Goddess, mo chroí, you smell like Heaven.”

Mom was so right, Fate will not be denied…