“You must learn to control that temper,” Fredo mumbled when he peeked into my room after dinner and found me resting in my bed. “How long were you out this time?”

I shook my head. “No idea. I came to on the floor and crawled up the stairs.” I pointed to the key on the nightstand. “I’ll need a new thong for it.”

“Of course, sir.” He grabbed the key and walked over to lock the door.

I settled back into my pillows. With a little rest and some food, I’d be good as new in a few hours, thanks to the rapid healing abilities I shared with most shifters. “What did you make for dinner?” I closed my eyes and prayed it was high in iron and protein.

“I made New England Boiled Dinner and cornbread,” Fredo announced.

I groaned. “I need…”

“Of course, I have liver ready for you.” He nodded.

“Thank God. I’ll eat in here. Maybe I’ll be out later. This is the last night I can fly for a few days, so I plan to take advantage. I hope it might fix whatever ails me.” I gestured to my mid-section.

“Interesting,” Fredo murmured.

I sighed. “I’ll bite. What’s so interesting?”

“Someone else is complaining about a fluttering discomfort in her mid-section. This, naturally, is the same someone who was asking about you at dinner.” He disappeared inside my closet and I guessed he’d be returning with a robe.

Sitting up more, I murmured, “Maggie asked about me?”

“She did, sir.” Fredo dropped the robe on the end of my bed, then paused before exiting the room. “I’ll go get your dinner ready, sir.”

“Right. Sure. Yeah. Thanks.” I couldn’t focus on anything other than the idea that Maggie had wondered where I was. Business-minded as I am, I began thinking through next steps, plotting out where to go from here. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-practical measurement of risk in terms of gain and loss.

By the time Fredo returned, he found me slumped over my iPhone as I made note after note about my current situation. “Ready to eat, sir?”

I dropped the phone on my nightstand and adjusted my position so he could set the lap tray over me. “Thank you,” I murmured. Though he remained silent, I’d noticed the way his eyebrows shot up when I thanked him.

Fredo puttered around the room and I knew why. He worried over me. After all these years, I’d like to believe it had to do with more than money. He could easily find work with one of the other families in the Draco line. There were plenty of options out there, scattered about the globe, since our aging made it impossible to stay anywhere for long. We lived mostly solitary lives, aside from our mate and our servants. Fredo was often a source of frustration, but in moments like this, I was reminded of the comfort he provided as well.

Hungry as I was, I devoured the liver in less than five bites. All decorum was forgotten the minute I had to recover. Once I was done, I pushed the tray back and stretched. Closing my eyes, I listened to my body as it healed. The iron raced through my blood stream. The proteins built up my muscles. Soon, my strength returned. I pulled my legs out from under the blankets and exhaled. Standing, I spread my arms and grinned. “All better.”

“Yes, I see that, sir.” Fredo shifted uncomfortably as he helped me into my robe.

“What is it?” I frowned. My need to fly was great.

“Well, I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off Miss Maggie,” he murmured,

I groaned. “Give me an hour. Just let me get my head right. I want to see her, too, but I can’t do it like this.” I sighed in frustration. “I’ll mess up everything. This is important. My future is at stake, my line.” I shook my head.

“One hour, sir.” He nodded and backed out of the room.

When I heard the door latch behind him, I walked to the balcony, savoring the feel of the gentle breeze against my skin. Without hesitation, I untied the robe and shrugged a few times to make it slip off my shoulders. I was ready to fly.

* * *

From the couch in the library, I listened for Blaise’s door. It opened and quickly closed again. There were footsteps in the hall and I pretended not to notice as Fredo rushed past with an empty tray. So, Blaise had eaten, but not with me. I was restless and distracted. I’d read the same paragraph in this book about twelve times and if my life depended upon it, I still wouldn’t be able to give a synopsis. I barely hesitated. If Blaise could barge in on me when I didn’t want to see him, then surely it could work the other way. The flutter was growing more insistent and for some strange reason, I felt like if I could just see Blaise and talk to him, I might feel better. I tiptoed to the hallway and peeked toward his suite. The door was still closed. I’d waited long enough. I pushed up the sleeves of my thermal shirt, then I strode to his room. Taking a deep breath, I knocked, and then tested the handle. He couldn’t keep avoiding me. And if he wanted to, then I would just go. Yeah, that’s what I would say. The handle turned and with my shoulders back, and my head held high, I let myself in. “Blaise,” I began, in my most assertive voice. “We need to talk.”

I scanned the room, which appeared to be empty. Some movement on the balcony caught my attention. Blaise was perched on the railing, completely naked. For a moment, I was distracted by his muscular physique, which he’d hidden so well under his business attire. He had broad shoulders, tapering down to a narrow waist, and a really nice ass. Blaise spread his arms and without even acknowledging me, he dove head first down the cliff. I screamed as I rushed to the railing, fully expecting to find him in a crumbled, broken heap on the rocky shore. My heart raced, my flutter accelerated almost painfully now, instead of being merely annoying and unsettling. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. As I stared down into the dark, his body disappeared, and I imagined the worst. My body shook as I tried to stop the sobs. Already, my throat ached from holding them in. Only as I stared down, some…creature soared up into the air, wings pounding. I squinted through the fog, and with the help of the moonlight, I realized I was watching a dragon and gasped.

Suddenly, there were two hands on my biceps, pulling me back away from the balcony, even as the dragon met my gaze with his bright blue eyes, which reminded me of giant sapphires. These eyes were familiar to me, comforting, albeit confusing. Immediately, I calmed down. The tears dried up.

“This way, miss.” Fredo tugged me away from the railing and through the French doors, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the flying beast.

“Wait. Just…wait.” I yanked out of his grasp and rushed toward it once more as the creature hovered nearby. The beating wings created gusts which whipped my hair around. I struggled to try to pull it away from my face, so my view would remain unobstructed. Though I should’ve been afraid, I wasn’t. Instead of a monster, I saw strength and power. Strangely enough, I felt…safe.

The dragon flew higher into the air, circled and dove a few times. I stood there watching in wonder, frozen in place, completely unable to look away. After several minutes of performing tricks a little way out over the dark ocean, the dragon raced toward the balcony and the closer it came, the faster my heart raced. Finally, after shooting into the air above my head, the dragon morphed and Blaise dropped down to the balcony, landing in a crouch a foot away from me with a gentle thud. I was so focused on Blaise, I barely noticed when Fredo rushed up and helped him into his robe.

Once Blaise cinched it around his waist, he tilted his head and licked his lips while staring intently at me. “You weren’t afraid.” It wasn’t a question, but I still responded.

Shaking my head, I murmured, “Of you? Never.” Then I laid a hand over my abdomen. The flutter made it nearly impossible for me to concentrate.

His eyes honed in on the placement of my hand. “What if I did this?” he asked as he took a step toward me, wrapped me in his arms and pressed his lips to mine.

An incredible rush of heat spread through me. My mouth opened to his tongue’s gentle probing, engaging mine. Our heads twisted, perfectly attuned to each other, as if this had been choreographed instead of spontaneous. When he finally broke off the kiss, he buried his face in my throat and then pulled me closer to his chest.

“Not now either,” I whispered, almost afraid of ruining the moment.

Without warning, Blaise scooped me up into his arms like I weighed nothing at all. “You are one unexpected creature, Maggie Wallace,” he announced quietly. Then he kissed my temple.

“Look who’s talking.” I giggled.

He carried me to the bed and gently set me on the mattress before climbing on to join me. Reaching out, he held my hand in his and stared into my eyes while addressing his servant. “We’re good, Fredo. I’ll call if we need anything.”

“Yes, sir.” A moment later, I heard the door close, but since we couldn’t break our gaze, neither of us actually saw him leave.

“You said something about how we needed to talk, hm?” He grinned as he brought my hand to his lips and grazed my knuckles.

“Yeah. That. You first. I believe you have some explaining to do.” My brow shot up in challenge.

Blaise chuckled. “I do.” He shook his head. “I honestly expected I’d have to pry you from the ceiling when you saw me…like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, I’m made of tougher stuff than that, but I don’t understand how this is possible. I thought dinosaurs died off long ago.” My mind raced I sorted through conspiracy theories.

His brows rose. “What? You think I’m part pterodactyl?” Blaise chuckled as his thumb rubbed a circle on the back of my hand. “No, principessa. I don’t have an ounce of dinosaur in me.” He took a deep breath as though trying to prepare for a long explanation. “Dragons didn’t die off. We were nearly all killed off, as the fairy tales would suggest.” He lay down on his side and I did the same, inches from his body, facing him.

The flutter felt more manageable while we touched. “Go on,” I urged, eager to hear what he seemed reluctant to say.

Blaise nodded. “There’s one story no one shares. It has become a legend in Italy.” He swallowed and released my hand long enough to cup the side of my face and smooth back some stray strands of hair. “There once was a dragon who kidnapped a princess. See, back in the day, dragons had a much different life from the kind we have now. They kidnapped princesses for ransom. They loved nothing more than gold. They ate their fill of livestock. Needless to say, the townspeople were not fans.”

“You don’t say.” My brow rose.

With a chuckle, Blaise continued. “In fact, they rebelled, which was how dragons started dying off.”

“But this doesn’t explain how you’re a dragon.” My brow furrowed.

“Well, then maybe you should stop interrupting,” he teased. “And I’m not a dragon, I’m dragon shifter. Let me finish the story, then you can ask all the questions you want.”

“Fine.” I huffed. “I’ll just lie here quietly and listen.” I reached out and ran my fingers over his chest, as I examined his skin. While the dragon had scaled and leathery wings, Blaise felt wholly human.

He shook his head and I knew he was as affected by my touch as I was his, which made me feel incredibly powerful. “Where was I?”

“Kidnapping, ransoming, and pillaging,” I joked.

“Right.” He chuckled. “This lifestyle had been working out pretty well until a certain dragon kidnapped a princess who bewitched him with her golden hair.” Blaise ran his fingers through my dark locks. “He couldn’t stand the idea of ransoming her and losing her. The princess, for her part, didn’t want to return. See, the king had arranged a marriage for her, which was designed to not only bring peace between two warring countries, but also fill his coffers.”

I frowned, trying to imagine what kind of father could do such a thing to his daughter. Hell, my father could barely let me out of his sight. Then I realized I’d barely seen him since we arrived and amended that. My father needed me, unless he was distracted by work and had an actual servant to fill my void. I sighed.

Blaise interrupted my thoughts to continue his story. “Her betrothed was a Turk, known to be from a particularly vicious family, and the king feared what would happen to his kingdom if he couldn’t make good on this deal. So, he entered into negotiations with the dragon and when all offers of gold were refused, the king’s sorceress was sent to work her magic. The plan was simple: put the dragon to sleep by any means necessary and the knights would rush in and rescue the princess.”

My eyes widened. “Oh no!”

“You’re rooting for the dragon now, aren’t you?” Blaise grinned.

“Maybe a little.” I shrugged.

“Naturally. We’re not entirely unsympathetic creatures.” He smirked. “Anyway, the sorceress peeks in and surveys the situation. They were holed up in a giant cave. The princess was caressing the dragon’s cheek, nuzzling up to him. The dragon was practically purring. The sorceress quickly realized the princess was in no danger and the dragon was actually a far better option for the princess than the Turk. Instead of putting the dragon to sleep, she performed a spell where she helped the dragon find his true form and he immediately morphed into a handsome man. An incredibly rich, handsome man.”

“And they lived happily ever after.” I snickered.

“Mostly. When the man was angered, he’d revert to his dragon form. He was the first dragon shifter. Through the years, we’ve learned to control our ability. Usually, I can choose my form, but there are times it is completely out of my control. Rage, jealousy, fear, at any time these destructive emotions can have my animalistic instincts simply taking over.” He sighed and ran a hand over his face.

My eyes narrowed. “That’s what happened earlier, isn’t it? You were mad at me?”

Blaise shook his head. “No, I was afraid you were going to be hurt. I was frustrated because you refused to listen. Dragons have become protectors by nature now.” He blew out a breath.

“You’re afraid again,” I noted. “Do you think I’d reveal your secret? Is that it?” I scowled, irritated he could have so little faith in me.

“It’s not that.” He blew out a breath. “Historically speaking, in all the stories of dragons, that’s our one big happy ending. In every other tale, the dragon always loses. The people kill him and steal his gold. They live happily ever after without an ounce of remorse.”

I glared at him. “So, now you think I’m going to rob you. Really?”

“No, principessa,” he murmured while crushing me to his chest. “You’re the gold.”