Timothy was beating his wings, flying faster than he’d ever flown before. His mate was unconscious—unharmed, he thought, but even so it had been a close call.

Every now and then, he twisted his head around to make certain that their attackers weren’t following them, but they’d scattered and fled as soon as he’d rescued Liana.

Three of them had barely been able to fly after he’d beaten them. But the fourth had appeared out of nowhere, tricking him while the other three had distracted them.

To think that he’d almost lost his mate when he’d only just met her...

He would have to contact the chimera. And he would have to thank him—without the chimera’s warning, he might not have been watching over Liana when the fire dragons attacked.

Still, right now all Timothy could think about was his mate. His mate who wasn’t safe yet.

He scanned the sky once more, but there was no trace of their attackers to be found.

The city spread below him, glass and metal gleaming in the light of the morning sun, the ocean glistening a tempting blue on the horizon that called his name.

But there was no time to follow that call yet. First he had to make sure that Liana was all right.

By the time he had landed on top of the Dragon Tower, the sky was completely clear. Not a single cloud blocked his view.

There was no other dragon in the sky. They had lost their attackers.

Or rather, they had fled...

Timothy shifted back into his human form, then carefully gathered Liana into his arms. With his fingerprint, he opened a door that led right into his penthouse—a door no other person had access to.

Liana was still unconscious as he carried her down.

Gently, he put her down onto his bed, then touched her cheek. Her skin was warm to the touch. As he worriedly watched over her, her eyelashes began to flutter.

A moment later, her eyes opened. A small smile spread over her face when their eyes met.

“Oh, I like this dream,” she sighed.

Then she frowned. Abruptly, she sat up, staring at him with wide eyes.

“What the hell happened?” she demanded. “Where am I? There were dragons, and then—”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked softly, retreating a little so that she wouldn’t feel threatened.

Her forehead creased as she tried to think. “The Ocean Dragon,” she declared at last. There was an awe in her voice that made the dragon within him preen with instinctive pride.

“But that can’t be real,” she added, her eyes narrowing at him. “And—you! What are you doing here? And where am I?”

Timothy licked his lips, trying to think about the best way to explain all of this.

“I’m the ocean dragon,” he finally said, deciding to go with the truth. His mate deserved the full truth. “I’d received a warning that fire dragons might attack. So I watched over your street at night. And it was a good thing, too. That was a close call.”

“You’re... a dragon?” Liana clutched at her head. “This has got to be the worst hangover ever,” she muttered. “Everyone knows dragons aren’t real. You’re just making fun of me because I told you about our game.”

Timothy shook his head.

“I can show you if you want,” he offered. “Are you well enough to get up?”

Liana nodded, then carefully tried to stand. “I’m fine.”

She still looked a little insecure—but she seemed unharmed. The dragon within Timothy relaxed.

“I can get you a glass of water. Or—”

“No,” she cut him off. The look she gave him was suspicious. “I hate it when people think they can make fun of the silly geek girl.”

“I’m not making fun—” he began.

“I don’t care.” She crossed her arms, glaring at him. “You get one chance to turn into a dragon. After that, I’m out of here.”

Timothy nodded towards the door. “All right. I’ll need more space for that.”

“I should have known you were too good to be true,” she muttered so softly that it took his dragon’s sharp senses to make out the words.

Still, she followed him back up onto the roof of the building. Even now, he could hear her calling to him, a gentle song that tugged insistently at his dragon. Could she feel it, too?

Once they were back up on the roof, he took a few steps away from her. And then, before she could change her mind, he shifted.

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

He’d half feared that she would scream in shock.

Instead—

“It’s real!” she gasped.

She was laughing. Her eyes were bright with joy and wonder as she looked at him, and she couldn’t stop laughing.

“You’re my Ocean Dragon! Can I touch you?”

Timothy inclined his head. With awe, he watched how his mate came closer, fearless and brave.

She reached out with a hand to touch his leg—and then she laughed again.

“And you feel alive! You’re really real!”

Timothy lowered his head and gave her a very careful, gentle nudge with his forehead.

Then he shifted back again, standing in front of her on the roof, with the sun shining down on them and the city spread out below all around them.

Her eyes were still filled with the same awe, and she reached out for him again.

Carefully, her hand came to rest against his chest.

“You’re real,” she said again, her voice very quiet.

His heart was beating quickly in his chest.

“I’m real. And so were the fire dragons,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to tell you—”

“What’s going on with those fire dragons? Who told you they were going to attack? And why—” Liana winced and raised a hand to her head. “No, wait. Actually, I’ll take you up on that glass of water. Or maybe coffee, if you’ve got some. I barely got any sleep, and now this...”

Ten minutes later, they were sitting next to each other on the huge, comfy sofa that faced the wall of glass, staring down at the city that was slowly waking up. He’d made coffee for both of them and brought Liana a glass of water and some Tylenol, which she’d gratefully accepted.

“So. Dragons are really real, huh?” she said as she inhaled the steam rising from her coffee. “Now I feel somewhat stupid going on about my silly game.”

“Don’t,” he said earnestly. “I thought it was charming. You obviously love your work—and it must make lots of people very happy. I get to talk to bankers all day, and believe me, nothing they do ever makes anyone happy.”

That got him an amused snort from Liana.

“I suppose I do get to make people happy,” she said. “And you aren’t offended that we’re just turning you into games and think you’re just myths and fairy tales?”

“Oh, we like it that way.” He took a sip of his coffee and stared out at the city below. “Once upon a time, in the Middle Ages, people knew dragons were real. That wasn’t good for anyone.”

“You fought against knights and kidnapped virgins,” Liana said, then suddenly twisted around to stare at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Wait—is that why I’m here? Did you kidnap me because—”

She broke off in embarrassment.

The dragon inside Timothy perked up eagerly. It took Timothy a heartbeat longer to understand why she’d suddenly stopped.

“Oh,” he said, the dragon within him already way too eager to claim her. “It’s... No. It’s not that, I promise! Not that that is a problem, I mean—sorry. This probably sounds really inappropriate. But, when I first saw you—I recognized you. There was an immediate connection. Did you feel that, too?”

Liana gave him a jerky nod, still looking embarrassed.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said softly. “I know that this is all a lot. And you’re free to go whenever you want—I didn’t kidnap you. I just needed to get you somewhere safe, before they could attack again.”

“Wait—what happened to them? Are they still around?” Liana gave the large window a worried look.

Timothy followed her gaze, but the sky was clear. The weather was gorgeous, the sun shining down on the glistening buildings below.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I know why they are here. They came for me.”

“Then why did they attack me? Do they go after everyone you talk to?” she demanded, glaring at him. “In that case, maybe you shouldn’t go out and talk to unsuspecting people.”

“Sorry,” he said again. “And it’s a bit more complicated than that. That connection I mentioned...”

“I felt it too,” Liana admitted reluctantly. “It was... weird. A bit like getting hit by electricity when you touched me. Like there was a strange vibration in the air. You know that weird feeling when you’re out and there’s a thunderstorm? When the air is charged with electricity and you can taste it on your tongue? I thought it was the champagne—but that must have been your dragon magic.”

Timothy shook his head. Slowly, he reached out, watching her eyes widen as he covered her hand with his. The moment their skin touched, her mouth opened and she drew in a sudden breath.

Warmth ran up through his arm, a feeling of inexplicable rightness swelling in his heart. His heart began to pound again—mirrored by a similar pounding between his legs.

Not now, he told himself firmly. Don’t scare her. She told you she’s got no experience with this.

“It’s not because I’m a shifter,” he said huskily. “It’s because of you, as much as because of me.”

“I don’t understand,” she breathed, but she didn’t pull her hand away.

“We have a word for this among shifters,” he said. “This connection... it means we’re mates. We’re meant for each other.”

Hastily, Liana pulled her hand back. “That makes no sense. Nothing about this makes sense.”

“You saw me turn into a dragon,” he pointed out gently. “Is it really that much harder to believe that soulmates exist?”

Liana swallowed. “I’ll admit that you’re terribly hot, and terribly charming—which I’m sure countless women have told you.”

“None of that mattered.” Timothy shrugged. “I used to enjoy partying—clubs, cruises, whatever you can think of. But in the end, there was always a strange emptiness. No matter how many people were around me, in the end I was always alone. Being charming doesn’t fix that.”

“And you think I’ll fix that?” Liana crossed her arms again.

“I don’t know,” Timothy said honestly. “Finding your mate isn’t a recipe for instant happiness, you know. You’ll still have to work to make it work, just like any other relationship. But if it does work...”

“You don’t even know me.” Her hazel eyes were suddenly wary. “Last night was fun—and I was looking forward to dinner, but—”

Timothy swallowed, already missing her touch. “I know it’s all happening way too fast. I thought you’d be able to get to know me before I told you that I’m a shifter. I know how weird and scary everything must look. But when those fire dragons attacked—I don’t want you to be left in the dark, Liana. You’re in danger now, because of me. You deserve to know everything.”

“Why did they come after me? How did they know—”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Timothy admitted. “I assume they were spying on me last night. If they saw us together leaving the club, they would have known.”

“Known what? That I’m your—”

“That you’re my mate.” Timothy sighed, slumping back against the couch. “I would have been more careful if I’d known that they had spies here. We’ve been trying to track them down, but they’re surprisingly hard to find. You’d think it would be easy to see fire—but fire causes smoke and shadows.”

“Stop.” Liana held up her hand. “Sorry, but none of that makes sense. I like my dragons to stay in my games. I don’t want any of this—”

Timothy felt his heart aching as he looked at her. He hadn’t even really contemplated the possibility that his mate might hate his world and everything he loved.

Not that he could blame her. Her first exposure to it had been a group of homicidal fire dragons who’d nearly managed to kill her.

He’d gone about it all wrong. He’d been so sure that his charm would win over any woman.

He’d always gotten along well with people—except for the dragon of earth, of course. But he’d never even considered that his mate might not want him.

Even now, something twisted inside his chest at the thought that Liana might leave, and that he’d never see her smile again the way she’d smiled when she’d danced—carefree, full of energy and laughter, her luscious curves fitting so perfectly against his body that he hadn’t wanted to let go.

“It’s too late for that,” he said softly. “I’m really sorry. I’m a powerful dragon shifter, Liana. I’m the master of the element of water, one of the three members of the council of elements. Those fire dragons want to get to me. Which means that my mate is their target as well.”

“You mean, as soon as I leave here, they might come and grab me out of the air again, just like that? That’s not fair! I didn’t ask for any of this!”

“I know.” Timothy wanted to reach out again and touch her hand to reassure her—but right now, it seemed like she wanted space.

Which would be hard to give her, considering the fire dragons.

“I won’t allow anything to happen to you. I promise,” he said instead. “I can protect you—and I don’t expect anything in return.”

“So what—you want me to just come and live here in your tower? Like a kidnapped princess?” she asked sarcastically, even though he could hear in her voice how badly scared she was.

“If you want to,” he said instead. “Or you could take a vacation. There’s a place by the sea—I have a house there. It’s a place where shifters live. The fire dragons don’t know it exists. It’ll be just as safe as this place—probably safer, given that everyone knows this tower is mine.”

“Everyone knows the Dragon Tower,” she said, then broke out into sudden, surprised laughter. “Oh, you aren’t subtle at all, are you?”

Timothy shrugged with a small grin. “We had a vote in the biggest paper when we built it. This city named it, not I.”

“Mh-hm,” she said as she gave him a pointed look. “And that giant dragon fountain in the court and the dragon statue in the lobby and those weird decorative bits at the top that look like a dragon’s tail didn’t have anything to do with that result at all?”

Timothy laughed and leaned back, raising his hands to show his innocence. “Dragon Tower had a majority of 65% of all votes,” he said, grinning. “I just went with what the people decided to call it.”

“Smart.” A small smile was playing on her lips as she looked at him. “You’re one of those people you have to watch out for, huh?”

“I only use my charm for good.” He grinned back at her, something inside him filling with heat again at the way her smile made her eyes shine.

She snorted, amused. “You’re more charming than a fire dragon, I’ll give you that.”

“That’s not a particularly high bar, but I’ll take it.”

She was still smiling—a little reluctantly, but it was a smile. And perhaps that was all that could be expected at this point. After all, she’d been dangling from a fire dragon’s claws just an hour ago.

“Oh shit,” he said a heartbeat later when there was a sudden banging noise coming from the floor below.

Liana flinched. “The dragons?”

“It is a fire dragon,” Timothy said darkly, “but this one is harmless. I forgot I locked him into his suite last night.”

“You have a fire dragon... in here?”

“Oh, you’ve met him,” Timothy said. “He came with me to the club last night. The council forced me to babysit him. He’s supposed to learn about humans—and shifters that manage to live peacefully, unlike his kind.”

“Oh,” Liana said weakly. She didn’t look particularly convinced. “And so you took him to a nightclub.”

“Quite a few things you can learn there.” Timothy grinned, unapologetic. “We’re still working on his taste in music. But he behaved, didn’t he? I guess he’s earned his breakfast.”

Liana was still staring at him in disbelief, and so he reached out, carefully touching her hand again. He ignored the heat that came rushing through his veins, the way his dragon curled in on itself in utter happiness.

“It’s fine,” he said softly. “I promise. He can’t shift or use his powers. Nothing’s going to happen to you here. I won’t allow it.”