Dragon wanted to go after the assassin and tear him apart limb by limb, but having to decide between sating his need for revenge and Jade, he chose her. The tempest had abated, but the rain was still pouring, and attempting to cross the canyon would be the end of her. But he knew she would rather face her slim chances than stay with him.

When he was about to order her to take his proffered hand, much to his surprise, Jade reached for him. Dragon helped her climb over the draglet’s wing and sat her in front of him. Inside, he seethed at the state of her. Jade was cold and her body looked like it had gone through a grinder. She was covered in cuts and blood.

“Why do you keep trying to escape me?” he couldn’t help but ask, even though he knew the answer.

She remained silent, her posture stiffening when his hand pressed against her stomach. He needed to touch her, to make sure she hadn’t suffered serious injuries.

In his mind, his dragon surged on his legs, chest inflated and head high, roaring with all the power of his large lungs. The beast was so loud, Dragon wondered if she could hear him. The draglet he had borrowed did and became agitated and unresponsive to Dragon’s commands. Fortunately, Lars and Valerian were only a few minutes behind and would arrive any moment now.

At the thought that they would soon have company, instinctively, he pulled his shirt from over his head and lowered it on hers, sliding the fabric over her shoulders, mindful of her bruises.

“You are cold,” he said.

She was frigid under his touch, but he would have covered her anyway, because he didn’t want anyone else to see her naked.

A moment later, his friends arrived. Lars rode a borrowed ride, but Valerian came with Contessa. They didn’t attempt a landing, because there wasn’t enough space for the three draglets to stand on the rocky terrace. Instead, they hovered a few meters above.

“The assassin fell into the river,” Dragon informed them. “Send a squad after him.”

“Will do,” Valerian answered, patting Contessa. “Anything else?” His dark gaze was on Jade.

“I need to switch rides,” Dragon said, looking at Lars. He couldn’t ask for Contessa because Valerian would have a fit.

“Sure.” Lars maneuvered his steed lower and hooked his arm around Jade’s small waist as Dragon hoisted her up toward him.

For a moment, Jade was nestled between Lars’ legs, and inside Dragon, a dark emotion surged, burning his chest and traveling up his throat like the most corrosive acid. Jealousy and possession mixed, and his beast’s wings battered against his mental cage, demanding Dragon rip Lars’ hand from where it still lay against Jade’s stomach.

His ride reacted to his and Dragon’s beast’s combined energies and bucked under him. He was a seasoned rider and tightened his hold on the draglet, pressing his thighs against the animal’s flanks as he gently pulled at the reins. “Easy,” he whispered.

His dragon’s agitation wouldn’t abate until he gave into the beast’s urges and marked Jade. And if he were completely honest with himself, he was as unhinged as his dragon and in need of physical release. The fact that he wasn’t supposed to feel anything for the woman he held to like a lifeline scared him senseless, but he didn’t have the strength to fight the pull of his desire any longer.

He was at the mercy of a capricious fate that made a mockery of centuries of tradition. Triad unions didn’t necessarily start with love, but the dragon shifter always craved his brides. Their genetically engineered births ensured that dragon brides possessed the right pheromones that would entice their husband. Their unions were meant to have one result: the procreation of healthy dragon children. Affection and, in a few fortunate cases, love would eventually come. But how could Dragon bed his wives when his blood boiled for this assassin but didn’t stir in Lauren and Gilda’s presence?

“Hurry up and move out of the way,” Dragon forcefully said to Lars, pointing his chin at Contessa’s rump.

Both Lars and Valerian exchanged knowing looks but neither commented on what had spooked Dragon’s ride. Instead, as Dragon reached for the reins Lars lowered to him, Valerian helped Lars on his mount, and Dragon climbed behind Jade.

With the four of them distributed on two draglets, Dragon made sure that his former ride was tethered to Contessa before saying, “I’ll come back later.”

“Where are you going?” Valerian slowly asked, holding Contessa back after he had just commanded her to fly away.

“I’ll spend the night at the Cove. Don’t disturb me unless the world is ending,” Dragon answered before turning his steed away from Contessa and the other draglet.

He had just made up his mind. It was an impulsive decision and the only way to calm his dragon and give him some respite. If they didn’t get some time alone with Jade before the night ended, Dragon would be pacing Sol Palace until he etched the marble floors with the undeletable sign of his passage. For someone who had seldom experienced unfulfilled carnal desire, the experience was downright unpleasant, bordering on painful with each breath he took.

Scratch that. Jade moved, pressing her bottom closer to him, and it shot from a mild ache to a full-blown throbbing that started between his legs and radiated everywhere else in his body. Dragon gritted his teeth and scooted away from her before he started growling in earnest.

“Dragon—” Valerian passed his free hand over his face, caressing the dark stubble on his jaw with a few compulsive strokes.

Lars stared at Dragon, his mouth open, but no sound escaped his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“See you tomorrow.” Dragon spurred his draglet ahead, leaving his appalled friends behind, and hoping that he could make it to the Cove without scaring Jade with his behavior.