The library was as extravagant and beautiful as the rest of the mansion, but a little more old-world feeling with its mahogany shelves and bronze accents.

Cobalt was standing on a ladder, holding a book open as he thumbed through it, looking intensely focused on whatever he was researching.

He hadn’t even heard her come in.

Had he?

Just then, his eyes flitted to her and he held up a finger. “One second, almost there. Can’t stop yet…” He scanned a final page and then nodded, a grin of satisfaction lighting his face. Then he set the book back and, to her surprise, jumped down from the ladder and landed with a thundering thud on the ground in front of her.

He might be an intellectual, but physically, he was still all dragon.

She nearly stumbled in shock, and he reached out, catching her by the arms with gentle, elegant hands with long fingers. She looked up at him, flushing, as she couldn’t seem to avoid doing around these dragon-men.

She composed herself and stood up, pulling away from him so she could walk slowly around the library, looking at the high shelves filled with what looked like thousands of books.

“How do you keep track of where everything is?” she asked.

He scoffed. “I’m royal librarian on my planet. If I couldn’t manage such a paltry library as this, what would I be doing here?”

“Ah, I see,” she said. While they all had different interests, they all seemed to take a great deal of pride in what they did. “Well, it looks beautiful. One of the nicest libraries I’ve ever seen.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t say much for your Earth libraries.” But she could tell he was pleased by the compliment as he looked around at the shelves.

“But you know, have you thought of getting an e-reader?”

“A what?”

“An e-reader. You can read on your phone or a different device, electronically.”

“Ah,” he said. “You mean human books. Shifter tomes are not kept online. That would be far too dangerous.” He waved a hand at the books all around him. “These books hold the shifter history of Earth, as well as some information I brought from Drakkaris. So feel free to ask me anything, human.”

She walked to a comfy chair with red cushions that was set next to another in the corner. “Why do the dragons want to mate me?”

Cobalt stuttered for a second, clearly taken off guard. She patted the chair next to her, and he came hesitantly over. Even when he sat, he felt so much bigger than her.

He ran a hand through his short, grayish-blue hair, making it stand up in all directions in kind of an adorable way. As adorable as a six-foot, intimidatingly smart dragon could be. “Well. That’s because of the dearth of females on our planet, but that’s about all I can tell you.”

“Why me?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t have to be you. But we are here to mate human females, and you are the first we have met. You have to understand, when there is a potential mate on our planet, we hold huge competitions to try and win her favor, so it’s hard not to fall into that habit again with a woman here we would all want.”

“Why would you want me?” she asked. “I mean, I’m not down on myself. I like how I am. But you guys could have anyone.”

“You are the only one we’ve met,” he said. “We haven’t yet been allowed to interact with regular human women. Not a bad thing, considering how little research the others have been willing to do.”

“So I’m just the only option right now?”

“I don’t know if you even are an option,” Cobalt said nervously. “We were told to rescue you, not mate you. Still, I think most of us were taken back by the force of our attraction to you. Perhaps we would feel that around most human women, but not having met any, I can see why the others are already making intentions clear.”

“Chromium is so interesting,” she said.

“I’m glad you think so. Some people misread him, think him simple. There could be nothing further from the truth. He’s sharp and smart, and he sees things in situations that everyone else misses. And yes, he’s a little odd, but aren’t we all?

She nodded. “I like him.”

“And you aren’t angry about this morning?”

“Angry? No. I mean, he shouldn’t do that with other human women because some might find it traumatizing, depending on what they’ve been through, but once I realized he was only taking his shirt off, I thought it was hot.”

“Hot?” Cobalt asked.

“Attractive. I’m not sure if you realize this, but every man in here is like… a hundred times more attractive than an average man. I’ve never met even one like you, so having six around is a little overwhelming for this human, personally.”

“I see,” Cobalt said, crossing one leg over the other and stroking his jaw thoughtfully. “I hadn’t thought about it that way. This is how dragons look on my world, though the ones I have studied on this world are also what you might consider ideal, if this is your type.”

She swallowed. “Um. Tall, strong, and handsome is everyone’s type.”

“I see,” Cobalt said, leaning forward. He looked deeply into her eyes, as if studying her, and then scooted his chair forward until they were almost knee to knee. “What is your reaction to me, then? For purely scientific purposes.”

“Uh,” she said, feeling heat flood her cheeks.

“There is that interesting reaction again. Apparently, human women flush just as much as dragons.”

She put a hand up to cover her face. “Oh dear.”

He caught her wrist and held it up gently in one hand. “You’re warmer, too. Are you embarrassed?” His other hand came up to lightly rest on the pulse in her neck. “Your heartbeat is increased. Fear or arousal?”

His face was so beautiful, those deep-blue eyes boring into hers, so intelligent it felt there were galaxies of knowledge inside them. His body was muscular, radiating heat as he was this close, and she could scent something icy and spicy at the same time, his own unique scent.

She was about to jerk away, because this was the most awkwardly hot thing she had ever encountered, when she heard footsteps enter the room.

“Let her go,” Lead said, striding toward them.

Cobalt pulled back instantly, no longer touching her at all. “I was simply studying her. That’s all.”

Lead walked forward, grabbed her hand, and jerked her out of the chair. “She isn’t a science project.”

Brittany pulled her hand back gently, and Lead let her go, looking confused. “He wasn’t doing anything terrible,” she said. “And I’m sure he would have stopped if I asked him to. I did say I would help you learn about human women.”

Cobalt looked from Lead to the door, a surprised expression on his face. “Were you… spying on us? Lead, I’m hurt.” But his expression was teasing.

“You know what I’m saying. Keep your damn hands off her,” he said.

Cobalt leaned back in the chair lazily. “Fine. I got the information I needed anyway.” His blue eyes glowed slightly. “Apparently, we have quite an effect on human women. At least I do anyway.”

Lead’s face reddened, and he looked, if possible, even angrier. “I am supposed to protect you…”

“I know,” Brittany said. “I appreciate it. But I really should get to know the others if I’m going to fit in here. So for now…”

Lead nodded sharply. “I understand. I will give you more space.” Then he turned on his heel and stiffly strode out the door.

“Wow,” Cobalt said. “He’s even more tense than usual. I hope he’s going to the gym. Usually, he’s too obsessed with it, but I think the release of endorphins would be beneficial to him at this particular moment.”

“Uh, yeah,” Brittany said. “I hope I didn’t upset him.”

“No,” Cobalt said. “Lead is a man of routine, and everything lately has been change for him. He’s adjusting as well as he can. We all are. But if you did ask him to protect you, then he is probably taking that seriously. Don’t be too hard on him.”

“Was I?”

“Oh no,” Cobalt said, standing up and going back to his ladder. “But I doubt this is the last time today he will try your patience in that way.” He gave her a warm smile. “Thanks for coming down. I’m here to answer questions anytime.”

She guessed that was her cue to leave, and honestly, after that awkward moment between them, she was ready to go cool off and see someone else.

But maybe she’d check on Lead first, make sure he was all right. She did owe him a lot, after all.

* * *

Lead pulled off his shirt after his warm-up, knowing this workout was going to be a big one.

He’d been surprised by the strength of his response when he’d seen Cobalt touching Brittany.

He shouldn’t have interfered. He knew that now. She hadn’t been making any signal that she didn’t want Cobalt touching her, and Lead had no reason to think the touch was anything but clinical, knowing Cobalt.

At the same time, seeing anyone touching her had made Lead have an unreasonable reaction.

And Lead was nothing if not reasonable.

His thoughts had been immediately dishonorable, and he wasn’t used to that either.

He’d wanted to kill Cobalt, rip him bodily away from Brittany, then carry her away to his room and show her who she belonged to and—

He grunted in shame as he picked up a heavier set of weights and began doing bicep curls. He could barely feel the burn in his muscles because of the buzzing in his brain.

Brittany wasn’t his. She was just a human woman they were supposed to protect. A sweet human woman with soft curves and a nice smile and a scent like roses in the rain.

He sighed and set the weights down, reaching for a towel to wipe sweat from his brow. He was sitting on the weight bench, getting ready for his next set, when he heard the door open to the gym.

“If it’s a lecture, I’m not in the mood for it, Cobalt,” he said, not looking over in the door’s direction.

“Um, no lecture,” a soft, feminine voice said.

He jerked his gaze to the door and stood when he saw Brittany there.

Her face was bright red, and she was clearly staring directly at his chest with a gaping expression.

Obviously, he was dishonoring her with his partial nudity, but he hadn’t expected her to come down here.

He quickly tried to use his towel to cover part of his chest, but it was almost pathetically small.

She let out a laugh, walking forward. “It’s okay,” she said, fanning her face as she sat on a weight bench next to him. “I mean, yeah, that’s… a lot to take in. But I could get used to it.” Her eyes ran over him. “So many scars.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I am a warrior.”

“What are you fighting? Something bigger than dragons?”

He nodded. “Either that or more poisonous. Or numerous.”

“Being here must be boring in comparison, though,” she said.

“I do like being in battle, but a break is always nice. Besides, we had a fight when we rescued you. That will keep me going for a while.”

She laughed. “Ah, that’s right. So funny to hear someone talk about fighting like that. I’ve never been able to fight in my life.”

“Of course not,” he said, walking over to pick up his shirt in the corner so he could pull it over his head. When he was covered, he thought he saw a look of disappointment in her gaze but decided he must have been imagining it.

“What do you mean of course not?” she asked, folding her arms stubbornly. “I could fight if I was taught.”

He laughed, maybe a bit too merrily judging by the frown on her cute face. He sighed, looking her over. She was wearing a soft blue sweater that had long sleeves and came down below her butt, outlining all her curves on the way. Black pants that fit to shapely legs he just wanted to wrap around his waist—

No, don’t think about that…

Her hair was longer than he’d thought, going just past her shoulders when it was down and loose, and the waves looked silky and wild all at the same time.

He wanted to see those waves spread on his pillow.

Oh damn, just being around her, his first human woman, was making him into a dishonorable dragon of the lowest order. He needed to get some space before he crossed the room, took her in his arms, and did much worse than Cobalt had done.

He ached for her.

“You are soft,” he said. “Meant to be protected, not to fight.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said, slightly resigned. “Sorry if it’s a burden.”

Of course it wasn’t. It was an honor. Nonetheless, she didn’t really need it here, and on top of that, if he spent more time with her, he had the feeling they were both going to be in trouble.

He’d never been in a situation that he felt challenged his honor.

That all changed when he met her.

“It is not a burden,” he said. “Besides, I’m assuming you’re done with needing it the way you did last night? From the other dragons? I mean, we are all here to protect you from outside forces, but you will be fine with any of my men.”

She bit her lip and nodded. Why did she look slightly hurt? He was just trying to do what was right for her. “I see.”

“What?”

“I mean, if you don’t want to.”

How did he explain that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he was afraid he would ravish her? He had never wanted a woman so much.

“I just think you should go meet the others, without me involved. I would be self-indulgent if I pretended you needed me when you’re truly fine. And as you just saw with Cobalt, it would only lead to overreactions. Who are you going to see next?”

She rubbed her arms, looking around her. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I guess it’s none of my business,” he said, standing up and getting ready with his weights again. He looked at her pointedly. “If you don’t mind…”

She got the hint, and he thought he saw a flash of anger before she hid it, giving him a polite smile. “Of course not. I’ll get out of your hair.”

He frowned. “My hair?”

She shook her head with a small laugh. “Never mind. Have a good workout, Lead. And thanks for everything up to now. I’ll take care of the rest myself.”

Then she left the room.

He’d done the right thing for both of them. It was fairer for everyone involved and would ensure he behaved in a more honorable way.

It would be too easy to tell her he was the only one to protect her as a way to keep her by his side. But as much as he wanted her, he had done the right thing.

She wasn’t his.

He’d done the honorable thing.

So why did he feel like a big, steaming pile of dung?