“Ready?”

I nodded.

“You’re sure you can’t wear clothing while you do this?”

“It would only mean wasting my clothing,” I reminded her. She nodded, eyes never leaving my face. She didn’t dare let her gaze travel lower than my chin and hadn’t since I’d stripped down. I stood at the head of the room, with plenty of space all around me.

“You think this will work?” I asked.

“I do. And so do you.”

“You’re right,” I grinned. She smiled back, but there was an edge to it. She was nervous. Maybe not as sure of herself as she pretended to be. Or maybe afraid of what it would mean if I couldn’t shift with the shackles around my wrists. More work, more sleepless nights, more time without Tommy.

Her contact would be calling again that night, or they’d promised to. She needed to have good news for them in order for our plan to go off well.

“All right. Here goes nothing.” I closed my eyes with an unspoken prayer in my heart. I was never a praying man, not ever. I didn’t believe in a higher power when I had seen so much of what men were able to do to one another.

What benevolent higher power would allow men to do that to each other? Even so, if there was one out there, up there, wherever, I needed their held more than I ever had.

It started. The dragon nearly screamed in approval—it had been so long since I’d allowed him his freedom. Like a long-caged animal, yearning to be free and finally getting its way. I felt myself expand, unfold, widen and heighten and lose the clarity of one consciousness while gaining another.

My senses sharpened. I felt free again.

I opened my eyes to find her staring up at me in abject horror. I should’ve told her.

“You’re a dragon?” she whispered, backing away from me until she stumbled over the stool and went sprawling.

I groaned in response. This was supposed to be happy. I was happy—my conscious mind was, anyway. I still wore the iron shackles but was in my full dragon form, towering over her until the top of my head brushed the ceiling. And all she saw was a monster.

I bent down until my head was nearly level with hers. She looked me in the eye, breathing deeply. Almost panting for air.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t react this way. It’s childish. I just never expected…”

I nodded slowly, deliberately.

She smiled. “You should’ve told me.”

I nodded again. Yes, I should have. I was a louse for not having warned her. There was no going back once she knew who I was.

Carissa reached out with a trembling hand which she ran over my snout.

“Wow. I never knew there was anything as beautiful as you, anywhere in the world. Just when I thought I had seen it all. I didn’t think there were things that couldn’t be explained by science. Now… I guess I know differently.”

I took a step back, just for the sake of being sure she was safe, and broke the chain holding the shackles together. She let out a gasp of laughter, hands over her mouth.

If she thought that was impressive, she’d just about drop dead of surprise when she saw everything I was capable of. She nearly glowed with pride and relief and awe.

We had awed each other that evening. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she took in everything before her.

She had no idea how close she was to my shifting and her being thrown to the floor and ravished. With the dragon at the front, there was almost nothing I could do to keep myself away from her. He had been denied what he wanted for far too long. The scent of her was stronger than ever in my dragon form, and her entire body seemed to call to me. It would be so easy to reach out and take her for my own.

A moment later, I was back in my human form.

“You weren’t able to maintain the shift?” she asked, too dismayed to even worry about where she was looking.

“No. I only shifted back, is all. There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, and I can’t do it while I’m towering above you that way.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

I reached for her without asking permission, crushed her against my chest and covered her mouth with mine. Instead of pushing me away or even letting out a surprised sound, she threw her arms around my neck and held me just as tight.

There was no denying my need for her, naked and erect as I was at the touch of her lips, my need pressing against her clothed body. I wouldn’t force her. I didn’t even want her until there was nothing standing between us. I wanted all of her, no reservations, no fear or worry for Tommy. I deserved that. So did she.

Instead, I thrust my tongue into her mouth as I would’ve thrust my cock into her wet heat and thrilled at the way she writhed in pleasure.

There was a depth of passion to her that I hadn’t guessed at. A well of it. No one had tapped it yet. I was sure of that. Like she was waiting for me without knowing I existed. Her fingers tangled in my hair and she pressed her breasts against my chest, sighing into my mouth as our tongues brushed together, sending chills through my body.

“Carissa…” I breathed, running my mouth down her throat.

“Yes, Cash. Yes.”

“When this is over…”

“I know. I know.” She pulled my head up by my hair and kissed me harder than ever. It was almost easy to forget what we had to do.

When the phone rang, we both snapped back to reality.

She leaned against me for a moment, eyes closed, before going to answer the call. “It’s them,” she whispered, still breathless.

“Get a hold of yourself.”

“Easy for you to say.” She put her hand to her temple and cleared her throat before answering. “Yes?”

Just like that, she was all business and full of hatred. I stood at her side, listening hard.

“How’s your work coming along, Aunt Cari?”

“Very well. I’ve found the solution to the problem and my work is all but complete.”

“You have what we need?”

“Yes. Over fifty tubes.” She winced, eyes closing

“That will have to do.”

“It will, especially since I’ve injected the formula already and anything I give you from now on will be compromised.”

“We’re aware of this.”

Oh, were they? They seemed to know a lot. But they would, wouldn’t they? They had all the information they needed.

“How’s my nephew?”

“He’s fine. He’ll continue to be fine as long as you keep things between us. Meaning no police or other outside interference.”

“Understood. Where can I drop off the blood?”

“So soon, Aunt Cari?”

“Immediately.”

Our eyes met.

I nodded.

“Do you have a pen?”