He managed to get his body under her before they hit the ground.

She landed on his chest.

The breath wheezed out of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her to him.

Her hair skimmed his chin, and the scent of lilies and wildfire tickled his nose.

She snarled and pushed at him, her breath hot and heavy against his neck.

Raising her head, she snapped her gaze on him.

Those eyes, slit vertical and burning with flames had his muscles going still. He couldn’t look away. This close he could see the shattered violet of her irises glittering between the fire. Desire licked his groin. In that moment, as she struggled in his arms, he fell even more in love with her.

This wasn’t about who was more dominant. This was about winning the respect of an alpha female.

“Let me go.” She gripped his biceps, nails digging in.

He glanced down to find her claws were out.

The shock of her transformation held him immobile. Her dragon was beginning to reveal herself.

“Do you realize what’s happening to you?” His voice came out dazed.

“Yeah, you’re trying to subdue me. Well, I have news for you. It’s not that easy.” Pushing into his chest, she strained against his hold.

He didn’t budge.

She kneed him in the groin.

“Putain.” Sparks of red exploded behind his eyes. “Kitten, if you want baby dragon-lions, you’d better treat my balls with more respect,” he said through gritted teeth.

She hissed in his face and squirmed, bending her knee again.

“Oh, no you don’t.” He flung one leg over hers to make sure she didn’t repeat the same action again. He wanted all of him intact and functioning for when he made love to her. Which they would, he had no doubt of that.

She made a noise of frustration in her throat, the growl rumbling up her chest.

Feeling his dragoness in his arms, her eyes darting fire, lips curled in frustration, tenderness filled him. He’d gone feral when his parents died, had become more beast than man to survive and had stayed that way since.

The wounds that had marked his soul from his growing-up years began to fill up. Leaning in, he brushed his lips over hers. Just a touch.

Her body tensed, muscles quivering.

His heart thudded. “Yield,” he whispered against her lips.

An answering growl rolled up her throat. She sank her teeth into his lips. White pain crackled at his nerve endings. His grip loosened, just a fraction.

Enough for her to twist her body and break his hold.

She moved so fast she seemed to blur. Catching his forearms, she forced them up and over his head, shackling them there. At the same time, she kicked off his leg, then locked her thighs around his.

Her strength took him by surprise.

No more was she the woman who’d clung to him helpless, drawing strength from him. She was almost in peak form. On the psychic plane he could feel his lion urge him to mark her, claim her as his own. Make love to her so his essence was immersed in her cells.

Her skin whispered over his. In this position she was all but plastered to him. He couldn’t stop his body from reacting. The blood rushed to his groin.

He couldn’t move… Hell, he wasn’t even trying to.

Her breath came in pants, her breasts rubbing against his chest. Her nipples pebbled through the material of their T-shirts. Her core grazed his hardness as she placed the full weight of her body on his.

His skin tingled. He was instantly hard. He was at her mercy.

There was more than one way of being subdued.

This was insane. He didn’t dare move for fear he give away his arousal. He worried it was disrespectful to her, for this was more than just a game. A dominant submitting to another was not a matter to be taken lightly.

She brushed his hardness again.

Heat sizzled up his nerves. He was sure the neurons in his brain had just short-circuited. Sweat broke out on his brow with the effort of holding himself back.

Her breath was a searing burn across his lips.

The curves of her breasts were a perfect fit to the hard planes of his chest.

Desire pooled in his mouth. He wanted to lick her in that hollow between her legs, thrust his tongue into her and watch her writhe with pleasure.

Dense heat shot through his veins, going straight to his head. He gave up all pretense of resisting and simply concentrated on holding his desire in check.

“Yield.” Her voice was guttural; the edges of it held the echoes of the woman she was.

Her hair fell over his face in a curtain.

Those dragon eyes held his captive. Her body cradled his. Her heart thumped, matching his in rhythm, until he couldn’t distinguish the beats.

Dense heat from her swirled around him and sank into his skin. It sent a pulse of such wanting through him that he needed to take her right there.

Her dragon was so close to the surface.

His skin felt like it was on fire.

Leaning up, he captured her lips with his.