I woke up to the buzzing of my phone. The pain in my head had thankfully diminished to a dull ache. I rolled over and looked at the caller ID.

“Hello,” I said, my voice still gruff from sleep.

“Well, you’re still alive.” Brandt’s snarky tone came through loud and clear.

“I am. If you don’t lose the snark, I won’t be able to say the same for you.” I was tired. Sore. And had no patience for his asshole behavior.

“Do you always threaten your employers?” He’d gone from sarcastic to pissed.

“Only the ones that treat me like shit.” I sat up.

“I’ve treated you rather well, Conrad, and yet at every turn, you blow me off. I want an update, and it had better be good.”

“Fine,” I said. “I retrieved your box last night.”

“Excellent. It’s about time.” I could almost hear his conniving grin. “And Jetta?”

“That’s a little more complicated,” I said. “I have your belongings. It might just be best to let her go.”

“No.” Brandt’s resolve was firm.

“She’s not gonna come willingly.” I needed to make him see reason.

“Then force her.”

“I can’t kidnap her.” I couldn’t believe he was suggesting such a thing.

“Okay, then blackmail her. Remind her that we have the box, and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll come back to me quietly.”

“What’s good for her?” I asked. “What does that mean?” Anger rose in my chest at the very thought of him threatening her.

“That’s none of your business. She’ll know what it means, and that’s all that matters.” He hung up without another word.

From the moment I walked into Brandt’s office, I’d known he was slime, but there was a lot more to this story than he was telling me. I had to find out what information he’d omitted from his account of that night.

Just as I’d pulled on my jeans, a knock sounded at my door. Shirtless and barefoot, I opened the door to find Jetta on the other side.

I admired the view. “Well, you are a sight for sore eyes.”

“Am I?” She looked at my bare chest. “I’d have to say the same about you.”

I chuckled and opened the door wider. “Please, come in.”

“Actually, I’d like to take you somewhere.” She was tapping her fingers on her thighs nervously.

“Okay. Give me a minute to finish getting dressed.” I left the door open and grabbed a shirt from the closet. Jetta stood in the doorway and watched me, her eyes following every movement I made. I could feel her gaze even when my back was turned. All she did was stand there, and she was turning me on.

“Okay.” I motioned. “After you.”

I shut the door behind me and followed her down the steps and out to her Jeep. Once inside, we drove out of town, and I realized she was taking the same road we’d been on the day before.

“Where are we going?” My curiosity was piqued.

“I’m taking you back to my cave.” She quickly glanced at me, I assumed to gauge my reaction.

“Okay. Why?” I reached up and felt the slightly smaller knot on my forehead. “It’s not like I have good memories there.”

She pursed her lips together, and for a moment, I thought she wasn’t going to answer. “I hope to change that today. I want to give you good memories.”

“Well . . .” I shifted in my seat, so I could face her more. “I like where this is going.” I envisioned a blanket on the ground, the waterfall behind us, and Jetta naked underneath me.

“Umm, probably not the direction you’re thinking.” Her expression was serious.

“Damn. Can we change that? Because the map I was following was pretty hot.”

She chuckled. “Maybe afterward.”

“After what?” I asked. Now I was really curious.

“You’ll see.” She gave me a wink.

Before long, we’d reached the trail she’d used to climb to the falls. We walked in silence. Several times I’d wanted to say something, but each time I opened my mouth, I found myself at a loss for conversation. Sometimes silence was a good thing.

We reached the falls, and she led me to the mouth of the cave. “Do you remember my telling you that only special people could enter the cave?”

I nodded, also remembering that I’d entered it again last night and that I now had her box. It dawned on me then that she might be bringing me there to show me the contents of the box. My throat constricted, knowing she’d freak when she learned her hiding place had been discovered.

“I know you thought I was crazy, but I want to show you what I was talking about.” She took my hand and led me through the curtain of darkness into the first large room.

My eyes darted around, silently praying she didn’t want to enter the larger room, where she’d buried the box.

She lit the wall sconces, and the cave became considerably brighter. We stood in the middle of the room, and Jetta held up my right hand. Her fingers trailed over the leather cuff.

“May I?” she asked.

I nodded, unsure what the purpose of removing it was.

She unsnapped it and put it in the pocket of her jacket, then she pulled out a ring box.

“Are you proposing to me?” I teased. “Because if so, let me warn you. I’m old-fashioned. I’m all about empowering women, but when it comes to marriage, a man still likes to do things the traditional way now and then.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not even close, lover boy.”

She opened the ring box and held it out to me. Inside was the ring that matched my tattoo.

I took a step back. “What is this?”

“It’s yours, Conrad. Tristan and I firmly believe this is supposed to belong to you.” She pushed the ring toward me.

“No.” I couldn’t. Something about that ring didn’t sit right with me. I’d felt sure I’d regret having anything to do with it.

“Conrad,” she said softly. “Please, just trust me on this. This ring will be life-changing.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I muttered.

“You’re afraid?” She ran a hand down my chest. “My big, bad biker hunk is afraid?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes,” I admitted. “And how did you know I’m a biker?”

“It’s written all over you.” She still had her hand on my chest. I loved feeling her touch me. It calmed and excited me all at once.

“So, I’m a hunk? And I’m yours?” I couldn’t resist pointing out her change of heart. Obviously, she’d changed her mind sometime last night while in my room, but this was the first time she’d verbally admitted we might be something more than friends.

“Maybe,” she teased. “But before we can explore that, you need to conquer this.” She pulled the ring from the box. “Please, Conrad. Trust me.”

I stared at the ring for a minute more before nodding my head. She took my right hand and looked into my eyes.

“No matter what happens, remember I am right here beside you. I won’t leave.”

That sounded ominous. “Okay.”

She inspected the ring and then my fingers. She must have determined that the ring would fit best on my ring finger because that’s the one she chose and slid it over my knuckles. Then she clasped my hand closed and stepped back.

My hand burned where the ring touched my skin. It traveled to my other fingers, then my palm, then to my wrist. I watched in shock as an odd orange glow followed the fiery path of my black tattoo, as if bringing it to life. The burning I felt on occasion became more like an inferno.

I closed my eyes, and images began to flash through my mind. My mother, her soft brown eyes and round face, appeared before me.

She kissed my forehead and sighed. “I hate to do this, son. But I’ve been left no choice. I’m dying, and the world can’t ever know about you. The only way to protect you is if you forget who you are.”

I felt tears run down my cheeks, but I was too lost in the memories to bother wiping them away.

My mother took me to a strange woman’s house. The woman said some weird words I didn’t understand, and I fell into a trance of sorts. The woman then tattooed my wrist with the triskele.

She handed my mother a small box. “If your situation ever changes, this ring will bring it all back. But for now . . .” She looked at me. “By tomorrow he’ll remember nothing of his past. He will be unable to shift into his dragon form. When he comes of age, that tattoo will become visible and will allow him to seek the truth, should he desire it.”

My mother hugged me and sobbed. “My sweet Conrad. Please forgive me. I have to let you go so that I may save you.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Images of fire and molten rock ran through my mind. The ruins I’d been so obsessed with as a child had been a castle once, a part of our family heritage for centuries, before time and humanity had destroyed it all.

The most terrifying vision of all hit me with such force that it brought me to my knees. My dragon. The beast was fierce and angry. Two long twisted horns jutted from its enormous head. Black scales covered every inch of its body, except the leathery red wings that extended from the shoulder blades and the crest of fire that ran from the top of its head down to the bottom of its neck. The beard matched the crest, tendrils dripping like magma from its chin. Eyes the size of tractor tires stared back at me, the slanted pupils restricting and contracting as if trying to focus. The yellow irises glowed like embers.

I closed my mind to the horrendous beast, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. Then I was racked with a pain unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Bones cracked. Muscles stretched. Skin tore. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the cave, my head almost brushing the top of the cavern ceiling. Jetta stood before me, a small human figure with a large smile on her face. Holy shit! How is this possible? And why isn’t Jetta running for her life?

I bent my head, and she walked toward me. I let out an involuntary snort, and flames shot from my nostrils.

Jetta jumped back. “Whoa, big fella. We’re gonna have to get that under control. We can’t have you roasting the villagers. Or me.”

She stepped closer again, approaching from the right side of my face. Her hand reached out to stroke my scales, and despite our obvious differences, I still felt that spark of desire she’d always sent through me.

My mind reeled. How did I forget I was a lava dragon? Obviously, my mother was hiding me in plain sight, but how was it possible to lose the memories of something so significant? This was a lot to take in, and I knew I’d need time to adjust to finding myself after almost two decades of being lost.

Jetta brought my attention back to her. “Conrad, I’m a frost dragon. This cave is warded so that only dragons can enter.”

Jetta’s a dragon, too? I felt sure I was losing my mind. A range of emotions rushed through me: loss, anger, confusion, relief. I hated the events that led me to this place in my life, yet I was happy to find my way back to the truth. Elated that I was no longer alone in a world in which I’d felt I’d never belonged.

She quickly removed her clothes. The human side of me was thrilled for the show, but I had no idea what she was doing.

She stepped back and closed her eyes. I watched in fascination as she transformed before me. Beautiful white scales replaced milky porcelain skin. Her silver hair morphed into a crown of horns that surrounded her head and neck. She was only a few feet shorter than I was once she’d fully shifted. She was gorgeous as a human, and gorgeous as a dragon. Her eyes were the same icy blue as in her human form, and I couldn’t help but stare into them as I allowed the implication of this transformation to wash over me.

We were both dragons. On opposite ends of the spectrum, but dragons just the same. Our dragon genes recognized each other, long before we did. We were drawn to each other so desperately because we were meant to be each other’s mates. She was mine, and I was hers. Now that I’d found where I belonged, and who I belonged to, I was never letting go.