Taming the Dragon. Kendra Castle Leigh

“I can’t get it off.”

      The charm, a tiny silver dragon, slipped from the neck of her shirt. It glowed brightly, and Kaden’s eyes tracked it as it swung. Of all the things the witch might have stolen, she’d known to take the piece that had far more value than just the metal that had formed it. This was his dragyn-ka, a symbol of himself that he would one day give to his chosen dragoness, a magic-infused representation of their bond. In his world, he could have taken a mate without it, but no she-dragon worth her treasure would have been pleased—most would have stormed off, refusing to consider him. It was their way. He had no longer been in his world, though, and he had already lost nearly everything that mattered. He had thought himself beyond feeling in those days, cut off from everything but the hunters who refused to let him be even here, in a world where he was alone. Still, the loss of the necklace had been a blow. The dragyn-ka was a part of him.

      And here it was, wound around the neck of a beautiful woman.

      She could not remove it. He knew what it meant. But...she was human.

      After a full minute of watching Tess fumble, Kaden blew out a frustrated breath. She went completely still.

      “Did...did that smoke just now come from you?”

      The incredulity in her voice nearly surprised a laugh out of him, and laughter was a rare thing for a dragon. Instead, Kaden caught himself and allowed a slow, lazy smile. The flicker of hunger he saw in Tess’s eyes sent heat curling through him.

      “Of course it came from me,” he said softly. “Didn’t the witch tell you what you were getting yourself into?”

      She shook her head slowly. “I don’t believe in witches.” Her husky voice was barely a whisper.

      Kaden slipped his fingertips beneath the chain around Tess’s neck, hearing her soft intake of breath as his skin brushed hers. She was deliciously warm, nearly as warm as the dragon charm he lifted to toy with. It had given her heat. His heat.

      He leaned in close, so that his nose was nearly touching hers. Her breath feathered his face, his lips, and he could feel the remnants of his anger fading. He wanted this Tess. It wasn’t in his nature to deny himself what he wanted. And his dragyn-ka, by means fair or foul, had attached itself to her.

      Kaden watched her lips part, her eyes go hazy. Whatever web the witch had woven for him, there was no denying that his body called to Tess as strongly as hers called to him.