Hope loved this time of the morning when the pink in the distance was a pale blush that bled out into the purple of the skies. It was not night, not morning, just that in-between time when the promise of a new day hung heavy in the air. Breathing in deep, she filled her lungs with the crisp morning air.
When the hair at the nape of her neck prickled, she wasn't even surprised. Her body had an internal warning system so sensitized to the presence of this man that she could sense him approach her.
She didn't need to see him to imagine that lethal predatory gait of his as he stalked through the darkness toward her.
As a dragon shifter, she'd always thought she was strong, the most dangerous of all species. But she'd met one particular immortal, warrior male, and she knew she was wrong.
For Aaron carried a sense of danger around him, one that drew her to him.
It made her want to breathe in his scent. To drown in those blue eyes. He'd fight her fears. He'd be there for her when she needed a sanctuary.
He came up to stand beside her.
The scent of eucalyptus and pine teased her senses. Heat from his body poured over her…stark in its contrast to the morning air. Goosebumps shimmered across her skin, and she rubbed her forearms.
"You're cold?" Surprise tinged his voice.
She looked up at him from below her lashes. "I may be a dragon shifter with fire running through my veins, but I am human, too."
"From where I am, you are a warm, sensuous, human female." That rich voice of his poured over her skin like honey.
A wicked light glinted in his eyes. He was teasing her.
The fire-breathing part of her blazed strong enough that her temperature ran high. Hope had been to colder climates. Even surrounded by snow, she didn't need much insulation against the elements.
But this immortal was more dangerous than treacherous weather. She needed to shield herself from him.
Wrenching herself away from his side, she turned and marched toward the cruiser anchored on the pier.
Stepping onto the boat, she began preparing for their departure.
Of course, he didn't wait for an invitation. He jumped in after her. He'd taken her for granted.
She decided to let it pass…this time.
Casting off, she walked into the cockpit. Eyes focused in front, she started the engine and pulled away from the pier.
The warmth at her side warned her he’d slid his body into the narrow space next to her at the helm.
She half-expected him to insist that he be the one to steer.
He folded his arms over his chest.
He'd surprised her again. She didn't like it, not one bit.
"How far is it to the Seychelles?" She sensed his gaze caressing her features.
They weren't even touching, yet the low timber of his voice seduced her. She found herself leaning into him and forced herself to pull back.
Sliding her feet just enough to put a few inches between them, she gestured west. "It's a day and night journey by boat that way."
As the wind rushed through her hair, lifting the long strands, her muscles relaxed.
She felt a tug and turned to find he'd coiled a strand of her hair around his finger.
Long sensuous fingers, tapered at the end—an artist's hand.
He brought the strand to his nose and sniffed. Another tremor raced through her body.
He'd always have this effect on her. However much time she spent with him, there'd always be this frisson of something dangerous between them that would keep her on edge.
She pulled, and he let go of her hair, his fingers dropping to touch her shoulder.
Sizzle.
The heat zoomed straight to her core, and a shudder trembled down her back.
He hadn't noticed how much his touch affected her, had he?
"You love being out in the open." His voice was soft, reaching that part of her she was trying so hard to hide from him.
Perhaps she was going about this all wrong. Maybe she should stop fighting her dragon and find a way to come to terms with what her beast was feeling for this male?
A breath whistled out from between her lips.
"It would have been much faster if we'd flown." His hands were loose at his side. At least he'd stopped touching her.
She had to stop herself from leaning into him and melting against his side. "Nice try." She lifted her chin. "We dragon shifters don't let just anyone ride us. That right is reserved for family and friends only."
"Ouch." He thumped the region of his heart and grinned.
That wicked, wicked smile of his set off something hot and liquid in her belly. Did he have to be so sexy?
"You so flatter me. I don't count as either, I take it?" The remains of a smile still played around those strong lips.
"You are just an alliance of convenience. Someone I must put up with because it’s best for my species." There. That should shut him up.
Or so she thought.
"You could have flown. I'd have followed in this cruiser." He waggled his eyebrows at her.
Stubborn male.
She found her lips pulling apart in a smile but stopped herself in time.
"No one drives Dragon Heart but me." She set her jaw then decided it was safer to look ahead.
Better to focus on the blue of the sea rather than the blue of those distracting eyes that did things to her insides, hot, sexy yearnings she didn't want to acknowledge.
"Dragon Heart?"
She sensed Aaron's glance on her face. "Growing up, we knew Eve would be our alpha. But she joked that I was the one with the heart that marked me out most as dragon born." Hope's lips twisted in recollection.
"What do you mean?"
18
Aaron
Reaching out, Hope took Aaron's hand and placed it over her heart. It was the last thing he'd expected.
Thud, thud, thud.
The beat of her heart pulsed through his fingers, sinking into his blood until it felt as if her heart beat with the same rhythm as his. The heat of her was like flames which shot up and licked him. Her skin was a contrast, like liquid honey that swirled over his hand.
It was that very contradiction of sensations running through him that made desire flare, hot and hard, intense enough that it caught him by surprise.
By accepting Hope he'd thought that he was being untrue to the memory of Zayn, which was stupid.
If Zayn had been alive, he'd only want Aaron to be happy. He'd have loved Hope and would’ve wanted Aaron to pursue Hope until she accepted. Yet, it all felt so rushed. Aaron hadn't yet had time to mourn Zayn properly.
So Aaron withdrew his hand.
He hadn't counted on missing her touch so intensely. His chest ached. The back of his eyeballs burned.
As he stepped away, the breeze rushed in between them. Already he missed that exotic scent of her that had teased him, that he had scented even before he’d first seen her.
He needed to get his heart away from thoughts of her and to focus on the task he'd been sent to do: form an alliance with the dragon shifters and find a way to overcome the Elysians.
Yes, that was it.
Part of his job was to find out everything he could about the dragon shifters. Mind made up, he turned to her, pretending he didn't see those emerald-green eyes narrow in confusion.
"You're descended from the founder of this city?" It was like he couldn’t help himself.