Fire Maidens Scotland (Billionaires & Bodyguards #6) - Anna Lowe Page 0,42

went wide. Then they circled each other, more furious than ever.

“I’m not playing games,” he warned.

She clacked her teeth. “Neither am I.”

The thing was, he was big — much bigger than her.

Not just big. Magnificent, her dragon murmured, taking him in.

His wingspan was a good ten feet wider than hers, and his hide — a deep, blackish-brown color tipped with bronze — was thick. Even if she’d hit him with her best flame, she doubted he would feel more than a tickle. His claws were curved and sharp, his tail packed with muscle.

She rolled just in time to avoid his next move. His teeth clacked an inch over her right ear, and the force of his wingbeats was so powerful, her body wobbled in midair.

I won’t hurt you, his glowing eyes said. But be warned. I am not to be tangled with.

Yeah, well. Neither was she. Tucking her wings, she cannonballed to within a hairsbreadth of the ground, then snapped her wings open and pulled into a sharp cut to the left, into the clear.

Brambles scratched her belly, and she gritted her teeth. Yikes. That had been closer than she intended. But hell — life was made to be lived on the edge.

She took off to the south, slaloming around an obstacle course of rock formations, missing each by a hair. It wasn’t as death-defying as flying with closed eyes through Crazy Woman Canyon, her favorite training ground near home, but it would do. Let Lachlan try to follow her through there.

He didn’t. Instead, he hovered above, staring.

“Are you mad?”

She cut through several more tight turns, then zipped toward him, flashing her teeth. “Mad, as in crazy? No. Mad, as in pissed off? Yes. Furious.”

That set off the next phase of their skirmish, packed with roars, slashing claws, and long blasts of fire. They fought over fields, above the spiky points of a pine forest, and finally, over the water of the loch. Bitterly cold water, as Holly learned when her tail splashed through the surface. Then they shot straight upward, spinning around each other in search of an opening.

Holly grinned as the mood of their skirmish gradually changed from angry spat to pure, heady challenge. It was fun in a way, if exhausting.

At one point, she turned right while Lachlan turned left, and their tails tangled. Briefly, their wings interlocked, and she caught a passing glimpse of his eyes. Well, it ought to have been a passing glimpse. But somehow, her gaze caught there, and a hum sounded in her ears, louder than the sound of her own panting. Louder than the exertion that made her heart pound.

Or maybe not just the exertion, she realized as a warm, sultry sensation crept through her veins.

For a moment, they hung in midair in a full-body tangle. Lachlan’s claws were inches from her belly, and the haze in her mind would leave her helpless to another attack, if he so desired.

Mmm. Desire, her dragon rumbled.

Oops. They’d somehow maneuvered themselves into the perfect position for getting it on, dragon-style.

She gulped, torn between the urge to break free and the instinct to stay close to her mate. To claim and be claimed. To finally unleash all that pent-up desire.

The light in Lachlan’s eyes went from the brick red of anger to the soft glow of desire, and his nostrils flared, capturing her scent.

“You can fight. I’ll give you that,” he finally murmured.

“I had some good teachers.”

He nodded slowly. “Your mother, I suppose.”

She laughed. “Neither of my parents is much use when it comes to aerial combat.” She’d learned most of her moves from Trevor and the dragons he had put her in touch with in beautiful Koa Point, Hawaii.

She swished her tail gently, not just to stay aloft but to remain close to Lachlan’s body. The clouds had thickened, and a drizzle set in, though she barely noticed. Why should she, when she could marvel at the perfect rhythm they’d fallen into? Lachlan’s wings cupped hers, and together, they gently fanned the air. His chest pressed against hers, and the heat of his body warmed the air.

I missed you so much. I want you so much, she wanted to say.

Lachlan’s eyes told her he was fighting — and losing — a similar battle.

Mate, his heated gaze said. Mine.

Her dragon hummed, pressing closer.

Holly’s breath caught. A minute more of that, and their dragon sides would seize control and go for it. But dragon sex was rowdy, rough, and generally over in a heartbeat. It had