The Dragon's Tattoo - Roxie Ray Page 0,1

me trying to look cool dancing to a fast song.

With every movement of our hips, I snuck a little closer, and my feelings for Skye settled deeper and deeper. I’d had a crush on her for years. Feeling drawn to her was how I ended up befriending her and led to us becoming best friends. As the years passed, it only got stronger.

But now, touching her, the romantic song, her body so close to mine, something clicked into place deep inside me.

When she turned her head up to look at me, I stepped close, pressed my body to hers, and moved my right hand to the nape of her neck. She had her shiny brown hair up in a complicated twist, leaving her shoulders and neck bare. Only two spaghetti straps held her pink tank top up, something I’d thanked my lucky stars for when she’d walked in.

“Anthony,” she whispered. Her plump lips parted slightly, drawing my gaze until all I could see or hear or smell was Skye. Her soft mouth. Her breathy voice.

I moved my face closer to hers and inhaled her scent, vanilla and something fruity. Citrus, maybe. She curved her neck, accepting my advance. The sound of her pulse ricocheted in my ears.

My heart pounded in my chest and my dragon roared his happiness that we were going to kiss Skye, finally. I hadn’t shifted yet, but I’d always been connected to my dragon. Only our witch’s blessings kept us from shifting as children, which could be traumatic for anyone who might happen upon a toddler shifting into a small, vicious little dragon.

As soon as my lips touched hers, a burning sensation began on my arm. I knew what it was but ignored it in favor of continuing the kiss. I didn’t push it with my tongue or anything. I wasn’t sure how many guys Skye had kissed in her life, but I didn’t want to freak her out now, this first time I got to taste her.

The burn on my arm intensified and I pulled back, biting back a hiss of pain. Pulling Skye into my arms, I hugged her close and continued to sway, giving me a chance to look at my arm over her shoulder. Sure enough, on my inner right forearm, the faintest outline of the fated mate tattoo had begun to form.

I grinned down at the mark, which would be invisible to humans, but the other dragons would be able to see it once it came in darker or if they looked closely. I swayed, absolutely stunned by this new development.

Skye shifted in my arms, sliding her hands up my back and resting her head on my shoulder. Her movement pulled me out of my astonishment enough to realize the other dragons in the room had picked up on my change in energy. They were all stiff, looking around as if for a sound only they could hear. If they didn’t chill, all the humans would notice their identical behavior. They were anxious, unsure what this energy was.

Shit. It was me, and it was good, but they didn’t know that. I wasn’t alpha yet, so the connection wasn’t the same. If I’d already been alpha, they would’ve known that I was experiencing a happy event.

Skye pulled back and looked up at me. “Are you okay?” she asked. Something caught her eye, and she looked around the room. “What’s going on?”

I gaped at her silently, without the first damn clue how to answer her. “I’ve got to go,” I whispered. “Sorry.”

Panic bloomed in my chest. If I didn’t get my emotions under control, the clan was going to move into defense mode. This was something I’d trained against, but seeing my mate mark had broken through all my defenses. As the alpha heir, I had to control my emotions. It would be even more paramount as alpha, but at least then they would’ve known what was going on without me having to call a meeting or something stupid like that.

Darting toward the kitchen, around the corner from where I’d found Skye, and down a long hall, I sighed in relief when I spotted my mom and made a beeline for her. “What’s going on?” she hissed when she saw my face.

I opened my mouth to explain, but she grabbed my hand and yanked me toward her. “Oh, honey.” Her voice was overjoyed. “Mitch!” she called.

My dad appeared from behind her. He’d probably been bugging the caterers in the kitchen, sneaking extra sweets.