Taming London (Warwick Dragons #1) - Milly Taiden Page 0,21

shared some time with, they won’t cause trouble. A lot of them would have to face their own PR team with it. This whole thing is really just my mother panicking that she won’t have grandchildren.”

How Johanna had yet to have a few grandbabies was a huge point of contention between her and her three sons. The one who had been the closest to achieving that particular milestone was York. His very human mate had met a very human end, with all tragedy and grief that can be associated with death trailing behind it. The death had been hard on all of the Warwicks, London knew that. Annalise had been a good woman. York was not likely to ever become attached again after what he had lost.

In fact, seeing his stoic older brother going through such a loss had scared London. At Annalise’s funeral, he had made a promise to himself that he would never let anyone get so close to him that they could hurt him by leaving or dying.

Of course, now that he had met his mate, he wasn’t so sure that was going to work for him. As Bethany left, claiming to have an appointment with another client, London was already trying to find a way to see her again.

“We should meet early tomorrow morning and get to planning some stuff. Concrete stuff for the benefit, I mean. Like menu and guest list and all of that stuff. How about you come to my place at around ten?”

He didn’t miss the way Bethany blanched. “No. Not your place. Let’s meet here. I still need to measure a few things out for tables.”

It was a thinly veiled excuse not to be in his house, and he knew it.

Was it because Bethany didn’t trust herself around him and his bed? London could only hope so.

He wanted a repeat of that kiss. Soon.

Or he was sure to go insane with want.

Chapter Ten

London

London didn’t do sleepless nights. He was a centuries-old dragon. Nothing had ever stopped him from sleep before. Not the plagues, not long voyages across the oceans on less than sturdy wooden ships. He had always been able to shut off his mind and let the sweet embrace of sleep take him over.

A quick glance at his alarm clock told him that it was just past one in the morning, and he hadn’t managed to turn his brain off, close his eyes, or even get fifteen minutes of rest.

His legs were twitching, and his entire body was itching with the need to do something. Not just anything, either. His body, his soul, they were calling out for something.

Or rather, for someone.

A beautiful woman with curves for days, long brown hair, sharp eyes, and a smart mouth. A mouth that had nearly driven him insane with kisses.

Call her. Go over to her place. Text her.

His dragon was relentless in his attacks on London’s psyche. He had already grabbed his phone and tapped out a few messages before he decided to leave the city.

He needed to shift to shut his beast up.

London knew he couldn’t shift and fly over the city. A huge crimson dragon flapping enormous wings over Big Ben and the London Eye was sure to cause a panic. But he needed to shift. He needed to fly to release the energy that was making his blood hot, and his thoughts foggy. He grabbed his keys and headed down to the underground parking. His black Rolls-Royce Wraith was in its usual spot.

He rarely took the car. It wasn’t made for the crowded and cramped streets of London. He only took it out when he was driving out to the Warwick country estate. Oxfordshire was only a ninety-minute drive from London, but the lands of the manor would provide him all of the cover he needed to spread out his wings and fly.

Given the late hour, there was little traffic, and London made it to the Warwick Estate in only an hour. He had been going way too fast, but he didn’t care. As he had sped through the dark streets, his dragon had begun to drive him loopy with its need to fly. The damn beast could sense the country air and the freedom of the open sky.

He had barely parked the car in the long, winding, and curved laneway that London was out of his car, stripping out of his clothes. No sooner did the moon hit his skin than he shifted into a gigantic dragon. His scales