hand made me burn. The tension increased, drawing us together.
What was happening?
All I could do was feel him. Smell him.
I swayed closer to him. He moved toward me. We were two magnets, unable to fight it.
A low groan tore from his throat, one of resistance and longing.
His mouth collided with mine, his hands going around my waist. They were huge and strong, gripping me firmly as his hot lips parted mine. Desire fogged my head, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, falling into the kiss.
A sense of danger swirled around me, but I couldn’t resist this. No matter how risky it was. The danger only fueled me. My tongue slipped into his mouth, and I pressed my body full against the hard, long length of his.
He cupped the back of my head, plundering my mouth. My mind swirled, my thoughts going blank as I acted on desire alone. The magic continued to swirl around us, the spell doing its work, but I hardly noticed.
The man’s magic swelled on the air, increasing as we kissed. His touch grew rougher, less restrained. I surged against him, wanting more of it. More of him.
His mouth moved on mine, sure and skilled. I was dizzy. When the prick of pain on my lip flared, I jolted and pulled back.
The mist had faded on the air, the spell complete.
I could see him fully now.
My jaw slackened.
He was the same insanely beautiful stranger, but he’d changed. Shifted.
His eyes had turned black, and silver horns had appeared against his head. They didn’t jut upward like a demon’s horns; rather, they appeared at his temples and ran backward along his skull, almost like a crown. Fangs had grown in his mouth, two long white points.
He was terrifying and sexy, all at once.
And I had no idea what he was.
He licked his fang as he stepped back from me, seeming almost startled that he’d shifted. Then true surprise entered his eyes. At the taste of my blood?
His dark eyes turned green once more, control returning. Interest flickered, and the corner of his mouth tipped up in a grin. His tongue touched his fang again, as if for another taste of my blood.
All the heat and desire that had filled me began to flow out, leaving me weak.
“You’re a Dragon Blood.” His words, so low and soft, made ice shoot through my veins.
No.
Somehow, the taste of my blood had told him what I was.
Quickly, I sliced my forefinger with my sharp thumbnail. Pain spiked and blood welled, and I reached up and swiped my bloody fingertip over his forehead. A swipe of black blood marred his pale skin, then disappeared.
“Forget of me, I will of thee.” I repeated the chant twice, pushing my suggestive magic toward him. It was a small mind control trick that both Aeri and I had been quick to learn.
His eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t work on me.”
The earth felt like it had dropped out from beneath me. I reached for the dagger on the table beside me, instinct propelling me. I can’t let him leave here knowing what I am.
His gaze moved from the dagger in my hand to the bowl beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the small golden charm that now lay within it. The spell was complete. The charm had formed from our magic.
Quickly, he reached for it and scooped it out of the bowl.
“I hardly think a fight would go well between us.” He gave the dagger a pointed look. “And you may prove useful later, so I’d hate to hurt you.”
Before I could fully process his words, he’d retrieved his jacket from the chair and slipped out the door. He’d moved so quickly that he’d looked like a blur through the air.
I lunged up from the table, sprinting across the room.
He wasn’t in the hall.
Nor on the front step.
He was gone.
The bastard was gone, and he knew what I was.
I stumbled back into the house, my mind whirring.
Who the hell had that guy been? Where had he gone? I ran back toward my workshop, searching for any possible clues. Of course there were none. The only thing he’d left was the fire opal bracelet, which now lay on the table.
I picked it up and stared down at it, heart racing.
I’d use it to track him. It was the only way.
I gripped the bracelet tightly and closed my eyes, calling upon my seeker sense. A seeker was a type of Magica who could find