Must Love Dragonsl (Space Dragons Seek Mates Book 1) Read online

  What was she supposed to say to him? He wasn’t being honest and now he just assumed she would want him? Lord, he just needed to stop.

  She sucked in air.

  Oh-my-God. She’d forgotten how to breathe.

  No. Maybe. He needed to go. No one was meant for her.

  “That’s it. I’m done. Thanks for playing,” said Maddie.

  With a snap of her fingers, Maddie watched as he folded and shrunk. A snort escaped her lips as feathers sprouted out of his once handsome face and his orange beak began squawking.

  “By the goddess. What have you done to my brother?” said the other guy.

  She snorted. “I got him to stop asking me stupid questions. Now, do I have to explain to you that I won’t be seeing anyone's ‘ship’.” She air quoted the word.

  At least she could breathe, now that he was flapping his little wings. It wouldn’t last for too long, just long enough to get rid of these two.

  “Maybe he’ll act a little more civilized next time. Here-”

  The guy’s backside was all she saw as he ran out the door.

  “Wait! Take your - well shit.”

  She glared down at the chicken pecking the floor.

  This was backfiring. What the hell was she supposed to do with a damn chicken? Well, man. He obviously wasn’t a chicken and wouldn’t be for long. Maybe, at least he would be a little more humble when he turned back.

  Blowing a hair out of her face, Maddie had to admit she enjoyed his human form much better than a chicken. What the crap.

  She didn’t have time for a chicken, let alone a man.

  “Maddie! What did you do? You know better. You’re not supposed to transfigure anyone in my bar. Besides, I think chickens violate health codes.”

  Letting her head fall back, she glared at the ceiling. “Mom? Where the hell are you?”

  Time to go find her, right after she fixed Mr. Space-ship.

  2

  Kal’s head throbbed. Had he just lost a fight? He never lost a fight. What had he been fighting? Something big? Had to have been. No, wait. Not a fight. A bar.

  He’d been known to hit up a bar or two in the colonies back home. Kal shifted, his body struggling to remain perched on whatever it was he laid on. Something soft, that was good. His head swam.

  “Eadric?” The sound, hoarse and far too quiet, scratched against his parched throat. Good goddess. Was that his voice? What had they done to him?

  He tried to pry his eyes open, but the light burned. His dragon grumbled, his soul just as clueless.

  “Eadric? Where are we? God. Worst dream ever. I was hunting an eisech and was ready to pounce. I went for it and that’s when I saw them. My fucking claws, gone. Fuck, man. I had these tiny little feet, like a bird. And my arms flapped around, but I couldn’t get off the ground. I damn near shit myself.”

  Someone laughed and Kal’s eyes flew open at the unfamiliar female sound.

  “Thank you for that laugh. What was your name again? Kal? Oh, my God. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.”

  “What in the goddess's name.” He jolted up, the shriek of wooden legs protesting against the floor.

  “You - you stay away from me you, you -”

  She smiled. “I’m a witch. And I wouldn’t have turned you into a chicken if you would have respected the fact that I said I wasn’t interested.”

  “I don’t understand.” He shook his head and instantly regretted it. He reached back a hand, trying to ground himself. Looking for anything that wasn’t swimming with the rest of the room.

  The female came towards him, and he backpedalled, hitting something hard.

  Kal wasn’t helpless, and he sure as shit didn’t like that she had made him feel that way. Some mate. What had the goddess done? How did he end up with this - this horrid female?

  Oh, goddess. His hand flew to his head. Whatever he’d eaten for lunch might stage a reappearance if the damn room didn’t stop its orbit.

  “Oh, just stop being a baby. Come here.”

  He shivered as her hands rested against his forearm. Kal tried to focus on her touch, a warmth running through him rivaling his own fire. His tattoos glowed a bright orange and heated where her fingers rested.

  As the room slowed, he focused on the creature before him. Kal couldn’t look away from her mouth. Her lips formed words he didn’t bother to understand, and damn, did they look sexy doing it.

  The cloud in his head cleared, leaving his body ready to recognize what was happening.

  Kal still questioned what he’d done to deserve this witch’s wrath. His dragon's instinct had led him here, to this woman, the woman fate had chosen. She’d made his already hot blood rise to a boil. His mouth watered at her scent, and yet, she’d just turned him into a -a - what the hell was it? A chicken?

  And then, the next thing he knew he was running for his life.

  “I don’t understand what you find funny, m‘lady.”

  Her lips twitched at the corner and her nose wrinkled. “M‘lady?”

  Maddie shook her head once. “Whatever. I didn’t expect you to run away when I turned you into a chicken. I’m sorry that you got chased by a lizard. In your defense, he was really big.”

  Kal blinked slowly. “A what? Wait. I don’t care. Why am I in here? If you don’t want me, why am I here?”

  How could she not want him? Even after this trick, he’d still take her to bed. Hell, who needed a bed?

  Kal watched her. He tried to tap into her thoughts, something he should be able to do with his future mate. Back home everyone with the blood of the Ammit people could speak telepathically. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she wasn’t his mate? Or maybe nothing was what it seemed here on Earth. Magic he’d never seen before flowed through this woman’s veins.

  “My commander had said you were a simple people. If you are, then how did you turn me into, what was it? A chicken?”

  She glared at him.

  “You are so strange. Should we just start from the beginning. I’m a witch. I have magic, and when I don’t like someone I just do things. So, then I brought you to the back office. Of the bar. All because your brother wouldn’t take you and I was told a chicken violated the health code. This backfired. Lesson learned, again. Don’t transform people.”

  Memories of being small, tiny, and flightless ran through him. He shuddered. Fear and disgust, both things he’d never felt before, surfaced.

  This would not do. His mate was supposed to want him. Worship him. Sniffing the air, she scented of a strong magic.

  “You’re not just a witch, are you, Maddie?”

  Removing her hands, she stood back, and crossed her arms over her chest.

  His dragon lost its shit and roared within his soul. He wanted to grab her and spank her for what she’d done. He wanted to grab her and mark her right here. Maybe the dragon knew what he was doing.

  Nothing made sense. She should want him, beg for him. Instead, he was the one adjusting his stance as the need for her sank in. Kal felt helpless. Not good. He’d never been turned down before. He was a warrior, an elite warrior. He’d expected to be a God here. Instead, this little female seemed to command him.

  His body burned as his dragon fought to come out.

  Goddess knows what she saw, but she backed up, nearly tripping, a familiar look in her eyes. Fear. Fear looked the same in any species. Swallowing back his rage and his desire for her, Kal focused on her and only her. Seeing beyond just the curvy exterior of her. There was so much more.

  “What are you?” he asked.

  He shook off the last lick of fire on his fingertips.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” she said.

  He stepped forward. “I’ve answered you. A dragon. From another planet far, far away. Now, what are you?”

  She swallowed. “Just a-a witch.”

  Kal breathed in deep, catching the aroma of her body. A mix of fear, anger, nerves, and the sweet scent of arousal.

  He flexed his hands, his muscle
s tensing.

  He couldn’t look away. Regardless of the irritation of being changed into some helpless bird, he still wanted her. No one could have explained this to him.

  “Not just a witch, I can feel your power,” he said.

  Energy raged through him at the mere sight of her. His dragon burned hotter and he couldn’t control the hunger deep in his soul. The warriors had been sent to find their mates. If they didn’t, they would burn brighter and hotter, until one day they couldn’t control the energy within them.

  The thing was, Kal was pretty damn sure he burned hotter in the presence of this creature, something he didn’t think was supposed to happen.

  “Your eyes,” she said, as she took a step towards him.

  He blinked. “What about them?”

  She stopped and her scent came to him as the flow of air in the room danced around her.

  He didn’t look away; she was in his sights. Kal’s throat burned dry as the need to taste her surfaced.

  “They. I’ve never seen a shifter’s eyes like yours. It’s almost like you’re on fire.”

  “I’m a dragon. My soul welcomes the fire. I didn’t lie about what I am.”

  He was supposed to keep the space stuff out of the conversation. Then again, he was supposed to be all powerful and not get bested by some female. She wasn’t what he’d expected. The last time his people had been here, humans were still building triangle tombs and worshiping his kind.

  Confused, and probably not helpless, she stared at him. No, not helpless. He’d best remember that.

  Maddie’s lips moved without a sound coming out. She crossed and uncrossed her arms. He loved to watch her move. Goddess, she was sexy. How was he supposed to keep his hands off of her? There were rules. What the fuck were the rules again?

  He couldn’t remember. Kal watched her mouth, but words weren’t what he wanted right now. Kal wanted to know if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

  He wanted to know if her breasts filled his hands. He wanted to know what it would feel like to sink his dick deep within her.

  Kal adjusted his stance. Goddess, his dick didn’t seem to care much for rules.

  Fuck them. Fuck the rules. Fuck the whole plan.

  He grabbed her wrist, and tugged her toward him.

  “Oh,” she said. Her eyes wide in surprise, but she didn’t resist.

  “I have traveled a very, very long way, Maddie, and I’m hungry.”

  Maddie locked her eyes onto his, her chest rising and falling quicker and quicker.

  “I, the bar. They have food,” she whispered.

  “I don’t want food…” he answered.

  Her pulse raced under his touch.

  “I don’t understand - I’m, what’s your name?”

  He smirked. She wasn’t ignoring him now.

  “Kal. My name is Kal, Maddie. My little witch.”

  His thumb started to trace circles on the inside of her wrist. He could feel the energy with each beat of her heart. Strong little human.

  “You're beautiful,” Kal said.

  She blinked as if coming back from far away. “No. Not me.”

  His fire burned, the restraint to keep it under control didn’t detract from his raging hard-on. “You will never doubt me when I tell you, you are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever met.”

  He watched her throat move as she swallowed, the skin on her neck soft, begging to be tasted.

  Leaning down, his mouth inches from her ear, he whispered, “tell me, Maddie, do you want me as much as I want you?”

  She let out a small gasp.

  He licked the ridge of her ear, trailing his tongue down to the lobe.

  She shivered.

  “I’ll warm you, if you let me.”

  He liked the salty-sweet of her skin as he savored the taste. The energy within her called out to his dragon. Kal watched as veins of golden fire pulsed where his lips left a trace of his own energy. They started to spiral and spread down her.

  “I’m not cold,” her words came out on a breath.

  Kal liked the way she reacted to him, his own body growing more and more desperate. He should stop, but he didn’t want to.

  Maddie leaned into him, allowing him to hold her tighter.

  “No. Not cold,” she repeated.

  He smirked.

  Maddie’s breathing grew uneven. Perhaps being changed into a chicken was all worth it now that his charm was beginning to work on this little human.

  His gaze flicked to a glowing string of lines along her neck. Kal stopped. Markings, first faint, and now growing clearer, burned like rivers of fire down the exposed flesh of her chest, disappearing under her shirt, and spreading down her arms.

  He moved back as the fire spread over her.

  “Shit.”

  She closed her eyes, moaning. Only this time it wasn’t because of his mouth against her.

  “What?” she whispered.

  He let her go.

  “I. Is that normal?”

  The markings he’d expected - at some point. He’d been told his mate would share some of his markings, but what the fuck was burning within her? She looked like… well, fuck. She looked like she was burning from the inside out.

  He searched his soul. His dragon thrashed within, demanding release.

  Not yet.

  “Oh,” she gasped.

  “So, that’s not normal?” Kal asked.

  She shook her hands and waved her arms.

  “God, no. What did you do? I’ve never seen my magic do this. Crap.” Her fingers pulled at the shirt against her, fanning it. “Hot. I’m so hot. Son of a- oh, my God!”

  Without another word she tore out the door and down a hall, the scent of char wafting towards him.

  Like a damn idiot he stood there, confused as fuck. Did he follow? Where did she go?

  Stupidity taking a backseat, he took off down the hall, the scent of her mixed with the scent of smoldering flame.

  Kal stopped as he stepped from the hall back to the bar he remembered.

  “Maddie?” he said, scanning the space.

  The bartender glared at him. “She’s here.” Rolling her eyes, Ellen pointed down behind the bar.

  Taking one more survey of the space, he decided that his brother had deserted him. No other threats appeared. Maddie was all that mattered right now.

  He took the floor in six long strides.

  “What did you do to her?” asked Ellen.

  He braced himself against the bar and leaned over.

  He jerked his head back and looked again. “Maddie?”

  “Maddie, get your damn head out of my freezer. That’s seriously against like every damn health code,” said Ellen.

  “What have you done to her?” he asked, this time.

  “What have I done? I’m not the huge asshole that she just came out of the back room with. I’m guessing you did something,” scolded Ellen.

  Kal snarled. He didn’t like the way this female looked at him.

  Ellen laughed. “Is he that hot, Madds?”

  She pulled out, steam rising as her skin melted the ice she ran down her skin.

  “I’ll fix it. Just let me cool down. I’m hot. Is it hot in here?” Maddie rambled.

  The bartender grinned at Kal. “I’d be too if I’d just been locked in the office with this one.”

  He shrunk back as the female licked her lips. Kal would worry about the fact he wanted no other females any longer later, and the fact that Maddie had him worried. He didn’t do worry.

  “I don’t understand, is this normal?” He turned to Ellen. He needed answers.

  Ellen laughed. “What? To burn up like a campfire? No. I mean, we have strange stuff here. But no. Can’t say that’s normal.”

  He nodded and started to step away. What the hell should he do?

  “Don’t you dare leave. Not until you fix me,” Maddie said. She dumped a handful of cubes down her shirt.

  She closed her eyes. “You have no idea how go
od that feels.”

  His dragon began to paw and scratch. His skin rippled. He’d be fucked if she died, but he didn’t know what to do.

  He listened to his soul; the dragon growling. He would need to pull the fire from her. The fire spoke to him, he could pull it into his soul.

  “Maddie, can we please go somewhere more private?”

  This wasn’t something he understood, but he understood fire. He understood energy. He understood his need to save her. This wasn’t part of the mating ritual. It was almost as if she’d absorbed part of him within her and he could only think of one way to get it back.

  The warrior within took control as his senses honed in on her heart rate, her breathing, everything faster. Not like before though, not when she had wanted him. This was much too different.

  Maddie grabbed a rag and started to toss cubes in it.

  “I’ll bring this back,” she said, placing the bundle against the back of her neck.

  Ellen nodded as Maddie took off.

  He followed her, she teetered and staggered to a back door. Kal barely caught her as she nearly fell.

  “So hot. It’s so hot. Help me, Kal.”

  3

  Maddie swatted away Kal.

  Hot.

  She tore at her shirt. Maddie pushed, trying to get away from Kal.

  “Maddie. Stop. Please. Let me do as you asked. I can help.”

  Heck, no. He wasn’t coming closer. The heat burned hotter when he touched her.

  Holy hell. She backpedaled. Turned around. Reached for the brick wall of the alley. Something, anything. Her magic didn’t respond when she called it. Or If it did, she couldn’t be sure it knew what she wanted. She didn’t know what she wanted. She needed to clear her damn head.

  Was this what it felt like to burn at the stake? Thank God, witch trials were long gone. Her body was on fire. Literally. If she started to burn up, it might be a relief. She looked down at her arms spidering with odd markings she’d never seen.

  “What did you do, Kal? Is this like an infection? Are you a body snatcher?”

  He backed off a bit, but he didn’t step away. Probably best in case she fell or fainted.

  “What? Body snatcher? That species is extinct if memory serves.”