Dragon Heat 1 - Dead Sexy Dragon
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Authors: Lolita Lopez
Dead Sexy Dragon
Lolita Lopez
New York Boston
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Stig Wyvern dried the last of his dishes and placed them
in the cabinet. His gaze moved to the bay window across
the kitchen. The setting sun splashed the sky with brilliant
streaks of orange and fiery pink. His stomach tightened at
the sight. With the darkness came the forced change, and
tonight it would be beyond his control. This night and
those of the following eight days he would spend at the
complete mercy of his inner beast.
Already his skin tingled, his nerves set alight with a
prickling heat. Even though he’d just ingested a pile of
rare steaks for dinner, his stomach growled with
emptiness. There wasn’t enough water to slake his thirst.
And his libido raged. He wanted nothing more than to find
a willing woman to sink into again and again.
But he couldn’t do that. He
mustn’t
do that. When in
heat, Stig’s scent changed, grew more potent, and made it
easier for the Knights to find him. So he would retreat to
the cavernous lair beneath his home and lock himself in
irons for the duration of the night.
He did a final check of the kitchen and headed upstairs
to make sure the house was sealed tight. He’d barely
reached the top of the stairs when he heard the frantic
knock at his front door. It momentarily stunned him. No
one ever knocked on his door. His closest neighbor was
five miles away—and he liked it that way.
He wanted to ignore the pounding, pretend he’d never
heard it and go about his business, but he just couldn’t. If
someone was there, it had to be serious. Maybe a car
wreck on one of the nearby roads or an accident in the
woods surrounding his home. Local teenagers had a habit
of staging wild parties out there. Underage kids and
drinking was a nasty mix.
As he hurried downstairs, Stig couldn’t help but wonder
if the person on the other side was safer braving the
elements of the night than facing him so close to the sunset.
When in heat, his inner beast was difficult to control. The
primal drive and desires that would soon overtake him put
all humans at risk. He unlatched and unlocked the various
dead bolts on the door and quickly drew it open.
Stig’s gruff greeting died on his lips the second he spied
the petite black-haired beauty standing on his doorstep.
Her scent, sweet and spicy, wafted up to meet him. His
body zinged with recognition. “Cora?”
“Hey, Stig.” Cora Cardenas greeted him with a sad
smile. Her puffy and red-rimmed eyes betrayed her. She’d
been crying. An uneasy feeling twisted Stig’s gut at the
sight of the luggage surrounding her. He stuck his head out
the door and saw her compact car caked in grime from the
long drive. There were more boxes and suitcases visible
through the windows.
Shit. Of all the times for his dead friend’s sister to show
up on his doorstep, it had to be tonight, the one night when
he feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand his already-
brewing attraction to her.
“Cora, look, this isn’t a good time for me. I—”
“You promised!” she interrupted with a sob. “When
Hector died, you promised I could come to you.”
Guilt gripped him. “I know and I meant it. It’s just that
things are complicated right now.” He nervously eyed the
skyline. “There’s a hotel in town. It’s a forty-minute drive.
You shouldn’t have a problem getting a room.”
“Stig,” she said pleadingly.
Cora’s begging tore at his heart. Stig fought the urge to
gather her in his arms and offer the security of his home—
and his bed. Only the knowledge that she was forbidden
and that his secret world could put her in grave danger
stopped him from grabbing and dragging her across his
threshold.
“Cora, you need to go.” His muscles twitched and jaws
ached. The change was coming soon. Too soon for his
liking. “Cora, please—”
“The key!” she practically screamed at him as she dug
in the front pocket of her jeans. “I still have the key!”
Stig’s gaze moved to her now-upturned palm. The key
he’d given her a little more than a year ago rested there.
He was haunted by his words.
As long as you have the
key to my home, you’ll always have a place to stay.
“Please.” Tears dripped down her cheeks. Fear
radiated from her shaking frame. She was scared. Of what,
he didn’t know but it worried him.
Stig swallowed hard and stepped aside. “All right.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief. As she brushed past
him, her suitcase wheels bumping over the threshold, Stig
caught a whiff of her scent again. It curled around him, the
sweet-scented tendrils squeezing his chest and filling him
with need. His cock stiffened and pressed painfully
against his zipper. The urge to stroke her olive skin was
overwhelming but he somehow managed to master it.
Stig had to get away from her. His questions could wait
until the morning and the safety of the sun.
“I’m sorry I was so short with you just now. I have a
horrible headache. I…I need to lie down.” Stig gestured
around him. “The guest bedroom is the first room on the
left at the top of the stairs. The bathroom is the room on
the right. Make yourself at home. I’ll see you in the
morning.”
“Oh.” Cora was clearly confused by his abruptness.
“All right.”
Stig nodded and headed out of the living room. He
paused in the doorway and glanced over his shoulder.
“Cora?”
“Yes?”
“There’s a door in the kitchen. It leads down to the
cellar. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave it alone. I’m having
an issue with infestation.”
Cora’s eyes widened. “Infestation?”
He shrugged. “The house is so close to the woods. It
was bound to happen sooner or later.” He held her gaze.
“You’ll keep out?”
Cora nodded dutifully. “Of course.”
“Thank you.” A painful quiver of blazing heat pierced
his abdomen. He needed to get downstairs—fast.
“I’ll go ahead and get the rest of my things.” She started
toward the front door. “Go get some sleep. I’ll be fine
tonight. We can talk in the morning.”
Stig sensed the shift in her emotions. She’d arrived
distraught and afraid and now seemed calmed. That the
simple act of stepping into his home gave her such a sense
of security tugged at his heart. Suddenly, he remembered
why he’d made that offer to her at Hector’s funeral. Even
then he’d been drawn to her, had wanted to gather her
close to his chest and caress her silky black hair.
But those feelings were wrong then and were still
wrong now. There was an unspoken code among friends.
As Hector’s baby sister, Cora was off-limits.
“Good night, Cora.”
“Night, Stig.”
He didn’t linger but took advantage of her short trip
outside to rush into the kitchen. He made sure to lock the
basement door behind him before running down the stairs.
His bones ached and muscles burned as his inner beast
struggled for freedom.
Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkness. His night
vision allowed him to move swiftly and safely down the
corridor. With each descending footstep, the temperature
dropped and the musty dankness grew stronger. The stairs
ended on a wet slab of stone blocked by a heavy steel
door. He punched in the code and yanked open the door
that led into a stunningly beautiful cavern.
Decades earlier, he’d discovered the secluded cave
during a solo spelunking trip. Building a house over what
he intended as his subterranean lair only made sense. The
layers of rock and dirt filtered his enhanced scent,
cloaking him from those who would do him harm. It
provided a secure place for him to hide out during these
episodes of uncontrollable animalistic lust and blood
thirst that plagued him every three years. Until he found a
mate, a proper
non-human
mate, Stig wouldn’t be able to
shake his mating heat.
He ducked beneath a tricky little stalactite he hadn’t had
the heart to rip down while outfitting the cavern for his
needs. There was no time to dally tonight. Stig quickly
undressed. He walked over to the far wall and grabbed the
titanium chains. They rattled in his trembling hands as he
secured them around his ankles and wrists. The time-
activated lock beeped and began the countdown to sunrise
and safety.
Secure in his bonds, Stig relaxed his shoulders and
welcomed the change. Scaly green patches transformed his
tanned skin. The bones of his face elongated into a kind of
snout. His short nails lengthened and sharpened into acid-
green talons. Stig groaned in pain as his back snapped and