Dragon Heat by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 15

The next day…

Azure shot past him. Ice felt the air around him displace from her wings. For a split second, the female was close. Close enough to wing-clip her. For a moment, he was tempted, but he hesitated and lost his chance. Right then, she wasn’t too far ahead, close enough that he could pick up her scent. Berries…maybe cherry. Sweet, with a little note of tartness, a hint of spice, and the smoky scent of her dragon.

And because he was so far up his own damned ass, Azure got ahead. Fog too. The herd of moose scattered like leaves in the wind. Ice locked onto a target, realizing just before he was about to make the kill that the animal he had chosen was a female, and pregnant, at that. He could scent it on her. He pulled up. Too late to lock onto another.

Fog snarled, his claws still deep in his kill. Azure shifted, grinning. She was covered in blood. Holy shit, but she looked good, even spattered in all that gore. Red was a good color on her.

“Too slow, Ice.” She chuckled. It was low and throaty.

Ice shifted, eyes still on the female.

“Yeah,” Sun said as soon as he shifted. “It’s not like you to miss a kill. Azure had a decent excuse yesterday. You? Not so much.” Sun and Avalanche had bagged their own kills earlier. Avalanche brought down a boar, which made for good eating. He held back a sigh as Sun’s words sank in. The male was right.

It was Azure. She had him off his game. There was something different about her since her heat, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The fact that he knew what her pussy tasted like didn’t help things. When he caught the lingering scent of her heat yesterday, his cock had stirred. The bastard had started to take on a life of its own. He’d been forced to think of his grandmother. His dear, sweet grandmother. How fucking rude was that?

He’d been so sure that it was her heat on the weekend making him crazy. Ice could blame her lingering heat yesterday. He had no excuses for still checking her out today. Yet here he was, unable to peel his eyes off her.

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck?

“Is it just me, or is it extra muggy today?” Azure lifted her hair off her shoulders and groaned. “I’m hot!”

She sure was. All the males’ jaws dropped when she tilted her head back a moment before dropping her hair. “I’m covered in blood.” She proceeded to wipe the red on her belly, dragging her hand up and over her chest.

Fuuuuuuck!

Ice looked away. He would have to visit his grandmother later. His sweet, dear granny. He pictured her face. Her eyes. He thought about the cookies she baked him. His mom also baked a mean cookie. He thought about both females. Anything to stop what was going on between his legs.

“Mind if I wash off in the lake?” Azure asked.

“Um…” He cleared his throat. “Sure thing.” He nodded. Better that she was in the water. Neck-deep would be good.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him. Azure had a great smile. It lit up her whole face. Especially her eyes. He wanted to tell her that, but it would be inappropriate on all levels. He needed to get over his shit when it came to her. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that his name was back down for the stag run this weekend. He was eligible to take a mate, and since he hadn’t gone last weekend, he was back on the list for the upcoming one. His name would come up more often than before. It was how it worked.

“A swim sounds good.” Fog jogged after Azure, his feet squelching in the mud as he hit the water’s edge.

Ice’s eyes narrowed when Sun followed. “I’m pretty hot myself.” The male chuckled. And if he wasn’t mistaken, there was this edge to his voice that Ice didn’t like. He really needed to have a talk with them again about flirting with Azure. It wasn’t allowed. This had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with work ethic.

Avalanche sat down with a groan. “I’m hungry,” the male announced.

“You already ate everything we brought with us,” Ice told him. “You killed a pheasant and ate the thing in one-minute flat, feathers and all. And don’t even ask me if you can have a moose leg. The answer is no.” He watched Azure jog into the lake. She dove in as soon as the water was just above her knees.

“We should be permitted to stay in our dragon forms and eat our kills every now and then,” Avalanche grumbled.

Ice didn’t respond. He was too busy watching what was going on in the water. The three of them were splashing each other. The she-dragon laughed, diving back into the water. Sun went after her. They came up; the male had his hands on her hips. They were both laughing hard. Sun dunked Azure.

Ice grit his teeth so hard he was sure he might crack a molar if he wasn’t careful. He even growled.

“What is it?” Avalanche asked.

“We need to get back.” He looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late. We still have work to do back at the lair.” He glanced at the felled animals. Ice put two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly.

They instantly stopped their roughhousing. Fog was just about to throw Azure into deeper water.

“That’s enough. We’re leaving!” There was a hard edge to his voice.

“Okay.” Fog put the female down. The two males ran out of the water. Azure followed more slowly.

Yep…it was like a scene from one of those low-grade human movies. He’d watched quite a few on his computer. The plan was to get to know humans as much as possible if he was going to mate one. That meant watching their programs and movies. Oh yes, this ticked all the boxes when it came to the sexy scenes.

Water dripped down her body, tracing every curve. Her nipples were tight. The water must be cold. She shook her hair. Water went flying around her.

Gorgeous.

Fucking insanely beautiful.

No! That wasn’t it. Azure had always been pretty. There was something else. Something new. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He looked to his right, and all the males were staring, even Avalanche. Fog’s mouth had dropped right open. The male had a semi. He had a fucking semi. Sun too.

No way!

Just no!

This pissed him the fuck off. When he looked back, Azure had her hair twisted in one hand; she squeezed. More water dripped down the front of her body. She was still standing in the water. What the fuck was she doing? She was completely oblivious to the effect she was having on all of them.

“We need to leave, Azure,” he growled. “Now! We’re not on a break.”

“Oh…um…” She started jogging. Her tits bounced with every graceful footfall. “I’m coming.” Her arms pumped.

Fuuuuuck!

Those words shot straight to his cock. I’m coming. Right down into his balls, which clenched tight. “It’s not fucking acceptable,” he growled even louder at her. “No fucking around during work,” he snarled at her, even though she hadn’t been alone. “Let’s go!” he bit out, already in mid-shift. His cock was hard. He didn’t want anyone seeing. The shift hurt like a bitch, but he deserved it. He was taking his attraction for Azure out on her. Not right! He was pissed off at his lack of control. Even more pissed off at how he felt when he looked at her shocked face. It morphed into confusion, and then…something else he didn’t like. Hurt! He’d hurt her.

She was going to be hard on herself after his outburst. It wasn’t even her fault that he was an asshole. This needed to stop. He was just desperate for a female. Once that particular problem was rectified on the weekend, all would be well.