Dragon Heat by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 22

Holy fucking shit!

Ice felt everything in him tighten as he looked up and straight into Azure’s eyes. It was like she had called to him like a homing beacon.

Beautiful.

So fucking sexy it made his scales rub.

Her long legs were encased in blue jeans. She wore a shimmery top that drew his eyes first to plump-as-fuck nipples and then to full mounds he wanted to squeeze with both hands. Her face looked almost devoid of makeup. Good, she didn’t need it. She was gorgeous without even trying.

Azure gave him a cheesy grin and waved. She looked relaxed, all set to have one hell of a good time. She would have no problem finding one, looking like that. The males around her were eating her up with their eyes. If given half a chance, they’d eat her up with a whole lot more.

Mine!

His dragon pushed just below the surface of his skin. Fuck! Any more of this and his eyes would start to glow.

Not yours!

No!

He inclined his head, because ignoring her outright would be rude. It was the last thing he wanted, but until he got some semblance of control, he needed to stay far away from her. As it stood, he was sorely tempted to go over there and… And what?

Kiss her?

Leave with her?

Start beating all the males who were looking at her?

He couldn’t do any of those things. Why the fuck not? He could barely remember all the reasons against doing just that. Ice wanted to go to her. He wanted it so badly he vibrated with the need. This was Azure. His teammate. His friend. She wasn’t just some female. Something had changed after her heat. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He didn’t like it much. Ice was worried about her. She was acting irrationally…not herself. Azure was an adult. She was in charge of her own life and her own destiny. Who was he to interfere?

She’d made it abundantly clear why she was there. To find a human to rut. That shouldn’t infuriate him since he was there for the same reason. It did though; it infuriated him big fucking time.

His gaze drifted back to her. She was at the bar, laughing at something Fog was saying. He could see males itching to move in but holding off. Fog was a big male. They would be intimidated. Good! Or was it? He knew Fog’s intentions. This was such a fucking mess. One he was staying out of.

Azure was not his.

He needed to stick to his original plan. Ice needed to get laid. His thoughts immediately went to Azure. Not her! Anyone else but her.

Fuck!

“Did you want another beer?” Mist asked, holding up his own empty bottle.

Ice looked down; his beer was still half full. “I’m good.” He turned to the female in the little red dress. She wore the highest heels he had ever seen. Her tits were practically touching her chin. She beamed at him as soon as their eyes locked. “Drink?” he asked, just because she was there. This was all so fucking wrong.

“I’ll have another one of these.” It was an almost empty pink cocktail.

She must have noticed his expression because she added, “It’s a Cosmopolitan.”

“One of those, bro,” he told Mist, pointing at the female’s drink. “It’s a Cosmopolitan.” Maybe this was a bad idea. He should just head back to the B&B alone and be done with it.

No!

He needed a female. He needed to rut all the thoughts of a certain she-dragon right from his mind, once and for all. It had been too long since he was last with someone. Azure was the closest he’d gotten to a female in the longest damn time, and it was fucking with his brain.

“Really?” Mist raised his brows. “A Cosmo?”

“I’ll get the next round,” Ice promised.

The male nodded. “You owe me. It’s a nightmare trying to get through a crowd with one of those.” He glanced at the female’s drink.

“Yeah, I’ll owe you,” Ice muttered.

The male smirked. “She is pretty hot, if you’re into that sort of thing.” He looked at the female’s deep cleavage.

“Get the drinks already,” Ice pressed, annoyed. Such banter was normal between males; it shouldn’t be an issue. It wouldn’t be if he wasn’t so tightly wound.

Don’t look at her!

Don’t look!

“I’ve never seen you here before,” the female purred.

“That’s because I’ve never been here before. We’re from out of town. Remind me of your name.” She’d been introduced earlier, but he’d forgotten.

“It’s Lilly.”

“Like the flower.” It was a stupid thing to say, but he didn’t feel much like talking.

She smiled brightly. “That’s right, and yours?” She narrowed her eyes. “I think your friend said that it was Ice.” She widened her eyes. “Interesting name.”

“It’s my nickname; everyone calls me Ice.”

“You guys are an amateur hockey team, or something? How cool!” That was their ruse. It worked.

“Thanks.” It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, since he didn’t know all that much about the sport, just some basics they’d had to study up on.

“When are you playing? I’d love to come and watch.” She rubbed her bright red lips together.

“We already played earlier today.” He half-smiled. “We leave for home tomorrow.”

Her whole face fell. “Oh, that’s a pity. Where is home?”

“I would much rather hear about you. What do you do? Tell me about yourself.” He took another sip of his beer, forcing himself to concentrate on what the human was saying.

“I’m a pre-school teacher. I love little kids. Always have. I’m from a big family. I have three brothers and one sister.”

“Oh, wow!”

“It’s great, actually. I loved growing up surrounded by people. The house was always busy. Family gatherings are still one of my favorites. We get together regularly.”

“Sounds amazing.” He nodded. “It must be one huge gathering?” Holy shit! He couldn’t think of what to say. The whole conversation was stilted.

“Yep, especially since most of my siblings are married with kids of their own. What about you?”

“Only child, I’m afraid. I always wanted a brother or a sister, but it wasn’t on the cards for our family.” He shrugged, shaking his head.

“I can’t imagine being a single child. I mean, I’m sure there are good aspects to being an only child, like new clothing. If I got anything new, I treasured it.” She laughed, finishing her drink and putting it down on a nearby table.

Lilly was sweet. He liked her. Why did he still want to look over at the bar, then? Why? It was pissing him off. He took another sip of his beer. Lilly kept talking about her family. How much she enjoyed being an aunt. He nodded and smiled and made all the right sounds to let her know that he was listening, which he was. It was a struggle, but he managed. He kept his eyes glued on the female. She had big blue eyes and blonde hair that had a light curl to it. Ice was sure that under all that makeup were a couple of freckles. He wasn’t sure why she tried so hard; she was beautiful. If only his body would respond to her like it should. He got nothing. Yet, when it came to Azure, it would happen at the drop of a hat, and at the most inopportune moments. It was all shades of fucked up.

Lilly laughed, pulling him out of his musings. “That’s when Tommy jumped out of the closet, and—"

“Here’s your drink,” Mist said, holding the cocktail out to the female.

“Thanks so much,” she said, taking the glass, which was relatively full, considering the treacherous walk.

“Thanks, bro,” he said to Mist.

The male smirked. “Did you see Azure?” he asked. “She’s here, at the bar with Fog.”

“Oh?” He looked over to where Mist was pointing. Fog was talking to a human female, and some male was grinning at Azure, who appeared to be in a conversation with him.

Fuck!

“I’m glad to see she got here okay,” Ice mumbled. He had been about to stay to make sure she got to the bar safely when Fog had put up his hand. Since Ice was trying to stay away from the female, he’d grit his teeth and left it alone.

“Wow, she looks freaking hot,” Mist said, eyes wide. She had about ten males all lined up to offer her a drink. “That silver top she’s wearing… Fuck me,” he growled. “I’m considering elbowing my way to the front that of that queue.”

“She’s not here for one of us.” Ice’s voice had an edge. Azure was here for a human.

He glanced her way. She was laughing at something the male was saying. She shook her head, and the asshole walked away. He pushed out a breath, but his relief was short-lived when another prick stepped up, saying something to Azure that made her smile.

“How long have you been playing hockey?” Lilly asked, not liking that his attention had been diverted.

He noticed that Mist was talking to some other female.

“Oh…um…” He couldn’t remember what Lilly had asked him.

She frowned. “Hockey? How long have you been playing?”

“Oh…sorry.” He shook his head. “My mind was elsewhere for a second. I’m all yours now.”

Lilly gave him a huge smile, biting down on her lower lip. It made him feel like the biggest prick alive, but he was going to find a female – if Lilly wasn’t game for a hookup – and move the fuck on.