She let out a frustrated sigh. “Leave my dog alone.”

“All right. But when he steals your soul in the middle of the night and tosses it into the lowest pits of one of the hells, don’t come crying to me.”

Izzy, disgusted that anyone could not love the beast slobbering on her leg, pulled a Desert Land map from her travel bag and looked it over.

“So where are you going to sleep?” she heard Éibhear ask her.

“Sleep?” She looked up from the map. “Right here.”

“Is there room?”

Frowning, Izzy looked down at her bedroll and immediately sighed. Macsen was on his back, four legs relaxed and spread open, his snores filling the cave chamber. It wasn’t pretty, but it proved one thing. The dog had come to trust Éibhear because he never exposed his belly to anyone he didn’t trust.

“He’ll make room for me,” she muttered, returning to her map.

“I’m sure there’s truth to that. I know I’d make room for you.”

Izzy lifted her gaze to lock on the dragon sitting across from her. He sat cross-legged, elbows resting on his big thighs, shiny blue hair falling into his face, bright silver eyes watching her close.

“You can’t be serious,” she said.

“About?”

“We’ve been arguing for the last two days.”

“So?”

“And you still want me in your bed?”

“I want you anyway I can get you.”

Izzy didn’t even have to look to know that he was hard and ready. Perhaps, she reasoned to herself, any pu**y sitting across from him would do, but she didn’t know.

“You do understand we can’t keep this up, don’t you?”

“I can keep it up for hours so—”

“No, no.” Gods, this dragon! “I mean whatever is going on between us—we can’t keep this up.”

“You don’t know what’s going on between us? Should I draw a diagram?”

“I don’t need a diagram, Éibhear. I’m just saying that . . . it’s just that . . .” Izzy let out a frustrated breath. “What I mean is . . .”

“What’s the matter, Izzy? Is my fine human form distracting you?”

Yes! “No!”

“No need to get snappy. It was just a question.”

“I’m simply trying to explain that—”

“Why don’t we forget about explaining anything right now.”

“You may have a point,” she sighed out, rubbing her face with her hands.

“Instead you can get naked and come sit on my c**k and we can save explanations for another day.”

Izzy’s hands covered her face and she moved a couple of fingers so that she could stare at the dragon with one eye.

“I think I miss the days,” she mumbled around her hands, “when I used to get you flustered just by grabbing your tail.”

“You still get me flustered by grabbing my tail, but that, too, can be a discussion for another day.”

Izzy dropped her hands to her lap and gawked at him. “Do you really want me that badly, Éibhear the Blue?”

“I want you more than my next breath. And yes, it does matter who’s sitting across from me. Since I’m guessing that’s what you were wondering.”

Bastard. He did know her well, didn’t he? After all these years. After all they’d been through. Maybe he knew her better than most.

“Izzy,” he said low before making his eyebrows dance.

Izzy covered her mouth, but the laughter slipped through her fingers.

“Well,” she finally said while getting to her knees. “You were nice enough to carry my dog. Guess I could make the sacrifice.”

“The sacrifice? Yes, it’s always very nice to know that being with me is something you’re lowering yourself to do.”

With her chain-mail shirt now resting on the snout of the snoring dog—and no, getting hit in the face with a shirt made of metal didn’t manage to wake up the idiot—and her bindings removed and tossed aside, Izzy now stretched across the small divide between them. Her hands were braced on either side of his hips and her mouth wonderfully close to his.

Éibhear brought his hands up, framed her face. Izzy had grown so beautiful. The battle scars across her nose, cheek, and jaw only enhancing that beauty somehow.

“You going to kiss me?” she asked. “Or just keep staring?”

“I don’t really know yet.” He stroked his hands down her face, her neck. “I like being able to look at you without worrying that I’ll be battered into a blood-covered mess by three bastards who, after all these years, still violently abuse me.”

Izzy smirked. “Funny, it looked like Daddy and the others got the worst of it.”

“They started it. I was merely defending myself.”

“You’re such a lying piece of—”

“Now, now. Let’s not get vicious.” He tugged her a bit closer, brushed his lips against hers. “At least not yet.”

Izzy slipped into his lap, her legs on either side of him, her arms resting on his shoulders. Éibhear kissed her while his hands slid down her throat and across her chest. He cupped her br**sts; his thumbs brushed her ni**les. Izzy groaned, her eyes closing.

This wasn’t fair. The dragon had barely touched her and again she was melting in his hands, falling apart under his fingers. She should be toying with him, using him, making his life a living hell just for her cold amusement. Yet she seemed unable to do any of these things. Instead she dug her fingers into his hair, pulled him closer.