To Match A Dragon’s Fire (Sulfur & Spice #1)

8

Kieran

Round Two

“What the fuck, Fred?”

My uncle chuckled. “You can thank me later.”

He was still cackling as he wheeled himself away from the window and out of sight.

Beautiful. My dragon sighed as we watched Ember’s ass sway back to the vehicle. I’d be blind if I didn’t appreciate the view, but this was a disaster.

This is fate. He was losing his mind.

Or I supposed I was losing mine.

We weren’t necessarily separate beasts, the dragon and I, but we varied in our approach. His viewpoint was the animalistic side to our rational mind, like two sides of the same coin. Both were valid ways of dealing with the world. We usually got along until we disagreed on the best way to handle something.

Case in point?

He wanted to chase Ember down and bend her over his knee. Spank that luscious ass and then swoop her into his arms, claim her and…

Impossible, I growled at him .

This wasn’t fate. It was an inconvenience. And she could not stay here. It wasn’t safe.

It’s her childhood home.

I wasn’t that much of a monster. The way tears filled her eyes and her bottom lip quivered despite the anger with which she stood her ground had affected me.

But I’d seen nations fall for a pretty, distressed girl, and I would not subject myself to the same.

She could stay long enough for me to figure out where to send her.

I moved fast, reaching the cabin before her vehicle did. Partly because I worried she’d run me over if given the chance.

I’d known this day would come since I took control of the property and I’d done my best to contact the old owner’s daughter so we could pay her for the ‘sale.’ Though I had been expecting a young girl and not a full-grown woman.

No wonder my beast was shocked.

Years of returned mail with different forwarded postal stamps. She kept a private social media presence. It was as if she’d been in hiding, only to emerge when there was no hope left.

Pity filled me again, though I doubted she’d accept it. My first impression on hearing the stories of the human family who used to tend this land had been a sad one too.

It seemed Ember’s history was drenched in pain and hardship.

But she was flighty. Chasing her paper trail over the years had shown me as much. Flighty was good. It meant she’d get tired of this place and leave .

I was no stranger to the whims of humans. They lived such short lives. I didn’t blame them for not wasting time.

There wasn’t much of it left anyway.

I pulled open the door to the cabin.

The place was a mess. It’d been this way since I took over the property and it didn’t look much better now. I’d thought to tear it down, but my beast had a soft spot for preserving memories.

And it also made a good place to store some items when I was building the compound—items I’d left in here and still hadn’t cleared out.

I grabbed the nearest bin, turning just in time to see Ember marching up the porch.

“And another thing,” she growled as if our earlier conversation had never ended, “if you were really trying to get in touch with me, why didn’t you send an email?”

“We did.” I moved to the side so we didn’t collide. Her warm and feminine scent wafted toward me again and I had to blow it away with a forced breath. “Do you ever check your spam folder?”

“No one checks their spam,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked me up and down. “Sure. Steal my land. Raid my house. Anything else you plan to plunder while you’re at it?”

The way she said plunder had my balls tightening. Her cheeks flamed as she caught the innuendo behind her words.

I couldn’t help but smirk. “These are my things. And this land is legally mine. The title and deed are in my name.” I took a step closer, drawn in by the need to tell her, “Everything here is mine. ”

Ember let out an outraged gasp as she stared up at me with big hazel eyes. “Keep wishing, buddy. This is my house, so get out.”

She pointed to the door.

I had to physically force myself to take a step back. This was insane. I didn’t engage in arguing—with a human, no less.

Even Lucan couldn’t rile me this way. There was a reason dragons came to me for advice. I kept a level head. Yet this woman was making me crazy.

I could snap her like a twig, but she acted as if I wasn’t a threat. How did she not sense the predator within me? Did she have any notion of self-preservation? Or manners, for that matter?

She’s frightened so she lashes out.

My beast sensed the primal element behind her actions and the tension in my shoulders eased a bit. There was no need to get us both so riled up.

A noise from the vehicle drew my attention.

This close, I could see through the windshield. My throat dried as I took in the audience I hadn’t seen before. Two human women and a small female child, eyes wide with fear and exhaustion.

They all gave me a tentative wave.

I turned back to Ember. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

“Take the rest of your shit and leave.” Ember panted and her quads were flexing as she struggled to pull the stack of crates outside.

“Be careful with that,” I hissed, feeling my heart beat in strange ways as my dragon’s protective worry surged.

Ember stood up straight and scowled. “What is in here? It’s heavy as rocks. ”

I reached out to stop her, feeling the intensity of her fury as my hand landed atop hers. The warmth shot through me, almost burning despite my cold blood, and I pulled my hand away.

“Don’t.”

She opened the crate anyway.

“Books?” Ember arched an eyebrow.

“I’m surprised you know what they are.” I slammed the lid shut and picked up all three crates at once, feeling a little prideful at the look of shock on her face.

“I’m surprised you know what they are,” she called from behind me, hands planted on her hips as she marched into the yard. “And you better not come back here again, trespasser.”

Did she mock us? My dragon chuffed.

I didn’t share his humor at the situation.

I told you this wasn’t fate.