He was trying to be calm, but the undercurrents of stress strained his voice. The forest rustled as he plowed through to where I stood. Unlike me, he seemed to be cutting a path no problem. His face appeared in a small gap and he wasted no time tearing a larger entrance. It felt as if we’d been apart years rather than mere moments. As more of him was visible, I saw he was wearing just a pair of low slung jeans. He must have removed his pants before shifting earlier. They’d never have survived the change to dragon.

My mouth went a little dry as I drank in the sight of him. Damn, those pants … they were really low, I could see each defined muscle of his two-hundred pack and that delicious “V” which men were blessed with as a tool to tempt women. The pathway to the goods, a pathway I’d like to lick my way along…

Wait, what? Down, hormones, down.

Braxton finally destroyed the last of the vines, and before I could blink he slammed into me with the force of three hundred pounds of muscled dragon man. His arms wrapped around me and lifted me off the ground. There wasn’t much room here so we ended up planted against a large, gnarled trunk, his hands roaming over me. Not in a feel-me-up way, more of a check for injuries and make sure all limbs were accounted for. Of course, someone forgot to tell my hormones that those large, bronzed hands caressing my bare limbs were just checking for injuries.

My hips arched up as his hands crossed over my thighs, the heat of his palms intense through the ragged tears. I almost moaned but swallowed the sound down. What the fuck was Braxton doing to me? I was about to self-combust.

I wasn’t sure when it happened, but the line I’d drawn in the sand with all the Compasses … well, it was blurring between Braxton and I. Very, very blurry. I was starting to think our friendship pact was going to be tested very soon. Like in the next five seconds.

Braxton had been so focused on examining me for injuries, making sure I was safe, that he’d missed my rapid breathing, dilated pupils, accelerated heartbeat, and that distinctive scent of arousal.

I knew the exact moment he realized. He stilled, his pupils stopped darting across my face, and something dark and dangerous rose in his eyes. Low growls started in his chest, enough to rock us both, a predator in his gaze, built on instinct evolved over the last million years. Both animal and supernatural instinct.

His full lips parted. I could almost taste the scent of him on my tongue, and not only was it his usual combination of spice and heat, but also arousal. Holy shit. Braxton wanted me, in a way I’d never felt from him before.