I sat up straighter as a thought hit me. “How were you able to penetrate the veil of magic the jinn created in the forest clearing?” I hadn’t even stopped to think how lucky I was that he had managed to reach me in time, otherwise I’d be here alone. I shuddered, and Braxton tightened his arm, pulling me back into his heat.

“When we were separated I kept an eye on you, following you into the forest. I’m not sure why, I just knew something was about to happen. The way you’d been driven from our group … it wasn’t natural.”

Thinking back, he was probably right about the unnatural part.

“By the time I reached you, the jinn was already there. I could see you, but couldn’t make it across the barrier. Eventually, I partially shifted and lunged through. My dragon can go where no supernatural has gone before.”

It was true, dragons were resistant to most magic, with protections the rest of us could only dream of. Yeah … I still couldn’t really think of myself as a dragon. I’d shifted once, and who even knew if I could do it again. My dragon raised her head then, snarling little wisps of smoke, which trailed around her. She was definitely flipping me off … it was so bizarre how I could internally see the movements of my shifter animals. Truth be told, it was something I really treasured.

Tilting my head so Braxton could see my face, I smiled. “Despite the fact we seem to be stuck in the ass end of Faerie land, I’m really glad you’re here.”

He was staring down at me, the weird undying light of the sky highlighting every dark facet of his beauty. “You have no idea how relieved I am to be here,” he said. “If you’d disappeared on me, well, right now there’d be a fire dragon ripping apart the sanctuary.”

Snorts of laughter shook me. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have destroyed the mystics, marked, and their little world.”

I expected him to laugh with me, but there was not a trace of mirth in his expression. “You have no idea what I would do to keep you safe, Jessa. No idea.”

I was sure the awed shock registered on my face, just for a moment, before I managed to control my features. That was without a doubt the hottest thing I’d ever heard. The surge of attraction which blasted through me every time Braxton was close was getting worse, clawing through my body, leaving jagged rips in my heart and soul.

I blurted, “I’m tearing up the friend contract.”

Fuck. Me.

I really should learn to think before I speak.