“Do you think you’ll have a change of heart and let me free?” he asked in a low voice.

“The question is, does Lady Dragon have a beating heart or one made of hard, jagged stone?” Her expression transformed into something mischievous and saucy that made his stomach fall and slam back into place.

“Would Lady Dragon turn into a beautiful princess if the prince kisses her?”

“Maybe the prince will turn into a dragon when she kisses him.”

Seth wanted to jump down from his perch and kiss the hell out of his captor, whether he turned into a dragon or not. Tara came to stand below him and wrapped a hand around his calf, and he felt electricity jolt up his legs. He reached down and buried his hand into her long strands and tilted her head to meet his eyes.

“Come up here,” he growled.

“Now you’re commanding me?” she said imperiously, while color suffused her cheeks. “How dare you, trifling human?”

“I’m coming down.” Releasing her hair, he swung one leg over the branch.

“No, you’re not,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “We have eyes on us, remember?”

“We’re getting out of town for our second date,” he said darkly, glaring at her for being unfairly beautiful. She blushed and opened her mouth, but whatever was on the tip of her tongue didn’t get a chance to roll off.

“Ahh!” Gwen screeched, running toward them. “The dragon has put a spell on the prince. She’s trying to eat him.”

Tara snorted but turned to face the girl with a scowl on her face. “You dare disturb me? I will fly away with the prince. Leave me in peace.”

She then stuck her arms out and flapped them around like great, sweeping wings and chased the little princesses around. They scattered, giggling and screaming. The gremlins forgot which side they were on and chased Tara around, approaching her as close as they dared and then retreating. Despite their standoffish attitude toward the evil dragon in the beginning, the kids clamored to her for more.

In the end, the kids went off for some snacks and juice. They forgot about the prince locked away in the tower altogether. Seth jumped down from the branch and strode over to Tara. She met him halfway, her face infused with pink after all the running around.

“So you defeated all my rescuers, huh?”

“They never had a chance.” She smirked. “Besides, why should the princesses always get the prince? Dragons deserve happily ever afters, too.”

“You’re absolutely right,” he said, taking a step closer to her. Seeing Tara like this made something in his heart clench tight, and he liked it. “Well, are you going to claim your prize?”

“My prize?” She widened her eyes much too innocently. “Oh, you mean the rest of our dessert. First one to the blanket gets to eat it all.”

She took off before he could respond. Her long legs carried her quickly across the grass, and Seth barely caught up with her. He tackled her and dragged her down with him, landing on his back to break her fall.