Mikhail buried the memories, now bitter in his heart. The past was the past, and he should not dwell on those dark days and forget to live. He looked out to the sea. Beneath the mist-covered cliffs, the white froth of the ocean churned against the rocky beaches, forming tiny inlets that had once hosted a place for the men and women of Cornwall to catch fish or raid the shoreline for the flotsam and jetsam of shipwrecks, provided by unfortunate captains who'd underestimated the dangers of the coast.His dragon paced in the prison of his mind, demanding to be set free, even for a few hours. The weight of his sorrow at Elizabeth and now Piper left Mikhail weak. With a sigh, he allowed the dragon to come soaring to the surface.Mikhail stripped out of his clothes and leapt off the cliff. He flung his arms wide, and for a moment he dove like an Olympic athlete. Then the transformation roared through him like a riptide. His muscles stretched, his skin hardened into dark moss-green scales,

And though I came to forget or regret all I have ever done, yet I would remember that once I saw the dragons aloft on the wind at sunset above the western isles; and I would be content.―Ursula K. Le Guin,?The Farthest ShoreFitful dreams and haunted, shadowy nightmares chased Mikhail through the halls of his mind as he slept. The dragon stirred, trying to reclaim control as images of Elizabeth, his sweet Gloriana, betraying him played over and over. For five centuries his dragon had held the pain of the past at bay. But the moment Piper Linwood came into his life, the fortress around his dragon's heart had begun to crumble.He had dared to desire a mate once before, and it had cost him everything but his life. The dragon inside him didn't want to take a risk like that again. It had nearly killed him. And Piper She could be his mate. The chemistry was there, and the hunger in her blue-gray eyes when she looked at him made it all but impossible to keep his distance.He had to have

People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.Ursula K. Le Guin"What do you mean the jewels are gone?" Conrad Sinclair stared at Barty Winston from across the expansive mahogany desk in his office. The wood had been so finely polished that he could see his own ghostly reflection if he leaned close enough to the surface."There was a burglary." Barty shifted uncomfortably in the chair opposite Conrad's desk. "Someone came in through the kitchen door that connects to the museum from the mews."Conrad frowned, his temper roiling like magma beneath his skin."But the auction house has security cameras and alarm systems. The jewels were in a safe." He'd been working with Barty to acquire the information needed to make his own heist possible, but it seemed someone had beaten him to it."It was an inside job. The security cameras were put on a loop. The kitchen alarm was disabled with the correct code. Oddly enough, they left a small amount of th

Dragonman,Dragonman,Between thee and thine,Share me that glimpse of loveGreater than mine.Anne McCaffreyA crooked smile curved Mikhail's lips, and it made him that much sexier. He stood there in nothing but unbuttoned jeans, showing the dark trail of hair from his navel leading down to his waist. The indentions of his hips made her mouth run dry. She was thirsty for a taste of him."Surrender and I won't be too rough," he said in a smug tone. A hint of the medieval badass he had been six hundred years ago crept through, which might have scared any other woman. But she wanted that rough edge in him. She didn't care that she was still sore; her body wantedneededto be owned and possessed by him.She started to crawl over the bed, her eyes wide and soft as though she planned to give him what he wanted. He placed his hands on his hips and came closer. When he reached the bed, she leaped off and sprinted for the bathroom. But he moved too fast for her. She was grabbed from be

Dragon kind was no less cruel than mankind. The Dragon, at least, acted from bestial need rather than bestial greed.Anne McCaffreyRandolph Belishaw could still taste the sweet flavor of Jodie Harkness on his lips when he left the London residence she was renting. He was growing more and more attached to the woman, and that was dangerous. From the first kiss they'd shared, he'd glimpsed her as a little girl, running about a large backyard, her pigtails bouncing as she'd chased a puppy. He'd known then that Jodie was his true mate, and the longer he stayed around her, the more his dragon would bond with her, demand to claim her. But Randolph could not afford to mate a human, not when they lived so short a life. He was the eldest son of his family. He had duties and traditions to uphold. Better to find a dragoness someday and continue the line. His dragon keened with a sharp, protesting cry inside his head. It wanted Jodieit wanted her and no one else. With practiced patience, h