Soulfire by Juliette Cross Page B

dancing and mini-bars. Like Acropolis, the interior was multi-storied, winding up and up, a Morgon wonderland.
    Jed and I danced to the beat. My eyes drifted closed, feeling the surreal dizzying sensation of heavy-limbed drunkenness. A small, white-winged Morgon girl moved into our dancing space. By small, I meant she was as tall as me. Her hair was a white fall of silk, eyes of ice blue. She gave us a sweet smile and danced in our little party, edging closer and closer to Jed. I couldn’t blame her. Jed oozed charm and golden good looks. He didn’t even have to speak and girls were drawn to him.
    The next song rolled out a slow beat with a hard edge. The singer crooned a haunting melody. Partners started swaying, locked together. The white-winged girl cornered Jed, not that he seemed to mind. He shrugged to me over the arch of her wing.
    I laughed and meandered back through the throng, pushing past sweaty bodies when someone caught my wrist. Paxon.
    Both hands on my waist, he pulled me gently into his embrace, not asking if I wanted to dance. Pushy, this one. Must run in the family. I let him hold me flush against him, well aware of his evident desire. I tried to filter through the layers of inebriation to decide whether this was a good idea. He was gorgeous. Why shouldn’t I? What did it matter if he was related to Lucius? He looked a lot like Lucius, except with dark eyes and not as tall. Waiting for him to lean in for the kiss, I pondered why my body didn’t react the same way it did with Lucius. And why the hell was I thinking about Lucius?
    With a frustrated sigh, I wrapped my arms around his neck and rose up on my toes, pressing my lips over his. He needed no encouragement, slipping his tongue into my mouth, his hands sliding down to cup my behind and pull me closer, edging toward an alcove, one of many make-out corners that opened off the dance floor.
    * * * *
    I could smell her. An intoxicating scent making me rock-hard in two seconds. My dragon blinked awake, uncoiling, sniffing the air. From the fourth floor up, I scanned the club.
    There she was.
    What the fuck did she think she was doing?
    On the dance floor with my cousin’s body wrapped around her, his mouth locked on hers , his hands on her ass. The dragon roared, needing to scorch and burn, turn the enemy into ash. My fists tightened on the railing, white-knuckled.
    I couldn’t harm him. Paxon. That fucker. He seduced anything with a decent pair of legs he could spread and slide into. And he wanted her , my black-haired siren. I was going to break him in half.
    No! I couldn’t. Couldn’t even touch him. He was my uncle’s only son. He was family. But he had his hands and mouth on her. If he didn’t move away soon, my dragon would tell me to fuck off and take over.
    How did she do this to me? Turn me into a maddened beast. How!
    I knew how, but refused to face the fact. Never had a woman clawed her way into my very soul with one touch, one kiss. My beast recognized her as his, wanted her now, yesterday, tomorrow. And always. Yes, the dragon knew, but the man refused to accept it. Like I had any choice.
    Fate gave her to me. A human. The daughter of the enemy.
    A luscious human. Soft curves, creamy skin, burnished eyes, ebony hair—everything about her awakened my senses, made me want to drive into her, sate the raging hunger, and keep her far from any other man. I needed to mark her as mine. There was only one way of doing that. And there was no coming back from it.
    No…I had to let her go. It would never work.
    She was drunk. Really drunk. She tilted her head back and laughed. Would she push away now? My vision shifted, becoming more acute as my predator senses took over, narrowing in on its prey. My dragon crouched and watched through slit eyes. Paxon pulled her body into his again, pushing her back into an alcove. For one reason and one reason only.
    Motherfucker !
    My dragon snapped his chains. I dove over the railing.
    Eyes sharpened in the