Never Fall for a Dragon (Mate Mountain, #1)

by Lola Glass

“Listen closely, Fireball,” the man ground out. It didn’t take much for me to put together that I was the one he was calling Fireball. “You’ve ignited my heat. The flames in your veins will grow hotter, urging you to seek relief, and the beast in mine will push me to soothe them. If we give in, the potential bond between us will seal permanently.” “Give in to what?” “The lust.” Holy shit. What had I just gotten myself into?

“How long does heat last?” He was silent for too long, his arms still locked around me. Apparently he didn’t want to answer. Great. “You can’t be secretive with the woman you’ve just sent into heat, August. This is not the time for being protective about dragon secrets,” Brynn snapped. August’s chest rumbled unhappily. “Two weeks if you sate it to seal the bond. Four if you don’t.”

“My fire ignited in your veins the first time I touched you. It’ll grow hotter and more painful over the next few days, and your pain will continue to increase as it does. The heat in your body will push you to me constantly, because no one else can sate it.” “I’m going to need a clearer description of sating it.” “Sex, Fireball. Sex will sate it. Nothing else.” “I go by Elodie. And how will the heat effect you?” “I think you’ve already realized that,” he drawled. His erection throbbed beneath my ass, just for emphasis. My cheeks warmed, and not because of the flames. “There’s got to be more to it than that.” “My mind will devolve with distance between us. Unlike some kinds of shifters, dragons are not separate from our animals. My beastly instincts will grow stronger and harder to ignore, until I’ve claimed your body to seal our bond.” My eyes widened more with every sentence. He added, “I should be able to control myself, but if I can’t, my brothers will keep me from doing anything you don’t want me to.” “You can barely handle having Bash in the vehicle with her, and he’s mated,” Brynn pointed out. “Jas and Eli are single, and they look just like you.” “I’ll figure it out.” “I don’t want to be your test subject while you figure it out,” I argued. “And I really don’t want to get hurt when you devolve.” Brynn responded quickly. “Not physically hurt—he can’t physically hurt you. It’s not possible. He’s trying to say that he doesn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Y...

“Having anyone else’s scent on your skin makes me itch to mark you with mine.” Oh. Great. “And you would mark me with…” “My tongue.”

We were going to fight the heat. Not embrace it.

The bond between a dragon shifter and his mate was a codependent one, which was why most of us avoided it like the plague. A dragon couldn’t fly without his mate. Shifting without her at his side became physically impossible. His mate, on the other hand, would go into heat every month after sealing the bond. It was a week of hell for her, month after month, if he didn’t soothe it for her. Dragon shifters were always born male, so our mountains were the safest places for us. No unmated women were allowed there, ever. When a female dragon was born, she was born human, and raised among others like her. The rest of us stayed out of their towns and cities as much as possible to avoid being chained to a mate, never interacting with human women if we could help it. But it was obviously too late for me. Now, I had to survive heat.

“I’m a dragon shifter, and fate has declared Elodie my potential soulmate,” August said, his voice rumbly. The way he said my name made goosebumps break out on my arms. “We won’t find out if the bond is genuine for a few weeks. It’ll either become permanent at that point, or it will break entirely. Until then, she has to remain with me.” His words were bullshit, but did seem reasonably close enough to the truth for my friends. Or at least, to what I knew to be the truth. Which also could’ve been bullshit. The situation was a mess.

“I thought dragon shifters took their mates to Mate Mountain.” “Where did you learn that?” Vi asked. Randa shrugged. “The internet.” “Umm…” I looked back at August again. “Only if the bond seals permanently.” Ah. Right. Sure.

“Elodie dated a vampire a year ago. It ended when he put her in the hospital. What guarantee do we have that this won’t go the same way?” Vi asked. As always, she didn’t beat around the bush. Brynn’s eyes sharpened. “August would sooner take his own life than physically hurt Elodie. Dragons protect the people that matter to them, period. And until their bond is either broken or cemented, El is at the top of that list. He won’t hurt her—and he’ll make damn sure no one else does either.” There was a short pause before she added, “It’s physically impossible for most supernaturals to hurt their mates. Dragons included. And until the bond is broken, that’s exactly what they are.”

The way his eyes moved up and down my figure made me feel even hotter. Hopefully Vi and Randa had packed my deodorant, because I was going to need it. …and my birth control pills. Condoms too, maybe?

“Wow, look at this view.” There was thick appreciation in her voice. “I want a dragon shifter.” “You can have this one after our bond breaks,” I drawled. Vi snorted, and Randa laughed. My stomach clenched, though. Despite my words, I didn’t like the thought of her with August. It made me nauseous to even consider it. The reaction was bizarre, but I didn’t let myself overthink it. It was probably another part of heat.

“If you’re staring at the demon, you know I’ll have to kill him, Fireball,” August grumbled. “She’s staring at you, asshole,” Brynn shot back from the kitchen. My gaze jerked to hers, and she winked at me. “I’m the only one checking out Bash.”

“The conversation you interrupted was me saying goodbye to my sister. She was trying to convince me to refuse the rest of the dragons.” My horror grew. “They want to put you in the supernatural prison? Isn’t it full of violent criminals?” “Yep.” His gaze remained trained on the forest. “When they see that we’re genuinely in heat, they’ll assign me a guard to stay outside. If we seal the bond, you’ll end up in prison with me.” “Holy shit.” “I won’t let it happen.” “You said everyone seals the bond, August.” “Everyone but us.” I shook my head, raking a hand through the top of my hair a little desperately. “I would not survive in a supernatural jail.” “I know,” he growled, finally looking at me again. “I won’t let them lock you up.”

“Jasper and Eli are leading the group. The others are some of the most difficult dragons we have. Gordon, Kev, and Lox.” “Okay.” “You’ll stay on the porch while I talk to them. One of them will come up here to check your temperature, but other than that, don’t interact with them. And for the love of the damn sky, don’t stare at them. I’m in enough hot water with the thunder without killing someone because you’re attracted to them.” “Why do you care who I’m attracted to?” He leaned a little closer. “You’re mine for the next few weeks, Fireball. Mine. Got it?” “Screw off,” I whispered, though my eyes were locked with his. His lips curved upward.

I dropped my laptop on the porch swing and stood up, trying to move around him so I could see. I caught sight of a flash of bare skin before his gigantic hand landed on my hip, and he yanked me behind him. “Are they naked?” I called over the rushing wind. “Clothes don’t shift with us.” Guess that was a yes. And suddenly, I understood why he’d tried to stop me from looking at them. If it pissed him off when I glanced at a guy who was wearing clothes, I didn’t want to know what he’d do if I checked out some other naked guy. Especially if the naked guy happened to be his brother. The wind died down. “I changed my mind. You’re staying with me,” he grumbled. “Put your hands on my waist.” “I really don’t want to⁠—” “It wasn’t a request, Fireball. Hands on my waist.” I huffed, but did as he’d commanded. His body was strong beneath my fingers, like the man was made out of stone. He didn’t feel warm to me, given my ridiculously-sweaty self, but he still felt good. A tiny, itty-bitty part of me wished he hadn’t found another shirt, so I could’ve put my hands on his bare skin. I wasn’t about to acknowledge that part, though. “Did they bring pants?” I asked, my voice muffled against his back. “No.” So there were five hot, naked supernatural men in what was basically my new front yard. Lovely. “Should I be scared?” I asked, not feeling scared. Mostly, I just felt like my hands were on the sexiest man alive. But I was ignoring that, too. “No. I won’t let them hurt you, and if they try, ...

It was kind of sexy when he protected me like that. Not that I could admit it, of course. If he asked, it was unsexy. Un. Sexy.

“I want to see your brother’s dragon form up close when he comes back,” I said, instead of protesting the ownership-claiming thing that kept happening. August’s eyes narrowed. “The only dragon you’re meeting up close is me, Fireball.” “Then I want to see your dragon form up close in the morning.” He grunted. It wasn’t a yes, but it wasn’t a no, either.

“A thank you is better than an apology most of the time,” August said, pulling the oven door open to check on the food. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

I was exhausted. I was sweaty. I was horny. Why was I even resisting the urge to let August soothe me?

If I had to choose between pain and misery, or hot sex, the answer seemed pretty obvious.

“What’s our best chance?” I asked him. August didn’t answer right away. He took a moment to really consider it, which I appreciated. Finally, he said, “If you keep trying to deal with it on your own, you’re going to end up curled in a ball of agony. I’ll keep fighting my instincts, but knowing you’re in pain makes it much harder. We’ll make it a week or two, but I’ll eventually break, and you’ll be so desperate for relief that you’ll beg me to take you.” Despite his words, his voice was neutral. He didn’t seem to want me begging, and he didn’t want to lose control. “What’s the alternative?” “We become a team.” “What?” He explained, “If we rely on each other, we can retain control for as long as possible, and we’ll be more likely to make it through.” “How do we do that?” “We satisfy the magic.” I blinked.

“So you’re proposing friends with benefits?” I asked. “Sounds about right.” I’d come to the same conclusion myself, and stopped crying, thankfully. “It would be less shitty than trying to muscle our way through it on our own, I guess. And it has a better potential outcome.” “Yup.” “Alright, I’m in. We’re a couple for the next four weeks. Practically attached to each other. It’ll be fun.” He chuckled. “Fun isn’t the word I’d use, Fireball.” I couldn’t hold back a smile. It really could be fun.

“You always look at me like that.” “Like what?” “I don’t know. Intensely.” “Like I want to fuck you?” She bit her lip. I crossed the bathroom, stopping when I reached her clothes. Her eyes widened slightly, dilating when I picked up her panties and lifted them to my nose. I inhaled her scent deeply, and she made a small noise. My chest rumbled. I nearly filled my fucking sweats. “You like the way I smell?” she asked. “You tell me, Fireball.” Her gaze lowered to my erection, and her face flushed. “What do I smell like?” “The sky.” The answer left me before I could consider the word. She blinked. That probably didn’t sound sexy. “The sky is a rush. Dragons don’t look for mates, because we can’t fly without them after we’re paired off. Flying is freedom, adrenaline, fun… it’s not an insult. I love the sky.” She frowned. “What do you mean, you can’t fly without them?” I let out a harsh breath, tucking her panties in my pocket and stepping closer to the shower. She opened the door long enough to take the shower gel, then set her hand on my shoulder. With her naked body in front of me, and her hand on my bare shoulder, it took everything I had not to step in there with her. “Dragons like to keep secrets,” she said after a moment. “Secrets protect us.” “You don’t need protection from me, August.” She had no idea. “Let’s make a deal,” Elodie said. “What kind of a deal?” “We’re supposed to be a team now, right?” I jerked my head in a nod. “Well, you’re so horny you can’t think stra...

“An hour ago, you didn’t even want me to touch you, Fireball.” My voice was strained. “An hour ago, I was sweaty and hurting. You fixed it for me, and we agreed to be a team. This is me keeping up my side of the bargain. And besides, it’s not any more of a hardship for me to touch you than it is for you to touch me. I’ve never been more turned-on in my life.” I inhaled deeply, desperate to have the scent of her desire embedded in my lungs, my mouth, my throat. Hell, I wanted it laced through every fiber of my being. The water concealed it from me, and I nearly snarled in frustration. “Do we have a deal?” Elodie checked. “Yes.” I stepped out of my pants.

“So you’ve never had sex before?” “No.” “Has anyone ever touched you like this before?” “You’re the first, Fireball.” “Well, that’s hot,” she said.

“You did it again,” I growled. “The thing where you breathed in.” “Because I’m attracted to you. Get over it, August.” “Don’t think I can ever get over that.”

“Well, you’re a fast learner,” she managed. “Can’t say I expected that.” My chest rumbled. “I could eat you all day, Fireball.” She dragged her fingers through my hair. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.” Maybe not, but she would be before the heat was over. And I’d never get enough of it. Not to last me through the rest of my immortal life. I barely knew her, but I already knew that walking away from her was going to hurt like hell.

“I’ll check.” “After you put pants on?” He chuckled. “You already want me covered, Fireball?” “I do have work to get done. All this is a little distracting.” I gestured to his chest. “Guess I better wear a shirt, then.” “Guess so.” He slid his hands up my ass, squeezing. “How much do I get to touch you today?” My face warmed. “Depends how much work I get done.” “We’d better get going, then.”

“None of their scents caught my attention. Yours did, immediately. That’s not insignificant.” So there was something special about me to him. And he wanted me to understand that.

“The Villins?” “Bash’s family. Their last name is Villin.” Huh. What an unfortunate last name. Then again, August’s was Sky. August Sky. Not any better than Bash Villin.

“I think I like you, Auggie.” Eli had used the nickname to bother him, but I thought it was fun. “I think I like you too, Fireball.”

“Are you going to let me see you in your dragon form?” He studied me before he answered. “What will you give me in exchange?” “What do you want?” There was another moment of silence before he said, “A kiss.” “How much of a kiss?” His chest rumbled. “As much as you’ll give me.” “Have you ever kissed anyone before?” “Not the way you’re referring to.” He’d probably kissed his baby sister on the cheek before or something. And he’d technically kissed me. Just not on the lips. My face reddened at the reminder. It wasn’t like making out was any more intimate than what we’d already done. And since we had four weeks to enjoy ourselves… well, we might as well have fun. “Deal.”

“If you want more, you have to take me flying.” His eyes blazed. “You drive me mad, Fireball.” I smiled.

“Fly with me, Fireball.” His voice was in my mind, catching me off-guard. He had mentioned mental communication while he was in his dragon form, but I hadn’t really considered what it would sound or feel like. “Are you sure?” I asked my question aloud, not certain if I could speak into his mind too. And not sure he’d want me to, even if I could. “I’m always sure.” “Okay. Don’t let me fall, though.” He narrowed his beastly eyes at me. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.” I huffed out a laugh. He was a pain in the ass, but I liked it for some reason.

“Bet this is how you woo all your women.” My voice was playful. “Of course. Might as well use my best asset.” “I don’t know, you have some pretty good assets…”

She was mine. And I was going to hold her tightly, for as long as I could.

“What do I smell like?” “I don’t know.” He gave me a disapproving growl. “You don’t smell like anything. More like… feelings. Lust. Desire. Comfort. Belonging.” “That’s better.” He finally stroked me between my thighs, over my shorts. “What do I smell like to you?” “Mine.” He touched me again. “Pleasure. Need. Home.” Well, that was intense. He worked me with his fingers, and my mind left his words. His hands were the only thing I could focus on. I shattered, and shattered, and shattered. And by the time we collapsed in bed together, I started to think maybe he smelled like home to me too.

We’d done it. We’d actually survived heat without sealing the bond. August had been right. We’d needed to become a team, and we had. But what came next? Uncertainty warred in my thoughts as I waited for my dragon shifter—who wasn’t mine anymore.

“You’re still hard?” I whispered, my face nestled comfortably against his neck. “You’re still naked.” He squeezed my ass lightly, as if emphasizing that fact. “You’re hardly a stranger to my bare body at this point.” “Is that supposed to make me want you less?” My lips curved slightly. I didn’t have the energy for a full smile, or to consider what his interest may or may not mean. “I still want you, too.” “Good.”

Our eyes remained locked as we moved together, our breathing hard and our bodies working like they were created to do exactly that. It wasn’t fucking. It was making love. He bit me while I climaxed the first time—and again the second. With the third, he swore he was never going to let me go. When we eventually collapsed in bed together, our bodies still intertwined, I couldn’t help but feel like my life would never be the same again.

The bastard had ghosted me.

What did he mean, he was supposed to be guarding me? My phone rang again, and I answered it. “Where are you?” He didn’t bother with greetings or pleasantries. “I try to do a good deed by going out to buy you pastries, and this is how you pay me back? By vanishing? What the hell?” I bit my lip, hard. “Hello?” he demanded. “I’m here. Just… why are you calling me? And buying me pastries? And why do you think you’re supposed to be guarding me?” Someone passed me on the stairs, giving me a weird look when they heard the guard thing. I forced my feet to start moving again, carrying me up toward my old apartment. I was uncertain if my legs would actually make it up before my knees buckled, but they kept moving. “What do you mean, why? Didn’t August tell you?” “Tell me what? I thought we were good. He made it sound like he planned to stay last night—but when I woke up this morning, he was gone.” “He didn’t say goodbye?” “No.” My voice cracked a little. I wiped a few new tears away with a trembling hand. “Shit. Want me to kill him for you?” “I don’t think he wants anything to do with me, so there’s no point in that.” I finally reached the apartment and unlocked it. It was the middle of the morning, around 10 AM, so Randa would be at school and Vi would be asleep. “That’s bullshit if I’ve ever heard it. My brother’s an asshole, but he’s not a liar. If he didn’t say goodbye to you, it’s because he plans on coming back. The thunder took him away this morning.” “It’s sweet of you to li...

“His bite gives you his magic for months. It takes ages for the power to work its way out of a human. The scar looks fresh, so he must’ve just bitten you. He wouldn’t have given you more of his magic if he wasn’t planning on coming back. Surviving the prison would be hell at full strength—it’ll be worse with part of his power embedded in your veins.”

“You know this is insane, right?” Vi asked. “Like, verifiably insane. Check you into a mental facility, insane.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been living here for a month. Why is it insane that I feel comfortable here? Or that I have feelings for a guy who treated me really, really well?” “Because you’re not mates. And to supernaturals, that means you’re absolutely nothing. Right?” Vi looked at Eli, who was on his phone at the table, sitting behind them. “Hmm?” He lifted his gaze absentmindedly. He was probably playing a game or something. “How many supernaturals are romantic with people they’re not mated to?” she demanded. “Oh. Uh, none. Not that I know of.” He looked down at his phone again. I fought the urge to throw something at him. Something hard. Or a pancake, since that was nearby.

“How bad is he?” How bad was who? August? I abandoned my snack idea and hurried across the house, stopping just outside Eli’s door. There was a moment of pause before he responded to whoever was on the other line. “How many days do they think it’ll take him to heal?” My heart squeezed painfully. Was August hurt? “You need to get him out of there,” Eli finally said. “I know the thunder doesn’t want to let him go, but try to convince them.” Another moment passed. My heart pounded erratically. Eli growled, “If it comes down to it, I’ll fly in there myself and convince him to abandon them. He’s better off banned from the mountains than dead in prison. I finally have Elodie convinced he’s coming back for her—I don’t want to have to break the news to her that he was fucking killed.”

“What are you going to do if he agrees to leave with you?” “I don’t know, leave? We’ll figure everything else out after the fact, I guess. I don’t even know if he wants me. I just don’t want him to die.” It was a lie. I wanted a hell of a lot more than that. I just didn’t want to admit it to them, in case August really did turn me down.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” His snarl was low. Furious. Feral. I didn’t know if he was talking to me, or to Jasper. My chest tightened. He was going to reject me. “Get my mate out of this prison now.” His eyes were shifting. Heating. Burning. It took a moment for the words to register. Get my mate out. My mate. He was talking to Jasper. About me. Calling me his mate. The tension in my stomach eased slightly. The guys were right. He was still mine. I stepped forward, and August took a breath in. A deep breath. Like he wanted to fill his lungs with the scent of me. “Fireball.” His voice was strained. I stepped up to the bars of the cell and set my hands over his. His gaze ran over my face, slowly. Taking me in like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Hey, Auggie.” My voice was soft. His eyes closed. The expression on his face was both pain and relief. Like I was making everything harder and easier for him at the same time.

“You can hug me, you know,” I whispered. “If I get my arms around you, they’ll have to rip them off my body to make me let go again.”

“You called me your mate,” I said. “You are my mate.” “We didn’t seal the bond.” “If the consequence was anything less than your death, we would’ve done it weeks ago. As far as I’m concerned, you’re mine.” “I can’t be yours if you let yourself die or lose your mind in here, Auggie.” He took in another deep breath of my scent. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Would we ever get to seal our mate bond, if you did decide to leave with me?” I asked him, my humor forgotten. “I think fate would send us into heat again eventually,” he murmured. “Could take a few days. A few months. Maybe even a few years. But it’d happen eventually. I’d hunt down a witch and force her to figure out a way to ignite it again if I had to.” “Romantic,” I drawled. “I don’t give a damn about romance. I just want you.” He hugged me tighter. “I’ll see you in a few months.” My eyes stung. “You better not be bleeding the next time we meet.” His hand brushed my ass, squeezing lightly. “That a threat?” “Yep. I’m very terrifying.” “Five and a half feet of pure fire.” “Keep yourself safe, Auggie.”