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

by Lola Glass

A low growl rumbled in my ear. “Eyes off the demon if you want to avoid a fight, Fireball.”

“Alright.” There was a pause again. “Make sure you wash your hair, too. I could smell your friends in your hair.” I raised my eyebrows. “Why were you smelling my hair?” “It’s unavoidable,” he growled. “Just wash their scent out. Please.”

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.

“Some kinds of lizards have something on the roof of their mouth that helps their sense of smell. Dragons have them too—but they’re only active as far as our mates go. It’s a mesh between tasting and smelling. Supposedly, I’ll be able to tell your needs apart based on your smell when I get used to it. Right now, all the scents in the house are making it impossible and driving me insane.” “Damn.”

Like he wanted to embed my scent into his lungs. He turned a movie on—some chick flick we’d already watched in the past few weeks—and I relaxed on his lap. “You’re beautiful.” His voice was quiet. “I can’t remember if I’ve told you that.”

“You smell amazing, Vi” Eli offered. “Just figured I’d throw that out there.”

I fought the urge to throw something at him. Something hard. Or a pancake, since that was nearby. Yeah, dropping a syrupy pancake on his head would be extremely satisfying.

“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.”

“If I die, you’re going to end up with some other bastard,” August said. “So I’m not going to die. There’s no reason to talk about it. You’re mine.”