"You think I do not desire you?"

"Well—"

"You think that because I have what I want, I no longer am interested in a physical relationship?"

"That kiss—"

He turned so he could grip me with both hands, his eyes darkening to a deep forest green. "You think that this was all about the chase?"

Lord, I'm a fool sometimes. Still, I felt obligated to point out the obvious. "You're a predatory kind of guy, Drake. I bet you liked the chase."

"I did. But I like the yielding better."

I looked into his eyes, wanting to believe him but suddenly feeling very vulnerable. He sighed a gusty sigh, sliding his hand down my arm until he captured my hand, dragging it over to his groin.

"Tell me I do not desire you."

A blush heated my cheeks. Beneath the soft linen of his pants, he was hard. Fully aroused. For me. "I’m sorry. Clearly, I'm at a loss with this mate stuff. I apologize."

He accepted my apology with a graceful nod of his head releasing me to sit back against the seat. I gave his happy parts a little pat, then slid my hand over to rest on his thigh. It was a possessive move, but it felt good.

"Aisling?"

"Mmm?" My mind, always willing to indulge in Drake-centered fantasies, went off on a wild tangent involving that pool of warm water that had been featured in my dragon dream.

"I did not kiss you as I would have liked because it is not proper. We are in public." His voice was gruff and oddly stiff. It took a minute to sink in through the lustful fantasies that were developing with startling clarity.

"What?" I asked, twisting out of his embrace to look at him. "Since when have you ever let a little thing like innocent bystanders stop you from kissing me?"

"That was before," he answered, trying to pull me back against his side. I slapped his hands off my arms. "You had not accepted me then. It is not proper for a wyvern to treat his mate in such a manner. It is disrespectful."

I blinked a couple of times, hoping it would clear up my confusion. It didn't help. "So all those times you grabbed me and sucked the tongue right out of my head in front of everyone, great big huge crowds of people, strangers, you didn't give a damn about respecting me?"

Drake pursed his lips. His eyes took on a wary glint.

I poked him in the chest. "Well?"

Heat flickered in his eyes. He jerked me back against him, holding me tight with an iron-hewn arm. "There is no way I can answer that question without making you angry with me. I choose not to answer it."

I dug my elbow into his side until he released me. He must have been expecting me to jump to the other seat, because he looked surprised when I lunged for him, straddling his legs, clasping his head in my hands. "Some rules are meant to be broken, dragam, and this is one of them."

I kissed him aggressively. I clutched his hair and tugged until he gave me what I wanted, opening his mouth to me, his dragon fire racing through me, leaping back and forth between us until I thought we'd set the limo on fire.

He allowed me to dominate him for a few minutes, my hands sliding from his head to his chest as I sent my tongue forth on a search-and-explore mission. But when I reached down to yank his belt open, he decided he'd had enough.

"You defy sept laws?" he growled into my mouth, pinning me against the side of the limo, his body hard against me.

"No. I just want to drive you wild for a change. Come here, dragon, and let me feel your fire."

We both still had our clothes on when the limo stopped at the hotel, although Drake's hand was beneath my blouse, his finger teasing my breast while I had both hands on his rear end, trying to pull him closer to the part of me that was all but sending up flares in order to attract his attention.

Neither one of us noticed that the car had stopped. We did notice, however, when Pal, unable to see into the limo through the tinted windows, opened the door and we spilled out onto the pavement.

"'Oomph," I grunted when Drake landed on top of me, knocking the breath out of me and causing me to bite his tongue. A pair of shoes stopped beside my head. Drake heaved himself off me, touching his mouth and pulling away a finger red with blood.

"You will be seen in an inappropriate state by many people." The dispassionate voice drifted down to me.

"Dammit," I snarled, grabbing Drake's arm to haul myself to my feet. 'That's it. I've had it with you! You are so on my list! Come back here, you coward!"

Drake stopped me from going after the deranged Diviner. "Aisling, do not. You will just embarrass yourself."

"I don't care. He's deliberately tormenting me, and it's going to stop now," I said, fighting the restraining arm he'd wrapped around me for a second, then realized that indeed, the people who'd been silting outside the hotel were all watching us avidly. I stopped struggling, straightened my shirt, and tried to look like I hadn't just been indulging in a makeout session. "Sorry about your tongue. How bad is it? Let me see."

He refused to stick out his tongue so I could determine how badly Td bitten him, ushering me into the hotel instead, ignoring all the titters and giggles from the people who'd seen our memorable arrival.

The people at the front desk acted like I was some sort of Typhoid Mary. "'Hi, I'm Aisling Grey, and I was wondering—"

"I am very well aware of who you are, madam," a starchy man with graying hair and a shiny navy blue suit said. He looked unhappy, angry even. I searched my mind for reasons the hotel staff would be angry at me and came up blank. "It is good you stopped here. It will save me the trouble of visiting you. The management of the Thermal Hotel Danu wishes to respectfully suggest that you seek lodgings in another hotel."

I goggled at the man. He wanted me to leave? "I beg your pardon? If this is about the spot on the carpet, I can promise you it wasn't my dog. That spot was there when we first got to the room—"

"The management's objection to your presence is not due to a spot on the carpet," the man said, speaking carefully, as if he had a mouthful of marbles and was afraid of swallowing one of them.

"But—why?"

"It has been drawn to the management's attention that you have been personally involved in the two recent tragedies that have blighted the good name of the Thermal Hotel Danu. This hotel has been in this location for one hundred and twenty-seven years. We would like to remain for one hundred and twenty-seven more, and I highly doubt that will be possible if customers continue to drop dead while in the hotel. It is for the good of the hotel that we request that you seek lodgings elsewhere."