Free Liam Takes Manhattan by Thea Harrison Page A

so I’d like to see some of that action withmy own eyes. You’re … you’re growing so rapidly right now, you must need a lot of fuel.”
    For the first time since she had joined him, he turned fully to look down at her. Pia stood five-foot-ten, and he had passed that height yesterday.
    Because in the darkest part of this particularly dark year, he had lost part of the battle with his dragon.
    He had always been prone to growth spurts duringtimes of crisis, and sometimes he’d had to fight to keep his dragon form under control as it strained to become fully grown.
    All predator Wyr grew faster and stronger than other Wyr, and the dragon was the apex of the predators. Fueled by the unique magics he had inherited from both his parents, he had grown in massive bursts since his birth, lunging into life.
    As he faced her, Pia drew in abreath. Tilting her head up to him, she whispered, “You’re nearly as tall as your father.”
    One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry tilt. “I know.”
    “Do you … can you tell if you’re going to grow any taller?”
    He hesitated and flexed his shoulders, considering. “I’m not sure, but I think I’m almost done.”
    Her violet gaze had turned wide with fascination. “I can only imagine what your dragon formmust look like now.”
    “It’s pretty big,” he admitted.
    “You’ll have to show him to me soon.” She tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and turned with him toward the stairwell. “In the meantime, let’s get inside where it’s warm. Your father and I want to talk to you.”
    Reluctantly he gave up the wild solitude of the night and went with her downstairs to the penthouse.
    Huge though the penthousewas, the walls and warmth felt as confining as his parents’ concern, but he endured being inside for her sake. The living room lay mostly in shadows, except for the brilliant multicolored lights glowing on the Christmas tree in the corner.
    Pia had been half human before she had accessed her Wyr nature and successfully changed into her Wyr form. As a child, she had celebrated both the Masque andChristmas with her mother, and she had continued that tradition when she became Dragos’s mate.
    As a result, Christmas decorations filled both the penthouse and their home in upstate New York. Dragos had been content to indulge her, and had joined in the preparations. Stacks of colorfully wrapped presents lay underneath the tree.
    Once inside, Pia pulled away and hurried down the hall toward thebrightly lit kitchen and dining room. Liam paused momentarily, his dragon’s eyes appreciating the lavish decorations and bright jewel-like colors adorning the tree before he strolled to catch up with her.
    He knew his father was in the dining room before he rounded the corner. Whenever they were in close proximity, Liam always knew where Dragos was. He could sense Dragos’s Power in his mind’seye, like a burning sun. He wondered if his father could sense him in the same way.
    Dragos stood at the head of the dining table, his attention focused on the large beef roast on the platter in front of him as he carved it into thin slices. Light from the overhead chandelier gleamed off his black hair and outlined his tall, broad-shouldered figure against the plate glass window behind him.
    Porcelain clinked in the kitchen as Pia prepared other dishes. A brief surge of revulsion hit Liam at the sight and smell of the roast. He had eaten so much raw prey lately, the cooked meat looked vaguely revolting.
    His dragon focused on the sharp knife his father wielded with such competent, lethal dexterity. Carefully, Liam throttled the beast back. He and his father loved each other too.
    Dragos never lifted his head from his task. He said in a quiet voice, “Tell me you’re in control, and I will believe you.”
    He hesitated. Of course his father would sense how close to the surface his dragon was. Dragos had been Lord of the Wyr for a very long time. No doubt he had dealt with many Wyr