Free A Dragon's Heart by Terry Bolryder Page A

so well.
    They had just gotten back from a mission, and Tor was downstairs “talking” to a wolf to extract information that might help them with any remaining loyal to Felding, so Perry took advantage of the relative silence to walk down to Lexie’s office, just to see her.
    He would just make sure everything was okay. That was his excuse anyway. He knocked on the door, and when she called for him to open it, he did, peeking around the door before walking in.
    As usual, the sight of her disturbed him in ways it shouldn’t. He should have better control than this. Instead, he found himself wanting to take her again.
    He shook his head and sat in a chair in front of the desk, slinging his long legs over the side and resting his hands behind his head.
    She looked up at him a moment, a secretive smile on her face, and then looked back to her computer, clicking here and there and then typing something he couldn’t see.
    Watching her there, totally at home in their home, not intimidated at all by their presence, he wondered if this whole situation would have happened with any female they brought into their confidence and lives or if there was something uniquely her that made them both fall for her.
    Maybe they were just lonely and eager to bond. Maybe their dragons were bored. Or maybe, as he suspected, it really was her. The way she worked hard, never doubted them, studied their world and was genuinely interested in it, and trusted them without asking anything in return.
    The way she was beautiful in a quiet way that shone more to them every day as she revealed her personality and learned to hold her own, even against Tor.
    Maybe it was the way she’d spent the days since their lovemaking helping them find a mate, even though he’d seen inside her head she was falling in love with them.
    He couldn’t understand it. She wasn’t dragon-hearted, but she had to be fairly selfless.
    “Any new options?” he asked.
    “I don’t think so,” she said. “You might want to widen it up and ask the rest of the tigers. I get the feeling other things are distracting Jace right now, try as he might to get this done for you.”
    Perry cocked his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    She just shrugged her shoulders. “Family stuff.”
    Perry didn’t want to think about that. It made him think about their own impending mate-dom, which if he were honest, he wasn’t particularly looking forward to. In his dark, stupid moments, he felt like Tor did. That maybe they should test fate and stay with Lexie. He could picture a pleasant future for the three of them, if only the rest of the world would stay outside.
    If only it wasn’t their duty to keep so many safe.
    “You’re quiet over there,” she said. “What are you thinking?”
    “I’m thinking you’re something else,” he said. “Sleeping with us and then helping us find another woman to mate with.”
    “Tor told me a little about the importance of it,” she said.
    “What did he say?” Perry asked, sitting up a little straighter. Dammit, if Tor had—
    “Nothing much. Just that you need to find the right mate in order to have a third power. And he told me about the dragon powers, which I already knew a little about.” She waved a hand. “Not that much. But enough that I know there are people counting on me. Besides, I promised you and Tor I could do this.”
    Perry nodded. “We appreciate it.” But did he? He knew her suggestion to involve all the tigers was a good one, but he would wait another couple weeks. For some reason, the rush to find another woman just seemed far away.
    He knew he was being a bit stupid, but considering the sacrifice he would have to make in the future, he figured he and Tor were owed a bit of a delay if they wanted one.
    “Want to come eat lunch with me?” he asked. “Tor is busy.”
    She cocked her head at him and put a hand over her stomach. He loved her shape, loved especially the rounded hips and stomach that were so feminine