Epilogue

He could sense her standing on the bank. The sweet scent of honeysuckle and vanilla permeated the murky waters of the swamp, danced a dangerous tango over his senses, igniting a fire in the belly of his Beast.

Being the newest agent for the Dragon Protection Agency, he was happy to finally have a job that helped him deal with the bullshit he’d carried home from his days of active service as a Navy Seal, and the fact that Gil allowed him to work alone was all the better. Undercover, looking for the Congregation of Gator Shifters responsible for using Voodoo to steal magic from other unsuspecting Paranormals, he’d been swimming through the gloomy, but somehow no less beautiful, bayous of Louisiana for a couple of months and was beginning to wonder if his boss’ intel was nothing but a pile of crap.

Swimming as close to the surface as he could without being seen, he watched the gorgeous redhead while trying to decide if she was human or Other. Her long curls hung perfectly around her heart-shaped face, framing her petite features to perfection.

Watching as she sat down on the grassy bank and slipped the tips of her toes in the cool water, his Dragon roared and his heart beat like a bass drum when her pink, puffy lips drew into an ‘O’ of surprise as she gasped. The need to jump from the stream and kiss her until she was breathless and as turned on as he was rushed through his body like a runaway train.

There was something about this redheaded beauty that made both him and his Dragon roll over and purr. Then it happened. Just like an anvil on Wile E. Coyote’s head in those old cartoons his brothers liked to watch. The word Mate echoed through his mind.

Nope! Mnm – mhnm. No way. Not happening. I’m not doing that whole lovey-dovey bullshit. I am Dragon hear me roar. I have control. I am the master of my own destiny. Fate and the Universe know better than to mess with me.

Turning tail and swimming away, he had just made it to the bend in the shore under the low-hanging branches of a Bald Cypress tree before looking over his shoulder. Caught in the deep, mesmerizing gaze of the woman’s dark brown eyes, his long, scaled body did a U-turn of its own volition.

Slowly coasting towards the exact spot he’d just vacated, the Dragon came to a screeching halt when a smoky, contralto gently brushed a sweet Southern accent that made his tail swish in the water, whispered directly into his mind, “I wondered if you were coming back. I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Dragon Man.”