Dragon Heat 2 - Red Hot Dragon
Read Dragon Heat 2 - Red Hot Dragon Online
Authors: Lolita Lopez
Red Hot Dragon
Dragon Heat Book 2
Lolita Lopez
New York Boston
An Excerpt from
Dead Sexy Dragon
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On its journey to publication, this book passed through
many talented hands. Huge thanks to the team at Forever
Yours, especially Latoya Smith, for bringing Griffin and
Avani’s story to life.
Awash in adrenaline, Griffin Cadogan eyed his opponent
across the sparring cage. He danced from foot to foot as he
waited for Mad to make his move. The springy mat was
cool beneath his bare soles. Though they’d been at this for
nearly half an hour, it wasn’t the physical exertion making
him so hot. No, tonight his mating phase would begin.
Already his body was beginning to show the subtle signs
as his forced shifting approached.
Like a raging bull, Mad charged him. Griff stepped into
the oncoming assault but twisted his upper body just
enough to escape the brunt of his cousin’s impact. Griff
kneed him right in the stomach and slammed his elbow
into the other man’s back. But it wasn’t enough to slow
Mad down, and he wrapped his arms around Griffin’s
waist. They fell to the mat with so much force they
bounced.
Limbs entangled, they grappled and slapped. Anyone
who caught a glimpse of them fighting would have
assumed they were engaged in a death match. In fighting
without gloves or protective head gear, they were
breaking the rules of the mixed-martial-arts training
facility they owned, but since they had the place to
themselves for the afternoon no one would be the wiser.
Griff tried to get Mad in a headlock, but the other man
twisted and arched his back to avoid being pinned in a bad
position. Griff’s inner beast struggled to be set free. The
primal urge to destroy threatened to overwhelm him, but
he wasn’t worried about hurting Madoc. They’d been
fighting this way for centuries. If anyone had the strength
and skill to beat his ass when he was on the verge of going
into heat and unleashing his dragon, it was Mad.
But today his cousin seemed off his game. Quite out of
character, Mad let Griff get the upper hand. It was only a
fractional slip, but it was enough for Griff to wrap his legs
around Mad’s waist and clamp his arm around the other
man’s neck. Though Mad kicked and smacked, he couldn’t
break free. With a frustrated howl, Mad slapped Griff’s
forearm three times and tapped out.
Griff let go immediately and rolled Mad onto his back.
“You okay, man?’
Mad shot him the finger and dragged a long, shuddery
breath into his lungs.
Laughing, Griff plopped down on his backside and
stretched out his aching legs. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Leaning back on his hands, he studied his cousin. There
was no mistaking the tiredness in him, and it wasn’t just
from this fight. “Are you still having those dreams?”
Mad threw an arm over his eyes and breathed slow and
deep. “Yes.”
For the last three weeks, Mad had been experiencing
vivid dreams. At first, they had been fairly innocuous.
He’d dreamed of beautiful beaches, tequila-fueled nights,
and even a wild foam party in a warehouse-style
nightclub. They’d both assumed Mad was tapping into the
dream energy of a neighbor. It wasn’t uncommon for their
dragonkind to trespass into dreams.
But then the dreams had taken a darker, worrying turn.
“What did you dream last night?”
Mad didn’t answer straight away. Finally, he said, “I
was in a cage or a cell.”
“Like a prison?”
“Maybe,” he said uncertainly. “It was definitely
underground. I could feel the dampness on my skin and
smelled its musty wetness. And I was hungry, Griff. So
damn hungry. I woke up, stumbled downstairs, and tore
through all of the food in my refrigerator. I ate so much I
got sick,” he admitted softly. “But I couldn’t shake that
gnawing hunger clawing at my stomach.”
Concern rippled through him. “Have you talked to
Ignatius?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And he told me sometimes we have to slay the beast.”
Griff rolled his eyes at their leader’s cryptic reply.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” Mad said, his voice filled with
resignation. “Maybe he means I’m literally supposed to go
out and hunt down whoever is filling my head with all
these crazy images.”
Griff grumbled softly. “I don’t think that’s such a good
idea. You could be walking into a trap. It wouldn’t be the
first time the Knights used a seer or someone with
empathic abilities to screw with a dragon’s head.”
“It doesn’t feel malicious.” He rubbed his chest. “It
feels desperate.” Mad let his arm fall back to the mat. He
met Griff’s gaze. “I can’t go on like this. I may not have a
choice.”
Griff could see what these dreams were doing to Mad,
and he agreed that they had to be stopped. Who would be
powerful enough to project dreams as a call for help? The
possibilities worried him, especially if Mad struck out on
his own. “Will you at least wait until I’ve finished this
mating phase? I’ll come with you.”
“Sure.”
He opened his mouth to ask him where they would start
their search but the wild vibration of an approaching
dragon gripped his gut. Every dragon of his acquaintance
had a specific feeling, but this one he didn’t recognize.
The vibrations filled him with a bright, trembling
sensation of excitement. The alien sensation was
unsettling.
Griff pushed off the mat and rose to his full height. Mad
was a little slower getting off the floor. They climbed out
of the ring and crossed the gym to the main entrance. The
vibrations in Griff’s stomach pushed into his chest. A
pulsing heat burned him. He rubbed the spot just over his
heart and glanced at Mad. His cousin didn’t seem to be the
least bit affected.
The double doors burst open and a woman appeared.
Her scent hit him like a ton of bricks. Swaying on his feet,
Griff backed up a step and tried to clear his hazy mind.
Alluringly sweet and spicy, the smell invaded his lungs.
His inner beast snapped with lust and need. This woman,
whoever she was, had ignited his desire.
Griff let his hungry gaze roam her petite frame. He’d
never seen a skirt look so good. The hip-hugging fabric
outlined her body in all the right ways. A fitted blouse
with the top buttons popped open displayed her curves.
She wore her jet-black hair coiled at the back of her head.
Emeralds dangled from her earlobes. The glimmering
green jewels accentuated her silky brown skin. His
fingertips buzzed as he wondered what it would be like to
stroke her face.
She turned her dark eyes on him. Something about her
was so familiar. When she waved her hand up and down,
he spotted the white handkerchief.
What in the hell?
“Griffin Cadogan?”
Her gentle voice spilled over him like sunshine. “Yes?”
“I’d like to request we put our family’s little blood feud
aside for the duration of my visit.”
Blood feud? The shock of her identity smacked him
right in the face. “Avani Monroe?”
Her lips curved in a teasing smile. “They told me you
were the smart one.”
Trying to ignore the needful pull tugging at him, Griff
narrowed his eyes. “You’re either very brave or very
stupid to come into our gym.”
“I assure you I’m neither stupid nor brave.” She took a
hesitant step closer. “No, it’s desperation that brought me
to my enemy’s door.”
Her somber tone struck a chord with him. Against his
better judgment, he asked, “What do you want?”
Her sexy, sinful grin knocked the air right out of his
lungs. “You.”
* * *
Feeling anything but confident, Avani ignored the
nervousness wobbling in her lower belly and tried to
maintain the cool, controlled façade that had served her so
well in business. Her gaze skipped to Ian Madoc. Griffin’s
cousin stared at her with amusement and interest. She
glanced back to the man she desperately needed to help
her.
Surprise spread across Griffin’s face. She spotted the
briefest flare of crimson in his pale blue irises as that
beastly Welsh Red tried to surface. Like her, he was only
hours away from going into heat. She figured that was the
reason the two cousins had been knocking the crap out of
one another. She preferred the more enlightened methods
of fasting and meditation to ease her transition, but
apparently these two dragons still clung to the older, more
barbaric customs.
She examined Griffin more closely. His size made her
nervous. She’d heard he was a big man, but she hadn’t