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against his nose. “This is wrong. You’re a dragon. I’m a mermaid. I need to find Assan and save my father, not stand in a dilapidated warehouse trading insults with a lizard.”
    River changed tactics so quickly, he was caught off guard. The woman was possibly as good a manipulator as his mother. Goddess, but it would be fun to play with his mermaid. He learned well at his mother’s knee how to handle conniving women.
    Jax slipped a finger under her chin to lift her face. “I am yours and you belong to me. In your time of need you will never seek another out other than me. If you do, their blood will be on your hands. Do you understand me, polýtimos ?” A thread of anger was clear in his voice as he spoke in clipped tones. He waited a moment before continuing, “There is no pact to make. You will have your dad back and I will have my revenge. After I change, jump onto my back.” He abruptly released her and jogged to the center of the space. Jax closed his eyes and embraced his dragon.

Chapter Five
     
    Wind whipped River’s hair around her head as Jax glided on the air currents. The tendons in his neck stretched taut beneath her thighs as he streamlined his body to fly high in the sky. Stars sparkled around her like diamonds dotting the night. They sliced through a cloud and the mist dampened her skin. She tugged at the hem of her dress, dabbing her body with the cloth to absorb the moisture.
    River leaned over and yelled to be heard over the draft whisking past them, “Avoid the clouds if you can. If my skin gets too wet, I’ll shift.”
    His muscles rippled as he turned his head to gaze at her. The bony ridge above his eyes climbed his forehead as if in question. She was heaved up along his body as if he shrugged. He blinked and turned his head back into the wind, aligned his body with the current, and continued to soar along the air streams. She laid her palms flat, his scales were seamless and she had nothing to grip as he rolled to the side. She squeezed her thighs, rested her form flush against his and shut her eyes. Her kind was meant for water, not the sky. She swallowed several times as he flapped his wings to keep them aloft. The sound of him beating the air was deafening and the back draft tugged at her. His body angled up and she slowly slid backward, her hands slipping along his smooth skin. River caught hold of the nylon strap of her bag that hung around his neck.
    “Could you give a girl warning when you plan to make a maneuver like that?” She opened her eyes and spoke against his scales.
    He chuffed.
    “I could have been dropped into the water. We are over the ocean, right?” She eased over to peer below them.
    Moving swirls of heavy haze blocked her view. The clouds broke and she stared into the dark abyss beneath them. It might have taken her a little longer to reach South Korea, but she could have met him in Pohang. She wouldn’t have had to swim the entire way, she could have caught a ride with a school of dolphin. Hell, she would have rode the currents with a shark to save herself from flying with the obnoxious lizard. She rubbed her temple on his scales. Even without the exposure to the moisture in the air, she was having a hard time holding onto her form.
    Jax made her want to forget about everything, her father, her tribe, and her fight with crazy Drago. Emotions she was sure were not normal. The sooner she got them to his destination and helped him with his task, the faster they could rescue her father. Once Harper was free from Drago, she could disappear and never see her damn dragon again. Her throat went dry and she had a hard time swallowing. The blue reptile wasn’t hers. He was a tool to use in her efforts to free her dad, dammit. Getting to Pohang was becoming more of a challenge than she thought it would be.
    The coastal city was the home base for the Mako Tribe, another clan of merpeople, only they had no real ties to other shifters nor did they care to interact much