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throat. Good grief he was quiet. He could have killed them if he’d had the mind.
    “The type of progeny lies with the males of our species’. Male dragons beget dragons. Mages, beget more mages and witches whether they mate with a dragon, witch or human.” He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “The mages are the lucky ones.”
    “What do you mean?” April asked, her hand to her throat.
    “Mages can mate with three different types of women. While dragons can have sex with other dragons and humans, they cannot mate nor procreate with them.”
    He stood in the doorway, negligently leaning against the frame, his arms crossed over his muscled chest.
    April’s fingers itched to peel that shirt off him and trace every muscle with her tongue. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t give to feel the warmth of his skin beneath her palms.
    What had come over her? She didn’t crave things like that. She was no virgin, but April had never been one to indulge willy-nilly in the pleasures of the flesh.
    Why now? What was it about this man that made her 50
     
     

     
    want to jump his bones like some barroom hussy?
    “I told you, April, you are my mate. Denying it does nothing but prolong the inevitable.”
    She took a page from his book and raised a brow.
    “And that is?”
    “The day of our mating.” He inclined his head. “I will leave you to consult your sisters, but know this,” he said with a grin, “I know who you are and where to find you. What’s more…now that we have kissed, the soul-bond between us has begun to flourish, I can find you anywhere and it’s only a matter of time before I will make you mine, in heart as well as body and soul.” He turned to leave.
    “Soul-bond?” April turned to her sisters after he left.
    “What is a soul-bond?”
    Ginger shook her head. “I don’t know, sis.” She stood to look out the window over the sink. “It sounds like he thinks he owns you and I don’t like it.”
     
     
    * * * *
     
    The next day, Drake arrived at his office just in time to see Martin snatch some photos from a printer. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something about the other man 51

     

     
    screamed that something was wrong.
    “Okay, what’s going on?” He watched as Martin stuffed the photos into his desk drawer. “I’ve told you I don’t care if you want to use the equipment for personal use, but I won’t tolerate your hiding things from me.” If he couldn’t trust those closest to him, he would never be able to protect April and her sisters the way he needed to protect them.
    Sighing, Martin reached into his drawer and pulled a stack of papers out. “I’m not sure what to tell you, Drake, but someone sent these to the general corporation e-mail address. I wanted to tell you, but I just didn’t know how. That’s why I hid them.”
    Drake took the stack of papers and looked down. His hands began to shake as an unfamiliar rage overtook him. He could feel his dragon’s heat pulsing through his body. The need to change was almost overwhelming as his beast fought to get free to defend his mate. For the first time in a long time he wished he were back in the dark ages where he could charge through a window, shift his shape and fly into the sky. Instead, he was forced to stand here in his office, in the city, surrounded by ignorant humans and attempt to control this impotent rage. Who had the death wish to spy on his mate this 52
     
     

     
    way?
    His fingers tightened on the photos in his hands as April’s face stared back at him. Her blue gaze fastened on something just below the camera. Water splashed over her as she showered. Her wet hair hung over her shoulders, barely covering her high, firm breasts. Light pink nipples peeked through the wet stands of her hair.
    His stomach clenched and he felt the dragon attempting to overcome his control and shift.
    “Calm down, Drake,” Martin whispered nervously.
    He looked about them, obviously looking to see if anyone noticed