The dragonwoman blinked. "What?"

"Your capture and resulting torture just over ten years ago is well-known inside the DDA. It's also well-known that you hate humans, so if knocking me on my arse helps to calm you down, then go for it. But if all you're going to do is use me as a punching bag for your hatred, then you can glare at me from across the room. I have shit to do."

Arabella studied her a second and then said, "You're not like the other DDA inspectors."

"Is that a compliment?"

"No."

Evie rolled her eyes. "Glad to see the dragonwomen can be as monosyllabic as the dragonmen. Now, excuse me, I'm going to work on the aforementioned shit I have to do."

Just as she moved to walk, Arabella grabbed her arm and said, "Why are you here?"

Had Bram already spread her story to all the dragon-shifters? She'd thought better of him than that.

Looking over her shoulder, she said, "Look, I don't know what Bram told you, but if I don't type out as much as I can before he returns, I might end up in the hands of the dragon hunters. You know what that's like, and no matter how much you might hate my being human, I'm guessing you hate the dragon hunters more, to the point that you wouldn't want them to get what they want."

"And they want you."

Okay, maybe Bram hadn't told her anything. However, it was too late to take it back, so Evie nodded. "Yes. I'm trying to put together some information for Bram, information about the Carlisle hunters. You holding me up and wasting my time is hurting your clan, so let me go so I can finish my task."

Evie never broke her gaze, and after what seemed like minutes, Arabella surprised the hell out of her by releasing her arm and nodding. It seemed her time working with Skyhunter had prepared her well for dealing with Stonefire's overabundance of alpha personalities.

Before the dragonwoman could change her mind, Evie rushed to the laptop, sat down, and started typing again. She was so engrossed in her work that it took her a second to realize that Arabella MacLeod was standing right behind her. Not wanting to waste any more time, she ignored her.

Since Evie could only guess how much Arabella hated the dragon hunters for what they'd done to her all those years ago, she hoped the dragonwoman wasn't going to use the information Evie was typing about the Carlisle hunters for some kind of half-arsed revenge. Especially since, if Evie's memory served her, it had been the Carlisle hunters who'd killed Arabella's mother.

Bram's ire at the dragon hunter remaining silent for the entire interrogation vanished as soon as he approached his cottage. Despite the darkness of the night, his vision was keen and he could see one of the hinges of his door was hanging on to the doorjamb by one screw. Someone had broken in.

Fuck. Had the captured dragon hunter been a decoy?

His dragon snarled. Check on the human female. The hunters want to hurt her. We must protect her.

Bram was on the same page, but instead of wasting time talking to his dragon, he sent a quick text message to Kai before he crept up to his cottage and took a closer look.

The light still glowed from the two front windows, neither of which was broken. Taking a deep inhalation, he didn't scent blood in the air, which was also good. Since his cottage was soundproofed to keep delicate clan matters away from supersensitive dragon-shifter ears, he couldn't hear anything. He needed to check the inside.

Dragon-shifters rarely used guns, and Bram was no exception. His dragon's reflexes had never failed him before, and he would trust them now.

Gripping the doorknob, he twisted it bit by bit until the latch clicked softly. On the count of three, Bram inched open the door and was greeted by the sound of Evie's voice. "The rivalry between the Carlisle and Edinburgh hunters is something to keep an eye on. Pitting them against each other might help loosen their defenses enough to attack."

Some of Bram's tension eased at the lass's voice, and he pushed the door wide open. Evie was standing behind Arabella, who was sitting and typing on the laptop before her. Without thinking, he demanded, "What's going on here?"

Both females turned to look at him. Neither one looked surprised to see him. If anything, they looked irritated.

Evie was the first to speak up. "Doing what you asked me to do-typing up information for you."

Bram decided to take the easier route and looked to Arabella. "Explain."

The dragonwoman shrugged one shoulder. "I was tired of trying to decipher her typos, so I offered to type for her."

"Yes, but why, exactly, would you do that, Arabella? Humans and kindness don't usually go together for you."

Evie spoke up, "Leave her alone. You sent her here, so my guess is that you trust her. I see no reason for you to be upset at her typing for me. If you'd allowed me time to fetch my glasses, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Losing his cool in front of Arabella was not on his list of things to do, so he focused on his clan member and said, "Arabella, you can go now."

"But we're not done. All of this information about the Carlisle dragon hunters is fascinating."

Oh, fuck. Arabella didn't need inside information about the Carlisle hunters. She'd made great strides in her PTSD recovery over the last eight months, and he wouldn't put it past her to try to attack the hunters alone. After all, they were the ones responsible for both her mother's death and her scars.

Forcing every bit of dominance he could into his voice, Bram said, "Go home, Arabella. We'll talk tomorrow."

Ara looked about ready to argue, but then clenched her jaw and nodded. She'd never been tempted to outright disobey him before. He blamed the human's influence.

He waited until Arabella stood up and walked out the door before he pinned his best stare on Evie Marshall. "How in the world did you get Arabella MacLeod to not only work with you, but to almost appear to be on your side? And in just under two hours, no less?"

The human female straightened her shoulders. "I know a trick or two when it comes to working with dragon-shifters. Pretty much all of Clan Skyhunter detests humans. My first year was hell until I learned to use their other hatreds to my advantage. I did the same with Arabella. She hates the dragon hunters, and so do I. That hatred was stronger than what dislike she held for me."

Shaking his head, Bram moved to stand next to Evie and instantly regretted it as her womanly scent filled his nose. Just one whiff made his dragon growl. Kiss her again. She cooperated. Arabella does not hate her. She is good.

He sent a mental scowl to his dragon. You are too trusting.

His inner beast hissed, but Bram ignored him and spoke to the human, "Your cleverness is going to be a pain in my arse."

Hope lit her eyes. "So you're letting me stay?"

The way Evie looked at him, as if he were the only one who could save her life, went straight to his heart. He still couldn't fathom why anyone would want to kill the lass.

It was time to find that out. "Not yet." Her hope died, and he resisted putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her as he continued, "First, I need to take a look at your information and see if it really is worth the hunters killing you over."

Her expression returned to one of part irritation and part impatience as she gestured toward the laptop. "Be my guest."

Just as he moved in front of the laptop, he heard the human's stomach rumble and his dragon jumped to the forefront of his mind. Feed her.

Even Bram felt a little guilty at her hunger. "While I do this, there are some leftovers in the refrigerator you can eat. I hope you like curry."

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Are you sure it's not poisoned?"

Despite himself, one corner of Bram's lip twitched. "Aye, I'm sure. Now eat before I tie you to a chair and force feed you."

The human looked like she was about to say something, but then shut her mouth and nodded. He motioned to the doorway off to the side. "The kitchen is in there. Come back as soon as you've heated your food."

She gave a mock salute and walked toward the door. For the first time, he noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes. Not only that, her exaggerated hip sway had been replaced with an efficient stride.

The fake seductress had all but disappeared.

Not that he was sad about it. But rather than think too hard about why he liked the changes, he sat down in front of the computer screen and read the first sentence: At the presend rime, the Carlide hunters numver avout forty.

Rubbing the late-day whiskers on his face, Bram could see what Arabella had meant about deciphering the typos. Reading Evie's notes was going to take three times as long as normal.

With a sigh, Bram went to work.

As the smell of curry filled the kitchen, Evie's stomach rumbled and she tapped her spoon against the counter in impatience. By now, Bram had to have noticed the plethora of typos in her document. Would he really make her wait until he finished it all before he told her if he would take her on as his mate or not?

Uncertainty was not her forte. Since Evie had been a little girl, she'd always planned out her life: earn good marks, go to university, and work her way up the Department of Dragon Affairs until she could be the Director.

Now, however, all of that planning was irrelevant. All that mattered was staying alive, and everything else would have to wait.

Living in such uncertainty simultaneously scared and irritated her.

Get over it, Evie. She'd dealt with plenty of uncertainty in her job as a DDA inspector; she would just have to use those experiences toward her personal life as well.

The microwave beeped. The sound was a welcome interruption of her thoughts.

For now, she'd focus on eating. Who knew, maybe by the time she'd finished, Bram might have answers for her. Then she could figure out what to do next.

She removed the leftover korma curry before carrying it to the kitchen doorway. Pausing a moment, she took advantage of the situation and simply watched Bram at the computer.

Without his glare or dominance crap, he looked like just a man. Sure, a fit man with broad shoulders, defined muscled arms, and a very lickable-looking tattoo on one of his biceps. Yet with his slightly too long hair brushing against his ears as he leaned over the laptop screen, all she wanted to do was walk over and tuck his hair back behind his ears. She had a feeling no one ever looked after him; being clan leader was a demanding and lonely job.

According to DDA records, Bram worked the hardest out of the five dragon-shifter clans in the UK to pass all of their inspections. Stonefire had by far the least amount of sacrifice-related complaints. Yet despite all of his hard work, Bram's infertility assured that he would never have a female sacrifice of his own. Hell, he might not ever have a mate. Everything he did screamed how he wanted his clan's numbers to rebuild and his infertility would hinder his goal.

Of course, Evie would never be able to give him a child anyway since her DNA wasn't compatible with dragon-shifter sperm. When she'd been nineteen and obsessed with everything dragon-shifter, she'd been tested.

She hoped that would work to her advantage since Bram wouldn't have to feel guilty about taking a likely mother-to-be away from his clan.

At one time, she'd wanted children of her own, but she was far more concerned about living than reproducing.

She probably would've continued staring if Bram's voice hadn't interrupted her thoughts. "You're not eating."

Standing back up, she then moved to stand next to him. As soon as his eyes met hers, she raised the spoon to her lips and took a bite.

Bram's eyes darted to her lips, and that odd heat and awareness shot through her body.

Bloody hell. Since when was eating curry a turn on?

After swallowing the spoonful, she asked, "So? Do you have a verdict yet?"

The heat vanished from his eyes and was replaced by a wry look. "Where did you learn to type, lass? Even if I were blinded right this instant, I could do better."

She narrowed her eyes. "I type fast and make mistakes. It happens. Now, stop trying to change the subject and just tell me straight what you plan to do."

He looked pointedly at her curry and she let out a sigh before taking another bite. Only once she swallowed did he stand up and look down at her. Without her heels on, he towered even more over her. The man was huge.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Bram said, "While I've only read about a third of what you wrote, it's enough for a decision."

The dragonman fell silent and she wanted to kick him and scream for him to just tell her already. When he said nothing, she asked, "And?"

"I want you to pack your things."

Evie nearly dropped her bowl of curry. He was sending her away.

Her heart squeezed and it took everything she had not to start crying. Pull yourself together, Evie. Fight for it.

She'd come this far. She wasn't about to give in so easily. Straightening her shoulders, she said, "If you give me a little more time, I'll provide more information. Seven years has allowed me access to quite a bit about the DDA, the dragon hunters, and the other dragon-shifter clans. With my glasses and another chance, I can prove to you I'm worth keeping."

Bram frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course you're going to help me. I'm not about to mate you just so I can fuck you, although I look forward to that."

She blinked. "Fuck me? What? You just told me to pack my things."

"Aye, you're moving in with me tonight."

End Part One *~*~*~*

PART TWO.

Chapter One.

Evie blinked and tried to comprehend Bram's words. Rather than say something intelligent, all she could do was echo, "Move in with you tonight?"

The dragonman took two steps toward her before he said, "Aye. Unless you're now having second thoughts?" He gave her a slow once-over before meeting her eyes again. "I was rather looking forward to fucking you."

The bluntness of his words cut through her shock and ignited her temper. "I'm not just going to jump into bed with you without setting things straight between us. If you're being serious about taking me as your mate, then I want to know how it will work, what my role here will be, and how you plan to chase away the dragon hunters. Not to mention, exactly how you plan to fight the British government about my staying here."

"No."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean 'no'?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "What was it that some redhead said to me earlier today? Oh, that's right, that she was only going to share what needed to be shared. Right now, you're in the 'maybe I'll mate you' stage. We have three days before you're supposed to leave here. In that time, you need to convince me to trust you. Until then, I'll share what you need to know, but not one word extra."

It seemed that her display of strength earlier had come back to bite her in the arse. "If you're trying to intimidate me into doing whatever you say, it won't work. Yes, I need your protection, but I'd rather take my chances with the dragon hunters than turn into a 'yes, dear' complacent idiot."

Bram uncrossed his arms and took the remaining steps between them. "Strong words from a woman all but begging for my help."

As she stared up into his light blue eyes, she could hear the dragonman's breathing and she realized how close he was standing to her. He was being an arsehole, but his heat and scent surrounded her and she remembered what it'd been like to be kissed by this man. Before she could stop herself, her eyes darted to his firm lips.