Me and My Shadow Read Free

that my fingers had changed into long, scarlet talons. The dragon shard urged me to shift, enticing me with mental visions of Magoth lying dead on the floor at my feet.
    I was sorely tempted to give in to the shard, but I reminded myself that once I gave myself up to it, there would be no going back. Much as I loved Gabriel, as happy as I was being the mate to a powerful—not to mention witty, urbane, and incredibly sexy—wyvern, I did not want to spend the rest of eternity as a dragon.
    â€œYou’ve been warned about touching me,” I managed to say in a neutral voice. The dragon shard fought hard to dominate me, but I hadn’t survived as Magoth’s slave for almost a hundred years without learning how to control my emotions.
    His cold breath touched my neck for a moment longer before wisdom evidently got the better of him. He pushed aside my laptop and lay on top of the desk in a seductive pose, one hand languidly gesturing toward his body. “You want me.”
    â€œI want Gabriel,” I said, struggling inwardly as the dragon shard once again threatened to overwhelm me.
    He smiled again, but this was a smile of seduction, not promised retribution. “Your dragon may satisfy your doppelganger needs, but the animal within you wants me, sweet May. I can feel it.”
    â€œI am not an animal,” I said, my voice taking on a rough tone. I cleared my throat, determined to keep my usual unflappable demeanor with him, no matter how much he provoked me.
    He leaned forward slightly, his eyes half-lidded. I recognized the signs—heaven knew I’d been the recipient of his seduction attempts often enough. If I just let him work himself through the worst of it, eventually I’d be able to distract him with some other interesting mental tidbit. Magoth was always attracted by shiny things, be they tangible or intangible.
    â€œTell me you don’t feel it, as well,” he said, his gaze attempting to draw me into the seduction. He didn’t have enough power to put a thrall on me—a full-fledged sexual enchantment of sorts—so it was simply a matter of distracting him with a suitably interesting conversational offering.
    To my surprise, shock, and utter horror, instead of passing along a benign bit of Abaddon gossip, I found myself leaning forward until my lips brushed his.
    The dragon shard swamped me with emotions, hot and foreign, and suddenly out of the confusing mass came a burning desire to mate with him.
    â€œNo,” I gasped, shoving myself away from the desk, away from Magoth. Horror crept up my flesh. Never once since I’d met Gabriel had I considered Magoth with anything but loathing and irritation. What was going on that I was now responding to him?
    I pulled up a mental picture of the man I loved with all my heart, remembered the warm latte-colored brown skin, the dimples that made my knees go weak, the flash of mercurial silver eyes, the fires he alone stirred in me, making me burn for him. Only for him.
    I stamped out the tiny little flame that appeared on the floor.
    â€œYou see? The beast you bear says yes, sweet one. Give in to it. Let me show you what exquisite pleasure I can bring you.”
    I had to force my legs to back up. The need was great in me to take just what he offered, so great it almost had me casting common sense to the wind. “It’s not a beast. It’s one-fifth of the dragon heart, and it does not rule me. You can stop trying to seduce me, because it simply won’t work. And must I remind you what Gabriel said he’d do to you the last time he caught you trying to make love to me?”
    â€œI don’t make love. I make ecstasy,” he answered, but his hands twitched protectively toward his groin before he stopped them. “No matter how much you protest, my adorable one, the fact remains that we both know the honeymoon with your dragon is over, and it’s me you truly want.” He slid off the desk