Dragonfury 02 - Fury of Ice

that it mattered. He’d been in worse places.
    Granted, the decor had always been a wee bit better, but otherwise? Nothing but more of the same in his sea of ordinary. Which was what he kept telling himself. Make-believe, after all, was one of his specialties. Too bad the mental escape hatch he usually slipped through wasn’t working. The dumb thing was locked up tight, its sign flipped to “closed,” giving him the psychological equivalent of piss off, asshole .
    Uh-huh, that about summed it up. Which left him with nothing, except bucketfuls of irritation and…oh, aye, time. Time to marvel at his stupidity. Time to curse his dumb-ass plan. Time to scratch at the steel choker clamped around his throat.
    Jesus, the thing was brilliant. A real ode-to-the-prisoner without the song and dance. A shame, really. At least the music would’ve entertained him. As it was, the only sound he got was a beep every fifteen seconds. Well, that and a pinpoint flash of red light. Dog collar complete with LED features.
    Beep-beep, flash. Beep-beep, flash.
    Bloody hell, it was like Chinese water torture, only worse. The metal chafed, making him twitchy as claustrophobia circled just below the surface. Forge glanced at the standard-issue prison cot against the back wall. Maybe, if he flaked out on it instead of…
    Nah. No good. He preferred the floor, and honestly? Didn’t deserve any better.
    His female’s death proved that, and she’d been strike two. Strike one? Forge clenched his teeth, killing the wayward thought. No way he wanted to go there. The memory was long gone, buried beneath a mountain of mental debris, just the way he liked it. His family was ancient history, and old wounds were better left untouched.
    But Caroline?
    God, he couldn’t get her face out of his head. The gaping hole she left in her wake was still too fresh. No matter how many times he sidestepped it, the loss came with him, getting in his face, blocking his escape route. Not even ignoring the pain worked. Like an infection, the grief festered and blame bubbled up, pointing a bony finger at him.
    Which was exactly where it belonged.
    His chest tightened. Forge blew out a long breath. He wanted a do-over…another shot at doing the right thing. Of walking away instead of stopping to help her. Given half a chance, he would’ve left her there. Alone by the side of the Highland road, propped against a broken-down car, cell phone in hand as she tried to get a signal.
    But oh, no, not him.
    Like an idiot, he’d come to the rescue, changed her flat tire, watched moonlight dance in her dark hair and…aye, played the empty-headed fool smitten by a pretty lass. Now he was nobody’s hero, just a male full of regret yearning for a life already lost.
    Forge gave the ceiling a break and closed his eyes. A picture of Caroline rose, making his heart hurt. He ignored the awful ache and stayed with her, unable to give her up even in death. And as he followed her in his mind’s eye, memories of their time together sent him sideways, and he drifted, allowing her warmth to draw him deep into the daydream.
    So beautiful. She’d been magnificent with her sky-blue eyes and winsome smile. The scent of her, the taste of her on his tongue…God. She was like the blood in his veins. A part of him he couldn’t lose. Not that he hadn’t tried, but the heart always remembered what the mind yearned to forget, and like a ghost, she haunted him. Taunted him as he recalled the softness of her skin, her moans of pleasure as he’d slid between her thighs and taken her as his own.
    God forgive him.
    He was sick for thinking of her that way, for wanting her as much now as he had when she was alive. Caroline deserved better. A shrine, maybe, for putting up with him, for giving her life so that their son would live.
    Unfair. It was so fucking unfair.
    His brows drawn in tight, Forge shook his head. A mistake. Somewhere along the line, he’d made a huge mistake. Otherwise he and Caroline would be energy-fused, locked in a cosmic bond—mated for life, instead of separated for eternity. Oh, aye, it was easy in theory. One Dragonkind male. One human female. Put the two together and…eureka! Instant you’re-mine-forever magic. Too bad reality was a bitch with an axe to grind. His dragon half hadn’t bonded with the female of his heart, denying the energy-fuse and his ability to protect her from harm.
    Now he was stuck in a cage with a pack of Nightfuries riding his ass. And if that