Logan Lamont trailed behind Emma MacAllister and the two Seahaven dragonmen she'd roped into helping her yet again, barely noticing the steep climb and crunch of gravel beneath his feet. It was hard enough to not stare at her swaying, round arse ahead of him, but as he curled his fingers into fists, he fought the urge to toss Emma over his shoulder and carry her home, away from the two bloody annoying dragonmen who looked at her like she was a treat to be licked from top to bottom.

Clenching his fists harder, he tamped down his desire to lock her inside his bedroom for days and never let her out, knowing he could never act on it.

After all, Emma had never been his, had refused him before, and at this point, he was fairly sure she'd never change her view of him.

But he still had a huge weakness where she was concerned—Logan would always help when she asked him. Even if he wanted more than friendship, she was still one of his best friends, someone he'd known his whole life. She was one of the youngest of the older MacAllister siblings, one who always seemed to get away with bloody reckless shite that only Logan seemed able to tame. At least, to a small degree.

Which was why he was here now, following her on yet another damn geocaching chase, hiking up a steep incline to the top of a mountain when he should be home, studying for his next doctor's exam.

His inner dragon, the second personality inside his head, spoke up. When are we leaving for Edinburgh again? Maybe then you'll finally find another female and fuck her.

That's not the reason we're going.

His inner beast sniffed. Aye, I know. Doctor studies. But it's been years since our last female, and I barely remember what it's like to have a hot, tight pussy around our cock.

Shut it, dragon. We're not doing this now.

His beast reluctantly fell quiet, at least for the moment.

Not that he had much time for solitude as Emma turned toward the taller of the two Seahaven lads and gave him a flirtatious smile.

It took everything Logan had not to punch something.

Emma grinned up at Andrew and gestured toward the mostly sheer rock face next to her. “It's time for another climbing competition, don't you think, Andy? This time, a fair one, where you don't give me a head start and let me win.”

The dark-haired Andrew MacKay grinned back, the bastard sneaking in a slow perusal of Emma's body, as if judging her ability to best him but truly was probably undressing her with his eyes.

Logan clenched his jaw and tried not to crack a tooth.

Andrew replied, “I don't think a wee lassie such as you could win in a fair contest.”

Emma tilted her head. “So that means you accept my challenge, aye?”

Andrew put out a hand to shake. “Provided I get to select where it happens, then aye, I'll take your challenge.”

As soon as Emma placed her hand in Andrew's, the Seahaven bastard tugged her closer and Logan narrowed his eyes. If the bastard tried to kiss her, he might need to toss him off the mountain.

He missed whatever they said when his dragon chimed in. I still say toss her over our shoulder, carry her off, pin her to a wall, and show her how we're more than a friend.

Don't start. You know I kissed her before, and all she did was laugh at me, to the point she could barely breathe.

His inner beast sniffed. Aye, and that was years ago, during our teens. I still say you should try kissing her now, as a grown male.

Not wanting to hash this out yet again with his dragon, he mentally growled, It doesn't matter. She's not our true mate, and I've accepted it. After next week, we won't see her for a while and I'll forget her.

I doubt you'll ever forget her.

That may be true. After all, Logan had been in love with Emma for a good chunk of his life. Ever since she found him reading a book by himself while everyone else played football or tag or other games when he'd been ten and she seven, he'd been charmed by her energy and optimism. As they grew older and Emma always smiled and came to him for advice, or to merely share a laugh, he'd become more enamored. Which had resulted in him daring to share his feelings at nineteen and Emma laughing at him, saying he was basically her brother and it was like kissing a dead fish.

That should've been the end of his obsession for her, it really should have.

And yet he had never been able to truly sever their friendship, craving her lightness and recklessness more than air. Through the death of his parents, his brother's disappearance, and all the shite the clan had been through over the years, Emma had been the constant light, the one who had always been able to improve his mood.

The only female who invaded his dreams and made him wake up with a hard cock and frustrated desire.

Going to Edinburgh for the next year or two was the only way he was going to fucking recover his sanity. If he was to ever find someone else, a female who wanted him and looked at him as if she could never get enough, then his friendship with Emma needed to become only friendship, and nothing else.

Especially since for months, while accompanying Emma on her modern-day treasure hunting adventures called geocaching—where people left clues that sometimes incorporated technology to locate and figure out the next one—he'd had to watch her rope one male and then another into helping her. The two Seahaven MacKay brothers—dragonmen from the Scottish splinter clan that lived near the northern coast of Scotland—had been the worst, though. Emma had flirted endlessly, and Andrew MacKay, in particular, had flirted back, the male's glint determined for more than exchanging mere words.

Thank fuck Logan was leaving Lochguard to take up his doctor studies in Edinburgh next week. She couldn't ask for his help any longer and he wouldn't have to seethe at watching her flirt with other males, oblivious to his torture.

His dragon sniffed. Stop your whinging. It's giving me a headache, especially since we haven't shifted today yet and I want to fly.

As soon as this is done, dragon. I promise.

Until then, keep your jealousy in check. I want to nap.

His inner beast curled up and dozed, and Logan merely kept up his pace with the others. He was only there in case of a medical emergency. Even if he wasn't a doctor yet and was only a trained nurse, it was more than enough for minor injuries.

Deciding to focus on what his future brought instead of what it didn't, Logan ran through his latest studies, the ones he'd been reading ahead of his first scheduled training shifts in Edinburgh. There was only one university and hospital in the UK that accepted dragon-shifters medical students, and he was determined to impress and succeed.

The distraction worked, to the point Logan nearly ran into the older MacKay brother, Dean, when everyone else had stopped in the middle of the trail. Andrew motioned toward a rock face of about twenty feet high and looked at Emma. “This will do, aye?”

Logan eyed the stone, noting how there was a ledge above, one they couldn't see the top of. Used to being the voice of reason with Emma, he stated without preamble, “I don't know if you two should. We can't see what's above, and two dragon-shifters racing toward the top, shaking things loose, could cause rocks to fall.”

Emma waved a hand. “Och, Logan, you're such a worrier. I've been on this mountain before, and it's fine.”

He moved to stand on Emma's other side and raised an eyebrow. “How long ago was that?”

She glanced away, revealing how she didn't want to answer. She muttered, “Three years or so.”

He grunted. “Then you know as well as I that one winter, with snow and ice, can easily move things around once it melts.”

Andrew snorted. “Don't worry so much, aye, Lamont? It's just a short jaunt. Besides, Emma's clue should be just up there, if the GPS is correct.”

Emma smiled at the Seahaven lad, no doubt already thinking of how to wind him even more around her finger.

The dragonwoman was good at that.

She nodded. “I agree with Andrew. It's just a short climb and we'll be done before you know it.”

She flashed the bastard a smile and Logan resisted rolling his eyes. Emma always did this—charm or hedge others into agreeing with her. It didn't work on him, though. “I'm supposed to be here to make sure everyone goes home in one piece. I don't want to risk someone getting bashed over the head and possibly falling down into that loch down there to drown.”

Emma raised an eyebrow. “I'm not a novice, Logan. I've scaled numerous walls before.”

The steel in her eyes said she wasn't going to budge. But he also knew Emma's stubbornness got her into all kinds of trouble on a regular basis.

His cautious, protective nature was about to warn some more—even contemplated hauling her away by force—but Andrew moved into position and motioned for Emma to come over. “Come on, lass. He gave his warning, and my brother can note it if needed. Now, let's go.”

He glanced at Dean, hoping for someone else to see how bloody stupid this was since the male was a Protector, but Dean merely shrugged. “It's only twenty feet. And both of them have reflexes to move out of the way if a rock falls or breaks off.”

Logan was outnumbered. Before he could try to find a way to convince them to see reason, Emma and Andrew were in position. Right before Dean could say, “Go!” he noticed a decent-sized rock falling toward Emma. For a beat, he thought it odd given how they hadn't started climbing to knock anything loose.

But then his instincts took over. Grabbing Emma about the waist, he swung her out of the way. He'd barely noted how she'd fallen to the side, on her knees, when a blinding pain struck his head. Suddenly he was weightless, falling through the air, and blackness creeped over his vision. He was barely aware of crashing into the water before the world went dark.