She refuses to be protected like she is fragile.
He refuses to let the woman who holds his heart face danger alone.
Maeve has survived too much to sit quietly and wait for life to happen to her.
The crash. The tunnels. The desert. The deadly red planet that seems determined to test every human who dares to call it home. None of it has broken her. If anything, Tajss has made her more determined to find joy wherever she can steal it.
So when the Tribe starts talking about creating their first real celebration on Tajss, complete with gifts, traditions, and a reason to remember they are living instead of merely surviving, Maeve throws herself into the idea.
Then Padraig storms into her life again.
Huge, gruff, and impossible to ignore, the Zmaj warrior believes rules exist for good reasons, danger should be met with weapons, and stubborn human females should not wander outside protective walls just because they saw something interesting in the sand.
Maeve thinks he is overbearing.
Padraig thinks she is reckless.
Unfortunately, neither of them is wrong.
When a meteorite shower turns deadly, Padraig shields Maeve with his own body. Shards of strange glass are left embedded in both of them, and one touch awakens something neither one understands. Her heartbeat echoes in his mind. His desire brushes against her skin. The bond between them is too intimate, too powerful, and far too dangerous to ignore.
Maeve does not want a male who treats her like she might shatter.
Padraig does not know how to love without protecting with everything he is.
But Tajss is not finished testing them. Invader ships return. The shield fails. The enemy wants the meteorite glass, captives, and secrets buried in the planet itself. Every attack pulls Maeve and Padraig deeper into a connection that may be the key to survival, if they can stop fighting each other long enough to trust what is growing between them.
Because the real gift Padraig has to offer is not safety.
It is his heart.
And the real gift Maeve gives him is the courage to love without control.
Dragon's Gift is a steamy alien dragon romance featuring a sunshine heroine, a grumpy protective Zmaj warrior, fated mates, psychic meteorite-glass bonding, forced proximity, holiday/gift celebration, dangerous alien planet survival, invader attacks, found family, and a guaranteed happily ever after.
