They've put a new mentor on my case. and she frustrates the hell out of me.

It's the way she talks, the way she looks at me through her glasses.
So sleek and polished, so. composed.
She doesn't understand that life is sheer, brute survival.
That someone from her privileged, cozy world has nothing to teach me.

I can tell that she finds me intimidating, like most people do.
It's my height, the way I move, the tattoos on my arms.
It's the fact that I've never really mastered the art of smiling.
But really, what does a guy like me have to smile about?

I may be stuck with her, but she's also stuck with me.
And I am tougher than her, I know it.
I will find her soft spot, the place where she's most vulnerable.
I will find out exactly what it takes to crack her carefully manicured façade.

I just hope that I don't crack before she does.

You know that feeling of being dragged into a swamp? The complete powerlessness of being pulled into whatever fate has in store for you? Now imagine the swamp being full of blistering hot guys. And not just any guys. No, dragons, in every size, shape, and form, to take you in and make you theirs. Isn't that a swamp you'd gladly be sucked into?

Welcome to the thick, wet heat of the Everglades.

18+ readers only.