Love Beyond Sanity by Rebecca Royce

unable to hear anything from inside. Immediately, the small window air conditioning unit shorted out, releasing smoke into the room. The two women who examined some of the red lingerie in the corner coughed violently and ran for the door. As the second one passed, he caught the distinct whiff of cherry blossoms. It was a good thing the redhead was leaving or he might be forced to indulge in one of his favorite tastes. Normally, he tried to spare Trent the questions local authorities might ask. Not that they couldn't be bought. Everyone could. It was the hassle he objected to.
    Trent stood behind the cash register, turning on a large fan to blow away the smoke. Twice Sebastian's human age, the older man had lost all of his hair before he was thirty. Now he was bald, fat, and likely to succumb to a heart attack at any time.
    "Master, I've had to replace that window unit five times this year."
    Sebastian shrugged. "I thought it the best way to clear the room." Letting himself smile, he leaned against the back wall like a man with no cares in the world. "Or perhaps I should have told them that you bought those panties on eBay and likely didn't wash them. Who knows what charming STDs they picked up by just touching them?"
    "Then I should thank you for breaking the AC." Trent cleared his throat. "What can I do for you today?"
    Sebastian narrowed his eyes. "What can you 'do' for me today?" He shook his head and let the demon red he hid from the world filter through his blood and show in his eyes. Immediately, he was rewarded with Trent's sucking in of breath. Every once in a while it was good to remind the little people just who and what he was. "If only that was what you said when I contacted you about the potion, but I seem to recall hearing from my messengers that you refused that 'request.'"
    Falling to his knees, Trent hung his head low to the floor. "It seems to me, my Master, that they neglected to explain my reason for denying your request."
    Stupid mortal. Sebastian blinked and blew up the cash register. Trent squealed and even though he was still on his knees leapt a few inches in the air, his head hanging lower. "You don't deny me anything, rat. If I want the tongue from your mouth, I'll take it."
    Fury filled his body, and he loved the sensation. When was the last time he'd indulged in an actual fit of temper? Scales popped out on his skin and his well-manicured, put-together look ended as his true form, the one he worked so hard to suppress, took shape. Who should he be? Which one would be most effective?
    The decision came easily to him. The dragon it would be. Doubling and then tripling in size, Sebastian soon took up most of the room in the small shop. Out of his rear, a giant tail formed and spread knocking over everything that got in its way. Clothes fell everywhere; whips, chains, and other accoutrements of sadomasochism fell from the shelves. Trent's scream went up an octave until he sounded more like a frightened little girl than a man approaching sixty.
    Fire streamed from Sebastian's mouth. Singeing the top of the store, he bore down on Trent until his face was merely inches from the little man's. Nothing more than a sneeze would destroy him. If he cared, he would make sure not to breathe in too deeply, but the way he felt at the moment— loaded with power—he wouldn't mind if Trent ceased to exist. As useful as he'd been, he'd simply replace him. No human was so unique you couldn't find two or three capable of doing the same things.
    "Master, I would never d-d-deny you anything." Trent had shut his eyes tightly, tears streamed down his face. "I am watching out for your welfare."
    "It is not for you to decide what I should and should not do, pond-scum." His voice hit the lowest note of the human hearing capacity. Trent would think he sounded like a base guitar.
    Letting his tongue slither out of his mouth, he tasted Trent's tender white flesh. When he'd lived as a dragon, centuries ago before that group of