Dragon Heat by Allyson James

Lisa Singleton lives in San Francisco, in the apartment formerly owned by her grandmother, Li Na. Though she is 1/4 Chinese, Lisa has bright red hair and doesn't look at all Asian. She also has a rather unusual roommate, a gold dragon named Caleb. Though Caleb actually lives in Dragonspace, he is nothing but a projection that can be seen through the door to the guest bedroom. A portal hangs in the doorway, allowing Caleb to see in, but not pass through. Lisa, on the other hand, can also see Caleb, and can touch him through the portal, but can't go all the way through. Caleb mostly uses the portal to watch human TV programs, which he finds utterly fascinating.

Normally Lisa would, after coming home, sit down and tell Caleb about her day. Although she was originally freaked when she found out she had a dragon for a roommate, she has grown used to him in the months since she moved into the apartment, and she has quite grown to like the drywitted and perceptive Caleb. But tonight, she cannot do that. Lisa has a date with a model who helps out on a cooking show she helps run, and his name is Greg Shaw. Caleb is upset that Lisa is going on a date, and urges her not to, but she says she has needs that Caleb can't fulfill, and it is time for her to get back in the dating scene after her devastating divorce.

Caleb is upset because he knows that Greg Shaw has been dragonmarked by a black dragon, and he mistrusts any other dragon. When Lisa leaves for her date, Caleb asks for help from one of the witches that keep watch over him, an Asian woman named Saba. He convinces Saba that Lisa is in danger from the model because he is now Dragonmarked, and Saba eventually agrees to help him. She is unsure of what she can do because she is a junior witch in her coven, subordinate to a witch named Donna, but she will do what she can.

Lisa suffers from the most boring date in history: Greg seems interested only in talking about himself, and he's acting pretty creepy, too. When he tries to get her to come to his place, she declines and asks to be taken home. He agrees, and she feels a bit relieved, until he tells her it doesn't matter where she goes, she will still submit to his master, the black dragon. He takes her home, and gets her, using the power of the mark on him, to let him inside. Inside, however, she is rescued by a brawny, naked man wearing only an armband with a golden dragon on it, who runs Greg off. It takes Lisa a minute to realize that this man is Caleb, and that he has taken on human form to keep her safe.

A few minutes later, Saba's other coven mates, Donna and Grizelda, show up. Now that Lisa is safe, they attempt to force Caleb back through the portal into Dragonspace and into Dragon form. Caleb resists, telling them that it was only through Saba's help that he attained human form and rescued Lisa. But they don't seem to care. Donna claims that Caleb tricked Saba, and that they would have saved Lisa, as they were on their way. Caleb retorts that they would have been too late, and in response, Donna and Griselda attempt to use Caleb's true name to command him back to Dragonspace. He resists, but it is not easy, and causes him much pain. That's when Lisa gets annoyed and... somehow... shoots out a bolt of power that knocks the witches ass over teakettle. She threatens to do it again unless they leave her house... now! The two witches bluster and Donna tells her that she will have to teach Lisa how to use this new power she has demonstrated, but Lisa isn't having any of it, and raises her hand again, as if to strike, even though she doesn't know how she did it the first time and isn't sure she can do it again. Rather than suffer another attack, the witches leave.

Caleb congratulates her and asks her how she did it, but Lisa has to tell him she doesn't know. She asks what the witches were doing to him, and he tells her about his true name and how it can control him. He thanks her for saving him, and she realizes that she liked him as a dragon, but she finds him devastatingly attractive as a human man. They end up kissing and cuddling, but anything further is put off by her need for sleep. They sleep in the same bed, and Lisa tells him she must go out tomorrow and buy him clothes.

In the morning, she arises before he does and buys him clothing, and when she gets back, she takes him to Chinatown to meet her Grandmother's friend Mi Ue, who they theorize may know something about Lisa's powers, or about the Black Dragon looking for her. Mi Ue recognizes that Caleb is a dragon right away, and honors him, but she doesn't know about the Black Dragon. She suggests that her nephew, Lumi, may know something. Lisa and Caleb, after a meal of Dim Sum and tea, go find Lumi, who owns and runs a bicycle shop in Chinatown. Lumi used to be into drugs, but finally kicked the habit. However, he still knows many people, and he hears things. He agrees to keep an eye out for any word of the black dragon or a cult or of people disappearing. They then go for a ride on a Cable Car, but are startled by the Black Dragon. Caleb manages to stab him before the Black Dragon disappears. The Black Dragon, using the name Malcolm, has marked Saba with his mark. He goes to her and forces her to heal his wound, helping her along with the ritual, but letting her own power do the work.

Caleb goes to see Saba, who tells him where Donna lives. After she helped Caleb, she was thrown out of the coven, where Malcolm quickly snapped her up. She tells Caleb she is all right, and that Malcolm won't harm her. Meanwhile, Grizelda is watching Donna start a ritual. It's obvious that Donna has nothing but contempt for Grizelda, and it becomes clear that Donna is doing a ritual that is evil, with two Incubi. Grizelda remonstrates with her, and then flees. Donna sends one of the Incubi after Grizelda, but Grizelda manages to get in a lucky hit to its windpipe, and she manages to escape. But not far, for Caleb finds her cowering in an alleyway, covered in blood. He sends her to Saba, who can look after her, and Grizelda tells Caleb what Donna is doing, and why she fled. Caleb returns to Dragonspace to get a protective amulet for Lisa

Later that night, in Lisa's apartment, Lisa is attacked in her dreams by the Incubus, but she manages to wake back up, thanks to protective spells on her apartment. The next day, Caleb returns with a fantastic tiara of diamonds and sapphires to help protect her, and makes her wear some of Li Na's amulets for good luck. Lumi contacts them and tells them to meet him at a certain dock, but Caleb knows the black dragon has marked him, and they are walking into a trap. He agrees to go anyway to see what Malcolm wants.

Malcolm reveals that he has been trapped on Earth for 600 years, and he wants to go home. He was drawn to earth when a coven of witches summoned him to try and steal his magic and power. He fought back and killed them, but then was trapped with no way to return to Dragonspace. All he wants to do is return home. Lisa can sense his sincerity and agrees to try. But despite her best efforts, she fails. Malcolm orders one of his thugs to shoot Caleb, but Lisa tries to shield him and is herself shot.

Malcolm is shocked. He didn't actually mean to hit Caleb, but he realized that Lisa's power worked better when Caleb was threatened. He tells Caleb to take Lisa to Dragonspace and look for a specific black dragon, well known as a healer. Caleb, realizing that Malcolm is telling the truth, agrees, and takes Lisa into Dragonspace with him, where he places her amongst his hoard, and goes out looking for the other dragon. But Dragonspace is huge, most dragons are solitary creatures, and he has no guarantee of success.

Lisa awakens, covered in blood, but as she soon realizes, alive and unhurt. When Caleb returns, he wonders how she could have healed, but then realizes that she can shift forms. Lisa is actually a silver dragon, the rarest and most magical kind of dragon. She and Caleb fly together, which turns into a mating dance, one that continues after they return to earth and to human bodies. Completely forgetting about time, they make love all night and into the day, only stopping when Lumi calls and asks if she is all right. She apologizes, and tells him she is fine.

But now that they know Malcolm is no threat, they will have to deal with Donna, who wants to destroy Lisa by sucking her magic away in exchange for a killing that her dragon-self performed hundreds of years ago. But will she and Caleb be able to do so *and* get Malcolm home?

Despite having read the sequel to this book first, I still thoroughly enjoyed finding out exactly *how* Lisa found out she was a silver dragon without being born that way. Donna, befitting her "master villain" status, is an extremely dark and nasty character whose utter unconcern with anything but her own wants and needs, is chilling. She will casually lie, steal, murder and consort with demons to get what she wants, and she reaps a just reward for her villainy. And while the mantra of the dragons seems to be that they don't mate for life, that is being shown to be wrong in this very series, as both Malcolm, Caleb and Lisa show.

Next up: Redeemed in Heat by Alexis Morgan.