She’s the woman of his dreams.
And meeting her is his worst nightmare…

The middle of raging wildfires is not where one usually finds sea dragons. But Joe, Crown Prince of Atlantis, is not a typical sea dragon.

Joe’s spent his whole life striving to escape all the stupid traditions and inflexible rules of sea dragon society. Fighting fires with his all-shifter hotshot crew is far more appealing than sitting on a throne…even with all the weird crap that’s been happening lately. Joe didn’t sign up to fight demons, but hey, that’s much better than facing his destiny.

Unfortunately, destiny is about to catch up with him…

The Empress has decreed that her heir must have a bodyguard. Of course, who gets stuck with the humiliating job of babysitting the infamous Prince? Seventh Novice, the scapegoat of the entire sea society.

No sea shifter wants to be stuck on land — least of all with a man who’s a disgrace to dragons everywhere — but Seven’s got no choice but to grit her teeth and take the assignment. If she can protect the Prince, she’ll finally prove she’s worthy to become a Knight of Atlantis despite her tainted blood.

Of course, that would be a lot easier if the infuriating man didn’t keep running away from her…and if he wasn’t her fated mate.

It’s not that Joe doesn’t want this honorable, uncompromising woman who makes his inner sea dragon roar. By the Sea, it’s all he can do to keep his hands off her. But he has no choice but to play the clown in the hope of driving her away.

Because the man that everyone thinks is a frivolous playboy has a secret.

And if he claims his mate, she’s going to die...