Dragon Joined

Rebecca
Royce

Dean Andrews watched in horror when
sixteen-year-old Amanda Sugar was carried away by the dragons. He swore to
destroy the beasts before anyone else could be taken. Six years later, he leads
his people in a war against the dragons and finds someone he never expected to
see again—Amanda, who has grown into a passionately desirable woman.

Amanda has spent the last six years
as a prisoner of the most monstrous dragon imaginable. When she lays eyes on
Dean she can’t believe he is there—she has dreamed of him since she was a
teenager. Together they will discover a way to finally end the dragons’ rule
over humanity, or die trying.

A
Romantica®
futuristic erotic romance
from Ellora’s Cave

Above Amanda, the sky appeared so blue. It seemed a terrible
day to be executed for stealing. Especially since she hadn’t even delivered the
bread she’d taken for her starving brother and sister. At least if she’d been
caught after feeding them she might feel better about the whole mess.

Made for a woman twice her size, her dark clothes hung from
her body. They were all she’d been able to find the last time she’d scrounged
around abandoned farmhouses for discarded garments. She knew she looked scruffy
compared to the tight-fitting, tucked-in collared shirts and khaki pants the
members of the township wore.

The hot sand of the desert burned her feet through the holes
in her sneakers. Years of calluses did nothing to protect her from the
onslaught of the ground’s heat. If she lived through the day, she’d have to
find a new pair of shoes. Compared to other places where she and the kids
roamed, New Strauss constituted a downright hospitable environment. There were
even forests in the distance and a lake on the outskirts of town. If her feet
couldn’t survive her current environment, she’d never make it anywhere else.

Surrounded by men with guns and restrained by the hard grip
of an oversized Enforcer, she couldn’t take her eyes from the man who stood
directly in front of her. Dean Andrews.

This day—the sixth of the seventh solstice—happened to be
her seventeenth birthday. Not that she’d had any kind of a celebration.

Rubbing her nose, she stared up at the face of the person
who would be her executioner and prayed to a god she didn’t believe in for one
more day on the planet to make things right. Not for her. But for her little
sister and brother. They were hidden away in a barn miles away from New Strauss
and would starve to death if she never returned with the food. Unless the
Wanderers found them. If that happened, Lily would be sold into slavery and any
number of horrific, unthinkable things could happen to Steven. Starving to
death would be a blessing in comparison to abuse by the Wanderers.

Dean stared down at her, his curly brown hair blowing in the
warm wind. Mama had always said that Dean Andrews had been born with steel in
his spine and a temper that could shatter the stars. Right now, his blue eyes
showed none of the anger she knew he must feel. No one robbed the leader of New
Strauss. Even the Wanderers understood what would happen if they crossed Dean.

I’m such a giant idiot.

“Amanda Sugar.”

She blinked rapidly as his words penetrated her constant
inner dialogue. With no one to talk to except two six-year-olds, she’d long ago
given up expecting adult conversation. Being on the run didn’t let her meet too
many other sixteen-year-olds. And she never spoke to respectable adults if she
could help it. That just led to more questions and interference in things that
were none of their damn business.

“You know me?” She rubbed at her nose. It seemed to be itchy
today. Her knees weakened. At least if she passed out from starvation, she wouldn’t
be awake when Dean chopped off her head.

He crossed his arms over his chest before glancing at the
man who stood to his left. They must have been having some sort of silent
conversation she couldn’t follow. What did she care? One of Dean’s goons seemed
just like the others. Township bullies were township bullies. To her, they all
appeared the same. Big, brawny and murderous.

Dean turned his gaze back to her. “Where are your mom and dad?”
His eyes held steel in their depths. “I haven’t seen them in years.”

Yes, she knew that too. Not since they’d all run off like
criminals in the middle of the night because Mama had been pregnant. New
Strauss only let a woman give birth to one baby. Mama hadn’t wanted to have an
abortion. So they had run and never looked back.

Amanda should have listened to her parents and stayed away
from this place, not gotten so close again.

“Dad died right after we left here. He took a fall. The
wound got green. After that, you can imagine.” She shuddered at the memory
before she pushed it away to where it couldn’t bother her any more.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Dean ran a hand through his curly
hair. She watched, fascinated, as if she’d never seen anyone make such a simple
gesture before. What the hell had happened to her brain? Dean Andrews had to be
twice her age and, besides, it seemed downright stupid to be fascinated by a
man who was going to execute her.

“Thanks.” She nodded, hoping the deep breath she took would
make the world feel steadier. It didn’t. “And Mama died four years ago. She got
real sick. I don’t know from what. But it was over very fast.”

Dean narrowed his gaze, squinting his eyes in a way that
made him look like a prairie dog hunting his prey. “When she left here, she was
pregnant.”

“Yes sir.”

If the men with the guns hadn’t looked so tense holding
their weapons, she might have told him to go to the devil for even talking
about the kids. The guard to her left kept twitching his finger. She hoped he
didn’t accidently blow off her head.

“Where is the baby now?”

Amanda stared off into the distance. If they were gonna kill
her anyway, maybe it made sense to just run. Let them shoot her in the back,
like the disloyal cowards she knew them to be. She wouldn’t make it far. Most
likely she’d trip and fall on her face before she made it to the trees. Still,
at least she’d die trying to get away from them instead of at their mercy and
in their time.

“Don’t run.”

She glared at the leader of the only place for hundreds of
miles that could be called civilization. He gave orders, people followed them.
It had been six years since she’d seen him, but that much she could remember
well. No one disobeyed Dean Andrews. Except her mama and dad.

And now her.

“I don’t want to hurt the child. I didn’t want to hurt the
baby back then. I wouldn’t have. Your father and I…we misunderstood each other.
He never gave me the chance to make it right.”

“Why would you want to?”

His smile made her heart stutter. She hadn’t expected him to
grin like a fool. Nothing she’d said should have come across as funny. “Your
family belonged to this community. I take that very seriously. You were all
under my protection. I’ll consider you mine until the day I die.”

“Look.” Amanda closed her eyes for a second before she
reopened them. The time for fooling herself had long passed. “There were two
babies. Mama had twins. I’ve been raising them for four years now. They’re
starving. I’m sorry I stole from you. It won’t happen again. If you just let me
go, I won’t bother you people no more.”

Dean took a step toward her. “You’re exhausted.” He looked
up at the man behind her. “Take her inside—give her the cabin that belonged to
her parents. Tell me where your siblings are, Amanda, and I’ll go and get them
myself. Bring them here.”

“No.” She struggled against the strong hand that took her
arm. “You’ll kill them. You always wanted them dead.”

Dean swore. “I’ve never wanted to kill a child in my life.
There are rules to protect us all. Your parents knew that. I was even willing
to work with them.” He pointed to the sign above the entryway of the township. “What
does that say?”

Amanda stared in the direction he indicated, hoping her
cheeks weren’t as red as a rotten tomato. She could make out the words New
Strauss just fine, but after that she didn’t have a clue what the damn thing
said. She’d never read very well, even when she’d gone to school in the township,
and whatever skills she’d had had gone haywire after she’d left. Her brother
and sister would never learn to read because she couldn’t teach them. If she
felt shame about anything, not being able to teach the kids had to be it.

“I’m not reading it to you. Read it your own damn self.”

Dean’s eyes widened and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Excuse
me?”

Yeah…she’d probably done it now. Her mama had always said that
she didn’t have one lick of sense when she got mad.

Before she could muster an apology of sorts, everyone’s
attention turned to the sound of beating wings in the distance. Each flap of
the beast’s movements in the sky sent shivers up her spine. God, how she hated
the evil creatures.

The man next to Dean pointed upward. “Dragons.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. Anyone could see there were dragons
coming. Why make so much noise that they were bound to be spotted? Her mouth
went dry. The kids were alone. Far enough away that maybe they would be safe,
but too close for Amanda to be totally certain.

“Inside.” Dean’s voice sounded calm, even slightly cold. How
could he so cool with dragons in the sky? Did ice run through his veins?

Her heart lodged in her throat. She would not leave the kids
alone while the dragons were out and about. Yanking hard, she ripped her arm
out of the hand of the guy who held her.

He reached for her but wasn’t fast enough. The dragons were
getting closer and after a second of chasing her, he turned and ran toward the
township gate. Amanda moved quickly. With the kids hidden two miles away, it
had taken her twenty minutes to sneak into the township. She could run it in
less time, although her starvation made her slower than she wanted to be.

In and out, her breath came fast. Her legs burned but the
sweet faces of her brother and sister fueled her. A hard grip on her arm yanked
her backward and she almost fell, until she was pulled against a strong chest.

Dean shouted in her ear to be heard over the loud sonic booms
of the dragon’s wings. “This way. We have to get out of the open.”

She struggled, trying to pull free, desperate to escape his
hold. “The kids. I have to get to the kids.”

“You can’t do that if they catch you.”

His words made sense, even if she didn’t like listening to
adults. She let him pull her toward the woods. The area had caught her
attention earlier and it had seemed like a good place to hide out before she
and the kids moved on.

Out of breath, she leaned against a tree while Dean stared
at the sky. “Don’t worry.” He didn’t seem to have been affected by their run at
all. But then he hadn’t been starving for days. “They’ll take down the dragons.
The monsters don’t get past us.”

Amanda watched the sky, wishing she could be as brave as
Dean appeared to be. What if he was wrong? What if the township didn’t take
down the beasts?

I’ve never felt this exposed
.

“In all the years I’ve lived on my own with the kids, we’ve
only seen them this close twice.” She shook her head.

“Then you were lucky.” A loud explosion shook the earth.
Amanda covered her ears with her hands as her knees threatened to give out. She
wouldn’t faint. She
wouldn’t
. Dean pointed at the sky as one of the
giant beasts felt the blast of a cannon. It roared, flapping its wings rapidly
as it tried to stay airborne.

A second explosion made her step back, as if she might be
blown over by the sound alone.

She hated this. Had always detested the dragon attacks. Why
wouldn’t the dragons leave? “Or maybe you draw them to you because lots of people
living in one location is an easy snack for them.”

Dean took his eyes off the sky and eyed her. “You’re, what…sixteen,
right?” She blinked rapidly under his regard. Her cheeks felt warm.

“Um, yes.” She watched as another blast assaulted the
dragon. It didn’t seem the time to mention her birthday. “You’re just taking
down two. There are three of them. What about the other one?”

“When dragons break the tree line,” Dean pointed at the top
of the tree they stood beneath, “they get blasted. Don’t you remember any of
this?”

“We got put away during attacks. Locked up. Everyone just
stayed quiet and hoped it would be over soon.”

“There’s no place for kids during an attack. And there are
four dragons, not three. Can’t you count?”

She whirled around, her head spinning.
Yes
. There had
been four dragons. Where had the last one gone? Her eyes spotted the creature
in the distance. Hovering more than flying, it circled a distance from the
other flying lizards.

The clear blue sky let her really see its markings. Like all
dragons, the one that circled them had green, scaly skin. She hadn’t seen them
many times but they each seemed to be a different shade. The one she was
staring at also had red and blue spots up and down its spine.

All of them are green
. She didn’t want to let herself
start to think too hard about them. They were monsters. They killed everything
and everyone who came into contact with them. So what if they were beautiful?

“They are gorgeous for being so deadly.”

She jolted at Dean’s voice. “Can you read minds?”

“You’re pretty transparent.”

His voice did funny things to her. A tingle traveled up her
spine. “How old are you, exactly?”

“Too old, Amanda Sugar.” He stepped away from her to lean
against one of the trees. She had no idea what he meant by that. Too old for
what? He looked pretty fit to her. He’d chased her when everyone else had run.
Dean looked healthy and young.

He kept speaking. “When the dragons leave, I’d really like
to come with you to collect the kids. Come home with me. You should have been
in New Strauss this whole time. Let me…undo what never should have happened.”

Were his pretty words and sincere eyes enough to make her
forget all she’d been taught about him? “Nothing can be undone. Not unless you
can bring back Mama and Daddy.”

“I don’t have super powers. Although sometimes I wish I
did.”

A loud roar filled the air and she winced. The dragon under
assault finally succumbed to the cannon fire and hit the ground. Loud beats of
flapping wings scorched her eardrums as the next two dragons lined up to either
assault the township or leave.