Finding His Dragon (Dragon Blood Book 3)
Read Finding His Dragon (Dragon Blood Book 3) Online
Authors: Elianne Adams
Tags: #Sexy Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance
Finding Her Dragon
Book 3 in the Dragon Blood Series
By
Élianne Adams
Copyright © 2014 by Élianne Adams
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Art by Fantasia Frog Designs
ISBN 978-0-9948858-4-5 (EPUB)
Careful not to make any sudden moves, with her heart racing, and palms damp, Charlotte quickened her steps. Someone stalked her from the shadows. It wasn’t so much that she’d seen them, but her prickling skin alerted her that something wasn’t quite right. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but a year of torment at the hands of her clan had taught her one thing, to trust her instincts. And right then, her gut was telling her to get out of there, and fast.
Glen Farley was a cute little town. With people who were more or less tolerant of the dragons among them. Oh, she’d received a couple of sideways glances by the townsfolk, but for the most part, people had been welcoming. She hadn’t held any delusion of being able to stay or set down roots, but she’d hoped to be able to linger a while. Now all she could look forward to was staying in the room she’d already paid for and lay low for a couple of days before leaving town.
Where the hell she would go next was beyond her. It didn’t matter how far she traveled, or how fast she went, her clan, or worse yet, Adrian and his band of nasty men were right there one step behind her. Charlotte glanced over her shoulder before ducking left. As soon as she was around the corner, she ran down a narrow alley. Light on her feet, she hardly made a sound, but that didn’t matter. Dragons had incredible hearing.
She didn’t look back as she ran. If they were following, her energy would be better spent running than looking for them. Her lungs burned as she dashed around the corner at the other end of the laneway, going full speed. At lease, she had been until she slammed straight into what could have been a brick wall were it not for the warmth radiating from it, and the grunt the man made as she plowed into him. His hands came up to steady her. Tiny bursts of electricity rushed through her where his hands rested against her skin, making her gasp as she pulled away. His big blue eyes caught her gaze, keeping her imprisoned for a beat before she shook herself out of it.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she looked over her shoulder. She still couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean a thing. The man was saying something, but she didn’t hear him over the blood rushing past her eardrums. Deep inside, her dragon lifted her head, sniffing the air, her interest in the stranger making Charlotte want to lean in closer for a good whiff. Shaking her head, she forced herself to pull back. She took one last look at him before darting around him and running as fast as her legs would take her. As gorgeous as the man was, she wouldn’t let that be the reason she was captured and sent to Adrian.
Another hundred feet and she’d be in the park, another two blocks after that, and she’d be safe, at least temporarily. As long as the breeze continued to blow down the mountain, any lingering scent she might leave behind would be swept away in a matter of minutes.
It wasn’t until she unlocked the door to her dingy apartment and slammed it closed behind her that she allowed herself to process what had happened.
A huge shadow had blocked the sun for a moment, but that was all it took to send her scurrying for cover. Of course, there were other dragons about, and it could have been anyone out flying across the bright morning sky, but Charlotte couldn’t afford to take chances. One mistake and she would be right back where she had started two months ago. As melodramatic as it sounded, she would rather die than let that happen. She was no fool. Having run from her clan could very well mean her death regardless, but only if they caught up with her. At least, she had a chance at freedom. A life on the run had to be better than mating to the cruel man her brother had chosen for her.
Charlotte leaned against the wooden door she had locked behind her. It wasn’t until she brushed the hair from her face that she caught the scent of the man she’d knocked into lingering on her palms. She gasped. Heart pounding, she pulled her shirt up and pressed her nose into the soft material, taking a long sniff. The faint scent made her dragon stir. Nervous energy vibrated through her. Part of her wanted to go back out, and look for the man to get more of his delicious scent on her clothes—on her skin.
“What the hell are you thinking, Charlotte?” she scolded herself. “That would be suicide, and for what? A sniff of a man you don’t even know?” She pulled herself away from the door and headed for her backpack. She had to figure out where she would go from there. She had enough food to last two days, three at the most, and enough money to keep her for a couple of weeks. After that, she’d be screwed if she couldn’t find someplace to hide where she could earn a bit of money before she had to run again. With a heavy sigh, she pulled out her maps. There had to be somewhere she could go that they wouldn’t find her.
***
Jace struggled to catch his breath. It wasn’t that the little slip of a woman who had run right into him had knocked it out of him, but rather what she—and her scent—represented that had his heart racing and his lungs burning for air.
Mate.
Her short sleeved shirt hugged her body, revealing curves that made his mouth water, but he forced his gaze to her face. When she tilted it up, beautiful green eyes the color of emeralds shone up at him. Not in recognition or even joy, but in fear. What the hell was she afraid of? The last thing he’d ever do was hurt her. Her whole body was tense as he steadied her on her feet.
“Hi there. I’m Jace. Is everything okay?” he asked her, trying not to freak her out by holding her to him, but unable to quite let go.
She swallowed hard, her mouth gaping open a little as she looked at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she brushed long strands of luxurious red hair from her face. Not the kind of red hair that women sometimes found in a box, no, it was glorious and shiny, and the color of fire shining in the sunlight.
Her husky voice sent heat rushing through him, and he had to fight from pulling her closer. “What’s wrong? I’d be happy—”
The woman whipped her head around, looking over her shoulder before rushing past him. He took two steps after her when he realized that she hadn’t been afraid of him. She was running from something, or someone. Squaring his shoulders, he faced the alley, waiting. Whatever had his mate running scared would have a hell of a rude awakening if they came looking for her.
“Jace, what the hell are you doing?” Luke came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Expecting someone?” he asked as he peered in the same direction.
“Something like that.” He spared his friend a glance. “Would you believe I ran into my mate? Well, if we’re being technical, she ran into me. Literally. She was running as though the devil himself had given chase, and I’m waiting to see what the hell was after her.”
Luke gave a little whoop and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m happy for you, dude. Now you can stop moping around each time Maddie and I start smooching around you.”
“You know I’m thrilled for both you and Brycen,” he said. Sure, he’d been a little jealous of seeing his friends so happy while he didn’t have a mate, but he’d never begrudged them for it.
“I know—” Luke dropped what he was about to say when two sets footsteps sounded in the alley, drawing closer.
Recognizing the scent, Jace sighed. “It’s Austin and his latest fling.” As though to punctuate the fact, the ditzy blond giggled before they rounded the corner, announcing their arrival.
“What’s up, guys?” Jessica asked, smiling and batting her eyelashes at them as though the fake things she glued to her eyelids would make them take a second look.
“Jace is waiting for some bad guys to come down that alley. It seems they’ve somehow threatened his woman.” Luke drew out the last word.
Austin’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “Mate?” he mouthed so that Jessica wouldn’t hear. “Since when do you have a woman?” he asked aloud.
Jace couldn’t keep his grin off his face. “I don’t. Yet. But we ran into each other a few minutes ago.” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked the way the woman had run. “I think I’ll go looking for her now. Whatever had her running scared doesn’t seem to be coming this way.”
“What the hell are you waiting for? Go.” Luke nudged. “Maddie and Stella won’t be done at the salon for another hour, so I’ll just chill here for a bit in case.”
“I’ll hang around, too. You don’t mind, do you, Jess?” Austin looked at the blond whose smile had dropped.
“Yeah, sure, I guess. Come to my place later?” She leaned into him, brushing her breasts against his arms in a blatant display.
“Sure thing, sweetness.” He gave her a quick kiss and then swatted her ass as she turned away.
Nothing about that woman was right for him. They all knew it, even Austin. So why did he bother? Jace rolled his eyes but kept his opinion to himself. If he wanted to spend his downtime with her, that was his choice. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it,” he said before turning and jogging in the direction his mate had gone.
Charlotte couldn’t look at another map. Rolling her neck and shoulders, she tried to release the knots, but she was tight as a bowstring. Every few minutes, she would catch the scent of the man she’d bumped into, diverting her from the task at hand, and she couldn’t afford the distraction.
Maybe a shower would help. She didn’t want to get rid of his scent, he smelled delicious after all, but she needed to concentrate. With the curtains drawn on the one window in her small apartment, she stripped her T-shirt from her body as she went. She took another whiff of it before tossing it onto the chair on her way to the bathroom. She could always wear the T-shirt to bed later if she wanted to smell him.
She turned her back on the hot spray, hissing as it hit her tender skin. Groaning, she looked down and cupped her breasts. They were a little larger, and her nipples were more sensitive than usual.
Damn it
. Now was not the time to go into heat. She’d not had a cycle in months. Not since she’d learned she’d been sold, and she sure didn’t need one now.
With her hands still on her breasts, she squeezed them a little, giving in to her body’s needs. She imagined her tall, dark stranger standing behind her. His hands on her body. His breath warm against her neck. She slid her hands down her flat belly, tweaking her navel ring. It was the one frivolous spend she’d allowed herself since leaving her clan, and she loved it. She imagined him slipping around her and getting to his knees, his blue eyes shining up at her as he tongued the jewel. Her clit pulsed at the thought. She reached lower, needing to ease the ache before it became unbearable. If she could keep on top of it, there was a small chance she might be able to stave off the full heat. Charlotte closed her eyes and pictured the man still on his knees. He grinned up at her before trailing his tongue down lower. Her fingers slipped between her folds just as his tongue did in her mind.
She had barely touched herself when she heard a soft knock on her door, and then a few seconds later, the doorknob rattling. Had she locked it? Unwilling to let whoever was out there know that she’d heard, she stepped out of the shower and left the water running. She took a half second to dry herself as much as she could before squirming into her jeans. The damned shirt was in the other room. Not that it mattered. The bathroom didn’t have a window out of which she could escape, so she had to go back to the living area one way or the other. She just didn’t want to give Adrian a chance to see her naked if he’d made his way into the apartment.