The Spark of the Dragon's Heart: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Fantasy Romance (Harem of Fire Book 1)

by Willa Hart

“Boy, that Titus guy must have been seriously pissed off Enoch didn’t steal the right ruby,” Ryen said.

  “If he was after a ruby at all,” Kellum mused.

  “If not a ruby worth millions, then what?” Hale asked.

  Kellum shook his head. “No idea. But at least we have a name now. And an unusual one, at that. Shouldn’t be too hard to track him down.”

  “And here I was hoping we’d never have to see that guy again,” groaned Ryen.

  “Yeah, we were pretty lucky to have survived this attack,” Ash said, his brow furrowed.

  “Were we?” Kellum asked. “I mean, was it luck? Or something else?”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, frowning in confusion. “Isn’t that dome thing something they taught at dragon school?”

  Ryen snorted. “Dragon school? What are you talking about?”

  I looked at each one in turn. “You know, where they teach you how to do all the cool dragon stuff. Like creating a flame-repelling dome with your wings.”

  They exchanged amused and somewhat confused glances.

  “Are you telling me you never practiced that maneuver before?” I asked, incredulous.

  “No,” Danic answered. “I never even knew it was even a thing before, in all honesty.”

  Ash nodded. “Me neither. It just…”

  “Happened,” Hale finished.

  “Like instinct,” Ryen added.

  That was impossible. That five dragons would all know simultaneously that creating a protective dome over me would somehow keep me safe from dragon fire. Simply impossible.

  Yet…not.

  “You saved me,” I squeaked, overcome by even more emotion than I thought possible.

  “Thank god,” Kellum said, his voice hoarse with his own emotions. “Something strange happened. I have no idea what’s going on, Favor, but it seems to center around you.”

  Heat flamed in my cheeks, and it wasn’t from the fire that had totally decimated Enoch’s shack. But he was right. We could all feel it, that much was obvious. We had somehow become connected on a deeper, more primal level than I ever realized existed. More than mere friendship, or even kinship.

  I had yet to experience it, but going by Uncle Max’s description, it felt more like the mystical link between a keeper and her dragon. Or in this case, dragons. Which made no sense. Max had never once mentioned the possibility a keeper could have more than one dragon, much less five. Max had also made it perfectly clear that sex almost never came into play between a par’tia and his or her dragon. And without question, I was absolutely hot for each one of these men.

  Not that I wanted to admit that out loud, especially with sirens approaching fast. A pinprick of blood appeared on the edge of the horizon and I knew it was a fire truck, coming to finish off the already dying inferno.

  “Now it’s really time to go!” Kellum said, herding everyone to Ash’s gaudy truck.

  They crammed me in the middle of the bench seat again, while the Novaks hunkered in the back. We raced away in the opposite direction, searching for the road back home.

  “A thunder,” Kellum said, biting into another of Aunt Shirley’s snickerdoodles.

  “Excuse me?” I asked.

  “You asked what a group of dragons is called. It’s called a thunder.”

  “Nuh uh,” Danic interjected. “It’s called a rage.”

  “That’s just wishful thinking, cuz,” Hale said, elbowing his temperamental cousin. “I personally prefer the term wing. Doesn’t a wing of dragons sound nice?”

  “Well, considering how badly we beat Titus and his pals,” Ryen said, snatching two cookies from the plate in the middle of Shirley’s kitchen table, “I’d call that group an ‘embarrassment’.”

  All six of us, plus Shirley and Rufus, sat crowded around the kitchen table, going over the events of the day. I’d already checked on Zoe and she was still sleeping off her own battle in my room. Shirley wrung her hands and fretted over us as our story unfolded, constantly interrupting to make sure none of us were injured, then flitting around the circle of us, hugging each in turn. Then she’d brought out the big guns.

  Snickerdoodles.

  “I can’t believe you all got into so much trouble,” she lamented as she put another tray of cookies in the oven. “You need to be more careful.”

  “We weren’t looking for a fight, Aunt Shirley,” Hale assured her.

  “We were just doing our jobs,” finished Ash.

  “Even so,” she said, planting her hands on her hips with a concerned scowl, “you have to watch your back. It’s a scary world out there, and if anything were to happen to any of you…”

  “We’re fine,” Kellum said gently. “We survived.”

  She pressed her lips into a hard line. “And what about Favor? She doesn’t have claws and sharp teeth and fire on her side. No offense, dear,” she added, patting my shoulder.

  I managed to give her a smile. “None taken.”

  She had a point. I didn’t have the raw strength and power the boys had. I was fragile compared to them. Delicate. Flimsy.

  A liability.

  “It just doesn’t feel right to hold this kind of meeting without your uncle here,” she complained again, for the umpteenth time.

  “Tell us where he is and we’ll invite him,” Danic growled.

  Shirley frowned even harder, worry shading her normally cheery demeanor. “I wish I knew. He’s usually not gone this long, especially without calling.”

  “Maybe Favor can find out,” Ash said, ever so helpfully.

  Shirley’s eyes grew wide. “You can contact him? Oh, Favor, please find out when he’s coming home.”

  My heart went out to her. She missed her husband. Sadly, I couldn’t help.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Shirl. I wish I could, but so far this whole psychic connection thing I have with Max — if that’s what it even is — is spontaneous, totally involuntary. I’ve tried summoning him, or whatever it’s called, but nothing happens. I haven’t figured out how to control it yet. All I can tell you is that the last time I talked with him — assuming I wasn’t hallucinating — he was in his lair. That’s all I know. I’m sorry.”

  Shirley spun around quickly, but not before I spotted wetness pooling in her blue eyes. “Well, he’d better get his sorry ass back here soon. This is all getting out of control, and you all need your casique to guide you.”

  We all stared at her, mouths gaping wide over her mild curse, until she turned to find out why we’d fallen silent. She rolled her eyes and went back to whipping up another batch of cookies.

  “Oh, like none of you ever cuss.”

  Rufus cleared his throat and brought the discussion back on topic. “So, you said the Romanian’s name is Titus?”

  “That’s what Enoch told me,” I said, my tone dropping low to add, “as he was dying.”

  “Titus,” Rufus said, as if testing the name out. He shook his head. “Never heard of him, but Max doesn’t tell me a lot. I’ll ask around, see if I can dig up any dirt.”

  “Why don’t you base yourself out of Drakonis,” Kellum suggested. “At least for the time being.”

  Anxiety ratcheted up inside my chest. “Why? Why not work from Max’s office?”

  “Because Max’s idea of high-tech is a typewriter and a rotary phone. Favor, there’s a reason we left. We need real technology if we’re going to figure out what’s going on here.”

  “Yeah, kinda tricky to get a Selectric to spit out a background check,” Ryen said with a chuckle.

  “Besides,” Danic added, “we have our regular cases to work on too.”

  It all made sense. I didn’t like it, but it made sense. Apparently my devotion to Max hadn’t faded, even with my connection with the boys growing. It just didn’t feel right to pursue this case — Max’s case — in a way that would offend his sensibilities. But arguing about it would get us nowhere, especially since I was working from a place of nostalgia, not logic.

  Regardless, thin
gs had shifted between us, the boys and me. As much as the battle with Titus had terrified me, as painful as it had been to watch Enoch die in my arms, I knew that I was stronger and smarter when I was surrounded by the boys.

  My boys.

  Together, we were capable of handling whatever came at us. Something greater than simple attraction was at play. I suspected it had to do with my keeper status, but until I could talk to Uncle Max about it, I wouldn’t know for sure. What I knew without a shred of doubt was that as long as I stayed close to my boys, everything would work out — whatever that meant. We’d figure it out. Together.

  And this nonsense with the Romanian named Titus, I knew in my gut it was about more than just a stolen ruby. It wasn’t just a case. It felt like a mission. Like destiny.

  Before I could broach that particular topic, I heard a noise from the hallway and we all fell silent. Zoe shuffled into the doorway, looking little better than a zombie, her face creased from sleep and her hair a total mess. She blinked blearily at us, then yawned wide and deep. I was relieved she was up and around, but she couldn’t have picked a worse time to sneak up on us. How much had she heard?

  “Jesus, did I just stumble into a dragon’s den or something?” she asked, scowling at us.

  Every last one of us gaped at her. Very few humans knew about dragons, and the penalties for revealing their existence without a very good reason were severe.

  Then Zoe wrinkled her nose and fanned her face. “Oh, my bad. It’s just my breath. Ooh, are those snickerdoodles?”

  Thank you for reading THE SPARK OF THE DRAGON’S HEART. Favor’s story continues in The Heat of the Dragon’s Heart in some very sexy and dangerous ways. Check out an excerpt by closing any pop-up window your device might show and pressing on.

  If you want to stay up-to-date on my release schedule, get free content, and anything else fun I can think of, join my mailing list at www.willahart.com/go/list.

  Afterword

  Dearest reader,

  Publishing a book is a little like that dream we all have where you walk into class naked. You’re exposing yourself to people, revealing parts of you that you might not be comfortable showing, especially to strangers. That’s what releasing this series of books feels like to me.

  I’ve spent the last year+ working on this series, plus two more. As an established New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, I understand the pain of starting an exciting new series only to wait months or even years for the next book, so when I decided to start this new reverse harem pen name (why doesn’t everyone think falling in love with five guys is awesome?! sigh), I pledged to never start releasing a series until the whole thing was fully written. Which means I’ve been living with these characters for a very long time, and to say I’ve fallen in love with them is an understatement.

  Favor is kick ass but remains vulnerable in all the right ways. Kellum’s take-charge attitude gets me all fluttery inside. Ryen’s smart mouth always makes me laugh. One-man army Danic and his soft rock music make me swoon. And then the twins. They’re brainy and thoughtful and maybe a little reckless, not to mention smokin’ hot. What’s not to love?

  The trouble with writing a five-plus book series (you didn’t miss the FREE PREQUEL did you?) is that timelines can shift and events can change the deeper into it you get. That’s what happened with this series. When I first started writing, Favor’s “boys” were one age, but by Book 3, I realized they needed to be much older in dragon years for the timeline of events to work. I also mentioned something in the prequel that should have remained a secret until Book 2. Oops! But that’s the way it goes when you’re writing an epic series that spans continents and time. It’s a tricky business! (If you find any weird discrepancies, please shoot me an email at authorwillahart@gmail.com.)

  The story of Favor and her boys continues in Book 2 of the Harem of Fire series, The Heat of the Dragon’s Heart. In it, Titus the asshole ups the ante and causes all sorts of trouble, while Favor’s connection with the boys strengthens in some very sexy ways. If you thought this series would be a slow burn till the end, Book 2 will knock that notion right out of your head! Check out the excerpt by closing any popup your reader might show and moving on to the next page.

  If you want to stay up-to-date on my release schedule, get free content, and anything else fun I can think of, join my mailing list at www.willahart.com/go/list.

  Thanks for joining me on this exciting journey. I hope you’re having as much fun as I am!

  All my ❤️

  PS: If you have a second, I’d really appreciate if you left a review on Amazon, Bookbub or Goodreads, post about it in your favorite Facebook reading groups, or simply tell a friend. Reviews help my books gain visibility, plus they help other readers know what to expect. Talk about a win-win! Thank you so much!

  Excerpt from The Heat of the Dragon’s Heart

  Harem of Fire Book 2

  They saved her life. Can she save theirs?

  My guys saved me from a deadly attack by enemy dragons, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of danger. Not by a long shot.

  For the last five years, I hated them, but I’ve learned to trust them. Not just with my life, but with my heart as well. I don’t understand how I can be so drawn to each of them equally, but whenever we’re together I feel so…complete.

  It’s a mystery.

  Another mystery is why a rogue dragon from Romania wants to kill me. At first I think he’s simply crazy, but when I learn the truth about what he’s done, it’s me who wants to kill him.

  Bummer that he’s an all-powerful dragon and I’m just a measly human. But as my connection with my guys deepens, my dragon keeper powers grow. The question is, will they be enough to save myself and those I love?

  Excerpt

  The world around us melted away. All I knew was Kellum’s hands sliding down my waist, curving around to my back and slipping down to take my ass in his hands. He pulled me into him at the same time he pressed hard against me, showing me exactly how he felt. I moaned against his tongue, almost collapsing with need for him. I wanted — no, needed — our bodies to meld together so tightly, so completely, that it would be impossible to tell where one of us ended and the other began. I wanted him to swallow me up, wrap me in the comforting darkness of the tight space between us until the entire universe fell away into nothingness.

  None of it mattered now anyway. Not Enoch’s death. Not Max’s disappearance. Not even the fact that, somewhere down the hall, Aunt Shirley and the rest of my boys were waiting for us to join them. Somewhere in the cobwebby corners of my mind, I knew it wasn’t the best idea to make out with Kellum in the foyer of my aunt’s house, but again…didn’t matter.

  What did matter was that he was here now. That I was here. That we were together.

  Just five years ago, I hadn’t even known he — any of them, actually — existed. So much had changed for me in such a short amount of time that it made my head spin. Spending twelve years in foster care, only to learn I had a secret family hidden away in California. That was a surprise. But then to learn dragons actually existed? Yeah, that one threw me for a loop for a while. Then to learn I had some kind of fluky special powers that let me send out telepathic messages and drop myself into places I’d never been before?

  Mind.

  Blown.

  But none of that held a flame to how I felt with Kellum’s lips on mine. I opened my eyes a little, unable to resist a peek at his handsome face. His lids veiled the oceanic depths of his eyes. I allowed my finger to trace the arch of his eyebrow, drawing a sigh from him as he deepened our kiss. How on earth could a man like this want a girl like me?

  THE HEAT OF THE DRAGON’S HEART

  ON AMAZON

  About the Author

  Just like everyone else in the world (except politicians and the entire Kardashian family), Willa Hart hates talking about herself. Seriously, what’s she supposed to say? That she’s the most talented author in the world? That Liam Hemswor
th, Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan are knocking down her door for the honor of starring in the big-screen adaptation of her latest romance novel? That readers get into hair-pulling, kidney-punching, nipple-twisting brawls while standing in line to buy one of her books?

  LIES!

  Just like every other wordsmith in the world, she’s certain everything she writes (including her own bio) sucks big, fat, hairy donkey danglers. But deep down she hopes and prays you are just a little bit delusional and think she is a great writer, that Liam, Zac and Michael would be idiots to not want a part in her movie, and that you’d twist every perky nip you could get your fingers on just to look at her new book. Of course, she’s not holding her breath, but…can’t a girl dream?

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  Visit www.willahart.com to learn what’s coming next!

  Copyright © 2019 by Willa Hart

  All rights reserved.

  Cover art by Yocla Designs

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are obviously a work of fiction or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author, as well as being highly unlikely.

  This story contains sexually explicit material, and is intended only for persons over the age of 18. All of the characters involved in the sexual situations in this story are intended to be 18 years of age or older, whether they are explicitly described as such or not.

  The cover art for this book makes use of licensed stock photography. All photography is for illustrative purposes only and all persons depicted are models.