Dark Heart of the Dragon

by Sophie Stern

  Aftercare is where that happened.

  Dean noted that a couple of people moved to the stage to begin cleaning up. It was nice that Anthony hired employees to work in the club. Having extra hands meant the club was a safe, clean place to play. There were bouncers and security personnel, but there were also roamers who simply helped where they were needed. This might include helping set up a scene, moving furniture, or sanitizing equipment after.

  Dean looked to where Renee was sitting on the couch with Ava. Ava’s head was in Renee’s lap and Renee was stroking her hair.

  He wondered what she was saying, what she was feeling. The scene hadn’t been particularly extreme or wild, but it had been passionate and sweet. Ava looked beautiful when she orgasmed and Renee was the one to thank for that.

  She hadn’t gotten off during the scene, but that was all right. Many times, the top just wanted to focus on the bottom. He was the same way. He loved making his subs come apart on stage, but he preferred to climax later, when they were alone, when he could truly focus on the person he was with.

  He liked the intimacy of coming alone.

  Was Renee like that, too?

  When she was done with Ava, he would whisk her away. He would take her home and make love to her and he would make her come. He would eat her pussy forever, lick her body until she came for him over and over again.

  That was what he wanted.

  What he needed.

  As he stood there in the midst of the crowd surrounded by the sounds of sex, laughter, and excitement, he watched Renee.

  She held his heart.

  She didn’t know how precious she was to him yet, but she would. She didn’t know how perfect she was, but she would.

  He would show her.

  They had the rest of their lives to figure out how they’d make this thing work. They had the rest of their lives to get to know each other, to fall in love over and over again.

  He had the rest of his life to make her feel like she was the most incredible dragoness in the world.

  Dean looked at Renee and he smiled.

  He couldn’t wait to get started.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Sophie Stern writes paranormal romance and contemporary erotica for readers who like to have fun and explore new worlds. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her pole dancing or reading zombie novels. Sophie lives with her ex-military husband who is always happy to help her conduct research for her books.

  Find out more or at www.sexysophiestern.com or join her mailing list to receive updates and information on sales.

  Red: Into the Dark

  Want more shifters? I have another series featuring a naughty Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf who captures her heart – and her body.

  Check out the first chapter here or get your own copy on Amazon.

  Red:

  When Red witnesses her grandmother's murder, she escapes into the woods before the killer - who happens to be her older brother - can catch her.

  The cabin in the forest is peaceful, quiet, and isolated. It has everything she needs to survive. It even comes with a pet wolf who keeps her company.

  But when her brother's henchmen find her hiding spot, she's all alone in the fight for her life.

  Nash:

  He didn't expect a human to wander into shifter territory, but now that she's here, Nash can't imagine life without Red.

  When she's attacked by wolves in the dark of the forest, Nash has no choice but to save her.

  There's just one problem: she doesn't know he's a shifter.

  Prologue

  Nash

  I’m late getting back, but that doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to see Elise. I really missed her today. It was my first time going out on a hunt in quite awhile, and I want to tell her all about it. Maybe I’m lame compared to her Alpha boyfriend, but my cousin loves me, and I know she’ll be excited to hear all about today’s adventures.

  She’s always teased me about my hunting ability, but not today. Nope, today is going to be different. As soon as I find Elise, I’m going to tell her everything that happened today. She won’t believe it. She won’t believe that today, I conquered the forest. It might just be a few rabbits, but I feel like I conquered the world.

  For the first time in a long time, things are looking up. Maybe it’s because the Alpha didn’t come on this hunt and I was in charge or maybe it’s just because I got to run with my friends all day, but I feel free.

  I feel freer than I have in years.

  Things have been a bit rocky between Elise and me since she started dating the Alpha. I’m not sure if “dating” is the right word for it. “Whoring” sounds so mean when it’s about my cousin, but that’s more accurate.

  Elise is sleeping with the Alpha of the Silent Canines and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.

  I tried to convince her he was bad news, tried to show her the error of her ways, but none of that matters. She believes what she wants to believe, and I have to live with that. We all have to live with that.

  The truth is that Elise is an adult. She can date who she likes. As long as the Alpha doesn’t hit her or hurt her, who am I to complain?

  I hurry into the cave ahead of the others. We were all hunting all day and we’re all more than ready for supper. Ryder and Thorn take my rabbits to clean, knowing I’m in a bit of a rush to see Elise. Markus goes with them, along with Marybeth and a few other wolves.

  They were all great today and we’re all feeling a bit of a rush. I hurry to my cousin’s room and lift my hand to knock, but when I reach her door, I’m overwhelmed by the scent of something tangy.

  Something metallic.

  Something I know very, very well.

  Blood.

  I don’t take the time to process what I smell. Instead, I push open the door and rush inside. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m standing in the center of Elise’s room and she’s here.

  She’s here.

  Her body lies in a crumpled heap on the floor and I can see why I smelled blood: she’s covered in it. My beautiful cousin is covered in blood and she’s not breathing.

  He killed her.

  “Elise?” I whisper even though I know it’s useless. She’s already gone and I’m too late. I’m too late for her.

  I ignore the blood as I pick her up and hold her in my arms. She’s still warm. Knowing I was so close to making it back, knowing I almost was able to save her, it’s too much.

  The tears come before I know what’s happening and soon I’m sobbing.

  No.

  No.

  No.

  This can’t be happening.

  A scream escapes me before I cover my mouth. I can’t let them hear me. Not yet. Not like this. She deserves to be taken care of, even in death. Screaming will only make the other wolves panic. It’ll only raise questions. It’ll only cause chaos.

  But she’s gone.

  And I was too late to stop it.

  Elise was so young and full of life. She was so sweet and wonderful. Who would do this? And why? Who would take such a sweet shifter away from the pack? Who would take away the woman who loved these wolves more than anyone else? Who would slaughter the one woman who wanted to see the pack become a safer, better place?

  I know the answer even if no one else does.

  He did this.

  Why?

  Did he even have a reason?

  Who knows why the Alpha does anything?

  He’s a bad man. A monster. He’s a creep and he needs to die. Now, worst of all, he’s a murderer who killed the woman I love more than anyone else in the world.

  Elise.

  I hear footsteps coming down the hall and I lay her body back down. He might be coming back. I don’t know. I can guarantee he’ll try to pin this on me somehow, but I don’t know how. I was gone when it happened. Still, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Alpha will make me pay. He won’t take responsibility for this and he’ll need someo
ne to blame. Who better than me?

  A million questions race through my mind, jumbling my train of thought. I can’t focus as I’m bombarded with questions I need answers to.

  Why would he hurt her now?

  Why like this?

  I want to sit here and cry over my cousin for awhile, but I know I can’t. Time is a luxury I just don’t have. Tired, dirty, worn out…I’m in no shape to fight, especially not multiple guys, and the Alpha always has his groupies with him.

  I hear Kyle and Russell’s voices as their footsteps come down the hall. That was faster than I expected. I glance around the room, but hiding spots are few and far between. I settle with slipping into the closet, happy that our wolf caves are designed to look more like luxury apartments than your typical cave rooms. Turns out, I moved just in time. As I close the door over, leaving it just a crack, they enter the room.

  “Whew,” Kyle says, looking around. “He did a number on her.”

  “Yeah.” Russell sounds less enthused. “Where’d Nash go?”

  “Markus and Marybeth said he was coming to talk to Elise. He should have found her by now.”

  I close my eyes as they talk, hoping the scent of her blood covers my anguish and fear. They’ll smell me if they tried, but something tells me they aren’t trying their best right now.

  No, they’re much too focused on my cousin, much too centered on whatever mission the Alpha sent them on.

  “We need to find him, get him in here,” Kyle says. “He’s supposed to have her blood on him before dinner so the Alpha can end him.”

  “I know. Nothing like an easy scapegoat, right?” He laughs. The bastard actually laughs. “Let’s go check his room. Maybe he decided to shower before meeting her.”

  They both leave, and I realize that I’m out of my element. Not only has the Alpha taken my cousin from me, but he wants to put the blame on me, too.

  I know it’s because I fought them about this relationship. It was just a few days ago that I warned Elise about him. Did she tell him? Was that part of their pillow talk? Did she confide in her boyfriend that her cousin didn’t like him because he was dangerous?

  The Alpha has never liked me, but this is extreme. This is over-the-top.

  I also know that no one would dare question him. If he tells everyone I killed Elise, no matter how little sense it makes, everyone will believe him. Even if they don’t believe it, they won’t question it.

  They’ll be too afraid to question it.

  It’ll be the pack against me, and I just can’t deal with this right now. I have to get out. First, though, there’s someone I need to see.

  I peek out the door. The hallway is clear, so I move quickly down to my aunt’s room. I don’t bother knocking before I slip inside.

  “Nash,” she says, looking up. She’s obviously surprised to see me, but then she takes in my appearance. Then her eyes meet mine. “Oh, no,” she covers her mouth as she starts to cry. She can obviously smell Elise’s blood on me. I know she can.

  Before she can cry loudly, though, before the sobs arrive, I cover her mouth with my hand and pull her close to me.

  “I found her,” I whisper. “I just got back from the hunt, and I found her. It was the Alpha. He’s going to say I did it.”

  My aunt just shakes her head, but I have to tell her.

  “There’s not much time. I have to leave or he’ll kill me. They’re going to come after me. You should come with me.”

  She shakes her head. Elise wasn’t her daughter, but my aunt loves her like one. When our parents were killed, Aunt Germaine took in Elise and me and raised us as her own children. We’re all she has in the world.

  “I’m an old woman,” she says. “They won’t come after me, honey, but you need to run. Do you hear? You need to run.”

  She’s right, and for once, I’m glad I don’t have any weird ideas about staying behind to try to take on a group of angry wolves. Part of me thinks I should challenge the Alpha. If I was the one in control of the pack, things would be different. Things would be better.

  I’m not the one in charge, though, and right now, it’s hard to see through the tears that are still falling for Elise. There will be plenty of time to cry later, but right now? Right now I need to get out.

  Aunt Germaine starts rustling through a box under her bed, and pulls out some clothes.

  “These were my husband’s,” she says, thrusting them toward me. I’m already undressing and pulling the new garments on. “They’ll mask your scent long enough to get you out of the cave. Take the back entrance,” she warns me, and I nod. She doesn’t give me money or food, but where I’m going, I won’t need it.

  I kiss my aunt one more time and try to memorize her face.

  “I’ll be back,” I tell her, and she nods.

  “Take care of yourself,” she warns, and then I’m gone.

  I grew up in these caves. I know every hall, every tunnel. I know every entrance and it doesn’t take me long to get outside. There, I run like mad, keeping my clothes and shoes on as I do. I would be faster if I shift, but I want to have these with me in case I need them.

  Hours pass, but I keep pushing on, keep moving through the woods. I’m afraid if I slow down, the darkness will find me. He killed Elise in cold blood and I wasn’t there to stop it. My heart is torturing me. The physical pain of losing her is overwhelming and I stop more than once to vomit before I keep running.

  When I finally find the dilapidated hunting cabin, it’s well past midnight. The tiny home looks abandoned and I wonder how long it’s been since someone last stayed here. I stumble up to the porch and look around.

  “Home sweet home,” I whisper.

  Home sweet home.

  1.

  Red

  It’s already dark when I pull into onto Grandmother’s street. I should have hurried, but my boss has a nasty habit of keeping me long after I’m ready to leave. That’s my fault. I should stand up for myself, I know. It’s just that when you’ve been kissing ass your entire life, trying to get ahead, learning how to stop and stand up for yourself can be hard.

  It can be damn near impossible.

  Cute two-story homes line the street of Gram’s suburban road. I feel good about her living here. She might be getting older, but she deserves to be happy, and I know that here, she’s surrounded by kids and young families. She gets to spend her free time baking cookies for the neighborhood kids and babysitting and listening to their problems.

  She loves it, and I miss her.

  She’s left the porch light on for me and it glows like a beacon of hope: a beacon of safety. Her car is in the driveway and her neighbors are obviously all home because the curb in front of her house already has a car in front of it. I park a ways down the road from her house and haul my duffel bag up to her porch. I’m ready for our weekend getaway.

  I don’t need to knock, but I do, anyway. Old habits die hard. Even though I haven’t lived with Gram in awhile, I still try to show her respect by knocking. It’s a little thing, but it’s one way I remind her that I know that this is her space. I’m her guest and she’s invited me. I don’t expect anything from her.

  She doesn’t owe me anything.

  I hear the pitter-patter of her feet against the hardwood floor and I smile as I imagine her peeking through the peephole. Gram never lets anyone in without peeking first. She’s a stickler for safety that way.

  In some ways, I’m glad she’s so stringent when it comes to her own safety. It means I’m not constantly worried about her. A lot of people feel fear when it comes to their grandparents living on their own, but not me. Gram is one independent, happy ol’ gal and I’m lucky to have her in my life.

  “Red,” she says finally, opening the door with a smile.

  “Thanks for letting me sleep over,” I hug my grandmother tightly. I don’t care how cliché it is. She smells like freshly baked cookies and Christmastime.

  Always.

  “Anytime, dear,” she says softly. “Anytim
e.”

  It’s been awhile since I lived with Grandma. Now that I live in the port town of Nellenston, working at a law firm, I don’t see her nearly as much as I ought to. I went to college in Ashborne, where she lives, and we made wonderful roommates. When my parents died freshman year, it made sense that I would live with Grandma. We were both heartbroken and lost, but we managed to get through the darkness together.

  Without her, I don’t know what I would have done.

  Nobody expects to lose their parents as an 18-year-old. It just doesn’t happen. I learned the hard way that it does happen, though, and that there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

  Gram kept me sane. Her own heartbreak at losing her daughter and son-in-law was evident, but she was able to see past her own sadness enough to help me. I know I can never repay her for that, but I do my best.

  That’s what this weekend is all about: reconnecting, being grateful, and communicating. We’re going to have some hardcore “girls only” time that’s long overdue.

  We used to hang out every day. I miss it. Now that I’m constantly swamped with legal cases, I only see her once or twice a month. It’s not often enough. I know Grams is worried about intruding on my life as a new graduate, but the truth is that I feel the same way.

  Does she really want to spend her retirement listening to the problems of her 25-year-old grandkid?

  I didn’t think so.

  I close the door to the little house and follow Grandma into the kitchen. I take a deep whiff and my stomach immediately growls. She shoots me a knowing look, and I smile sheepishly. We both know I’m really bad about remembering to eat. It’s definitely one of those things that falls under “I should have learned this by now.”

  “Cookies?” I ask. “Did you bake just for me?”