by Willa Hart
“Stay here,” Max snarled, his upper lip pulled up and quivering. His tone left no room for argument.
He stormed out of the office, leaving me to safely watch the five heartthrobs look around the newly redecorated lobby. Before Max even came into my field of vision, I heard his voice bouncing off the walls.
“You better have a damn good reason for showing your faces here again!”
“Listen here, old man,” the bodybuilder guy growled, taking a step toward Max. Lucky for him a couple of the other men held him back, because otherwise I would have stomped out there and told him what’s what.
The guy glared up at the Hugo Boss model, then settled down. “Told you this was a waste of time,” he groused.
Mr. Jokey Jokerson ignored the others and happily bounced on the balls of his feet as he inspected his surroundings. “Wow, Max, you’ve actually got the place looking like a functional office now. I don’t think Rufus would take an interior design class, so I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess you hired someone with good taste.”
Despite the tension in the air, my heart swelled up a little at the compliment — whether he’d meant it as one or not.
Max stopped a few feet away from the men and crossed his arms. “So my five Judases have come back just to critique the office decor, or did you come here for some other reason?”
Of course! A switch clicked audibly in my brain. The men were Max’s great-nephews who’d abandoned him. He rarely spoke of them, and Aunt Shirley had only given me a handful of details — probably out of loyalty to Max, so I couldn’t blame her — but they were enough for me to tentatively identify them.
Hugo Boss had to be Kellum, the oldest of the Novak brothers. Next came Ryen, and from what Shirley told me about him being a bit of a clown, that made him the finger waggler. Which made the brawny guy Danic. Obviously, the twins were Ash and Hale Campbell, though there was no way for me to know which was which.
Having never had a family, I still got confused on “steps” and “greats” and “once-removeds”, but I was pretty sure Kellum and his brothers were the sons of Max’s brother’s son — his nephew’s sons — while the Campbell twins were his brother’s daughter’s sons — his niece’s sons. Shirley had mentioned several times having helped raise the twins, but she’d never explained what had happened to any of the nephews’ parents.
Kellum stepped forward in his fancy suit, his hands folded behind his back. “We came to apologize for the mix-up with Rufus.”
“You mean for poaching Rufus, don’t you, Kellum?”
I only had a view of Max’s back, but I didn’t need to see his face to know he was scowling at them all.
Kellum’s lips pressed into a grim line. “I’m sorry you see it that way, Uncle Max, but I understand. We had no idea he’d been scheduled to work that day. Regardless, we could have handled the situation more professionally, and for that we’re sorry.” He glanced down the line at the others and added, “Right?”
Ryen grinned. “Right. We’re really sorry, Uncle Max. Didn’t mean to turn the big lug against you.”
One twin said, “Sorry,” at the same time the other said, “Our bad.” Danic was the last to reply, a dark frown clouding his handsome face. Kellum had to give him a very direct glare before he finally mumbled something that sounded vaguely like the most insincere apology ever given.
Despite Danic’s grudging apology, the rest seemed sincere enough. Even so, I wrestled with my warring emotions and settled on the side of Max. I waited to see how he reacted before I could decide how I felt about his great-nephews.
“We’d like to broker a deal that would allow us to share Rufus,” Kellum continued. “We could coordinate schedules so we never double-book him again. Bottom line, we just want to make sure he has enough work to pay his bills.”
Kellum’s offer sounded pretty reasonable to me, but apparently not to Max — which meant I suddenly didn’t think it sounded reasonable at all.
“So you’re saying I don’t have enough business to pay my oldest employee? Bah! What kind of boss do you think I am?”
Max took a menacing step toward Kellum, and his body started to expand, the way it had with Rufus. Danic pushed past his brothers and puffed up just as big as Max. Neither went “full dragon”, but they both growled and their eyes flashed bright colors, as if they were gearing up for a fight.
“That’s it!” I snapped and turned for the door. No one was going to threaten Max while I was around, no matter how swoon-worthy they were!
STAY PUT!
Max’s voice rang so loud and clear in my head I stumbled on my way to the door. Before I could make sense of how a man standing in the lobby could talk to my brain in a completely different room, the voice came again.
I’VE GOT THIS.
As if in a dream, I turned to the window and tried to make sense of what just happened. Max, on the other hand, didn’t waste a moment.
“Get out,” he seethed. “And never come back.”
Kellum hadn’t moved a muscle, but he finally frowned and grabbed his brother by the collar. The dragony part of Danic deflated, but his eyes still bored holes into Max.
“Let’s go,” Kellum said calmly to the others. “Sorry to have bothered you, Uncle Max.”
With that, Max’s nephews filtered out one by one, Kellum keeping tight hold of Danic and practically dragging him out. Max remained silent and watched as his traitors filtered out of his office and out of his life.
I couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief that a fight hadn’t broken out. Other than in my dreams, I had yet to see a fully transformed dragon, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to. Of course, if they all looked like Max’s nephews, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Thank you for reading THE GLOW OF THE DRAGON’S HEART, the prequel to the Harem of Fire series! I hope you enjoyed meeting Favor. In Book 1, The Spark of the Dragon’s Heart, she’s all grown up and finally meets Max’s nephews, and wow! What a meeting it is! 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,
I’m so happy you joined me on this journey! I promise I’ll do everything I can to fulfill your every wish — at least where reverse harem romances are concerned. :-)
A little about me. I’m a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author who wanted to stretch her literary wings without pissing off her existing fans. As crazy as it sounds, not everyone thinks being romantically connected with three or more hot studs is fracking awesome. I know, right? Cray!
And so Willa Hart was born!
For the last year, I’ve been working on three different series for this name. One of my promises to you is that I will never release a single book in a series until that series is completely written. No more half-finished series frustrations!
Now on to this series, Harem of Fire. When I started working on the plot, Favor Fiske sprang into my mind and wouldn’t leave me be. I love her strength, despite (or maybe because of) her tragic past, but it’s her vulnerability that really makes her special.
In this prequel, you learned a little about Favor’s history, and are introduced to the key players, including the Novak brothers and the Campbell twins. If you haven’t figured it out by now (yeah, right!), you’ll be seeing a LOT more of those fine fellas in the upcoming books. While romance is only hinted at in this book, I felt it was important to show you the events in Favor’s life that would change everything.
Which brings me to what to expect next from Harem of Fire. The Spark of the Dragon’s Heart starts five years after the prequel. Favor is twenty-two and ready to prove herself, but she needs help. Gee, I wonder who she asks… :-D
I’ll leave it at that for now, but you can learn more by paging through until you reach the excerpt I�
��ve included at the end.
I wanted the Harem of Fire series to be epic, to span continents and time, to suck you in and never let you go. I think I’ve fulfilled that goal, and I truly hope you agree.
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 RH 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 Spark of the Dragon’s Heart
Harem of Fire Book 1
One human girl. Five scorching hot dragons. A thousand reasons not to want them. None of those reasons matter.
It’s been five years since my great-aunt and her husband rescued me from foster care — and since I discovered dragons exist.
For reals.
Yeah, I had a hard time believing it too, but now I’m learning what it means to be a dragon keeper — a human with special powers who acts as a sort of liaison between dragons and the unsuspecting human world.
When Uncle Max leaves town and entrusts me with my first case, I’m forced to enlist the help of the last five P.I.s on earth he’d want me to ask — his nephews. As much as I want to hate them for betraying Max, when we all finally meet face to face, the earth shakes with the instant connection between us.
And those powers I’m supposed to have? They seem to grow stronger the more time I spend with the devastatingly sexy dragon shifters.
But the confusing attraction I have for all five men will have to wait until we solve this mystery. That’s if we don’t stumble upon an even bigger one along the way.
Spoiler: We do!
Excerpt
My heart thundered in my chest and my feet itched to bolt from the cafe when the door opened and my heart stopped. I knew Kellum Novak in an instant, even before my brain could catch up with my soul. It had recognized him before my eyes had — which wasn’t disturbing at all.
His eyes skimmed the crowd until he met mine, then they locked on with the intensity of a guided missile. Every cell in my body became electrified and the world around and between us ceased to exist. He aimed right for me, without me having to wave or smile or nod. He knew me, just as I’d known him.
As he weaved between the tables, I got a better look at the rest of him. A bespoke suit that reeked of money fitted his tall, lean frame perfectly, unable to hide the power lurking underneath. His jaw and cheekbones could have been sculpted by an Italian master and my fingers twitched to trace the hard contours.
During my slightly wayward teenage years, I’d certainly had brushes with more dangerous men than him — the kind of guys who liked to prey on the naïve, the vulnerable, the easily intimidated. Sadly for them, I never considered myself any of those things. Maybe it was spending the first five years of my life with loving parents who taught me how to be strong, but I had a pretty sensible head on my shoulders. I considered myself pretty damn unshakable, and yet Kellum shook me to my very core.
Before I could get my lungs to work properly, he sat down across from me. To my utter surprise, he smiled. A brilliant, panty-melting smile. And yet, behind that grin, I sensed something totally at odds with the relaxed expression on his face. He was tense, worried about something I couldn’t quite define. I knew it instinctively, the way a sparrow might sense an oncoming storm long before the clouds could gather. The way I knew when Max was lying to me.
“What’s bothering you?” I asked bluntly, surprising us both.
We hadn’t even introduced ourselves yet.
THE SPARK 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 Hemsworth, 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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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.
Created with Vellum
