Finding the Dragon

by Jessie Donovan

  “Your father is with Rafe and Nikki. Something about Rafe wanting to make sure Nikki doesn’t fall down the stairs.”

  Jane rolled her eyes. “She might be six months pregnant, but she’s not that big yet.”

  “You know your brother and how protective he is of those he cares for. He could have twenty people telling him Nikki was fine and he’d remain skeptical.” Leonie placed a hand on her hip and stared at Kai. “Where’re your parents?”

  Kai looked over at the door leading to the kitchen. “They should’ve heard you come in.”

  Jane wondered if Kai was referencing her mother’s tendency to talk loudly, but managed not to smile. She merely patted Kai’s arm. “Go get them. The more people in the room when Rafe arrives, the better. You’ll both behave more.”

  Grunting, Kai glared at her. “I can behave. He’s the one being irrational. You’d think he had pregnancy hormones racing through his body instead of Nikki.”

  Snorting, Jane opened her mouth to reply when her mother cut her off. “Of course you can behave, dear. But I’d like to meet your mother. We did just drive more hours than I’d like just to get here.”

  Sighing, Jane resisted placing her face in her hands. She loved her mother, but sometimes she was a bit over the top. “Please don’t guilt trip him this early in the visit, Mum.”

  Her mum tsked. “I’m just being honest. If you don’t know that my nature is to speak the truth by now, then I don’t know how you ever made a living as a journalist.”

  Jane was tempted to rub her forehead. “How about maybe toning it down just a bit? At least until after I can introduce you to Kai’s family? I don’t want them running for the hills before that. Speaking of which, maybe that’s why they’re hiding.”

  “Jane Hartley, I appreciate some backbone, but I expect a little respect from my favorite daughter.”

  “I’m your only daughter.”

  Her mum waved a hand. “That doesn’t matter. And this is who I am, so if it embarrasses you, I’ll leave.”

  Kai chuckled. “Please don’t, Leonie. You and Jane are more alike than I think my mate wants to acknowledge.”

  Jane was about to protest, but Lily and Gareth entered the room, with Delia right behind him. Jane jumped at the distraction. “Mum, this is Kai’s mum and stepdad, Lily and Gareth. The younger one is his sister, Delia. Everyone, this is my mum, Leonie Hartley.”

  Lily rushed to Jane’s mum and smiled. “Nice to finally meet you, Leonie. It’ll be nice to trade stories with another parent of a stubborn child.”

  “Tell me about it. Jane made not eating her lunches into an art form.”

  “Mum, please,” Jane said.

  Lily replied as if Jane hadn’t spoken. “Kai was the same with baths as a toddler. I half expected potatoes to start growing out of his ears.”

  Jane glanced at Kai and he shrugged. “I don’t remember it.”

  She opened her mouth to ask for details, but Nikki’s voice boomed into the room. “Stop it, Rafe. I mean it. Ask me again if I’m okay and I swear I’ll cut off one of your balls tonight.”

  “You’re the one huffing up the stairs. Me asking about your health is to be expected,” Rafe stated.

  Her dad’s calm voice came next. “Son, I’d leave it be if I were you. I think she’s serious.”

  Nikki replied, “Of course I am. And thank you, Tom, for noticing when I need a break.”

  “That isn’t fair, Nikki,” Rafe replied. “I’m allowed to be protective when your health is concerned, per our agreement.”

  “I think maybe we should revisit that agreement, to include you need to leave me be when you’re being a pain in my arse.”

  Her dad’s stern voice interjected, “I think this argument can wait. Otherwise, we may never be invited back here.”

  Rafe and Nikki murmured their apologies.

  Kai whispered, “Your dad may not be a dragon-shifter, but he knows how to put dominance in his voice.”

  Jane looked askance at her mate. “Do you blame him? He had to live with the three of us.”

  Kai grinned. “Fair point.”

  Nikki, Rafe, and her dad came into the room. Her dad’s tall, gray-haired form walked between Nikki and Rafe, no doubt to act as a buffer. He’d done the same thing many times in the past to keep Jane and Rafe from killing each other as children.

  Jane stood and Kai followed suit. Jane motioned toward her dad. “Everyone, this is my dad, Tom Hartley.” She pointed to each member of Kai’s family in turn and introduced them. Her dad nodded when she finished.

  Lily clapped her hands. “Right, now that everyone is here, let’s head into the kitchen and dining room. I have snacks laid out and I’ll put the kettle on for some tea.”

  Rafe muttered, “I need something stronger if you have it.”

  Nikki shot her mate a glance and then walked toward Jane. Threading her arm through hers, Nikki said, “I think it’s time for us to chat a bit, Jane. It seems my presence has driven my mate to drinking.”

  Sighing, Rafe said, “Nikki, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  Jane glanced at Kai and he reluctantly went to Rafe and her father. Kai slapped Rafe’s shoulder. “Come, I think there’s some larger in the kitchen. My mum might even have a secret stash of whiskey, too.”

  When Rafe merely nodded, Jane knew her brother was stressed. She leaned to Nikki’s ear and whispered, “He might be a pain in your arse, but it’s a sign of how much he loves you.”

  “I know that rationally. But carrying Rafe’s spawn is making me irritable and cranky. The next two or three months can’t go by fast enough.”

  Jane drew Nikki’s arm closer and squeezed. “Then let’s try distracting you. Your second-in-command duties have helped, but once you have some of Lily’s cooking, you’ll forget about everything else but filling your plate whilst you still can.”

  Nikki grinned. “I remember from my last visit to Snowridge.” She tugged on Jane’s arm. “Come on. Let’s hurry and snap up as much as we can before the males get to it.”

  Fully on board with the plan, Jane walked into the kitchen and past the males. As she and Nikki loaded up their plates, Jane glanced to Kai standing at the other side of the kitchen. The sight of him and his stepdad drinking beer with her dad and brother made her smile. As much as she loved the passion and love of her relationship with Kai, the little things made it that much dearer.

  And for the first time, she didn’t doubt that they’d be old and gray one day, making more memories with those that they loved. Kai was her future, and she couldn’t wait to see what it held.

  *~*~*

  Did you enjoy this story? Then please consider leaving a review. :)

  The next Stonefire Dragons book will be Craved by the Dragon, a full-length story about Killian O’Shea and Brenna Rossi. It’ll be out in March 2018. If you’re wondering about the Lochguard series, Finn and Arabella’s follow-up novella, The Dragon Family, will be out in May 2018. (Followed by Alistair Boyd’s book in Fall 2018). Just in case you didn’t know there was a Lochguard Highland Dragons series, I’m including an excerpt from the first book, The Dragon’s Dilemma, after my Author’s Note.

  If you want to stay up-to-date on new releases, then please join my newsletter on my website.

  Author’s Note

  Thanks for continuing Kai and Jane’s journey. Believe it or not, I see more things in store for them in the future. Some couples have a lot of growing to do, and this pair is definitely one of them!

  As an aside, I know that quite a few people wanted Kai and Jane’s original story, Reawakening the Dragon, to end differently. However, I knew there was a lot more to come with regards to Maggie Jones, so much so that an extra thousand words in an epilogue wouldn’t be enough. That’s why Reawakening ended the way it did—it proved Kai loved Jane and didn’t care about Maggie. And yet, there was room to play with all three characters in the future. By now, readers should be used to the fact I continue stories throughout the serie
s, which means a couple is rarely “done and discarded” at the end of their book. If you’re reading the tenth book in the Stonefire series, then I hope you trust me by now! :)

  Okay, with that out of the way I have some people I need to thank for helping me to get this book out to the world:

  To Becky Johnson and her team at Hot Tree Editing—you all are amazing. Becky gets me and helps my stories shine.

  To Clarissa Yeo of Yocla Designs—you yet again designed a beautiful cover that captures my couple perfectly. I couldn’t imagine my series without your magic.

  To Donna H., Alyson S., and Iliana G.—My three betas are amazing and provide valuable honesty. Not only that, they catch the little typos that slip through. All three of you are appreciated more than you know. <3

  And as always, I thank you, the reader, for supporting my dragons this long. When I first published Sacrificed to the Dragon I had no idea I’d reach double digits with the series, but here we are! Thanks a million times from my heart for not only reading, but also spreading the word. Word-of-mouth is more powerful than you think. And if you want a whole new way to experience my dragons, then maybe check out my audiobooks. There’s nothing better than listening to my British narrator and his take on dragon-shifters for hours… ;)

  My next release will be The Heir (Kelderan Runic Warriors #3), out in January 2018. However, if you’re curious about my dragons, Craved by the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons #11, about Killian and Brenna), will be out in March 2018.

  Thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you in the new year!

  The Dragon’s Dilemma

  (Lochguard Highland Dragons #1)

  In order to pay for her father’s life-saving cancer treatment, Holly Anderson offers herself up as a sacrifice and sells the vial of dragon’s blood. In return, she will try to bear a Scottish dragon-shifter a child. While the dragonman assigned to her is kind, Holly can’t stop looking at his twin brother. It’s going to take everything she has to sleep with her assigned dragonman. If she breaks the sacrifice contract and follows her heart, she’ll go to jail and not be able to take care of her father.

  Even though he’s not ready to settle down, Fraser MacKenzie supports his twin brother’s choice to take a female sacrifice to help repopulate the clan. Yet as Fraser gets to know the lass, his dragon starts demanding something he can’t have—his brother’s sacrifice.

  Holly and Fraser fight the pull between them, but one nearly stolen kiss will change everything. Will they risk breaking the law and betraying Fraser’s twin? Or, will they find a way out of the sacrifice contract and live their own happily ever after?

  ———————————

  The Dragon’s Dilemma is a full-length book and is available on all major online retailers.

  ———————————

  Excerpt:

  Chapter One

  Holly Anderson paid the taxi driver and turned toward the large stone and metal gates behind her. Looking up, she saw “Lochguard” spelled out in twisting metal, as well as some words written in a language she couldn’t read.

  The strange words only reminded her of where she was standing—at the entrance to the Scottish dragon-shifter clan lands.

  Taking a deep breath, Holly willed her stomach to settle. She’d signed up for this. In exchange for trying to conceive a dragon-shifter’s child, Clan Lochguard had given her a vial of dragon’s blood. The money from the sale of that dragon’s blood was funding her father’s experimental cancer treatments.

  All she had to do was spend the next six months sleeping with a dragon-shifter. If she didn’t conceive, she could go home. If she did, then she would stay until the baby was born.

  What was a minimum of six months of her life if it meant her father could live?

  That’s if you don’t die giving birth to a half-dragon-shifter baby.

  Readjusting the grip on her suitcase, Holly pushed aside the possibility. From everything she’d read, great scientific strides were being made when it came to the role dragon hormones played on a human’s body. If she were lucky, there might even be a way to prevent her from dying in nine to fifteen months’ time, depending on the date of conception.

  This isn’t work. Stop thinking about conception dates and birthing babies. After all, she might luck out and never conceive at all.

  Holly moved toward the front entrance and took in the view of the loch off to the side. The dull color of the lake’s surface was calm, with rugged hills and mountains framing it. Considering she was in the Scottish Highlands in November, she was just grateful that it wasn’t raining.

  She wondered if it was raining back in Aberdeen.

  Thinking of home and her father brought tears to her eyes. He was recovering well from his first course of cancer treatments, but her father’s health could decline at any moment. If only dragon’s blood could cure cancer, then she wouldn’t have to worry.

  But since cancer was one of the illnesses dragon’s blood couldn’t cure, surely the Department of Dragon Affairs would grant her another few weeks to help take care of her father if she asked.

  As the taxi backed down the drive, Holly turned around and flagged for the driver to come back. However, before she could barely raise a hand, a voice boomed from the right. “Lass, over here.”

  She turned toward the voice and a tall, blond man waved her over with a smile.

  Between his wind-tousled hair, twinkling eyes, and his grin, the man was gorgeous.

  Not only that, he’d distracted her from doing something daft. If Holly ran away before finishing her contract, she’d end up in jail. And then who would take care of her father?

  The man motioned again. “Come, lass. I won’t bite.”

  When he winked, some of Holly’s nervousness faded. Despite the rumors of dragon-shifters being monsters, she’d followed the news stories over the last year and knew Lochguard was one of the good dragon clans. Rumors even said the Lochguard dragons and the local humans had once set up their own sacrifice system long before the British government had implemented one nationwide.

  It was time to experience the dragon-shifters firsthand and learn the truth.

  Pushing her shoulders back, Holly put on her take no-crap nurse expression and walked over to the dragonman. When she was close enough, she asked, “Who are you?”

  The man grinned wider. “I’m glad to see you’re not afraid of me, lass. That makes all of this a lot easier.”

  Before she could stop herself, Holly blurted, “Are you really a dragon-shifter?’

  The dragonman laughed. “Aye, I am. I’m the clan leader, in fact. The name’s Finn. What’s yours?”

  The easygoing man didn’t match the gruff picture she’d conjured up inside her head over the past few weeks.

  Still, dragons liked strength, or so her Department of Dragon Affairs counselor had advised her. Her past decade spent as a maternity nurse would serve her well—if she could handle frantic fathers and mothers during labor, she could handle anything. “You’re not a very good clan leader if you don’t know my name.”

  Finn chuckled. “I was trying to be polite, Holly.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Some say we’re monsters that eat bairns for breakfast. I was just trying to assure you we can be friendly.”

  Confident the smiling man wouldn’t hurt her for questioning him, she stated, “You could be acting.”

  “I think my mate is going to like you.”

  At the mention of the word “mate,” Holly’s confidence slipped a fraction. After all, she’d soon be having sex with a dragon-shifter to try to conceive a child. That was the price all sacrifices had to pay.

  And there was always a small chance she turned out to be the dragon-shifter’s true mate. If that happened, she might never be able to see her father again. Dragons were notoriously possessive. She didn’t think they’d let a mate go once they found one.

  Finn’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Let me take that suitcase, Holly. The sooner we get you to
my place, the sooner we can settle you in and answer some of your questions.”

  Finn put out a hand and she passed the case over. She murmured, “Thank you.”

  “Considering that you’re helping my clan more than you know, the least I can do is carry a bag.”

  She eyed the tall dragonman. “You don’t have to comfort me. I know what I volunteered to do.”

  Finn raised a blond eyebrow. “You looked about ready to bolt or cry a few minutes ago. I think a little kindness wouldn’t hurt.”

  He was right, not that she would admit to it. After all, she was supposed to be strong.

  Holly motioned toward the gates. “How about we go so you can give me the spiel and then let me meet my dragonman?”

  The dragonman’s smile faded. “So you’re giving orders to me now, aye?”

  Even though Holly was human, she still sensed the dominance and strength in his voice. She could apologize and try to hide her true self, but that would be too tiring to keep up long term. Instead, she tilted her head. “I’m used to giving orders. In my experience, as soon as a woman goes into labor, her other half goes crazy. If I don’t take charge, it could put the mother’s life as well as the child’s in danger. I’m sure you’ve read my file and should know what to expect.”

  The corner of Finn’s mouth ticked up. “Aye, I have. But I like to test the waters with potential clan members.”

  “I’m not—”

  Finn cut her off. “Give it time, lass. You may well become one in the long run.”

  Without another word, Finn started walking. Since he was at least eight inches taller than her, she had to half-jog to catch up to him. However, before she could reply, another tall, muscled dragonman approached. He still had the soft face of late adolescence and couldn’t be more than twenty.