Never Dare a Dragon

by Ashlyn Chase

  Ouch.

  With her luck, the hunk in her living room would be the same way—but probably not if the guy never left the apartment. She chuckled to herself. That’s one way to keep a man’s eye from roving.

  Amber took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. It wasn’t the most comfortable place, but all she wanted to do was look up the muse’s family in the phone book. What did he say his name was again? “Nick Wolfensomething…” she muttered.

  Her phone’s automated voice answered her. “Nick Wolfensen. Wolfensen Investigations. 555-4321. Do you want me to call the number for you?”

  Stunned, Amber stammered, “Y-yes.”

  “Calling Nick,” her phone said, and before long a male answered.

  “Wolfensen Investigations. Wolfensen here.”

  “Hi, um…Nick?”

  “Yeah. Who’s this?”

  “Oh, um. It’s Amber. I met you earlier today. Is Brandee around? I really need to speak with her.”

  “Oh sure. She’s not here right now, but I can get in touch with her. It sounds important.”

  “It is. Can you call her for me?”

  “Sure. Brandee…” he yelled. Amber thought he was being a smart-ass.

  “I’ll give you my number and— Eep!”

  Amber startled when red-haired Brandee joined her in the bathroom…seemingly out of thin air.

  Nick chuckled. “I guess she found you.”

  When Amber could breathe, swallow, and make sounds again, she said, “Um, yeah. She’s here. How did you do that?”

  “It’s our little secret. If you’re all set, I’ll let you go.”

  Brandee pried the phone from her hand and spoke into it. “I’m here, hon. Thanks for the message.” After a couple of murmured endearments, she clicked off and handed the phone back to Amber.

  Then Brandee sat on the opposite edge of the tub, facing Amber. “So, what’s up?”

  “I—um…I think I’d like to take Mother Nature up on her generous offer, but I can’t seem to get in touch with her on my own.”

  “Oh. Sure.” Brandee rose and said, “I’ll take you to her.”

  “Wait.” Amber held on to the lip of the tub as if she might be swept away against her will. “I can’t leave yet.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s hard to explain, but here goes…” She took a deep breath and launched into her view of the situation at hand.

  Brandee nodded, but the crease in her forehead made it look like she either wasn’t getting it or didn’t approve.

  At the end of Amber’s long-winded explanation, Brandee held up one finger. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a flash.”

  A moment later, Mother Nature took Brandee’s place, sitting on the edge of the tub. Her expression seemed grim.

  Huh? I thought she’d be happy to know I want to be a muse.

  “Amber,” the Goddess of All said.

  “Yes, Mother Nature?”

  “Call me Gaia. If we’re going to be working together, you may as well use my name, not my title.”

  Whew. At least it sounds like I’ve got the job. “All right. Thank you for coming, Gaia. I imagine Brandee didn’t have time to fill you in on my situation…”

  “Actually, she did. We discussed it at length.”

  “You did? But I only told her a few seconds ago.”

  “Yeah. We’re good at cutting out the baloney and getting right to the point.”

  “Oh. I guess I’ll have to learn how to do that.”

  “You’ll have to learn a lot of things. I have Brandee on another assignment, and Bliss is busy with a new baby. That’s why I’m assigning you to Euterpe for training.”

  “You-what-e? Who is she?”

  Mother Nature rolled her eyes. “Yoo-tur-pee. You weren’t paying attention during your class on Greek mythology, were you?”

  Amber shrugged and grinned sheepishly. “I guess not.”

  “Well, according to my horny son Zeus, he bemused young Mnemosyne and slept with her for nine consecutive nights. The nine muses were the result of their encounter. When the muses grew up, they showed their tendency toward the arts and were taught by Apollo. Ever since, the muses have supported and encouraged creativity, enhancing imagination and inspiring artists.”

  “Okay. So Euterpe is one of the nine?”

  Mother Nature snapped her fingers and a beautiful brunette woman appeared, wearing a white off-the-shoulder maxi-dress that barely covered her boobs. She was holding a small flute.

  “This is Euterpe. She discovered several musical instruments and dialectic.”

  “What’s a dialectic?”

  “It’s like a debate… Considering the situation you’ve gotten yourself into, I thought she’d be the best possible fit.”

  Amber had to admit that Euterpe seemed like the perfect muse to help—or hinder—her goal of being the sole occupant of the apartment. She simply had to persuade the muse to see it her way.

  “And don’t think that because she’s training you, she’ll be partial to your side of the argument.”

  Damn. I hate it when she knows what I’m thinking.

  “Get used to it, muse of air travel.”

  “Oh. I’m already a muse? But I have questions…”

  “And Euterpe has answers.”

  “I guess there’s no formal ceremony or papers to fill out?”

  Mother Nature smirked. “You wanted a ceremony and paperwork?”

  “No! No, I really don’t. I just never thought it would be this easy.”

  “Well, it isn’t. You’ll need to learn a lot from Euterpe. If you screw up—and please don’t…but if you do, there’s a nice family in Atlanta looking for a child to adopt.”

  “But I’m not a child.”

  One finger snap later, Amber was lying on the floor, waving her baby-sized fists and feet in the air. Fortunately, the goddess snapped her fingers again and returned Amber to her adult size. She was still lying on the floor though.

  “Oh! You mean…”

  “Yes. I can be very mean. That’s why they tell you not to mess with Mother Nature.”

  Amber pushed herself up to a standing position and said, “Well, um…thank you, I guess. I’ll try not to screw it up.”

  “Good.” Gaia smiled at the other muse. “She’s all yours, Euterpe. Good luck.”

  The muse bowed and the all-powerful one disappeared.

  “So, that’s it? You’re my teacher? I’m a muse now?”

  “Yes. Let’s leave this tiny room and meet your unintentional roommate.” Euterpe started toward the bathroom door.

  “Wait!” Amber grabbed the muse’s arm. “He’ll wonder how you got in here. You have to pop out to the street and come in through the front door.”

  “Hmmm…” Euterpe tapped her lower lip. “I could do that, but supernaturals aren’t supposed to expose their powers to humans. There are people on the sidewalk. On the other hand, I could go out to the back alley. My senses aren’t picking up any large life forms, only the tiniest—probably birds and insects.”

  “Okay. As soon as you’re gone, I’ll go out to the living room and wait for you to ring the bell.”

  “Agreed,” Euterpe said and disappeared.

  Amber opened the door slowly and peeked out. She was startled when Rory appeared. Apparently he’d been hiding on the other side of the doorjamb.

  “Nervous?” he asked.

  “No.” Amber crossed her arms. “And why were you skulking about?”

  He raised his brows. “There was no skulkin’. I was merely waitin’ me turn.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  They traded places, but before he shut the door, he asked, “And who were you talkin’ to?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Uh, nobody. I was…um…rehearsing.”

  “
Rehearsin’? Are you in a play?”

  “Not exactly. I—um…I read books to the blind. I mean, I make audiobooks. I was just testing the acoustics in the bathroom.”

  “And are they acceptable for your purposes?”

  “Yes. It should do nicely. I may have to tie it up for a few hours at a time…”

  A sly smile stole across his face. “No matter,” he said. “There’s always the sink.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Ewww… Don’t you dare. Just tell me when you need the privacy, and I’ll pause the recorder.”

  He shrugged. “That seems fair. By the way, where is your recorder?”

  “Um. It’s…well…”

  “Still at the store?”

  She gritted her teeth and couldn’t think of a retort. Damn this man. One look at him and she forgot everything but her name. Wait. What’s my name again? Disgusted with herself, she just bit out, “Ugh. You frustrating, arrogant—”

  “Now, now. I must use the facilities. Perhaps you can finish your insult later.”

  He shut the door in her face, and it was all she could do not to scream.

  For more Boston Dragons

  check out book 1 in the series

  I Dream of Dragons

  On sale now!

  Acknowledgments

  Major thanks to the Boston firefighters who were kind to this curious writer and generous with their knowledge, especially Captain Coleman Connolly, all those on Engine 22, and Hazmat Mindy. I was even allowed to borrow Mindy’s jacket and join the guys on a couple of ride-alongs.

  Also, thanks again to another Massachusetts firefighter, Tom Madigan, who beta-reads all my scenes involving firefighters on the job. He has kept me from straying too far from the truth through three books, and is already helping me with another one. No, it’s not a coincidence that I made him a captain in this book!

  By the way, I owe a big thank-you to my New York editor, Cat Clyne, for catching my gaffes regarding Manhattan, which would have certainly given me away as an out-of-towner.

  About the Author

  Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar: a little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet, wanting only to give her readers a satisfying experience.

  She holds a degree in behavioral sciences, worked as a psychiatric RN for fifteen years, and spent a few more years working for the American Red Cross. She credits her sense of humor to her former careers since comedy helped preserve whatever was left of her sanity. She is a multi-published, award-winning author of humorous erotic and paranormal romances, represented by the Seymour Agency.

  Ashlyn lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her true-life hero husband who looks like Hugh Jackman with a salt-and-pepper dye job, and they’re owned by a spoiled brat cat.

  Ashlyn loves to hear from readers! Visit ashlynchase.com to sign up for her newsletter. She’s also on Facebook (AuthorAshlynChase), Twitter (@GoddessAsh), and Yahoo groups (ashlynsnewbestfriends), and ask her to sign your ebook at authorgraph.com.

  Thank you for reading!

  At Sourcebooks we are always working on something new and exciting, and we don’t want you to miss out.

  So sign up now to receive exclusive offers, bonus content, and always be the first to get the scoop on what’s new!

  SIGN UP NOW!