Sold To The Dragon Princes: The Novel

by Daniella Wright

  “Where the hell have you been!?” I shout angrily, pushing him away from me. He stumbles back, obviously not having expected the shove. I round on him, anger and misery mingling to spill ever bitter tears down my cheeks. “You just take what you want and leave? You just… you just… Edmund, how could you leave me alone after all we’ve been through!? You have to have known I was looking for you. I searched for days.” I blurt angrily. For the first time since I have met him, the sheen of tears glimmer in his dark eyes.

  “I ruined your life…” He murmurs softly, and at first I simply can’t believe what I’m hearing.

  “You… ruined my life?” I repeat incredulously, and he chokes out a sob, drawing his arms around himself. “You ruined my life!? Are you serious Edmund?” I demand, stepping towards him and grabbing him by the chin.

  “Your friends… your family. Everyone who loved you, and who you loved in turn… I stole you away.” He gasps out, and I meet his gaze, understanding lancing me through the heart.

  “That’s why you left. You… you…” I trail off, and he braces himself as if I am about to strike him. I brush the tears from his cheeks, drawing him into my arms and burying my face flush against his neck. “You’re an idiot.” I murmur softly. He hesitantly wraps his arms around me, as if afraid to touch me.

  “Janine-” He begins, but I cut him short.

  “Edmund, I’m not going to lie. You absolutely ruined my life. You took away everything I was striving for. You took away my chances at school, a degree, a career. You took me from my friends, my family… I hated you for it.” I mutter, and he chokes back a sob.

  “I’m sorry.” He blurts, and I chuckle softly, tangling a hand in his hair.

  “But that’s not why I’m angry. I’ve forgiven you for that. In fact… I rejoice in it. Because the life I had before I met you was a meaningless one. I may not have a heartbeat now, but when we were together… I’ve never felt more alive in my life.” I murmur, and he tenses in my grasp. “I’ve come to a realization in the days I’ve been looking for you. I thought you were gone forever, or worse.” I continue, drawing away from him to look him in his deep brown, almost black eyes. He searches my expression, presumably for some crack in my armor. I suppose what I’m telling him doesn’t make much sense, but I’ve never been so certain of something in my life.

  “What are you saying, Janine?” He inquires hesitantly, reaching up to palm my cheek.

  “What I’m saying is… I love you, Edmund. I’m head over heels in love with you.” I say, biting back a laugh at the sheer disbelief he meets my gaze with. He opens and closes his mouth, looking much like a fish out of water.

  “You… wha?” He says, ever the picture of eloquence. I brush my thumb against his bottom lip, reveling in the softness of his skin. Reveling in everything about him.

  “You shouldn’t apologize for changing me. I won’t accept that apology. Being changed is perhaps the greatest thing to ever happen in my life, because it brought me to you.” I pause, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lips. Just as he begins to reciprocate, I pull away, meeting his gaze. Then, I slap him with as much force as I can muster. “You should apologize for leaving me and making me worry about your bloodsucking tail for this past week!” I shout, throwing my hands up in exasperation. He touches his fingertips to his cheek, staring at me through wide eyes. For a long moment, neither of us say anything more. Then, he begins to laugh. It starts as soft snickers, shifting into uncertain chuckles before blooming into full, unrestrained guffaws. In spite of myself, I find myself beginning to laugh as well. He wraps his arms around me, resting his chin atop the crown of my head as our bodies shake with irrational laughter. I imagine we must both look utterly insane, but the anger I felt at being abandoned is being washed away with sheer joy at being in his arms again. It seems ages before we regain our composure. He tightens his grip on me, his body continuing to shake with barely repressed giggles before he manages to compose himself enough to speak.

  “I’m so sorry I made you worry.” He breathes, and though the situation could quickly turn serious again, a sense of calm washes over me. He draws away just slightly, worrying his bottom lip with his fangs. He hesitates for a long moment before speaking earnestly. “I love you too, Janine. But I’m pretty sure you already had that figured out…” He murmurs uncertainly. I smile mischievously, brushing my fingers to his cheek. He predictably winces, and I can’t help but snort.

  “Well, you did let me get away with slapping the taste out of your mouth. I figure you must be a little sweet on me at least.” I muse, and he rolls his eyes in amusement.

  “I’m letting you get away with it for now. We’ll properly discuss your punishment later.” He retorts. I smile knowingly, kissing the tip of his nose. I consider making a snide remark regarding the punishment I had yet to receive for destroying his irreplaceable furniture, but I find myself getting lost in his eyes again instead.

  “What now?” I murmur, and he steers me towards the house. I realize there are scarce moments before the sun rises again. Life goes on, as it invariably tends to do.

  “Ah, my dear. We have the rest of eternity to concern ourselves with what happens next.” He hums. I grin as he presses his lips to my own, the gravity of the situation settling comfortably within me. An eternity doesn’t sound bad at all.

  BLURB

  Janine Rigby is a young and vivacious woman, who is filled with the exuberance of life. She harbors her share of hidden insecurities, but hey, who doesn’t? She has her friends at the Ivory Fang to sweep her worries away, and where the alcohol comes short, the dancing is sure to keep the pace. However, when her dangerously fun night turns simply dangerous, Janine finds out that she has much more to worry about than petty insecurities. Turns out, there’s more to fear than ending up alone. Her newest fear just so happens to have the darkest eyes she’s ever seen, and a particularly killer smile. There’s no doubt, it’s high time that Janine faces her fears head on. This time, she’s resolved to do just that. Now, all there’s left to do is hope she hasn’t bitten off more than she can chew; lest she end up bitten herself. Sounds easy enough. Right…?

  Ripped

  ~ Bonus Story ~

  A BDSM Vampire Romance

  Emilia – I’ve always been interested in vampires, but never more so than when I met Eli, the sexy vampire king, in a BDSM bar. It wasn’t a place I normally frequented, but it was a hotbed of vampire activity, and I had been fascinated with them since I was young. As things got more intense between myself and Eli, I became aware of a side of myself I hadn’t know before, a dark side that enjoyed the danger he posed and the depraved things he did to me. I found I wanted to know everything about him, and we grew closer the more he told and showed me, until I found that I had fallen in love with the vampire who had given me so many new experiences.

  Eli – I was used to spending my time alone in the dark, watching people and drinking from them as I needed. I was surprised when I was approached by a little reporter, who was interested in my whole life story. Though I didn’t open up about myself often—actually, never—I found myself intrigued by Emilia and found that I couldn’t help but to answer her questions, as long as she gave me something in return. Our games were sexual and passionate, and while I learned her body I found that I wanted as much to learn her mind and her heart.

  * * *

  Chapter 1: Eli

  I was sitting in a booth at the bar, looking around at all the patrons there. It was one of my favorite places to spend time—a BDSM bar full of vampires and humans who had similar kinks. I wasn’t there to participate, on the most part, aside from rare nights when my lust for sex was as high as my lust for blood. That was rare these days; I kept to myself, really only people watching and keeping an eye out for someone that I could dine on at the end of the night. I enjoyed this bar because everyone was so involved with themselves, enjoying the pleasure of each other’s company, and didn’t pay me a lot of attention. None of them recognized me as bei
ng the vampire king and I was glad. I had been alive for thousands of years and the title hardly held any weight with me anymore. It was just a fact of who I was, rather than a facet of how I behaved. I usually kept it to myself, though there was an occasional use for it when I took women to bed. Women who were more than eager to give themselves to any vampire, but would completely open up for a king. It had its uses, but mostly I liked to keep my mouth shut about it. There could be too much drama surrounding royalty, and that was the last thing I wanted in my life.

  I went up to the bar and ordered another drink, preparing to carry it back to my table when I noticed a woman walking around, mingling with other vampires and humans but not really saying much. She looked like she didn’t belong there; she was sweet-looking, more like an angel than a girl who went out looking for vamps to play with. After a moment, I recognized her as Emilia Fox, a reporter for the local paper whose work relied heavily on pieces about human-vampire relations. It was bold of her to be here in the first place; many vampires thought that it wasn’t her place to question us, to put our words down on paper. It could be dangerous for her if anyone else recognized who she was. For the most part, vampires preferred humans to stay out of their business. Those who didn’t got killed or threatened, but from the way Emilia was looking around curiously, I could tell nobody had stopped her yet.

  I kept my eyes on her as I went to my table. She was beautiful, short with blonde hair, blue eyes that glowed bright among the dark room. She caught my eye and I beckoned her over, giving her a soft smile. Maybe she’s the one I’d drain tonight, just to get her out of our hair. That, and the idea of putting my mouth to her slender throat made my cock ache just thinking about it. There was something so pure about her, such innocence that stood out when surrounded by the inherent indecency of the bar and its other patrons.

  She approached the table warily, staring into my red eyes. My gaze darted to her full, sensuous lips and I thought of how much fun I might be able to have with her before I drained her of her blood. I wondered if she would be the type to respond to my advances in that way. There was something about her that was captivating, and I could imagine the look that would cross her pretty face if I gave her all the pleasure she could handle.

  Emilia didn’t say anything for a moment. I gestured for her to take a seat at my table but she hesitated, looking at me with both curiosity and caution.

  “You look like you’re looking for something,” I said softly, trying to disarm her with a gentle voice. “Or someone. I was wondering if I could help.”

  She peered at me through her long dark lashes, then slid into the booth across from me and beamed, apparently deciding that she was safe for now.

  “I just want to talk,” she said. “Vampires are so interesting. And they’re all over this place.”

  “So you’re wondering around a BDSM bar,” I pointed out, “looking for, what, friends? Are you not here to play?”

  Her cheeks blushed a lovely scarlet and she tore her eyes away from mine.

  “I’m just here to meet vampires,” she said, then looked up at me again with a grin. “So what’s your story? What’s your name?”

  “I’m Eli,” I said, reaching forward to shake her hand. She took mine, her skin warm against my palm, and shook it.

  “Emilia,” she said.

  “Do you come here often, Eli?” she asked, leaning back in the booth to make herself comfortable. She really was outrageously beautiful and was bright as a flower in the dim light of the dark, gritty bar. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, despite the fact that I had decided not to kill her after all. It would be too easy, too much like cold-blooded murder to take someone who was so open to me already. I wasn’t above killing to eat, but I wouldn’t do it to completely innocent people.

  “Sometimes,” I told her. “For various reasons.”

  “Such as?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. I grinned at her and she blushed even deeper.

  “It’s an interesting place,” I told her. “I like to watch people. Sometimes I engage, other times I just hunt.”

  Her eyes went wide and she swallowed, running her teeth over her bottom lip. The gesture was more than distracting, and it took me a few seconds to realize that she had asked me another question while I had been lost looking at her lips.

  “What’s that?” I asked, meeting her eye again. “I’m sorry.”

  “I said, are you hunting right now?”

  “Maybe I am,” I said coyly. “I wouldn’t tell you if I was.”

  She laughed. “I guess I’ll find out.”

  “You might,” I told her. We watched each other for a long moment; her face reflected my interest back to me, letting me know that she was on board with the conversation. She really wanted to learn.

  “Do you do this every night?” she asked, scooping her legs up so that she was sitting cross-legged in the booth across from me.

  “No,” I told her. “A few nights a week. I frequent other bars as well, but I spend a lot of my time alone.”

  “Do most vampires prefer to be alone?”

  I chuckled. “Most vampires I’ve met prefer to be in the company of others.”

  “So you’re just weird,” she teased. My lips curved into a small smile that I couldn’t control.

  “I suppose that’s true,” I told her. We continued to talk. She asked me more questions about the bar, about what I did when I wasn’t here. I didn’t go into all the details but I did answer her questions as honestly as I could. I found I enjoyed her company. I found, too, that I was curious about her as well. Any human woman who could boldly walk into a BDSM vamp bar without participating and let her guard down around a vampire she didn’t really know was one who was braver and bolder than most. She sat with her head held high, even when other vampires and humans walked by our table and gave her distinctly confused and alarmed looks. I noticed Roderick, the bartender, who was several thousand years younger than me but almost as deadly, was staring at her with a hungry look in his eyes. I caught his gaze and gave him a firm shake of the head. He knew who I was, what I was capable of, and quickly shifted his gaze away from the girl.

  “Why are you so interested in vampires?” I asked her. She shrugged.

  “I just find them fascinating.”

  It must have been true. She didn’t demonstrate the awe that most humans who were into vampires did. She wasn’t giving off the vibe that she wanted to be taken and used by one of them like so many human women did when they came in here. She was just interested, her fascination almost clinical and detached. She simply wanted to know about vampires. It was a rare thing, strange to me, who had seen the whole history of humans and vampires coexisting and had hardly come across anybody with the same level of interest in getting to know the other species purely for the sake of knowledge.

  We talked as the night passed until it was about an hour away from sunrise and time for me to leave and go home. We had grown comfortable over the course of the night, laughing with each other, answering each other’s questions as earnestly as each of us was willing.

  Before she left, she turned to me, gave me a look that was almost shy.

  “Would you consider doing this again?” she asked. “More privately?”

  I raised my eyebrows. If there was one thing that I was good at with women, it was sensing when they wanted something. Emilia wanted me, I could tell, and I wanted her the same. It might be a bad idea for us to get together again, but I wanted nothing more than to do so.

  “I can do that,” I said, then took her hand with mine and kissed the backs of her fingers. She trembled but gave me a little grin as she made to leave. To be careful, I stood up and walked her out to her car. It was still dark outside, and we had just enough time to say goodnight before I had to retire.

  Chapter 2: Emilia

  I couldn’t stop thinking about the vampire I had met at the bar that night. When I closed my eyes to go to sleep, his piercing red ones were there, studying my face with interest. He had be
en so sexy, so tempting to me even while I tried to close off my feelings and make my curiosity objective and emotionally distant. But there was something about him, that long, dark hair, those red eyes and heavy brow that made him look intense and sexy and brooding. The bar, too, had gotten to me. Though I’d tried not to show it, seeing the people performing their sex games, the BDSM rituals, made me hotter than anything I had experienced before. It had been an interesting night, for sure, and was one that I wanted to repeat.

  I went back the next night, hoping to run into Eli there. He said he frequented the place a few times a week, and though we hadn’t made set plans to meet up there today, I figured I would go in and try to find him anyway. He was where I had found him the day before, and he gave me one of those low, seductive smiles when he saw me. My body reacted by flushing from top to bottom, and I bit my lip to try to suppress the feeling of desire that flowed through me just having met his eye.