Rogue Dragons Series
Box Set Books 1-5
Emilia Hartley
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses and incidents are from the author’s imagination, or they are used fictitiously and are definitely fictionalized. Any trademarks or pictures herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks or pictures used are specifically in a descriptive capacity.
Emilia Hartley © Copyright 2021
Emilia’s Heartlies
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Contents
Trusting the Betrayed
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Finding the Forgotten
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Restoring The Broken
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Redeeming The Rejected
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Tasting The Forbidden
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
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Trusting the Betrayed
Rogue Dragon Series - Book 1
1
Evangeline Abercrombie tugged her beanie down over her silver hair as she peered around nervously. There were old ladies getting their bananas for the week and men old enough to be her father eyeing her as they passed on their way to get a forty pack of cheap beer. She’d thought the grocery store would be a good neutral ground to meet her ex.
She tried to keep her spine straight, but her gut churned nervously as she watched the entrance. Her three-year relationship with Trevor MacFarlane had ended after he’d tried to sleep with her best friend. Her world had come crashing down around her ears when Isabella came to her to explain what’d happened, or what hadn’t happened because Isabella knew Trevor was taken. Evangeline had seen all the warning signs before that, but had willfully ignored them, not wanting to lose the three years she’d sunk into him.
Trevor’s attempt to cheat on her had been the last straw. Evangeline told him to pack his things and leave. Bitter and cruel, Trevor had taken more than his share of what they owned. He’d also grabbed her grandfather’s signet ring.
That bastard knew that her grandfather had practically raised her. There was no denying what that ring meant to her when she almost always wore it around her neck. Her grandfather was the whole reason she’d gotten into art and tattooing. Trevor had waited until the moment she took it off to shower and snatched it out from under her just to be spiteful.
She shifted her weight from foot to foot when the door slid open. She could feel the lingering gazes of other shoppers and employees, so she grabbed a pomegranate and pretended to inspect it. The last thing she wanted was a complicated fruit that needed dissection.
But when the heat of someone’s attention burned the back of her neck, she turned around. The man entering the store brought her to a halt. The automatic doors could barely move out of the way of his broad shoulders in time. His shoulder length brown hair was half pulled up, revealing his intense blue eyes as they cascaded over her.
Even though her heart thumped wildly at the sight of this burly man, she told herself to stay far away. His motorcycle boots slapped the floor like he had a grudge against it. A man like that would only bruise her already broken heart.
She didn’t have time for new men. She had sketches to finish for tattoo clients. She had to get her car inspected before the week was out. She had to get her grandfather’s ring back.
Still, the unfamiliar man watched her. Evangeline ducked her head and pretended not to notice him or the two men walking behind him. They carried themselves the same way, though the guy with the sunglasses had a cocky smirk painted onto his lips. Behind him was a man with a shaved head and thick beard.
Probably a group of power-lifting bros, she thought to herself.
As much as Evangeline wanted to watch the blue-eyed man, a familiar voice drew her attention away. She flinched, a reaction that caused shame to curl deep in her stomach.
Trevor marched her way, the chain that ran from his beltloop to his wallet bouncing on his thigh. With his chin tilted up, he wore a cocky grin that made Evangeline want to punch him in the face.
She let out a breath and forced the tension in her chest to dissipate. A war raged inside her, between the part of her that missed that devilish smile and the part of her that wanted to shrink when he was around. She hated how much she missed him, or, more accurately, the man she’d thought him to be.
“Have you thought about making things work?” he asked once he reached her. “I’m ready to forgive you.”
She reeled. “Forgive me? For what?”
He tugged at the end of her long hair. “For kicking me out of my own house. I understand you weren’t thinking clearly. I gave you ample time to see past your crazy hormones. You give in to your emotions too easily, but once you can think rationally, you’ll see that you were in the wrong.”
Oh no, she thought. Every last ounce of attraction she’d once had for him died the instant she realized he was trying to gaslight her again. He brought up hormones and emotions, like they were dirty things no one should ever have. Just like that, he made her feel out of control. Had the rage in her chest not burned it away, she would have uttered an apology.
She’d been right to kick him out. Her name was on the lease agreement, not his. Trevor had moved in with her when they’d gotten together because his name wouldn’t have gotten
them anything.
She shook her head and held out her hand. “Just give me the ring.”
He raised a brow and held up his tattooed hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have any rings.”
A small whimper escaped her throat.
“How about you and I go outside and talk things out? It’s time we patched this little spat. If I can come home, I’ll help you look for your grandfather’s ring. I’m sure it fell between the wall and the bed.”
It hadn’t. Evangeline had checked there. She’d checked under the bed, under the couch, and behind the bookshelves even though she knew the ring had gone missing from the bathroom vanity while she was in the shower. She hated the way Trevor could make her doubt what she knew. He’d taken it. She was sure. The ring was nowhere to be found. Trevor must have taken it.
“I’m not taking you back,” she snapped. “You fucked up. You fucked up, and it cost you everything, but you’re too much of an asshole to admit it.”
His grin vanished. He grabbed her by the arm before she could move and yanked her close. The pomegranate in her hand tumbled to the floor and rolled away. Evangeline tried to hold her ground, but Trevor was bigger than she was. She was only a waif of a woman, barely a hundred pounds of bone and baby fat.
“Let’s take this conversation outside,” he said, keeping his voice low.
She looked to the people milling around them, silently pleading for an intervention, but everyone who eyed them went back about their business. No one wanted to get in the middle of their argument. They all thought she and Trevor were on drugs. To them, only drug addicts got so many tattoos or dyed their hair crazy colors.
No one did anything as he hauled her toward the exit.
* * *
Casey’s dragon had been on high alert since he’d walked into the store. The moment he’d laid eyes on the silver-haired woman near the produce section, his beast had lingered close to the surface. He’d tried everything to get the beast to settle back down until he gave in and backtracked to the woman.
What he saw made heat roll across his tongue. The old man beside him sidestepped him as a growl emanated from his chest.
“Everything okay?” Dillon called from the beer section.
“Yep. Fine. Be right back.” Casey’s hands curled into fists, and he stalked forward, his eyes trained on the greasy guy trying to drag the silver-haired woman out by her arm.
Fear filled her eyes, even though she’d pulled an unreadable mask over her face.
Casey was going to rip the greaseball limb from limb, starting with his fingers. He stopped only for a second to snatch a fallen pomegranate from the floor.
“I think you dropped this,” Casey said, chucking the fruit at the greaseball’s face.
It landed with a satisfying crunch. Casey wished the sound had been bones breaking and not the fruit shattering. Red juice dripped down the man’s startled face. The woman leapt back, holding her hands over her mouth. The flowers inked onto the back of her hands framed her face.
Casey wanted to stare at her forever, find every bit of ink decorating her skin and listen to the stories behind it, but he placed himself between her and the greaseball. With his back to her, his beast clawed at him. He told the creature that she was fine for now. Their attention needed to be on the man.
“Man, you really need to learn how to catch,” Casey said, flicking a piece of broken fruit off the man’s face.
He looked up at Casey, slack jawed as red juice trickled down his cheeks. The man’s shoulders tensed, like he wanted to fight, but it quickly fled when he sized Casey up. It wasn’t easy for a man to take down someone a whole head taller than him unless he had training, and Casey guessed this asshole had sustained his shitty behavior by picking on those smaller than him his entire life.
Casey knew he was right when the man’s attention dropped to the woman just out of sight. The man leaned to look at her before he said, “Have you replaced me already? Are you really that easy?”
Only Casey could hear her small gulp. The simple sound filled Casey’s mouth with fire. If he wasn’t careful, he would lose control in the middle of a grocery store. The beast was willing to protect her at all costs, though Casey couldn’t figure out why.
She was just a woman, someone he’d seen in passing. He didn’t even know her name. When this was over, she would go about the rest of her day and never think of him again. That was what everyone did to him. He would vanish into the background while everyone else got on with their lives.
“Turn around and march your ass on out of here before I’m forced to drag you out,” Casey said to the man.
There was a moment where it looked like the man would argue, but it passed. The guy backpedaled without another word, spinning to speed-walk away only when his back hit the automatic door.
Casey thought his beast would settle, but it still writhed just under his skin when he turned to face the silver-haired woman. She was ethereal, slim enough that she would float away on a stiff breeze if he didn’t hold her down. Not even the weight of her earrings would keep her tethered to the earth.
“Have a good day, ma’am.”
He had to leave her. He had to walk away.
If he didn’t…
“Hey! Thank you,” she called out. Her footsteps caught up with him. “I don’t know how to repay you for that. Can I ask your name, at least?”
Casey grunted. “I’m not here for long. Not here looking to make friends.”
The pout that overcame her glossy pink lips nearly tore his heart in two. A tiny multi-colored gem winked in her button nose. He wanted to take her under his wing and keep her safe from whatever the world might throw at her, but Casey had been sent here on a mission. To keep this fairy girl would be to invite her into danger.
“Well,” she said as she dug through her tiny purse. Finally, she came up with a little cardboard square. “Take my business card. Good for one free tattoo. You look like the kind of guy who likes ink.”
On one side was an inky black dragon over a crescent moon. His heart nearly stopped. He stared down at it, captivated. That was just enough time for the woman to put a hand on his arm and lift herself up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered before turning away.
His heart started again, racing too fast now. She got about five feet from him before he called for her to wait. “I can’t let you go out there alone. That dickhole of a human being might still be out there.”
She stopped and waited for him, her smile so bright that he felt like he’d just stared into the sun. Walking behind her, he caught the scent of lilacs and Vaseline. That wasn’t a combination he’d ever thought would turn him on, but he had to adjust the crotch of his jeans several times.
“Looks like Trevor didn’t stick around,” she muttered.
The disappointment in her voice confused Casey. He raised one brow as he looked down at her. “Why would you want to run into him again? That man was going to hurt you.”
She chewed her bottom lip for a moment. Her hand went to her throat, like there should have been something around her neck. “He took something that means a lot to me.”
Casey sucked his teeth and glared at the parking lot. If he followed the greaseball’s scent, he could track him down.
What was he thinking? He couldn’t afford to get involved in these human matters. There was too much on the line. It didn’t matter how badly his dragon wanted this woman. Casey had a clanmate to bring home.
“Sorry about that,” he muttered and turned away.
His beast growled, a sound that shook him to his bones. Ahead, Dillon and Erik exited the store. They each had a forty-pack. He hoped they’d remembered to get the burger patties and buns or else he was going to remove their heads from their shoulders.
Erik lowered his glasses and narrowed his multi-colored eyes at Casey like he could read the violent thoughts rolling through Casey’s head. The weirdo probably could.
> This wasn’t the group Casey would have chosen to retrieve Gavin. There were probably ten other dragons more capable of detaining their clan-leader’s rogue son, but Zander had chosen the weirdo with a cracked personality and the mute. It wasn’t that Dillon couldn’t talk, but that he chose not to.
In almost every situation.
Casey couldn’t deny that Dillon threw a hell of a right hook, though. Erik, as unpredictable as he was, probably packed a punch, too.
So, it fell on the shoulders of three fucked up dragons to bring home the biggest fuck-up. Casey wasn’t ready, but he unlocked the truck and got behind the wheel anyway.
2
“Come on out and play, dickweed!” Erik shouted as he leapt out of the back of Casey’s truck.
Rogue Dragons Series: Box Set Books 1-5 Page 1
