by Alisa Woods
My Dragon Lover
Broken Souls 5
Alisa Woods
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READING ORDER
Dot Com Wolves
* * *
Claiming Mia (Book 1)
Saving Arianna (Book 2)
A Christmas Wish (Book 3)
Riverwise Private Security
* * *
Jaxson (Book 1)
Jace (Book 2)
Jared (Book 3)
Wilding Pack Wolves
* * *
Wild Game (Book 1)
Wild Love (Book 2)
Wild Heat (Book 3)
Wild One (Book 4)
Wild Fire (Book 5)
Wild Magic (Book 6)
Fallen Immortals
* * *
Kiss of a Dragon (Book 1)
Heart of a Dragon (Book 2)
Fire of a Dragon (Book 3)
Chosen by a Dragon (Book 4)
Seduced by a Dragon (Book 5)
Touched by a Dragon (Book 6)
Loved by a Dragon (Book 7)
Marked by a Dragon (Book 8)
Claimed by a Dragon (Book 9)
Of Bards and Witches: Leonidas’s Story (Book 10)
Fallen Angels
* * *
A Deadly Sin (Book 1)
Guardian of Light (Book 2)
The Sin of Wrath (Book 3)
Seraphim (Book 4)
Prince of Shadow (Book 5)
Tempted: Tajael’s Story (Book 6)
Kiss of an Angel: A Christmas Story (Book 7)
Legal Magick
* * *
Ever Strange (Book 1)
Mercy Strange (Book 2)
Verity Strange (Book 3)
Broken Souls
* * *
My Dragon Lord (Book 1)
My Dragon Keeper (Book 2)
My Dragon Mate (Book 3)
My Dragon Bodyguard (Book 4)
My Dragon Lover (Book 5)
My Dragon Master (Book 6)
Akkan (Book 7)
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My Dragon Lover (Broken Souls 5)
Copyright © April 2020 by Alisa Woods
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author. For information visit: Alisa Woods
Cover by BZN Studio
My Dragon Lover (Broken Souls 5)
None of this is real…
Not the severed head in the alley.
Not the men who think they’re dragons.
All of it is some bullshit cosplay gang war.
Only I’m stuck in the middle.
And if the “good” side is crazy, the “bad” side is downright murderous.
So I’ll stick with the intense guy who’s my private security for now.
Just until I know Grace is safe. And Daisy too.
Then I’m getting the hell out of this place.
Because I can’t afford to lose my job over this. Not after everything that’s happened…
Jayda wants nothing to do with men who play dress-up. Ree’s not there to change her mind—his job is to protect her body, not win her heart. But keeping her safe means convincing her to stay, and he knows just how to keep a woman in his bed. But it’s a dangerous game... one his heart is certain he’ll lose.
My Dragon Lover is a steamy dragon shifter romance that’ll heat up the sheets with love and warm your heart with dragonfire.
One
Jayda
An annoyingly beautiful man is keeping me from leaving.
I only came to the gallery to see Grace’s opening of the exhibit—to support her in re-enacting her great-grandmother’s experience of the internment camps—but she left over an hour ago with a boy who’s in love with her. They’re probably having hot sex in the warehouse in back. Which I fully support—anything to help Grace move past the trauma of what we both went through. Our friend Daisy is still recovering, stuck in a hospital bed in a coma, but Grace isn’t. She should grab every good thing in life and run with it.
“Do you think this barbed wire is real?” The beautiful man is peering at the razor wire strung around the walls, encircling the photographs that depict Grace’s great-grandparents’ internment.
“Probably.”
“I mean, it looks real.”
“Yep.” Kill. Me. Now. I manage not to say that out loud. This is one of those conversations that consists of literally nothing and never ends. Vacuous. I’m not a snob—small talk has its place—but there’s just no there there with this guy.
“Seems kind of dangerous, though.”
“I guess?” I edge away.
“But it’s like… rusty.”
I almost can’t contain my exasperated sigh, so I just keep quiet. I can’t figure out where this guy fits in the constellation of rich and important people crowding the gallery all around us. Grace’s family is made of money, and the people here are the glitterati of New York City mingling with the old-money class. Not too many hedge-funders, the kind I work with every day, but a gaggle of artistes, actors like Grace. This guy who’s occupying my time and personal space is goofy and gorgeous—vaguely European, light gray eyes, sharp-cut cheekbones, and built like he’d be fine to ride. Maybe he’s one of those actors who get by on looks alone—empty-headed but serious eye candy. Which reminds me I haven’t had sex in a long time. No action since my ex, which is a very depressing thought. Maybe some hot sex is just what I need to move forward too, and this delicious piece of man flesh before me could be just the thing.
Only he’s not giving off the right vibe. Or maybe I’ve been out of the game too long.
I lick my lips. “I’m sorry, what’s your name again?”
He smiles. “Aleks.” He takes two flutes of champagne from a passing server and holds one out for me.
“Thanks.” I take it and sip. Is Aleks down for sex? Why else would he be holding me socially hostage in this gallery filled with people more glamorous than me? It’s not for the scintillating conversation. The awkward between us is verging on painful. Sex would be tolerable only if we didn’t talk.
He’s smiling, but it’s stressed. He gives a serious nod to the barbed wire. “I think it’s real. Seems like everything here is… real.” He winces, and I barely restrain myself from rolling my eyes. He could easily move on to someone else, but he keeps stringing this along. Why? Is it because I’m the only black person in this super-white Chelsea crowd, despite this being an installation on Japanese-American history? I’m used to being the only black woman at work—and all the headwind that comes with that—I don’t need to deal with any more of that nonsense, even for sex. If Aleks has some kind of interracial fetish, he’s in for some disappointment pie.
That’s it. I’m done with whatever this is.
“Well,” I say dramatically, glancing at the time on my phone like I’ve just discovered it exists. “I really should get going.” I have piles of work waiting for me back at the office, anyway. And I’ve done what I came here to do.
“So soon?” He glances over my shoulder. “I hear they’re bringing out food soon. You don’t want to miss that!”
I lift the champagne flute. “This is all I need.” I slam it back, then hand the empty glass to a wide-eyed Aleks. He immediately swaps it for his, another bid to keep me engaged. For what possible reason, I honestly don’t know.
I sigh as I take the fresh glass. “I’m not that easy
to get drunk, Aleks.” I need to find my exit from this, now, but I drain the champagne anyway. It’s too much bubbly at once, and my eyes water. I dab at the corners and try to blink the tears away. I’ve got full office makeup on, and I don’t want to mess it up. While I’m trying to recover, Aleks’s expression transforms from awkward weirdness to massive relief. “Thank God,” he says under his breath, but he’s not talking to me. He’s signaling someone over my shoulder.
I twist to look, still fighting the blur in my vision. Two men are working their way through the crowd toward us. One has his gaze locked on me like a heat-seeking missile, and the intensity of it captures me. He’s rough—eyes hard and dark, scruff of beard on his face, body moving with a power so solid people just flow out of his way like water. He has the same European look as Aleks, but there’s nothing goofy or pretty about this man—he’s just pure iron will, focused on me like I’m a pool of water, and he’s dying of thirst.
I scarcely breathe as he stalks closer. My whole body is suddenly radiating heat. He stops six feet away, like there’s an invisible barrier holding him back, and consumes me with his eyes instead.
“You made it,” Aleks says with obvious relief.
Only then do I tear my gaze away from the intense maleness of this dark-eyed man and check out the one who came with him. He’s gorgeous, the same European hotness, only this one I know.
“Niko.” My voice is flat. “Shit.” My heart leaps to full panic. I shoot a look at Aleks, seeing him anew. And the intense man who’s still heating my skin with his gaze. They’re all together, all part of the same group of assholes who play like they’re secretly dragons. They’re part of some cult—some gang of cosplayers, rivals to the ones who kidnapped Grace and Daisy and me. Kidnapped and tortured us.
I step back. “Stay away from me.” It’s a whisper. There’s nowhere to go. The gallery is too crowded. I barely have room to fight, even if I could. Three of them. But we’re in public. They can’t take me, not without half of the city’s elite as witnesses.
Niko steps forward. “Jayda, you need to come with us.”
“The hell I do.” I shrink back further, bumping into a passing server and nearly causing a disaster of spilled drinks and ruined cocktail dresses. Niko is their leader—the one who tried to sell me the whole story about their “hidden dragon society.” The one who wanted all three of us to stay and fulfill whatever fantasy they had about rescuing us from the freaks who tortured us. Grace’s hot new boyfriend, Theo, is one of them—I should have known he would bring the others, eventually.
“Jayda, please.” Niko steps closer, pleading, but not like he’s going to force me. Because he can’t. We’re in public. Aleks has dropped back behind him. The other one, with the laser-focused smolder, is holding back too.
My panicky heart settles a little. I still have the upper hand here. “I told you before…” I straighten and smooth down my tailored jacket. “I want nothing to do with your games.” Then I realize… and dart a look toward the back door. “Where’s Grace?”
“She’s safe.” Niko glances around, keeping his voice low. “Theo’s taken her to a safehouse. Which is what we need to do for you, right now. This place isn’t safe for you.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I’ve matched his low tone, speaking through my teeth. If I have to yell for help, I will. But Grace’s parents are here, and I don’t want them freaked out by whatever bullshit this is. It’s all fantasy with these guys. Some elaborate game they’re playing, only the others, the ones who kidnapped us, are deadly serious. I want nothing to do with any of them, but these I can handle—I got them to leave us alone before. I can do it again. I just need to make sure Grace isn’t tangled up in their games, then I’ll get the hell away from them. I fumble to retrieve my phone from my pocket and quickly text Grace, You okay?
Niko’s peering at me while I’m typing. “She’s probably shook up right now.”
I look up. “Why are you even here? Can’t you just leave us alone?”
He tips his head toward the back. “We came because Grace needed us. Come outside. I’ll show you why.”
I give him a pinched look. “You’re completely cracked if you think I’m leaving with you.”
He grimaces. “Jayda… we’re not the ones you need to be afraid of.” He dips his head and speaks even more softly. “Do you remember what I told you before? About the Vardigah?”
“I don’t care about your games.” But my throat closes up hearing the name. That’s what he called the freaks who kidnapped us. I’ve put all that behind me. Grace is moving on. I don’t need to think about those damn chairs they put us in or the probes they put to our heads… the screams and the pain… I’ve had enough of that in my nightmares. Why isn’t Grace texting back? I stab at my phone, avoiding Niko’s questioning expression. Grace, I need to know you’re okay.
“Theo has her in a safe place,” Niko says softly. “They came for her, Jayda.”
My head whips up. “You said they couldn’t find us.”
“They did.” His expression is grim but calm.
“But… Theo said…” I suddenly can’t look at him. My gaze darts all over the room. Are the Vardigah here? They can’t be. They’d stand out with those ridiculous pointed ears and ugly faces. But if those were just masks—
“We need to move you,” Niko says. “And we need to do it now.”
I stare at my phone. No response. I look up at Niko. “You said Grace is safe.”
He nods. “And we’re moving Daisy, too. Please, Jayda. You’re endangering the whole gallery by staying here.” He’s stepping back now, sweeping his arm toward the back door.
I’m frozen in place. I don’t want any of this to be real. None of it is real, not in the sense they say. There’s no magic. No fucking dark elves who like to kidnap and torture women who are the soul mates of the dragon men. None of that shit is real. What’s real is what happened to us. The pain and the trauma. Somehow, for reasons I haven’t even tried to understand, the three of us—Grace, Daisy, and me—are trapped in some war between these crazy groups of people. And if these Vardigah assholes really are back, I know the side I need to be on to survive.
And sometimes surviving is all you can do.
“What do I need to do?” I ask Niko. My voice catches in the middle, so I clear it. And try to quell the shaking in the pit of my stomach.
The relief softens his face. “Come with us.” He leads the way toward the back, the same door Grace and Theo left through a while ago. Aleks and the other man, the intense one who’s tracking me with all his attention, follow behind. We work through the crowd, then into the warehouse in back, but Niko heads straight for a door to the outside. It’s night, probably almost eleven by now. The alley in back is dimly lit, mostly by the streetlight down at the end. But as my eyes adjust…
Bodies. There are bodies in the alley. No, body parts. A severed head with pointed ears stares blindly from where it’s rolled up against a dumpster.
“Oh, my God.” My hand covers my mouth automatically. I curl over and brace the other on my knee, feeling like I’m going to be sick.
Niko blocks my view of the pieces and gently grasps hold of my shoulders to straighten me up. “I’m sorry. But I didn’t think you would believe us without seeing for yourself.”
The intense guy is right behind Niko, breathing hard like he’s ready to kill something.
Aleks is looking down the alley with disgust. “Go on,” he calls to Niko. “I’ll stay and clean up the mess.”
Niko lifts his chin in acknowledgment then releases me. “You okay? We have a ride waiting.” He tips his head down the alley, which means we’re walking past the body parts and the greenish liquid spilled around them. Blood. It has to be. What the fuck? Is the weird light of the city at night playing tricks?
I breathe through my teeth to avoid the smell. “Let’s go.”
Niko leads, but the other man is close behind. They’re hovering like they think I might
keel over. I’m no wimp, but my stomach roils as we pass the headless body and stride the length of the alley. An Uber is waiting. Niko nods to the driver as we climb in. I guess he already knows where we’re going, although I have no idea. All three of us—Niko, the other man, and me—squeeze in the back seat.
Niko turns in the seat to face me. “I need to ask a favor of you.”
I snort a small laugh. This whole thing is insane. “Where are we going?”
“That’s exactly it.” He flicks a look to the man on the other side of me who seems to be trying to weld himself into the side of the car to avoid touching me. “We keep a safehouse here in the city, one the Vardigah don’t know about, but we want to keep it that way. Do you remember when you left the hospice back at our lair?”
“No, I don’t, actually.” My tone is arch, driven by the rise of the small hairs at the back of my neck. I don’t remember. Toward the end of the time we were held captive, I was passing out a lot. Then one time, I woke up in a hospital bed, apparently rescued from my torture cell by Niko and his band of demented dragon cosplayers. I found Grace and Daisy and demanded they release us. Which they did—we ended up back at Mount Sinai in the city—but the weird thing was I couldn’t remember getting there.
“You don’t remember because we drugged you.” He says it with a tiny amount of apology that’s nowhere near sufficient.
“Oh,” I say. “So, I guess the fuck you I have screaming around in my head directed toward you and all your kind is long overdue.”
