The Dragon Lord's Bride Box Set (Dragon Shifter Romance) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The complete Dragon Lord's Bride series featuring all three books!

Rose Dumont was just your average office worker toiling away at her day job. That is, until she found herself captured and carried through a portal into a different world. She was one of a group of women, and their kidnappers informed them that one among their number would be chosen to be the bride of the local dragon lord.

Leseprobe

THE DRAGON LORD’S BRIDE BOX SET

DRAGON SHIFTER ROMANCE

MAC FLYNN

CONTENTS

Copyright

Author’s Note

Dragon Chosen

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

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

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Dragon Sword

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

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

Chapter 34

Dragon Heir

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

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

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Sneak Peek: Becoming a Goddess

A Small Favor

When’s the Next Book?

Series by Mac Flynn

About Mac Flynn

COPYRIGHT

The Dragon Lord’s Bride Box Set (Dragon Shifter Romance). Copyright © 2025 by Mac Flynn.

Published by Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form or by any or for any use, including recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author and/or artist. The only except ions shirt excerpts or the cover image in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel or on the cover are either products of the author’s or artist’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or artist.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining me on a journey through my imagination. If you’re looking for romance and adventure with a guaranteed Happily Ever After, then you’ve come to the right place. My books contain paranormal plotting and fantastical action, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

* * *

You can keep in touch with me by joining my newsletter or checking out my website for the latest updates.

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Thank you for giving my book a chance, and Happy Reading!

- Mac Flynn

CHAPTERONE

Life has a funny way of hitting you with a freight train and dragging you into the wilderness of fate.

My date with the locomotive came one foggy fall eve as I was walking home from my work as a librarian’s assistant. There I was with hardly a coat on after having been nearly suffocated by the stifling heat of the library.

“She could at least set the thermometer to seventy. . .” I mumbled to myself as I flapped the sides of my coat to draw in more of the cool air.

I paused and took in the view around me. The commercial street stretched out before me, as empty as a display coffin and just as quiet. With it being Friday night, all the employees had evacuated the vicinity. Nobody wanted to be caught dead or alive within five city blocks of their workplace.

I sighed and continued on my way down the lonely street with only the streetlights as company. “Come on, Rose. Just a few more blocks and you’re home free.”

My feet quickened their pace, but they couldn’t outrun the creeping fear that nagged me. Some primal instinct at the back of my mind told me there was danger afoot, and more so than your average night of walking through the darkened city streets. I kept looking over my shoulder expecting something to pop out.

I should have been paying attention to the shadows ahead of me.

A noise from somewhere made me freeze. My heart thumped hard in my chest as my eyes darted over the area. That’s when a dark figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley. Their towering height and build told me it was a man. He wore a cloak and hood which partially covered a roughly-made doublet with pants. Leather shoes with rough straps covered their feet, and the figure had a leather belt around his waist.

I nearly swallowed my tongue when two more emerged from the darkness behind him. They stood shoulder to shoulder with the smallest of the three in the middle.

I gave them a shaky smile. “Isn’t it a little early for Halloween?”

One of the caped figures drew a large dagger out of their belt. The glow of the streetlight glistened off the shimmering blade.

My pulse quickened and I threw my arms up before I took a step back. “H-hey, wait a second. If it’s money you want, you’ve got the wrong working girl.”

One of the figures stepped forward and stretched out one hand toward me. A small stone sat in their upturned palm, and a soft white light emanated from the rough orb. The person drew their hood back and revealed herself as a woman. She was about thirty with long brown hair that disappeared under her cloak.

A grin stretched across her face as she shook her head. “Oh no. We’re quite certain we have the right girl.” She turned her face to one side and nodded. “Go get her.”

The two men leapt forward like monkeys. I screamed and spun around, but I’d only gone a few steps when they caught me. One of them held my arms while the other wrapped a bandanna over my mouth. The stench from the cloth was disgusting and made me gag.

“I told you to wash that damn thing,” the other man scolded his companion.

His compatriot shrugged. “I figured it would knock her out.”

“Less chatter and more hefting,” the woman called to the pair.

The men worked quickly and my legs and arms were soon bound. One of them hefted me over his shoulder so I faced behind us. I was carried into the alley where the shadows were so deep I could barely see the litter-covered ground.

“I’ll never get used to this filth,” one of the men muttered as he kicked a can. “Looks like the worst parts of the pirate islands.”

“Then you’ve never seen the Hills of Slaughter,” the woman commented with a slightly bemused tone to her voice. “They’ve left more than just memories on those steppes.”

“I heard about that,” the other man spoke up as he adjusted my weight. “Didn’t they even leave the guns because they thought they were cursed?”

“Will you two keep quiet until we’ve reached the door?” the woman snapped.

The men were silenced by her irritation and we continued onward. My captors trudged along until they were about halfway down the next block. They were as shadows themselves, so quiet and unobtrusive were they as they slipped into another alley.

They hurried down the narrow street until they reached a door. This wasn’t any ordinary dirty alley entrance, however. A light caught my attention, and I twisted around to see that the door had a slight white glow around its border, and a fresh coat of white paint covered its front. The entrance also didn’t have a frame but rather seemed to float in front of the brick wall that surrounded it.

The woman grasped the fancy curved handle and opened it. I jumped as a fresh forest breeze wafted over me. Darkness lay beyond the door, but a few black outlines showed there was more than just a dingy room beyond the doorway.

And I knew I didn’t want to go in there.

I began to thrash in my captor’s grip. One of my flapping feet managed to hit him in the chin. He grunted and yanked me off him, spilling me to the ground. “Knock that off!” he snapped as he grabbed my arm with such a grip that I felt a bruise form underneath his fingers.

“Knock that off, Blake!” the woman snapped at him. “If you can’t handle the girl then let Saber carry her.”

Blake whipped his head up and scowled at her. “I can handle her if you’ll let me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and the light from the door let me see that a little bit of fear crept into his face. The woman spoke in a low, dangerous voice. “The women are not to be manhandled. Those were his specific instructions, and do I need to remind you what happens to those who disobey him?”

A sullen look slipped onto Blake’s face, but he released me. “No.”

“Good,” she replied as she nodded at his hand. “Now pick her up and let’s get going.”

CHAPTERTWO

I was again treated like a sack of potatoes and thrown over the shoulder of the ruffian. The man followed the lead of his compatriots and stepped through the strange door.

That’s when everything changed. The familiar stale smells of the city were replaced with an exotic mix of dry dirt and leafy trees. The sights were too dark to make out much, but trees surrounded us. The only city sights lay beyond the door. Even that disappeared as the woman shut the portal behind us. The moment she did, the border light vanished, as did the rest of the door, revealing even more woods behind where the free-standing door had stood.

The man named Saber shook his head. “I’ll never get used to that.”

“You won’t have to,” the woman pointed out as she patted her pocket from where she had drawn the stone. “This is our last trip. The stone doesn’t have a shine left to it. If one of these isn’t the right one then he’ll have to wait another century, and that means it isn’t our problem. Now let’s get going before those other girls think they want to be a hero and get out of their ropes.”

We trudged into the dense woods, leaving behind my only hope of escape. Still, hope itself wasn’t completely abandoned. The woman had mentioned other captives, or so I assumed they were. Perhaps a small rebellion could overtake these rogues and win us our freedom.

They have weapons, you dummy.

My heart fell just a little. I couldn’t argue with my inner thoughts. They were armed, and they probably knew how to use them, too. I’d only ever brandished a butcher’s knife at an insolent hunk of steak.

I was bounced along the rough trail for at least a mile before the path opened to a small clearing. The dwindling remains of a fire sat inside a ring of stones, and around that were three backpacks. A fallen log sat at the far end of the clearing, and four women leaned up against the wood. Like me, they were bound at the hands and feet, and gags stifled their cries as we arrived.

“Quit your whining,” the woman snapped at them as she stooped beside the fire and tossed a log onto the coals. Flames arose and licked at the sustenance, and in a few moments a fresh fire crackled in the makeshift hearth. “You’ll find out soon enough whether you’re to stay here or go back where you came from.”

I was set down on one end of the lineup, and Blake rejoined his compatriots around the warm fire. A chilly breeze blew over us, and I couldn’t help but shiver.

The woman grabbed a nearby three-footed cast iron skillet and set it over the fire. She lifted her eyes to us and wagged a wooden spoon in our direction. “Take off their gags,” she ordered her companions. “He might get angry at us if we send his bride to him hungry.”

Blake wrinkled his nose where he sat on an upright log. “But they’re just going to start yammering.”

She shot him a look of warning. “Better their mouths yammering than their stomachs growling, now do it.”

The pair of men grudgingly obeyed, and in a few moments we could all breathe freely. One of the women who sported a head of shocking red hair clamped her teeth down on Saber’s hand. He let out a yell and slapped her on the cheek. She jerked back and lost her grip, giving him time enough to yank his hand away.

“You damn bitch!” he growled as he cradled his wounded hand in his other palm. There was blood.

“You should have been more careful around that one,” the woman scolded him.

Saber spun around and glared at her. “Why don’t you try dealing with these things, then, Enna? You’re one of them.”

Enna threw her head back and laughed. “One of them? I tossed aside the life of a girl long ago, and I have the blades to prove it.” She leaned back a little and caught our attention with her sharp look. “You’ve had your fun, now just sit there and behave.”

“What are you going to do with us?” another one of the women spoke up.

Enna stood and sauntered over to our group. She stopped in front of us and put her hands on her hips. “Probably nothing, but that’s not up to me.”

The redhead glared at the men. “Then who is? Those assholes?”

Enna smiled and shook her head. “Nope. One of you gets the honor of meeting His Lordship, the Honorable Thomas Thorn. The rest of you will have your memories wiped and be returned home before the sun rises.”

“What about the woman who’s chosen?” I asked her.

A wicked smile curled onto the woman’s lips. “She’ll stay here as a plaything to the lord.”

A clamor of protest arose from us, but the rangers stepped closer and set their hands on the hilts of their swords. We shrank back from the sharp blades, and more than one burst into tears.

Enna laughed at her. “With courage such as that I doubt you’ll be chosen by him, and even if you were he’d be so disappointed he’d probably just eat you come breakfast time.”

My pulse quickened. “What do you mean by that?”

She shrugged. “I guess one of you is going to see. In the meantime, I suggest you eat the food we give you and don’t try to escape when your hands are untied. We know these woods far better than any of you, and if he finds you jaunting about he’s liable to eat you as soon as see you.”

Enna and the other two returned to the fire and prepared a ‘feast of bread and meat taken from a leather bag. We captives looked over the others, each of us sizing the others up and trying to decide who would make a better meal for this strange Lord Thorn.

Meanwhile, our captors had resumed their discussion about the fabled wealth of the Slaughter Hills.

“I bet those weapons are worth a fortune,” Saber commented.

“And not worth risking your life to get one of them,” Enna countered as she picked up a stick and stirred the coals around.

He scoffed. “More about that cursed stuff?”

Enna had a strange smile on her lips. “They are cursed, Saber. I’ve seen one of them. The poor fool who owns it keeps it locked in a case so it doesn’t wander around at night slicing open any neck it can find.”

“That sounds like a fool’s tale,” Blake spoke up.

“Then you go fooling around with one of them,” she challenged him as she tossed the stick into the fire and stood. “But after we feed these little hens their meal. Midnight is coming up and His Lordship wouldn’t like a broken toy.”

CHAPTERTHREE

Our captors plopped some of the meat on a few strips of wood bark they scavenged from the woods and moved over to us. The men knelt in front of us and untied our hands, but not our feet. They offered food to each of us, and we tried to chew on the bits of tough meat. I didn’t have an appetite, but I knew I had to keep up my strength so I managed to take a few bites.

One of the girls turned her nose up at the meal before she held the meat out in front of her, pinched as it was between two well-manicured fingers. “I can’t eat this.”

Blake glared at her. “What’s wrong with it?”

She scowled at him. “It’s meat. I don’t eat meat.”

Blake snatched the piece from her hand and shoved it into her mouth. “You do today.”

The woman let out a squeal of fury and surprise before she spat the contents of her mouth into the man’s face. Blake yelled and fell back onto his butt with bits of meat stuck to his nose and cheeks. “You. . .you bitch!” he snapped.

He lunged at her, but Saber intercepted him. Enna marched over to the brawling pair and smacked their heads. “Will you two knock it off?”

While they were distracted, I looked for a way out of this mess. I reached behind me and pressed my palms against the log at our backs. My fingers brushed over a sharp bit of branch, hardly more than a stub. Fortunately for me, however, it was a sturdy stub.

I quickly ate my meat and when the men came back around Blake grabbed my hands. “Time to tie you back up,” he cooed as he drew my arms behind my back.

He tied a tight knot around my hands, but the moment he moved away I began to rub the ropes on the sharp branch. My heart leapt as I felt my bindings loosen with each rub against the tree.

The other women finished their meals and our captors moved back to the warmth of the fire. For our part, most of us huddled against each other. All except me. I worked away at my ropes, and the minutes ticked into an hour. The black night grew darker, though the stars blinked brightly in the sky.

After ninety minutes I felt the ropes completely snap. The bindings dropped onto my legs and I held my breath, fearful the trio would have heard anything. They were engrossed in themselves, however, so I leaned down and untied my feet. In a moment I was completely free, and I scooted over to my nearest companion.

She turned to me and her eyes widened as she felt my hands work away at her ropes. I gave her a look of warning and she clamped her mouth shut.

“Hey!” My blood ran cold, and I whipped my head up. Enna had risen to her feet and her eyes were zeroed in on me. “What are you doing?”

The woman I was trying to help pushed her head into my chest. “Run! Get out of here!”

Indecision suffocated my reflexes, but the woman pushed up against me again. “Go on! You can help us by staying out there!”

Hope. That got me going, and I shot to my feet as our captors rushed over. I leapt over the log and they tried to follow, but the other women threw themselves in their path. The vegan even managed to bowl herself into Blake’s legs, tripping him up so he fell over the log.

I raced into the woods with no sense of where I was going. I only knew I needed to get as far away from that campfire as I could manage. After that, I’d figure out a way to go back and free the others, especially the one doomed to be the plaything of that fiend.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest and my arms pumped at my sides. I flew along the uneven terrain of fallen trees and brush. Just when I thought my heart would burst, the woods opened into a large clearing. A dirt road lay about fifty yards on my left and traveled ahead of me to the center of the glade. That was where the imperious manor stood, tall and wide and dark.

The style was more Tudor than cottage style, with thick beams between the floors and tucked between large whitewashed walls. There were two floors and a large attic, and the foundation was made of huge stones chiseled to perfect rectangles and placed side by side in four straight lines.

The tall paned windows were covered in shadows until I noticed a light behind one of the second-floor glass. My heart gave a flutter as hope was rekindled within it. Somebody was there! Maybe they would help me free the others!

I raced across the wide expanse of lawn that separated the forest from the home, and in a moment my feet pounded onto the stone porch. All was silent, and I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder at the woods. I was exposed in such a spot to my pursuers, but it was worth the risk as I pounded my fist hard against the wood.

“Somebody! Anybody!” I shouted. “I need help!”

The door hadn’t been latched properly and the portal swung open on creaky hinges. A large entrance hall presented itself to me, complete with a glistening wood floor and a staircase that curved up to a second-floor balcony. Doors on either side led into the wings, but they were shut to me.

I reluctantly stepped inside and my footsteps rang loud in the oppressive silence. “H-hello?”

The door slammed shut behind me.

I yelped and spun around where I threw myself at the portal. The door, however, wouldn’t budge even an inch, and there was no sign of a lock other than on the thick wooden handle.

That’s when I heard it. A soft groan from a floorboard above me. I spun around and pressed my back against the wall. My eyes flickered over every dark inch of the place, but I neither saw nor heard anything.

Still, time was of the essence. Midnight was fast approaching. I could feel it in my aching bones. The others needed my help before whatever would happen happened.

I crept forward and winced whenever my foot fell upon an old squeaky board. I’d seen the light in the upstairs right-hand wing, so that’s where I would look. All was dark as I eased myself up the stairs and took a right at the top. The corridor ran for the entire length of the house, but two perpendicular walls divided the upstairs just like the downstairs.

A hall was hidden behind the right-hand wall and ran from the front rooms of the house to the rear rooms, creating a cross of corridors. I had seen the light in one of the front rooms, so I crept forward toward the tall window at the end of the eastern hall. There were three doors on either side of me totaling six. I tiptoed up to the first and tried the knob. It was unlocked, so I opened the door and peeked my head inside.

What I found was a comfortable bedroom with a large four-post bed situated in the center against the exterior wall. A chimney to my left had a warm fire in its hearth, and the flames cast a soft light over everything. A dresser and vanity on the right finished off the furniture, while the floor was covered in elegant oriental rugs. The dresser was topped by a decanter set on a silver platter, and dark red liquid swam inside the glass.

Everything looked so clean and inviting, so I eased into the room. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

The door shut behind me, but it wasn’t the violent shut like the front door. I spun around to find myself staring at a handsome man slightly above average height. He wore a white shirt blouse and dark pants. His feet were bare, and his hair was short. He had chiseled good looks and a muscular frame, but not so hard as I was reminded of rocks.

What captured my complete attention, however, were the two gray horns that protruded from his forehead and stretched backward at an upward angle.

CHAPTERFOUR

A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Good evening.”

I gasped and stumbled backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed. They collapsed and my butt fell onto the soft covers. A musky scent wafted over me, wrapping me in a sensual warmth.

I shook off the strange effects and leapt to my feet. My legs shook so much that I looped an arm around one of the posts to keep from crumpling to the floor. “W-what are you?”

His eyes were a bright emerald green color, and in the dim light I swore they glowed just softly. “I am the lord of this manor. Who are you?”

This was no time for terror, so I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m Rose, and I need your help. These people kidnapped me and a couple of other women, and they’re holding them hostage for some lunatic.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Indeed? How did you manage to escape them?”

“I cut my ropes on a tree trunk, but-”

My plea was interrupted by his laughter. “A tree trunk?” he mused as he sauntered over to the dresser. A decanter and a pair of glasses sat on the top. He took up the decanter and turned his face to me. “Would you care for a drink?”

I shook my head. “No! Don’t you understand? I need your help! Those women are still being held captive!”

“Not for long, I assure you,” he promised as he poured out two glasses. He set the decanter down and took them up before turning to me. “You’ve saved them, Miss Rose. They will be freed before the morning comes.”

I stared at him with wide eyes as my frazzled mind tried to make sense of what he was saying. “What are you talking about?”

“You brought yourself here to be my bride.”

My heart gave such a leap that I thought it had jumped out of my chest. “W-what? What do you mean?”

He offered me one of the glasses. “Your will bent to mine and led you here to my home. I am Lord William Thorn, the man who hired those who brought you to this place.”

Fear overtook my senses, and I dashed from the room. My feet pounded down the hall and the stairs, and I practically crashed into the front door. I grabbed onto one of the handles and pulled with all my might, but the door didn’t budge an inch.

Footsteps behind me made me spin around. The man, if I could call him that, had followed me as far as the top of the steps. His soft eyes focused on me as he walked down them at a steady, slow pace.

“You needn’t fear me,” he cooed as he stopped at the bottom of the steps. “I mean you no harm.”

A derisive snort escaped me. “Is that why you hired those thugs to kidnap me and the others?”

He frowned. “They didn’t harm you, did they?”

I lifted my sleeve and revealed the bruise caused by Blake’s strong fingers. “They did this.”

Fury swept through his eyes. He strode over to me and I shrank beneath such anger. His grasp, however, was gentle as he took my arm in his hand and studied my wound. After a moment he lifted his eyes to mine, and I was struck by the kindness and remorse in their depths. “My sincerest apologies. They were given strict instructions not to harm any of you.”

This was the closest I’d been to the handsome man, and his musky scent washed over me. It was the same fragrance as on the bed, and a gentle warmth caressed my frayed thoughts. My heart beat a little slower as he leaned my back against the door.

He set his hands on either side of my head and leaned in close. “You are quite beautiful. I had fashioned you in my mind’s eye, but what I find is much more pleasing.” He brushed one of his hands through my hair and let the strands fall between his fingers. “Perhaps it’s because I can finally touch you.”

His musky scent was overpowering. My feminine instincts told me to succumb to his will. I tried to fight against them, but his soothing touch created a heat that drowned out any mental protest. My breathing quickened and warmth pooled between my legs.

A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. He leaned so close to me that our lips almost touched. I wanted them to touch.

His soft, heated words wafted over me. “I want to make you mine.”

A shuddered breath escaped me. I couldn’t think of anything but him. This feeling inside of me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It was as though I’d finally found my place in the world, and it wasn’t even in my world.

One of his hands reached down and brushed against my hip. He captured my lips in a soft but passionate kiss. A deep moan escaped me as I leaned into it. He pressed himself against me and I could feel the extent of his longing for me between his legs.

By the time we broke apart, I was panting. My chest heaved up and down, and my cheeks were a bright heated red color. A hot sensual hunger consumed me. I wanted nothing more than for him to follow his desires and take me.

He wrapped his arms around me and drew me into another, more persistent kiss. I clung to the front of his shirt as a wonderful flame of desire consumed my body. The world around me faded. There was only him and his lips and his caressing hands. They explored all of me within reach, and I gasped when one of them dipped between my legs and touched the wet heat that lay there. My knees quivered and I would have fallen if he hadn’t caught me.

He swept me up the stairs and into the bedroom where he spread me out on the bed. I didn’t even know he had removed his vest and shirt until he lay atop me. His naked chest pressed against my shirt, and I heard a growl of irritation come from him. He ran one finger down the front of my shirt and the fabric was sliced open by his sharp fingernail. My shirt parted, as did my bra which he had cut through, and my heaving breasts were bared to him.

His growl was much more pleased, and he cupped one of them in his palm. I gasped as he fondled my mound of flesh. His thumb teased the nipple. My breast swelled beneath such sensual attention. I arched my back and pushed my breast into his palm. A soft whimper escaped me.

He pressed his body against mine and captured my lips in another lustful kiss. My whole being trembled beneath him. My pants felt incredibly tight, as though my hips and thighs had expanded. He ran his hands down my pants and the seams were sliced through. My hot, quivering flesh was exposed to his eager eyes. All that was left was my ill-fitting underwear, and a quick cut took care of them.

He tossed aside his own pants and pressed his naked body against mine. I moaned as we gyrated against one another. Soft, wet flesh against soft, wet flesh. His hands touched me, teasing me with their gentle strokes. My body pushed against his hands, pleading for me. The heat between my legs was unbearable. I groaned and squirmed beneath him, begging him to take me.

He wrapped his arms around me and slipped into my warm, wet core. I gasped as his swollen member stretched my walls. His throbbing manhood sank deep into me, and a deep, reverberating groan told me he was pleased with my welcome.

He drew out and slipped back in, and the friction sent a warm thrill of pleasure up and down my body. I leaned my head back and let out a shuddered sigh. This felt so right. So perfect. So good.

My lover grunted and penetrated me again. And again. And again. His hips pushed himself deeper into my hungry body. I was consumed by him and a part of him. All I knew was him taking me with faster and faster thrusts. The pressure between my legs began to build. My body twitched and I clung to him as the soft waves of hot, lustful bliss washed over me.

“Yes,” I groaned as he thrust deeper and deeper into me. The world was a dazzling splendor of hungry, primal lust, and I was enjoying every minute of it. “Oh God, yes! Take me! Make me yours! Only yours!”

He grunted and growled. The feral sounds only heightened my pleasure. His body began to twitch and transform. I barely noticed as his clawed hands clutched me tight against him, our sweat-soaked bodies heaving and grinding. Wings burst out of his back and spread over us like a cover of shadow, blocking out the cold world and locking us in this self-made hot, hungry heaven of sin.

My body couldn’t take it anymore. His heavy grinding. His sweaty muscle against my pliable flesh. I gasped as I reached my peak and came. I’d never felt anything like it. There was wave after wave of hot orgasms. Sweet, swelling tides of sinful lust. I wanted it to last forever.

My lover followed soon after, and his warm sperm filled my trembling body to the brim. He collapsed beside me and rolled onto his side. His arms drew me close against his chest and his heartbeat soothed me into a gentle slumber.

CHAPTERFIVE

What a wonderful dream. I couldn’t get over how real it had been. I mean, me, in the throes of passion with a handsome man with wings and horns? That couldn’t have been real.

Or could it?

I stirred from my most wonderful sleep and fluffed up the pillow beneath my head. A familiar musky scent filled the air around me. His musky scent.

My eyes flew open and I shot up in bed. That definitely wasn’t my bed, nor did I find myself in my dingy apartment. I was in his bedroom, under his sheets.

I was also naked.

I yelped and wrapped the sheets close about my person. Fortunately, the spot next to me was empty, as was the rest of the room. The gloom outside the windows told me the night of this strange world was in its last throes.

Then I heard the voices. They came from downstairs. Curiosity got the better of me and I slipped out of bed. My clothes were strewn about the floor. I picked up my shirt and my face drooped. The cloth was in tatters, courtesy of the eager clawed fingers of the over-exuberant lord. I would have to improvise or go out there naked. Option number one presented itself when my eyes fell on the bundled sheets.

I quickly wrapped one of the thinner bed sheets about my person, making sure that nothing was especially revealed before I tiptoed over to the door. The voices had grown louder and I peeked my head out. The sounds came from the entrance hall, but the dividing wall stood in my way.

I had no choice. I crept into the hall and over to the doorway that led to the balcony. A peek around the corner gave me enough view to see the floor of the entrance hall and the front door. That was opened to the pale darkness of the aging night, and the trio of human hunters stood just a few feet in the hall. They knelt on one knee before the standing lord, and their heads were all bowed save for Enna.

“We sincerely apologize for the rough treatment, My Lord,” Enna assured him.

The lord lifted his chin slightly and glared down at her. “Hollow words that will fade long before the bruise. Why should I not dock your pay for disobeying my orders?”

Enna flinched beneath his reprimand and threat. “I’m very sorry, My Lord, but that woman was special. We knew only a woman with such bold spirit could have been your bride so we knew we needed to bring her here at all costs. She was. . .less than willing.”

“I have little need of your lies,” the lord snapped, and the group before him winced. “Now return the women to their homes and return the chosen stone to me before midmorning. Should you fail you will not leave my domain alive.”

The leader bobbed her head up and down as she and the others backed up toward the door. “O-of course, My Lord! We will return promptly!”

They reached the entrance and scurried out like rats escaping a sinking ship. The lord folded his arms over his chest and bowed his head.

I finally remembered to breathe, and I stepped backward to escape to the bedroom. My traitorous foot stepped on a squeaky board and the noise rang out like a church bell. I froze, but the lord didn’t even raise his head.

That didn’t stop him from speaking, however. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he apologized as a great sigh escaped him. “But under the circumstances, I had to be firm, otherwise your companions might not make it back to your world.”

I eased over to the banister and grasped the top in one hand while I held the folds of the blanket in the other. “You’re sure they’ll make it home?”

He turned to me and a crooked grin appeared on his face. “I swear it. That group of mercenaries knows the punishment for betraying my trust.”

I tightened my grip on the sheets and bit my lower lip. “That. . .that stone you talked about. That’s how they got to my world?”

A slight touch of fear slipped into his eyes, but the emotion was brief. “Yes. It’s a rare jewel passed down through those of my kind.”

My eyes flickered up to his horns. “You really aren’t human, are you?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m what the humans of this world call a dragon shifter. That is, a dragon who takes on the form of a man in order to dwell among you.”

I blinked at him. “You. . .you’re telling me you’re a dragon?”

“In my true form, yes.”

“Like a big green lizard and everything?”

A smile appeared on his lips. “My scales are more gray than green, but I have been compared to a lizard before. My human persona, however, has been called most fetching.”

I pointed at his horns. “Except you forgot something.”

The dragon man reached up and brushed his hand against one of his horns. “Ah, yes. My one flawed trait. I’m afraid even my magic can’t make these vanish, and I have had enough years to try.”

I cocked my head to one side. “How many years have you had?”

The lord dropped his hand to his side and a weight seemed to sag onto his shoulders. He turned his face away and the lines were etched with pain. “A great many.”

My heartstrings were pulled by his sorrowful expression. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

He shook himself and offered me a bright smile. “None of that matters now that you’re here.”

Now it was my turn for my good humor to falter. “I. . .you’re really going to keep me here, aren’t you? I can’t go back home?”

His smile dropped off. “You truly want that?”

I swept my eyes over the luxurious but unfamiliar surroundings. “I. . .I don’t know, but if I don’t have a choice then I’ll feel like a prisoner.”

His eyes showed his indecision, but after a long pause, he turned his face away from me. “I. . .I see. If that is how you feel then when the others return I will give you the chosen stone.”

He just looked so completely exhausted from his decision, and as I thought back to my life a hesitation dropped into my mind. I mean, there was my miniature apartment and my day job, and the soulless existence of trudging to and from each of them to work away until I was a slobbering mess of a human.

I took a deep breath and let it out before I offered him a smile. “You know, I’ve never been around a lord before. Maybe you could, um, show me around for a bit? Unless I’m going to get eaten by some rabid unicorn or something. Then maybe you could just show me around the house.”

Hope sprang into his eyes and a smile appeared on his face. He crossed one arm over his chest and bowed low to me. “It would be my honor to take you wherever you desire.”

A mischievous glint slipped into my eyes as I tapped one finger against my chin. “Anywhere I desire?”

He chuckled. “Within reason. My wings will only carry us so far.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “How far?”

“At least as far as the Ponds. They are most beautiful at sunrise.”

I looked down at myself. “I have a little problem.”

His eyes took on a most sensual sheen. “I see no problem.”

I grasped the banister with both hands and glared at him. “You will if I catch my death of cold.”

He smiled and held up both hands in front of himself. “Very well. There is a change of clothes in the wardrobe in my room. I had them newly sewn only a fortnight ago and they should fit moderately well.”

“You made them for your bride?” I guessed.

His eyes met mine and there was such a gentleness in them that all the tension in my body melted. “I made them for you, and I hope they fit.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and took a step back. “I-I’m sure they’ll be fine. Just gimme a sec to put them on.”

CHAPTERSIX

I slipped back into the room and shut the door behind me. There was the dresser as he said, but all I could do was put my back against the entrance and take a deep breath.

“Easy there, Rose,” I scolded myself. “Don’t go all mushy just because a handsome, wealthy guy had some clothes made just for you. He had them made for whatever girl was going to be walking through that door.”

But that girl was you.

Curse you, brain. You weren’t supposed to be in cahoots with my heart.

I sighed and pushed off from the door. The dresser was nearly as tall as I was and had six drawers. I opened the second to the bottom and discovered a pair of soft pants. They weren’t made of silk, but they may as well have been with how they felt in my hands.

There was a wide assortment of attire hidden away in those wide drawers. Dresses neatly folded, sweaters carefully put away, and enough socks to last me for a whole year. I did notice, however, that there wasn’t any underwear.

“Why am I not surprised. . .” I murmured as I slipped into the pants.

They were just a tad loose, but a belt took care of that. The blouse I chose was also loose, but that gave it an airy feel around my breasts. Those were held up by a nice-fitting bra, and a pair of socks finished off my attire.

I stepped out of the side hall and found my ‘host’ standing in the downstairs hall. His arms were folded over his chest and his brow was furrowed in deep thought. He must have moved at some point because he now wore a heavy coat.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I spoke up as I made my way down the stairs.

He started and whipped his head up. His troubled expression changed when a smile appeared on his lips. “Are you ready for a flight?”

My face twisted with apprehension as I reached him. “That depends on how you do it.”

He swept his arm toward the front doors. “Let me show you.”

We stepped outside and the cool morning frost bit my nose. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. The dragon lord frowned. “Is the air bothering you?”

I gave him a sheepish grin. “It’s my wimpy skin. Give me a warm summer’s day and I would be perfectly happy, but those nippy fall mornings leave me a quivering mess.”

He drew off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. It was large enough that the two sides overlapped over the front of me.

I shook my head. “I can’t accept this.”

“You should. I wore it for you,” he countered.

I tried to continue my protest, but he swept me into his arms. His wings burst out of his back and enveloped us in their filmy beauty. I couldn’t help but gape at them as he spread them wide on either side of us.

The lord paused and furrowed his brow before he looked down at me. “I have forgotten to ask if you’re afraid of heights.”

I used one hand to grasp both ends of the coat and another to clutch onto his front. “Only if I’m dropped from them.”

He smiled. “I won’t drop you. I swear it.”

He pumped his wings and leapt into the air. I gasped and clung tighter to him as we left the ground far behind. We sailed up for some one hundred yards before he flew forward. I dared look at the ground and watched it roll away in fast clips of trees and fields.

The western horizon was brightening as we reached the glistening pools he had mentioned. They dotted the landscape like mirrors and reflected the soft clouds that floated overhead. Small patches of trees and marshland bordered their white-sand banks and a mess of small green hills lay to the far southwest. Their backs were against steeper mountains, and I noticed a small dirt road wound its way down through the hills and to the south of the ponds where it disappeared into the trees.

My escort took me in the direction of those hills and I saw something sparkling among the trees that climbed one of those hills. I realized it was the glistening of a waterfall as its waters dropped from a hill and into one of the ponds. The dragon landed us on the white shores of the large pond. A few boulders accented the bank with green moss over their white surfaces. Fish scurried away at our coming and a thick mess of trees surrounded us.

The area around us was completely silent except for the soft drop of the ten-foot-high waterfall some hundred feet away. The gentle scent of the water mixed with the woods to create an aroma of wilderness that thrilled me.

The dragon lord studied me with a curious look. “How do you like it?”

I smiled up at him. “It’s beautiful. The water looks too pretty to touch.”

He chuckled. “Fortunately for us, its beauty doesn’t extend that far. In fact, the pool is quite comfortable for a wade or a swim.”

I nodded. “A wade sounds nice.”

He almost looked disappointed, but hid it gallantly behind a low bow of the waist. “Then shall we?”

I plopped myself by the edge of the pool and removed my shoes. My loose pants happily rolled up to above my calves and in a moment I stood ready for my little stroll through the water.

My companion had done the same, and I couldn’t help but notice that his feet were strangely formed. The toes were a little thinner and longer than they should have been.

He noticed my staring. “My other flaw. I have difficulty forming toes.”

I pointed at his hands. “But not hands?”

He raised one hand and studied the slender fingers. “These were also difficult, but their constant presence and use demanded I learn to shape them. Toes, however, are only made for balance and can be hidden inside boots.”

A very naughty thought slipped into my mind that made me blush. “Is there, um, anything else of you that’s dragon?”

A lecherous grin appeared on his lips. “After last night, I am a little surprised by your question.”

That really got my cheeks warmed to a steady steam. “I-I hadn’t really noticed. Everything happened so fast. I-I wasn’t really thinking-”

He held up one hand and shook his head. “Natural impulses are nothing to be ashamed of. One must follow their heart where it leads.”

I tried to tamp down the rising heat within me, and I did that by stepping into the cool waters. The pool was comfortably warm but still cold enough to soothe my stifling embarrassment. I stared down at my reflection and beheld my reddened cheeks.

The waters stirred as the dragon lord followed me into the pond. I couldn’t face him and I stiffened as he wrapped his arms around me. His musky scent surrounded me and soothed my tense muscles.

He leaned down and his whispered voice floated over my ear. “Do you have regrets?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to steady my words. “I-I don’t know what to think. I don’t understand anything that’s going on. I don’t know whether I should go home or. . .”

“Or what?” There was a reluctant hope in his voice.

I let out a shuddering breath. “Or stay here with you.” I turned around, breaking his gentle hold around me, and studied his handsome face. “Why do you want me to stay? Why did you have them bring the other women and me here? The people you hired told us you wanted a bride.”

The lord turned his face away and pursed his lips. “Yes. My kind mate only once in our long lives, and we go in search of that bride only when the urge comes upon us, which is rarely.”

“How rarely?” I asked him.

“I have not felt the urge to find a mate for nearly two centuries.”

CHAPTERSEVEN

My eyes widened. “How long do you guys live?”

A bittersweet smile slipped onto his lips as he continued to look away from me. “Would you believe I am two thousand years old?”

My lower jaw hit the pool of water beneath me, and when I could find my voice it came out in a squeak. “You. . .you’re. . .that old? Are you sure?”

He chuckled. “I may be off by a century either way, but yes, I’m sure.” He turned to face me and his good humor faltered. “I felt the urge for a bride come to me a fortnight ago and sought the assistance of my ‘acquaintances’ to acquire a bride.”

I shook off my shock as many questions bounced around in my head. “But why did you have to go to another world for a bride? What’s wrong with the women in this one?”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that question, as I myself do not know the answer. I only know that the call came from a land far away from my own, and so I sought to use my chosen stone in order to open a gateway to the prospective brides.” He turned to face me and his eyes studied me with curiosity. “Little did I know it would lead Enna and her ilk to another world.”

A word he said caught my attention. “The chosen stone? You were talking to Enna about getting that back to her, weren’t you? What is it?”

He lifted one arm and studied the muscled limb. “It’s called a stone, but it’s actually my scales fashioned into a ball by my own fire. Only a dragon’s fire can burn a scale, and we dragons use that flame to create a concentration of our powers. There’s no greater source for our magic, except for our blood.”

I tilted my head to one side. “Why? What’s in your-”

“Whoa! Whoa!”

The shout came from the south of us in the direction of the road. The lord whipped his head about and frowned. “Someone’s in trouble.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What do we do?”

“I will go see if I might help,” he told me as he grabbed my hand and guided me to the shore. “You will remain here-”

“Oh no,” I insisted as I swept my eyes over the silent woods around us. “I think I’d rather go with you.”

He stuffed my shoes and socks into my arms, along with his own. “Then you may carry these.”

I wrinkled my nose before a yelp interrupted my disgust. He had again swept me off my feet and spread his wings wide. In a moment we were airborne and he bore us in the direction of the noise. Another shout caught our attention and I glimpsed something moving quickly among the trees toward his stately abode.

Lord Thorn dove down so we were just barely above the tree branches. Breaks in the canopy allowed us to see a box-shaped wagon careening down the dirt road. The back was covered by a heavy blanket that flapped in the wind and at times revealed heavy trunks that bounced about.

A man sat in the driver’s box. He sported a long mustache and plain trousers with a brightly colored buttoned shirt. The man pulled hard on the reins, but the two terrified horses kept up their panicked gallop. The wagon hit a bump and a pair of terrified female screams came from inside the rear box.

The dragon’s face was grim as he tightened his grip on me. “Hold on.”

He slipped us through an opening in the canopy and we flew just above the carriage box. The driver gasped and gave a shout of terror, and the horses whinnied and galloped faster.

The lord’s calm voice cut through all this chaos. “I’m going to drop you.”

My mouth fell open. “You’re going to.”

He opened his arms and I found myself falling. A long scream escaped me, but it was short-lived as I fell in a heap onto the box. I would have fallen off if the man hadn’t latched on to me and drew me back onto the seat. The lord flew ahead and landed on the back of the left-hand steed. He grabbed its reins and that of the other horse, and pulled so hard that the horses’ heads were yanked bank. The steeds skidded to a stop a few yards further down and stood there with their eyes bulging and their mouths open in deep, quick pants.

My host slid off the steed and hurried over to the wagon. The driver climbed down from the box and stumbled back as the winged man approached him. “W-what are you?”

“A friend,” the dragon assured him as he looked up at me. “Are you alright?”

I glared at him over my armful of clothes and shoes. “You could’ve given me a better warning than that!”

“You did want to come along,” he reminded me before he returned his attention to the driver and the boxed wagon at his back. “Is anyone injured?”

The man’s eyes widened. “Maria! Sonya!” He rushed to the rear of the wagon and flung open the heavy blankets.

The dragon and I hurried along behind him and beheld a mess. Several trunks had spilled their contents all over the floor of the wagon. Two women cowered in the corners grasping one another, their faces ghastly white. One of them was older than the other and wore a handkerchief over her head. The other had long black hair that trailed down her back. Both of them wore brightly colored dresses.

“Sergio!” the older woman shouted as she scurried forward with the other woman close at her heels.

“Maria!” he cooed as they embraced in a tight hug. He parted from her and turned to the next woman whom he hugged. “My dearest Sonya!”

“Papa!” she shouted as she squeezed her eyes shut. “It was so terrifying!”

Maria whipped her head around to face the road down which they’d had such a terrifying journey. “Have they followed us?”

Sergio drew away from his daughter and shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“You were being followed?” Lord Thorn spoke up.

Sergio pursed his lips before he nodded. “Yes. Robbers waylaid us along the road a few miles back and tried to force us to stop. I cracked the horses into a gallop, but they smelled my fear. They bolted and I could not get a hold of them.”

“Where exactly did they attack you?” the dragon asked him.

Sergio pointed down the road in the direction from where they had driven. “Just where there’s a group of boulders that make a circle.”

The dragon lord’s eyebrows crashed down. “I know the place. Did you happen to see where these robbers went?”

The man shook his head. “No, but I have no doubt they are still there among the rocks waiting for others to pass.”

Lord Thorn turned to face the west and there was determination in his eyes. He looked to me, first, however, and his expression softened. “I need you to stay here.”

The color drained from my face. “Why?”

He grasped my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Because I need to take care of these fiends before they attack someone else in my domain.”

I clung to the front of his shirt and bit my lower lip. “You said you’d take me wherever I desire, and right now I’m really desiring not to be alone.”

He drew me close against his chest. “Don’t worry. I’ll return in a short while.” He drew us apart and smiled down at me. “But you won’t be quite alone. If you feel the need for company, our new acquaintances can provide that.” I bowed my head but nodded. He grasped my chin in one hand and gently lifted my eyes to his. “I will return as soon as I can.”

He leaned down and captured my lips in a long, passionate kiss. I pressed against him and groaned as a pleasurable heat tingled my body. Much was my regret when we broke apart.

I pressed a few trembling fingers against my lips and stared up at him with wide eyes. “What was that for?”

“That is my promise to you that I will return,” he told me as he stepped back and opened his wings. “See you in a short while.”

He leapt into the air and soon disappeared, taking with him the feeling of safety he gave me.

CHAPTEREIGHT

I watched