Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 88669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Unfortunately, neither of us predicted or expected the three loud knocks on the door, making us both freeze like two bricked-up statues.
That’s when the biggest and most notorious of all cockblocks struck: little siblings. Specifically, Maddox, Damien’s younger brother, who called out from behind the closed door.
“Living room in five. I found something.”
We heard heavy footsteps leading away from the door. I flopped back onto the bed with a huff. “Damn it. I thought I was about to have sex with a dragon.”
“Maddox always exaggerates. Five minutes between you and I could be enough.” He grinned, gripping his still-hard bulge.
“We both know we’re going to need way more than five minutes.”
He smiled at that. Fuck, I wanted to kiss him. And lick him, all over.
All over.
“You’re right. I have a feeling I could lock you up in my hoard room for an entire week and still not be satiated by the end.”
I cocked my head. “Okay, that sounds slightly creepy but also… really hot? Do dragons give off some kind of pheromones that turn their conquests into dick-dazzled sex fiends?”
Damien arched a brow before he gave a series of loud laughs, tilting his head back, Adam’s apple bobbing. When he gathered himself, he said, “No, no. Not that I know of.”
“Alright, well, maybe get someone to look into it.” I got up and managed to walk past Damien without spontaneously dropping to my knees and unhinging my jaw. “Because I’m suspicious.”
“I’ll see who I can talk to,” Damien said, still chuckling as he followed me out of the bedroom.
I had no idea what Damien’s little brother found, but as I turned to look at a smiling (and slightly flushed) Damien, I started to wonder if maybe I had found something myself.
We were all gathered in the cavernous living room. Even Damien’s sick brother, Warrick, had made it. He was bundled up under a blanket, his forehead was shiny with sweat from the fever. My heart broke for him, for the entire family. Shit, the entirety of dragonkind was affected by this. If it wasn’t stopped, then they’d all be wiped out, an entire species of powerful and caring beings wiped out just like that.
It had been all over the news recently, and Damien and his family weren’t the only ones working around the clock to figure out what was going on. Dragons and humans had always had a strong bond, ever since the dragons were spat out of the Tears over two centuries ago. They were allowed certain things that other supernaturals weren’t. Initially, they were the only supernatural beings that were allowed to vote and hold positions in government, but that had since changed. The world had an easier time once the Iron Treaty had been put into place and the fighting for land and power ceased. Now we had a hawk shifter as senator and a dragon governor, who was one of the ones leading the biggest effort in stopping the dragon fall. She had thrown in all the resources she could at researching a way to stop this, but from the last reports I’d read, she was coming up empty-taloned just like everyone else. Yes, it was clear the vampires were somehow involved, but without solid evidence, there was no way to charge the Matriarch with any crime.
A shiver crawled down my spine, snuffing out any residual warmth I felt from Damien’s touch.
I sat on the couch, perched at the edge of the plush white cushion. Bambi had immediately wound her way through the group and tangled herself up between my feet, her fluffy tail flicking against my bare feet. I gave her a couple of head scratches as Maddox took center stage.
He was younger than Damien but carried himself as if he were years older. He was bigger than his brothers too, a little more round, where Damien and Xavier cut a thinner frame. The sapphire-blue scales on the side of his neck dipped underneath the collar of his black T-shirt, matching the depthless blue of his eyes.
“Alright, I’ve found someone who might be able to tell us what’s going on. I just don’t want anyone freaking out,” he said, his gaze settling on me.
“Why would we freak out?” I asked.
“Because, well— Benjamin, you can come.”
I looked to the hall, a shape moving through the shadows, stepping out into the light, hungry eyes snapping directly onto me.
I involuntarily pressed back into the couch. Heart hammering, Damien put a hand on mine. “It’s okay,” he said.
But it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. How did they allow this?
The man—no, he wasn’t a man. He was a vampire. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. His tan skin looked airbrushed from not having any pores, and he moved with a grace reserved for a predatory cat. His jeans and shirt were slightly baggy, but that did nothing to hide the supernatural movement as he entered the living room.