The Bride Hunt Box Set: Books 1-3

by Charlene Hartnady

  Torrent sat up as well. She had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact. She prayed the sheet was still in place since he didn’t seem to give much of a shit.

  Why did he have to be so damned big? It irritated her how sexy he looked. His skin was still pink in places, though otherwise he didn’t look any worse for wear. His hair was mussed, yet it made him look even more attractive. Go figure.

  Candy was not going to allow herself to be sidetracked. No way! She couldn’t let him sweet talk her either. He tried to pay her for sex. Even after working for Ellis. After all her years as an escort, she had never felt as degraded as in that moment.

  She must look like a complete mess but he didn’t seem to notice or he pretended not to. It didn’t matter though.

  Torrent scrubbed a hand through his hair. It messed it up some more. He didn’t look any less handsome though. “I was jealous and angry and so damned jealous …” He paused. “I know I’m repeating myself but I couldn’t see straight. I’ve never been jealous before in my life.” He looked distraught. “How do I make this up to you?”

  “I told you that I forgive you.” She left it at that.

  “But you still can’t be with me?” That distraught look was back.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.” Tell him no. Tell him to go to hell. She couldn’t.

  “I freaked out. I lost it.” He grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed. “I should never have done that … offered you those jewels. I felt so jealous of those human males. I couldn’t see straight. I didn’t realize what I was feeling at the time. I didn’t realize how jealous and pathetic I was. I was angry at you for making me feel that way. I was angry at myself for letting you get under my skin like that. I’m a king—”

  “Yeah, yeah, so strong and great and fierce.” She tried to use a joking tone but it came out sounding like an accusation.

  He shook his head. “I am a king and yet I am nothing,” he paused, “I am nothing without you.”

  Her heart melted a little.

  “I am a great king and yet I was reduced to behaving like a small child. I acted like a little boy. My grandmother would throw me over her knee if she found out how I treated you, and rightly so.” He seemed to speak more to himself than to her. His eyes moved back to meet with hers. “There is nothing that I could say or do to make it right. There is no turning back the clock. When I heard about those other males, I freaked out. I let jealousy overtake me. I allowed myself to fall in love with a female who wouldn’t allow me to claim her. No female has ever turned me down before. I was ‒ am ‒ so in love with you that I can’t think straight. I’m a jealous asshole.” He shook his head. “Like I said—” He grabbed her hands in his. “There is no turning back the clock but maybe you would agree to us starting over. A new beginning.”

  He was in love with her.

  In love.

  With her.

  She could hardly breathe. She felt light-headed. She hadn’t expected this. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen but this wasn’t it. Firstly the emotion. The tears. A grown man ‒ shifter ‒ crying because of what had happened to her. Then this. She’d expected him to be pushy about getting back together … but starting over and love and apologies? He was opening up to her and admitting to his feelings.

  Torrent was frowning, his face filled with concern. “I know.” He gave her hands a squeeze before letting go. “Too soon. I’m sorry.”

  More apologies.

  No pushing at all.

  Her hearted melted some more.

  “I’ll get out of your hair. I’ll—”

  She grabbed his hand. “Okay …” she hadn’t just said that. She realized that she was smiling.

  Torrent looked unsure for a second and then he smiled back. “Okay, as in yes?”

  “Yes, but we start over and not where we left off. We start at the beginning.”

  “The beginning?” His frown deepened. “Should I hunt you again? I might have to kill others if they—”

  Candy laughed. “No, we’ll skip that part but maybe we can be friends and see where we go from there. You hurt me really badly. You made me feel cheap and worthless.”

  Torrent swallowed thickly, his throat worked but he didn’t say anything.

  “We can try but I can’t make any promises.” She was such a liar. Her heart was a puddle inside her chest. The question wasn’t if she could take him back, it was how long before she did.

  He nodded. “I will strive every day to show you what you mean to me. To prove to you how much I value you. You are more precious than gold or diamonds. I hope you know that.”

  “I might, but I guess you need to prove to me that you feel it. You need to show me. I’m not interested in gold or jewels or fancy titles or any of that other stuff.”

  “I know. I’m so glad you are agreeing. You need to know that I lo—”

  “Wait!” Her voice came out sounding a tad panicked. “You can’t say the ‘L’ word. It’s not fair.”

  “It’s going to be difficult but I agree to everything.”

  “There’s more.” She raised her brows.

  Torrent smiled. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “I want to meet your people and explore your lair. I want to get to know your way of life. We need to stay in separate chambers and we’re friends, so no sex.”

  He choked out a laugh. “Because we were having so much sex before?”

  She couldn’t help but to smile. “Oral sex is still a form of sex.”

  His eyes glazed over and he made a low growling noise. “I may die by the time you finally allow me into your body, but I agree.”

  She felt a zing of need as he spoke of being inside her. Shit! She wasn’t going to last. Not at all. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded.

  “I wouldn’t expect you to be exclusive,” her voice squeaked. She couldn’t believe she was even saying this.

  “Do you want other males?” His muscles tensed.

  “No. Not at all but at the same time …” she shrugged. “I’m asking you to dial our relationship back. I’m asking for friendship, it wouldn’t be right to demand exclusivity.” As much as I want to.

  “Do you want me to fuck other females?” His nostrils flared, his body tensed.

  She grit her teeth. Anger and ‒ yes, a good dose of jealousy ‒ raced through her. “No. I would hate it,” she grit out. “It would kill me but I can’t expect you just to wait for me.” Softer this time. “Sky said that you would get weak.” If he so much as looked at another woman she would kill him. Why had she even said that? Why? She had to be fair though.

  His eyes blazed. “I don’t want anyone else. I made a mistake. I will prove myself to you and, Candy.”

  Thank god!

  “Um …” More of a sigh.

  “When I put my mind to something, I give it my all. My everything. My undivided attention.” He licked his lips. “You will be mine.”

  A shiver raced up her spine. It was of excitement, anticipation but also of fear. Torrent was everything she’d always stayed away from. He was too good-looking, rich and arrogant. He was also really sweet and kind when he wanted to be. He could hurt her. He could crush her.

  He leaned forward and she realized that his focus was on her lips. “We’re friends!” she blurted before he could kiss her. Thing was, if he kissed her, all out went at it, she would be putty in his hands.

  He gave her a smile that made her want to groan. Then he kissed her on her forehead. It was so tender. So sweet. Torrent let his lips linger for a moment before pulling her into a tight hug.

  The next day …

  “What did you say to him?” Sky asked.

  “What do you mean?” Candy put her book down. It was the second in the series ‒ The Demon Prince’s Love Slave ‒ Torrent was going to tease her when he got a look at the cover.

  “Torrent made a public announcement. He has renounced his claim on you, stating that you are just friends. Just friends?” She
frowned, looking shocked. “Torrent has never been friends with a female before. Maybe me but that doesn’t count because I’m family. Then again, he’s never been in love with one either. Anyway, he also pointed out that if a male so much as touches you, there will be consequences and I quote: ‘I will disembowel the bastard myself’. He smiled while he said it.” Sky visibly shivered. “The male is besotted.”

  “He said that?” Candy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Part of her felt hurt. He renounced her.

  “Yup. You are free to go wherever you want. You are quite safe. Just don’t be too surprised if any of the guys turn around and walk the other way if they see you coming.”

  “He wouldn’t really hurt anyone though.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure I like this jealous side. It’s what caused the problems between us in the first place.”

  “Yes and no.” Sky widened her eyes. “He is in love with you. Normally a couple would mate and be done with it. With you two, everything has been up in the air indefinitely. On the one hand it’s good for Torrent; he needed to learn to work for a female. He’s had it too easy, but on the other hand, it’s not natural for a shifter. He is driven to mate you and to keep other suitors away. He is hardwired this way. Doing anything else will demand huge strength and patience. It will go against his grain. I need to give you some advice.”

  Candy smiled. The other woman was a mother figure and a friend all rolled into one. “That’s fine. Go ahead.”

  “I can see that you weren’t happy when I mentioned that Torrent had renounced you. I know your feelings run deep for him …” She paused. “Here goes, don’t make him wait too long. I don’t know what he did or said to make you so angry with him but please, take my advice on this one.”

  “It’s not about making him wait. I can’t help my own feelings.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Candy bit down on her lip.

  “Do you?” she used a more pressing tone.

  Candy nodded. “I do.”

  Sky smiled. “Let him pay for being a prick and then take him back. He is a shifter and he loves you. He will never want another female ‒ you are ‘it’ for him. I’m not saying he won’t be an idiot or do the wrong thing from time to time. He is a male.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s bound to happen, but you need to trust that he will ultimately do right by you.”

  “You’re right,” Candy smiled. “I’ll try really hard to let this go.” A big part of her already had. It was important though that he never do anything like this again. He needed to accept her for who she was. That meant every part of her, the good, the bad and yes, the ugly. She was who she was. “And …” She raised her brows. “Any sign of your pregnancy?” It was a shameless change of subject but she was also really curious.

  “Not yet,” Sky beamed. “It’s still a bit early though.”

  “I’m sure that all of the signs will be there in no time.” Then she frowned. “What are the signs anyway? I’m sure it’s different from a human pregnancy.”

  “I don’t know much about human pregnancies. Dragons are different, even amongst our own species. Air and water dragons are similar in that we give birth to live young.”

  Candy felt her mouth gape for a second. “As opposed to?”

  “Fire dragon females lay eggs.”

  “You’re shitting me?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. You can count your lucky stars that you weren’t nabbed by one of the fire dragons. It’s the male who dictates the pregnancy. I’m an air dragon but my son or …” She looked wistful. “My daughter will be water because my mate is a water dragon.”

  Candy could feel that her eyes were wide in her head. “Okay, so you’ll actually give birth to a baby, not a dragon or an egg?” She couldn’t help but pull a face.

  Sky smiled. “Yup.” She probably didn’t know she was doing it, but her hand was touching her lower belly. “In about six months or so, if all goes well, I’ll give birth to a baby. If not—” She pulled her hand away like she had been burned. “It’ll be at least six months before I go into heat again.” Her eyes clouded.

  “Wow, so long?” Candy gave Sky a shoulder bump. “I’m sure you must be … you know …”

  She looked horrified for a second. “Don’t jinx me.” Then she nodded. “It’s fine, I’m one of the lucky females, at least I am fertile. If I’m not with child, there’s always next time.” She tried to sound like she didn’t mind either way but Candy could see the longing in her eyes.

  “What happened to your species?”

  Sky shrugged again. She looked sad. “Females just stopped being born. Simple yet devastating. A female birth is a rare occurrence. She-dragons who go into heat, are even more rare at that. And here we are,” she waved her hands about them, “surrounded mostly by males. Most of our remaining females are elderly and already mated.”

  Candy nodded. She tried to lighten the mood. “Hopefully we humans can help out, for a while at least. Who knows, if enough she-dragons are born in the coming years, there’ll be no need for any future hunts.”

  Sky laughed. “Firstly, the hunt is a dragon tradition that was started because there were not nearly enough females to go around. Male dragons have hunted she-dragons for many years. It’s considered exciting and fun. Only the strongest, most resilient males win and continue the bloodlines. Then …” She hesitated. “You really weren’t told anything before being hunted?”

  Candy shook her head. “We were fed bullshit, remember?”

  Sky made a humming sound. “Right. Human females will only birth males. At least, it is most likely that you will birth males.”

  “How can you know that?”

  “It is twofold. Firstly, the two human females who have birthed dragons both had males, and then the other shifter species that interbred with humans also all had males. It’s the same with the vampires. There has yet to be one female offspring from a non-human with a human, and this being true across the species.”

  “Okay.” She licked her lips. “I haven’t given kids much thought. I guess I wouldn’t mind either way. It’s good to know I won’t have to push out an egg though.”

  Sky pulled a face. “The only downside is that we are pregnant for much longer. It’s only six weeks incubation time for the egg layers and then it takes about six weeks for an egg to hatch. We have to carry for a whole six months. It’s back breaking. Labor is much longer and—”

  “Only six?” Candy laughed. “Try nine on for size. Forty weeks to be precise. That’s how long humans are pregnant for.”

  “Nine!” Her eyes were wide. “I won’t complain then. Labor lasts about six to eight hours. Our young are pretty small and weak when they are born, normally around four and a half pounds.”

  “That’s tiny. I’m beginning to think that human women got the short end of the stick.”

  “Nah, the vampires did,” Sky raised her brows. “They’re pregnant the longest and give birth to huge babies. Rumor has it that their females have narrow hips. Most of the females are too narrow in the pelvis to birth young.” She lifted her head and cocked it to the side. “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “You still haven’t told me how we’ll know if you’re pregnant or not.”

  “My scent will change. It’s even more noticeable since I’m a an air dragon and Lake is a water dragon. You might end up being the first human pregnant with a royal dragon child.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “How exciting would that be?” She gave Candy’s hand a squeeze.

  Candy shook her head. “Not happening. I’m not ready for that.”

  Sky shushed her. “We’ll chat later. I still haven’t told you about the earth dragons.” She giggled. “Your date is almost here.” She practically ran from the room.

  Candy could hear her call out to someone. A deep voice answered. It was Torrent. Her heart beat a little faster.

  It took about a half a minute for him to knock on her door.

  She smoothed a hand down her dress
. “Come in.”

  He walked in and her eyes widened with surprise. Torrent was wearing jeans, a faded baseball shirt and sneakers. The jeans pulled tight around his thighs, as did the shirt around the span of his shoulders and the breadth of his biceps.

  “You look amazing,” he growled. She forgot for a second that she was wearing a summer dress. It was pink, of all colors. It was one of the items he’d had his men purchase for her not so long ago. There were sandals on her feet and she wore her hair in a loose ponytail.

  He pulled a face. “Am I allowed to say that? Surely I am? I can tell my friend,” he emphasized the word, “that she looks amazing, can’t I? Now …” His eyes turned up towards the ceiling. “If I said that you were sexy or just about the most ravishing creature that I’d ever seen, that would probably be pushing it ‒ for a friend.”

  She had to smile. “That might be pushing it … yes. You look pretty amazing yourself.”

  “Yeah … um … I ran a little errand earlier. I got you something.”

  “I don’t need anything. I told you that earlier.”

  His face fell. He suddenly looked really unsure of himself. More like a little boy than a grown man … a king. She felt guilty. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

  Torrent grinned. “Okay well, I’m a little nervous now that I’m here … I had this all planned out. Shit!” He ran a hand through his hair.

  “What is it? Now you have me all intrigued. I’m sure I’ll love it, as long as it’s not jewelry. No more jewelry,” she smiled.

  He seemed to relax. “No, it’s nothing like that. If you’re not happy, I’ll make a plan.” He walked towards the door and then back towards her. “I’m sure you’ll like it.” Only, he didn’t look sure at all.

  She smiled at him. Torrent turned and disappeared behind the front door.

  When he came back, he had a sheepish look on his face and the cutest little puppy under his arm. It was a mixed breed of some kind. The little thing had long fur and a long nose and the biggest brown eyes. The puppy reminded her of a teddy bear. Okay, not quite a teddy bear, maybe a dog mixed with a miniature bear. “Oh my word,” she gushed. “That’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” The little guy ‒ she didn’t know how she knew but it was definitely a boy ‒ had to be a few months old already. His tail wagged madly.