Tianna Xander

by The Earth Dragon

  When a dragon and a witch travel to Alaska in search of a plant thought long extinct, the result is…magic.

  When the larger than life dragon buys the Purring Pussycat to get May out of her dancing contract, May is sure she’s in trouble. When she refuses his suit and he kidnaps her to take her to the wilds of Alaska, she knows she is. How can she convince Damek that she’s not attracted to large, muscular men, especially when she can’t seem to stop looking at him?

  When Damek follows May to her place of employment, he knows exactly who she is—his mate. When she refuses his offer of marriage, he does the only thing he can. He kidnaps her and drags her to Alaska with him where he must search for a plant long thought extinct to reverse the effects of Dragonkin’s potent aphrodisiac, Dragon’s Desire .

  Will the strong-willed pair overcome their differences before they return to her home, or will Damek regret even staking his claim?

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The Earth Dragon

  Copyright © 2012 Tianna Xander

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-263-5

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

  Look for us online at:

  www.devinedestinies.com

  The Earth Dragon

  Dragon Bound Series 4

  By

  Tianna Xander

  To all the dreamers in the world; Don’t stop believing. One day we might actually make the world a better place.

  Chapter One

  May stood in the dressing room, staring at herself in the mirror. She looked different, but not different enough. The thick, black eyeliner around her eyes gave them the appearance of being almond shaped. The light-blue eye shadow drew attention to her brown irises shot with gold and the ebony mascara made her lashes look an inch long. Her black hair, which she usually kept up in a ponytail, hung loose down her back.

  She eyed the strategically placed huge, blue feathers of her costume critically. She wanted to keep herself covered as much as possible before she pulled the two that would expose her breasts and the fact that she wore a G-string. She always checked her costume thoroughly before a show. She hated stripping, hated the fact that men stared at her too-large breasts and ogled her nearly naked body, but she hated seeing children homeless and hungry, even more.

  “You’re up next, May,” the manager of the Purring Pussycat half snarled at her as he walked by, slapping her rear on his way past her. Marvin Henry wasn’t a nice man, but she wasn’t here because she wanted nice. She was here because he paid well, and that’s all there was to it.

  Giving him a curt nod, she made her way to the door. May hated the fact that the jerk insisted on coming into the dressing room while they dressed. Had that been in her contract, she would have refused to sign. Still, she had signed and the little wrinkle of him demanding entrance while they got ready was something she could do little about at this late date.

  She supposed they could all sue the little worm, but every one of them knew if they did, they would never strip again. The industry was as tight as the movie industry. One could, and did hire relatives before anyone else and blackballed anyone who didn’t fit. Strippers who sued just didn’t fit.

  May moved to the stage entrance and watched as Laurette strutted her stuff. She’d started her set wearing a prim-looking librarian costume complete with the severe bun and pop bottle glasses. A hell of a lot more brave than May, she danced around the stage, twirling around the metal pole and shaking her stuff in front of the men. Soon, she was almost totally naked, save for the G-string, required by law to preserve her modesty and two tiny pasties in the shape of stars that barely covered her areolas. It was a good thing the city was looking out for her because Laurette didn’t seem to have a modest bone in her body.

  May envied her, though. Laurette could sure dance one mean burlesque. She once told May she would dance out here butt naked, if not for the laws, if it paid to keep her in her apartment, not to mention fed and clothed. She had told May that herself. What she hadn’t told May was that she really was a Librarian during the day. May found that out, one stormy evening when she had used the library for their internet connection.

  Moving closer to the stage, May tried to see who was out in the audience. The bright lights pointed down at the stage casting the rest of the bar in shadows. She knew they would. Still, she had to try. It was one thing to dance in front of strangers. Dancing in front of someone she knew was something else entirely. If she saw someone she knew, she’d hightail it back to the dressing room and borrow a wig from one of the other girls.

  She squinted through the darkness even though she knew she couldn’t see much. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that all was not right, but she couldn’t figure out what.

  The throbbing beat of the music changed as Laurette held her arms out and shook her shoulders, her breasts jiggling to the men’s applause. Bending down, the other woman collected the last of her tips via her strip of fake modesty, then left the stage.

  Marvin gave May a shove between her shoulder blades and she practically stumbled out onto the stage. It was no wonder. Her FM heels were four-inch stilettos she could barely walk in. Her nerves boiled in her belly and she froze in place when she saw a group of men storming the stage.

  “You’d better get out here, Barry. There’s going to be trouble,” the DJ called over the loud speaker. Her music set still blared in the background as she stood frozen with shock.

  Barry, the bouncer, made a move to keep the men away from her, but decided that discretion was the better part of valor and backed off when he couldn’t deter them. May didn’t blame him. He was one against many. There was no hope for victory as the others shoved him aside. He was outnumbered after all.

  Her heart sank when she saw her brother’s scowl. What was he doing here? She bit her lip. “Crap.”

  “Crap is right, you little hellion,” Lance said softly as he scowled down at her, ripped his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. “If you want money for charity, I’ll give it to them. I never want to see you in here again.”

  May fisted her hands at her sides. He might be her brother, but he had no dominion over her. She stood up straighter and lifted her chin. “Puhleeze, Lancelot Flowers,” May said. A group of men laughed when she used her brother’s full name. “You have no right to come in here dictating to me.” She sniffed. “Where have you been since Mom and Dad died?”

  All of her brothers left town right after her parent’s double funeral. None of them stuck around to help their sisters through their grief and not one of them came back until Lance returned a little over three months ago. Something told her he’d been in town a little longer than he let on because he managed to make his presence known just before Rose married the Ice Dragon.

  May glared right back
when her brother gave her a dirty look and shook his head.

  “First off, little sister, Mom and Dad aren’t dead. If you and the rest of my harebrained sisters knew a damned thing about magic, you would know that good magic can’t kill.” A muscle ticked in his jaw when he shook his head. “And none of you could ever handle black magic. With your control, you wouldn’t only kill someone else. You’d most likely blow yourselves up. They aren’t dead. They’ve been transported somewhere. The rest of the guys are still out looking for them.”

  May shivered. She wasn’t wearing much and they’d dragged her to the edge of the stage and away from the warmth of the lights. She drew his coat tighter around her and her mouth dropped open when she noticed just how many people he’d brought with him. “What are the rest of these guys doing here?”

  She held her chin up and tried not to cry. She never wanted them to know she did this, let alone see her standing in a club half-naked. Talk about getting caught with her pants down. She closed her eyes, thankful that at least they’d arrived before she’d taken off all her feathers.

  Her stomach churned when her sister Tansy approached the stage. Crap! Were all of her sisters here? “Come on, May. Let’s go home.”

  “I can’t.” May couldn’t help it. She stared down at her feet. The last thing she wanted was for her sisters to see her like this. “I signed a contract saying that I would dance here tonight and once a month for the next year.”

  “What were you thinking, May?” The expression on her sister’s face made her want to cry. Tansy waved her arm. “How could you think that this would be okay?”

  “What difference does it make? Seriously?” She balled her hands into fists and rested them on her hips. “I mean, there’s some sick-o out there with naked pictures of all of us. What’s to stop him from showing them around to everyone and their brother?” She began to pace. She had to get rid of some of her nervous energy. God only knew she couldn’t dance it off now.

  The music blared as one of the other girls took her place on stage. May pulled Lance’s coat tighter around her. She didn’t give a good damn what her siblings said. This was her life and she would live it as she damn well pleased.

  “Face it, you guys. There could be hundreds, thousands of people looking at our naked pictures on the internet right now. What’s so wrong with me dancing and getting paid for it so I can give the money to homeless kids?”

  Drake, one of her brothers-in-law, stepped forward, took the blanket his driver held and draped it around her shoulders. Once she was covered, she removed Lance’s Jacket and handed it to him. He passed the coat to Lance, rested his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with it, little sister.” He closed his eyes and held up his hand when Lance choked and would have said something. “Normally, there is nothing the matter with it. But right now, there are a lot of things that could go wrong.”

  Moving to her right, he gathered her against his side like a big brother and led her to the edge of the stage and down the stairs. Marvin was there, stamping out little fires that kept springing up around him. If Tansy wasn’t careful, she’d burn the place to the ground.

  “What the—” Marvin said as he danced around in an attempt to put them all out.

  Drake rested his hand on Marvin’s arm to get his attention. “I’m sure you will allow the young lady out of her contract now that you know her life is in jeopardy. Will you not?”

  Marvin laughed and shook his head, his expression easy to read. “I offered her good money and she signed a legal and binding contract. If she doesn’t dance, she owes me money.”

  “How much?”

  One of the men in her brother’s little group stepped forward and raised a brow. May probably would have kissed him had he been a bit smaller than he was. He was the type of man she always avoided.

  Not only was this guy tall, he was big. Heck, big didn’t even begin to describe him. Built-like-a-linebacker huge was a better description. His brown hair, almost the color of fertile soil, brushed his broad shoulders. His chest was wide, his pectorals bulging beneath his white shirt as he moved. He had arms bigger than her thighs and his thighs were almost as thick as her waist.

  May got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when he asked, “How much do you want to let her out of this contract?”

  Why would he care?

  “I—I don’t know.” Marvin looked around as though looking for help. Obviously, there was none forthcoming since Barry vacated the area when he saw Drake’s entourage. “I never thought about it. Nobody wants out of their contracts. They make damned good money here.”

  The big man stepped closer, an obvious air of menace about him. His brown gaze bored into the manager. May could see the promise of death in his gaze, and he did nothing more than stand and stare at Marvin.

  May got the feeling that somewhere out back, the Earth split open and waited for this man to toss Marvin into the breach like a hungry, opened maw. There was no doubt in May’s mind that the man wasn’t just a man. She’d bet he was a dragon. The only problem with that was, it seemed as though he’d taken an interest in her.

  Crap and double crap!

  “Say, for the sake of argument…” he stopped talking and looked at May. She wasn’t sure what she did, but she must have done something to draw his attention. He turned his attention back to Marvin and waved his arm… “that this woman wants out. How much?”

  Marvin’s eyes gleamed. He didn’t answer right away, but took measure of all the men with her. Even her brother dressed as though he had money. When his gaze finally rested on Oscar, Drake’s driver, she knew then, that mister Tall-dark-and-huge was in trouble. May could tell by the gleam in Marvin’s eyes that he was going to tell the man some elaborate sum.

  It surprised her when Marvin said, “I don’t know.” He shook his head as he got a faraway expression. “I’ll have to think about it. I’ll lose business because of this. I’ll have to figure out how much.”

  Chapter Two

  Damek curled his lip at the man. Who did he think he was, drawing this fiasco out the way he did? It was obvious the man knew nothing of dragonkin. If the man even suspected that dragons existed, he wouldn’t have such a smug look on his ugly face. Instead, he would be pissing in his pants while shoving May away from him as fast as he could.

  Taking a deep breath, Damek inhaled the man’s scent. The owner-manager reeked of sweat, alcohol, and cocaine.

  “To hell with that,” he said, tired of the perverse game. “I’ll give you five-hundred thousand dollars for this place right now.” Damek reached into his pocket and pulled out his checkbook. He didn’t usually carry it, but he’d had some other business to attend to when he left his home. Having the checks only made this more convenient.

  It was just by a stroke of sheer luck that his driver had stopped next to the car that carried May Flowers to this shitty excuse for a club. Her scent wafted through the window he had cracked to release the scent of his business partner’s cigar. He hated the smell of those damned things, but some people insisted on a celebratory cigar as their right when signing a multi-million dollar deal. Who was he to say the man couldn’t smoke? Robert Harder had just paid him seventy-five million dollars for the privilege.

  “Sold!” The owner of the club slammed his hand down on the bar next to him. “But I’m not taking no damned check.” The man scowled at Damek’s checkbook. “Do you think I just fell off the turnip truck? You’ll get me the cash before I sign anything.”

  So the idiot didn’t think he could get the cash? Damek almost laughed. He had a cool million sitting in his safe. He merely needed to make a call and his familiar would meet him halfway with it. “I’ll have your money before you can get to your damned office to call your lawyer to draw up the paperwork. Now, go!”

  The man turned and moved so fast, Damek smiled as he turned to Drake. “Five-hundred grand. Ha! That’s chump change by comparison.” He shook his head. It was a small price to pay for t
he safety of the woman he’d waited eons to meet. “I’ll get the money and sign the contract while you take your sisters-in-law home.” He checked his watch. “I have a business meeting in less than an hour. Can I talk with you tomorrow?”

  He would talk to both Drake and Lancelot Flowers when he got back from his business trip. It was the proper thing to do before he announced his intentions to the lady. He only hoped she would be as glad as he was to know that she was his mate. If not, she’d just have to learn to deal with it.

  “Thanks, Damek. I owe you one,” Drake said with a nod. He leaned closer to whisper, “I hate to think what my mate would have done if I couldn’t get her little sister out of the jam she’d gotten herself into.”

  Damek chuckled softly. “I leave for a business trip to Canada in the morning. I’ll stop by next week to collect. I’ll be there at ten on Tuesday. Be ready.” He sure as hell hoped Drake knew he was talking about collecting May Flowers. He wouldn’t have much time. Hell, he hadn’t even expected to be in the states on Tuesday.

  He was making a special trip back to pick up his mate. He’d be damned if he let her spend a moment longer than necessary in Drake’s home. He and his men had already proven they couldn’t keep her safe. If they could, she wouldn’t have found herself here dancing to earn money for homeless children.

  He shook his head as he turned and left the building. “See that the woman’s charity gets a check from the foundation Carter,” he said as his right-hand man held the car door open for him.

  “Yes, sir. How much?”

  Damek shrugged. “I don’t know. Give them a nice round number.” He stared out the window and thought of the woman who would grace his bed in less than a week. “Five million should do it.”