by Bonnie Vanak
THE BLACK DRAGON
Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini #7
Bonnie Vanak
The Black Dragon
Copyright © 2018 by Bonnie Vanak
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published 2018 by Bonnie Vanak
Visit www.bonnievanak.com
Created with Vellum
Contents
Foreword
About the series
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
Foreword
The Black Dragon
Justin never forgot Ariel, the bewitching beauty who ensnared him and caused him to become her father's prisoner. Ariel's father tortured Justin as he tried to extract the powerful black dragon's magick, but Justin managed to escape. Now the black dragon has returned, demanding that Ariel spend three nights in his bed. But in claiming his revenge, will Justin surrender his heart?
About the series
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* * *
Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini series
Seduction (JJ, Aiden’s good friend)
Obsession (Raphael, JJ’s beta wolf)
Passion (Jake from Aiden’s pack)
Redemption (Robert, Lupine alpha and friend to Aiden)
Temptation (Sebastian, dragon shifter)
The Werewolf Cowboy (Grayson)
The Black Dragon (Justin)
1
Sedona, Arizona
Spring of 2017
* * *
She adored dragons. They reminded her of tumbleweeds, rolling on forever, free to roam wherever the wind took them. Even when dragons were spitting mad and only a few feet away, they still fascinated her.
Powerless, immobilized by iron chains her father had found on the internet, the black dragon roared and clawed at the air, his front feet tipped with razor sharp claws.
A lump clogged Ariel Harrington’s throat. Poor, caged creature. She dared to draw closer to the iron cage holding the dragon prisoner. On her bottom, she scooted over the cold concrete floor and wrapped her fingers around the cage’s bars.
Even enraged, the black dragon was beautiful. Light shimmered off his ebony scales, making them glitter like onyx. Amber eyes with slit pupils gleamed as he bellowed. Two black horns grew from the top of his head, each tipped with sharp points. Pearly rows of knife-like teeth flashed as he bared his lips at her.
And the wings, ah, the wings! Folded back, they were not impressive, but when he unfurled them like a cape, they filled the width of the cell.
Flickering torches barely cut through the gloom in the deep, dungeon-like basement. Black smoke curled upward, and then caught in the air drafts blown through vents in the ceiling. The air was redolent with acrid smoke, charcoal and fear.
Not the dragon’s fear. Her fear for this magnificent creature.
Her father had constructed, at great cost, this room for the day he captured such a beast.
Two months ago, he’d succeeded with her help. Justin, the black dragon, had pulled over to aid her with a flat tire.
And then her father’s assistant had thrown the iron upon him, rendering him helpless.
Sinking to her knees, she stared at the great beast, a symbol of enormous magick. Magick her father envied and hated. Every chance she had, she snuck down here to talk to the mighty beast.
Ariel wrapped her fingers around the iron bars. “I’m sorry for what is happening to you, Justin.”
Dark eyes gazed back at her in the gloom.
What had her father done to him?
Justin the dragon was a little older than her, but at 25, she had few experiences in life. This dragon had seen and explored the world.
He lunged forward, nearly reaching the iron bars. Chains rattled and the beast roared again as the bonds restrained him. Overriding the scent of smoke and misery was a strong woodsy smell and a fresh, clean fragrance.
It must be Justin’s own scent.
Her powers as Mage grew stronger each day, especially her sense of smell.
Nostrils flared as the dragon sniffed at her, and then his gaze centered on the glowing amber crystal hanging from a silver chain around her neck.
Ariel touched the crystal. Her father had told her that it had been her mother’s most precious possession. It was rare and endowed her with power when she wore it.
Leo gave it to her as protection from the black dragon. He’d been using other crystals, infusing them with dragon magick. Leo Harrington had become capable of healing the gravest of wounds.
Or inflicting them.
The balance teetered on a razor’s edge.
Ariel held out a hand to the black dragon. “I wish I had never agreed to this evil. I swear, I thought Father was sincere when he insisted he only wished to capture you for observation, not to torture you and drain your magick.”
Even as she blinked, the dragon shifted into a man. Hair dark as ink spilled to broad shoulders. With sculpted cheeks and face carved from a master artisan’s chisel, he was quite handsome.
And naked.
Ariel licked her lips. She had never seen Justin shift into skin before. As a dragon, Justin was impressive, even while powerless.
As a man, he was fascinating.
“You’re insincere, Ariel Harrington.” His deep voice rumbled.
“And your magick is still potent.” Ariel wrapped her arms around her bent knees.
For Justin to shift into a man while bound with iron spoke of magick far more dangerous than the powers Leo had siphoned from him. Though the chains adjusted to his skin form, she sensed they might not hold him for much longer.
Even if Justin could not conjure energy bolts or breathe fire in his dragon form, he was still lethal.
In more ways than one. Finely-sculpted features defined his face, from his elegant cheekbones to his nose. Tall and muscled, he was a magnificent example of masculine beauty.
And strength.
Blue inked his right shoulder, the intricate tattoo of a snarling dragon, its tail snaking down to his strong bicep. Her hungry gaze traveled from the thick black hair at his chest, to the line marching down past lean hips to the thicker thatch of black hair at his groin, and the length of his shaft.
Justin tracked her gaze and offered her a knowing smile.
“Interested in a night with me, Ariel?” He rattled the chains. “Free me and I’ll give you pleasure you’ve never experienced before.”
Words of truth, she sensed. Not arrogance.
“I wouldn’t know,” she muttered. “Nothing to compare it with.”
His nostrils flared and he sniffed the air. “Ah, the scent of vanilla. Purity. And innocence.”
Ariel’s cheeks flushed.
At twenty-five, she remained a virgin.
For good reason.
Her father had warned the moment she surrendered her virginity, she’d lose all her Mage powers. Powers that had flourished in the days since Justin’s imprisonment.
When that happened, she would have nothing left in her life. Not even the ability to cast fortunes at the traveling carnivals.
Ariel would become a despised dependent, living off the mercy of her father. Lately, he’d failed to demonstrate much of that trait.
He leaned forward, his mouth flattened. “Why are you holding onto your innocence, little bird? Afraid of the unknown?”
“You’ll never know,” she retorted, suddenly hurt at his scorn.
“Won’t I?” Justin laced his hands behind his neck, making the iron rattle. “Do not reject what you don’t know, little bird. We dragons are experts in pleasuring our partners.”
More than anything, she longed for independence and to break free of her own prison – one of her choosing. Surrendering her virginity, and her heart, for she would never willingly lie with a man she failed to love, was not worth the risk.
If I can hold out one more year, I’ll have enough money saved and experience in conjuring to seek a job elsewhere. Break outside these walls and be my own person.
Justin leaned back against the wall, one leg bent at the knee. Shadows thankfully hid his considerable masculine assets, quelling her flare of arousal.
Never forget this is a dragon who can kill you, her father had warned.
Kill me or seduce me?
Ariel hugged herself.
“I won’t lie with a man without love,” she told him, wondering why this need to defend her values.
Instead of laughing at her, he nodded. “I understand. Then what are you waiting for?”
“Huh?”
Justin pointed to the ceiling. “Why cage yourself? You’ll never find love knocking at the front door. You have to go out and find it for yourself.”
Sage advice from a sarcastic, sexy dragon.
“I imagine you’ve traveled a lot.” She leaned forward, deeply curious. “You can fly.”
He picked up his wrists, rattled the chains. “When I’m free, I roam. Roll from one place to the next. I’m a tumbleweed.”
Envy filled her. It must be wonderful to not have restrictions and be able to soar above life’s problems and fly free, wherever you wished. She had a few Mage friends, but they were casual acquaintances. Since Justin’s imprisonment, she didn’t dare talk with any of them, fearing she might accidentally reveal the secret below the stairs.
And her father’s experiments.
“I’ve never traveled outside the city,” she confessed. “But I’ve longed to see the world.”
“Then go. You’re young. What holds you back?”
She thought of the catalogs and brochures received in the mail, silver-domed temples and snow-capped purple mountains promising adventure and freedom. Places she would never visit, except in her mind.
In her imagination, she soared like the dragons her father hated.
Dragons who killed without discretion, without consideration for life.
And yet who was worse? Dragons like Justin, or her father for imprisoning him? Justin had been free, flying through the air.
She had to know.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” she asked him.
Justin shifted his position. “Only those who deserved it. Men who killed innocents.”
“My father says dragons kill without discretion. They take life for sheer pleasure.”
He snorted. “Your father chooses to believe only the bad things about my kind. There are good dragons and bad, just as there are good and bad Mages. In my travels, I’ve encountered perhaps a few cruel dragons. But none are killers like your father claims.”
Justin stared at her with intent. “So, little bird? Will you fly away or remain caged here?”
Such adventures he must have had. What if you take me with you? What if I could leave this place?
For the first time since her mother’s death, Ariel felt a prick of something fresh.
Hope.
2
He was the prisoner, and she the jailer. Safe behind bars, Justin the black dragon could not hurt her.
But he could answer questions. The ache of constant loneliness eased.
“What’s it like to explore the world and meet people from other lands?” Ariel wrapped her fingers around the bars again. “Have you seen much of it?”
Justin nodded. “There are wonders you cannot imagine, little bird. Exotic people with intriguing customs, flat plains filled with bounty, tall mountains where snow leopards snarl and mate, and ships that sail blue waters.”
He gave a lazy stretch. “Since I turned seventeen, I have traveled around the globe, seeking what it has to offer. I would be doing so now if I were free.”
Tilting his head, he frowned. “So what is your excuse for staying here?”
Ariel hesitated. What irony to possess a name indicating flight when she’d been grounded for life. Justin was a stranger. A male captured for his magick.
I will never see him again once he is set free.
For once she longed to share her real self with someone else. Ariel never talked about herself with anyone else. She’d practiced long and hard to ensure even the cleverest of Others thought her as normal, if not slow.
Ariel removed her hand-tooled leather boots and socks. She stood and unzipped her jeans, pulling them down past her hips and then shrugged out of them.
A deep laugh rumbled from Justin’s throat. “Change your mind about losing your innocence? I would enjoy obliging you, little bird, but I am restricted by these chains.”
Ignoring the droll remark, she unfastened the hated, but necessary prosthetic limb that allowed her mobility, but never true freedom. Ariel set it aside.
Eyes dry, she stared at the leg ending in a stump just above her left ankle.
“I don’t need nor want pity. No one outside these walls knows I’m a cripple.”
She had not heard him move, nor the chains clink. Ariel hopped backward. This was a dangerous dragon, inclined to stealth.
But Justin made no additional moves toward her, only studied her stump. “Did it hurt?”
Blinking, she shook her head. “I have no memory of it. My father said I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. But even afterward, the most powerful of healers could do nothing to bring back my foot.”
“Can I feel it?”
Shock pummeled her. She’d expected revulsion, not avid curiosity. “No.”
“I promise I will not hurt you.” His voice turned unexpectedly gentle.
No one had ever seen her stump before, let alone drawn close to it.
No man had ever seen her this bare and exposed.
Driven by a desperate compulsion to break free of her shame, Ariel unlocked the door and hopped into Justin’s cell. She sat close to him, close enough for him to touch her, but within easy reach of the door.
His hand felt gentle on her skin, the touch soothing and yet erotic as he stroked a thumb over the place where a foot should be. Justin touched her where no man had ever seen before.
I wonder what his hands would feel like on my body? Between my legs?
Flushing, she banished the thought.
Dark brown eyes searched her face. “Do you want to tell me how it happened?”
Ariel struggled with her emotions. She gave a brittle laugh, her nerves like fragile glass. “Car accident. My mother was killed. I was in the back seat and my foot wedged beneath the seat and crushed. I was fourteen.”
“My parents were killed in a car crash when I was twelve,” he said slowly.
They had something in common – ties in grief.
She didn’t want this connection. “After, my father devoted himself to his studies of healing. He is a Mage and a physician, a good one, but after losing my mother, he lost his will to work. My mother came from weal
th so we had money enough to live on, plus my father’s assets. He intends to find a way to heal others through magick.”
Somehow she needed Justin to realize that his imprisonment wasn’t intended to fulfill a power-hungry Mage’s need for magick, but sparked from a deeper longing to find meaning in life after losing his soulmate.
“Your father has a strange way of expressing his compassion.” Cynicism darkened Justin’s expression. “A Mage who lacks compassion for his test subjects can’t be a true healer.”
His words caused her stomach to roil, for Justin expressed the inner fears Ariel had these past two months. Fears that Leo left behind the altruistic motivation to become a healer of wounds and focused more upon the heady feeling of possessing magick he’d sought all his life.
“You’re not the first dragon Father has captured. He caught two others, but they were younglings and barely able to fly.”
“And what did Leo do with them? Grill them on the barbecue when they failed to meet his expectations?”
“No. They’re alive. He released them.”
Yet her conscience pricked, because she suspected had the dragons possessed the magick Leo craved, they would have withered and died, drained to their last ounce of power.
Did her father plan the same with Justin?
“He will not free me.” Justin’s broad shoulders sagged, as if he realized the direness of his predicament. “Leo has captured the prize and he knows it.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“A last request while you are here, little bird. Kiss me.”
Ariel blinked. “You’re not going to die.”