by Roxie Ray
Her Dragon Hero
Black Claw Dragons: Book 4
Roxie Ray
Contents
1. Abby
2. Jury
3. Abby
4. Jury
5. Abby
6. Jury
7. Abby
8. Jury
9. Abby
10. Jury
11. Abby
12. Jury
13. Abby
14. Jury
15. Abby
16. Jury
17. Abby
18. Jury
19. Abby
20. Jury
21. Abby
22. Jury
23. Abby
Her Dragon Destiny
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Her Dragon Hero
1
Abby
“She’s spoiled, self-absorbed, vain. In just one week, I can already tell I don’t want to be around her, yet I can’t stand the thought of her leaving. Maybe when she leaves, I’ll get over it. She’s not kind, at all. And she loves to play the victim as if she was the one wronged in this situation, not Harley.” Jury dropped his head on his hands and banged his beer on the bar in frustration. “How did I end up with such a bitch for a fated mate?”
How did I end up with a fated mate that had such a skewed opinion of me? I wasn’t all those things. At least, I didn’t think I was. Swiping tears away, I hunted for the box of cheap hotel tissues to blow my nose. I’d cried so much over the last week or so that my nose was raw from blowing. I should’ve stopped and bought some.
When I’d heard Jury say those horrible things about me, I took off. I’d been staying at his parents’ house, but I went straight back there and packed my stuff. His mom was at a girls’ night—that I hadn’t been invited to—and his dad was back at the bar with the rest of the family. That left nobody at the house to stop me from leaving, thankfully.
I’d hoped they wouldn’t have minded me crashing their bar time. I’d figured if they seemed like they didn’t want me around, I could always have a drink alone at the bar.
I didn’t even get to sit down.
But it was too late to try to get home tonight. My father had made me tell my sister I lived close by, a few counties over. I never understood why he wanted her to think I was close, but now I was glad. Now they wouldn’t know that I actually lived closer to a thousand miles away, in Texas. I assumed my father hadn’t wanted them to have any idea where I lived so they’d never be able to track me down. I’d gone along with it before I knew what a despicable person he was.
He was gone. I could go to my actual home and nobody in this horrible town would ever be able to find me again. My father was dead and that part of my life was over, and I needed to grieve that loss and get on with my life. He’d only been in it for a short while. I’d get over finding, then losing him. The betrayal of him using me to further his personal goals almost hurt more than knowing my father was dead. And along with him, the father I’d hoped he would be had died as well.
When my tears finally slowed, I booked a flight for the next morning and tried to rest for a while. But thoughts of the last few weeks, especially my behavior while staying with Jury’s family, plagued me.
Had I been whining a lot while staying with his family? I hadn’t thought so, but I’d been hurt so badly by my father, and I tended to be very talkative without realizing it.
Damn it! Why was it so hard to see when I was sharing too much or even complaining about things? I tried not to overshare, I really did.
When I was a teenager, I’d met a girl at my school who complained constantly. It drove me nuts, but it also made me notice how much I did it as well, and ever since then I’d tried to curb it.
Not enough, apparently. Jury thought I was a brat. Vain. Self-absorbed. The thought of self-loathing wouldn’t leave me alone.
Falling asleep with a heavy heart wasn’t easy, but eventually, I slept. Sort of. I tossed and turned all night, dreaming about Jury’s voice—his angry, disapproving voice. How could he have had such a horrible opinion of me?
The next morning, my scratchy eyes were a testament to my restless night. After splashing my face with water to try to wake up enough to make it to the airport, I packed my stuff. Then I gulped down all the instant coffee the hotel had provided on the dresser. Harley thought I was trash, too, so I’d take my trashy self back to Texas, where I had real friends and a real life. Or, at least, a real job. I hadn’t let myself get close to anyone. Every time that happened, I got hurt. My father was the latest example of that.
Maybe one day, when I was less bitter and betrayed, I’d come back and try again, but not as long as Jury would be a factor. I didn’t want to deal with him again. He thought we were fated mates, but from what I knew about them, if we were, he wouldn’t have hated me. He would’ve loved me. And he definitely hated me.
I was naive, and a fool, but not cruel or entitled or whatever other things Jury thought about me. I’d go home and get over it, and he’d live his life here and get over it too.
It was fine. It would be fine.
Fine.
2
Jury
Go find her.
I thought the more time I was away from Abby, the more Nyx would come around, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He’d gone from pouting to anger to completely ignoring me. My inner dragon had never been so obstinate with me. She’d been gone eight months, and each passing day got harder and harder.
In the last couple of days, he’d switched from being sad and silent to bugging me constantly about Abby. I couldn’t get any work done due to his constant nagging.
Why are you being such an idiot?
I’d tried taking him to shift in the woods surrounding our house, but the stubborn dragon had begun refusing to shift at all. I’d been able to force it for a while, but as he dug his heels in, it was getting harder to do. Men who couldn’t shift became irritated, then angry, then eventually it switched to something more dangerous. Nyx was trying to press me by keeping us in our human body.
It wouldn’t work. He’d give in eventually—I hoped.
Maddox and I were in our last semester of college. He’d doubled up on classes and taken summer courses so that we would graduate the same year, even though he was a year younger than I was.
The last few years with Madd had been amazing. He was a great addition to our family, more like a brother to me than my real brothers.
Not that they weren’t great, but they were so much older than me. I was born seventeen years after Maverick. Growing up felt more like I had three dads than two brothers. Maddox felt like a real brother, not even a year younger than I was. Except we got to skip all that sibling crap when we were kids that drove so many brothers apart.
We’d spent the last couple of years pretty much living it up. Parties, school, girls. Even school was kind of fun and easy. We just hoped our moms didn’t find out about the girls. We’d tried to be discreet, but what was the point of being the most eligible guys in the town if we didn’t take advantage of it?
I tapped my fingers on the edge of my laptop as I tried to ignore Nyx and figure out what to say in this paper. It was an important grade, and I had all the research done, but the words to put it all together didn’t want to come. I was close enough to my degree to taste it, but these last few months were going to be more difficult than what I’d dealt with previously.
If you don’t get this fixed, I’ll never shift again.
I rolled my eyes and staunchly ignored Nyx. He wouldn’t do that and we both knew it. I didn’t understand his need to have Abby. She was a brat. Spoiled, entitled, mean.
Sure, I wasn’t a saint. Not by a long shot. But Abby set her si
ster up to go down, put Maverick and Stefan in direct danger, and then played the victim. It was disgusting. Maybe she had some sort of grudge against Harley for some sister thing I didn’t understand. I had no idea. I could only go on the behavior I’d seen in the week she’d stayed with us, and it didn’t paint her in a good light.
A week isn’t enough time.
No woman was going to want me if I couldn’t graduate. If Nyx didn’t shut up, that wouldn’t happen.
He finally got the hint and settled down when I threatened to just turn in a blank paper and possibly fail the class. When he shut up, I was able to concentrate and bang out a first draft of the paper, which was all that was due today. I’d edit it another day and send it in.
As I debated over the words for my conclusion paragraph, the front door opened. I looked up from the couch, where I’d settled back with my laptop on my knees, to watch Maddox walk in.
“There’s a party about a half-hour away tonight,” he said, then ducked his head and looked around. “Are either of our moms here?”
Laughing, I left the conclusion paragraph the way it was and submitted it. “No, they’re shopping with Charlotte and baby Chase. They said something about walking Harley’s baby out.” Harley was due any time now, and everyone was eager to meet the newest Kingston, even if it would be an adopted one.
Ugh. More babies. At least Axel had built a house and moved them to it instead of here in the manor. And Stefan and Harley were staying with her grandmother until their baby was older. A new baby had given her grandmother a burst of energy and she’d been doing better and couldn’t wait to meet her great-grandchild.
Maddox plopped down beside me. “Good. So, yeah, party. You up for it?”
Nyx growled, but I was done with my work for the day and there was no reason we couldn’t go. “Sure. Let me change.” I bounded up both flights of stairs. Now that Maverick lived at Ava’s cabin and Charlotte and Axel had their own place, I could’ve moved into any of the rooms I wanted. But I’d stayed up in my attic lair. It was mine and comfortable. Besides, going up and down the stairs added to my cardio.
We took Maddox’s truck since he knew where we were going. Nyx grumbled the whole time. He hadn’t let me get comfortable with a woman since Abby left town. I’d been patient, tried to give him time to relax and get used to the idea that we wouldn’t be with Abby, but he hadn’t yet.
I was getting frustrated. Sexually frustrated.
It was time to move on. I hadn’t been with a woman since before I met Abby. Enough was enough.
When we got to the party, I felt like the biggest buzzkill. I grabbed a beer and looked around.
This is wrong. We’re cheating on Abby.
I nearly yelled at him out loud. We weren’t cheating on anyone. We weren’t tied to anyone. We were free agents, and it was time to start acting that way.
Setting out to prove him wrong, I sidled up to a girl I’d slept with before. She’d been fun, and it had been a while. I’d learned early on not to spend too much time with one woman, or she would start thinking something was going on more than just a good time.
“Hey, Cassidy.” I sat on the couch beside her. “How’ve you been?”
Setting my drink on the table beside me, I focused on Cassidy, flashing her my best smile so that my cheek dimple deepened. “How are you, babe?”
She giggled and blushed, and I gently pulled her hand away from her face to tuck her brown hair behind her ear. “You look great tonight,” I said, leaning closer to her face.
A wave of nausea caused me to pull back. Ugh, what was that? I hadn’t even eaten anything yet. I figured I’d grab some chips or something in a minute.
Cassidy put her hand on my knee. She remembered our night together as well; I smelled her lust. Okay, that was more like it.
She was giving all the signals. I leaned in again and nuzzled her neck. Maybe we could go upstairs to one of the bedrooms and take the edge off.
Taking her chin gently between my fingers, I tilted her head up and pressed my lips to hers, but my unease grew as I did.
I ignored it.
Damn Nyx. He was the one making this more difficult than it needed to be. I wasn’t giving in this easily. I thrust my tongue into her mouth and tried my damnedest to get into it, but the more I tried, the more I felt like the biggest lecher in the room.
Finally, I pulled back and gasped for air. Another wave of nausea rolled over me, and I slumped back against the couch before I threw up on Cassidy.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m having a hard time right now, and this isn’t right.”
She looked so hurt I wanted to eat my words. “Really,” I said and tried for some honesty. “There’s this girl that moved away that I can’t get out of my head. It’s really not you.”
Cassidy sniffed and narrowed her eyes at me. “I can’t believe it. The playboy Jury, meeting a woman he can’t get over?”
I shrugged and eyed her. “You don’t have to sit here and listen to me brood. Go have fun.”
She laughed and reached over me, handing me my beer. “Drink, playboy. Tell me about your girl.”
I downed my drink and stood. “I think I need more than beer.”
Cassidy took my hand and led me over to the bar, where the BYOB rule conglomerated. “You talk, I’ll pour.”
She didn’t even ask me what I wanted, just poured scotch over ice. Luckily, I was okay with that. “Her name is Abby,” I said. “And she’s spoiled and whiny…and kind of mean.”
“Sounds like you hate her.” Cassidy poured her own drink. “Why can’t you get her out of your mind?”
I couldn’t exactly be totally honest with this girl. “It’s like I have a voice in my head,” I said vaguely. “And it won’t stop telling me that Abby and I are meant for each other.”
Damn her! And damn Nyx, too! If it wasn’t for either of them, I wouldn’t be in this damn mess. I downed another drink and slammed the cup on the table. “Hit me.”
Groaning, I slapped my phone to silence my alarm.
Why had I set an alarm? I went to school online. I didn’t have to be in class at a certain time. Just get the work done by the deadline and I was good.
My headache pounded through my skull, making me moan against the pain. Oh, yeah. Maddox and I had drunk too much the night before. If we didn’t get our asses home before our parents woke up, we’d have to explain or lie. And neither of us wanted to do either of those things.
I rolled out of bed and looked down at Cassidy. We’d talked into the night as she poured me one drink after another. Eventually we made our way into an empty bedroom, but nothing had happened. She said something about wishing a guy couldn’t stop thinking about her, then she passed out. I texted Madd then followed her into oblivion.
Now I had to find him so we could get the hell out of here.
The party had been in one of the massive frat houses on campus. We technically went to this college, but both of us took advantage of their distance learning programs. Still, we belonged here as much as anyone, in theory.
Maddox was face down on the pool table with a girl tangled through his legs and one under his head. His face was buried in her abdomen. I didn’t know how he was able to breathe. neither girls had a shirt on, and Maddox’s clothes were on the floor beside the pool table. The good news was that he did have his boxers on, so at least I didn’t have to look at his overworked dick first thing in the morning.
I shoved at his shoulder and picked up his shirt. “Wake up, cousin. We’ve got to go.”
He snorted and lifted his head, looking around blearily. “Already?” he whispered. “I just got to sleep.”
He was still drunk, if his face was any judge.
“Already. Come on. I’ll drive.” I’d had a lot, but Cassidy and I had drunk so fast that I was pretty sure I’d passed out early. I checked my phone. Yep, I’d texted Madd at ten. Enough time to sleep it off and drive home, at least. Plus, as dragons, we had to drink an insane amount of alco
hol for it to stay in our system. My enhanced metabolism had already burned it off.
The headache would take longer.
I found an empty bathroom and guzzled water out of the tap before using the toilet. Madd stumbled in when I was done. “I’ll get the truck. Come out the front door.”
He grunted his agreement.
By the time I got the truck backed out of the maze of cars still in the yard, he was waiting on the porch. He slid in the passenger seat and pulled his shirt over his head. “Back to the manor,” he said.
“Yeah, no way I’m taking you home to Mav like that. Even I can smell the alcohol on you.” I chuckled and pulled onto the highway. We had to get in the house before my mom got up.
Unfortunately, when we pulled into our driveway, we knew we were busted. There was a strange car parked out front. One I recognized on sight.
“Shit,” I whispered. “My grandfather is here.” He had the most ostentatious car in the family, a gorgeous, souped-up Mustang. It was a car we were all jealous of, and way, way too young for him, but he’d never give it to any of us, so we just continued being jealous.
“Walk around back,” I said. “Go up the back stairs. You can’t be seen like that. Go straight to my shower.” They’d hear him come in, but hopefully I could distract them.
He grunted and nearly fell out of the truck after I parked beside the Mustang. Had he driven all this way? He lived in Arizona and normally flew then rented a car locally.
I was right, though, it was Gramps. His smell hit me as soon as I opened the door. If I’d had the windows down in the truck, I would’ve known sooner.