Dragon's Curvy Dilemma
Page 1
Table of Contents
Summary
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
Thank You
About the Author
Also by Mychal Daniels
Dragon’s Curvy Dilemma
Mychal Daniels
Wise Mind Media
Dragon’s Curvy Dilemma Copyright © 2017 by Michelle Spiva for Wise Mind Media
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: 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 prison and a fine of $250,000.
Contents
Summary
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
Thank You
About the Author
Also by Mychal Daniels
Summary
Dragon’s Curvy Dilemma
Mychal Daniels
Dragons need privacy.
Billionaire dragon, Asher Princeton is a single dad and secret dragon-shifter. He just wants to get away from it all to spend time with his young son over the summer. Its time he showed the boy how to deal with being a dragonling.
Daryl Livingston is squatting in his guest house. The young woman makes his dragon come alive. The last thing he expected was to find his true mate living in his guest house. Only problem… it’s going to take everything in Asher’s power to convince her of that.
Will a new love teach an old dragon exciting tricks?
Asher Princeton…
She’s a brilliant, know-it-all, trespasser squatting in my summer Lair’s guest house
I’m supposed to turn her into the police but this dragon’s got secrets, dark ones
Normally I’d toss out an intruder without a backward glance or question, but she’s different
The dragon in me and my five-year-old son have other plans
Funny thing…She thinks I’m letting her off scot-free
Her arrogant innocence challenges me in the best way
I might be a single dad focused on raising my son, but she’s ignited a fire long doused
It’s in her eyes and those curves that bewitch, seduce, and tempt my resolve like no other
Instead of releasing her, I’m going to make her moan with pleasure
That’s it—she’s mine
Only problem—her name. She’s the one woman I need to stay far away from
Our relationship is damned from the beginning
She can never find out what happened to her father
Daryl is off limits
Daryl Livingston…
He’s gorgeous and infuriating
But his kid… makes my heart melt
It was stupid getting caught living in his guest house like this, but I’ll appeal to his sense of duty
I’m willing to do a lot of things to be able to stay—I have no place to go
But, if he thinks I’m going to be his maid or nanny, he’s got another thing coming. I’ll take jail over that
Weird thing… he makes me feel things I’ve never felt before
It’s in those eyes of his, like pools from the depth of his soul they enchant and entice me to want to touch him
That’s it—I can’t stay
Instead of behaving like a grateful house guest, all I want is to offer up my virginity to him like some damned lovesick school girl
Only problem—I’m on a mission to regain the respect my father deserved and find out what happened to him
I can’t get sidetracked. Not when I’m so close, no matter how much Asher makes me pant
This is a HOT Curvy Virgin BWWM Shifter Romance full of adventure and sass with an HEA.
1
Daryl Livingston—late March
Humming sounds of machinery in the distance tugged at her subconscious. Ramping up a quickened pace to combat the onset of fatigue, she walked past, what had to be a private road, to start climbing again. Punishment, most likely well deserved, was upon her. It came in the form of another damned leg-trembling, heartburning incline on the road to cardiac hell.
“I’m too damn young to be this out of shape.” She huffed, trying to expel some of the burning sensation rocketing through her body. “Come on, Daryl, move your fat ass up this hill.”
Talking to herself had helped to get her this far. The pep talks had descended into personal beat up sessions. Shaking her head to evict that vindictive inner critic, she looked ahead attempting to imagine being up where the incline leveled out.
“Almost there, love. You got this. One leg after another.”
Much better. Daryl’s legs and heart cooperated, propelling her forward. Honey worked better than vinegar—a lesson she was still trying to master. Her inner critic was a bitch of the highest order. Brow beating herself wouldn’t help her make it through this. She’d monitor her thoughts not to let the wicked inner critic of the South back in.
The winding rural two-lane highway stretching out before her hadn’t had any cars on it for a while. She was tired of walking with all her belongings wedged into a heavy backpack. The backpack might as well be the weight of the world on her shoulders.
It was rare times like this Daryl reluctantly wished she’d been gifted with one thing from her estranged mother. The woman had been blessed with a slim frame that looked like an ultra-athlete no matter what she ate or how hard she eschewed exercise. Instead, Daryl had taken after her beloved late father who was robust and thick. Not only was she named after him, but she also was his spitting image, had his ways, and an affinity for technology and science.
These facts had been pronounced over her countless times by her mother with a smirk. The woman had cultivated an unhealthy dislike for her ex-husband. She did her best to sway her only child to her side too. It had never worked. Daryl was a daddy’s girl, and her mother was powerless to change that—even now that he was dead.
Her thoughts drifted back to all the summers she’d stayed with him. Her father, Daryl Livingston, Senior—she was junior—had lived in a little rental house up here that her mother wouldn’t be caught dead in. Daryl had loved it, counting down the days until her summer vacations. College scholarships in technology and science and their rigorous requirements to keep said funding had taken her away from her summers up here with her dad.
Now it was too late. He was gone. An im
age of his smiling face played at the edge of her memory. She dug a little deeper to recreate as many details as possible. Over the years her recollection of his memory became fainter.
Maybe her being here right now was in part from her need to reconnect with her father? No matter, she was here and determined. Readjusting the backpack on her back yet again, Daryl kept walking. It did represent the weight of the culmination of her life to this point.
Despite the overcast clouds that snuffed out the little bit of sun that had come out this morning, she continued to heft her thick and ample curvy body along. Daryl hated how hard she was breathing to accomplish the task. Almost slipping on a little pine cone under one of her sneakers, Daryl let the cuss word fly.
“Shit! What was I thinking?”
Kicking a few more of the small traps out of her path, gave her enough time to pause and take in the surroundings. Tall pine trees sat away from either side of the road while their branches grew enough to shower the sides with these little prickly accidents waiting to happen. Her path was littered with the trees’ seedling offerings. It was the beginning of spring, and everything was waking from the sleep of winter.
A high-pitched machine cut through the droning sound of what must be an industrial lawn mower in the distance. Curiosity high jacked her common sense. New attention pivoted her back to the private road she’d just crossed. It had looked way better than the worn highway she was on. This road had struck her as a bit out of place with how stately and well managed it was considering the state of this stretch of road. Unlike the one she was struggling to best, the new road didn’t appear to have an incline. That alone gave it way more points than staying on this path of torture.
Was there new construction back there? Maybe it was the deprivation of human contact that made her consider the hope that sprang up. Visions of a little shelter safe enough to rest in for a couple of hours danced in her head. The sounds coming from down that road could mean there was a nice new subdivision being built or a through-way to a better highway with more cars on it. Heck, anything was better than this lonesome excuse for a thoroughfare. Kicking a granite rock sticking up through the red clay that was specific to Georgia, Daryl turned back toward the newer road.
She’d take a quick look to see what might be back here in the middle of nowhere north Georgia. Then, she’d find a hidden patch or shelter to rest for a while, before trying to catch a ride to the next small town with overnight lodging. The only thing Daryl knew for sure was that she had to stay close to where her father had lived. With nothing else on her plate beside survival, this would be the best time to find out what had happened to take him away from her. The truth was out here in these mountains, and she’d find out who or what had taken him too soon.
Walking these roads had proven to be more than a notion. The higher elevation made the air thinner than she’d become accustomed to back in Austin, Texas. Plus, each road seemed to be on enough of an incline for it to feel like she walked on a sadistic, never-ending stair climber.
Turning back and taking the proverbial “road less traveled,” Daryl Livingston, Junior placed a wary foot on the road and waited. She’d learned long ago to trust herself when it came to where she was supposed to be. Her father had taught her that. Standing with both feet on the new level surface, the tiniest tingle of excitement formed fueling her with enough energy to take the next step. Certainty bloomed. This road was her path.
She’d walked a few hundred yards when the idea to check for posted signs came to her. So far, there were none. No private road, trespassing or even posted speed limit signs appeared. That was odd but not enough for her to turn back. Something about being on this road gave her hope that everything would work out. Plus, it took too much of her precious energy to continue to bash herself for ending up in this predicament.
Homeless with no transportation save her feet, Daryl had the last $971.84 to her name tucked snugly in her bra. With ample bosom gifted to her from her father’s grandmother—let her mother tell it—Daryl could depend on her bra to be strong enough to hold about anything she put in there. Hell, she’d been accustomed to putting her house keys between her cleavage when she’d rode an old bike to work. She missed that raggedy bike now. But, it wouldn’t fit on the plane, so she’d sold it and everything else to get enough for a plane ticket back to her dad’s home.
The memory of him had to be what kept her sane now. Here she was walking aimlessly, with no place to go and nowhere to sleep. The neighboring city of Ellijay hadn’t been where she’d wanted to stop for the night. Instead of blowing over a hundred dollars for one night on a hotel room back there, she’d set off on foot to find a better option. Still, somewhat early in the day, she was already tired and worn down from hoofing it on foot on these elevated, twisting roads.
This road was quiet and pristine with how the asphalt perfectly abided to form a smooth path. It was much newer than the state route highway it connected to. Looking back to see if any cars turned off onto the road, Daryl moved to walk on the side. It looked new, like the road, and hugged it in a perfect attachment. Since there was a sidewalk, this must be a private road owned by a swanky subdivision or company. But what could be hiding out back here? Checking her app for where she was, it showed that raw land and not a road was here.
Curiosity had bloomed and gave her the added energy to continue walking. This was so out of her norm that Daryl had to push down the rush of excitement at doing something so adventurous as she plodded along. She was certain she must look like a homeless person carrying all her belongings on her back. Still, it didn’t matter. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, there was a certainty that something good was at the end of this asphalt road rainbow.
Another ten minutes or so brought her to the beginning of a long driveway. More of those blasted pine trees obstructed the view of what was at the end. Opting to walk through the trees parallel to the drive, Daryl followed the winding path until she saw a huge house a few hundred feet away. In front of its circular driveway sat a landscaping truck and service vehicle. Ducking to stay hidden, Daryl watched as the bustle of activity continued. Workers milled around the house and its grounds like a glam team preparing a celebrity to walk the red carpet.
One of the landscapers came close to the edge of the grounds, close to where she hid, with a leaf blower. Brittle and old, reddish-brown pine needles, leaves and grass clippings were whisked away in a hail of high powered air. No matter how close he got to the edge of the wooded area, he didn’t seem to detect her presence. Voyeurism had never been her thing. Still, Daryl couldn’t tear herself away from the fascinating sight.
Noise from the large, professional landscaping equipment continued to fill the air as she watched them work. These sounds of activity had been what had lured her to the house that was clearly a mansion. Waiting in the surrounding wooded area to rest up and the time to pass before she could leave undetected, Daryl watched the workers as they went about their day, cleaning, pruning, and polishing the front of the mansion. They moved with ease and familiarity. That meant they knew the place and worked on it regularly. When they were done, the curb appeal of the estate was breathtaking. It looked like a magazine photo shoot of a dream house.
It was late, with the sun retiring to a low place in the western sky when the crew started packing up to leave. Daryl was tired and hungry; too tired to think about tackling the road back to the main one. Plus, no street lights popped on in the dusk of the day. Daryl had walked up the private road earlier as a last resort to find a safe place to camp out for a while. Determined to do that before starting back to the main road, she brushed a few sticks out of the way and pooled together more dried pine needles in a small pile. Content with her effort, Daryl had made a comfortable spot to sit. She settled in and watched the workers file into the trucks. The owners should be home soon. Just a little longer and she’d leave undetected after they went inside. Leaning against her stuffed backpack, she waited.
The shudder that racked her body
was enough to make Daryl fall over onto her side. Nothing made sense as she righted herself to regain her bearings. Where was she? How had she come to be here in these woods? Discombobulated, she fought to remain calm and keep it together. Cold wetness bit at her feet and hands pulling Daryl back from sleepiness. Darkness surrounded her except for a few lights illuminating the large house in the distance. She’d fallen asleep. Struggling to remember her last thoughts before slumber, Daryl remembered it had been the men packing up to leave and the owners to come home that she'd been waiting on.
A quick glance at her smart watch shocked and alarmed her. It was after ten at night. She was out here in the cold with no protection from the elements or any animals. A soft rain fell in droplets as it made its way down through the trees. Daryl had a decision to make. She needed to find shelter fast. Sucking in the scent of wet pine, fresh earth, and other outdoorsy scents, was a trigger for a fierce survival instinct to surge forward. It was enough to turn on the wheels of her mind to think clearly.
More than the havoc the rain would work on her tightly coiled hair was the serious damage water could do to her only hope of making some money—her laptop and phone. Reaching for her backpack, a groan of discouragement escaped as she lifted the backpack to see rain water dripping from it. She had to find a way to salvage what she could of her electronics.
Wrangling her thoughts to come up with a solution, she took a few beats to work past feelings of fear and the beginnings of anxiety that could trigger outright panic. She looked back over to the large house that sat a few hundred feet away. No lights lit the home from the inside. But, that didn’t mean there was no one home. The rain increased, cutting a faster path through the branches of the canopy of trees she sat under. This sucked. Darkness waited back down that driveway.