by Julia Mills
Her Dragon's Fire
Dragon Guards [2]
Julia Mills
(2014)
* * *
Her brilliant blues eyes and luscious curves have haunted his every thought for over six years. The guilt of his younger brother’s death a weight around his heart, keeping him from claiming the one the Universe has made for him and him alone. Aidan, a fierce Dragon Guardsman, now knows that nothing was as he thought and the woman he believed was unattainable is within his grasp, if only he can keep her safe from those that would use her to hurt him.
Grace is a successful lawyer, seeking justice for those that would otherwise be forgotten. Her incredible strength and intelligence makes her a champion for the downtrodden. When she stumbles into a case that is so much more than she ever imagined, her very life hangs in the balance and the man whose scent sends her heart racing and her temperature rising is the only one that can keep her safe. When she comes face to face with him her life is irrevocably changed.
There are no coincidences. Aidan will do everything in his power, including giving his very life, to keep his mate safe. The Universe does not make mistakes. Grace and Aidan are meant to be together in this life and the next but the forces both natural and magical that are sworn to keep them apart have been a step ahead of Aidan and the Dragon Guard all along. Can these fated mates defy all odds and live the life that is their destiny? Fate will not be denied.
Her Dragon’s Fire
Dragon Guard Series Book 2
By
Julia Mills
Copyright © 2014 Julia Mills
All Rights Reserved
DISCLAIMER: The characters, locations and events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction or are used factiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
NOTICE: This is an adult erotic paranormal book with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers over the age of 18.
DEDICATION
It takes village to write a book and this one is no different, without the love and support of all these people and so many more, the Dragon Guard never would have seen the light of day.
Thank you, God.
To the best daughters a mom could ever have. Liz and Em, You are both AMAZING!You make me want to be better! Love you whole bunches!
To Emma Edwards, my writing partner and friend, for reading every part of this book over and over to soothe my neurotic writer’s mind and never telling me to buzz off.
To JD Nelson, who continues to be the greatest mentor and motivator I could have ever hoped for!
To my beta readers, biggest supporters and the ladies that are ALWAYS there to inspire me Tonya Allen, Cindy Barton, Faith Bates, Charlene Bauer, Charlene Cain, Karen Crosby Branch, Rosemary Hendry, Tiffany Lagrone, Sue McGarvie, Lisa Miller, Dorinda Reyes, Jacklynn Sizemore, Robin Smith, Bridget Thomas-Parker, and Alicia Wilson-Barbarini
To all my Facebook friends and family for always being supportive and loving when you really wanted to tell me to shut up and go write!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have absolutely the best support system a writer could ever hope for. Here are just a few of the people that made this book possible.
~Linda Boulanger with Tell-Tale Book Covers, You are AMAZING! No matter the project, you bring it to life!
~Lisa Miller with Angel Editing Services, my editor, Thank You for your tireless reading and rereading to find all my crazy spellings and reduce the number of times this southern girl repeats herself.
~Emma Edwards, my writing partner, for reading every chapter of this book countless times before anyone else every saw it.
Table of contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE
HER DRAGON TO SLAY
Index of the Words of Love of Original the Dragon Kin
Drakes
Male Dragons
Vibrias
Female Dragons
Dragonettes
Young Dragons,
either male or female
Mo chroi
My Heart
Mo ghra’
My Love
Evgren
Sunshine
Ta’mo chroi
istigh ionat
My Heart Is
Within You
A Thaisce
My Treasure
M’Anamchara
Soul Mate
A Chumann
Sweetheart
M’Fhioghara’
Mate
Fi’orghra’
True Love
CHAPTER ONE
So today had been absolutely crazy. Hell, the last six months had been complete madness, but today ranked up there in the top three most insane days. She hadn’t had two seconds to think about anything other than cases, clients, and witnesses. Now that she was facing at least four more hours of rooting through old case files, trying to find the one young woman that could identify and seal a conviction against one of the worst criminals she had ever seen, all Grace could think about was the call she had gotten from her best friend. The importance of tonight’s research was not lost on her, but the call from Kyndel had thrown her for a loop. Tonight’s investigation would require all of her focus. It is the only way to put the defendant, not so affectionately being called, ‘The Auctioneer’, away for life. Finding that witness and making sure she was protected was on the top of her To-Do list. There were at least six attorneys, including her, in the office working on this case. They all knew that at least twenty women had disappeared in the last twelve months. But no matter how important, her search would have to wait at least a few minutes. If she didn’t take a second to actually digest all that her friend had shared in that quick, five minute conversation, there was no way she would be able to focus, and her undivided attention was absolutely necessary tonight.
Earlier in the day, Grace had taken fifteen minutes to grab a fresh cup of coffee and a stale bagel, when her cell phone vibrated on the counter. She was so excited to see Kyndel’s number, she didn’t even mind the intrusion on the only break she’d had since 6:45 that morning when she had walked into the office. It had been almost a week since they had last spoken. Now that Kyndel lived God knows where with her new husband and his incredibly large extended family, they spoke almost exclusively on the phone. Hell, she had only actually seen her once in the last six months. It was such a drastic change from the last eight years. And today of all days, Kyndel had called to tell Grace she was pregnant. Pregnant! Grace was going to be an auntie and she didn’t even know where they lived and had only met the daddy-to-be once.
She thought back to how she and her best friend had met. From the moment they had bumped into each other at freshman orientation, Grace had known they would be best friends. It had been a feeling she couldn’t deny. It didn’t matter that they were total opposites. Grace was from the city and a powerful, political family; Kyndel, from the country, raised by her granny, a country healer. None of that mattered. It was an immediate connection that now, over eight years later, she knew was the only reason she had made it through college and then law school. Kyndel may have not wanted to trust Grace at first, but it hadn’t taken much time at all for her to succumb to Grace’s charm. Yea! Let’s go with charm, not pain in the ass stalking. HA! she thought to hersel
f. Grace had an innate ability to know when things were right, and she knew her friendship with Kyndel was right from the beginning. They were sisters of the heart and all that sentimental crap. Yea, you’re not sentimental at all. HA! HA! Her inner voice was really working overtime tonight.
Kyndel was the one person in the world that didn’t treat Grace like a princess, or only wanted to be her friend because one or both of her parents could further their political or social agenda. The girl from the south with fiery red hair had never even heard of Ambassador Kensington or all of his beautiful wife’s humanitarian efforts. Kyndel didn’t give a shit who she was or who her parents were. She treated her just like everyone else, and after a few short weeks, they were inseparable. Distance couldn’t change that, she reminded herself once again. They had even stayed close and talked everyday while Grace was in law school and Kyndel had gone to work for that idiot, Jack Jackson.
Kyndel gave Grace shit about being late for everything and never following through on what she said she would do. Her best friend was not afraid to call Grace on her crap and God knew she was right. She frowned as she remembered the night Kyndel had met her new husband, Rayne. Grace had borrowed her car and then true to form, had completely spaced picking her up. Kyndel had assumed Grace was “hooking up” with some random guy, an assumption that bothered her more than she let anyone know. Sadly, her best friend was not the only one who thought she had a guy hidden around every corner, no matter how many times or how vehemently she denied it. So many people over the years had teased her about the same thing that she finally gave up correcting them, even Kyndel. In actuality, she hadn’t been with anyone since the year she graduated from law school. She just had not been able to be with anyone after walking in and catching Derek screwing Mitzi, the local ‘fuck your way to the top’ second year law student. It had been a shock she had never really gotten over. Grace had been so in love with the asshole she probably could have forgiven him for cheating, but when she overheard him tell Mitzi he was only with her to meet her father and use his connections to further his political aspirations, everything she felt for the jerk just died. If all of that had not been enough, right before she made her presence known, he had told the slut that Grace was a ‘spoiled princess’ with a fat ass, putting the final nail in his coffin. She walked away and never looked back, deciding from that moment forward to focus on school and then her career. Anyone that didn’t like it could kiss her ‘fat’ ass. She had even considered changing her last name to completely escape being known as Ambassador Kensington’s daughter, but decided that was overkill. Grace Kensington was going to be an amazing lawyer; she would make sure of that.
She never told anyone, not even Kyndel, what she had heard that night, letting them all think she walked away because he was a cheating piece of crap. That was enough. From that night on she devoted all her time to studying, and when she graduated in the top ten percent of her class, with job offers from five of the top law firms in the country, she knew that all that hard work had been worth it. Month after month of interviewing was tiring, but she knew that she would know when she was talking to the right firm. That day came when she got an offer to interview with the State Prosecutor’s office. At first, she was sure it was because of her father, but when the man that later became her boss, the State Prosecutor himself, had asked about her family, she simply replied they were ‘estranged’, then leveled the ‘do not fuck with me’ look she had perfected early on in her life at him. He shifted his tie – a move Grace now knew meant he was rethinking his position – and went on with the interview. Out of all the offers from all the prestigious law firms she had received, she decided to work for the State. It held true to the decision she made so long ago to put away the trash that preyed on others weaker than themselves. Grace Kensington had made it her way, and no one could take that from her.
Being a lawyer was a natural decision for her. After all, she had spent most of her life negotiating with nannies or tutors or whoever she got stuck with while her parents were out saving the world. Early on, she had learned to argue any perspective, of any issue, decisively and effectively, with her eyes closed and a hangover from the party the night before. At a young age, her favorite nanny, Miss Annabelle, told her that she would make a fine lawyer; that no one could stand their ground and present the facts like her. She smiled as she remembered all the times Miss Annabelle, and later the others, had been called to school after she had defended another student and eloquently eviscerated the bullies with her words.
She almost laughed out loud as she thought about the time she debated Wade Sheffler, the star pitcher, about the unfair treatment of the mathletes. She had presented point after point of the outlandish perks the baseball team received, despite the fact that they had yet to have a winning season, as opposed to the lack of perks the mathletes received. She stated that the incredibly intelligent group had won the title of State Champs five years running. It was such a spirited defense that she ended up standing on the table in the center of the cafeteria, demanding equal treatment for all academic clubs. Of course, that was the precise moment Principal Stark made his daily appearance. Grace was taken to his office and Miss Annabelle was called. She still remembered the twinkle in her governess’ eyes as she assured the principal Grace would be properly reprimanded. The ‘proper reprimand’ included dinner at the Dairy Queen and a night at the movies. That incident, on top of all the others, solidified Grace’s decision to go into law. She would either fight for the underdog or put away the ones that preyed upon them. Fate had decided she was better suited to put the trash away, and that was damn sure what she was doing. Better than any other first year associate in any firm in the country, and she was doing it her way.
The night she had forgotten to get Kyndel from work, she had been prepping a case where the accused needed to be hanged and shot, but putting him behind bars was the best Grace could do. Kidnapping cases involving young women were happening more frequently and the police were helpless to find the culprit. The victims of these abductions were completely disappearing. No ransom demands, no bodies found later; they were simply gone. The police had finally gotten a lead and asked for a consult with the State Prosecutor’s office. Grace got the assignment and went right to work. She had been so engrossed in her mission that she had worked through the night, showered in the locker room at the gym in their building, changed into the spare clothes she kept in her office closet, and worked on. So caught up by the case, it wasn’t until lunch the next day that she remembered she was supposed to pick up her best friend from work the night before. When Grace had not been able to get a hold of her, she was sure she was being ignored, and knew it would take some serious groveling to make it up for her latest screw up. She left messages at Kyndel’s job, but as usual, didn’t hear back from her best friend. She knew Kyndel’s cell phone was in the car she had borrowed, so by the time she left the office after six that evening, and still could not get a hold of her friend, panic had taken over. Racing to Kyndel’s apartment, she had imagined every possible scenario and almost lost her mind when she found it empty. A week spent not eating, not sleeping, working all day, searching all night and sick with worry, took its toll on Grace. Finally, on the morning of the eighth day, she had gotten a call from Kyndel. Her bestie was alright! Then joy turned to skepticism when Kyndel explained she had literally run into a guy while walking home and it was love at first sight. The person she trusted more than any other in the world had hardly even listened when she tried to apologize and explain. Grace had decided over that grueling week, that she was going to set her best bud straight about the men in her life, or actually the lack there of, and tell her the whole story about Derek. It had been a long time coming, and something that needed to be cleared up between them, but Kyndel was so caught up in talking about the new man in her life that she didn’t listen to a word Grace said. She had rattled on and on about Rayne, his large family, and how blissfully happy she was. The woman she had spent almost every day of
the last eight years with, in way or another, seemed to have undergone a complete transformation. She was actually gushing over a man. Kyndel Masterson, or whatever her last name was now, did not gush. The longer she listened, the more her instincts screamed that her best friend was not telling her the whole story. Her suspicions were confirmed when she met Rayne, the man Kyndel had fallen head over heels for. Grace’s spidey senses told her he was full of secrets. It made absolutely no sense that her best friend, the one that trusted absolutely no one, the girl that had put Grace through every test and interrogation a person could think of before she would call her a friend, had gotten married to a man she had known less than a week, and what she was reluctant to admit, was that her feelings were hurt because she had not been invited to the wedding.
The look in Kyndel’s eyes told Grace that she was most definitely over the moon in love and sickeningly happy. All gagging aside, she was incredibly thrilled for her. No one deserved the love and devotion Grace saw in Rayne’s eyes when he gazed at her friend more than Kyndel. Her life had never been easy, and to see her happy warmed Grace’s heart. Still, no matter how hard she tried to put her suspicions aside and blame them on the envy she felt at watching them together, the green-eyed monster reared his ugly head. Fact was, she wanted a love like that, and a man that looked at her like she was his whole world. If only a man existed that she could trust. The harder she shoved her wariness over the recent changes in her best friend’s life away, the more her intuition told her she was right; there was more to the story. She hated herself for being suspicious, but she always followed her gut. That was one of the things that made her good at her job and had saved her too many times to count. Something was just not how it seemed.