by R. E. Butler
Tempting Treasure
Ashland Pride Ten
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2019 R. E. Butler
Tempting Treasure (Ashland Pride Book Ten)
By R. E. Butler
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
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Cover by Tibbs Design
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This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
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Editing by Word Vagabond
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Special thanks to Shawnnita Miranda and Diane, part of my Wild Shifter Babes Reader Group, who named Treasure’s parents – Valor and Deandra.
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Thanks to Shelley for beta-reading on the fly. And to the bestest bestie in the universe – Joyce – what would I do without your encouragement and love? Thank you for everything. XOXO
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Coming Next in the Ashland Pride series
Contact the Author
Other Books by R. E. Butler
Having Hope (Ashland Pride Book Eleven)
Tempting Treasure (Ashland Pride Book Ten)
By R. E. Butler
Dragonfae hybrid Treasure has two things on her mind – her upcoming mating ceremony to her two mates, Brian and Kevin, and the cursed female mountain lions. Before she gets her happily ever after, she wants to figure out how to break the curse that has shadowed the mountain lion shifters for eons. To do that, she knows she needs to sneak into the fae realm and find the library in her parents’ home, where she’s certain she recalls seeing books about gods and goddesses.
Brian and Kevin Fallon have loved Treasure since the moment they saw her. She’s not only funny, sweet, and gorgeous, but she’s also a powerful hybrid – part dragon shifter and part fairy. When they learn from her adoptive parents that she’s disappeared in the middle of the night, they’re frantic to find her. After she returns from the fae realm with books from her parents’ library, they’re furious she left without them, but thankful she’s safe.
What Treasure doesn’t know is that the dragon king in the fae realm protected his entire territory, including her parents’ home, with a spell to ensure that anyone who entered the lands was magically tagged. The king believes Treasure is meant to be under his rule, and demands that she join their clan. Brian and Kevin aren’t about to let anyone take Treasure from them, but the temptation to be with her own kind may be too great for her to ignore. Will she stay in Ashland with the two males who have captured her heart, or join her own kind in the fae realm?
Chapter One
Treasure’s eyes glazed as her adoptive mother, Lisa, scrolled down the website page and talked about the upcoming ceremony. In a month, Treasure would mate and marry her two favorite males on the planet – Kevin and Brian Fallon. They’d been her sweethearts from the moment she met them at age twelve, when she’d come to Ashland, Indiana to stay with the mountain lion pride that called the area home. She’d been born in the fae realm, the daughter of a dragon shifter and a fairy. Her parents had believed she was entirely fae, but kept her identity hidden nonetheless. Dragon shifters had been hunted to near-extinction in the fae realm because their scales could be used to make fae spells more powerful.
But when she was twelve, Treasure transformed into a dragon. And not just any dragon: a dragonfae, a combination of the two. Instead of solid, naturally-colored scales, her scales were like her wings and the highlights in her hair – iridescent pink and blue. Even though she’d been living in her parents’ home under a powerful protection spell, the fae had somehow discovered what she was and tried to abduct her. Her parents were killed protecting her. The last thing her mother had done was open a portal to her Aunt Georgette’s home in the human realm and send her there for safekeeping. Her aunt had kept her safe for a while, but then three black panthers and a mountain lion female named Jilly showed up, and somehow the fae found her. Georgette died protecting Treasure.
That seemed like an entire lifetime ago, but in reality it had been less than ten years. After coming to Ashland, Rhett and Lisa had adopted her, and she’d used her aunt’s spell book to cast a protection spell on herself so that no fae would be able to find her.
“I like this one,” Lisa said, pointing at an image of a three-tiered cake, covered with sparkling sanding sugar and edible pearls.
Treasure blinked her eyes back into focus and sat up. “It looks like a birthday cake more than a wedding cake.”
“It’s pretty, though.”
Treasure hummed. “You know what I’m thinking about?”
“What?” Lisa turned to face her.
“I wanted to go with wildflowers for my bouquet, but lately I’ve been thinking about snapdragons.”
“They’re not normally for wedding bouquets.”
“Yeah, but they have ‘dragon’ in the name, and I think that’s kind of cool. What if my bouquet was snapdragons, and you made snapdragons for the cake? If you covered the cake with blue frosting and did pink snapdragons on it, I think it would be really pretty.”
“Oh girl,” she said with a smile, “you do like to test the limits of my cake decorating abilities.”
“Well, you are Ashland’s best wedding coordinator.”
Her mother had been handling pride weddings since the first mated group – wolf shifter Callie and her two lion mates, Ethan and Eryx – had arrived in Ashland from King, Pennsylvania. Ethan and Eryx were Rhett’s nephews, and they lived with their children in a converted barn on the farm. Lisa had a knack for weddings and was a great party planner. Treasure knew that the combination of their two ceremonies – mating and wedding – into one big party would be amazing. And the best part was that at the end, she and her mates would finally be able to live together.
Treasure leaned back in her chair and looked around the kitchen, from the red gingham curtains over the kitchen sink window to the large table which could comfortably seat eight. Her own kitchen was done in her favorite shade of blue, from the curtains to the salt-and-pepper shakers which sat on a farmhouse table she’d built herself.
“Okay, I found a tutorial online for making snapdragons out of gum paste. Now, the flavors of the actual cake should be what?”
This was something she and her mates had agreed about from the beginning. “Chocolate with strawberry filling.”
“I should have guessed. That’s been your birthday cake request every year. The boys don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
Lisa scribbled somethin
g in a small notebook. “So that’s the wedding cake settled. I’ll make a small cake for you to try ahead of time, and some options for the coloring and flowers. We’ll do a cake tasting.”
“Sure,” she said with a chuckle. “Can we wait until Hope shows up?”
Lisa smiled fondly. “Of course. That will give me time to perfect the flowers.”
Treasure’s best friend Hope, a mountain lion female who lived in King, was moving to Ashland in two weeks. She’d accepted a job in town as an elementary school teacher and was going to stay at Rhett and Lisa’s until she decided where she wanted to live. The two females had met when Hope’s mother, Honor, had come to visit Ashland with her mates, Jax and Holden. Jax and Holden had lived in Ashland before they mated Honor and had moved with her to King to be close to Hope, and Honor’s father Eli.
“My whole life is going to change in a month.”
“You’ve accomplished so much in the last few years, and you and the boys are very lucky to have each other. I wish I’d known Rhett when I was younger. It would have been sweet to grow up together and know we were meant to be.”
Lisa was human and Rhett was a mountain lion. Her family had disowned her when she chose to mate Rhett, because he was a shifter. At the time, Rhett was the only lion in town. Once Callie and her mates had come to Ashland, a group of pride members from King had rented the boarding house. Rhett’s brothers – James, John, Grant, and Aaron – had moved into the boarding house, and Treasure’s mates had come with Grant, their father. Their three cousins – Nathan, Owen, and Ben – were Aaron’s sons, and the two fathers had mated a sweet human female named Samantha, who was the elementary school’s music teacher.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?” Lisa asked, tucking a lock of Treasure’s blonde hair behind her ear.
“How many families live in the boarding house.”
“It’s pretty full,” Lisa said. “I think you three made the right choice, and not just because I’m glad you’re staying close.”
“The boarding house definitely wasn’t for us.” Treasure could look out the kitchen window and see her own house, a four-bedroom farmhouse which was just waiting to be filled with kids and laughter and love. They would be close to Rhett and Lisa, but not so close that they had no privacy.
Lisa closed the laptop and picked up her notebook. “We just have dress fittings in two weeks for you and Hope, and then we won’t need to do anything until the week of the ceremony, when we’ll get the decorations finalized and everything set up.”
“It feels like it’s taking forever for the ceremony to get here,” Treasure said.
“It’ll happen soon enough.”
“You didn’t wait ten years to marry Rhett. Your idea of ‘soon enough’ is a lot different from mine.”
Lisa snorted. “Perhaps, but consider this – in the time you waited, you finished high school and went to community college. You chose an amazing career, and you’re a great artist. I know it wasn’t easy for you to wait to be with the boys, but it didn’t hurt you to stay young a little while longer and figure out who you are as an individual before getting married.”
“Mom, I know who I am. I knew who I was when I came here.” Kickass dragonfae with two mountain lions for mates.
“Waiting makes things better. You know, anticipation.” Lisa winked, and Treasure made a face.
“Gross, Mom. Don’t talk about Dad and sex with me, please.”
Lisa let out a loud laugh, her eyes dancing with humor.
“Thanks for everything, Mom.”
“We’re family. That’s what family does.”
“The ceremony will be perfect, and I think a lot of future couples are going to want to have their ceremonies here instead of at the boarding house.”
Lisa nodded. “It’ll be beautiful.”
The ceremony was taking place on the farm. There was a huge, old tree far down on one side of the cornfield. Its branches were wide and covered with leaves, and there was a soft carpet of grass around it. She and her mates had spent a lot of time there, and it was special to them, so it was the perfect place for their ceremony. The pride usually held parties at the boarding house, because they had a huge backyard and plenty of seating for all. But Treasure wasn’t a mountain lion, and while she was a member of the pride, she liked to think outside of the box. So the reception was going to be held at Rhett and Lisa’s in the middle of July, on what she hoped would be a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon.
Treasure’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and smiled when she saw a text from Brian asking if she wanted to pick up Kevin and meet him for lunch at Cherie’s.
“I can tell by the smile on your face that one of the boys texted you.”
“Yep. Are we done here?”
“Yes, you’re free to go.”
“We’re going to lunch in town, and then I have to finish the cabinets for the downstairs bathroom, so I’ll be in the workshop for the rest of the day.”
“I’m excited to see them.”
Treasure pecked Lisa on the cheek and walked out of the house, heading toward her workshop.
No matter how busy her mates were – Kevin worked for Rhett on his farm, and Brian was an EMT – they always put her first. Her dragon trilled in her mind, excited to see the guys and spend time with them. In a month, they’d finally be living together, and she’d be their mate and wife. She loved her life, but she felt like she’d been walking in place for a long time, just waiting for Rhett and Lisa to agree that the trio could be officially mated. That time was drawing closer.
She couldn’t wait.
Chapter Two
Kevin’s phone buzzed in his back pocket as he mowed the grassy areas of Rhett’s farm. The two-hundred-acre farm had four homes, including the one he and Brian had helped build for Treasure. Rhett and Lisa’s home was the first one that had been built on the property. Next, Callie, Ethan, and Eryx converted a barn into a home. Then the only mountain lion quartet – Cris, Dylan, Chase, and Hunter – had remodeled an old home on the farm next to Rhett’s, which he’d bought to expand his property.
Kevin stopped the large zero-turn mower and pulled his phone from his pocket to see a text from Treasure.
Wanna meet Brian for lunch in thirty in town?
He glanced at where he was in the mowing, which he did weekly as part of his farm duties, and texted back, I’ll meet you at Rhett’s in twenty.
She sent him a kissing-face emoji and his cat purred in his mind, urging him to stop working and go find her for a real kiss. He tucked his phone away and put the mower back into gear, shaking his head at his cat, who would be far more content if they could spend every waking moment with the beautiful dragonfae. As he guided the mower, pushing the speed up so he could finish the yard around the converted barn that Callie, Ethan, and Eryx’s family called home, he reminded his cat that in a month they’d be with Treasure full-time. No more sneaking away in the middle of the day for what Treasure called a “snuggle fest,” and then spending nights missing her terribly. They’d finally be together for real.
Their parents hadn’t wanted them to live together until they were older. First they’d wanted them to finish high school, then get good jobs or go to college. And then build a house. Once the house was complete, they’d set the date for their dual ceremony – mating and wedding – for July fourteenth. The pride was holding a bridal shower for Treasure this coming weekend, and then they’d be able to finish getting the house ready.
He and Brian had offered to take her away somewhere for a honeymoon, but she’d insisted on staying at their own home. They were all taking a week off for their honeymoon, and while they had a few fun things planned, like special dinners and activities away from the house, they mostly just wanted to revel in their newly-mated status. Finally, he’d not only get to fall asleep with her in his arms but wake up with her. In all their time together, they’d never done that.
He finished mowing, waved at Callie and her kids who were han
ging out on the back porch, and drove the tractor to the barn to put it away. Rhett was there, working on a tractor.
“I’m going to grab Treasure to meet Brian for lunch,” he said.
“Bring me back a piece of Cherie’s peach pie, and one of her apple dumplings for Lisa.”
“Will do.”
Kevin strode out of the barn and headed to the main house to pick up Treasure. He grinned when he saw her waiting on the wraparound porch, and with his sensitive hearing he could pick up the happy trill of her dragon as she raced down the stairs, heading right for him. She jumped into his arms and kissed him, snuggling close as he held her.
“Missed you,” she said into his neck, her lips lightly brushing his skin.
He gave her butt a squeeze and chuckled. “Me too, sweetheart.”
She leaned back and hooked her hands behind his neck. Her eyes were a beautiful emerald color, glittering with happiness. “I’m starving. How about you?”
“Definitely. You’ve got good timing.”
“It was Bri’s idea, so we’ll give him the credit.”
Kevin set her on the ground and took her hand; they walked the rest of the distance to his truck, which was parked in the gravel driveway. After he shut her in, he got behind the wheel and backed out of the drive. They headed to Cherie’s, the only diner in town, which served some of the best food he’d ever had. Their trio ate there at least once a week, as did many pride members. Cherie, the owner, had a knack for remembering everyone’s favorite dishes, and served up her tasty fare with a side of friendly banter.
The corner booth was their favorite place to sit, and it was always open for pride members. People in town just seemed to know that was where the cats sat. Treasure scooted to the center of the worn booth, and Brian and Kevin sat on either side. Cherie appeared with glasses of ice water and menus, which she waved at them with a knowing smile.