by T. Cobbin
Dragon’s Heart: Melanie’s Men
by
T. Cobbin
Dragon’s Heart: Melanie’s Men
Copyright © 2017, T. Cobbin
ISBN: 9781944270650
Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.
Electronic Publication: April 2017
Editor: Pamela Tyner
Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs
eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Back Cover Copy
Two bears shifters plus a camping trip with a feisty schoolteacher equals fun and adventure, but trouble is lurking around the corner.
Melanie had a hard, lonely childhood, but she overcame her obstacles and now she has a job she loves—a nursery school teacher in a small village—and a group of friends that she loves even more. When she’s visiting a friend in London, she meets two gorgeous men and shocks herself by spending the night with them. She thinks it will just be a one-night stand, because what more could it be?
A few weeks later, as school lets out for the summer, Melanie is preparing to go on a camping trip, wanting to spend some time alone enjoying nature—something she does on a fairly regular basis. But Brock and Cole show up on her doorstep, wanting to join her. She still feels incredibly drawn to both of them and finds it impossible to deny their request.
Brock and Cole have spent years searching for their mate, the woman who would complete their trio. As soon as they met Melanie they knew she was the one. But she has no idea they’re bear shifters. Convincing her to spend a night with them wasn’t too hard, but will they be able to convince her to spend the rest of her life with them?
When they run into trouble, Melanie discovers that her lovers are not exactly what they seem to be. And she has to process this information in the midst of dealing with a potentially deadly danger.
Content Warning: contains strong language, some violence, and lots of hot, steamy sex scenes
Dedication
For those who keep reading and keep us authors writing.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to a wonderful publisher, Pamela Tyner and Beachwalk Press, for giving me another chance to tantalize my readers with my imagination. And to everyone else behind the scenes who make me look better.
Author’s Foreword
Life is full of hills. Going up is hard and a struggle, but going down can be fun.
Chapter 1
The club music was loud enough Melanie could feel the beat. It made her feel alive as she danced amongst the people filling the dance floor. Their bodies swayed, twisted, and moved together like a rippling ocean. This was her kind of relaxing.
After spending the previous night in the hospital with several of her friends, she wanted to forget the traumatic evening. What started off with a pregnancy food run had turned into a kidnapping. Her friend Amy was close to giving birth and wanted something that was bad for her, so they’d ended up at a café enjoying food with enough grease to clog up their arteries. It had all gone wrong when Amy’s estranged parents had decided that they needed revenge for the life they’d received.
The dastardly pair had knocked out Melanie and her other friend Wendy and left them lying in a car park, then they went on to kidnap Sarah and Amy. It all worked out in the end though. Amy and her husband Troy were now cooing over their newborn son, safe and sound at home. Both Sarah and Wendy had been taken home by two of Troy’s handsome friends, Dennenth and Pete. Both of those men had actually sat in the hospital next to Sarah and Wendy all night, seemingly afraid either female would get hurt again. After the men had carted her friends off that morning, it left Melanie in the city by herself. Until she made a phone call to her bestie and their other friend Bobbie, who didn’t think twice about driving all the way to the city to make sure Melanie was okay, and of course take her home...after a night of relaxing!
Bobbie had a fiery and loud disposition, matching her red hair. She had brought an overnight bag with her, telling Melanie she didn’t wanted to waste the rest of the weekend. Having a gold VIP pass to Dragon’s Heart—thanks to Amy and her husband who owned the club—she and Bobbie were now spending the evening dancing. Well, Melanie was. Bobbie had found some admirers and she’d spent most of the evening sucking face.
So there Melanie was, wearing a tight, white wraparound dress that showed her ample bosom off in a clear v shape at the top, and a short length that reached the top of her knees, dancing the night away. The dress was a little tighter than she was used to. But then that was because it was a size smaller than what she’d normally wear.
She raised her hands in the air, enjoying the beats, when a hand cupped one of her breasts from behind. Twisting around, she drew one of her hands back, ready to slap whoever had done it. The floor was filled with people so close together it was normal for them to bump and grind together, but for a hand to blatantly cup one of her breasts and mold it, that was way over the line.
She was so shocked at the sight before her that she lowered her hand. The bloke who’d been fondling her was smaller in height than she was, and she was just slightly over five feet. The short stack of a man with a beaming smile on his face had a thick, gold chain around his neck and another on his wrist. He also had a huge Rolex on his other wrist. Poser!
He held up his hands in a surrender motion until she lowered her hand fully. He then had the audacity to use his hands to illustrate in the air that she had a big bosom. Oh my God! Her mood shot from relaxed and comfortable to pissed off in a second flat.
She didn’t like violence, but she knew how to use her mouth to argue her way out of a situation. Leaning in close, she made sure her voice fell just under the music, low enough that he wouldn’t be able to make out what she said.
“Little man with a big ego and a tiny dick say what!”
The man looked at her confused and cupped a hand to his ear. “What?” he yelled back over the music.
Melanie laughed and repeated what she just said a little louder so he could hear. His smile disappeared instantly, and his cheeks bloomed a deep shade of red. Melanie swiveled on the spot and walked off the dance floor, making sure she added an extra swing to her hips, back to the VIP bubble rooms.
Bobbie was still in their room with a tall, handsome fella with a ton of tattoos and piercings. They were so close together the only way you could tell them apart was their clothes. Melanie could just make out the DH in a white oval on his right pec. Mmm, and what a pec it was. His muscles stretched the fabric of the t-shirt. She turned away and coughed, making it known she was back. Bobbie pushed the man away and pulled herself together.
“Well, it certainly looks like you’re enjoying yourself.” Melanie chuckled.
Bobbie’s cheeks flushed pink. Out of all of their friends, Bobbie was Melanie’s bestie. They’d grown close because of their love to see the good side of life. If someone was down, they would cheer them up. If someone pissed them off....oh, payback was a bitch. And as for defending their pals, Melanie knew her friends classed her as the pit bull of the group. No one messed with her mates and got away with it.
The two women watched the heavily tattooed man stroll out of the VIP room. Melanie shook her head and threw herself into the soft cushioned chair beside her friend.
“Did you take his name?” Melanie asked.
“Hey, a girl’s got to get some action when she comes to this place—it’s buzzing with sexy men. It’s
like a fucking sweetie shop for desperate women. And I’m desperate.”
“Some dude downstairs thought he could get a grope for free.”
“You want me to get my trusty superglue?” Superglue was definitely one of their favorite things. It was easily hidden, and clothing didn’t mix well with it. The amount of ripped clothes they had caused between them...well, a shop would love them.
Melanie laughed. “Nah, it’s okay, I sorted it. I told him he was short and had a tiny dick.”
“Yeah, but still, I always have my glue.” Bobbie dug into her small clutch purse and pulled out a tiny tube of the adhesive.
Instantly, images of how they could get revenge appeared in Melanie’s mind. Bobbie dancing and sliding up to the bloke, then carefully dripping a few small dots of glue onto the butt of his trousers. She would lead him to a seat, and after a few moments she’d call Melanie over and ask if he’d met her friend. They would watch as the man stood, leaving parts of his pants behind. Then, they would both walk away laughing.
“You are such a bad influence on my innocent mind.” Melanie pressed a hand over her heart while pretending to be innocent.
Bobbie roared with laughter. “Yeah, right!”
Melanie joined her friend laughing, both holding their stomachs. A cough at the doorway had them looking up and their giggles subsiding. Bobbie sat up straight in her chair. A man stood there, his head not even an inch from the top of the doorway. He had muscles on muscles. His black DH t-shirt stretched so much that imagination wasn’t needed to see what was underneath.
“Where did Tina go?” Bobbie asked, standing and walking across the room. Tina was a young woman who worked at Dragon’s Heart and had been serving them drinks all night.
“She had to take a break, so I’m the next best thing.”
The man’s voice was as naughty as sin. Just the sound of it had Melanie’s nipples peaking underneath her dress and her panties dampening. His eyes were the deepest brown she had ever seen; they looked like black pearls. She was surprised to see they were looking straight at her and not Bobbie who was directly in front of him. He was wearing the usual black t-shirt with the DH printed on it, along with black trousers that looked a tad small. He had long, dark brown hair that reached his shoulders in waves. She watched his nose twitch and his chest inhale while his chin lifted a touch. He seemed to be...sniffing the room? Odd.
“I’m Brock, and I’ll be taking over for a while, if that’s okay with you ladies.”
“Oh, baby, that is more than fine with us. Why don’t you put that tray on the table over there?” Bobbie purred and pointed to a table by the door. “By the way, my name’s Bobbie, and this is Melanie,”
Melanie knew instantly why Bobbie had chosen that table; when he bent over to place the drinks on it, they would get a perfect view of his arse. Bobbie quickly came back to her seat, and they both watched his black trousers stretch across his very fine backside as he bent over and placed the contents of the tray onto the table. His arse looked firm enough to bounce a penny off of it. Melanie whimpered and drew in a breath. She wiped a hand over her mouth; she was sure she was drooling.
Brock stood and turned, holding the silver serving tray at his side, and winked at her. A few strides later he was in front of her, bent at the waist, lifting a hand, offering it to her palm up. What did he want? A tip?
It was the look in his beautiful eyes that had her shuffling forward to the edge of her seat and lifting her hand toward his. Turning it over, he inhaled, smelling her wrist, then ever so gently he kissed it. He stood and dropped her hand. Was it her perfume? No, it couldn’t be that—she wasn’t wearing any. This bizarre act had her heart beating in her ears so loud she wondered if everyone could hear it.
“See you later, ladies.” With that he walked out of the room.
Why hadn’t he kissed Bobbie’s wrist? In fact, other than introducing himself to Bobbie, he’d ignored her.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Bobbie squealed, turning toward her friend. “Did you see that backside?” She threw herself back in her chair and waved her hand in front of her face. “Did he kiss your wrist? That was a bit weird,” Bobbie continued without waiting for an answer. “But oh my God, he was yummy!”
“I thought his voice was sexy as hell,” Melanie added. “And his eyes are just… Wow!”
The VIP rooms in Dragon’s Heart were glass and were shaped like bubbles. So it made it easier for them to watch Brock walk along the hallway and down the stairs back to the dance floor. Melanie couldn’t take her eyes off the man as he walked behind the bar and talked to another gorgeous bloke. They had a short conversation before Brock pointed up toward their VIP room.
“Oh fuck, did you see that?” Bobbie asked excitedly. “They were definitely talking about us...well, I’d say you, more you than me. You are so going to get laid tonight.” Bobbie chuckled and picked up one of the sex on the beach drinks they’d been drinking all night.
Melanie slumped back in her chair. Men that sexy didn’t go for the likes of her. She had a good outlook on life, but when it came to men, it wasn’t so bright. Her friend Amy had been lucky enough to snag the boss of this place. Troy was handsome, but not exactly what Melanie looked for in a man. Now Brock, wow, he made each and every nerve tingle and her heart flutter.
A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours. As soon as she’d been discharged and visited Amy and the baby in the hospital, she phoned Bobbie who had driven to the city and picked her up.
She and her friends all worked in a small nursery in Kent. Although Melanie and Bobbie had been friends longer, all the teachers had become firm friends. Melanie had no other family, so the group of women had become hers. Every summer holiday the friends would spend a good week together, either clubbing, walking, or just sitting in for a night playing board games over a bottle of wine. But this year seemed to be different already. Amy was getting married to Troy, and with her other two friends disappearing with two muscled bound men she wondered what was going to happen. Depression gripped her. Not only did she feel like she was losing the only family she’d really had, but she felt like she would never find a man who would love her like her friends had found.
She was broken out of her thoughts when Bobbie started cackling.
“What the fuck?” Melanie asked.
“Oh my God, you have to read this.” Bobbie thrust some cheap magazine she’d picked up from somewhere under Melanie’s nose.
“An article on strange things people have married. This guy...” She pointed to a picture. “He married his truck. Shit, where does he stick his dick? In the gas tank?” She giggled. “You think his spunk will give him extra miles?”
Melanie couldn’t help but chuckle.
Bobbie carried on, trying to get her words out while laughing. “This guy married his scarecrow. Probably thinks he can fuck the stuffing out of it every night. And to top that off, this guy here,” she said, pointing to another picture, “married his fucking goat.”
“Eww.” Melanie groaned around a deep laugh. She was finding it hard to breathe.
Bobbie made it worse, she stood up and started acting out shagging air, doggie style. “Oh, oh, Nannnnnnnny,” she wailed in pretend orgasm, then bent over in laughter.
Melanie was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. She threw a balled up serviette at her friend but missed her target. Looking up, she saw Jaxon peeking into the room with a bewildered look on his face. He was the bouncer assigned to them for the night, a precaution Troy like to add with his fiancée’s friends. Melanie laughed even harder as she wondered what Jaxon was thinking. It took the women a good five minutes to calm down. Bobbie picked up the wadded ball and threw it back at Melanie.
“You know you’re a flaming idiot, right?” Melanie asked. “But thank you.”
Bobbie lifted a brow in question.
“I know what you just did, and I’m sorry to put a damper on our evening. I just feel with Amy and Sarah and Wendy finding their men...
And you have such confidence in getting a man…” She watched Bobbie about to deny that fact. “Oh, don’t deny it. How many guys have you sucked face with tonight?”
Bobbie shrugged. “A women’s got to get some meat in her.” She licked her lips and glanced toward the door before looking back at Melanie.
Melanie sighed. “I just get afraid that I’ll be the one in our group that lives alone with a house full of cats.”
“We’ve been friends forever, and I hate it when you get all miserable. You can’t keep thinking shit like that.” Bobbie gave Melanie her stern teacher look. “Fuck your old boyfriends, they were dicks. You are a voluminous woman, with curves the right man would die for. We both are,” she said, sliding her hands down the sides of her curves with a smile and a wink.
Melanie couldn’t stop the huge smile that covered her face, courtesy of her best friend.
“Now get over here and help me drink this sex on the beach.” Bobbie paused, and a mischievous look crossed her face. “Blimey,” she suddenly said. Uh-oh. “Imagine actually having sex on the beach—think of where that sand would go.” She scrunched up her face and pursed her lips. “Talk about sandpaper dick.”
Melanie clenched her thighs tightly together. Ouch! “Thanks for that image,” she said, shaking her head.
She walked over to her friend and hugged her tightly. Bobbie returned her love and gave her a cheek a kiss. No words were needed. The magazine was thrown back onto a chair and their glasses were raised in a toast.
“If they don’t like what they see, fuck them,” Bobbie announced and tapped her glass against Melanie’s.
“Fuck them,” Melanie repeated and chugged her drink, enjoying the slight burn as it went down.
Chapter 2