by Milly Taiden
BOUND IN ASHES
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
MILLY TAIDEN
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Tiana Jonas’s life is unexciting. Nothing happens. Except her technical support calls with Ker Drachen. He’s got the sexiest voice if her wet panties are any sign. Boring goes out the window when her house is burglarized and an undiscovered body bleeds out on her kitchen floor. Ker comes to her rescue with a place to hide away. She just needs to keep her clothes on. That’s proving a lot harder than she thought.
Ker Drachen is obsessed with the sweet school teacher, Tiana. Her voice alone gives him wet dreams. When she gets into trouble, every protective instinct in him demands he guard his woman. Except, she’s not his. Not by dragon mark. But that won’t get in his way. Someone trying to kill her might be a problem, though. Then again, so might the fact she’s the most innocent, and desirous woman he’s ever met.
Romancing Tiana isn’t easy when danger follows her like a shadow, but Ker is determined to prove to her he’s the man for her in every hot, slick, and dirty way possible. He’s going to win her love and keep her. That’s all good, but he might have to die to show her how much he cares. Unless she gives up her life for him first.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Latin Goddess Press
Winter Springs, FL 32708
http://millytaiden.com
Bound in Ashes
Copyright © 2016 by Milly Taiden
Cover by Jacqueline Sweet
Edited by: Tina Winograd
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Milly Taiden
February 2018
—For my baby girl, Angie
You love my dragons and I love you!
ONE
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Ker Drachen jiggled his computer mouse and brought his screen to life. He shouldn't be this excited to check his email, but he wanted to see if Tiana Jonas had emailed asking for his help once again. The sweet schoolteacher had gotten under his skin. He looked forward to her emails and calls.
He had only a few minutes before he had to go down for breakfast and check on the kids. He loved that the castle was full of children now. With all three of his brothers having found their mates, he was the last without someone to make his life complete. There was also an elder now living with them. Nana had returned from a very far away planet to help anyone needing to find a mate. She’d brought along Newton. He’d found his mate instantly. Lucky bastard.
Too much had happened in the past few years. Enough that it felt like a lifetime had gone by and still Ker had no mate. Should he worry? No. There was no desperate need for a marked mate. Not when one particular human made him feel new emotions he’d never felt.
Thinking back to their recent years, it was clear when things had turned and the men, once distressed dragons seeking mates to continue their race, were now happy family men, husbands, mates, doing anything and willing to kill anyone to keep their families safe.
His oldest brother, Tor, had met an empath, Morgan, and mated. The first of the dragon mates had been found. But when Tor found Morgan, the Noir, a race of black dragons set on destroying the Drachen line, had started attacking them even more. They had been unsuccessful in killing Morgan and stopping the mating. Now Tor and his mate had several children and were stronger than any Noir without a mate could be.
When his brother Clacher met his dragon mate, Lexi, the Noir returned full force, wanting to stop their mating as well. They’d almost succeeded, but Lexi and Clacher made it and had offspring of their own. Now, they, too, were stronger than ever. No Noir could go up against them. So, they didn’t try.
Last winter, his brother Jae met not one, but two, women. One he’d fallen in love with and readied to give up his dragon for her. Even though the other marked female could have been his mate. After dodging the Noir and their attempts at killing both Hannah and Avery, they found out some amazing news.
The woman Jae had fallen for, Avery, was his marked mate. There had been no need to give up his dragon to become human.
Then the Noir had gone quiet. Eerily quiet.
So as far as Ker knew, he was the only one missing a mate. Not that the fact worried him for a second. He was too busy chatting up Tiana.
His text messenger popped up on his screen with a ding.
“How are you, Ker? Can we talk on the phone?”
He grinned at the smiley emoticon and tried not to sound too excited she was already online. “Sure, now is good.”
He’d given her his cell phone in case there were any issues she needed to reach him for. That and because he really liked her. The sound of her voice the first time they’d spoken had made him hard for hours. Hell, even now, thinking about it, he was getting turned on.
He picked up when the phone rang and tried not to sound overly enthusiastic that she’d called.
“Hey, how are you?”
“All right. How are you?” she said in her husky voice that made him think of hot nights and tangled sheets. Not to mention naked bodies. Their naked bodies.
“I’m good. How’s that website building going today?”
“Meh,” she growled. That sound of frustration had never been so sexy coming over the phone. And he’d never gotten hard just from listening to a woman’s voice like he did with Tiana. Thank god, she couldn’t see him. “I would rather be somewhere else.”
He frowned. She was usually so upbeat and happy. There had to be something wrong. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’m just a bit disappointed. Anyway, I don’t think I’ll be online working on this today, so you have the day off from my million and one questions.”
“You’ve paid for training and I am here. If you don’t feel up to working now, we can take it up later.”
There was a long pause in which he thought she might have ended the call. So far, Tiana had been shy but very interested in learning. At first, she’d been setting up the website for the school. Once that was done, she was having him help her with the donation website for the homeless shelter she volunteered at.
“I’m thinking of going away for a few days,” she said softly. Something in her tone raised his hackles.
“Vacation?” He tried to sound mildly interested but wanted to know what was really going on with her.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah. Just some personal stuff going on. I need a breather.”
He hated that she was having any kind of problem and wished he could help. Then he thought of something. “Where will you go?”
He owned a small cabin in upstate New York. Nowhere near Jae’s massive one. This was a small place he’d bought when he heard Jae talking about building a real estate portfolio. Ker only used his cabin when he needed a break. It was sitting furnished but empty most the time.
He only used it a few days of the year. And he loaned it out to the winner of his scholarship for a week. Thankfully, he had a local person keep it clean and stocked with food when someone was going to stay.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t planning this vacation
so it’s sort of last minute,” she sighed.
“I might know of a place, if you’re interested.”
“Really?” There was a note of concern in her question and he realized how what he said might come across.
“What I meant is, I have this small cabin in upstate New York. It’s not very big, but it’s by a river and has great views. It’s clean and it only gets used twice a year. So, it’s sitting empty now. If you needed a place to go and get away for a few days, it’s yours.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Let me think about it for a day or two. I have a lot on my mind, right now, and I’m unsure which way to go.”
“Tiana,” he cut in. “I’m here for whatever you need. Even if it’s not related to your website building, let me know. If I can help, I will.”
“Thank you, Ker. I appreciate it.”
After their call, Ker sat, wishing he could do more than just offer a place to stay for a few days. He’d been trying to approach asking her on a date, but she’d been so set on keeping their training and calls on the professional level, he’d been worried she might stop using his service to learn. It didn’t matter that he was volunteering his time to teach her through his foundation. Tiana was the one woman he’d found that he wanted to get to know on a personal level. Something about the conversations drew him in.
He headed out of his working office and to the castle kitchens where Nana sat with Jae and Tor.
“What’s going on?” he asked. There was a thick sense of dread in the giant space.
They all glanced at him, Tor being the one who spoke. “Nana is telling us there is something coming. Something big.”
He refilled his coffee mug and sat with them at the giant kitchen table. “What kind of big?”
Jae brought his cup down and met his gaze. “At first, we were hopeful it was your mate finally making an appearance.”
“You guys know I’m not worried about that,” Ker tried to calm their fears. Now that Tiana was in the picture, he wasn’t worried about a mate at all. Though younger than his brothers by a few hundred years, which made him the kid amongst them, he had never experienced any human attachment like Clacher or Tor.
Like Jae, he’d been busy learning the latest in the fields he was interested in. At first, he’d been a crown protector like his brothers, then a student of the arts. After that, he stuck to technology. Investing in everything that drove evolution of commerce. When computers were created, he’d been one of the first to test and learn and invest. He’d made a killing. But at the same time, found something he loved.
The internet’s birth opened new doors for his investments. He made a fortune in Silicon Valley. Not that he wasn’t already wealthy enough for his great-grandchildren to never need a job. But Ker needed stuff to do. Technology called to him. E-commerce driven businesses created a new platform for him to grow DrachTec, the foundation he had started to teach nonprofit and small businesses about E-commerce and technology.
He had over a thousand employees. Humans said he looked no older than someone in his twenties. Unlike his brothers who looked old--like thirty-somethings. Age wasn’t a big deal to his family. It was what one did during those years that counted.
“Ker,” Tor started. “Morgan got a vision. It wasn’t like the others. She said she felt it was mate related, but all she saw was you.” Tor’s lips pressed into a straight line. “You needing help? You being targeted to be killed?”
Ker frowned. “I haven’t had any targets. Not like the rest of you.”
“That’s a good point,” Jae growled, running his fingers into his hair in clear frustration. “I don’t know what that dream means, but Avery had a similar one. You needing to be saved.”
Nana cleared her throat and gave Ker a kind look. “So did Lexi. The women are so worried about you they want us to make sure you don’t leave the house.”
Ker glanced from one to the other to the other. None of them smiling. “You’re kidding me, right? Things are fine. There have been no other mates and I haven’t been attacked once by any black dragons.”
“We know,” Tor replied. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming.”
“I can’t--no, I won’t--stop living my life because of what could happen. None of you have and I won’t be the first.”
“This is different, Ker,” Jae told him.
“Where are the women anyway? They’ve always felt comfortable enough talking to me. What brought this on?” His patience was usually pretty good, but knowing Tiana was going through something cut short his ability to give a fuck about shit like this. What he wanted was to go to Tiana. To help her with whatever she needed, and at the same time, get closer to her. A new craving for more than just online or phone conversation had grown in him. One he couldn’t quiet. One he didn’t want to shut down.
“With Morgan and Lexi so close to birthing babies, they’re resting. Avery, Hannah, and Star are watching the other children,” Nana replied. “Newton’s helping too. And I know Avery won’t last long, needing as many naps as she does now that she’s carrying twins.”
Ker nodded. He loved all the babies and women in the castle. They were his family. But he wasn’t going to live in a cave because they were worried. He had a life to live. “I have too much going on. The tournament is in a few days. Even if I wanted to stay home for a few days to calm their fears, I can’t.”
Jae gave a sharp nod. “I understand. We all do. Just be careful. Sayeh is still angry over the loss of so many of his Noir.”
He understood. There had been so many deaths, and so far, Sayeh hadn’t done anything to retaliate. They were living peacefully but waiting for an imminent attack.
“It’s coming,” Nana said with a sad tone. “It’s going to be big. And it might break this family.”
Ker shook his head. “Nothing and no one will break up our family.”
Jae and Tor looked at each other. “We’ll do whatever is necessary. Even give up our lives to protect our mates.”
Nana met Ker’s gaze. “Neither of you wouldn’t be the one to sacrifice.”
TWO
“Hello?” Tiana Jonas said into her cell phone. Only silence replied. “Hello?” She heard breathing now. “Stop calling me!” With that, she punched the End Call button and answered her front door someone was knocking on. “I’m coming. Hold on.”
Tiana rubbed her temples hoping to make the instant headache go away. It seemed like everything was happening at once.
Her godmother Roberta Callis suffered from dementia. It was worse every day. It was hard to visit her knowing there were days she barely remembered Tiana. Then there was the website she couldn’t figure out. She felt like she bothered her tech rep all day. And now these damn phone calls where no one spoke, but they were there on the line.
She opened her front door to the most beautiful she had the honor of knowing. There stood her neighbor and good friend.
“So, what are you doing?” Shae Green asked, tossing herself on the sofa and shoving a pillow under her head.
“Not much,” she sighed. “I'm a bit stressed with the fact I'm getting these calls.” She shut the door and went to the kitchen to make coffee. Shae loved her some coffee in the morning. Judging by the way she was snuggling into Tiana's sofa, she might fall asleep right there.
“You know what you need to do,” Shae yelled from the living room in her no-nonsense attitude. “Get some signal tracing service. See what stupid motherfucker is doing that shit.”
Tiana grabbed two cups of coffee exactly how both women liked and went back to keep Shae company. “I've thought about it. But it’s so difficult with everything involved.”
“Yeah,” Shae snorted, sitting up to grab her cup of coffee. “But clearly, some idiot is trying to scare the crap out of you.” Shae sipped her drink and gave Tiana a direct look. “This is why I don't do none of that scary shit. Black people don't handle those situations well. If some jerk is thinking I'm going to put up with weird calls and photos and shit, he's
going to find out the hard way I have a concealed carry permit.”
Tiana bit her lip. “I don't like weapons.”
Shae raised her brows. “You're only going to use it in case of an emergency.”
“I know, but still.” She sat and stared at her friend. Shae was already dressed for work in a navy suit and black pumps. She had to be one of the most perfect women she'd ever had as a friend. Unlike Tiana, Shae was slim and athletic. She had dark brown skin with a beautiful glow from all the lotions and expensive things she used to keep herself looking young.
And young, she definitely looked. Almost forty years old but had the skin, face, and body of a twenty-year-old. Meanwhile, Tiana was twenty-six and her students thought she was a bit older than her age. Even the other teachers treated her like she'd been teaching forever.
“That necklace looks amazing with your eyes,” Tiana said, changing the subject. Shae had an amber necklace that made her hazel eyes look almost yellow.
“Thank you. It was a gift from Derek.”
Tiana grinned at the way Shae said his name. Like she disliked admitting her on-again, off-again boyfriend had given her something so thoughtful. They had such a strange relationship.
“Well, he did great. You know, this might be the first gift he has given you that is this amazing.”
Shae rolled her eyes. “I know. But enough about me.” A bright, predatory gleam took over her eyes. “Tell me about Ker Sexy Voice Drachen.”
Tiana groaned, put her cup on the coffee table and leaned back. “Come on.”
“No, you come on, Tiana. The last episode of this soap opera you were telling me what a sexy voice he has.” She sat up straighter and winked. “I believe your words were, ‘he talks so damn sexy, my panties get wet listening to him.’ That's not an everyday occurrence, let me tell you. That's some powerful voice right there.”
“Stop.”