Riding Lightning: A Reverse Harem Dragon Fantasy Adventure (Starcrossed Dragons Book 1)

by Erin Bedford

  My mother and sister gasped, while the guys all took a step forward probably planning on coming to my defense but I’d had enough.

  Without thought, I snapped back, “Looks like you don’t know me as well as you think. For a matter of fact, I am pregnant.”

  The room went silent. Every eye turned to me, and I realized what I had done. I knew I wasn’t pregnant, or at least not for sure. My cycle was a few weeks away, but they didn’t know that, not that my father had bothered to ask.

  “You’re pregnant?” my father gaped at me.

  “Yes,” I stated once more, the lie slipping out even easier this time. I avoided the guys’ questioning looks as my father began to laugh and crow.

  “Finally!” my father shouted, jumping up and down. “An heir! We’re saved.” He turned to me and gathered me into his arms, hugging me like he used to when I was a small child and hadn’t disappointed him. “I’m so proud of you,” he murmured in my ear before turning to the men. The smile on his face sank as a frown crept in. “Which one is it? Who’s the father?”

  Finally, I let my eyes fall on the men who had promised to be by my side every step of the way. Guilt ate at me, but I couldn’t stop now. I’d already sunk in too far, might as well bring it home.

  “I don’t know.”

  My father’s eyes jerked back to mine his brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Which one did you mate with?”

  Now, it was my turn to smile, but mine wasn’t a nice one. “All of them.”

  I half-expected the men to jump in and prove I was lying but none of them said a word. By the slight twitch of their lips, I would be surprised if they hadn’t caught on to my rouse. If they hadn’t, they weren’t going to break my trust now.

  My father, however, was a different story. His joy turned to anger as he spun on me.

  “Did you do this to spite me? To humiliate me?” he shouted, spittle hitting my face.

  I swiped it away with a finger and sneered, “Why so upset? You were the one who told me to screw them both if I wanted to get the job done.”

  “Dannan!” my mother cried out, mortification on her face. My sister had stayed silent, but I could see the suspicion in her face. I might have fooled our parents, but my sister wasn’t buying it.

  “What?” my father shot her way. “We needed an heir, but I didn’t mean for her to screw him.” He gestured violently toward Firestar. “Now, there’s an even higher chance we will have to follow through with what our daughter agreed to.”

  “And what’s so wrong with that?” my mother countered. “We are allies. We are supposed to help each other. Lord Amun needs our help.”

  “Then even more reason to take the advantage now and not promise to help a dying kingdom.” My father quickly snapped his mouth closed as he realized what he had said and in front of who. Composing himself, he cleared his throat and turned away from me. “You are dismissed. We will discuss this later.”

  “Of course, father.” I mockingly bowed at his back before stomping out of the room. I didn’t get far before I was corned by three mountains.

  “Can I help you?” I asked with an innocent smile.

  “Do you wish to tell us something?” Jack asked with a calm expression. He, of all of them, should be furious since we hadn’t had sex yet, but there he was as guarded as ever.

  “No, not really.” I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for them to call me out on my bullshit.

  “We know you are not pregnant, Maya,” Raiden said with a confident tone.

  “Do you now?” I cocked a brow at him. “I would think I would know my own body better than you.”

  Raiden sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Then we know for sure part of what you said was a lie.” His eyes shot over to Jack, who nodded.

  They stared at me, waiting for me to break, but they didn’t know how determined I was not to give up my hand. My father had used me for his own gain for long enough it was my turn to hold all the cards.

  Finally, after I proved I wasn’t going to tell them the truth, Firestar said, “Then we best make sure you get to your room comfortably seeing as you are with child and all.”

  Jack and Raiden exchanged a look with him which made me drop my arms and frown. “What are you talking ab—”

  The three of them grabbed me so I was laying longways in their arms. I struggled against them as they walked down the hallway headed toward god only knew where. Finally, when we stopped, they turned me around and blindfolded me.

  “What are you guys doing?” I shouted as they took my hands and tied them behind my back. None of them explained what was happening, but then I smelled rain and lightning as a sloppy kiss landed on my right cheek and then hot heat against my left cheek.

  “Seriously guys, this isn’t funny,” I grumbled, pulling against my bindings.

  “Do not worry,” Jack’s voice whispered in my ear. “You are in good hands.”

  The next thing I knew my feet lifted off the ground, and I was thrown over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Jack walked for a few minutes while I fumed, half angry because they had planned this a little too easily and half because I couldn’t stare at Jack’s butt blindfolded.

  A girl’s got to have some pleasures in life.

  When we finally stopped, the air tensed around us, and a slight wind picked up. Then we were moving again, and that was when I felt it. The ripple of a portal and then the smell of dirt, spoiled food, and people. Lots and lots of people.

  “Are we where I think we are?” I asked as Jack lowered me to the ground. He didn’t say anything as he untied my hands and removed my blindfold.

  My eyes greedily took in the sight of the concrete and metal buildings around us. The traffic lights were too bright, blocking out any chance of seeing the stars. The sidewalk crowded as the humans rushed about to get to where they were going. I inhaled deeply and sighed.

  I was home.

  After I had my fill of the surroundings, my gaze landed on Jack. Dressed in a modern style suit, he leaned against a long black limo with a self-satisfied look on his face.

  “What is all this?” I asked, glancing away from the limo and to Jack’s hopeful face.

  “Well,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. “You have been talking about how you feel overwhelmed by all of us at once.”

  “But I didn’t mean for you to take me away,” I interjected with a frown. “What about Raiden and Firestar?”

  “Don’t worry about them.” Jack held the limo door open for me. “We all agreed you needed a break and while you think you hide it well,” I opened my mouth to argue with him but he placed his finger over my lips, “we can tell you actually miss Earth.”

  I sighed and shrugged. “You got me. Waesigar, while I love it, just doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

  “I know.” He gave me a small understanding smile. “That is why we decided it would do you some good to visit Earth again.”

  I moved closer to the limo standing just inches from Jack. “And you thought you would be the best one to make sure I came back?”

  His lips curved into a sly grin as he leaned down as he whispered, “What kind of dragon would I be if I gave up the opportunity to have you all to myself?”

  “Not a very good one,” I laughed and patted his chest before sliding into the vehicle. “Well, come on then before my father changes his mind.”

  Jack chuckled and slid in after me. Closing the door behind him, he then wrapped his arm around me. “Tonight, I will show you exactly what being wooed is all about.”

  Curling into his embrace, the smile on my face making my cheeks hurt, I said, “I can hardly wait.”

  Thank You for reading!

  Curious about what happens to Maya, Raiden, Jack, and Firestar next?

  * * *

  Find out in Grinding Frost. Coming soon!

  Author’s Note

  Dear reader, if you REALLY want to read the next Starcrossed Dragons novel- I’ve go
t a bit of bad news for you.

  Unfortunately, Amazon will not tell you when the next comes out.

  You’ll probably never know about my next books, and you’ll be left wondering what happened to Maya and the gang. That’s rather terrible.

  There is good news though! There are three ways you can find out when the next book is published:

  1) You join our mailing list by clicking here.

  2) You follow J.A. on his Facebook page or join J.A.’s Facebook Group. You can also follow Erin on her Facebook Page. We always announce new books in those places as well as interact with fans.

  3) You follow me on Amazon. You can do this by going to the store page (or clicking this link) and clicking on the Follow button that is under the author picture on the left side.

  If you follow me, Amazon will send you an email when I publish a book. You’ll just have to make sure you check the emails they send.

  Doing any of these, or all three for best results, will ensure you find out about my next book when it is published.

  If you don’t, Amazon will never tell you about my next release. Please take a few seconds to do one of these so that you’ll be able to join Maya and the gang on their next adventure.