Bound in Eternity: Paranormal BBW Shapeshifter Dragon Romance (Drachen Mates Book 3)

by Milly Taiden

  Darren was the world’s sweetest man, but he’d been so dedicated to her, she had never questioned if he could be cheating. He was gone so much, but when he was back, he was all about Avery. They’d lived a quiet and content life. Nothing exciting or interesting, but it had been nice. A nice relationship. But don’t you want to feel alive? Don’t you want a man who would make love to you like it’s the end of the world? Like all that he can live for is you?

  To be looked at like Jae had last time, like he wanted to consume her, had been overwhelming. Perhaps she was in over her head, but something inside her told her she needed that. She had to get more of him. All of him.

  She took her coat off and hung it by the door. She then met Hannah on her way back from the espresso machine and winced at the black coffee.

  “I wasn’t sure how you liked it so I didn’t put anything in it.”

  She snorted, “I like everything in it.”

  “Oh, thank god!” Hannah chuckled. “I do, too. Most people don’t understand how I can have so much sugar and milk in my coffee.”

  “It’s cream for me and sugar, too, but yeah, I get you.” Avery took the cup and went right back to the coffee area to add two spoons of sugar and three of cream.

  After, she went to sit on one of the sofas across from Hannah.

  TEN

  “Where do you work?” Avery asked, trying to make conversation.

  “At the Northern Hospital. I work in the neo-natal unit and the children’s cancer ward.”

  “Oh, a doctor?”

  Hannah took a drink and set her cup on the table next to her. “No. Nurse. Pediatric nurse.”

  “I’m guessing you love kids, huh?”

  She nodded with a wide smile. “Yes. I always wanted a bunch of kids but it never worked out that way. What about you?”

  “I would love some kids. At one time I was ready to have a bunch of kids and settle down, but life has other things in store for us.” She frowned at the memories of her time with Darren. They’d talked about having two kids and eventually moving north, out of the city. They were going to buy a house and raise a family. Live a nice quiet life.

  “Don’t worry,” Hannah said, getting up and coming to sit beside her. She put a hand over Avery’s. “It will work out. Trust yourself.”

  Avery sensed something in Hannah. That same instinct that made her know Hannah was a good person and she could trust her also told her she was a lot like her. She never opened up to strangers, but she knew Hannah was no stranger. She almost felt like family.

  “I have a hard time trusting decisions when it comes to matters of the heart since…my ex-fiancé died.”

  Hannah nodded as if she already knew this. “You are stronger than you realize. Don’t let the fact that something new, fresh and exciting is out of the norm keep you from making decisions that will bring you happiness.”

  A wall slid opened and Jae was on the other side. She hopped to her feet, self-conscious now that he was there. She wondered if she’d under dressed. Charles had told her clearly that Jae hadn’t told him where she’d be working yet, so a business casual attire was fine until they made that decision.

  She’d decided on black trousers, leather boots and a red V-neck, cashmere sweater she’d gotten from her brother for her last birthday. Now that she saw him in black dress pants and blue sweater with a tiny logo she knew all too well as being a lot more expensive than her entire outfit, she was glad she’d made an effort to look nice.

  The job she’d just quit had a very casual dress code so this was her first real job with professional clothing.

  “Avery,” Jae said with that deep baritone that made her press her legs together. “I’m glad you came.”

  Avery cleared her throat. “Hi, Jae.”

  The sexual tension in the room was spiking the longer he stared at her. His gaze did a slow trail from her eyes, stopping at her red lips, down to her feet and back up. She wanted to fan herself but that would be bad. Plus, his features took on such a feral look, she wasn’t sure what was happening.

  “We were just getting to know each other,” Hannah said.

  He gave a short nod and smiled at Hannah. “Thank you.”

  When he glanced at her again, her panties melted into her skin. He marched toward her, stopping when he was right in front of her and taking her hand, bringing it to his lips and not once looking away. Her chest tightened and oxygen evaporated from her lungs. She had to stop herself from leaning into him and brushing her lips over his. God! What the hell was wrong with her?

  “How are you doing today, beautiful?”

  Her face flamed. She blushed so hot she knew everyone could see it. “Good. If I would have known you were busy, I could have come later.”

  “Nonsense!” he dismissed. “I have some files you can start going through and organizing.”

  “Jae,” Hannah said. “Can I help, too? I feel useless right now.”

  He glanced at Avery, waiting for her to agree or disagree to having someone else help her.

  “S-sure,” she stammered. “We can figure this out together.”

  She only hoped it was just the files Hannah wanted to share. The last thing Avery wanted to think about was sharing Jae with another woman.

  ELEVEN

  Jae had a hell of a time figuring the spreadsheet in front of him. He kept glancing over to the sofas where Avery and Hannah had files they were reorganizing into colorful piles. His last assistant had been great, but she’d gotten engaged and the past six months her work really took a toll. She’d been so busy with wedding preparation and planning to leave, she’d slacked on the job.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about Avery. His desire for her grew with every passing second. Watching her and Hannah work together and talk, every few seconds someone would giggle, really added to his stress. What if she was his mate? What if it didn’t matter how much he wanted Avery when Hannah was the one meant to be his?

  Acid burned in his stomach. He hated that thought. Still, he couldn’t fight reality. Hannah had a mate mark. Avery didn’t. Hannah knew him from her dreams. Avery was a random person he met and now couldn’t get out of his head.

  His phone rang and he picked it up when he saw who was calling.

  “Ker?”

  “Hey, bro. I’m on my way. I will be there tonight. Had some business to handle with a client.”

  “Got it.”

  “So…”

  “What?”

  “What’s going on with the love triangle?”

  He frowned. “What are you talking about?” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What love triangle?”

  “Oh, come on,” Ker laughed. “Lexi and Morgan told me all about it. You’ve got two women and only one has a mark but you want the other one.”

  He really hated how much his sisters could see. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

  “Hey, but you never know. What if Hannah ends up being my mate? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore,” Ker said with enthusiasm.

  “I hate to burst your bubble, but she recognized me from her dreams.”

  “Damn! This happens to me every single time. You guys suck. I’ll see you later,” Ker said and hung up.

  * * *

  Jae glanced up from his files. The same ones he’d been staring at for most of the day. Work was slow going thanks to watching Avery bend over and display her luscious behind when she picked up folders.

  “Jae,” Avery said softly. Her voice did things to him. It made him warmer. Like the heat in the building had suddenly been turned up. “When you left for your meeting with Charles, Hannah and I talked.”

  His brows rose. Her eyes were on his mouth. She then licked her lips and he fought his instinct to get up and kiss her. It was fucking hard as hell.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I was thinking she could come stay with me?” she said with a hopeful tone. “She said she can’t go home and I feel really bad that she’s staying in a hotel. My house
is by no means this spacious, but I’d keep her company.”

  Jae hated to do it, but he was already shaking his head before she finished. “I’m sorry, love.” He didn’t bother trying to disguise his desire for her by calling her Avery. She was more than some woman he’d met and they both knew it. “I need her here. I have to protect her.”

  “Oh.” Her brows drew down but she didn’t ask a follow up question. Instead, she turned to head back to the files.

  “There is something you can do,” he said and wondered what the fuck he was doing. Avery was trying to be nice. He should keep her away and ensure the Noir dragons, the enemies of the Drachen, stayed far away from her.

  She turned back to him slowly, a questioning look in her eyes. “What?”

  “You can come with us. Tomorrow. We’re going to my cabin outside the city.”

  “You’re leaving?” The scent of her disappointment wrapped around him like a cloud of gloom.

  “I have to protect her. When my brother gets here, we’ll split the time doing it. There will be no other females with us. If you want to keep her company, you’d have to come to the cabin, too.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. I have to take care of my mother.”

  “I can make arrangements now that you’re an employee. She can have her own full-time nurse at home, working to take care of her.”

  He saw the indecision in her face but chose not to push. “It’s your choice. I’ll always welcome you wherever I go.”

  She nodded and walked toward her coat. “I should go.”

  He glanced at his clock. It was six thirty. He didn’t realize he’d kept her past working hours. “I can take you home.”

  She slipped her coat on and shook her head vehemently. “No. You should stay with Hannah. I’ll see you both Monday. She went to her room, so just let her know I said bye.”

  He watched her walk out of his office. The bind around his chest tightened to the point he could barely get any air in his lungs. Something powerful pulled him to Avery. It was more than mere desire for her. Could this be…love? He’d never felt so ready to give everything up, even the possibility that Hannah might be his mate, for Avery. In fact, he was more than happy to give up a mating with Hannah if he could keep Avery forever. And that thought alone scared him more than fighting all the Noir on Earth.

  TWELVE

  Avery spent her entire train ride thinking about Jae and Hannah. Were they going to be a couple now? What did that mean for her? She felt sort of stupid wondering these things. Jae had been just as flirtatious in front of Hannah as he had when she left the office.

  She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. After a train broke down somewhere on Eighty-Sixth Street, she’d been forced to wait in a cold platform for almost two hours before a new train was sent to pick up the straggling passengers. Unfortunately, that meant for almost thirty minutes, every single train that came by was packed to the point nobody could fit in it.

  It was going on ten when she got off two stations away from her usual one. Trains were going express and skipping her stop, so that meant she had to walk home from there or try to catch a taxi.

  Taxis were nowhere to be seen and those that passed her by were already full, which meant she had to walk. The air was bitter cold and she snuggled deeper into her wool coat and shoved her beanie down over her ears. Her scarf kept the rest of her neck and cheeks warm, but the wind hit her in the eyes, making her squint, trying to keep it from blinding her.

  With her gloved hands shoved into her coat pocket, she walked across a park to cut her time in half. It was dark, but every few minutes a car would go by and light up the way. She wasn’t scared, though. She knew these streets all her life. The sensation that someone was following her started when she was a few blocks from home.

  She kept glancing over her shoulder but there was no one there. A look up at the sky and everything was gray, which meant more snow was on the way. She was glad for her winter boots keeping her feet warm and giving her the stability needed so she could hurry down the ice and snow-covered streets. At this point, she wasn’t walking on the sidewalks. They slowed her down.

  Several men stood outside their buildings talking to other people in cars. She could have kissed them. Never had she been so happy to see someone doing shady business dealings. At her house, she already had the key in her hand and ran up the steps. Fear clogged her throat. She’d never had that type of experience in her entire life. It was as if she’d been trying to get away from the devil himself. She made it up the steps and checked on her mother before going up to her own place. Star was still there.

  “Hey, Avery,” Star screamed from the kitchen. She popped her head out and did a double take at Avery’s face. Then she slowly came out of the kitchen with a water bottle in her hand. “Are you okay?”

  Avery wasn’t sure. Her heart was pounding so hard, she had to talk herself into calming down. She glanced up at Star who eyed her with a worried frown. “Yes. I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine.”

  She shook her head and started taking off her coat and toeing off her slide on winter boots. “I just had the weirdest feeling.”

  “Yeah?” Star motioned her with her head. “Come over here and tell me about it. I’m almost done cooking. I made lemon chicken with vegetables and garlic bread.”

  God. Star loved cooking and Avery loved eating. They had a really good relationship. She shrugged out of her scarf, beanie and gloves. Once she had her cross-body bag on a sofa chair, she headed for the kitchen in a pair of socks and her work clothes.

  “So what happened?” Star asked, serving dinner. “You look like someone scared you half to death.”

  She frowned and opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip before replying. There was no point in lying to Star. They’d been friends forever. Star understood her weirdness.

  “I got this sensation that someone was following me a few blocks back.” She took the plate Star handed her and went back to the dining room with her water bottle.

  They sat at the dining room table and ate. “Did you see anyone?”

  “No. That’s the crazy part. The closer I sensed whoever it was, the more scared I got. Until I was almost running.” She took a bite of bread and frowned. “When I got inside the building, I swore they were right outside the door, but I was too scared to look so I ran up here instead.”

  Star chewed and nodded. “You’re not usually frightened by people.”

  “That’s the thing. It didn’t feel like some man trying to mug me. It felt dark.” She shivered as cold fingers of dread crawled up her spine. “And evil.”

  Star stopped mid-bite, her eyes narrowing. “That’s not usual.”

  “No. It’s not.” And something told her this wasn’t the last time this was going to happen. She ate in silence for a while and then headed to her room to shower.

  When she took off her top in the bathroom, she remembered the burning sensation she’d felt before. A quick glance and she was left speechless. There was some kind of tattoo on her back. It looked like a dragon but she couldn’t be sure. It looked like it wasn’t fully finished. The longer she stared, the clearer the image got.

  The sick sensation in her stomach and the fear she’d been ignoring before doubled. She didn’t know anyone she could talk to about this. Her mother at one time had been a seer but when she got Alzheimer’s, she lost a lot of memories and clarity.

  After a long hot shower, she still had no idea what the hell was going on. She lay in bed, wishing for a breakthrough but none came.

  Her cell phone rang, taking her out of her intense and insane thoughts.

  It was Jae. Her heart skipped a beat. Man, that guy was dangerous. He had her feeling things Darren never had and all with just a few words and intense looks.

  “Hello?”

  “I want to see you. Tomorrow.”

  “Jae—”

  “No excuses.”

  “You
’re my boss.”

  “I told you that wouldn’t change how much I want you. And it hasn’t. I want to spend time with you. Not working, doing something different. Getting to know you. The you that makes me want to tear your sweater off and see what color bra you have underneath.”

  She gasped. “What-? You-?”

  “Yes. I spent all fucking day visualizing every way I could get you out of your clothes without destroying them. In each scenario, the clothes ended up shredded.”

  She gulped at the dryness in her throat. Her hands shook. He managed to make her squirm with a few sentences. They weren’t even over the top dirty. It was just the instant image of him above her, sliding deep inside her that made her at that very moment choke back a moan.

  He was too much in her system, but she wanted him and her heart told her to stop denying it. Instinct won the war with her mind. Logic dictated she take things slow and make sure she knew where they were going. But her instinct told her she was safe with him and she could open up like she never had with any other man. Jae was special.

  “Say yes, baby. I promise you won’t regret it.”

  “Okay.”

  She should tell him to worry about Hannah but she wanted to see him. Whenever he looked at her, it felt as if she was being warmed by the sun and she wanted to feel that again.

  “My brother will stay with Hannah. I’ve got something in mind for where we could go. Dress warm and comfortable. Be ready to go at nine.”

  “You’re lucky I’m usually up late on weekends.”

  “It will be great. Trust me.”

  She did. That’s the crazy thing. She didn’t know him like she’d known Darren and yet she would put her life in Jae’s hands without a second thought or worry. How was that possible?