Desired by Dragons: BBW Paranormal Romance (Dragons of New York Book 2) (6 page)

“So you’re their boss?” she asked. “Why should I believe you?” She still wasn’t ready to go willingly. She struggled against Gentry’s hold.

Gentry sighed. “Sterling, can you do something about this? We need to get her out of here safely without drawing any attention.”

Sterling nodded, stepping forward. He waved a hand, and Tara felt herself growing sleepy. Before she could think about what was happening, everything went black.

Her last thought was that she needed to see Drake and Quill again.

D
rake was finally
able to pull Quill back to the apartment after a lot of coaxing and almost forcibly dragging him back. Once it sank in that Drake and Quill both being out meant Tara was home alone, without someone watching her, he became a lot more agreeable, despite his protests that there were still a lot of people he could help at the scene of the accident only a few blocks from their loft.

“I can’t believe you left her here alone,” Quill huffed as they waited in the elevator.

“I can’t believe you left without me. How many times do I have to tell you it’s not safe? That something could happen,” Drake said, trying to control his temper. He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation they were assuredly going to have once they got back in the loft with Tara.

She knew so little about them and their world still. About the dangers of being a dragon, or worse, being mated to a dragon.

When they arrived at the entrance to their apartment, something felt off. The door was unlocked, but Drake thought it might just be a coincidence and he’d forgotten to lock it in his hurry to get Quill.

No, he would never forget something like that.

Drake opened the door, and Quill went in without another word.

“Tara, we’re home,” he called out to the apartment.

No answer.

“Maybe she’s just taking a nap?” Drake said, looking into the bathroom. No one there.

Quill hurried into the bedroom and then came back out a few seconds later. “Not in ours or in hers. Not in the office, either.”

They hadn’t even been gone half an hour. Where could she possibly be?

Drake looked around for a note or anything signifying she’d intentionally gone out, trying to hold back the rush of adrenaline that came with the worry that someone had taken her.

He’d already begun to think of her as their mate. Had worried about her, especially when she mentioned her asshole ex. Had wanted to protect her, maybe even forever if she’d let him.

“This is your fault,” Drake pointed at Quill, angry.

“No use getting too heated up over it. What’s done is done. We just need to find our mate
now
,” Quill said, checking through her business things and emails to see if there were any clues.

“This wouldn’t have happened if—” Drake was cut off by a ding and two buzzes coming from his pocket. It was his phone, a text from someone. Drake had only ten or so contacts on his phone, so texts were a very rare thing.

We have the lady. Come get her before she changes her mind about being with you.

It was from Gentry. Quill came over and Drake showed him the text.

“Well, at least we know she’s safe,” Quill said with a sigh of relief.

Drake scoffed. “Hardly. They may act like gentlemen, but I don’t trust either of them. Especially Sterling, conniving little bastard.” Drake gripped his phone tightly, and for a second, it felt like it might break in his hand.

“Let’s go get her, then,” Quill said, sounding urgent.

“Let’s,” Drake said under his breath. He was pissed, so very pissed that they would pull a stunt like that, taking his mate out from under his care. She was his to protect, not theirs. If she were hurt, there would be hell to pay.

They headed to the rooftop and flew off to where their boss and his partner lived.

T
ara awoke
to the smell of expensive fragrances wafting around her. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t at home. At least not her new home with Quill and Drake.

She suddenly remembered the two men that broke into their apartment and abducted her.

She bolted up, looking for the door. Then she felt her body freeze in place, held by invisible bonds.

“Now, now, no need to be so hasty. You have no clue where you even are. What good would going outside be?” She heard a voice, vaguely familiar.

Tara turned and saw the two men from before. Sterling and Gentry.

“If Sterling releases you, do you promise to stop trying to run?” the man with purple eyes, Gentry, said, raising an eyebrow.

Tara had forgotten the blue-eyed one could control her body like that. Sterling, that was his name. Fairly obvious, she guessed.

“Yes, very obvious,” Sterling said condescendingly.

Tara looked around the apartment. It was incredibly lavish, a lot more gold and purples and reds, the kind of colors you would expect in an emperor’s throne room or something.

These men were both dragons. She couldn’t escape even if she wanted to. She nodded her head yes and instantly felt the invisible clutches that held her release. She slumped back down onto the chaise she’d been seated on.

“That’s better,” said Gentry, pleased. “I’ve already sent a text to your… friends. We’ll see if they even show up. In the meantime, why don’t you let us get to know you better?” he added, crossing a leg and leaning back slightly on the couch across from her. Everything about him, his dress, his demeanor, bespoke charisma and class.

“Uh, I’m not sure where to start.”

“Start from when you met Drake and Quill,” Sterling said, more quiet than Gentry but still commanding.

Tara didn’t see the harm in it, so she quickly recounted how she’d jumped into the river to save the little boy. How Drake had apparently pulled her from the river and then how Quill had revived her and both had brought her back to their loft.

Gentry nodded and responded with a tepid amount of interest, until the end, when she mentioned what Drake and Quill had said about her being a dragon-heart. Then, almost in micro expressions, both men looked at each other like they knew something she didn’t, then turned back to her.

Sterling spoke first. “So how have things been with them?”

“Good. I mean, they seem to argue a lot, but they’ve both been really nice to me,” she replied, not sure what he was implying.

“Interesting. So the thought of being with two dragons, does that appeal to you?” Sterling asked, walking to where she was seated and joining her on the chaise. Something about his presence was ominous, despite his physical beauty and long, ripped body.

“Yeah, I guess so. More than I would have originally thought.” Her mind thought of Quill and Drake. About how caring they’d been toward her, how much restraint and love they had shown.

“If that’s the case, then we’d be more than happy to have you live here with us. You know, if the two of them can’t get their act together. Obviously, we’re still looking for a third member to complete our triad,” Sterling said, motioning to the room around them. It was definitely lavish, but not what she wanted. Her place with Drake and Quill already felt like home.

“We don’t even know if I am a dragon-heart, and besides, I don’t think we’d make a good match. I like Drake and Quill.”

Sterling was close now, and she could make out the intense blue halo of his irises at this distance and his soft, perfectly cut silver hair. There was a cold, calculating look in his eyes, like he was playing chess and was always ten moves ahead of his opponent.

“They left you unprotected,” he murmured, hitting her in a vulnerable spot. “We’re beautiful. We’re rich. We’re the top of dragon society. And I think you’ll find us to be
exceptional
lovers,” Sterling added, watching her intently, not breaking eye contact.

“No need to be so forward, Sterling. Clearly, Tara has her own preferences,” Gentry chimed in, standing and walking toward them. Sterling looked over his shoulder at his partner. “She doesn’t mind if they leave her from time to time.” He looked down at her, but behind the warmth in his purple gaze and the pleasant look of his smooth, handsome features, there was something steely. Something not to be messed with.

“Here’s the thing, Tara. As leader of the dragons, I have occasional… visions you could call them. And one of them involved a certain man from your past.”

Her heart went cold. She should have known no matter where she went, Tim would affect her.

“Here’s what’s complicating the situation. He seems to have found allies that are enemies to the dragons. And they’re dangerous, Tara. Dangerous to you, to Quill, to Drake. An unstable triad can’t take on what is coming, no matter how individually strong they are.”

She shook her head. She didn’t want Quill or Drake hurt. “What did you see?” she asked. “What do you know?”

Gentry rubbed his temples lightly as he closed his eyes. “Only if things go on the way they are, it doesn’t end well. And we can’t afford that, Tara. Dragons are rare. Valuable. As are dragon-hearts. That’s why the best thing might be to relocate you to another pair, see if that works.”

Her lips twisted in a sneer. “You can’t just pawn me off on someone else. I didn’t agree to just come into the dragon world. I agreed to try things with Quill and Drake.”

“Be that as it may, we might not be able to allow that,” he said gently but firmly.

Tara didn’t respond to that, but she could feel her heart ache momentarily. He was right, Drake and Quill were a mess. She’d seen it this morning. They couldn’t agree on anything to do with matters of work, and in the end, she’d been left alone. Was still alone, for all intents and purposes.

“They are good men,” Gentry said, responding to her thoughts. “Good dragons.” He knelt next to her, and she felt her hand slip between his. “But it’s not your job to make their troubled partnership work. They’ve never gotten along as dragons should.”

She flushed. She’d seen them work together as one; it just happened in the bedroom. If they could get that kind of unity outside of it, maybe they’d have something.

“I know you’ve already started to bond with them, but perhaps you could consider us instead, as an option that might benefit everyone? It would take some time to get used to us, but you’d be safe with us. We’d treasure you, Tara.”

She raised an eyebrow, pulling back her hand. “You only want me because I might be a dragon-heart.”

“And Quill and Drake are different?” Sterling scoffed.

She thought so. Drake had been reluctant to even try with her before he’d gotten to know her. It was like both of them knew it was going to be complicated, but they’d been willing to try in order to be with her.

She couldn’t give up now. She stood. “I can’t. I need to go to them.”

Sterling glared at her. “And what could you do for them, human? You’d just be in the way.”

“I could maybe make them stop fighting. Or… I don’t know. But they need me. I can’t leave them now.”

Gentry raised an eyebrow. “Is it the sex?” He appraised her knowingly.

The sex had been amazing with them. She’d never felt more cared for, more alive, and she wanted to explore that with them. But that wasn’t the only reason for going back.

“Because we can please you as well, I’m certain,” Gentry said. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Then his eyes met hers playfully as he sucked softly on the sensitive place between her knuckles.

It was sensual but unwelcome because she didn’t know him. Didn’t care for him like she did her two difficult dragons. She yanked her hand back, and when he reached for it again, she slapped him across the face.

Just lightly but to make it clear she didn’t want it.

Sterling went still with rage. “Don’t you touch him.” She felt her hands pinned over her head by invisible bonds, and fear threatened to choke her. It felt like Tim; it was too much like Tim.

“Stop it,” Gentry said urgently. “Let her go. You’re scaring her.”

She wanted it not to be true, but it was. Anyone being controlling reminded her of that. But Sterling stayed there, overprotective of his partner.

“She struck you,” he said. “It can’t be allowed.”

“Sterling, let her go,” Gentry said. “Now.”

Sterling sighed but seemed about to acquiesce when they heard a loud knocking sound that had them all turning to the front door.

Before either of the men could move to get it, a deafening thud resounded through the room, coupled by the cracking sound of hinges being torn off of the wall and, a second later, the loud thump of what had to be the front door slamming into the ground.

Tara turned and saw Drake and Quill standing in the doorway. Drake was in front, looking particularly out of control, his eyes blazing, his tanned body tensed with rage.

Warmth spread through her at the thought they’d come for her. And that they were safe.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Drake’s voice was loud, booming, his eyes burning as he took in the scene. Tara was suddenly aware she was surrounded by the two men and her arms were above her head, clearly restrained there by some force.

Not compromising-looking at all…

“No, Drake, you don’t understand,” she said, but before she could finish, he was already storming through the room toward them, overturning chairs and tables in his path, with Quill right behind him. Sterling stood in front of him, and Drake grabbed him by the neck and tossed him across the room, where he slammed into the wall but then got up immediately and raised a hand in Quill’s direction, lifting him into the air.

Drake froze, looking from her to Quill with a wild look in his eyes.

Her hands were released, so she pushed away from Gentry and ran between Sterling and Drake. “Stop it! Just stop it! No one needs to be hurting anyone.”

“Let my partner go,” Drake growled.

“Not until I know you won’t attack
my
partner,” Sterling growled back.

Quill was held up by the neck, holding whatever seized him with his hands as he struggled to get free. “You took our mate,” he choked out. “Cowards. Find your own.”

Gentry stood with a sigh, waving a hand at Sterling. “Sterling, you will put him down. Now.”

Sterling narrowed his eyes, looking like he didn’t want to do it, and then agreed, lowering him to the ground. Quill’s eyes burned with fury at the other dragon, but then he immediately strode straight to Tara, wrapping her in his strong, capable arms. She sank into him, finally feeling safe again.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and heard Drake let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s okay,” Quill said soothingly. “We’re here.”

“So you
can
work well together sometimes,” Gentry said sardonically, observing the scene. “When it involves your mate.”