Her Dark Dragon

Her Dark Dragon

Danni Cirillo's heritage as she knew it was gone. The land and the wine label were sold. A collection of valuable family heirlooms is all that's left, and Danni proposes an arrangement with her friend, Nico Severino, in an effort to regain them.

Exchanging her birthright statues with nights in Nico's bed will have them both wondering if she's lost her mind. Danni's unorthodox approach to getting her statues back would end their friendship, but the memories they'd make together would stay with her forever. She knows she'll take away more than the small ivory carvings, she'll get an education only Nico can provide.

Genre:
Contemporary
Length:
57,627 words
 

Lillith Payne

EROTIC ROMANCE

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

HER DARK DRAGON

E-book ISBN: 1-60601-500-1

First E-book Publication: July 2009

Cover design by Jinger Heaston

All cover art and logo copyright © 2009 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

For my husband, my personal dragon slayer.

LILLITH PAYNE

Copyright © 2009

"Most of the important things in the world have been
accomplished by people who have kept trying
when there seemed to be no hope at all."

-- Dale Carnegie

Tonight, her birthday and homecoming, the party she specifically asked them not to have, was a monstrosity of food, wine, and people she hadn't met and didn't care to know.
Slick
was a word that kept coming to her mind. Each person fancier and more overly impressed with him or herself than the next. They were all club friends, her mother had noted as she prepared for their guests.

"This is just the must-haves, so don't worry, it won't be a big affair, just a 'welcome home' and a chance to meet you, Danielle. Of course, our friends want to know you. They've all heard so much about you."

It was the tone of the words, not the actual words, just the tone, that set her teeth to ache. She was supposed to "be a good girl and remember her manners," as to not embarrass Robert or her mother. Danni almost let it slip that the house around them was embarrassing enough, but managed to hold it back. When she questioned her mother about her friends, the ranch hands, and the Severino family from the neighboring lands, she was met with a strange response.

"Just because they're our neighbors doesn't make them friends. And as for the ranch hands, they're employees, not relatives."

Growing up, these neighbors and workers had been her extended family. When the time came for her to take control, they'd become family again, she'd make sure of it. That was how the Cirillo label always ran their vineyards. She'd reinstate the practice, whether her mother and stepfather liked it or not.

The bureau in her bedroom displayed a huge assortment of tulips and lilies, interspersed with Stars-of-Bethlehem. They'd arrived this morning from Nico Severino. He never forgot her birthday, always sending her favorite flowers even though they were out of season. Her mother scoffed at the token acknowledgement. For Danni it was a wonderful present, more thoughtful because he hadn't forgotten. Flowers were a tangible present, not like some celebration she didn't want with people she didn't know or care to learn more about.

Tonight, she'd walked away from the party after finding Robert opening bottles of wine like they were juice, the family's private stock being swilled by these country club leeches, who wouldn't know good wine from ditch water. Wandering the rows of vines, she tried to clear her mind of the nasty things she'd wanted to tell Robert. She tried to forget how her mother hadn't even kissed her hello upon returning. Not even a hug.

When Carmen had first seen her, she was hugged and kissed, welcomed back. Yet there was a strange air among them all. Carmen said nothing, other than she had work to do. Then she found out the guest list didn't include the Severinos or Antonio and Carmen. Vito and his family were noticeably absent, too.

* * * *

She felt him before seeing or hearing his approach. Even in the dark, he was magnificent to look at. On the back of his huge mount, he was even more imposing. Yet, deep inside, she trusted him more than any other living soul. Danni had known Niccolo Severino from the day she'd been born. He'd been her friend, protector, and teacher her entire life. In her early teens, she'd had a huge crush on the older, dark-haired, dark-eyed Nico, the boy next door. He'd been diplomatic enough not to mention it and still treated her with an undeniable kindness even when she annoyed him to distraction. It had all faded when her father died the spring she had turned sixteen. There hadn't been time for schoolgirl crushes any more, just the land and vines to oversee.

At the time, her mother had let most of the work fall to Antonio. He'd been her father's right-hand man while his wife Carmen ran their kitchen and home. The first season had been a blur, but by the second harvest, Danni had grown confident with Antonio's help. It was then that her mother met Robert Hanson and everyone's lives changed. They married only months later, and Robert took over the yard, much to Danni's dismay. She'd checked with the family lawyer, Sam Parkins, only to find out her mother ran the trust until she turned twenty-five. Felice had given Robert full charge, regardless of the fact he had no knowledge of how to farm the land or turn its product into a respectable wine.

Tears didn't come, only anger and disappointment, until now, this very moment, when Nico appeared in the night. It was hard not to notice how the washed denim stretched over his thighs while he straddled the steed. It was impossible not to stare at the dark curling hairs on his chest, the top buttons on his shirt undone, and the sleeves rolled back. His hands were large, even larger now, encased in the soft, worn leather of his gloves. She wondered how his work-calloused hands would feel against her skin. He approached, dropped his hat to his thigh, and looked down. Danni didn't lose eye contact once it was established. His dark eyes, almost black in the nonexistent lighting, seemed to hold her. Finally, he let his lips curl into a small smile.

Their relationship had always been precarious. He was older by enough to be forbidden to her, or him to her, as she grew to understand. They had chemistry, a strong pull toward each other they both resisted. It resulted in a love–hate relationship all her life. Wanting him, but knowing she'd never be his girlfriend, had forced her to grow up long ago. He had made it clear she was a friend—that was all. She loved him with all her heart and hated him at times for never wavering where she was concerned. His air of authority often annoyed her. His strength of will, she admired. She'd never known a time when Niccolo Severino was vulnerable, especially when it came to a woman. A horse, maybe, his vines definitely, but never a woman.

"Why aren't you at the party?"

He watched her. She didn't know which was worse, the way her body heated just from his look or the way his voice rolled through her head, which let her remember how his hands felt against her skin for only a brief moment. "There seems to be a mistake. You and Aunt Maria are missing the party."

"Wasn't invited," was all he said, no bias in his voice.

She shook her head and finally glanced away from him, knowing she was beyond rational thought. Just the idea of him touching her was making her nipples bud tight under her sweater, her core heating, wanting attention. She'd had seven years to perfect the fantasy. Forcing herself to let go of the dream, she turned back.

"I didn't want this kind of a homecoming." Her shoulders slumped with the words as she expelled the breath she held.

"We don't always get what we want."

She gave him a half smile that told him he was being obtuse when he finally jumped down from the horse, lightly placed his reins over a fence post, and appraised her.

"I have a present for your aunt. Why not walk back with me and I'll get it? I'd planned to give it to her tonight."

"No, thanks! Not that party with clubbies falling all over themselves patting each other on the back with their latest golf scores. I'll pass." He gave her a strange look she couldn't interpret. "Why not come to the house and give it to her? Tia Maria will want to say hello and to thank you for the gift." He hesitated, adding, "I need to talk to you about a few things, come tomorrow afternoon."

"Talk to me now, Nico, I could use the diversion." She nodded toward the house and noise and light streaming from the rear patio.

"No, not tonight. I need you in a better frame of mind." He laughed and her heart lightened.

It was always that way with him. People in the valley sometimes referred to him as the dark dragon. She'd seen that side of him, unyielding and fierce. But never directed toward her. "Come on, Nico, I need all the old friends I still have." She didn't elaborate that she'd been gone so long she felt like an outsider in her own home. "Tell me what's going on?" What he said next floored her.

"I'll always be your friend, Danni, your confidant." His stern look alerted her to something she wasn't going to like hearing.

"Nico, please tell me, you sound so serious. What's wrong? It's not Maria, is it? Her heart's not acting up again?" She truly loved his aunt, as much as Carmen. She'd been a positive influence on her life. Danni learned from her that a woman could be a person of business and still be feminine at heart. While Tia Maria was never a fancy woman, her solid sense of being had reflected positively at Danni.