The Dragon's Need (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 2) Read online

  The Dragon's Need

  Tahoe Dragon Mates #2

  Jessie Donovan

  Mythical Lake Press, LLC

  Contents

  Tahoe Dragon Mates Series

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  The Dragon’s Bidder

  The Conquest

  Author’s Note

  Also by Jessie Donovan

  About the Author

  Copyright

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  Books in this series:

  Tahoe Dragon Mates

  The Dragon’s Choice (TDM #1)

  The Dragon’s Need (TDM #2)

  The Dragon’s Bidder / Wes & Ashley (TDM #3 / July 16, 2020)

  The Dragon's Need Synopsis

  Tired of overprotective dragon-shifters, Gabriela Santos decides she wants to lose her virginity to a human male via the Tahoe area dragon lottery. After years of trying, she's finally selected as one of the participants. Of the hundreds of humans who want to be with her, it's the male staring at the ceiling who catches her eye. And after a bit of honesty and insight into why he's there, she picks him. However, soon one kiss changes her future forever.

  Only to try and forget his cheating ex-wife does Ryan Ford agree to enter the dragon lottery. He has no expectations of the dragonwoman walking the aisles to pick him. However, when his mind wanders and he becomes lost in thought, the dragon lady calls him out on it. Her straightforward manner and wit is refreshing. Add in the instant spark between them, and Ryan agrees to sleep with her to try to give her a baby. But then one kiss brings out her inner dragon, and Ryan quickly learns that he's her true mate and has to accept a frenzy or try running away.

  As the pair come to terms with their fate, they soon start falling for one another. But when someone targets Ryan, will he survive and find a way for them to be together? Or will he have to leave both Gabriela and his unborn child to stay alive?

  NOTE: This is a quick, steamy standalone story about fated mates and sexy dragon-shifters near Lake Tahoe in the USA. You don't have to read all my other dragon books to enjoy this one!

  Chapter One

  Gabriela Santos stepped into a hotel ballroom in South Lake Tahoe and did her best to remain calm.

  Even though she'd secretly been entering the dragon lottery for years—her brother thought it had only been once—hoping to be chosen, her nerves still threatened to show now that she was about to start her life-changing journey.

  As she gave a cursory glance at the couple of hundred men—human men—all sitting in rows, looking at her with curiosity and occasionally lust, she nearly gave a nervous laugh.

  After so many years of dragon-shifter males saying she was too headstrong, too idealistic, too human, it was strange that so many men were gathered for the chance of sleeping with her.

  Her inner dragon, the other half of her personality, spoke up and huffed. Of course they should be here. It's not our fault the dragon males were too overprotective, too domineering to notice or want us. These humans do.

  Which Gaby knew, of course. And yet… They may be here by choice, but one of them is going to be in for something more than they'd bargained for.

  Gaby was probably the only twenty-four-old dragon-shifter virgin among the four dragon clans near Lake Tahoe.

  Her beast grunted. That is all your fault, not mine. How I've stayed sane this long despite you denying what we need, I'll never understand.

  Guilt tugged at her heart. Inner dragons needed sex on a regular basis. To them, it was as necessary as eating and breathing.

  Still, she took a deep breath and managed to get out, I couldn't give in to one of them. At first, they just wanted to lose their virginity. And as we got older, they saw us only as a conquest. Thanks, but no thanks.

  And how is that different than these men?

  At least these men won't expect anything afterward, such as free reign to growl and tell others how to treat me.

  Not all dragon-shifter males were unbearable, but any of the decent ones who saw a mating as a partnership instead of the male thinking he had every right to protect her without her input were rare.

  Really rare, at least in her experience. Maybe if her clan interacted more with the other three dragon clans in the area, she might've found someone.

  No, the human males in the room were her best chance at losing her virginity, having a child, and sculpting her own future on her terms.

  Her beast replied, For all you know, you could pick one who acts the same way.

  Ah, but it's only sex and then it's done. That's a situation I can control. It's not forever.

  Unless you find your true mate.

  Gaby mentally snorted. Right, because that happens so often at these things. Given how Jose found his true mate a month ago, it's more likely I'd win a jackpot in Reno than find him here.

  While she was happy for her older brother, she couldn't help being a little jealous. A true mate was a dragon-shifter's best chance for happiness. Not a guarantee, but better odds than with a random stranger.

  Her dragon replied, He could be here. And before you protest some more, remember that the strongest human males will mate a dragonwoman. It's not impossible.

  Strongest not just physically, but mentally as well. Well, there aren't any human male mates in the four clans in the Tahoe area, so let's just treat this for what it is, okay? We'll have a child of our own and can live our lives without a male trying to guard us every second of every day.

  Maybe. But what happens if we die on a firefighting assignment?

  Gaby had worked for years to become one of the local firefighters, belonging to the only contingent that included both humans and dragon-shifters. She replied, A child will give us something even stronger to fight for to stay alive, right? Besides, our family will help. You know they will.

  Her inner beast sighed. Of course.

  Whenever her dragon was so easily complacent, Gaby knew she didn't really agree and wanted to say more.

  However, before she could pry, the American Department of Dragon Affairs—or ADDA—employee named Ashley Swift reached the podium and waited for the room to quiet.

  Ignoring her pounding heart, Gaby focused on Ashley instead of the hundreds of men in the room. She could do with a minute or two to gather her courage and be who she usually was—a confident young dragonwoman who had learned long ago not to take anyone's shit.

  Ashley finally spoke, her voice echoing in the room from various speakers. "Welcome to the Lake Tahoe Dragon Lottery. Each of you applied and passed the screening process, so congratulations. You've made it here, which is a good sign. However, I will give you all one last chance to leave without facing any sort of consequence from backing out. Think on this wisely because once this next minute is up, you're committed to the contracts you signed. And the minute to make a dash out the door begins…now."

  Gaby forced herself to watch the room. A few men stood and walked out without saying a word.

  For a split second, she wondered if it was because they took one look at her and said no way.

  But then she pushed it aside. If they were that shallow, then it was their problem, not hers.

  When the minute ended, Ashley spoke again. "Okay, those guys are clearly not meant to be here and ADDA will have to work harder at scree
ning in the future. Regardless, we'll continue. In case you forgot, you're to stay seated while Gabriela walks around the room, asking questions and determining who she'll pick. You're not to talk unless she asks you something. If you break any of the rules, you'll be escorted out." Ashley narrowed her eyes and looked around the room. "I've done this before and if you think you're above the rules and decide catcalling is going to somehow lure Gaby to you, then you'll be taken out of here quicker than you can snap your fingers." Ashley stood tall again and looked at Gaby. "The room is yours."

  Gaby hadn't spent too much time with Ashley Swift until recently, but the more she learned about the human, the more Gaby liked her.

  Nodding, Gaby turned toward the room and somehow made her feet work, heading toward the front row.

  There were so many men, all different ethnicities, ages, and even confidence levels. Some were staring at the ground, others at her, and even some at the clock.

  Okay, those staring at the clock were moved down the list of those to check out more closely.

  Her dragon laughed. Hey, give them a break. If you were waiting to see if your future would change forever, you might look at the clock, too, to remember when it happened.

  Right, because that's why they're doing it.

  You never know. After all, they are human. A lot of times their actions don't make sense to me.

  Gaby bit her lip to keep from smiling at her dragon's pitying tone. Shush, or I'll never be able to do this.

  I'll be here, if you need me.

  As her dragon curled up and laid her head on her forelimbs at the back of her mind, Gaby took comfort from the everyday action. She loved her inner dragon, but there was only one thing she couldn't do that a male's dragon could do—instantly realize if their true mate was in the room.

  Yet another way females were at a disadvantage with dragon-shifters, in addition to being smaller in size in their dragon forms and not quite as strong.

  Focus, Gaby. Right, she could do this. And so she turned all her attention to the men.

  Maybe she should ask more questions as she walked by, but she wanted to move around first so she could at least glimpse everyone and then start winnowing them down to make her decision.

  A few of the faces looked familiar. Of course there was a chance she'd seen them in South Lake Tahoe before. Her work's headquarters was based here, after all. Even if she mostly worked the surrounding forests, she still came to the city on occasion.

  And yet, as a bearded face, another with stubble, one clean-shaven, and so on passed by, she had no idea how to choose. A handsome guy could turn into an asshole when he opened his mouth. And one of the quiet ones could turn out to be the male she'd always dreamed of.

  Maybe she'd suggest in the future about how ADDA could give the dragon-shifter candidates portfolios of all the males beforehand, to help sort through them.

  As Gaby reached the back of the large room, she noticed a dark-haired male with his hands behind his head, supporting it as he looked at the ceiling.

  She couldn't decide if that was worse than looking at the clock.

  But she swore she heard a sigh, and it made her curious. So Gaby went to him and drawled, "Bored?"

  He jumped a little and met her gaze, his hazel eyes an interesting mix of brown and green.

  To his credit, the human male merely shrugged. "It's not every day a guy is treated like a piece of meat, trying to be the best cut on offer."

  His accent held the tiniest amount of twang, almost liked he'd grown up in Texas but had left long ago.

  Gaby didn't realize she had a weakness for the hint of a twang until just that moment, and she wanted to hear more. "Welcome to what females deal with on a daily basis."

  He tilted his head. "Those who treat you that way don't deserve you. It's pretty simple."

  Gaby blinked. No excuses, or even apologies. Nope, this human merely said she was worth more.

  Both human and dragon took a greater interest.

  Not that she was quite ready to make a decision. She needed at least a little more from him first. Glancing down at his name tag she read, "Ryan Ford." She met his gaze. "Well, Ryan, why are you here, then?"

  If he was surprised by her question, the human didn't show it. And Gaby barely noticed that she held her breath, waiting to hear his answer.

  Ryan Ford still couldn't believe he'd gone through with this damn thing.

  His younger sister had hounded him until he'd said yes and promised to go through it all seriously, Tiffany confident that merely attending the lottery would get him thinking about moving on.

  As if it were simple to forget your twin brother had stolen your wife and married her a little over a year ago.

  No. He sighed. His ex-wife had stolen so many of his years, his heart, his energy, and so much more he didn't want to think about right now. Just wallowing a little was breaking his promise to Tiffany, and he loved his sister too much to do that.

  Ryan had been just about to stop staring at the ceiling when the sexy dragon lady had spoken to him.

  Maybe Ryan should've been charming, or some other bullshit. But for some reason, he'd spoken the truth with her. It'd been a long time since he'd felt that at ease with another so quickly.

  But then she asked her question, a difficult one, about why he was here.

  Again, he should've smiled and been charming, and said he was there to find someone as lovely as her. But his brain and tongue betrayed him and he replied, "Because my little sister thought this would be the best way to move on from the woman who stomped on my heart and smashed it to pieces."

  Well, that should make her walk away, shouldn't it? Then he could go back to Phoenix and find some other way to move on with his life.

  Although the dragon lady named Gabriela didn't walk away but merely stared at him with her pretty brown eyes, searching his gaze as if determining whether he was telling the truth or not.

  Given what he'd heard of dragon-shifters over the years—about being quick-tempered and often more animal than human—it surprised him.

  Maybe dragons and humans were more alike than he'd realized.

  Then her pupils flashed to slits and back, and he sat up straighter. He'd heard dragon-shifters did that with their eyes when talking with the inner dragon inside them, but he'd never seen it before.

  Maybe some would think it weird or alien, but it intrigued him, reminding him how humans and dragons were different in at least one area—the woman in front of him could shift into a giant flying beast.

  Gabriela asked, "How long ago did the female break your heart?"

  He was aware of the men sitting all around him, no doubt reveling in his secrets or pitying him since most guys would rather chop off an arm than share personal information. But frankly, Ryan didn't give a shit. He'd never understood the need to be secretive and stony. Life was too short to be an asshole for most of it. He'd leave that title to his brother. "Almost two years ago."

  "And how old are you?"

  The corner of his mouth ticked up. "Tell me your age first, darling."

  "Twenty-four."

  No hesitation, no admonishing him about asking a woman her age, just the truth.

  Ryan leaned forward a little, wanting to talk more with her. "I'm thirty-six."

  She might consider him ancient. But as he studied her eyes, which appeared to notice every little thing about him and assessed his every movement, she seemed older than her years.

  It was then he noticed more than her eyes. She had dark hair with blonde highlights and light brown skin, skin that he felt the urge to lean over and lick with his tongue.

  What? No, stop, Ford. But he couldn't keep from then staring at her mouth, the source of so many intriguing questions and answers. The bottom lip was fuller than the top, and he wanted to stand up, pull her close, and take it between his teeth.

  Woah, hold on there. Not only had he just met her, she could pick any of the men in the room. And a slightly bitter divorcee with trust issues wo
uld be at the bottom of that list.

  Gaby finally nodded, as if making a decision. He met her eyes again, brows drawn. Was she saying yes to him?

  However, before he could say a word, she stated, "I want him, Ashley. I want Ryan Ford."

  He stopped breathing for a few seconds. All of this had been a way to placate his sister, to get her off his back, and yet the dragon lady had picked him?

  Not only that, but the end result of this whole thing would probably make him a father.

  Maybe the last part would make the others bolt, but Ryan had wanted to be a dad for a long, long time. He'd held off because of his ex, which had ended up being fortunate.

  But having a child that was half this sexy, smart, bold woman?

  The image of her round with his child stoked something inside him, a need he hadn't felt before, not even with his ex.

  A feeling rushed through him, his gut saying that if he turned her down, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

  He hadn't planned on leaving with a dragonwoman, but now he couldn't imagine leaving without her.

  So Ryan stood up and offered his arm, like in the times of old. Amusement danced in Gabriela's eyes, but she threaded her arm through his, making her forearm brush against his.

  At the casual contact, heat raced up his arm and down his body, straight to his dick.

  He glanced down at her, her pupils flashing quickly, and he wondered if she'd felt it too.

  The ADDA employee cleared her throat and said, "Come with me, you two. You can stare deep into one another's eyes later."

  Her words snapped him from the spell, and Ryan forced himself to look forward and follow the ADDA employee out of the room.