The Dragon's Bidder (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 3) Read online

  His beast huffed. Just don't actively try to make her mad or piss her off. I want this night to be different, to make an impact on her so that maybe she'll want to work with us to find a loophole. And so help me, if you fuck it up, I'll take control.

  You do that in a human city, and we'll be sent back to PineRock before we can say a word, forbidden to visit any human town or city for years.

  It'll be worth it if I can get to better know our true mate.

  As Wes tried to think of how to reply to that, the doorknob turned, and the door opened to reveal the tall, curvy form of Ashley Swift.

  From across the room, she'd been beautiful. But as she walked closer to him, her hips swaying and her delicious scent of female mixed with vanilla reaching his nose, he stopped breathing.

  Add in her pretty dark hair piled atop her head, and he wanted to growl, reach out, and pull her close.

  His inner dragon laughed. You want her just as much as I do.

  She stopped a few feet away from him, searching his gaze. He loved how she was nearly the same height as him. That may be tall for a human female—at about six feet—but perfect for him.

  Tilting her head, she asked, "What's your dragon saying now?"

  His dragon growled again. Tell her I want to strip off her clothes and lick every luscious inch of her body.

  Wes barely resisted clearing this throat. "That you look nice tonight."

  She snorted. "Nice? And here I was going to say you look sexy, but I guess I can revise it to nice as well."

  Her regular demeanor broke the spell, making the rational sections of his brain and tongue disconnect from one another as he said, "I figured saying you look good enough to eat would be a bad idea, even if I know you like honesty."

  She clutched her purse tighter against her side, her eyes searching his.

  Fuck, he'd probably said the wrong thing. But it was hard to be anything but himself around this female

  It was going to be a hell of a long night.

  "Honest is better than 'nice,' for sure." She motioned toward the exit off to the side. "Let's get our night started, shall we? I was thinking a bar and maybe something supernormal, like darts or pool."

  It was on the tip of his tongue to bark he couldn't have more than one drink at any bar by law but held back. Ashley had paid a small fortune for his company, and the money was for a good cause.

  He'd be nice to her if it killed him.

  Wes waved her on. "After you."

  She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how to handle you being nice to me. Keep it up, and I'll have to work extra hard to provoke you until I bring out the man I want to spend the evening with."

  Ashley wanted him to argue and trade barbs?

  As she walked ahead of him, he quickly pushed that thought aside and took the opportunity to study her ass and hips while no one else was around.

  His dragon blasted a thought about taking her from behind, but Wes ignored it. He had to keep some boundaries.

  So he fell back on words. "So now you'd rather I be a bastard and start an argument?"

  She glanced over her shoulder, and a tendril of hair came loose from her updo, lightly caressing the bare skin of her shoulder. Damn, he wondered which was softer—her hair or her skin.

  Raising her brows, Ashley replied, "I've called you a bastard before, but in reality, you aren't one, Wes. Just be yourself and don't dare walk on eggshells around me now, of all times."

  He grunted, unsure of how to take the compliment. "You're a strong female who can handle her own. I won't fucking treat you like a porcelain doll."

  She smiled, but quickly turned away from him to reach for the theater exit door. The sudden loss of her gaze made him want to reach out, turn her around, and lose himself in her eyes again.

  He resisted a sigh. Yes, it was going to be a really long fucking night.

  Once Ashley opened the door, sounds from the main casino floor filled the air—old-fashioned slot machines clicking, various game-like spinning sounds, and even a few winner bells.

  Add in the chatter and music blasting from some corner in the building, and he wanted to cover his ears against the racket.

  The bombardment reminded Wes why he stayed away from Reno. Dragon-shifters had supersensitive senses, and there was too much fucking noise.

  Ashley stopped just outside the door and faced him. Despite all the human, food, and various other smells he didn't want to think about, hers surrounded him, her female musk making his cock hard.

  Thank fuck his blazer covered it up.

  She spoke quietly, knowing he'd hear it despite the noise. "How about we forget clan and ADDA politics for the night? Pretend we're on a first date."

  Even though his dragon screamed yes, Wes asked, "Is that wise?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Then what should it be? Act as if we're two guys out on the town? That may be a little hard as I refuse to be a wingman for you to pick up some human chick to bang."

  He swore there was jealousy threaded into her voice, but he didn't dare hope. "Being clan leader takes up all of my free time. As soon as my evening with you is up, I'll be heading straight back to PineRock. I have no desire to go looking for a female. They're huge wastes of time."

  Wes nearly winced. In his past experiences, when females only wanted a night with him because he was clan leader, they had been disappointments, yes. But he shouldn't have said that to Ashley. He actually looked forward to spending time with her.

  "Well, isn't that nice," she drawled. "Females are a waste of time. You aren't very good with words when you talk about anything but clan politics, are you?"

  His beast piped up. You're screwing this up.

  You think I don't know that? Even though it shouldn't matter.

  Ashley placed a hand on his arm, and despite the shirt and blazer, her touch seared his skin.

  And for a few seconds, they stared at each other again, everything else fading away until all he heard was her breaths and her heart beating.

  What he wouldn't give to kiss her, just once, and see if she lived up to his fantasies.

  But since kissing her on the lips would set off a mate-claim frenzy—a nonstop sex marathon that lasted until she was pregnant—not even a playful kiss could be on the table.

  Wes finally took a step back, dislodging her grip on his arm. The action snapped him back to the present. "Just tell me where you want to go, and I'll try to be fun."

  Ashley rolled her eyes. "Fine, Mr. Stick-to-a-Plan. There's a bar nearby, one that allows dragon-shifters."

  Perhaps, but then it'd only give him one drink before kicking him out.

  Such were the stupid rules dragon-shifters had to live by in the US.

  He gestured ahead and made an effort not to be a dick again. "Then lead on, my lady."

  She grabbed his hand. "Since I know where we're going, follow me. And don't let go. I don't need any of the losing bidders from the auction rushing up and attempting to steal you away."

  Her skin against his made both man and beast hum. It was dangerous to hold her hand, but right then and there, someone would have to cut off his arm before he released her. "I won't let go. Should I pinkie promise or are my words enough?"

  Snorting, she murmured, "Pinkie promises aren't very leader-like," before she guided them out of the casino and down the street. All the while Wes wondered if she was anywhere near as affected by them holding hands as he was.

  His cockstand wasn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

  Behaving for even a few hours around the female was going to be harder than any clan leadership trial.

  Ashley tried to be casual about holding Wes's hand, but sparks raced down her arms and ended between her legs.

  It was embarrassing enough that he could probably smell her arousal—damn dragons and their super noses—but it also made her realize how attracted she was to him.

  Dangerously so.

  And now she'd proposed bringing alcohol into the mix? Ashley was going to have to
be careful or she might end up doing something extremely stupid.

  She spotted the bar she wanted, Deuces Wild, and reluctantly released his hand to head inside.

  The second she stepped into the warm room filled with music and conversation, quite a few heads turned toward her. However, their gazes quickly moved over to Wes, many of them turning suspicious.

  Glancing to Wes, she noticed he'd already put on the mandatory pin of a dragon with outstretched wings on the front of his jacket, the one he had to wear inside human establishments and meetings that weren't run by ADDA.

  She hated the dragon outline in bright orange against the dark color of his blazer and wished she could toss it into the trash.

  But hiding a dragon-shifter's true identity was against the law, and she didn't want to have Wes carted off to jail. Because even if he could manage to keep his eyes from flashing to hide his identity, the owner of the bar had a part-time dragon-shifter security guard, one who sat incognito in the corner, who would be able to tell.

  She gestured with her head toward the bar. The reason she'd picked this place was because she knew the owner and most of the bartenders. After all, she'd been the one to convince Natasha to open her doors to dragon patrons and even get her part-time dragon security guard position approved.

  And as luck had it, Natasha was behind the bar tonight. The woman with brown skin and black hair streaked with blue smiled at her before saying, "Given the fuck-me heels and dress, I don't think you're here on business tonight, are you, Ash?"

  Natasha's eyes darted back to Wes again as Ashley resisted smoothing her skirt. If Wes had noticed the revealing black dress, he hadn't said a word. She replied, "No business tonight, but it's not what you think, either, Tasha." She gestured toward Wes. "I won him in the dragon orphan auction and came here for a few hours of fun."

  Natasha studied Wes and smiled slowly. The action made Ashley grip her purse tighter to keep her arms in place. Otherwise, she might try to thread an arm through the dragonman's to signal Wes was off-limits.

  Even though that wasn't technically true.

  The bar owner said, "Welcome, dragonman. As long as you don't break the rules, we'll get along great. What'll you guys have?"

  Wes looked over at Ashley. "What are you drinking?"

  If Ashley were playing it safe, she'd go for a light beer. But screw that, tonight was special. So she said, "Long Island iced tea, extra strong."

  Natasha snorted. "Careful, as my extra strong can make even linebackers wobble on their feet."

  Ashley shrugged. "For the next few days, I'm on vacation. So what the hell?" She glanced back at Wes. "You?"

  "Whiskey, neat."

  Yes, she could see him drinking whiskey when he was alone, sipping to help take the edge off his stressful job.

  "You got it," Natasha stated and turned away to make the drinks.

  Ashley's gaze fell to Wes's lips. She wondered what the combination of man and whiskey would taste like.

  Wes cleared his throat. "Careful, Ashley. You're all but begging me to break every rule there is and kiss you."

  She met his gaze again. But instead of amusement, his pupils flashed between round and slitted, heat filling his eyes.

  Damn, had all of Wes's bickering and challenging over the years hidden something else?

  Natasha put the drinks down, and Ashley shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. She plucked out some money and paid for the drinks.

  Wes growled, "I can pay for myself."

  "Not tonight." She leaned in, picking up her drink and whispering to his ears only. "Tonight, you're my date, so I'm footing the bill."

  "I have no say in this, do I?"

  She smiled. "None. You know how stubborn I can be."

  "Better than anyone," he murmured.

  She laughed and motioned toward his drink. "Well, you're about to see another side to me, too—the competitive part. We're going to play either pool or darts. Your pick."

  Swiping his whiskey from the bar, he asked, "Which are you better at?"

  "Darts."

  "Then darts it is." He leaned closer, his scent invading her nose. "Because it'll be that much sweeter when I win."

  The words brought up another image, one of him winning control when she was naked and under him.

  And Ashley pressed her legs closer together, hoping he couldn't tell how damn sexy that was to her.

  But then his pupils flashed faster and she knew he'd scented her.

  Taking a sip of her drink, she leaned away from him and walked toward the section with the dartboards against the back wall.

  On impulse, she added an extra swing to her hips and could feel Wes's gaze on her ass.

  The responsible thing would be to win at darts, down her drink, and end the night early.

  However, as she took another sip of her uber strong drink, she decided that wasn't going to happen. She wanted to make the most of her one and only night with Wes Dalton.

  If she could get them somewhere private, then there were a few things they could do without fully breaking the rules set forth in ADDA's guidebook.

  But she needed to get Wes relaxed enough to agree. One drink would do nothing to him, with his fast dragon metabolism. Which meant she'd have to try and do it some other way.

  And so her latest challenge began.

  Chapter Three

  Wes watched Ashley’s body sway as she walked away, his dragon growling and pacing inside his head at the sight. His beast said, She's inviting us to claim her. Can't you see it?

  Just because she's attracted to us doesn't mean she's going to throw away everything she knows to sleep with us.

  Then take her away from this bar. If we fly to one of our secret spots, no one will know what happens. And true, we can't kiss her mouth, but there are plenty of other things we could do. Like lick that sweet honey between her thighs.

  He resisted groaning. Don't tempt me, dragon.

  At least think about it. Punishments only happen to those who get caught.

  And damn his beast, they both knew there were dragons and humans alike who found ways to sneak off and never be found out.

  Not that a clan leader should ever chance it.

  Ignoring his beast, he picked up his pace. On the way toward the dart-playing area, he finally spotted the dragon-shifter he'd scented. The male was unfamiliar to him. But even if he hadn’t been wearing his designated dragon pin on his shirt—which he was—the tall, muscled build and flashing eyes gave him away.

  Wes nodded, and the male returned the gesture before turning his gaze back toward the bar area.

  Filing away the man's description for later—Wes wanted to know who worked here since some of his clan members came to this bar—he closed the small distance to where Ashley stood next to a round, high table not far from the dart-playing area. While he noticed the humans scurrying away from the section, he ignored them. Only the female across from him mattered. "So who goes first, and from what point count are we playing?"

  Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to play darts, let alone know the rules."

  "Why? Because I'm clan leader?" He leaned over, resting an elbow on the table, and moved his head closer to Ashley's. "Here's a secret—I wasn't always clan leader. And like most males, once I hit twenty-one, I couldn't wait to visit my first human bar."

  She leaned a fraction closer, and it took every bit of strength he had not to stare at her cleavage. "And how did that go?"

  He smiled. "Not as awesome as I thought it would. I had my ass handed to me at pool, I downed the remainder of my drink in frustration, and they promptly tossed my butt onto the sidewalk."

  Ashley laughed, the sound making the female even more irresistible to both man and beast. "It's hard to imagine anyone tossing you into the street."

  "Let's just say it never happened again. Although sometimes I swear you try to do an equivalent level of ass-handing with useless ADDA paperwork."

  She tsked, and his gaze zeroed in on her
full lips. He couldn't tear his eyes away as she said, "No work stuff, remember?"

  He stared some more, and Ashely bit her bottom lip. Damn, he'd fantasized about doing the same with his own teeth.

  His dragon spoke up. If you were strong enough to talk with her and tell her she's our true mate, it could be a reality.

  No, it can't.

  As if burned, Wes moved back to standing and faced the dart-playing area. "Point count?"

  Ashley sighed. "Sometimes your topic changes give me whiplash."

  Since he couldn't exactly say "Hey, I want to kiss you and then fuck you senseless, over and over again, a tag team between my dragon and me, until you're pregnant and carry my scent. Are you cool with that?" Wes instead cleared his throat. "I'm excited to beat you, is all. You tend to have the upper hand with ADDA regulations, but I can win this."

  "Oh, ho, so the dick swinging has started." He couldn't help but glance at Ashley and saw her roll her shoulders back. "Bring it, dragonman. Because I can win that contest, too."

  Wes couldn't help but smile. "Then hurry up with the rules, missy, so we can settle this."

  "Missy, huh? All right, boyo, let's play from 301 the first time as a warm-up. I'll even let you go first."

  Normally, he'd insist on Ashley throwing first. But if she was going to throw down about her abilities, then he'd test her truly, no holds barred. Picking up his darts from the cup on the table, he moved to the standing area on the floor and lined up his first shot.

  Even though he could throw it straight away, he lingered a few extra seconds, more than aware of Ashley's gaze on his back.

  As blood rushed south, Wes decided to win as quickly as possible so he could get her somewhere private. No, he couldn't kiss her or risk thrusting his cock inside her, but there were other things he could try with the female to ease his curiosity.

  Because tonight was all he'd ever have with his true mate. And for a few hours, Wes was going to be just a male and not a clan leader.

  Ignoring his dragon's roar of approval, he tossed the dart and grinned as it hit dead center. He looked over his shoulder and said with a grin, "Now I'm at 251."

  Ashley glared and he laughed.