Dragon Bites [Dragon Love 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Dragon Love 5

  Dragon Bites

  Colby Trayner’s deceased father left her his ranch in Brimstone, Utah. Wanting a change in her life, she’s ready to ditch city life and become a rancher. Too bad she doesn’t know anything about cattle or horses.

  Weredragon friends, Darton Traverton, Ed Rogers, and Jax Lambert offer to move in and help her. The beautiful city-girl-turned-rancher has captured their hearts. They’re more than ready to do anything they can to keep her from selling the ranch to the conniving weredragon Rick Riggs. If they can’t, they’ll lose her forever.

  When danger threatens the men she’s fallen in love with, will Colby give up her new home and run back to the city? Or will she run for the hills when she realizes that the men she loves aren’t what they seem?

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 44,746 words

  DRAGON BITES

  Dragon Love 5

  Jane Jamison

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  DRAGON BITES

  Copyright © 2016 by Jane Jamison

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-130-9

  First E-book Publication: April 2016

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 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

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Dragon Bites by Jane Jamison from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Jane Jamison’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Jane Jamison’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Dear Reader,

  Dragon Bites is the fifth book in the Dragon Love series. The more I write about the dragons, the more I love them. I hope you’ll love them, too.

  Enjoy,

  Jane Jamison

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  About the Author

  DRAGON BITES

  Dragon Love 5

  JANE JAMISON

  Copyright © 2016

  Chapter One

  “Hey, sugar, what’s going on? What’s wrong?”

  Colby Trayner stared at her phone long after the call had ended. Had she imagined what she’d heard? She wanted to believe she had, but it was all too real. Her mind had to catch up with her body. Maybe then she’d be able to think straight.

  “Sugar, what’s going on?”

  I hate being called sugar. Why won’t he get that through his thick head?

  She immediately regretted her thoughts, but was thankful she hadn’t spoken out loud. Her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Rob Porter, stared down at her. The busy hum of the Chambers Advertising office in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, continued on as though nothing was different in her life.

  Don’t think about it right now.

  Were they on again? She wasn’t sure, especially since she’d been thinking about breaking up with him for good this time. Why had she let the less-than-satisfying relationship drag on for so long? Why did she keep going back to him? Yet the answer was easy enough to understand. Rob was familiar, like an old pair of slippers she should’ve thrown out long ago but still liked to wear at times. Best of all, he was often funny, and she loved a good laugh.

  At other times, however, he could be a real prick. But she’d grown comfortable with him and with knowing he’d always be there should she want to start the relationship again. He was the guy she kept hanging to on “just in case.” It wasn’t fair to her, and it sure as hell wasn’t fair to Rob.

  She made her decision, once and for all.

  “Colby?”

  Damn it.

  He was concerned, and she liked that he was. Yet they’d never shared the electric sexual connection she’d always dreamed of having. The kind of connection she’d felt once before yet had failed to act on.

  She remembered Vegas last year all too well. If only she’d taken the tall, sexy cowboy up on his offer to have fun. Even if it would’ve lasted for only one night. One gloriously sinful night in Sin City. Why hadn’t she gone for it? Yet she’d held back, fearful that one night might not be enough. Could she have gone to his bed and not been left feeling empty the next morning? If she had, would it have shown her how lonely her life really was, even when Rob was in it?

  Just as soon as she’d changed her mind and turned away from her group of friends to tell Darton she’d love to go gambling with him, he was nowhere to be found. She’d looked for him, but since she’d failed to ask him his last name—or given him hers—she’d come up empty, unable to do much more than ask a few of the dealers if they knew him.

  Since then she’d had dreams of him, the unattainable guy, the one who had gotten away. Chalking it up to “what might have been,” she’d gone back to Colorado Springs and started dating Rob again.

  “Colby, you’re really starting to worry me. Who was on the phone?”

  She jerked herself
out of her thoughts and met Rob’s gaze. “It was my father’s attorney.”

  “Your father?” Rob pulled up a chair and scooted into her office cubicle.

  As one of the newer salespersons in the company, she didn’t rank her own office. She was too green to ask for an office, but she hadn’t cared much, either. Although she kept hoping her feelings would change, she’d never felt as though she’d found the job she really wanted to do. Did she want to spend the rest of her life selling advertising for websites and billboards? There had to be a better job. Didn’t she deserve a life where she woke up every morning and was happy to go to work?

  She had to think. Had to focus. Tell him it was over for good this time.

  “Um, yeah. It was my father’s attorney, Lee Schwatten. My father died this morning.”

  “Oh my God.” Rob took her hands in his. “I’m so sorry, sugar.”

  “Yeah.” She was sorry. Granted, she and her father hadn’t had a good relationship in almost a decade, but she was sorry he was gone. That was the correct way to feel. Yet, as hard as she tried, she couldn’t summon up any emotion other than the sorrow she would’ve felt for a friend she’d lost touch with long ago. Maybe real grief would come later. “He left me his ranch.”

  “Are you kidding me? He left you the ranch?”

  She knew what he was thinking. He’d told her often enough. After the one time they’d visited her father’s Rushing Water Ranch, Rob had declared her father crazy for trying to take care of the big property. True enough, the ranch house was rundown and the profits were nonexistent. Her father had sold most of his cattle to keep the place going. But the ranch had been her father’s dream for as long as she could remember. She’d been thankful that she’d lived with her mother. Still, she’d looked forward to the two weeks during school’s summer break when she went to stay with her father. She had loved being with the horses and the other ranch animals, even though she and her father had suffered through an uneasy visit.

  “When is the funeral? I’ll make arrangements to get us time off. We’ll head up to Brimstone as soon as we can.”

  Us? He assumed she wanted him with her. After all, what girlfriend wouldn’t want her boyfriend with her at a time like this?

  “No, it’s okay. You don’t need to come.” She searched within herself, trying to force an emotion she didn’t feel. Shouldn’t she feel grateful that he wanted to be by her side? Relieved? Even pleased?

  “Of course I’ll come with you. I don’t want you going through this ordeal without me. Don’t worry about anything, okay? I’ll take care of all the travel details.”

  Was that a sparkle of happiness in his eyes? Did he like taking care of her so much that he got joy from it?

  “No. Don’t.” She didn’t want to hurt him, but she had to tell him. She couldn’t let him think they were together a moment longer. Staying with Rob wasn’t the right thing to do for either of them. She didn’t love him. In fact, the more they stayed together, the more she began to think of him as only a friend.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Why couldn’t this be one of those times when he acted like a jerk? Like the time she’d wanted to buy the red dress at the specialty boutique and he’d told her that her ass looked too big in it? That she was “porking out” and needed to “get control” over her eating? Why couldn’t he be like that right now? It would’ve made what she said next a lot easier.

  “Rob, I don’t want to be mean, so I’m going to let you go.” She winced, hearing how harsh she sounded. Like she was his boss and had just fired him.

  “Let me go where? I already said I’ll go to Brimstone with you.”

  Sometimes he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the carton, but then again, how could he know what she was thinking? “No. I’m sorry. It’s sweet of you to offer, but I don’t want you coming with me. In fact—” She drew in a hard breath and blurted the rest out. “I don’t think we should be together any longer.”

  He jerked back, his jaw dropping. “Where the hell did that come from?” He stared at her a little longer before an understanding washed over his face. “Look. Don’t worry about it. It’s okay. I understand. You’re in shock and lashing out. I won’t hold it against you.”

  “I’m not in shock.” She wasn’t. Sure, she was upset about her father’s passing, but for the first time in a long while, she knew exactly what she wanted. “This doesn’t have anything to do with my father. I was thinking about this, about us, before I got the call.” She took her hands away from his and sat back. The less they touched, the easier it would go. At least, she hoped so. “We’re not meant for each other, Rob. We can be friends, if you want, but I don’t want anything more than that.”

  Anger flashed across his face, but to his credit, he kept it in check. “This isn’t making any sense. We’ve dated for almost two years. We were talking about moving in together, about marriage and kids. I thought—”

  “You thought wrong. You talked about all those things, and I just went along with you. I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry. I should’ve told you before, and I never should’ve gotten back together with you the last time we split. It’s my fault. I guess I didn’t realize until now how unfair I’ve been to you.” She hated to see the pain in his eyes, but what else could she do? She couldn’t see a future with him. Right then, she couldn’t see a future with anyone.

  “What are you going to do?”

  The idea that hit her felt right. Maybe it was a crazy idea, but she couldn’t help but be excited about it. “I’m going to run my father’s ranch. My ranch.”

  He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “You’re fucking kidding me. You? Run a ranch?”

  There was the jerk she’d wanted a few moments ago. “I know how to run a ranch.”

  “Yeah? How? When did you learn how to handle cattle? By spending a couple of weeks there in the summer? Come on, sugar. Face facts. You’ll lose the ranch and have nothing to show for it. Sell it while you can. And stop talking crazy shit about us breaking up.”

  “Rob, please don’t call me sugar ever again. I’ve never liked it, and now that we’re no longer together, you don’t have the right to call me anything.”

  He stood, shoving the chair back. The sound of the metal legs scraping against the tile flooring brought everyone’s attention their way. “You’re not being reasonable. You can’t run a fucking ranch.”

  “Rob, please, try and understand. And calm down before Mr. Jenkins hears you.” She hated having everyone stare at them. So far, she and Rob had managed to keep their relationship quiet. Nonetheless, almost everyone in the office knew. Still, their coworkers hadn’t had to endure any of their squabbles at work. The last thing she wanted was to have their boss, Burt Jenkins, overhear their argument.

  “You’re not thinking straight. What are you planning on doing? Quit your job to become a cowgirl?” Rob snorted. “You’ll come running back the first time you break a nail. Back to your job and back to me.”

  She gritted her teeth, keeping her irritation in check. “I’m not one of those girly girls, and you know it. As for the ranch, what I don’t know, I’ll learn. If I have to hire help, I will.”

  “With what money? Your father didn’t have enough money to keep the ranch in shape. Hell, I’m surprised the bank hasn’t foreclosed on the place. Where are you going to get the cash to run it?”

  Irritation warped into anger. “Don’t give me a hard time.”

  “Fuckin’ A. Do you think any bank’s going to give you a loan?”

  Colby had her fill of his ranting. He was hurt, and she was sorry she’d caused him pain, but she wasn’t about to sit there any longer and take his shit. “I’ll figure it out. Just be glad you don’t have to worry about it any longer.”

  “Damn it. Stop being so fucking bullheaded and admit it. You can’t handle it. Sell the place and get whatever money you can for the livestock and the land.” He drew in a ragged breath, obviously trying to regain his composure. “Colby, thin
k about what you’re doing. We’re good together. We belong together. Why not get rid of the place and move in with me instead?”

  She looked around her at her coworkers. They expected her to do what Rob suggested. After all, it would be the easy thing to do. The familiar, comfortable route to take. Instead, she felt excited, thrilled for the first time in far too long.

  Pushing past her now ex-boyfriend, she headed toward Mr. Jenkins’ office. He met her halfway there.

  “What’s going on, Colby? Is there a problem?”

  She liked the middle-aged man. He was a good boss and a kind man. He pushed his round, black glasses farther up his nose and peered at her expectantly.

  “My father died this morning.”

  As she’d known he would, he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him in a fatherly hug. “Damn, Colby, I’m so sorry to hear that. My condolences. Of course, you’ll need time off so you go ahead and take a week or two. Just let Charlene know what outstanding accounts you’re working on so someone else can cover your customers.”

  Remorse filled her, yet she really had no choice. With a different future in mind, she was intent on making it happen. “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins, but I’m going to need more than a couple of weeks.”

  “Oh? Yes, now I remember. Your father has a ranch up in Utah, doesn’t he? Okay, then, it’ll be tough to be without you for so long, and you might need to use some of your vacation and sick days, but if you need to take three or four weeks, then you just go ahead and take them.”

  She eased away from him. “I guess I’m not making myself clear. I hate to do this on such short notice, but”—she bit her lower lip and hoped he’d forgive her—“I quit.”