The Dragon Kings Book Fourteen

Ruby wakes up in the arms of the one guy she swore she’d never fall for, but she did.

He’s not so bad though. But when the unthinkable happens, her plans to get rid of her dragon form is in jeopardy. She has a choice to make, follow her heart or follow her dreams….

Meanwhile, Liam does everything he can to seal himself to Isa so she’ll trust him again. But nothing is working and the attacks on those in the castle are getting worse—distracting Liam.

It’s not until Isa is attacked that he finally manages to seal himself to her,

but will she survive?

“Do you want me to take you home? I can pick you up in the morning to get your car,” Damon asked Ruby. He wanted to ask more questions about what happened with Zack, but he didn’t want to push her.

It was nearing midnight on a school night, and they were alone in the Purple Dragon. Ruby was vulnerable, but man, she looked beautiful standing there in front of him.

She fidgeted with the edge of her skirt and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Not really. I need time to think, and I don’t want to be alone.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. He had no earthly idea what to do. This was all new territory for him. “Alright. Probably no coffee though. It’s too late. Hot chocolate?”

“That would be great.”

He eyed her carefully. As beautiful as she looked in the tight red shirt and short skirt, she couldn’t be comfortable. That was a problem he could fix for her.

“Sometimes, I stay here when I’m fighting with my parents. There are a couple of couches upstairs, and I keep a few changes of clothes. Mostly sweats and basketball shorts. You’re welcome to change if you’re cold.”

She finally looked up at him, and it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself. He had an overwhelming desire to draw her close to him.

“That would be great,” she said.

“Okay, I’ll get our hot chocolates and meet you up there in a few. The sweats are in the cabinet by the door.”

She turned and made her way upstairs, and he finally relaxed.

He didn’t know if she liked anything fancy in her hot chocolate, so he made them both normal with copious amounts of whipped cream. His hands shook as he carried the mugs upstairs. He stood outside the rec room and took a couple of deep breaths.

“You decent?” he called out. The last thing he needed right now was to walk in on her changing her clothes. She’d be so embarrassed.

“Yeah,” she called back.

He pushed the door open with his shoulder. She was sitting on the loveseat, wearing his mom’s old Guns N’ Roses hoodie and a pair of black sweats. She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, but her makeup was still flawless, and she was missing her glasses.

He handed her a mug and sat next to her, their knees touching. There were six couches here, and she picked the smallest one. Maybe she liked him more than she let on.

He and Liam spent hours here, learning how to shoot pool and sucking up to pretty girls. They held a back-to-school party every fall that his mom said had been a tradition for nearly twenty-five years. This was his favorite place.

“Hughie do your makeup for you again?” he asked with a grin.

She scowled. “Yes, I wish he could figure out how to undo it completely.” She took a sip of her hot chocolate and got whipped cream on her nose. It looked adorable. “Maybe then it wouldn’t look like I was a nerd trying to be pretty.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. I was a fool. I won’t make that mistake again.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“You’re gonna have to tell me everything that happened tonight so that I understand. But first, you have whipped cream on your nose.”

She smiled and wiped it off, and he scooted closer to her. He couldn’t help himself. He needed to be next to her. “Also, I’m not sure where you’re getting this nerd pretending to be pretty thing, but you got it backward.”

She stared into her mug. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you’re a very pretty girl pretending to be a nerd.”

A ghost of a smile flitted over her lips, and even though he had no idea what he was doing, he was pretty sure he was doing a good job of it.