Light His Fire: Paranormal BBW Dragon Shifter Mail-Order Bride Romance Read Free

from nothing, coming to the United States when he was a teenager and starting out as a shoeshiner – a job far beneath any shifter. Not only had he divulged the semi-secret lives of shifters to her, but he’d also told her that she could be more than what she was.
    When he passed a few months later from cancer, he managed to surprise Pearl yet again. This time, by leaving her a small inheritance. It wasn’t much and he had shared most of his moderate wealth with his family, but he’d remembered the curvy woman who’d liked hearing his stories and kept him company when his family was scattered all over the world. She couldn’t have been more grateful to him for his kindness, pushing her to do better and reach higher even when he was gone.
    So, here she was now, in Shifter Grove, about to open up the only grocery store within a hundred mile radius and follow the path she’d always dreamed of – being her own boss – and she was terrified.
    Pearl wasn’t even entirely sure what it was that she was so afraid of. Failure? That couldn’t be it. She’d fallen and got back up plenty of times in her life to not be swayed by a few scrapes and bruises along the way to success. No, it wasn’t failure. Pearl scrunched her nose a little, glaring at the spot that just wouldn’t budge on the gleaming glass, the rest of it mirroring back her reflection. The look in her eyes told her exactly what she was afraid of, what she wouldn’t admit to herself in public or private.
    She was afraid of disappointing herself, and Andrei. Pearl was sure he was keeping an eye on her from whatever version of shifter heaven he believed in, and she was absolutely horrified of the possibility of not living up to her own potential, or the faith he’d put in her.
    Though that wasn’t the only thing that had been plaguing her mind lately.
    As if it wasn’t enough to deal with opening her first ever business and moving to a strange (albeit super friendly) new town where she didn’t know anyone, she also had to deal with her heart being an asshole, and all that in a matter of a few weeks.
    Her phone beeped next to her on the counter and she groaned inwardly. There it was again. The reason why her heart was threatening to commit suicide over a combined emotion of excitement and utter disgust in what she was doing.
    Reluctantly, she pushed the power button and saw the familiar glow of a new message on SassyDate. She knew exactly who it was from and she was going to absolutely hate herself for replying, but of course she was going to reply.
    GoldenBoy: So, Pearl. Do you miss me? Can’t be without me? I bet you can’t.
    PearlPlease: I thought we talked about this. I’m not interested!
    Pearl put the phone down with a snort and grabbed for the rag, eager to get back to work and ignore the oh-so-sexy shifter who was laying all his best material on her. He was a cocky bastard. Impossible, really. She’d met him at the cigar club, The Top Hat Bulldog, about a month ago, and he had made a complete and utter fool of himself. Not only that, he also hadn’t left her alone for a moment since then.
    Somehow, between making the girl who was giving a concert at the club squeal with giddy joy and then complete horror when he put his hand up her skirt, and then crashing into a table via the courtesy of the bouncers, he’d noticed her at the bar and that was that. She still remembered the mischievous, almost predatory smirk and wink he sent her as he was carted off by the two burly bouncers, and the words Andrei had said when he saw him.
    “He looks like trouble,” he’d said with a chuckle, sipping his drink despite looking so frail that he might crumble to dust right around the glass.
    “He sure does.”
    “I bet someone like that would be good for you.”
    Pearl remembered she’d huffed and laughed at his words, cleaning a whiskey tumbler at the same time.
    “Sure. Someone who shows up, makes a complete and utter mess of everything and then trundles