The Dragon's Heart (Dragon Lore) Read Free Page A

out all the bad memories. She’d been amazing, he thought, until he’d come down from his sexual high to find the hired gun she’d sent to kill him.
    “No.” Daniel’s head came up at the sharpness in Seren’s voice. Sweat beaded on her brow. She was chanting frantically as she tried to repair the internal damage caused by the bullet’s concussion. “I’m losing her. Goddamn it, Daniel! I need you to try harder.”
    He let out a low sound of frustration. This time, he forced everything else out but the good as he concentrated on pushing his energy into her.
    He went back to that night in his head. She’d been so beautiful when he’d picked her up. Halfway through the date, he’d realized how much he goddamned liked her.
    She’d been easy to talk to despite their differences. Which said a lot. He never found talking to anyone easy.
    But Shelby...Daniel struggled to open his eyes against the severe energy drain. Her small body was impossibly still, all of the compacted energy that had fascinated him gone, replaced with the steady whoosh of the ventilator that kept her breathing. She’d charmed him when he’d been positive it wasn’t possible for him to be charmed, and against all common sense, every time she’d smiled, he’d felt his world swing right.
    Part of him had expected her to want to hit the main paparazzi zones in LA for some free publicity, but instead they’d ended at a small bistro barely big enough for the ten couples there. She’d been gracious when people recognized her, and though he’d felt out of his depth and like an uncoordinated giant, she’d been genuinely interested in him. Despite more than two millennia of not talking unless necessity dictated, she always drew him into conversation.
    “You’re doing great,” Seren murmured. “Her body’s slowly responding.” She glanced at him for the barest of seconds. “How did you meet her?”
    “I was hired to head up security on one of her movies.”
    “The king? Doing security?”
    “Yes. There were some rumors floating around about Hunters that I wanted to personally check out.”
    Seren smiled the slightest bit, though her focus never wavered from Shelby. “Talkative as ever, aren’t you. Come on, Daniel. I’ve known you a very long time and we both know Shelby is not your type. I can’t think of anything you’d hate more than the possibility of being in the spotlight.”
    “I like her,” he shrugged, before he amended with a growl, “ liked her, anyway. But it was almost a year ago.”
    “What happened?”
    His lip lifted in a sneer. “Is it important?”
    Her gaze lifted in a dead-on imitation of her husband’s irritated scowl. “Yes,” she said slowly, studying him as if searching for a head injury. “It is. Start talking.”
    He considered ignoring her. It wasn’t any of her business. But he sighed and shrugged again. “She tried to have me killed.”
    Adrian snorted from his post at the door. “Imagine that.”
    A violent snarl rumbled through Daniel, his sluggish body going stiff. “Watch it, Hunter.”
    “Hush.” Everything about Seren went still as she sighed at her husband, before she went back to repairing the damage done to Shelby. “You’re sure she was behind it?” she asked Daniel quietly.
    It was his turn to snort. His head felt fuzzy as he continued to feed Shelby his energy, but he had no desire to relive that night. “Seeing as her house is as secure as Fort Knox and we were in her bedroom at the time, my guess is yeah. I’m sure it was her.”      
    Seren winced a little as her hands stilled. “You’re not kidding,” she murmured. “She set you up?”
    Daniel didn’t take offense. Shelby Kincade was the most famous woman in the world, who had a reputation of being sweet and caring. Whereas Daniel had a history of pissing people off to the point of them actively trying to kill him.
    “Yeah.” Though he wouldn’t admit it even if Cage was threatening to pull his heart out,