Firebreather 1: Firebreather by Marie Harte Read Free Book Online

well.
    Though she’d never written anything about the Dracon mating practices, she knew more than Ferin and his brothers gave her credit for. The Dracon were an extremely possessive, and protective, race.
    They held fiercely to their own, their loyalty unquestioning. Very few Dracon ever betrayed their own kind, making what had happened to Lea’s relative such an extraordinarily tragic loss.
    But Ferin didn’t strike her as an atypical Dracon. Quite the opposite, actually. In him, she saw the legendary creatures as she’d always imagined. Dangerous and beautiful in dragon form, sexy and charming, enthralling when walking as a man. And as she stared at him, her heart took that funny dip, the same one it had taken last night when he’d proclaimed her his.
    “Ferin…”
    He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if seeking answers beyond him. When he opened them, they glowed, a bright rainbow of color and light, his inner dragon blazing at her. She didn’t know why, but she found it almost as sexy as the feel of him inside her.
    “Lea,” he began tentatively, his tone making her sit up straight, her hands clenching the sheet around her. “Last night we bonded. You know that Dracon have sex just like humans do. We like men, we like women. Sexuality, as long as it’s mutually enjoyed, is never taboo. But bonding goes much, much deeper.”
    The knowledge in his eyes triggered her to be cautious. “You’d be surprised at what I know about the Dracon.”
    “Ah, yes. Reem’s Lost Arts. ” He reached into his nightstand and pulled up a copy. “Before you fly off the handle, it’s not yours. There are only ten copies in existence, and the Dracon had nine of them.
    Presumably, now ten, if the thief we sent to your home did his job right.”
    Indignation filled her at memories of her study. “I knew it! Why the hell did you steal my copy? And why trash my office?”
    “That was a mistake, and one I intend to rectify.” His eyes flared, and she realized he hadn’t planned such destruction. “His orders were to steal the book. And you know why, don’t you S. M. Ryans? What I want to know is why you haven’t told your family.”
    “Who says I haven’t?” self-preservation urged her to say.
    “Because we’re all still alive,” Ferin said dryly. “Come, love, tell me why you didn’t tell them. Tell me why you came to me last night, and accepted me and my brothers.”
    He’d called her “love.” Her brain turned to mush, and she had to clear her throat before she could speak again.
    “Look. All I know is that I’ve made a decent living working at my family’s art gallery. But it’s not what I’m passionate about. The Dracon have always fascinated me. Maybe it’s because of my family, maybe it’s just because no matter how you look at it, dragons are wonderful.
    Magic in a world needing more of it.
    “I don’t hold with a centuries-old grudge. I never have. A Dracon and a human conspired to kill one of my relatives. Sad, yes. But it’s history. If only my brothers would see that,” she muttered.
    “So that’s why you didn’t tell them what you learned?”
    “Yes.”
    When he waited, she sighed. “You want to hear me say it, right?
    The great secret the Dracon would willingly kill for?” He frowned.
    “Okay, steal for?”
    He nodded.
    “Fine. But remember, one of you Dracon owes me a chair. So, okay. Between the few legible parts of Meredith’s journal, in connection with Reem’s book, I learned the key to destroying the Dracon.” She took a deep breath and kept her eyes on his, not wanting to dwell on the sadness that dragged her at thoughts of the Dracon annihilated. “All the Dracon are tied to the royal line. It’s a psychic, or maybe mystic, link that I don’t quite understand. The point is, Reem knew, as did Great-Gran Meredith, that love is a bond stronger than any blood.”
    He nodded. “True.”
    “And, apparently, and correct me if I’m wrong, but to continue the