Luck of the Dragon (Entangled Covet) by Susannah Scott Read Free Book Online

the person who occupied them, and he wanted to know more about Lucy. But she wouldn’t want to see him. She would be alarmed by his presence. The invitation inside would have to wait. There were other ways of gaining information.
    Letting his heightened dragon senses sweep the suburban neighborhood, Alec could tell that most of the humans were settling in to sleep. Lucy was on the east side of her house, and her body gave off a scent he could find anywhere in the world now. He frowned at the presence of another heat signature, one that hustled around in front of her with the flightiness of a starved bird.
    A friend? A foe? A lover?
    Alec’s gut twisted at the possibilities, and his dragon nature beat against the wall of his chest, ready for action. He soothed himself with deep breaths of the crisp night air. He wasn’t a teenage fledgling anymore; he could, and would, control his reactions.
    Bending his knees, he jumped over the ten-foot brick wall. His feet crunched softly over white gravel as he stepped around Lucy’s side yard. Pressing himself to the side of the house, he peered through an open window off the kitchen.
    Lucy stood with her back to him. She had changed clothes, and his gaze moved appreciatively over her snug black yoga pants and white tank top. Her heavy red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She shook her hands at a man with her same facial features and hair color.
    “You promised me you would stop gambling,” Lucy said. “How could you do this again?” Her question sounded rhetorical, small and hopeless, not at all the she-cat who had called him fiery names at the casino.
    “Sis, I don’t know what happened. I had a sure tip on this pony.” The man appeared genuinely perplexed, and a part of Alec settled down at the revelation that the man was only her brother.
    “Joey… You put all your money on the race, didn’t you?” Lucy asked. “Again.”
    Joey gave her an eyebrow raised, hell-to-the-yah look. “It was a sure bet, and it would have paid off at 50K—”
    “There is no such thing as a sure bet , that’s why they call it a bet .” Lucy pulled the hair of her ponytail into two strands, tightening the elastic band.
    “I didn’t mean to get you involved. It’s just Gino is new in town and looking to make a score for his connections in Chicago.” Joey looked at his feet. “I’m sorry, Luce.”
    “You’re always sorry…” Lucy’s voice broke, and she crossed her arms around her stomach protectively. “So, so sorry.”
    Anger fired through Alec at the callous way Lucy’s brother treated her. This must be her problem, the reason she’d stolen his keycard.
    “Lucy, this is the last time,” Joey said.
    “You say that every time.” Lucy picked up a mug from the counter and blew over it. Peppermint and chamomile wafted through the window screen and filled his nostrils.
    Jer’ol— Leo broke through Alec’s reverie with mindspeak. Can you return to the casino?
    I’m busy, Alec telegraphed back across the desert.
    Your enemy has resurfaced, Leo said cryptically.
    You know where he is? Excitement raced through Alec at the news.
    For the moment, but he is on the move.
    Finally, he would corner Ambrogino. Alec focused on Lucy, torn between his need to keep her near him and the instinct to finally settle things with his enemy and former friend. He stared hard at her profile, willing her to feel his presence, willing her to know that she wasn’t alone anymore. She didn’t have to carry her burdens by herself. He could help her.
    Lucy remained unaware of him, lost in her distraught tea-blowing. He would have to leave her for now. Ambrogino might prove dangerous to her, too, if he learned that she was his mate. Tomorrow, he would ask Lucy about her brother and try to fix whatever mess she was involved in.
    Tonight, he had an enemy to quash.
    I’ll be right there, he said to Leo before jumping into the sky.
    …
    “Did you make the drop?” Joey leaned his forearms on the bar