Chapter 1
Reception Area, Middlemarch Resort, Tiraq
Scarlett Mitchell scowled at the compuscreen and figured Mungo wouldn’t reappear to relieve her anytime soon.
Joe had sported the look. She’d witnessed the same determination and lust, the excitement, the pure love on the faces of her other brothers as they’d captured, courted, and claimed their mates.
Yep, Joe had been a male shifter on a mission, and she figured once Mungo returned to reception, she and Joe would be official mates.
Which made her the last Mitchell standing.
In this branch of the Mitchell family, at least. Ma would happily scribble in her genealogy books and add Mungo to the family tree. Grandchildren were the next logical step, and that might take the pressure off her. Scarlett dissected that thought for a beat and grimaced.
Gah! Who was she kidding?
It’d place her front and center, a target for her family-minded mother. After all, she’d married their father at age eighteen, and Scarlett had turned twenty-three last birthday.
She muttered alien curses under her breath—ones she’d learned during her trips to the marketplace in Dalcon.
The pressure weighing down her mind remained.
Heavy.
Worrying.
The truth—Scarlett’s battle to remain single wasn’t the only thing bothering her.
Ever since she was a kid, she’d had feelings.
A sense of what was to come. Most came true, and right now, she was experiencing the tingling prediction of something.
Of what, she had no idea, but the details would become clearer until poof!
Every vague perception exploded into reality and rained down on her head.
Unfortunately, the knowledge she received never helped much.
Perhaps it was favorable news regarding her bid for the premises on the planet Dalcon.
So far, she hadn’t mentioned her plans to her family.
They’d fight her decision, which was why she intended to forge ahead and present them with solid facts.
A business strategy. Budgets. Profit forecasts.
Her design portfolio. Show them her samples.
Play to her strengths and shower them with information.
Give them reasons to agree to her proposal rather than present arguments.
At the least, she’d have proof she’d considered her future for a long time and was not jumping from her safe existence into a risky proposition.
Impulsive wasn’t her any longer. Yay! Look at her adulting.
She tapped her finger on the compuscreen, a smile playing on her lips. Satisfaction. Soon she’d move to Dalcon, open a shop, and offer her jewelry design services to those who required exquisite and original pieces.
Independence. Freedom.
While she loved and adored her family, their dreams weren’t hers, and besides, the resort catered to women. The pool of men on the island wasn’t an enticement to stay.
These days, instead of dating, she spent her free time gathering raw materials for her jewelry creations.
A pros and cons list had helped her to this decision.
She’d fought and persisted until her brothers now only grumbled when she told them she was off to Dalcon to buy precious stones.
A white lie since she foraged for materials on neighboring planets.
A chuckle escaped as she recalled a recent gathering trip and the man who’d grabbed her, accusing her of theft.
When she’d kept fleeing, he’d chained her before he’d taken a snooze.
For a cute man, he’d sure slept a lot and hard-out.
He’d never heard her shift to feline and slide free of the binding chains.
Never heard her collect her bag of clinking tools.
Never heard her reclaim her precious stones.
But she’d escaped more than an irate man.
On first seeing him, every single feline sense had gone gaga, for want of a better word. Yep, she’d grabbed her spoils and beat a speedy retreat before the situation worsened. Ever since the encounter, her nerves and senses had jangled, setting her on edge because her feline pined for the man.
A growly alpha. Sexy. Tasty.
Too bad he didn’t fit with her life plans.
Now if he’d shown interest in a down-and-dirty fling…
She might’ve written a list for that. Memories of the trip led her mind back to her jewelry.
Earlier this morning, she’d finalized the design for the ring Joe had commissioned her to create for Mungo.
Her fingers itched to start work with the gorgeous purple stone she’d discovered while fossicking.
She’d combine it with the golden metal she’d located in the Dalcon market.
Next up—earrings to sell in the resort store. Scarlett tapped the compuscreen. She required more stones, but the best ones came from…
A ferocious roar broadcast from outside. Every muscle in Scarlett stiffened as she turned to the doorway.
A huge naked man stomped into reception.
Tattoos decorated one side of his torso and right arm, and his black hair grew long enough to strike his shoulders.
A scowl dug into his face, pulling the faint scar that ran from the corner of his eye and bisected his cheek.
But it was his gaze that drew her—his glitter of determination.
It was him.
For one traitorous moment, her pulse spiked with joy. Her feline perked right up with equal excitement until Scarlett seized her senses and reined them into submission.
Oh no! This was not happening. She refused to allow this man to do his caveman act again, even if his body was a muscular work of art.
A group of women passing through reception stopped to gape. Not that Scarlett blamed them. He’d gained weight since their last meeting, and his eyes—not green or brown but a shade in between—fired salvos of wrath.
He was…
Breathtaking.
Her feline issued an appreciative sigh, and it echoed, full of sexual heat and possibilities.
No. No. No!
She gave her head a hard shake and retreated half a step.
“You!” The man wore his arrogance like a cloak.
Every particle of self-preservation urged Scarlett to bolt. Instead, she lifted her chin and stared at him coolheaded. “This is a women-only resort. You need to leave.”
The man stomped closer. “I intend to hie off, Thief, and you’ll be coming with me.” His rich voice held anger, implacability. A can-do attitude that didn’t bode well for her.
Oh-oh. Along with anger, his features held resolve. Certainty coalesced in Scarlett’s mind. This was what her subconscious had tried to tell her. The flimsy compudesk didn’t provide enough protection. Maybe she could talk her way out of this situation.
“You’re creating a disturbance and upsetting our guests.
Why don’t we discuss this in private?” She slid her hand beneath the desk and pressed the alarm to bring security and her brothers running.
A quick glance told her the naked man had attracted more women, and rather than fear, his audience radiated interest.
She inhaled and scowled.
Arousal.
It polluted the air, and a growl escaped Scarlett.
His eyes widened, but her aggressive snarl didn’t stop him from snatching her, trapping her against his hard chest.
“Oh!” a green-skinned woman said, her tone rampant with disappointment.
A Red Mumber female appeared equally despondent. “I wish he’d capture me.” The woman’s tentacle hair writhed and hissed and reached in the naked man’s direction.
The man seized Scarlett’s arms, holding them immobile. She fought, cursing her smart uniform skirt that restricted her legs and the pair of comfortable but impractical shoes.
“Let me go. You have no right to manhandle me.”
The naked man dragged her to the door leading to the gardens, holding her with effortless strength. Seconds later, he tossed her over his shoulder. She pounded her fists on his back and grabbed handfuls of his black hair. The great big lug didn’t stop but strode outdoors.
The interior door slid open, and Saber stepped through.
“Scarlett, what— Oh,” he said in what Scarlett considered a severe understatement of the situation.
An unwelcome thought slithered into her brain, drilling in like an unwanted pest. “Saber, so help me, if you arranged this, I will get payback.”
“Not me,” Saber said, his green gaze watchful.
“Then do something. Help!” Scarlett yelped.
Felix and Leo, two more of her brothers, skidded to a halt by Saber. Their shock told her that Saber spoke the truth. Nothing they’d done had contributed to her current predicament. Saber barked orders, and her brothers gave chase.
The man upped his pace, and Scarlett bounced on his shoulder. Not even the flex of his prime backside distracted her from her discomfort. Wow, the man bore a speedy capability. He sprinted through the garden, past startled guests.
“Help!” Scarlett hollered to her cousin Sam, who was working the poolside bar.
A large hand slapped her on the arse. “Quiet.”
Enough. She kicked and pounded her fists before resorting to her teeth.
They sank into the man’s shoulder until she drew blood.
The taste, the prickling of warning in her mind, had her teeth releasing their grip and her furiously spitting.
Her feline gave a frustrated snarl because she’d enjoyed the coppery flavor.
Shouts rippled from behind them. The cavalry. About time.
“Release me, and no one will get hurt,” she yelled.
The man slowed, and for one moment, she thought he’d heeded her. But no. The most godawful cracking noises rent the air. Startled, she took a beat to comprehend.
No. No. No!
Scarlett recognized this scenario. How had she missed this crucial piece of information?
He released her, but shock held her immobile, and she wasted precious seconds. She gaped at the man as his body expanded. Scales formed on his skin. Scales. Claws. Sharp white teeth. Flames roared from his great maw, and her brothers and their security team withdrew.
He was a freakin’ big black dragon.