Bound in Eternity: Paranormal BBW Shapeshifter Dragon Romance (Drachen Mates Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY-ONE

  TWENTY-TWO

  TWENTY-THREE

  TWENTY-FOUR

  TWENTY-FIVE

  TWENTY-SIX

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  TWENTY-NINE

  THIRTY

  EPILOGUE

  BOUND IN ETERNITY

  NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  MILLY TAIDEN

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  Avery Harper hasn’t dated in two years. After losing her fiancé during his deployment, she chose to stay away from men and the games they play. That worked great until she met Jae Drachen. He overwhelms her senses from the moment she meets him. It has her wondering if love at first sight truly exists. The more time she spends with Jae, the more she believes it does.

  Jae wants Avery. He’s built a corporate empire through years of all work and no play. That never bothered him until now. He’s finally met a woman who makes him feel alive; he no longer wants to wait for his marked mate to appear. What he feels for Avery is stronger than what any mate mark could create for someone else.

  That all changes when another woman shows up. One who’s dreamed of Jae and has a mate mark. He’ll give up anything, including his dragon and long life, if it means keeping Avery. He’d sacrifice his life for her, but she loves him too much to let him destroy himself for her. She’d rather he be with someone else and living than dying because of her.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published By

  Latin Goddess Press

  Winter Springs, FL 32708

  http://millytaiden.com

  Bound in Darkness

  Copyright © 2016 by Milly Taiden

  Cover by Willsin Rowe

  Edited by: Tina Winograd

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Property of Milly Taiden

  January 2017

  —For my baby girl, Angie

  You love my dragons and I love you!

  ONE

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  Jae Drachen glanced out his jet’s window at the twinkling lights of New York City. He’d traveled the world in search for a mate with zero success. Jae put his seatbelt back on and prepared for landing. He sighed as he thought back to his brother, Tor, and Tor’s mate, Morgan. Tor and Morgan were the first couple in hundreds of years to mate and conceive a child, allowing the Drachen to grow for the first time in a long time.

  The moment Morgan and Tor mated, she became strong and Tor a lot stronger than imaginable. It would be near impossible for their enemies, the Noir, a breed of black dragons set on destroying their kind, to kill either of them.

  It was because of the power growth after mating that Sayeh, the Noir leader, and his dragon followers tried to get to the mates before the mate mark showed up. Tor and Morgan fought Sylvana, Sayeh’s witch, and there had been no other sign of her since. No one knew for sure if she was dead or not. They hoped she was. It was impossible to know when someone was going to get a mate, but they hoped Morgan’s mother would get another vision, giving them a clue of who would be next. They wanted to try and get to the mates before the Noir did.

  Once he spent a few days at his business headquarters in NYC, he’d go home again and finally meet his new niece, Callie. He was also dying to see his nephew, Noah, Tor and Morgan’s son. He was excited to meet Callie and his new sister, Lexi. A pang of sadness tightened his chest.

  Jae had been wanting a family and children for hundreds of years. Not once had he ever fallen in love or even close to it. Human desires had come to him but having sex was nothing compared to what he knew having a mate would be like. That connection. That bond. He was tired of spending his life feeling half of him was missing.

  He inhaled as the plane landed, reminding himself that most humans traveled in planes. The fact he could fly and not need one didn’t change anything. He had a business to run and was the face of his corporation. He needed to check in on the new hotel he was having built, while at the same time figure out what to do about the mate business. He wasn’t giving up so easily.

  The moment they taxied, he pulled out his cell phone and called his brother, Tor. With Clacher off to Switzerland with his new wife and baby, he didn’t want to take him away from them.

  “Hey, bro, what’s up?” Tor greeted him. “How’s New York?”

  “Cold. Looks like it’s going to snow.”

  “Man,” Tor sighed. “I love it when it snows up there. Especially when you go up to the cabin. All white and no people around. Fucking beautiful.”

  “Yeah, well. I won’t be going up to the cabin this time. I’ve got a full schedule.” He marched down the jet steps, waved goodbye to his pilot and crew and got into his limo. “Have we had any other luck with Lara telling us if there are any other mates?”

  “Not yet. Though I doubt she’ll have any trouble letting us know. She’s practically here every day with Noah. Whenever Morgan has a client, she has to fight Ker for the rights to babysit.”

  “Tell them to enjoy it because when Uncle Jae gets there, he’s all mine. And that goes for Callie, too. I’m dying to meet her.”

  Tor chuckled. “He’s the cutest kid. Looks just like me but with Morgan’s blond hair. Makes me want to have even more kids with her now. And Callie is beautiful. Once you see her you’ll be a goner.”

  “I bet. I haven’t been around babies in forever.” He lowered his window and watched the first few flakes start falling. With the skies gray, he knew it was going to be bad through the night.

  “Before them, we hadn’t had a baby in this house. Not ever. The crazy part is that whenever I hold him, I get this longing. I wish mom were here. I’m happy and sad. I can’t wait for all of us to have our children playing together. I know we’ll all keep the race going.”

  “How’s Ker doing?” Jae asked.

  “I think it’s making his dragon crazy. He’s gone flying around to nearby cities and towns since Noah was born. The need to find his mate has grown exponentially since he came home.”

  “We’ll find ours. I know it. Morgan opened the doors and we have someone who can help us get a heads up. This can be easier, better for all.”

  “I hope you’re right, Jae. Ker has made it clear he will do whatever he needs to to make sure his mate is protected when he finds her. Only god knows when that will be.”

  Jae sighed. “Soon. I have a feeli
ng it will be very soon.”

  Once he’d hung up the phone, he leaned back in the leather chair and picked up the drink his driver had already poured for him. A glass of whiskey. Jae didn’t drink, but after flying he had to have a drink to calm his dragon. He’d never grow used to planes. Never.

  TWO

  He glanced down at the address for his friend’s sister. It was in the city, not far from Jae’s penthouse suite at his NYC hotel. That would make it easier to send a messenger to bring the gift over. The Lair was one of the top five luxury hotels in New York City.

  With a helipad, all junior suites themed after a historical time period and a spa featured in every travel magazine around the world, it redefined luxury. He’d send one of his bell people to bring the package over when he got to his hotel.

  Traffic was pretty bad, even after rush hour. In New York, the city that never sleeps, there was always something to do and somewhere for people to be.

  He pressed the button to lower the partition between him and the driver. “Hey, Gordon,” he said. “Drop me off at the next block. I can walk it. Don’t worry about it. Looks like something happened up ahead and you should already be on your way home before Nellie starts calling me asking why I’m keeping you from dinner.”

  Gordon chuckled. “I think it’s someone important because the whole street looks to be blocked.”

  Crap. If the president was in town he’d be stuck there forever. If the UN was having a meeting, that was going to slow everyone down.

  “Then I’ll get out here. You go ahead and turn right at this corner and go home. Get out while you can.”

  He had his coat on quickly and jumped out the moment Gordon stopped. Cold air slapped him in the face. Damn. He’d have to grow his beard again. He’d cut it while in Japan, but now he’d grow it again. It was too damn cold to feel it on his face.

  With his Bottega Veneta cashmere and leather gloves in hand, he started walking as he put them on.

  The cold didn’t bother his dragon, but when he wasn’t in his dragon skin, he felt the weather changes a lot more. He marched down the busy streets, glad for the heated sidewalks or his very inappropriate dress shoes would have him slipping and sliding down the street.

  The doorman at his hotel greeted him with a smile. He strolled into the lobby with a sigh. He needed to get some rest. Twenty-four hours awake did nothing for him. As he approached the lobby, he saw what appeared to be a woman and a new employee at the reception in a dispute.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” the guy at the desk whispered. Someone he didn’t recognize. “Give me your number and I promise to get your resume up to my boss,” he said. They were far enough away from him that had he not had enhanced hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to know what was being said.

  The woman snorted. “I’ve come to the conclusion my resume is not going to make it to your boss’s hands,” she said in a soft but firm voice. “So I have no problem letting you know that you’re never getting my number. Maybe I’ll email the owners and let them know what a douche bag you are.”

  The guy laughed. “Good luck. I’m employee of the month and I’ve only been here a few months. They’d never believe you.”

  He could only see the woman from behind. She had a long, red wool coat on that accentuated her back and waist. Long, dark hair clung down her back in waves of browns, reds and blues. He strode for them when a man jumped in his way.

  “Mr. Drachen,” Charles Quinn, general manager to the hotel, said with smile. He sensed the man’s nerves as well as his accelerated heart rate. “So great to have you back.”

  “Thank you, Charles. How has everything been? Any problems?”

  “There are some things I’d like to discuss that happened while you were gone,” Charles said. “Let’s go into my office for a moment.”

  Jae glanced at the reception desk. The woman was gone. When he glanced to the entrance, she was already past the doorman and rushing out.

  “Give me a few minutes. I’ll be right back,” he said, heading after the woman.

  He didn’t know why it hit him so hard, but he felt the need to apologize for the clerk’s rude behavior. He stepped out into the street and saw her rushing down the block, turning into one of the side streets.

  He marched after her, ignoring the cold and the thick flakes falling over his head. Something told him to hurry up. He broke into a run, not smart in his dress shoes, but he still did it. Around the corner, he caught a flash of her red coat as a man tried to pull her handbag from her shoulder.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she yelled and yanked her bag back.

  Jae readied to pull the fucker off her and toss him down the street, when he was stopped dead in his tracks.

  She stomped on the guy’s foot and punched him on his jaw. The sound of her knuckles hitting his face made his eyes widen. The guy curled into himself, slapping both hands over his mouth and crying in pain. She continued past him as if nothing happened. Jae’s interest was more than piqued. Who was this woman?

  He bypassed the man now walking the other way from her and from what he could tell, trying to get as far away from her as possible. Jae rushed up to her side and tried tapping her shoulder.

  “Excuse me—”

  He didn’t expect for her to grab his hand and try to do a move which would bend his wrist to the point it would almost pop. Luckily, he was a lot faster than she realized.

  THREE

  Avery Harper gasped as the person she’d suddenly had on a wrist lock flipped things and now he had her hands behind her back.

  “Sorry, darling,” he said. “Can’t let you break my wrist today.”

  She frowned. “Who are you?”

  She glanced to the side, but no longer saw the man who’d tried to take her handbag.

  “I’m going to let you go, but don’t try to break anything else on me. Got it? I promise, I come in peace.”

  The way he lifted his lips into a sinful grin made it hard for her not to believe him. She didn’t get the sense he was lying. She was good at that, reading people. She was also good at knowing more than average about most things.

  “I just wanted to apologize for the front desk clerk at the hotel. That's not how we operate there. Women have never been harassed before.”

  She eyed him with curiosity. “Thanks but don't worry about it. Not the first time some asshole tried to do that."

  "What? Get your number by saying he’d give your resume to the manager?"

  She shook her head. "Think his corny come-on would actually work on a woman with a brain."

  He chuckled, the smile transforming his hot as hell features. He made her ovaries hurt and that never happened.

  "You're funny."

  She raised her brows. "Really? I've never been called that one before. Bitchy I've heard a lot." She stopped in front of the diner where she'd been eating down the street from her sucky job. "Listen, I'm hungry. You don't look like you're going anywhere so, want to eat something?"

  A blue flame lit in his gaze. "Are you asking me out?"

  "Relax, Romeo, it's only food. Not an engagement ring." She eyed his impeccable suit and coat. The guy had expensive tastes. For all she knew he’d order the highest priced item on the damn menu. "Hey and don't think because I'm inviting you that I get to pay. You're on your own."

  Her salary didn’t pay her enough to be splurging on hot guys that decided to attach themselves to her for dinner. She was pretty nice but her wallet only stretched so far.

  He opened the diner door for her and for a second she stood there, unsure what he was doing. Then it dawned on her he was being a gentleman. Who would've known there were any of those left.

  They got a booth and sat. She pushed her coat off her body and slipped off the super soft infinity scarf her brother Scott sent her last year from Germany where he went for a military training.

  The waitress smiled at her. "Your usual?"

  Avery grinned. "Yes, please, Doreen."

&n
bsp; Doreen then turned to Mr. Handsome, but quickly snapped her head back long enough to wink at Avery. "What can I get you, sugar?"

  "Coffee, please."

  Doreen left and Avery leaned forward. "This place isn't too bad. The food is decent. Not the best pancakes, that’s at a diner in Queens, but they have really good French toast."

  He took off his coat and hung it on the hook next to their booth. She was even more impressed now that his coat was off. Clearly he had his suit tailor-made. She wondered why he’d followed her. Really. “I’m Avery. Avery Harper, what’s your name?”

  “Jae Drachen,” he offered his hand. She took it and tried to stifle a gasp at the warm sensation skidding through her from the touch of their fingers.

  “So, Jae. Why did you follow me?” she asked. She wasn’t one to waste time and she knew this guy hid something. As a precognitive and telepathic empath, she knew very well there was more than met the eye with this guy.

  “I didn’t like that someone was actually trying to stop you from leaving your resume with sexual harassment. Trust me, he’ll be dealt with and soon.”

  She smiled at Doreen as she put their coffees down and proceeded to add a sick amount of sugar and cream into her mug. She glanced up and caught his raised brows. “I like some coffee with my sugar and cream.”

  “I see that.”

  “Listen, I told you it’s not a big deal. That place is probably out of my league anyway.”

  “What do you do now?” He sipped his too dark coffee with only two sugars and she winced.

  “Right at this moment? I’m being tortured watching you drink that. I don’t know how you can do it. As for a job, I’m a commercial transcriber.”

  “What does that entail?”

  Doreen returned, her gaze focused on Jae. “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat, sugar? The French toast is out of this world.”

  Avery nodded. “Listen to Doreen. I adore the French toast here.”