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

  Jae met her gaze and then smiled at Doreen. “Sure. I’ll have some French toast.”

  Avery watched Doreen blush and walk away with a grin. “You made her night. She loves convincing people to try the French toast here.”

  “It wasn’t her who convinced me,” he said as blue fire lit in his eyes.

  “You have the most interesting eyes I have ever seen. How do you do that?”

  He leaned forward, mimicking her move on the table and whispered, “I’m a dragon.”

  She cocked her head to the side and looked deeper. “Yeah, I guess you are. So what are you doing in New York City, Mr. Dragon?”

  “I own The Lair. Came for some meetings and to check it out.”

  She picked up her coffee and took a long sip. Her senses were all over the place when it came to this guy. She knew he was friendly and even trustworthy. It was her hormones that scared her. Sure, he was good looking and hotter than hades, but men didn’t make her think of happily ever after and babies. Not within five minutes of meeting them. Something weird was going on here. She wanted to learn more about him to see if she could figure it out.

  FOUR

  “That’s a pretty impressive hotel. Is that what you do for a living, own hotels?” She moved her hands out of the way so her plate of French toast could be placed in front of her and waited for him to answer.

  “More or less. I’ve been around for so long, I’ve had several businesses, but real estate seems to be my favorite. Especially when it’s all over the world. The scenery makes me happy.”

  She nodded and waited until his food was delivered to him before finally starting to eat. “I’ve always wanted to see the world, but other things have stopped me from being able to do it.”

  “Like what?”

  “My mother has Alzheimer's and I share a house with her. She lives downstairs and I live upstairs. But she’s alone most of the day. If I had the money, I’d put her in one of those awesome communities where she is taken care of all the time and I don’t have to worry she’ll leave the house and get lost.” She glanced up at him from her plate, “She’s done that a few times. It scares the crap out of me.”

  “Why not get her someone to come to the house and help out?”

  She grinned. “I’d love to, except it’s not really something her insurance covers and well, I just can’t afford it. I pay a lot of her bills and my own so it’s pay everything or travel the world.” She scrunched her nose. “I sleep better every night knowing I did the best I could by her.”

  He ate some of his French toast and looked up at her with surprise. “This is really good.”

  She laughed. “I told you. Don’t try the pancakes, though. You’ll do yourself a disservice. If you ever want really good ones, I’ll tell you of a place.”

  They ate and made small talk. Then he put his fork and knife down and stared deeply into her eyes. “Come work at The Lair.”

  She grinned and shook her head. “Nah. It’s fine. You’re only offering because of the douche bag who came on to me. You don’t know if I’m good enough for the job.”

  “I do think you’re good enough for any job in the hotel, but I like your attitude. It would be a welcomed addition.”

  She knew he wasn’t lying and appreciated that he had come to that conclusion from their informal conversation. “Thanks, but I don’t know.”

  “One of the benefits our employees have is that they have one hundred percent medical coverage for themselves and anyone in their household.”

  She frowned. “That’s impossible. Nobody does that. I don’t even think the president has that.”

  He grinned. “It’s true. All our employees have it. Takes three months before it one hundred percent becomes effective, but to start, you are at eighty percent coverage.” He raised his brows. “You’d be able to get your mother that care she needs without spending a dime.”

  “Are you insane? Who does that? Nobody in their right mind offers that to employees,” she gasped.

  “My hotels and businesses have a very low turnover rate. The reasons are simple. I pay people for their hard work, I offer the best benefits and I demand hard work and professionalism. What you saw earlier tonight was a fluke. You will not find anyone else working for me who does that and trust me, after tonight, he will be held accountable for his behavior.”

  Holy crap. She didn’t know what to say. With her brother deployed, she was the only one who could help take care of their mom. If what Jae said was true, and she knew it was from her gift, this would solve her caretaker issues with her mother and get her a better paying job.

  “Hang on a sec, Jae.” She pushed her now empty plate to the side. “What’s the catch? Why would you do this for me? I know about your hotel. The number of people who apply to work there every day is sick. I mean, you have to know someone to even be able to drop off an application. And your website stopped taking them. I know, I tried.”

  He shrugged those big shoulders and she had to remind herself they were having a business discussion. This could make her life better. She had to stop sexualizing the poor man. Thinking of him stripping on the table like some character in Magic Mike wasn’t the way to conduct herself. Still, the idea wouldn’t leave her and now all she thought of was shoving dollar bills down his G-string. And more importantly, did he have a G-string?

  “The low turnover rate makes it so that we don’t need to hire people often, but I need someone.” He pinned her with his flaming blue eyes. “I need you.”

  Good god. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. “I…I really need to think about this.”

  What the hell was wrong with her? She should say yes and thank her lucky stars but she’d never felt the wave of desire coursing her body for him at that moment for any man in her life. It scared her a little.

  He nodded and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a card with his name on it. “Here’s my cell phone. Call me when you decide.”

  She licked her lips and drank the rest of her lukewarm coffee. “I have to wash my hands really quick. I’ll be right back.”

  She made it to the ladies’ room in seconds and stared at her flushed face on the mirror. Her hands shook as she washed them and pressed cold paper towels to her cheeks. Fire heated her face. She wiped her lips and tossed the paper towels out. After several deep breaths, she went back to the booth, but he wasn’t there anymore. Doreen came to the table with a massive grin on her face.

  “I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend. He’s so handsome. And so polite. He asked me to make sure to watch your stuff while you were in the bathroom and told me to tell you he had to handle some business.”

  Her enthusiasm deflated. “Oh, okay.”

  She’d been enjoying her impromptu dinner with the stranger. She pulled her wallet out but Doreen shook her head. “Nope. He paid for both your meals and gave me a tip that will put this entire month’s salary to shame.”

  FIVE

  Avery left the diner feeling confused. Her insights into him had been positive. Why then did she not jump on the idea of working at his hotel?

  After a long train ride back to the Bronx, she arrived at the two-family home she shared with her mother past midnight. The lower level housed her mother in a small one bedroom apartment which gave her the independence she needed while Avery living upstairs allowed for her to keep a close eye on her mom. Her mom was already asleep. Avery went through the house and shut off all the electronics her mother had left on before heading upstairs.

  Luckily, she had a great neighbor, Mrs. Mercedes, who worked as a home health aide and brought Avery’s mom food throughout the day.

  Avery made sure to pay her by the end of the week for the expenses but knowing her mother was fed really helped with her ability to spend her day at work without that on her mind.

  She finally went home and took a shower, glanced at the pile of bills and pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge. She was dozing off when her doorbell rang. It was almost eleven o’ clock and th
e only person crazy enough to ring her bell at that time was her friend Star and only if she had a fight with her boyfriend, Chris, and needed a place to crash.

  A quick peek through the peephole showed Star on the other side of the door. She opened and let her friend in.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  Star rushed inside with her overnight bag and shrugged off her coat. “Did you forget Chris was leaving for the week? You know I can’t stay home alone if he’s not there.”

  Right. Star was afraid of being alone at home. Avery knew enough about the paranormal side that she never made fun of her friend for wanting the company of humans.

  “Come on in. Your room is still as you left it last time you were here, except it now has clean sheets,” she told Star. “I have nothing to eat, sorry.”

  Star put a shopping bag down Avery hadn’t noticed before. “I brought food. I figured you’d be tired from work. I’m exhausted.” She went straight for the kitchen and started heating things up. “So how was your day? Anything interesting happen?”

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she sat back down and picked up her glass of wine. “Remember The Lair?”

  “Hell yeah,” Star yelled from the kitchen. “That gorgeous hotel we’ve talked about working at for the longest?”

  “Today I was offered a job there by the owner himself.”

  “Shut up!” Star squealed and rushed out of the kitchen. She had a fork full of pasta in her hand and a piece of bread in the other. “How the hell?”

  “It’s a long story, but did you know the people there have one hundred percent full coverage health insurance? For themselves and anyone in their household, not even just family.”

  Star’s eyes popped even wider. “Holy crap! That’s fucking amazing. You’d be able to finally get someone to come take care of your mom or send her to that facility that you checked out up in Westchester. The pretty building with the gardens and activities designed to make life for seniors amazing.”

  She sighed. “Yeah. I could finally get her an apartment there. If I take the job.”

  Star frowned. “What do you mean if you take the job? Why the hell wouldn’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” she sipped her wine. “Jae Drachen is so…hot. But the attraction I felt for him almost scared me.”

  Star’s mouth dropped open. “He’s hot? And you’re still questioning this? What the hell is wrong with you? When was the last time you were interested in any man?”

  She shrugged. “It’s been a while.”

  “I’ll tell you how long it’s been. Two fucking years. Two. Years. Since Darren got deployed and never came home. Two years, babe. You can’t live like this.”

  Darren Mitchell had been her boyfriend for three years. Most of their relationship happened online or long distance since he’d been deployed for the majority of those three years.

  She’d met him as one of her brother’s friends and whenever he came home, they were in a steady relationship that would one day move past long distance and to something else. She never got a chance to see that through since he didn’t return from his last deployment.

  Darren had been her friend, there wasn’t a crazy amount of sexual tension in their relationship like she’d felt from meeting Jae. But she’d loved Darren. He’d been sweet, kind and he’d given her what she needed, stability. It broke her when he died and she’d had a hard time moving past it and dating again.

  “Is he a liar? Get a sense of him being something he isn’t?” Star asked from the kitchen again.

  “No. In fact, he’s the opposite. I sensed complete honesty. Plus, he’s a shifter.”

  Spoons hit the counter and Star rushed out of the kitchen again. “A shifter? Like a real, real one?”

  She laughed at Star’s shocked expression. “Yes. You know they exist. We both do. Even if they try to keep us in the dark about their existence.”

  “Oh my god, Avery. He’s hot, rich and a shifter? I read those guys have the stamina of a wild animal.”

  That was the last thing Avery wanted to think about. “Great. Thanks for that.”

  “Sorry,” Star laughed and headed back for the kitchen. She came out a moment later with two bowls of baked ziti and passed one to Avery.

  “You know, I shouldn’t be eating again. I had French toast for dinner,” she said as she took a bite of the delicious pasta. Star was a damn good cook and Avery would never turn her food away.

  “That’s like four hours ago. You’re due for a snack anyway.”

  “It’s all your awesome food and that French toast that has my curvy ass looking the way I do,” she laughed.

  Star rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’re damn hot. Those curves on you are killer. I mean, you have the tiniest waist and the sexiest hourglass body I’ve ever seen. And let’s not forget that ass!”

  “Not,” she sputtered. “Let’s not mince words here, Star. I’m a big girl and I can hide my weight well. I still have rolls and flabby thighs and a heck of a lot of jiggle.”

  Star laughed. “I’m pretty sure that’s what men like.” She winked. “It’s what Chris tells me whenever I ask if I’m fat. He says he needs something to cuddle and I’m damn fine as I am.”

  Chris might have his issues with commitment, but he sure knew how to make Star feel loved and wanted. Darren had never said a thing about Avery’s weight. He’d told her she was beautiful just the way she was and that was enough for her. But now she wondered how Jae saw her. He was good looking and she’d sensed his desire for her physical appearance. She didn’t consider herself ugly, far from it, but she wanted to know what else the dragon thought of her. How much did he want her?

  “So what are you going to do about the job?”

  “I’m going to sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.” Maybe her dreams would tell her something to make the decision easier.

  SIX

  Jae glanced at his clock and turned to face the giant glass window that overlooked the city. It was snowing harder than the previous night. Everything was coated in white. A knock at the door made him turn back to his desk.

  Charles stood there with the front desk clerk from the previous night. The guy was young but had a negative air Jae didn’t like.

  “Mr. Drachen, this is Simon. He was the reception clerk last night you described wanting to meet.”

  Simon gave him a tight smile and nodded at Jae. “Mr. Drachen.”

  Jae gripped the back of his chair, tamping down the urge to fly at the snobby kid and break his face. “Do you know our sexual harassment policy, Simon?”

  Simon’s eyes widened and he stood straighter. “Sir, yes. It’s unacceptable to harass any woman who works or is staying in the hotel or any part of the many Drachen companies.”

  Jae nodded. “That also includes any female that walks into our hotel, Simon. Do you like your job here?”

  Simon nodded. “Good. Then I am going to give you a chance to keep working at The Lair. You’ll willingly sign up for our intense sexual harassment training and seminars. All fifteen of them. And then, once those are done, you will be placed to work in the mail room.” He glanced at Charles. “Do we understand each other?”

  Charles gave a swift nod. “Yes, sir.”

  “Failure of your attendance to any of the trainings or not passing any of the required testing after each course will see you fired, Simon. I don’t give third chances.”

  Simon’s face flushed beet red and sweat gathered over his upper lip. “I understand, Mr. Drachen. I will do as you requested.”

  “That will be all.”

  Charles escorted Simon out. Jae wondered if he was doing the right thing giving the snot nosed kid a break, but he sensed the guy truly didn’t realize what he’d done was wrong. That worried him more than if Simon had known his treatment of Avery had made the entire company look bad.

  He sat down at his desk and thought about her. Avery. Why had she captured his attention? Yes, she was beautiful with her long
hair and golden tanned skin. She had soft, caring eyes, and a dimple when she smiled that drove him crazy. Her sass had really gotten to him.

  She had a beautiful body, abundant curves and no real insecurities about it, none that he could see. But there was something else, her inner strength called to him. It almost calmed some of the anxiety he’d felt the past few years as he searched the world for a mate.

  His dragon liked her well enough. They were both attracted to her at least. What would happen if he decided to stop looking for his mate and just settle down finally? What would it mean if he gave up on having a mate and instead chose to have a family, children? To do what he’d been wanting so badly but without a mate? Maybe it was time to find out.

  Jae’s phone rang. He glanced down at the screen. It was his sister-in-law, Morgan. He’d met her during a short trip home, but while he didn't go home often, she’d spoken to him on a regular basis, the same as Lexi. It was like they’d known each other all their lives.

  “Morgan, how’s one of my two favorite sisters?”

  She laughed. “Hello, Jae. You only have two sisters,” she said with a giggle. “Good to know we are your favorites. And I’m great. Your nephew would love to see you again. You know, before he turns into a teenager. The last time you saw him he was a baby.”

  “He’s only like nine months old,” Jae chuckled. “I’m going your way soon anyways.”

  “Ah, no you’re not.”

  He frowned, wondering what he didn't know. “What do you mean?”

  “My mom. She had a vision. She’s dreamt of another mate.”

  Jae’s heart pounded hard in his chest. “Who?”

  Could it be Avery? His dragon liked her but there was no hint that she was his fated mate.

  “You’ll need to find her. She’s in danger.”

  “Who?”

  “Her name is Hannah Moore.” Morgan took a quick inhale. “She’s either your or Ker’s mate. Either way, we know you’ll take care of her while he gets to you.”