Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella Read online

  Dragon Fever

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Dragon Fever

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2016 Donna Grant

  ISBN: 978-1-942299-44-8

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Dragon Fever

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  A yearning that won’t be denied

  Rachel Marek is a journalist with a plan. She intends to expose the truth about dragons to the world – and her target is within sight. Nothing matters but getting the truth, especially not the ruggedly handsome, roguishly thrilling Highlander who oozes danger and charm. And when she finds the truth that shatters her faith, she’ll have to trust her heart to the very man who can crush it…

  A legend in the flesh

  Suave, dashing Asher is more than just a man. He’s a Dragon King – a being who has roamed this planet since the beginning of time. With everything on the line, Asher must choose to trust an enemy in the form of an all too alluring woman whose tenacity and passion captivate him. Together, Asher and Rachel must fight for their lives – and their love – before an old enemy destroys them both…

  About Donna Grant

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than thirty novels spanning multiple genres of romance. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features dragons, the Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible.

  She lives with her two children, three dogs, and four cats in Texas.

  For more information about Donna, visit her website at www.DonnaGrant.com.

  Also From Donna Grant

  Click to purchase

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  Hot Blooded

  Night’s Blaze

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  Smoldering Hunger

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  Midnight’s Lover

  Midnight’s Seduction

  Midnight’s Warrior

  Midnight’s Kiss

  Midnight’s Captive

  Midnight’s Temptation

  Midnight’s Promise

  Midnight’s Surrender (novella)

  Dark Sword Series

  Dangerous Highlander

  Forbidden Highlander

  Wicked Highlander

  Untamed Highlander

  Shadow Highlander

  Darkest Highlander

  Rogues of Scotland Series

  The Craving

  The Hunger

  The Tempted

  The Seduced

  Chiasson Series

  Wild Fever

  Wild Dream

  Wild Need

  Wild Flame

  LaRue Series

  Moon Kissed

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  Shield Series

  A Dark Guardian

  A Kind of Magic

  A Dark Seduction

  A Forbidden Temptation

  A Warrior’s Heart

  Druids Glen Series

  Highland Mist

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  Highland Dawn

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  Dragonfyre (connected)

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  Echoes of Magic

  Dangerous Magic

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Click here to explore

  FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black

  CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham

  CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

  DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake

  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

  SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair

  ROPED IN by Lorelei James

  TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Click here to explore

  WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan

  WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham

  EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby

  MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair

  CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner

  ADORED by Lexi Blake

  HADES by Larissa Ione

  RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton

  DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James

  RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON KING by Donna Grant

  PURE WICKED by Shayla Black

  HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye

  STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

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  1001 Dark Nights story

  The First Night

  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose

  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Donna Grant

  Also From Donna Grant

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two

  Foreword

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty />
  Epilogue

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  An excerpt from The Hero by Donna Grant

  Discover More Donna Grant

  Special Thanks

  One Thousand and One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

  one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Prologue

  London

  January

  The hot water splashed over Rachel’s face as she stood beneath the spray. She braced her hand on the tiled wall of the shower and remained for a moment longer before she turned the faucet off.

  Steam swirled around the bathroom as if alive, fogging the glass. She wiped off her face and body before wrapping the towel around her. The glass was cool against her palm when she pushed open the shower door and placed one foot on the mat. Then stilled.

  Someone was in her hotel room.

  Her gaze swung to the bathroom door she’d left cracked open. Her heart hammered against her ribs as her stomach clenched in fear. No one should’ve been able to get into her room. She’d bolted the door.

  In an attempt to slow her racing heart, she took a deep breath. Then, slowly pushed open the door. She peered around the edge to find a man sitting casually in the overstuffed chair. Long black hair was pulled away and clasped at the base of his neck. Gold eyes watched her with a wealth of humor. And a smidgen of mockery.

  She blew out a breath and leaned against the door of the bathroom as indifferently as she could while wrapped in a towel.

  One side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “You don’t seem surprised.”

  She took in his British accent that was a bit too perfect. Sam MacDonald was anything but what he said he was. It was a fact she accepted in order to get what she wanted.

  His arms rested carelessly along the arms of the chair. One long leg was bent with an ankle resting atop his other knee. His white shirt was unbuttoned at his neck with no tie in sight. But that was usually the case.

  There was something undeniably dangerous about Sam MacDonald. He frightened her, but it was men like him that gave her the information she needed to expose the truth to the world. So he was a necessary evil.

  But that didn’t mean she had to like him.

  “How did you get in?” she demanded.

  His smile widened, stretching his full lips but never reaching his gold eyes. “That’s a secret I’ll keep.” Then he blinked, his chest expanding as he took in a breath, and his entire demeanor changed. “Get dressed. We need to talk.”

  She stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door with a sigh. She looked down at her hands to find them shaking.

  “Stop it,” she whispered to herself.

  She had to get her nerves under control and quickly. Without delay, she dressed in a pair of black lounge pants and a loose-fitting, long-sleeved gray shirt. When she exited, Sam was in the same position. Except now there were two glasses of Scotch sitting on the coffee table.

  Their gazes met. Rachel had learned to listen to her instincts, and as she looked into Sam’s eyes, she saw determination, anticipation, and…a slow burning anger. He blinked, and the anger was gone, hidden once more.

  It would show again. It always did. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide it for long. She found it difficult to trust him because she knew he was keeping something from her.

  “I don’t like whisky,” she replied as she walked from the bathroom. She tucked her leg beneath her and sat on the sofa opposite him.

  He gave an indifferent shrug. “I’d advise you change your mind.”

  “Why?”

  “You want to get close to one of the Dragon Kings, don’t you?”

  Her heart leapt, but she kept the emotion from her face. Finally! She’d been waiting for something on the Dragon Kings. It was about time Sam came through after he’d teased her with the information months ago.

  That anger she kept seeing in his gold depths must have something to do with them. When it came to the Dragon Kings, her instincts told her what she saw in his eyes was the truth. It was the only reason she was working with him.

  Then again, he’d done this to her before, tempting her with information on the Kings. She wasn’t going to fall into that trap so easily this time. “I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

  Sam shot her a baleful look. “Do I look like the kind of man who jests?”

  As a matter of fact, he didn’t. He was more intense, and that said a lot. She still didn’t reach for the whisky glass. “When? Where?”

  “How many men ask you out in a week?”

  She frowned and looked to the bathroom where she saw herself in the mirror. Her black hair was piled atop her head to keep it from getting wet. It wasn’t straight or curly, but a frustrating mixture that did nothing.

  Her lips were too thin, her skin too pale. She was too tall, and her face too square. Her only redeemable quality was her eyes.

  Thanks to a continued––and exhaustive––interest in makeup, she’d mastered every look there was. Her skills allowed her to become whoever she needed to be, whenever she needed it.

  “I get asked as often as I want,” she replied coolly as she returned her gaze to him. “And I get left alone when I want.”

  He nodded his head of black hair. “You’ll need to be sensual without looking like you’re doing it on purpose.”

  “Not a problem. It’s an easy look to pull off.”

  “You might find yourself attracted to him.”

  She cocked her head to the side as she looked Sam up and down. She recognized beauty and attractiveness. Sam was all that and mo
re, and yet she felt absolutely nothing.

  It was how she’d always been. She felt no attraction to men or women. Good looks began to matter less and less when she didn’t feel any sort of desire.

  For anyone.

  “Not a problem.”

  He lifted a brow in question. “Do you find me attractive?”

  “I think you’re handsome, but I feel nothing.”

  His smile widened. “You’re going to be perfect, Rachel.”

  “I want to expose the Dragon Kings. If you’re not going to give me access to that, then don’t waste my time.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m giving you.” He lowered his foot to the floor and scooted to the edge of the chair. “Go to the Hotel George V in Paris.”

  She raised her eyebrows at the super luxurious Four Seasons hotel, but what else did she expect from a Dragon King?

  “A room will be waiting for you.”

  At this, she frowned. “The same hotel as him? That’s not wise.”

  “You’re a master of disguise with makeup. Use it to your advantage. Everything you’ll need to gain access to the La Défense exhibition centre will be waiting.”

  Now she understood. “The World Whisky Consortium.”

  “Dreagan never misses an appearance. They have the most sought after whisky in the world and headline the entire event all five days.”

  She would have days to study, photograph, and catch a Dragon King to expose him for who he was to the world. She could barely contain her excitement. It was always such a rush to reveal the true nature of an individual or company.

  “The WWC is in two days.” At least she wouldn’t have long to wait.

  Sam picked up something on the floor and tossed it on the coffee table next to their glasses of whisky. “There is information about your subject. Don’t miss this chance.”