Dragon Craving: Emerald Dragons, #3

By Amelia Jade

Perfect guy, terrible timing…

Hired to take a mega-ranch from pitiful to profitable, Cheryl Payne needs to stay focused. The hunk freeloading on his friend's ranch is a temptation she can't afford to indulge. First in her family to graduate college, she's gambled everything to prove she can do this job. Now is most definitely not the time to fall in love.

Emerald dragon Rowe is pulling out all the stops to delay his trip back to the dragon enclave. Living among humans held little appeal, until he met the enticing and driven ranch manager, Cheryl. When she stumbles into the kitchen more desperate for coffee than clothes, his dragon comes alive. He's finally found his mate. The only problem will be convincing her that his cravings are more than skin-deep.

The battle she's fighting between wanting to save the ranch, and wanting to run her hands over his body, grows fierce as things spiral out of control. Forced to turn to him for help, she comes dangerously close to picking pleasure over business. The discipline and concentration that got her through school disappears under his intense green eyes and ripped body. The only thing worse than giving in to her craving would be to do nothing, because Rowe is the only one that can stop the danger heading straight for the ranch.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amelia Jade
• Release date: Nov 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386022343

Book preview

Author’s Note

Hold on!

You should know that while this series can be read independently, it is part of a large world that was started with the Crimson Dragons series. You can continue through, as each book contains a full story arc with happy endings for the characters, but to get the full experience of the Outsiders Universe, you should really start at the beginning with Dragon Temptation (Crimson Dragons #1) available below.

I hope you enjoy!

- Amelia

Crimson Dragons

Crimson Dragons: The Box Set (Link)

Dragon Temptation

Dragon Seduction

Dragon Devotion

Onyx Dragons

Dragon Fixation

Dragon Obsession

Dragon Addiction

Ice Dragons

Dragon Eruption

Dragon Redemption

Dragon Rebellion

Emerald Dragons

Dragon Passion

Dragon Desire

Dragon Craving

Cobalt Dragons

Dragon Blood

Dragon Heart

Dragon Soul

Quicksilver Dragons

Dragon Marked

Dragon Bound

Dragon Betrothed

Dragon Craving

Chapter One

Rowe

He was angry. Flying at night always made him angry.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t see. Two eyes as tall as a small child and as yellow as the sun scoured the skies and the ground below, seeing just as well in the moonlight as in the bright of day. Wings as wide as a bus beat up and down with a slow, creaking rhythm that threatened to lull him to sleep.

Moonlight pierced the mild cloud cover with a brilliant silvery beam, splaying across scales of malachite, making them glitter. Rowe hissed and banked right, fleeing the light. Not because of how he looked or from any sort of false pain. He sought the darkness for the same reason he was forced to only fly late at night and in rural areas.

Because humans had no idea his kind existed.

The time was coming when they would, and a part of him suspected it was coming far sooner than anyone expected. Things were happening that the majority of the population didn’t know about. The partnership between humans and dragons was stronger than it had ever been, and it was only becoming more so. For the first time in recorded history, dragons were taking humans as mates.

Strange times indeed.

It bothered Rowe that his kind couldn’t reveal themselves. He wanted nothing more than to be himself.

The thin lips around his snout pulled back in what could be mistaken for a snarl, but was more smile than anything. It wasn’t until he’d been forcefully assigned to liaise with the human military that Rowe had even begun to discover just what it meant to be himself. His perceptions had changed greatly in the few short months that he and his fellow dragons had arrived to live among the human defenders.

The Rowe that took to the skies this night was a vastly different person from the one who had first set out from the dragon enclave. Vastly different.

But he was still angry about being relegated to flying only at night. He longed to be able to soar through the skies on a bright summer day, scales warmed by the rays from the sun as they beat down with unrelenting fury. The closest he’d come to that daydream was tanning on a warm rock near the mountainous entrance to the enclave.

It wasn’t the same.

Snow-dusted farmland rolled past underneath as he made the trek to see his friends. At the start of his journey, Palin and Torran had been his comrades, a warrior trio out to prove their superiority over humanity. How things had changed. Both his comrades-turned-friends had found mates in the human population. In a pair of best friends no less. They had settled down with them to, get this, become farmers. Now there was irony.

The mighty Palin, once a ferocious warrior. Now the proud owner of a tractor, a straw hat, and a pair of overalls to match those of his mate. It certainly was a sight to behold, and one that made the massive dragon chuckle, even in memory. He’d never forget watching his friend bounce frantically as he tried to control the contraption, the entire cockpit bouncing crazily as he went over the uneven land.

It had been quite hysterical. He was never going to let Palin live that one down. Ever. Centuries from now they would be having a drink around a campfire and he would tell that story and they would laugh about it. Sometimes being a dragon sucked, because they had long memories.

Without much in the way of warning Rowe was suddenly nearing his destination. Up ahead his keen eyes picked up the sight of the huge ranch house that would be his ultimate endpoint for the evening. Banking to the left, he sought and found the much smaller farmhouse on a different piece of property just beyond the huge building.

Palin would be there, and while he may end up bunking down at the ranch house where Torran now lived, he intended to pay his respects to the owner first.

Movement below caught his eye. Instead of beating his wings to carry on, Rowe spread them wide, eagle-like eyes peering down into the murk as he picked up a shape slowly stalking its way across the land toward the ranch house. What the hell?

He was losing height, gliding silently through the air, but it didn’t matter. He banked around in a slow, lazy circle, lining up his prey. It had been too long since he hunted, and the thrill of sneaking up undetected flowed through him. He smiled that terrifying dragon smile again as he lost more height, zeroing in on the unsuspecting quarry.

Suddenly the animal’s ears flicked and the head pivoted in an odd manner. Gleaming eyes stared upward. Right at him.

Rowe cursed as the beast took off swiftly across the landscape. There was something odd about it. He pursued, mighty wings beating powerfully now as he descended, pulling him through the air faster than the creature below could run. Gaining ground, he saw the wolf look back. The eyes bugged out, spurring it on even faster.

Cursing, he realized that the four-legged creature would reach the tree line ahead before Rowe could get close enough to stop it. Irritated, he swooped lower, still gaining but slowly now.

The wolf disappeared into the foliage.

Rowe went right after. At the last second he tucked his wings in tight and willed himself to change. The fog came and went around him, and suddenly he was back in his human form. He dropped like a stone, hit the ground, went through a small sapling sideways, and then was on his feet.

Leaves flew behind him in a roostertail ten feet long as he sped through the forest faster than any human could match. He seemed to almost float from place to place, the only giveaway the trail of debris his churning feet threw up in his wake. Yet somehow the wolf managed to keep ahead. It tore through the thick forest growth, surefooted and lithe.

Much to his frustration Rowe realized he was losing ground. Irritated, he snapped off a branch as he passed and with a grunt heaved it like a javelin. It skinned the left flank of the wolf, but did no other damage. With a yip of pain the creature broke right and disappeared, the movement catching him completely off guard.

Angry at himself for not catching it, Rowe slowed to a halt next to a dead tree. He channeled all his rage into his fist and smashed it into the trunk. Bark shattered and the tree exploded under the impact. It groaned as half the support vaporized from his punch, and then with a slow majesty it toppled over, taking branches from other trees with it.

Blood trickled down his knuckles. Even for a dragon shifter that had been a lot to take. His fist would ache for the next twenty minutes or so, until his advanced healing knitted everything up. Meanwhile he’d be left with a painful reminder of his own incompetence.

The trip out of the forest seemed to take ten times as long, and even the quick hop over to Palin’s farmhouse felt like forever. By the time his friend answered the door, Rowe had lost much of his anger, and was instead purely irritated by it all.

Rowe? What are you doing here? Palin came outside, closing the door behind him.

To round you and Torran up.

For what? Palin leaned against the siding next to the door, arms crossed in front of him. I don’t recall asking for any vacation days.

Funny. No, the council asked Torran and I to return at this point—whether we’d made a decision or not—simply to report in. I figured it would be good for you to come with us this time. You’ve had a human mate the longest.

Palin eyed him. That was an awfully nice ask, compared to the last time.

Rowe smiled tightly. Things have changed.

So they have, Palin agreed. So they have.

What do you say then?

Not tonight. Let me tell Sandy. She’ll need to organize things. If Torran’s coming, that means Lilly will probably want to come here. We’ll leave tomorrow night, if that’s satisfactory?

It definitely is. Truth be told I wouldn’t mind catching a few extra hours of sleep.

Palin snorted. I’m sure you would. But it ain’t happening here. You can crash at the ranch for the night. It’s open.

Thank you.

Palin nodded and turned to go inside.

By the way, when I arrived I thought I saw a wolf running around the fields near the ranch. Just south of that big forest that runs along the northern border. Seen any signs of that?

A few. Haven’t caught anything but the tracks. It started coming around recently, but so far hasn’t ventured in closer.

Rowe worked his jaw. Do you think it has anything to do with—

Maybe, Palin said, interrupting him. I’m not sure. It’s awfully late for that.

Yeah. Rowe bit his lip, deep in thought.

Something about his earlier encounter just didn’t add up.

Chapter Two

Cheryl

The soft sounds of chimes and birds chirping reached her ears, slowly growing louder as her alarm became more insistent.

She was already up though, and the reminder that she had to leave bed was most unwelcome. It took several mashes of her hand and then one bleary eye to focus on her phone’s screen long enough to swipe a finger in the right direction to shut the infernal racket off.

Why is it when I set an alarm I feel like I could sleep for another few hours, but when I don’t have to wake up I always wake up early?

The phenomenon irritated the hell out of her, but Cheryl was far from the only person in the world to suffer from that condition. Kicking her leg up and over, she twisted her lower body to the side, listening to her spine adjust itself with ever-increasing amounts of noise, both from the bones and the grunts of her mouth.

Pulling her right leg back down, she repeated the process with the left, keeping her shoulders flat. That done she let out an appropriately loud sigh and began the sad process of removing the covers and getting to her feet. Sad because she was upset at having to get up, not because the extra weight around her hips and stomach made it more of a process than it could have been.

The nice thing was that she didn’t need to worry about anyone hearing her noises in the morning. Torran and Lilly had taken off to Barton City the day before, and they had stayed there. Lilly was pregnant and she had a slew of appointments. Apparently Torran wanted to have a fancy date night while they were there as well. Cheryl hadn’t pried too much; she only had a passing acquaintance with the pair of them.

Slipping on a pair of ratty but comfortable underwear and yesterday’s bra, she burped and headed downstairs. Today was the last day she could get away with being so lackadaisical in her approach to, well, life. Tomorrow a score of working laborers would arrive and the gargantuan task of getting the dilapidated ranch back into some semblance of working order would begin.

All the responsibility for that rested on her shoulders. Her small shoulders. They might be thick, but they certainly weren’t what anyone would term broad. Most of her was thick though, so it didn’t really count. Not that she gave a shit what anyone else thought. She was going to do this job, and she was going to do it well.

Just as she hit the bottom of the stairs she was overcome by a massive yawn. Covering her face with her hands, Cheryl half-walked half-stumbled across the U-shaped kitchen to the fridge. Her finger automatically found the button for the coffee machine, kicking it into high gear. If only there was a turbo mode or something. Her morning could start even sooner.

On second thought, forget turbo mode. That sounded horrible.

Pulling open the fridge she stuck her head inside, blinking sleep from her eyes and using the chill air to give her a burst of awareness so that she could take stock of what food there was. Spying some eggs and a few veggies, she decided to be fancy and do an omelet. With the craziness about to hit her it was unlikely she’d have the time to do it again. Not for a while at least.

Gauging the progress of the coffee maker simply by ear she judged there was enough time to cut the veggies and get the eggs going before it was ready. Perfect. Cheryl set to work, and though the coffee beat her by twenty-three seconds—no, she definitely wasn’t counting at all—it still felt good to sip at her coffee and smell the food as it cooked. Optimum efficiency.

Coffee injected into her system, she set to finishing up breakfast with gusto, feeling her brain begin to defog almost instantly. Mushrooms in hand, she started to drizzle them across half the eggs, her mouth watering and stomach growling loudly.

Ahem.

Cheryl screamed. Chopped mushrooms flew everywhere. Her hand hit the pan handle as she spun. It flicked around wildly and shattered the coffee mug. Hot coffee poured across the floor and she had to dance wildly to the side as it tried to burn her bare feet.

Uh, hi.

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU? she shouted. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!

The man was