Bad Boy Dragons

By Lilly Wilder

Two alpha dragon shifters are the only thing that stand between me and death.

My sheltered life ends when I find myself at the wrong place at the wrong time.
A robbery turns into my kidnapping.
What I saw will cost me my life once the two dragon shifters deliver me to their clan.
Only they don't.

Bad guys don't have a conscience.
But Harvey and Dax are different.
Instead of my death sentence, they become my protectors.
And soon my obsession.

Charming, funny Harvey melts my reservations.
Mysterious, unpredictable Dax ignites a fire within me.

Each is irresistible.
Together, they're unstoppable.
Their strong arms hold me tight.
Their firm lips devour me.
Until I'm begging these older guys to take my innocence.

Take all of me.
Possess me.

When a dark secret comes to light, will our new love survive or will revenge tear us apart?

Bad Boy Dragons is a standalone paranormal romance with a HEA and NO cheating!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lilly Wilder
• Release date: Dec 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223448440

Book preview

Chapter One

Litzy

I have seen his face.

It’s a face that could awaken you from your worst nightmare, only to plunge you into another one with those two eyes of opposing colors. Brown and green. It’s a more handsome face than I thought it would ever be. The face that belongs to a body with a hand holding a gun aimed straight at me. One more blink and I’m gone.

Bang.

You’re dead.

Only, I’m still alive, still breathing, still frantically trying to come up with a way out of this. The clock is ticking. Seconds are seeping through my fingers, like fine grains of sand, never to return again.

His finger trembles on the trigger, only inches away from my fate being determined by a complete stranger. Will I die tonight? That question is for him to answer.

Fuck! The other guy shouts at him angrily, smacking him on the back. Pull your mask down, for fuck’s sake!

I cower in the corner, pushed away from all of them, watching as the blinking jewelry disappears in black leather backpacks, like tears being wiped away from a pure white cheek. One by one, necklaces disappear, then rings, then bracelets, pendants. Everything is gone. Even the pendant that my dad wanted to gift me for my birthday in two months. He actually wanted to give it to me as soon as I returned for summer break, but I wanted him to wait. Now, I’m starting to think it wasn’t such a good idea to wait for anything.

In fact, it was a stupid idea. Waiting for my birthday to take it, and also, thinking that I could escape my father’s jewelry store during a robbery in progress. With my hands still bound, I made a dash for the door, but the guy nearest to me grabbed me. We fought, and I pulled up his mask. The striking blueness of his eyes almost made me gasp. He looked like no one else I’d ever seen before. And I think I’ll never forget him. Ever. That made my escape attempt the stupidest idea in the world, because I’m sure now that they won’t let me go. They can’t.

I’m still trembling in the corner, seated in a fetal position, wondering how I didn’t see this coming. My father taught me how to recognize suspicious behavior inside the store, like large groups of people entering when it’s usually a slow hour, people wearing bulky clothes concealing their appearance, people who are just browsing while avoiding eye contact, or when people are overly nosy about our security operations.

But none of this happened. They just barged in a few minutes before I was about to lock up the place and head home. At that point, I hear my phone ringing. The guy whose face I saw grabs my purse from the floor, turns it over and an avalanche of girly things starts falling out, spilling right onto the floor. My chap stick rolls to the side. The guy pays no attention to it. Instead, he spots my cell, and immediately starts stomping on it furiously with his heavy leather boot. Within several seconds, there is little left of what I believed might have been used to call for help. It’s all in broken shards now. It would be calling no one.

Is that all? I hear a guy hiss at the others.

They pulled me away from the counter, otherwise I would have been able to press the silent alarm button. But now, I’m too far away from it. I’m closer to the door, although I wouldn’t risk making a dash again. Not unless I’m sure I’ll make it this time. Feeling like a just born fawn, I doubt I’d be able to stand on my legs, let alone run fast enough to escape a bunch of rotten criminals.

Did you get the stuff from the safe? Another voice wonders.

Despite all of them wearing the same masks and being dressed in the same black hoodie and sweatpants, I can still differentiate them. Their voices are too different. I’m afraid that I might be able to recognize them even with my eyes closed, just by hearing their voices. Fear taps me on the shoulder, reminding me it’s not good to think that way. I might not even make it out of the store alive.

I swallow heavily, feeling little droplets of sweat slide down my temples. Suddenly, one of the men approaches me and crouches down. He grabs my chin with the tips of his fingers. I stare at the two slots for eyes on his mask. His eyes are almost entirely black. The mask is hiding the rest of his face. He smells like heavy tobacco, even through the mask, as he talks. Tobacco and sour breath.

You know, maybe we could have some fun with her, he snickers to the others. My blood immediately runs cold at his insinuation. She doesn’t look half bad.

His hand reaches out to feel my breast, but his body is suddenly jerked back as someone else pulls him away from me. I know we’re still enemies, but I’m grateful for this small act of kindness. 

Stop getting distracted, the guy hisses at him furiously, getting all up in his face. Focus on getting the job done. You’ll get to fuck later.

Won’t be so fuckin’ horny later, he eyes me hungrily, and even though I can’t see it, I swear I can hear him wetting his lips with his tongue through the mask.

There’s no doubt about it any longer. I will not return to my home safe and sound. I saw the other man’s face. They won’t let me go. Not unless I make them.

My eyes dart around the room. There are exactly four of them. The horndog, who is now busy emptying the last few items from the final drawer by the cash register, there is the guy who pulled him off me. He’s obviously the ringleader. He’s not doing any legwork. He’s just overseeing. The others are packing, searching, looting. Another guy is stuffing a backpack full of my father’s life work. And then there’s him. The guy whose face I saw. The guy whose face won’t leave my thoughts. For a moment, I can almost forget the situation I’m in, and the wish to pull off his mask entirely washes over me.

We’re done! The ringleader says. Get the girl!

Before I can do anything, a claw digs into my elbow and props me back up onto my feet.

Is the coast clear? The same voice demands to know.

Mhm, I hear a murmur.

At that exact moment, as if following a silent signal, they all pull their masks off. My heart sinks all the way down into my heels, and I know this is it. I harbored a small ray of hope that they might still let me go, but now, with all their faces in clear sight, every hope of that is gone, dashed menacingly against the harsh reality of their wickedly smiling faces.

I turn to the guy who I’m seeing for the second time. He’s older than me. They all are. But he has that special kind of handsome that digs right into your bones, making them turn to jelly. A face that stops you in your tracks. A face that doesn’t let you look away. The face of a criminal, I remind myself. A criminal about to murder me.

But it’s not him who’s holding me. This man’s facial features are softer. His lip is trembling, as he’s looking out of the door. It’s late. I doubt there will be anyone out in the street. I won’t get the chance to call for help. But I have to try and escape. Otherwise, I’m doomed. Maybe I’m doomed either way.

I see a black van park right in front of the store. The first two guys rush out first. I remain with the other two still inside the store. I look down at my feet. Quickly, I kick my shoes off. They have a slight heel which might prevent me from running as fast as necessary.

Don’t try anything funny, the guy says as he’s pushing me towards the door.

For a moment, I hesitate. I know what I’m risking. But I’m risking the same if I go in that van. I’ll disappear off the face of the earth, never to be found again.

Just as we’re out in the street, a few steps away from the van, I remember the little memory I have left of my college self-defense class. Rosemary dragged me there once, and they showed only one move, exactly the one that I need now.

I catch him off guard, jerking away my arm, then elbowing him in the throat violently. He immediately drops down to the ground, screaming and coughing.

Argh! Fuck!

Immediately, I start running in the opposite direction, feeling the hard, unforgiving pavement underneath my bare feet. I’m not turning around to see whether they are following me. I have to assume they are. I have to keep running, breathless and in pain, as I step onto a pile of broken glass, which digs into my foot. I keep running even faster despite the pain, or maybe exactly because of it. I run across the street, disregarding a car honking at me, for running just inches past it, making it almost hit me. None of that matters, as I keep placing one foot in front of the other, faster and faster, until I can’t even breathe any longer. My ears prick up, in an effort to catch any sound of possible oncoming footsteps, but all I hear are my own.

I stumble onto a group of people, whose eyebrows furrow at me, and I realize I can’t run any longer. I stop, falling right into the arms of a girl, who immediately catches me. Her perfume pierces my nostrils, and I slowly start to drift away.

What’s this... quickly... call an ambulance... is she high... what the hell...

Those are the last questions I hear as I slowly lose myself into oblivion, wondering if I really managed to get out or perhaps, I imagined all of it, and I’m lying unconscious, half-dead on the cold, steel floor of the van, taking me far away from the city, far away from everything I’ve ever known, only for me to disappear into the darkness.

Chapter Two

Dax

The fire burns brightly, the flames climbing all the way to the skies. The smell of charred wood is in the air. It grips at your throat violently, like a cheap cigarette, making you cough. My eyes water, as I try to remain silent against the backdrop of all the noise around me. Because that is all this is. Noise. I’m just trying to pass the day, until I go to sleep, then in the morning I do the same thing again.

Sometimes, I wonder if it all makes sense. Then I remind myself why I’m doing all this. Buying a house in the mountains or constructing one from scratch costs a helluva lot of money. Money that I still don’t have. Karn gives all of us a part of the loot. I keep mine hidden, counting every penny until it’s time to leave all this behind.

Can you truly leave any of it behind and forget all about it?

The voice of my conscience sounds eerily like the voice of my brother. My dead brother. I try to order my mind to use another voice, any other voice will do, but I’m stuck with that one. A torture inside my own mind I can never escape.

I reach for the bottle of beer, which is resting on the ground, by my right foot, and I bring it to my mouth, taking a long, satisfying drink.

Billy Idol is blasting off from the speakers. There are empty bottles and cans of beer scattered about. No one will bother to pick them up when we go in the morning. We never do. Our mess is always left for someone else to clean up. That is how it’s been for such a long time that it almost feels like a whole eternity.

A loud giggle is heard. We picked up some girls out of town. It’s weird how these women have no problems getting into a car with total strangers. We could be fucking serial killers for all they know, yet they laugh and get wasted as if there’s no tomorrow. Maybe there isn’t and only they know it.

The darkness creeps around us, kept at bay by the firelight. The women’s bodies move to the rhythm of The Rebel Yell. That has always been my favorite one of Billy’s.

You in the mood for one?

Harvey slumps down onto the ground next to me. The small amount of beer in his can hits the metal wall, but he quickly swallows it up, clicking his lips against his upper teeth. That’s probably his fifth or sixth beer. Not that I’m counting.

Women or alcohol? I ask, not really sure which one he’s referring to.

Booze, he clarifies.

We both glance at the women. There’s four of them. They were hitching a ride... somewhere. Maybe they don’t even know where. Our pack leader, Karn, managed to convince them to come party with us. Four women with eight men. Six, not counting Harvey and myself. We usually don’t take part in the after festivities. We used to, but somehow, it became boring. The thrill is gone, or whatever it was that made sex with strangers appealing.

I thought maybe you’d change your mind about one of the girls, Harvey tells me, staring at the fire. The soft crackle is soothing. If this life has taught me anything, it’s that there are so few soothing things in life.

Nah, I shake my head. You go.

He shrugs. I know the feeling. Sometimes, the warmth of a woman is enough to make you forget about the bleak existence you lead. But other times, nothing helps. This time is like that. All I can think about is my brother, and how I am the one living my life, while he is lying twelve feet underground, food for worms. I know it’s been many years since then, but the pain of a lost sibling never fades, no matter how many years have passed.

I think I’ll just call it a night, I get up, changing my mind about the rest of my beer. I just need to go to sleep, forget about myself for a little while.

Usually, I stay behind with Harvey. Sometimes, he goes with one of the girls. Sometimes not. He used to go with them much more often before. I get the feeling he has become as desolate as I’m feeling. At least, I have a reason for it. He just seems bored with it all. Perhaps that’s even worse than mine.

Just as I’m about to rise to my feet, I see Karn push away one of the girls, and he walks over to me. His shoulder-length hair is loose now. He was wearing a ponytail during the heist. Now, it’s just a tangled mess, falling around his face like greasy whips.

He comes over to Harvey and me, his fingers holding the beer bottle by the neck, as it dangles down.

Havin’ fun? he asks. His speech is a little slurred. I figure, he’s had at least a dozen of those beers he’s holding onto now. But no matter how many of those Karn drinks, he never gets drunk. Ever. He might seem drunk, but if you challenge him to a fight, he’d fuckin’ kick your ass all the way back to the Stone Age. Hunter tried once. That was the last time. He’s lame now.

About to go inside, I nod at the house behind them.

It’s got the characteristics of one of our usual hideouts. It’s remote. It’s abandoned. There are no people for miles around. Unless we invite them over with the bonfire. But if you tell Karn that, you might get slapped. Tomorrow morning, we head back up to the mountains. We lay low for a month or so, then we continue. And we keep doing that for as long as we can... for some reason.

The house.

Yes. For whatever reason people need the money. I know mine.

I need you to go back, Karn says calmly.

I had a hunch he might say something like that. The girl saw us. Me, to be exact. It’s only fair that he sends me after her.

Take Harvey with you, he adds.

When we get her? I wonder.

The question is not if, it’s when. Usually, I know the answer to this question. Witnesses never live. We only had one instance of a witness who had the bad luck to see Karn’s face. Karn shot him point blank, didn’t even blink. The guy’s brain splattered all over the linoleum floor, and Harvey almost retched. They made fun of him for months after that. Everyone, except me. That was when we kinda started keeping to the side of this whole deal. We’re here for the money, not for the carnage.

The thought of that pretty young thing being shot point blank doesn’t sit right with me. She’s about the same age Weston, my brother was, when that car hit him. The guy never even stopped. There were no signs of breaking on the road. If I ever get my hands on him, I’ll–

You bring her to me, Karn says, bringing me back from the pain of my past to the current trouble of the present. The girl. I want to have some fun with her before I kill her.

I don’t say anything to that at first. Karn is an animal. He enjoys blood both when he eats as well as when he fucks. I’d hate to be in the shoes of any of those girls he takes back to his room. As for the girl from the jewelry store...

I can count on you, right? Karn’s voice echoes in the darkness.

Of course, I nod, assuring him.

I’ve never given him any reason to doubt me, and I don’t plan on doing it now. I could find her on my own. I don’t really need the company. I’m not the talkative type, but Harvey seems to understand. Of all the guys here in the clan, I feel like the two of us are the closest. He understands my need to keep to myself and he doesn’t push into my private space. Not that the rest of them do. But Harvey does it in a way you know that you can count on him any time you decide to pop out of your shell. And that feeling of having someone