Bad Dragons: Special Edition Complete Series Read online

  Bad Dragons Special Edition

  Complete Series

  Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2020 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art by Yocla Book Cover Designs

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Author’s note

  I. Kiss of the Dragons

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  II. Heart of the Dragons

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  III. Soul of the dragons

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Epilogue (Special Edition)

  Sample of Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  Author’s note

  Hello dear reader,

  Bad Dragons stars six completely different dragon heroes all destined to fall for and love one heroine.

  Yes. All of them.

  I promise lots of drama and steam and guarantee a happy, heart-warming ending. Enjoy the adventure!

  Thanks,

  Terry

  Part I

  Kiss of the Dragons

  1

  Anna

  There are good-looking men, and then there are men so beautiful you want to cry just watching them.

  The man I’m observing right now is the latter.

  Dressed casually in jeans and a loose, muscle-skimming blue tee shirt, he practically glides through the library, raising a hand to touch a book here or there.

  His short hair is jet black, seeming to glint in the light with hints of royal blue. His skin is lightly tanned, his body is tall and muscular, and his facial features are handsome and refined.

  I’ve seen him here a few times before, and I admit it’s one of the reasons I keep coming to this library.

  I swear he sees me sometimes, looking over at me with the barest hint of a smile. He hasn’t ever spoken to me, but I’m sure his teeth are also perfect.

  His lips are full and soft-looking. He has dimples, I think.

  Glorious dimples.

  I’m a stalker, clearly.

  I grab a book from one of the shelves just to make myself stop following him. Then I pull out a chair to sit at one of the worn, wooden tables in this wing of the library.

  This is my peaceful place. I come here on my lunch break from my call center because there are never many people here.

  Just how I like things.

  I pull my sack lunch out of my bag and bite into my apple as I open the random book I pulled off the shelves. It’s a book on killer bees, so not the weirdest thing I’ve ever read.

  When lunch is finished, I wonder if I should go put the bee book back or if I will end up running into the man again and look even more like a stalker.

  Maybe I want to run into him again.

  Something about him draws me in, makes my heart start thrumming just looking at him.

  I throw away my trash and decide to return the book. What’s the worst that could happen?

  I stride purposefully toward the section where I last saw him, but he’s nowhere in sight.

  In fact, as I place the book back where I found it, the library is dead silent. Eerily silent. Little sparkling wisps of dust fall in the light streaming from the window, making me catch my breath and watch.

  Sometimes the oddest things are beautiful.

  I raise my hand to catch a few of the dust specks, but they disappear or they are too small for me to see them.

  Just as I’m about to turn back to leave the library, I hear voices from a nearby hallway.

  In a darkened part of the library.

  Against my better judgement, and my knowledge of horror movies, I take a step toward the direction the voices are coming from, then another, creeping on the balls of my feet slowly so they don’t make a sound.

  The hallway is dark and leads to a stairway that goes down to some projection rooms or meeting spaces. I’m not sure.

  I’ve never been down there.

  I creep to the stairs and put one hand on the bannister to slowly lean over and peer down.

  Two men are standing at the foot of the stairs. One is the man I’m used to seeing.

  I call him blue hottie because he’s always wearing blue.

  I’ll call the other silver hottie because all I can see from above is his long silver hair caught in a ponytail and tossed over one shoulder.

  He’s wearing a lab coat and has a similar build to blue hottie.

  Tall. Muscular.

  Absolutely gorgeous.

  He’s wearing glasses and folding his arms as he nods to whatever blue hottie is saying.

  I wish I could hear them.

  They both stop for a moment, and when I sense they are about to look in my direction, I quickly step back, trying not to make any noise.

  I’m holding my breath and listening to my heart race as I wait for them to start talking again.

  Then I hear footsteps moving away, down a corridor, and I let out a sigh of relief. I don’t think they saw me. I turn to go back the way I came but pause hesitantly.

  I should leave. I should thank my lucky stars I didn’t get caught stalking, but curiosity is trying to get the best of me.

  I’ve never been able to keep my nose out of things. Especially things that seem to be hidden.

  I look both ways and then slowly make my way down the stairs, hoping I’ll still be able to find the men when I get down there. When I reach the base of the stairs and look down the hallway, I shudder.

  It’s mostly dark, though a few florescent lights are on, flickering as if this is one of those scenes in a horror movie where a ghost is going to start disappearing and reappearing closer and closer.

  I pad down
the hallway, using the same light-footed way of moving as before. The voices are quiet, coming from a door near the end of the hallway.

  As I get closer, pressing myself against the wall in case they come out, I start to make out bits of their conversation.

  “We’re running out of time.”

  There’s a thumping noise. “We never had any to start with.”

  “Yes we did, but we’re out now. We can’t wait any longer for a dragon heart.”

  “Nothing else can help us.”

  “Perhaps we shouldn’t be helped.”

  Another thump, then the sound of chair legs moving like someone sitting down. “Perhaps.”

  “Sometimes it makes me sad, knowing we could have been something. I see the dragons in New York, and though they’re strong, we’re stronger. We could have made a difference.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We were doomed from birth.”

  “We were blessed from birth. We simply didn’t want to make the most of it.”

  There’s a pause, and the next reply is petulant. “I’m not sure what you want me to do about it now.”

  “I’m not sure if we should do anything, but we do have one option.”

  “What?”

  “She’s outside the door right now.”

  My whole body goes rigid as I realize they must be talking about me.

  I want to run, but footsteps are already coming toward the door and I know I won’t make it away in time.

  I straighten, heart pounding because at this point, I might as well face them.

  I was eavesdropping, after all.

  The door swings open and bangs against the opposite wall, making me jump backward slightly.

  It’s silver hottie, and a strand of silver hair falls over his face as he stares at me coldly, appraising me slowly from head to toe.

  His eyes are gray and glittering, even in the low light. His eyelashes look like spun silver. His face is sharp, nose slightly arched, chin stubborn. His wide, luminous gray eyes beam with intelligence, even behind his glasses.

  His jaw is hard, and a muscle flexes there as he finishes his perusal of me and turns back to blue hottie. “You must be kidding.”

  “She’s been following me around,” blue hottie says, gracing me with a gentle smile and nearly bowling me over with those dimples.

  I was right. His teeth are perfect.

  Silver hottie’s thin upper lip curls disdainfully. “Following you?”

  “Yes,” blue hottie says. “She’s a bit simple, but I think she has a good heart.”

  “Simple?” I sputter, shaking my head. “What?”

  “I meant that you aren’t complicated. You come here to eat lunch. You followed me because I’m good looking. You came down here because you are curious. There’s no high drama when you’re around. Am I wrong?”

  “No,” I say, still a bit offended by his wording. “But I mean calling someone simple, it’s…”

  Blue hottie turns the full force of his attractiveness on me as he folds muscular arms that bulge against his thin blue shirt. “What would you use instead?”

  “Easy going,” I say quickly. “Straightforward. Practical.”

  “All good synonyms,” silver hottie says, looking more interested now. He walks around me in a slow circle. “I think she might be the most average human woman I’ve ever looked at.”

  “Human?” I wrinkle my brows in confusion.

  “Are you not human?” Silver hottie glares.

  “I am, but—”

  Blue hottie puts up a hand. “Would you like to come in and discuss something with us? I might have an offer for you.”

  I take a step back, not sure I should accept any offer that involves a closed room in the basement with two strange men.

  No matter how good looking they are.

  “She’s scared,” silver hottie says. “I doubt she could help us.”

  “Or maybe she’s smart,” blue hottie says. “Could look at it that way.”

  “Hold up,” I say, putting up a hand. “If you want to make me an offer, we should do it upstairs. I’m not holing up alone with you.”

  Silver hottie narrows his eyes. “You’re in no danger from me, human.”

  “Stop calling me that,” I snap, folding my arms. “Why do you speak so weirdly?”

  Silver hottie rolls his eyes and heads back into the office. “I can’t make a deal with someone who won’t even take such a small chance.”

  “Oh well,” I say, turning to walk back down the hallway. In this day and age, I’d be stupid to do something so obviously sketchy.

  “Wait,” blue hottie says, catching up to me. We’re stopped right beneath one of the lights, and there are definitely blue glints in his hair. “Just hear us out. It might end up being amazing.”

  I shake my head. “I’d have to be crazy.”

  “Perhaps, but this isn’t the kind of offer that we can make to just anyone in broad daylight.”

  “You’re right,” I retort. “It’s the kind of offer that leads to someone being dumped in a body bag under an abandoned bridge somewhere. I’m out.”

  “You might regret it.”

  “Nope.” I keep walking.

  “You like good looking men.”

  I stop, then start walking again. “That’s not unique.”

  “You really like them,” he says sharply. “You might even be willing to overlook quite a few problems if they are pretty enough, correct?”

  I peer over my shoulder at him. “Why does that matter?”

  “I can introduce you,” he says softly. “To quite a few pretty men.”

  “I can find them in the real world,” I retort. “As long as I survive and don’t let myself get murdered in a basement.”

  I keep walking. A part of me does want to turn back and at least listen, but I can’t take the risk. I have people that depend on me.

  “This is your last chance,” Blue says as I’m nearly to the stairs. “I won’t be in this library again. I’m leaving soon. And my friend will be leaving here, too. We aren’t rapists or killers or anything dangerous. The people at this library can vouch for Rainier’s reputation. This place isn’t soundproof. If you scream, someone will come running, especially because it is relatively quiet.”

  I’m tempted. I have to admit I’m tempted. One of my problems is that I’m easily bored, which tends to lead me into trouble.

  It’s why I’ve been reading random books and stalking blue hottie.

  I imagine coming back here with him gone. Going back to lonely days at lunch, eating sandwiches and heading back to work at the call center, trying to scrape together enough money for my next semester of community college while still being able to pay my sister’s medical bills.

  Blue cocks his head. “That’s right. You have a sister.”

  My eyes narrow. “How did you know that?”

  “Just a guess. She’s ill?”

  A chill runs down my spine. “What the actual hell?”

  “I’m good at reading people,” he says softly, taking another step forward.

  “More like stalking people,” I mutter.

  “What if I could help her? What if that was part of my deal?”

  I think of Gayle. Her silent repose and the tubes attached to her. “No. No one can help her,” I say quietly, turning away from him once again.

  “I can,” he says. “I’m magical.”

  I raise an eyebrow at that. “That’s a weird thing to say about yourself.”

  “I can prove it. Cut yourself,” he says quietly.

  “Excuse me?”

  “If you want to save your sister, do it,” he urges.

  “What the—No, I’m not going to cut myself.”

  “Rainier, come out here,” Blue says.

  Silver hottie, who must be named Rainier, pokes out his head, glaring at me. “No. She’s not taking the deal. Just give up, Lee.”

  So Lee must be blue hottie’s name.

  “Get out here now. You
owe me,” Lee says sharply.

  “I won’t once I succeed at my experiments,” Rainier says grumpily. But then he traipses out into the hallway and puts out his open palm.

  Lee runs an oddly sharp fingernail over it, and I gasp as I see blood well up. This is the part where I really should run, but I’m frozen in shock.

  “Watch closely,” Lee says, raising Rainier’s hand to his mouth.

  I blush at the closeness between them, but Rainier simply looks bored.

  Lee blows gently over the bleeding wound on Rainier’s hand, and it closes, blood disappearing. I can see it even in the dim light.

  What the hell?

  Lee and Rainier look over at me, and I’m struck by the oddness of the moment. By their perfect faces, smooth skin, rippling muscles.

  “I told you,” Rainier says, stepping back. “She isn’t going to—”

  “I’ll do it,” I say, striding forward, thinking of how different my life would be if I didn’t have to make any more payments. If I had a sister again. If my parents got back together, no longer pushed apart by the stress of having a comatose child. “I mean, I’ll at least look at your offer.”