Burning for the Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Fated Hearts Club Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

attention to the club
or his dragon brethren.
    Even if it meant letting her
slip through his grasp for the time being.
    Shit .
    He didn’t even
get her name.

Chapter Three
    The Dragon King and his Consort were formidable rulers. Luca
wasn’t concerned with pissing off the most powerful dragons in the world. He
was concerned with pissing off his parents.
    “Luca, dear, you haven’t spoken to us since you left!”
    His mother’s tone sounded like she was sad and a little bit
hurt, but Luca knew she really meant to shame him for not communicating.
    “You’re next in line to rule, son. You can’t go missing
without letting us know what’s going on.”
    His father sounded like a patient man, but Luca knew
underneath was the stiff spine of a man used to getting his way.
    It was not a conversation he wished to have, even less in
the middle of his workday. He directed a glare out of the glass walls lining
his office and toward his assistant. He tried to remind himself that she was
new and didn’t yet know to take messages if any personal calls from family came
through, but he still felt the urge to gut the poor girl.
    “You know I needed to be back at my business.” He tried to
keep his voice light but distracted. Perhaps he could claim an urgent meeting
and reschedule the dreaded call when he was safely back in his own lair that
night. “Listen, I’ll need to speak with you both later. Something has come up
and—”
    “And you know you cannot be alone, not when you’re the
future of our kind. We have much to discuss. Namely, your mate. You’re looking,
I take it?” His mother chose to ignore his excuse.
    So much for deflecting.
    “Perhaps it would be best if you gave up this business and
came home. You’ll have uninterrupted time to learn how to run the court.”
    Luca bristled at his father’s suggestion. He knew ruling
from the Dragon Thrones would be a serious undertaking. He knew it would likely
mean the end to all his other business. But he didn’t want to give up what he’d
worked so hard to build. The company was a success, and to abandon it felt
wrong.
    “There’s no point in that just yet, is there? You and Mother
are still going strong and don’t plan to abdicate anytime soon. Besides,
wouldn’t you want my mate to come with me? It’ll be hard to find someone if I’m
at court all the time.” He inhaled and exhaled silently and reminded himself
that he was a grown man, no matter how much his parents tried to make him feel
like a misbehaving child.
    “You can’t be a bachelor forever, Luca.” There was a warning
in his father’s voice. He sounded more like the Dragon King than a father.
    “I’m not planning on it.” He swiveled in his chair and
stared out the glass. The cityscape stretched out below him and he wondered
just how many conversations like his were going on that very moment. The exact
circumstances would be different, sure, but mothers and fathers had a universal
commonality of interfering in their children’s lives when it wasn’t wanted.
    “Let us help you find someone, dear. You’ll have the final
say, of course. But we really cannot wait.”
    The threat was plain to Luca. Find someone or they would
find someone for him. It’d been what he heard and feared while we was home for
Leo’s funeral. “No.”
    “No? You’re refusing the order of the king?” The Dragon King
growled.
    Luca didn’t back down. He would rule one day, and he
couldn’t allow any to push him around then. He told himself it was good practice
to stick up to his parents. “I’m refusing to accept an arranged mating. I will
find my own consort.”
    “Luca…” his mother whined.
    “Mother, Father, respect this. I’m not giving up on the dragons;
I’m not trying to be a bachelor for life. I will find my own mate.”
    His mother huffed on the other line while his father
remained silent. He could almost imagine the man chewing rocks and digging for
the right words to cut him down. His mother