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

was the first to speak again. All
niceties were gone. “I don’t understand your unwillingness. Your father and I
didn’t know each other before we were mated, and we turned out fine.”
    “Mother—”
    “No, Luca. You listen to me now. You’re acting like a
spoiled child. Would you have the world’s dragons fracture and become as lawless
as all those other shifters? That’s where we’re heading if you don’t show them
the strength they expect.”
    His father continued to drive the point home. “Our numbers
are falling with each year. It will be up to you and the rest of the young ones
to find their mates and clutch to ensure the next generation. If you don’t find
a mate, we will.”
    Luca stared at the phone when the line clicked dead. He
wanted to crack a smile at the absurdity of his parents hanging up on him .
Were they pouting teenagers? Then he remembered that angst sometimes drove
hasty actions. He would not accept an arranged mating, not when the woman for
him was somewhere in the city.
    She’d been on his mind since the night before when he lost
her in the crowd. He walked through the group several times with his eyes and
nose open for her, but she’d vanished. Smoke left more of a trace than that
woman did and it frustrated him to no end that he’d lost her even before he
knew her name.
    Which brought him back to his meeting. He punched a button
on the phone base and waited patiently for his assistant to pick up.
    “Yes, Mr. de Rege?” He didn’t need to turn to see the girl
practically bouncing in her seat.
    “Send in my next appointment.”
    “The next on the schedule, or where you left off for your phone
call?”
    Luca did not sigh. He would not snap at a new employee. She
was still learning his temperament and how he liked his business run. She did
not deserve harsh words.
    Yet.
    “Where we left off, please. Push everything else back. See
if the four o’clock will reschedule for tomorrow morning.”
    “Of course, Mr. de Rege.”
    He swiveled in his chair again and made the minor
preparations for his next meeting. He unlocked his computer and tucked the
contracts he was working on into a file. They would be of no use, and he
preferred they remain confidential until the deals were brokered.
    He could hear his assistant stand and walk the few steps to
the waiting area of his office. She chatted pleasantly with the man she led
toward his door, then quieted when she pushed it open to let him in.
    “Franklin Uso, Mr. de Rege.”
    Luca stood as the man approached. They shook hands and then
took their seats. He started immediately. “You came highly recommended,
Franklin.”
    “Thank you, sir. I take pride in giving the highest quality
of work to my clients.”
    “And you’re planning to continue working for Medved Tech?” Carson
was the first person he reached out to when he hatched his plan. He ran a cyber
security company that most of the large businesses in the city used and had a
name almost before Luca finished speaking.
    “As long as Carson is willing to keep me on. It’s honest
work and a way to make a living. I’d rather deal with the computer side of
things than the people side.”
    Luca nodded. It was nearly identical to what Carson had said
of the man. Franklin was gruff with people but extremely talented at his job.
He ran into a bit of trouble in his younger years when he wasn’t so careful
with what his actions would do, but had straightened up when Carson offered him
a job. If he didn’t think it’d piss his friend off, Luca might try to convince
the man to take a job in his own IT department.
    Luca steepled his fingers and locked Franklin in an
unblinking stare. The man was distantly related to Carson and smelled just as
strongly of the bear below his human half. Even bears needed to worry when a
dragon was displeased.
    “I will need you to hack a website for me. The Fated Hearts
Club.”
    “Excuse me?” Franklin blinked.
    “There is some information I need to