Read Online Taming the Dragon (Loved by the Dragon, #3) by Vivienne Savage - Free Book Online Page B

snapped her gaze to her best friend. “No. Why would I have seen him?”
    “I figured since you try to avoid him you’d have noticed if he was around,” Chloe replied. She snagged two glasses of wine from a passing waiter and handed one to Marcy.
    “Who knows? He’s probably off hobnobbing with someone or counting his treasure, or something equally boring.” Marcy absently adjusted her dress strap and avoided eye contact. She would have worn the same cocktail dress again as the first night, if Chloe hadn’t insisted it would be a fashion faux pas to wear the same thing twice. They made a stunning pair in similar little black dresses.
    “Oh well. True, I guess. Saul likes to go count his rubies whenever we have a spat. Anyway, the auction is about to start up.”
    The banquet hall had been transformed. Neat rows of velvet-cushioned chairs had been filled by the wealthy and influential guests. Marcy and Chloe took seats toward the middle of the room and were offered fresh champagne glasses.
    Teo’s organization had acquired everything from priceless works of art to decades-old movie props. Rare wine vintages went for thousands of dollars in bidding wars between members of elite society. Their elusive host arrived when the last bottle sold and he personally delivered it to the winning bidder.
    “Next up, a portrait,” the auctioneer announced as two men carried in a large cloth covered rectangle and set it on a waiting easel. He pulled the covering with a flourish. Quiet murmurs filled the room and more than one lady sighed in sheer appreciation. Several glanced from the intimate portrait to the man who had inspired it. Teo stood at the side of the room, impassive as ever.
    “You painted Teo ?” Chloe hissed, leaning in close against Marcy. “You told me a guy approached you on the beach.”
    “Which was true. Teo is a guy and he asked me to paint his portrait for this,” Marcy mumbled back. The bidding had started in earnest with several ladies already driving the price up to $200,000.
    “He’s naked .”
    “You can’t see anything.”
    Chloe stared at her then raised her hand.
    “Three hundred thousand for the lady in the back,” the auctioneer called out.
    “Chloe!” Marcy shot her friend a scandalized look and grabbed her arm, pulling it back down. Someone further up took over the bid at a half-million.
    “What? I thought you might like it,” Chloe teased. “Or maybe I’d give it to Saul. They’re so close he might actually like it.”
    “You bitch.” Marcy’s shove barely budged Chloe. The dragon’s blood flowing in her friend’s veins made her more formidable than any human. She couldn’t shift like her husband, but her body had undergone irreversible changes during pregnancy, making her stronger and faster.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Marcy didn’t answer. Because I... didn’t want to get your hopes up. I didn’t want you to think one day I’d be immortal and forever-young like you, with a man who actually gave a damn about me for more than five minutes. She sighed. “It was for his charity work. He’s still a human-loathing asshole and I wouldn’t piss on his flaming corpse after Saul breathed on him.”
    Chloe twisted in her seat to face her. One of her fair hands lowered to Marcy’s bare shoulder. “What did he say to you? Did he insult you again? I swear, I’ll find him and kick his ass myself if he—”
    “He didn’t insult me personally, chica,” Marcy interrupted. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s very obvious he’s still the same jerk.”
    “Okay.” Chloe sighed and settled back in her seat. The blonde didn’t bid again on the painting, and eventually the marvelous piece sold for a little over a million dollars.
    A million dollars, Marcy thought, awestruck. My painting sold for a million dollars. The bittersweet moment of watching her donated work sell for such an astronomical amount was spoiled by Teo’s changed personality. She had been