Read Online Treasure Lane Dragons: Complete Series (BBW Paranormal Dragon Shapeshifter Romance) by Anya Nowlan - Free Book Online Page B

fact that she couldn’t really go anywhere but the mansion.
    So, after a while, she’d figured out how to amuse herself. The curious pendant that Devon had given her was now always on her. Whenever she found a particularly hidden corner in the mansion or a room that seemed hard to get to (like one of the studies, with its entrance hidden behind a stone column in the main library, or the den that took three different staircases to finally access), she would palm the dragon stone and think of Devon.
    She knew she was supposed to use it only when she was in danger – and when was that going to happen, what with her stuck in the mansion – but an opportunity to give the self-centered dragon a taste of his own medicine was just too good to pass up. In a matter of minutes, the man would show up, hissing and grunting, sometimes with steam coming out of his nostrils and his eyes gleaming with gold, looking for whatever danger was out to get her.  Each time, he would relax when he saw that she was okay, and each time he would lecture her on the fair use of dragon stones and how dragons were not dogs to be called to heel whenever a princess was bored. To that, she just huffed.
    If the dragon didn’t want to heel, he shouldn’t have made her a princess.
    Other than playing pranks on the man, Gemma found herself with little else to do but think and study. She’d always loved reading, so being allowed into the Bluewing library was a real treat for her. Seldom had she even heard of books as old as the ones the dragon family had hidden away on the shelves, let alone been able to touch them.
    Many were bound in thick scaly hides – dragon skin as Devon had confirmed – and adorned with gemstones. When asked about whether it wasn’t a bit odd to have books wrapped in the skin of his people, Devon had chuckled. Apparently dragons shed their skins, much like snakes, but they leave an almost intact replica of themselves every decade or so, which makes for great leather binding for books. Who knew?
    Gemma ate up the information and attacked the books with great curiosity. It was a bit of a disappointment to find that ancient dragons weren’t as fond of writing in English as they were in their own tongues, but she still learned a great deal.
    She spent almost every afternoon curled up in one of the large red velvet chairs in the library, poring through the ancient writings and trying to make sense of, well, just about everything. Today was no exception. After that morning’s confrontation with Devon on the roof that left her heart beating wildly in her chest, Gemma had slunk off to the library to distract herself from the dragon in the room. Her attraction for Devon was growing harder to ignore by the day, and it was starting to mess with her head.
    A few times, she’d wondered if the reason she’d called for Devon when she was in a secluded spot in the mansion was because she really wanted to make him run and aggravate him, or whether it was just that she wanted to see him. Being around him and remembering the kiss they had shared that seemed both like forever and just a few seconds ago, made her stomach tense and her nerves tingle. It was the kind of kiss that stayed with a woman, wrapping her in a soft, hot cocoon of need and excitement, and Gemma was finding herself more and more hungry to recreate the moment.
    No, you’re supposed to be mad at him. He’s keeping you locked up in his mansion! His servants track your every move! He’s an asshole with too much money and power to care about anything other than what is best for him. But that kiss… And the way he looks at me every time he bursts into the room, like if I was gone or hurt, his world would crumble… What about that?
    Gemma shook her head, annoyed at herself. There she went again, getting all romantic. Gemma thumbed through the book – another heavy tome with ragged old pages that felt like parchment under her fingers, its covers adorned with rubies. She couldn’t