Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
He’s rock-star gorgeous, complete with the long hair and stubble and dark sexiness.
But when I say dark, I don’t just mean his hair.
Dragon has a darkness that exudes from his pores, as if there’s something inside him that I don’t fully trust.
Brianna and Jesse would never put me in harm’s way. I trust my sister, and she and Jesse know Dragon better than I ever could, but he’s always seemed a little bit dangerous to me.
And I don’t want him living in my home.
I’m going to have to call Brianna back and tell her I’ve made a decision. That I’m sorry, but he’ll have to stay somewhere else. If they’re willing to pay for his rent, they can easily find another place in Denver. Maybe even one closer to his rehab center. No reason why I need to be involved at all. Why my life needs to be disrupted as I’m starting a new career. Why I even have to be thinking about this.
I pick up my phone to call my sister when a knock on the door startles me. Probably just maintenance or something. Anyone else would have buzzed up.
I walk to the door and look through my peephole.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
It’s him.
Dragon Locke.
His gorgeous hair falls in waves around his broad shoulders, and his long-lashed hazel eyes stare straight at me.
It should be a sin for someone to be so good-looking. I grew up with a rash of handsome brothers and cousins, so I’m no stranger to gorgeous men.
Dragon Locke—even with the darkness that seems to enshroud him—makes them all look like hamburger meat.
How the hell did he even get in here?
“Who is it?” I ask, even though I know very well who it is.
“Dragon. Dragon Locke.”
The rich timbre of his voice makes me shiver. “How did you get in here?”
“I followed an Uber Eats guy in.”
I roll my eyes. Great. That’s the problem with buzzing up. In this day and age of app deliveries, anyone can just waltz right in.
“What do you want?”
“Just to talk, Diana.”
I swallow. “Bree said you weren’t coming into town until tomorrow.”
“Change of plans.”
He’s a man of few words, but I already knew that.
No one really knows much about Dragon. He’s a recovering addict, and he had a relapse about nine months ago when the band was in Europe opening for Emerald Phoenix. He wasn’t able to complete the tour. He returned to Denver, got into a concentrated rehab program, and was well enough to stand up as Jesse’s best man for the wedding a week ago.
That’s all I know—other than the fact that his stare through my thick wooden door has me quivering—and not in a frightened way.
Another thing I don’t need.
“Fine. Come on in.” I open the door.
Chapter Two
Dragon
To say Diana Steel is beautiful is like saying the Rocky Mountains are beautiful.
They are, no doubt, but they’re also so much more.
The Rockies are majestic and awe-inspiring. It’s hard to put into words just how breathtaking they are to someone who hasn’t seen them in person. Towering peaks, rugged cliffs, and a sea of evergreen trees as far as the eye can see. Blue and purple from a distance, but green and lush as you get nearer. Reddish rocks that hide faces and other images in their depths. Snow-capped peaks where sunlight sparkles.
Diana Steel is a different kind of wonder. Her dark hair cascades in silken waves—a deep hue that gleams like polished mahogany. It frames her face with an air of mystery, casting shadows and highlights that dance with each graceful movement.
But her hair pales in comparison to her dark eyes. They’re like deep, endless lakes—windows into her soul. They’re magnetic, and they draw me in. They lock onto mine, and I don’t ever want to look away.
“Are you going to stand there staring, or are you going to tell me what you want?”
Her voice jolts me back to reality.
All the Steel women are beautiful, but Diana has a gentleness about her that some of the others don’t. She’s the opposite of her sister, Brianna, who’s a spitfire of a cowgirl. Even at her wedding to my best friend, Jesse Pike, her personality shone through her traditional western dress.
“Thanks for letting me in.”
She scratches her arm. “Bree told me you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
Did she forget she already said that through the door? “I hadn’t planned to,” I say, “but it was a gorgeous day for a drive. The aspens have turned, and I don’t know… I just felt like coming.”
She furrows her brow. “And I suppose you need a place to stay.”
I shake my head. “That’s actually what I stopped by to talk to you about. This whole thing wasn’t my idea, Diana. I hope you know that.”
“All I know is that Brianna says it’s important that you stay here.”