Tempting The Dragon

Tempting The Dragon
Karen Whiddon

WHAT LIES BENEATHInvestigative reporter Rance Sleighter had promised to prove the mythical Lake Creature existed. But it’s protector had already given him a heap of trouble, not to mention inspired one too many hot fantasies. If Rance was going to get some answers, he’d have to get on the gorgeous Jade Burnett’s good side. . . and away from his bed!For generations, Jade’s shape-shifting pack had kept the Creature safe. Now Rance’s appearance had her rethinking all her vows. She’d seen him in her dreams, knew he was a shifter and they possibly shared a life-changing bond. Yet could she find the courage to trust the dragon with the truth…and her own fragile heart?

“Are you okay?” Rance asked, holding on for a heartbeat too long before releasing her.

She decided to be honest. “Not really. I’m confused and a bit unsettled.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If you really were sorry, you’d leave town.”

“Ah, you know I can’t do that.”

Somehow Jade had suspected he’d say that. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

“Good point.” As they climbed over another rocky patch, he once again took her arm. And once again, she had to pretend her skin didn’t tingle from the contact. Funny thing that. She hadn’t realized she could be capable of such tangled emotions. She both wanted the man gone and to wrap herself around him and never let him go.

Tempting The Dragon

Karen Whiddon

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

KAREN WHIDDON started weaving fanciful tales for her younger brothers at eleven. Amid the Catskill Mountains, then the Rocky Mountains, she fueled her imagination with the natural beauty surrounding her. Karen lives in north Texas and shares her life with her hero of a husband and three doting dogs. You can email Karen at KWhiddon1@aol.com (mailto:KWhiddon1@aol.com) or write to her at P.O. Box 820807, Fort Worth, TX 76182, USA. Fans can also check out her website, www.karenwhiddon.com (http://www.karenwhiddon.com).

To my father, Charles J. Corcoran. He fell ill right before I started this book and sadly passed away when I was about a hundred pages into writing it.

I will always miss him. Love you, Dad. Always.

Contents

Cover (#udf738bf6-3d5d-5e84-8625-8781960c53b0)

Introduction (#u1ac83efd-345b-5976-ad38-1f58bd0404e3)

Title Page (#u73c851d2-7ff5-5401-940e-2af10530f199)

About the Author (#u22306bc9-384d-5ab3-ae9b-d623ad8c2d29)

Dedication (#u6f672a8e-2af3-51e1-bb3a-23db8694aef6)

Chapter 1 (#ua0b9229e-e54d-5385-997d-9fc78216f424)

Chapter 2 (#u739c22d9-4d08-5b3e-b04b-bfd321e0fe2b)

Chapter 3 (#u4c6eea0f-0002-5620-8429-d50b21ec39dd)

Chapter 4 (#u1c71678e-1807-58b3-a31f-b90f6117d72e)

Chapter 5 (#u1c67fc18-1bd1-566f-894c-3aeeb0cfd885)

Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 1 (#ulink_9f86657f-1e0e-5e07-a408-8b8504fa992c)

“A lake monster?” The elderly man peered at Rance Sleighter as if he’d shown up drunk at church on Easter Sunday. Never mind that they were standing in front of Rex’s Hardware store on Main Street in the small town of Forestwood, New York. Upstate New York, which Rance understood as anywhere north of New York City.

“Yes, a lake monster,” Rance repeated patiently, mentally wishing, as he still did several times a day, for a beer. The craving never went away, but at least now he knew he was strong enough to resist it. He hadn’t been once, right after his wife, Violet, had died. His drinking had cost him too much for him to ever go back.

Meanwhile, he had to think of Eve. As usual, the thought of his tiny stepdaughter made his gut clench. He’d loved her since the moment he’d met her, when he and her mother had started dating. Luckily for all of them, Eve’s human father, Jim, and her mother had remained on civil, almost friendly terms. Rance and Violet had even invited Jim to their wedding.

Now Violet was dead and Eve lay seriously ill in a hospital bed in Houston, silent except for the steady beeping of the machines. Though Jim had taken custody, he’d allowed Rance full visitation. The two men had remained friends, sharing Eve’s love.

She couldn’t die. She wouldn’t die. He wouldn’t let her. The thought strengthened his resolve. Eve was why he’d come here. No matter what, he refused to let her down. He’d do anything for his little girl. Even find a lake monster.

“The story has traveled all over the country. It’s the reason I’m here. You can’t tell me you haven’t heard about it.”