Page 1 of Charming the Dragon
Chapter One
Hayley Beckett was nearly to Clan Stonefire in the Lake District when she pulled her car over, turned it off, and did what she always did before an important meeting: gave herself a pep talk.
Sitting taller in her seat, she said, “Right, you can do this. You have a skill they want, something they need. Sure, dragon’s blood is a high price to pay for it. But Carly needs it. Needs you. So this is going to happen, no matter what.”
Just thinking of the last time she’d seen her younger sister, lying in a hospital bed hooked up to various machines, made tears prick her eyes. After their parents died, it’d only been the two of them against the world for so long. And even after Carly married and had children, they’d still been each other’s best friend.
And now? If Hayley’s plan failed, her sister’s kidneys would finally stop working, and she’d die.
No.She’d get some dragon’s blood and heal Carly, end of story.
The usual route of obtaining it, by applying to be a dragon’s sacrifice, wouldn’t work. Not only because it’d take too long, butalso because Hayley was thirty-six years old and a workaholic, both points against her.
However, she’d worked closely with Clan Stonefire for some recent custody cases, had proven herself to them, and would use that connection.
They would agree to her offer, they just had to.
After taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself and turned on the car again. Soon she was back on the road and doing her best not to tug at her hair or readjust her glasses for the hundredth time. Being perfectly turned out wasn’t Hayley’s strong point. However, she didn’t want to show up looking like a complete mess for her meeting with the dragon clan leader.
She finally reached the metal gates that had the word “Stonefire” intertwined in the metal and stopped next to a speaker. A male’s voice said, “And you are?”
“Hayley Beckett. I have an appointment with Bram Moore-Llewellyn.”
After about ten seconds, the same voice came over the speaker. “Pull through and take the first left. Park in front of the large building and come inside.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say she knew that already, but she resisted. “Of course.”
The gates opened, and Hayley soon parked in front of the two-story Protector building. Protectors were the dragon-shifter equivalent of top-notch security officers mixed with special forces and, not for the first time, she wondered if any of them were also bodyguards.
Not important.Sometimes her mind wandered off into tangents, but she did her best to focus, pick up her satchel, and head into the building.
A familiar female face was there to greet her—Nikki Gray-Hartley, Stonefire’s second-in-command of the Protectors. Butunlike the last time Hayley had seen her, the dragonwoman was no longer pregnant.
As if reading her thoughts, Nikki patted her stomach and smiled. “Little Lucy arrived safe and sound and is being thoroughly spoiled by her father. You’re one of my first assignments back, actually.”
Hayley frowned. “Why am I your assignment?”
Nikki gestured for her to follow. “Talk to Bram, and then we can chat more about it.”
The dragonwoman walked down the hallway to the familiar meeting room used for visitors. Hayley had been inside before, to talk with a human woman named Dawn and later with another human woman named Sarah.
Both had needed her services—Hayley was one of the few human solicitors who would work with dragon-shifters. In fact, she did her best to help them whenever possible.
Which should work in her favor today.
Once inside the small conference room, Nikki gestured toward the table and chairs. “Take a seat. Bram should be here shortly. Did you need anything to drink?”
Even though she’d had ten cups earlier—when worried, making a cup of tea comforted Hayley—she nodded. “Tea would be brilliant.”
“I’ll be right back.”
The dragonwoman left, and Hayley reached a hand to tousle her hair but caught herself. There was a mirror on the opposite side of the room. No doubt, it was a two-way mirror, but she barely registered that and scowled. Damn it, her hair was already falling out of her twist.
At least her clothes weren’t wrinkled today, which was a rarity.
First impressions were important, she knew it, and yet it was usually the last thing she remembered.
A knock, and then Stonefire’s tall clan leader, Bram, entered carrying a mug. He set it in front of her, smiled, and his pupils flashed from round to slits and back again—which meant his inner dragon was speaking to him.
