Sleeping Dragon (Dragon Echoes Book 1) Read online

  © 2016 by Rinelle Grey

  www.rinellegrey.com

  All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  About the Author

  Blurb

  Sleeping Beauty never looked this hot!

  It’s finally Lisa’s turn to wake her very own dragon prince with a kiss (and more). She’s been waiting for her chance to sleep with one of the hot shifters since she first saw them. What she didn’t need was the added pressure of a battle raging outside at the time.

  Prince Verrian wakes to the shocking news that he’s been asleep for three hundred years. In that time everything he’s ever known has changed. Some of the changes, like the gorgeous human woman who woke him, are good. Others, not so much.

  When they step outside his chamber, they find that friend and enemy alike have disappeared, leaving them alone in the middle of the Australian outback, with no vehicle and no phone reception.

  And no idea who won the battle.

  Sleeping Dragon is part 1 in the six part, Dragon Echoes serial. It follows on from the Dragon Ruins serial.

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  Chapter 1

  Lisa couldn’t stop her whole body shaking with a combination of excitement and nerves as Chase pulled the ute into the deep shade of the towering red rocks. This was it. Weeks after she’d first been told she was next, it was finally happening.

  She was going to wake a dragon prince.

  The early morning sun had barely risen above the horizon and the air was cool enough Lisa could blame it for the shiver that ran through her. They’d chosen this early time in the hopes that the strong lights and shadows might confuse any attacking dragons.

  Yeah right.

  It had been a long two weeks since Taurian, the only prince who had been woken so far, had agreed to let her be the one to wake his brother, Prince Verrian. Nearly two weeks of planning and preparing. For everyone except her. There was nothing for her to plan. All she had to do was walk in there and kiss the dragon prince and then… her breath caught in her throat and excitement bubbled up in her.

  And then sleep with him. Apparently that was what dragons needed to regain their full energy after the regenerating Mesmer sleep.

  So very convenient. And so very hot.

  And she was the lucky one who got to wake him.

  Her heart thumped in her chest, and her whole body flushed with heat.

  She hadn’t been planning, but she’d done lots of dreaming. Lots of imagining. So much that she wasn’t sure if this dragon prince could live up to her expectations, much less the hot dreams that had come to her in her sleep. She gave a nervous half giggle and Chase looked at her sideways. That only made things worse.

  Her stomach twisted itself in knots and she drew in a shaky breath in an attempt to calm herself.

  Waking the sleeping dragon prince was enough of a challenge, but right now, she faced the added risk of Ultrima showing up to try to stop them. Taurian was certain he would, and Lisa wouldn’t put anything past the crazy lightning dragon.

  He had been terrorising the Rian dragon clan for centuries, trying to prevent them from waking their princes and princesses, all because he wanted the clan’s oldest princess and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d attacked them two weeks ago, and with Karla and Chase’s help, they’d held him off, even made a truce with him.

  But he’d made it clear that truce didn’t extend to letting them wake the rest of the dragon princes and princesses.

  “You still up for this?” Chase asked, looking over at her. “Cause if you’re not, just say the word and I’ll take you home.”

  Lisa glanced over at her childhood friend’s serious face, searching it. Was he having a go at her? Chase had always said that her habit of sleeping with anyone who winked at her would get her into trouble one day. Did he disapprove of her offer to sleep with the dragon prince to help him return to full health?

  She gave herself a shake. Chase had offered to help wake a dragon as well, apparently the two princesses among the siblings needed the same help to regain their energy, so any disapproval would be a little hypocritical.

  The lure of these dragon shifters was too great, even for him.

  She'd tease him about it later, once he'd already slept with the princess. She didn’t want to put him off or make him change his mind. Chase really needed to loosen up a little.

  He was so prim and proper, always doing what was ‘right’. Where was the fun in that?

  Sleeping with a hot dragon prince, now that was going to be fun.

  It didn’t matter that she suspected she wouldn’t have much in common with Prince Verrian. That she wasn’t even sure what a sound dragon was. A fire dragon like Taurian, or a lightning dragon like Ultrima, those she could understand. You could see and feel their powers. Remembering just how concrete their powers had been in the last battle sent a shiver up her spine.

  What could a sound dragon possibly do to match that?

  Somehow, she imagined him dressed in a prim and proper suit while he played a concert on a grand piano.

  Totally not her type.

  But then, she wasn’t agreeing to marry him. Just sleep with him. Once.

  If he was as hot as Taurian was, that wouldn’t be hard.

  Taurian and Karla pulled up on one side of them, and another couple of cars on the other.

  “I’m totally up for this,” Lisa assured him. She flashed Chase a smile. “Don’t forget though, this is just sex. You’re still my favourite guy.”

  Chase frowned in disapproval. He was just so damn cute. Pity his parent’s divorce when he was ten meant he had dug his heals in about any sort of romantic liaison. Chase was hot too. Who didn’t love a cowboy?

  He’d said he didn’t want to ruin their friendship, that he valued her too much to sleep with her and walk away.

  Lisa was pretty sure he was just scared.

  But he was a good friend who had been there through thick and thin for her, so she wasn’t complaining too much.

  “Now isn’t the time for jokes,” Chase said firmly. “You need to keep your wits about you. Ultrima made it quite clear his ceasefire didn’t extend to any attempts we make to wake Taurian’s brothers and sisters He’s out there watching us. He’ll be here any minute, and you’ll be his target.”

  His words raised goosebumps all down Lisa’s arms.

  Like she needed to be reminded.

  Karla tapped on Lisa’s window. “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

  Even in those few minutes, the light outside had increased.

  Lisa moved to open the car door, but Chase touched her arm. “Be careful, okay?”

  The emotion in his voice said that he cared more than he was willing to admit. Lisa stared up into his face, but didn’t see any sign of jealousy. Just concern. He was a good friend.

  “I will,” she reassured him. “You too. It’s going to be a lot more dangerous out here than in there.”

  Chase nodded.

  Lisa took a deep breath. Time to rock and roll.

  She scanned the sky quickly, but there were no signs of approaching dragons, so she climbed out of the car, bow and arrow at the ready. It might not do much against a dragon’s thick hide, but it made her feel a little better.

  Cha
se jumped out his side and moved around to climb into the wire cage attached to the back of the ute. The contraptions covered the back of each ute in thick, heavy wire and were tall enough for a person to stand up in. They looked strange, but they’d proved to be very effective at dissipating the Trima dragon’s lightning breath. The fireworks attached to an uncaged ute that had distracted the dragons so spectacularly last time might not be so effective this time now that the enemy dragons knew what to expect.

  “This way,” Taurian called out, beckoning to Lisa.

  She took one, last look at Chase, hoping he stayed safe, then followed Taurian into the deepest shade, near the base of the rocks.

  They towered up above her, weathered pillars with arches in between, each one striped with different shades of red bands. Taurian ducked through them. The sun was rising on the other side of the rocks, so it was still almost pitch black in here. It took Lisa’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the change in light.

  Taurian’s dragon eyes, glowing golden in the darkness, must have adjust more quickly. He was already pointing towards the end of the rocky corridor. “Verrian is down there.”

  He held out a small gold medallion. “This will open the door.”

  Picking it up, Lisa stared at it. In the middle was a raised shape, a dragon’s head with his mouth open, as though he was shouting.

  How it was supposed to open a door she wasn’t sure. She opened her mouth to ask Taurian, when she heard Karla shout, “Ultrima’s here.”

  “Good luck.” Taurian flashed her a smile, then headed back out to battle his ancient enemy.

  Lisa was going to need a whole lot more than luck to find this door and unlock it when her legs felt like they’d been turned to jelly.

  “Remember, you’ll be safe in the Mesmer chamber,” Taurian called out as he left. “If a Trima dragon even tries to enter, he’ll die.”

  Taurian’s words calmed her a little. She’s be safe in Verrian’s Mesmer chamber.

  That thought helped her legs move.

  By the time she reached the end of the corridor, she could hear lightning crackling in the air and the boom of one of Chase’s fireworks.

  She stared at a blank rock wall. Where was the door Taurian had mentioned?

  Her mind insisted on being as blank as the rock in front of her. Why could she never think clearly in these sort of situations? Why did the increasing sounds of fighting make her mind seize up, right when she needed it most?

  It was one thing for fear to stop her doing stupid things that might get her hurt, it was completely useless when she was already in trouble and needed to save herself.

  Her eyes stared at the blank wall, almost hyperfocusing.

  That was when she saw it. A small round impression in the rock, with an imprint of the same dragon head she’d seen on the medallion Taurian had given her, but in reverse.

  She didn’t even need to think very hard to reach out and fit the medallion into the rock and turn it.

  The grinding sound was almost swallowed up by the first round of guns firing. Lisa’s heart thumped at what felt like a thousand beats a minute as the door in front of her slid open. She stumbled into the blackness behind it, almost not caring what was there. Anything had to be better than the fight starting outside.

  She’d been face to face with an angry dragon once when he landed outside her house and demanded to know where Karla was. And she’d shot arrows at one, and run into him with a car. All of those experiences had taught her she didn’t want to repeat any of them.

  Since the door was still wide open, the sounds of fighting were just as loud inside the cave. That wasn’t going to be conducive to waking the sleeping dragon prince. Lisa stared at the wall. As her eyes became accustomed to the lower light levels, she could just make out a matching imprint near the open rock door.

  The medallion closed the door as well as opening it.

  She fitted the medallion into the imprint, then heaved a sigh of relief as the rock began to slide closed. Inside the Mesmer chamber, protected by the rock and the protective spells, she’d be slightly safer.

  Only slightly mind you.

  Her heart rate stepped up a notch as the door closing sealed off the last of the light. No matter how good her eyes were, they couldn’t adjust to the pitch black inside a sealed cave.

  Lisa fumbled in her pocket for her phone, dropping her bow and arrows in the process. Why hadn’t Taurian warned her to bring a torch? Could dragons see in the dark or something?

  The light from the phone screen barely made a dent in the blackness, but it was enough to see the shadowy outline of a raised dais in the middle of the room. It fitted the description of what Karla had found in Taurian’s Mesmer chamber exactly. That had to be where Verrian was.

  Lisa’s heart started thumping with a different kind of excitement.

  The sounds of fighting outside, already muted by several inches of rock, faded away completely. This time, she could feel the reaction deep in her body. Heat flushed through her.

  Back in the Rian clan cave, when Taurian had accepted her offer to wake his brother, she’d been thrilled. The possibility of having her own magical night with one of the hot dragon princes seemed wildly exciting.

  Now she was actually here, the excitement was twice as real and visceral.

  The battle going on outside, now that she was safely away from it, just added to the thrill.

  Lisa stared at the shadowy form lying on top of the large stone dais, the thumping of her heart sounding loud in her ears. She couldn’t make out any details in the dim light of her phone. Even less when the phone screen turned itself off to conserve batteries.

  Lisa swore quietly at it. Taking a deep breath, she fumbled to turn the screen on again, her hands shaking. Then she stepped towards the dais.

  As she stumbled onto the raised platform surrounding it, it sank about an inch, throwing her further off balance. She stumbled to her knees as the darkness was pierced by a shaft of light that fell right on the man lying on the raised dais. A weird howling sound filled the room.

  For a moment, she was petrified Ultrima or one of his dragons had found his way into the Mesmer chamber. She could barely breathe.

  But as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, she forced herself to take a deep breath, then another. Ultrima was outside, fighting Karla and Taurian, she could hear it faintly. There was no one in here but her and Prince Verrian.

  She pulled herself to her feet and stared at him.

  His body looked like it had been chiselled from gold. Every muscle was perfectly defined and sculpted. Their form was accentuated by the dark tattoo of a dragon, it’s wings curling across his chest. Even his face was perfectly proportioned. His dark hair was swept back from his face, its rich curls tempting Lisa to run her fingers through it.

  All thoughts of him being a prim and proper concert pianist in a suit fled at the sight of this man lying here in nothing but a pair of leather shorts. This wasn’t the body of a concert pianist.

  He looked more like a rock star.

  He was the most beautiful man Lisa had ever seen, and she’d spent a lot of time admiring perfect bodies. A hum started deep in her body, spreading throughout in a matter of seconds, until her whole body was vibrating with excitement. It felt like a thousand degrees here in this cool cave.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t need to help herself, since this was what she was here to do. She bent and kissed his lips.

  As soon as she touched him, a craving ignited, thundering through her body like wildfire.

  Chapter 2

  The feeling of warm lips on his, in sharp contrast to the hard, cold stone he lay on, pulled Verrian from the Mesmer.

  His body responded instantly, warmth pulsing through him in waves. He was always ready for sex, but this time, the added urgency created by the Mesmer bond made the feeling even more intense, more powerful.

  He opened his eyes needing to see her, his lips n
ot leaving hers, still soaking up her energy even while he surveyed her. Every second he was in contact with her warmed his cold limbs and increased the hunger that only one thing could satisfy.

  A shock of red, frizzy hair took up most of his view. Sunlight from the vent above him, opened when she had stepped onto the platform, shone through, making her hair almost glow. He had time to catch sight of a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks before her eyes flicked open. Deep blue stared into his, startled.

  Her foreign looks only increased his desire. Who was she, and what was she doing here?

  She pulled back. The look on her face, her eyes wide with excitement and burning with the same need, only flaming his own desire. She licked her lips, and the crazed desire of the Mesmer bond pushed almost all thoughts other than mating from his mind. He needed her energy. He wanted her body. Why did she pull back?

  The small separation was enough to allow the memories in.

  Instantly, his heart fluttered in his chest as the events that had sent him into the Mesmer trance flooded through him. The fight with Ultrima. The horrible, awful, heart rendering fight against one of his own kind had felt almost as painful as the wounds that had come from it.

  He had tried so hard to reason with Ultrima, to convince him that they could sort this out, as the clan brothers they were.

  He’d been the first to be thrown aside in Ultrima’s ire, too injured to return.

  Embarrassment heated his body in a brief flare. The others had all told him there was no reasoning with Ultrima, but he’d been sure they were wrong.

  Apparently he was the one who had been wrong.

  Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. However, no one could say he ever made the same mistake twice. He’d come up with a new plan.

  Just as soon as he’d mated.

  His eyes met the woman’s again, the piercing blue staring back at him. She must be feeling the same urgent pull he was, but she didn’t come closer, just stared at him, as though trying to memorise every part of him.