Captivated (The Dragons) Read Online Free PDF Page A

goal?
    It wasn't a question I could answer for myself, so I waited. I folded up shop when I felt like I'd gotten as far as I could go, and I removed the book and lunch dishes from the drying room, locking it behind me.
    It was still early in the day, but I took to the bed with a spirit of boredom that I knew I couldn't do anything about. I felt like a caged animal, and I had no idea when I'd be allowed to call anyone.
    People would start worrying soon. I usually popped into the school store once a week, and I was definitely in the library when I had spare moments to devour whatever Urban Fantasy novels were still being published.
    For random buyers, I guess it was a dying fad, but for fangirls, it would live on. I only hoped we wouldn't run out of interested authors.
    I kicked my shoes off as I lay back on the bed, tugging my black curls to come tumbling out of the bun perched at the top of my head. My hair fell like a curtain around me, and I plunked myself back on the blanket with a fairly audible sigh.
    I squeezed my eyes shut when my mind insisted on bringing up an image of Link. No. No. I was not going there. I turned on my side, like that would somehow do something to keep my mind from wandering. It was like I had no control over where my thoughts were traveling these days. Maybe that was a symptom of captivity.
    Maybe I was just that tired.
    As for Link. I wasn't going to do that. Be that girl. That captive . I wasn't.
    I sighed again, my chest rising and falling dramatically. I had to level with myself. It would have to happen sometime and might as well be right then. I found him attractive. It wasn't a crime. He was dark, mysterious, powerful, and even quirky.
    Any red-blooded female would respond to that. Of course, my admission didn't mean I would in any way respond. I could keep my private thoughts to myself just fine. No problem there. I was just leveling with myself; that was all.
    I started at the knock on the door and sat straight up.
    “Who?” I asked, knowing full well who it was.
    “Link.”
    “Come in,” I said with an admirably tamed tone. I was nothing if not exceptionally talented in the way of artifice.
    Link's eyes met mine, and he looked me over curiously. I realized his gaze was lingering on my hair, and I rushed to pin it up.
    “You don't hav-”
    “Sorry. What is it?” I asked, cutting him off before he could apologize for anything that raised a subject I was sure I didn't want to discuss with him.
    “Just checking in. Del's out for the afternoon.”
    “I was wondering where he'd gone off to,” I commented, realizing I was sounding “extra nice” out of my own nervousness.
    “Yeah, so. Knock on the wall if you need me.”
    “Um, Link?”
    “Hmm?”
    He turned those dark eyes on me, and they glinted like dimming jewels. He was beautiful. One of those guys with classic bone structure and an intense way of looking at things that wasn't rehearsed like the one certain pop boys used as a fall back.
    Link was just a gorgeous man, and despite it all, he wasn't an asshole. I didn't agree with the methods of his club, but at least they were opening an opportunity for Vinnie to keep his bones intact. I imagined some clubs would have found him by now and took his life without worrying about whether he was guilty or not.
    “I might be onto something, but I'll need access to the herbs, so I can test out a few things.”
    There'd been a faint light in his eyes that died out as soon as the words left my lips, and  he pulled his expression taut.
    “That's great. I'll run it by the Pres.”
    “Alright.”
    He gave me a nod and made to step back out of the door.
    “Do I.... have to be locked up like this all of the time? Like can I call people and let them know I'm okay at some point?”
    “Yeah. As soon as you give us something to work with; the pres already said, you can move about the lounge as you like. He doesn't want you leaving the grounds until we're settled, but you won't be stuck in