when Lyra arrived and first encountered Tielo.
Luckily she could count on Pierce to give her a replay afterward.
“What most people don’t know is that the
majority of the rich and famous men photographed coming and going from the club
aren’t actual members.” In fact, almost none of them were, since membership was
limited to dragons, with few exceptions, and those were all supernaturals too.
“Reclusive,” Lyra guessed, “like Severn
Damek. Why am I sensing a theme here?”
“They call themselves dragons.” Aislinn
touched the edge of Tielo’s card. “He’ll have one on his skin that’s silver and
gold.”
A little erotic shiver went through Lyra at
imagining looking for the tattoo on Tielo’s body and pressing her lips to it.
“Do you know him?”
“By sight only.”
“I’m still not getting why these men can’t
find women on their own.”
“It’s not that they couldn’t, it’s just
that they’ve asked me to introduce them to the type of women who come to the
shop.”
“Why?”
“Because most of the women are like you,
interesting to talk to, open, honest and also curious about things beyond the
everyday normal.”
“Like the tarot cards?”
“Yes.”
“Meaning the,” she gestured quote marks to
denote, “ dragons are interested in things supernatural.”
“Definitely.”
She grinned. “Okay. I can go with that.”
“So you’ll go to Drake’s Lair?”
She glanced down at the invitation. Even if
she weren’t curious, there was no way she could say no , not when there
was a chance, probably slim, that she could parlay the hundred thousand in
chips into enough money to do some serious good.
“Sure, there’s no risk, right?”
Aislinn reached out, her hand covering
Lyra’s. “There’s definitely risk. To your heart. To your freedom. The dragons
play for keeps.”
“Like their namesakes,” Lyra murmured.
“Just like. They’re competitive, possessive
and very often uber-dominant.”
The heat in Lyra’s belly slid downward,
making her clit throb and her pussy burn. Her attention shifted to Tielo’s
image. “So what’s the deal with the cards?” And remembering the dragon she’d
seen when she entered Inner Magick, she added, “And the mirror?”
Aislinn wished she could provide
heartstones for every woman she sent into a lair full of dragons, but she
couldn’t. The mirror wasn’t Elven, though she’d added the stones to it. It was
still part mystery to her, made more so by doing as Tristan suggested and
laying the fey cards on its surface.
Maybe if Lyra had actually seen Tielo’s face
in the mirror, then Aislinn would be positive in saying he was absolutely her
perfect mate. But there were other dragons in the deck with scales of gold and
silver. No two of them looked alike yet Lyra’s mind had been set on drawing
only one card.
“Tielo is the match the cards favor,”
Aislinn hedged, knowing other males would be drawn to Lyra at Drake’s Lair.
Given their competitive natures, they’d battle for her, though hopefully Tielo
would win, and ultimately, the choice would be hers.
Pierce had promised to keep the women safe.
She’d insisted on it before agreeing to be a part of this. “Will you go
tonight?”
Lyra took a deep breath. “Yes.”
Aislinn gave a gentle squeeze to the hand
beneath hers. “I don’t think you’ll be sorry you did. Ready to look at the
tarot decks now?”
“Definitely.”
Chapter Three
Lyra cruised through the Drake’s Lair
parking lot, her stomach knotting more tightly with each expensive car she
passed. She’d known what to expect, but knowing it intellectually and seeing it
with her own eyes were two different things. If there was so much wealth on
casual display outside, how much worse was it going to be inside?
Her mouth went dry. She was a teacher from
a middle-class background and this world was so far removed from hers that for
an instant she seriously considered heading for the exit.
Thoughts of
David Stuckler Sanjay Basu
Aiden James, Patrick Burdine