Love Burns Read Online Free PDF

Because of declining birth rates, the Dragon Elders had required all females to be tested, and fertile females’ names listed on a registry. If they didn’t choose a mate quickly, one would be chosen for them.
    And Nora had been married for twenty years, so she would have had little choice about who she married.
    “Quinton arranged it, you know,” Nora confided. “Once I tested fertile, there were a number of dragons clamoring for my hand, and as Dominus of our clan, Quinton got to choose who I would marry.”
    “How awful.” Olivia shuddered at the thought.
    “I suppose I should be grateful that he didn’t manage to force me to marry the most hideous and wealthiest dragon who was applying for the position. He chose the third richest.” There was unmistakable bitterness in Nora’s voice now. This was a side of her that Olivia hadn’t seen before.
    “The third richest?” Olivia echoed. “He left money on the table? That doesn’t sound like my father at all.” It really didn’t.
    “Well, he tried,” Nora admitted, “but I drew the line at being married off to a man who was old enough to be my great-great-grandfather and who was already married to two infertile women and just looking for a womb to incubate his eggs. I told Quinton I’d literally set that man on fire if he laid a claw on me, and I didn’t care what the consequences were. I meant it, and my dear brother could tell that I meant it. We finally reached a compromise among the various suitors, and I selected the one I found least objectionable.”
    As Olivia digested that disturbing information, Nora was still looking around the crowd, scanning for Quinton and Ichabod.
    “I honestly don’t recommend getting married at all. Or having children,” Nora continued.
    “But…you have three children,” Olivia said, shocked. Two of them were away at college. Sailor seemed more inclined to find a wealthy dragon suitor, so she was taking a “gap year”, or at least that was the excuse.
    “I did what was expected of me.”
    Well, Olivia could understand Nora’s bitterness at being forced into a marriage she didn’t want. Still, the fact that it seemed to extend to her own children…did she regret giving birth to them? How sad.
    “Someday I would like to get married and have children,” Olivia said, and as she said it, for some reason, Calder’s face flashed into her mind. She was trying very hard not to think of him at all, but he kept popping into her head at random moments. Thinking about him had an odd physical effect on her; her heart started beating faster and her nipples went hard. She crossed her arms over her chest and felt herself blushing.
    Nora was watching her sharply.
    “Got someone in mind?”
    “No, not at all,” Olivia lied. “I’m just saying that I hope it happens someday.”
    “I thought you cared about your career. I thought you wanted to make changes and all that.”
    “Mayors can have families,” Olivia protested. “Mayor Tompkins has a wife and three kids.”
    Nora shrugged. “Oh well. You’ll do what you want, I guess.”
    Olivia didn’t answer, because she heard the disappointment in Nora’s voice. It was obvious that Nora’s experience had poisoned her outlook on marriage. She didn’t want to alienate her aunt; so far, her aunt had been her ally against Quinton, and given that Olivia’s mother was dead and her father was Satan with scales, she didn’t have anyone else in the way of family.
    “Well, I’m going to walk around a bit,” Olivia said. “Press the flesh and all that.”
    “Watch out for Ichabod,” Nora called after her.
    After a few minutes of handshaking, someone came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She started and swung around.
    It was Tabitha Kingsley.
    “Hello again,” Olivia said. “Enjoying the game so far?”
    “So far, yes. I mean, it’s a little quiet for my taste. Nobody has set anything on fire,” Tabitha said, looking mildly disappointed. Then she fixed