Taming the Dragon (Loved by the Dragon, #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the hotel lobby in thirty minutes.”
    He left Marcy staring with her mouth agape while he walked away.
    The nerve of him, ordering me to meet him. Fuck that. I’m not going. She turned back to her watercolor, determined to blow Teo off. Five minutes later she packed her materials and stalked across the sand.
    “Fine,” she muttered to herself. “I’ll go, but not for him. I want to see the birds.”
    Marcy traded her art supplies for her camera bag, took a quick shower, and pulled on her favorite sundress. The burgundy color flattered her tanned skin and dark hair. She considered it her armor, boosting her self-confidence so she could withstand Teo’s aristocratic bullshit for another day.
    She peeked in to see Chloe and Astrid snuggled tight on their bed, then she left the suite to embark on her day. As promised, Teo waited for her in the lobby where he stood out like a sore thumb. Female tourists took appreciative glances at him, clearly unaware the hunky specimen was the resort’s owner. No man should look as good in white as he did.
    “So where is this aviary? I didn’t see anything on the map,” Marcy commented. She adjusted the strap of camera case, aware of Teo’s eyes drifting over her legs. If she had to pick any part of her body to take pride in, it had to be her legs — her tits a close second. Marcy’s legs were thick but strong, her calves perfectly shaped when worn with heels to boost her height. Four inches would only nick the surface of the height difference between her and Teo.
    “Of course not. Only attractions belong on the map. My private aviary is a sanctuary,” the mysterious dragon said. He offered his arm to her, which she took with dwindling reluctance.
    They took a dune buggy down one of the private dirt roads leading away from the resort grounds. Teo drove, offering another surprise. Marcy had expected him to summon a servant. The thirty minute drive took them deeper into the natural jungle, where Marcy spotted monkeys in the trees and wild capybara wandering beside the road. Teo slowed the vehicle long enough for her to take photos and to point out the animals she missed along the way.
    The aviary took up a large tract of land. The metal frame gleamed in the light and supported the wire mesh stretched between each section. Semi-translucent glass composed the lower five feet around the entire structure.
    “You may wish to remove your shoes. The heels will sink into the soft soil here.”
    After heeding his warning, Marcy padded on her bare feet behind him over cool ground with dense patches of grass and growth. It felt good beneath her naked toes. Teo unlocked the door and held it open for her like a gentleman.
    Inside, brightly plumaged parrots perched on branches with thick foliage. Long legged pink birds strutted beside a small river, accompanied by a few native ducks. A trio of hyacinth macaws nested above a man-made pond located near the back of the structure.
    “There’s so many.” Her eyes became as wide as saucers when she noticed a rare, blue macaw preening its feathers on a low branch. “You have a Spix!”
    “Two,” Teo murmured. “The fate of their kind angers me, and so I have spent some of my fortune to put an end to smuggling. From time to time I acquire a bird long past its prime and unable to survive in the wild. They are rehabilitated here and given a home. We buy them from irresponsible pet owners who would put them in tiny cages.”
    It wasn’t what she had expected from him.
    “That’s wonderful, Teo. I mean it. Are your pair mates?”
    Teo shook his head. “Not yet, but I hope they will change their minds. I try my best to give them a good life while here, but...”
    “It’s no substitute for the wild,” she finished.
    “No, it is not,” Teo agreed sadly.
    An umbrella cockatoo worked his way closer to them and studied Marcy from afar. She hung back while Teo reached out to caress its feathered fringe. “Why are you standing there? Come this way.