Free Dragon Fever: A Dark Kings Novella by Donna Grant Page A

telepathic link all Dragon Kings had and said Ryder’s name in his mind.
    A few seconds later Ryder replied, “ Aye .”
    “ I need a favor.”
    “ I’m here to do thy bidding, ” Ryder teased.
    He watched Dreagan employees hand out taste after taste in their booth. “ There is a guest at my hotel I need information on. ”
    “ I am the King of Information. Name? ”
    “ I only know her first name. Rae. ”
    There was a pause. “ Her? ”
    “ Doona read anything into this. ”
    “ Look around Dreagan, Ash. It’s a wee bit hard no’ too. ”
    “ I’m no’ returning from Paris with a mate. I had a nice night with the lass, but I want to be sure she isna connected to Ulrik. ”
    “ Good point. The fact you want to know more says she means something. Just noting that fact. ”
    Asher wasn’t going to discuss this with Ryder, especially when he wasn’t sure of anything himself. He liked Rae. A lot. And he wanted to spend more time with her. Right now, that’s all it was.
    “ Ryder, ” he warned.
    “ Fine. All you have is Rae. R-A-E? ”
    “ Aye.”
    “ There’s no one listed at the hotel with that name. ”
    Asher frowned before he recalled Rae saying it was a nickname. “ It’s short for something, I believe. She mentioned it being a nickname.”
    “ Just for future use, get the real name. ”
    “ Remind me to kick your arse when I get back. ”
    “ Are we no’ having a good time?” Ryder teased. “ You should see all the photos of you going up on the Internet. You’re being labeled a ‘Hot Bachelor.’ ”
    He drew in a breath for patience. “ I doona know how Con does it. Everyone wants a piece of me. ”
    “ You’re doing a great job. ”
    He grunted in response.
    “Ash, there are two guests who could be your Rae. One is a Raelene Bradford. The other is Rachel Marek. I’m looking at each as we speak. ”
    He waited for Ryder to find something. Either could be Rae. That is if Rae was the start of her name. It could be a deviation from the end of her name. Or it could have nothing to do with her name at all.
    “ Both women are in their thirties and checked in alone ,” Ryder said. “ Want me to keep digging? ”
    “ Aye. I have to go, but see if either is connected to Ulrik or one of the aliases he uses. ”
    “ Consider it done. ”
    Asher severed the link and turned to the outstretched hand of one of Dreagan’s favorite distributors. As they spoke, he caught sight of a hand taking a sample of Dreagan whisky and he spotted a thumb ring.
    His thoughts immediately went to Rae.
     

Chapter Nine
    Rachel hated whisky. Or she used to. However, it seemed she was rapidly developing a taste for Dreagan.
    That could be because she’d also acquired a taste for Asher.
    She inwardly groaned. What the hell was wrong with her? Instead of working to find hidden meanings in his words or discovering a lie in them, all she did was listen to that amazing voice and recall how he’d made love to her.
    It was an entire wasted day. By the time she walked from the exhibit centre, she felt emotionally drained. Asher was getting into the sleek Jaguar that would take him to his dinner.
    She waved down a taxi and chanced another look in his direction. He never got brusque with anyone, no matter how many times they asked him for a picture. His photo was splashed worldwide in magazines, newspapers, and other news media. Then there were the fans.
    Fans of Dreagan. Fans of Asher. They swarmed like gnats––men and women alike––getting his picture like he was Luke Evans or Jason Statham.
    Those fans put up his pictures on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Tumblr, and Pinterest as if the world were ending tomorrow. The women practically swooned when he bestowed a smile upon them, and they giggled like schoolgirls when he spoke with that deep Scots brogue. Though, he didn’t flirt with a single one of the women.
    Much to her delight.
    The men stood straighter when Asher was around, watching him as if they could