Free Dragon's Lair by Denise Lynn Page B

binding such nonsense about love to the grimoire.”
    When the elder wizard had set the binding into motion, Nathan had laughed, thinking it would be a simple spell to break. Now it seemed the laugh was on him. But soon he would have his way.
    He was tired of waiting. This had to be the right couple.Every instinct he possessed told him that this was finally the generation that would give him what he sought. He didn’t want to wait yet another lifetime before gaining the power he deserved.
    If this plan failed, if he did not gain the knowledge of the grimoire, there was only one way he could be Hierophant, the most powerful Druid alive. The Drakes and their kin would simply have to die.
    He’d been denied the position of High Druid far too long now. Unable to change the course of history, he’d spent all these centuries watching one Drake after another attain what was rightfully his.
    The thought of killing gave Nathan no cause for concern. They would die just as easily as the others. With one major difference—if he killed them slowly enough, Nathan knew he could drain them of their powers, absorbing the energy, the strength, from their souls until they heaved their last breath.
    The entertainment value alone almost made forgoing the translation worth it. But he’d waited too long for this chance. He would try once more before ridding the world of the last remaining Drakes.
    Silently reaching up, Nathan snatched a dove from its perch and slit the bird’s belly with a fingernail. He let the body fall from his hand, then squatted to read the entrails.
    A hushed sigh of relief whistled through his lips. Yes, he most definitely had the right dragon and the right mate. They needed only to rediscover the love they’d lost.
    Unfortunately matchmaking wasn’t his forte. So there had to be another method to get the Dragon and his wife in bed together. Surely if they renewed their physical lust, they would soon come to recognize their love.
    But how—
    A smile slowly curved his lips. He stood up, then chanted a spell before stepping off the side of the mountain path into the mist-laden air.

Chapter 5
    A lexia jerked awake and sprang upright on the strange bed. She stared nervously around the semi-darkened room. Her pulse beat rapidly as she tried to clear the fog of sleep. Where was she?
    A quick study of the room revealed heavy, dark furniture. Extremely masculine, suited to a man. And as an all-too-familiar spicy scent rose from the bed, it came flooding back.
    This wasn’t just any man’s bedroom. It was Braeden’s.
    She groaned and shoved the covers aside. The cool air raced across her skin. Her…very…naked…skin. Alexia didn’t remember undressing herself. Actually, she didn’t remember anything after Braeden dropped her on the bed and left the room.
    â€œWhy that…” She swallowed her curse at the sound of someone moving around on the other side of the closed bedroom door.
    â€œAre you awake?”
    She glared at the door a minute before answering, “No.” She didn’t want to deal with him right now. She was tired of being angry, frightened and confused. And he’d only intensify those emotions.
    â€œThere are clean towels in the bathroom and a robe hanging on the door.”
    Warmth flowed into her limbs at the gravelly sound of his voice. Alexia frowned. More than anything else, she was extremely tired of that.
    How was it possible that a grown woman had no control whatsoever over her physical responses to a man she disliked so intensely? She wasn’t at all certain she could even trust him not to harm her. Why couldn’t her head explain that to her body?
    Until the past couple of days, she’d done just fine without him—most of the time. After a while she’d even been able to put thoughts of him from her mind—more or less. But the second she saw him again, her body went into some lust-crazed overdrive