CHAPTER 1 – FRIENDS
Waiting on the promenade of the Red Letter Hotel Paris for her human friends to arrive in the Twilight Realm, Layla Price shifted from foot to foot as snow fell all around. Watching a car pass through the gilded wrought-iron gates of the Palace of Versailles’ inner courtyard, Layla noted a silver Jaguar arrive rather than a black Hotel Mercedes. Juniper boughs with fae-lights like fireflies adorned the gilded French Baroque Hotel gates for Yule. Gold and white ribbon, sprigs of holly, and crimson berries had been woven through the wrought-iron, creating a filigreed tapestry of elegance in the winter day.
Opulence decorated the entire Palace of Versailles for the midwinter celebration of Yule. Evergreen and holly, gold and white twined up every column and through every rail. Though snow swirled down to the grand black and white marble courtyard, the afternoon was strangely bright from the natural magic of the Twilight Realm, every edge seeming diamond-touched and every color brighter than anything possible in the human world. Massive gilded braziers twisted with white-gold flames around the courtyard, highlighting enormous cream Hotel banners embroidered with their crimson ‘R’ and gilded crown, that sparkled through the falling snow.
The effect was gloriously elite – a winter wonderland for Yule.
Off-work for the week’s celebrations, Layla stood in contrast to all that gold and fuss; wearing skinny jeans with russet leather boots rather than her professional Hotel finery today. Bundled in a navy peacoat with a cream scarf, her long sable curls pulled loosely over one shoulder, she was usually warm from her Desert Dragon’s heat, but her nerves at her human friends’ arrival were currently giving her a cold sweat. Layla knew her friends were going to love the Hotel; the interior had been decorated as thoroughly as the exterior for the holidays, though with the addition of mistletoe to kiss under. All the same, something moved restlessly inside Layla as a white Tesla Roadster drove through the gates, and she shifted again.
Waiting with her on the promenade, her boss in Concierge Services and bound Royal Crystal Dragon lover Dusk Arlohaim grinned as he glanced at her, a wave of light rippling through his artfully-styled dark hair. His sapphire eyes were luminous in the snowy day, serrated ridges of midnight Dragon-scales at his temples outlining his exquisite handsomeness. Wearing a slim charcoal Italian suit with a midnight-blue pocket square and matching tie, Dusk was comfortable in the cold. Grinning at her like a handsome devil as he tucked his hands nonchalantly in his pockets, he waited until Layla finally glanced over.
“What?” Layla spoke, her breath puffing in the late-December air.
“Layla Price, I do believe you’re nervous to see your friends from Seattle.” Dusk chuckled in his rolling baritone, though it was absent of his earth-shaking Crystal Dragon magics today.
“I’m not nervous.” Layla spoke stubbornly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her peacoat to stop her fidgeting. “I just want to make sure my friends get a good impression of the Hotel while they’re here, that’s all. I’ve been working here almost six months and I’ve gotten used to the Twilight Realm, but this is their first time here, and I want everything to go well.”
“You’re more nervous than just making a good impression at the Hotel,” Dusk watched her with humor glinting in his sapphire eyes, interrupting her anxiety with his bright banter and astuteness – which came in handy for his position as Head Concierge of the Paris Hotel. “I can feel tension vibrating all through you. Not to mention it smells like a Yule-log soaked in bourbon out here. If I had to hedge a guess, I’d say you’re concerned about Luke and I meeting. Your current hottie versus your ex.”
“Thanks, but I’m actually thinking about a lot of things right now, not just your ego.” Layla sassed with a lift of one dark eyebrow, though she was smiling now. It was hard to not smile at Dusk’s handsomely cheeky nature. But she couldn’t deny the intensity boiling off her, her Dragon-magics rioting as she waited for her friends to arrive. She and Dusk had only been standing in the snow a few minutes, but as Layla shifted her stance again, it felt like an hour.
“You’re worried Luke’s going to be jealous.” Dusk spoke up cheekily beside her. “Even though he and I have talked on the phone about this trip, getting your friends ready for everything they’ll encounter in the Twilight Realm, he’s still your ex and I’m your current beau. One of three. That’s got to be on your mind.”
“So what if it is?” Layla glanced at him, though she knew he was one hundred percent right. Her nerves roiled, not knowing how to explain to her friends that she had not one, not two, butthreebound lovers since Thanksgiving. All of them handsome-as-hell Royal Dragons and billionaires to boot – who could slay even the hottest human man Layla had ever met in the looks and sex appeal department.
“Well, I know how protective Luke is of you.” Dusk held her gaze with gravitas now as snow settled into his sculpted hair and onto the shoulders of his slim Italian suit. “He’s already taken my measure, and fortunately we get along. But he’s going to size up Adrian and especially Reginald, once they get a chance to meet. Luke has already judged Adrian badly. And Reginald… well. We’ll see how that goes.”
Layla gave a short sigh; Dusk was right. Her human ex-boyfriend Luke Murphy was a tempest in a teakettle, and Layla was already dreading him meeting Reginald Durant, Royal Siren and Head Courtier of the Hotel – and perpetual dick to anyone he judged as beneath him. As Dragons, Dusk and her bound Royal Desert Dragon Adrian Rhakvir were sexily arrogant, but Reginald was ten times that. “Small favors that Reginald is still away visiting his clan in the North Sea. Any word when he’ll be back, by the way?”
“Not yet.” Dusk sobered as he stared off into the settling snow. “The North Sea Sirens are a scary bunch, Layla. Reginald has a score to settle with his clan now that his brother Bastien is dead. Though Reginald won their Dragon-battle a month ago, it was with intervention. His brothers and father are debating if that raises Reginald into the Clan Second position or not. If it doesn’t, he’ll likely continue on here at the Paris Hotel as Head Courtier once his mandatory leave is finished. But if it does…”
“Reginald’s going to be more embroiled in his clan’s politics than ever.” Layla spoke, her breath puffing in the chill air. Deep inside, her Dragon coiled through her veins with a tight, bitter worry, producing a scorched scent in the air like orange peels burned with a blowtorch. “What about Adrian? Any word from him yet?”
“Adrian’s settled, finally.” Dusk smiled gently as he slung an arm around Layla, hugging her close. “He’s at one of his safe houses. Everything’s going to be ok, Layla. Adrian’s safe from the Hotel Board and Reginald’s in no immediate danger from his clan. The Intercessoria are monitoring the Hotel closely for Hunter with all the new magical security they’ve installed, thanks to the information you provided Heathren Merkami with a month ago. Your friends are going to have a fantastic time this week at the Hotel, I’ve set up all kinds of fun activities for them. Everything is taken care of, I promise.”
“I know. You’ve thought of everything, like always.” Glancing up, Layla cuddled close to Dusk, kissing his lips sweetly. “You’re like this incredible grounding force in my life. Every time I start to worry, you’re always there, cool and calm, planning six steps ahead of anyone else. Believe me, I’m grateful.”
“Your welfare matters to me,” he spoke, his bright sapphire gaze smiling at her like a high summer sky despite the cold day. “And as a Crystal Dragon, I have a lot more grounding than most. If I can use that to better your situation, I will. Besides, I enjoy taking advantage of your gratefulness when we get to see each other at night.”
“But how are you not infernally jealous of the other bound men in my life?” Layla asked as she pulled back slightly, gazing up at him as she read beneath his cheeky innuendo about their currently blazing-hot sex life. “It’s like you’re always just smoothing tempers and helping us all get along in this crazy new world that you, Reginald, Adrian, and I have entered with our Bound power.”
“I am jealous.” Dusk’s smile was wry though his blue eyes were honest. “But I get time with you while we’re working at the Concierge desk. I get time when we sleep together at night. Adrian isn’t around now that the Hotel Owners want his head on a platter, and Reginald is off at his clan home, working to get a handle on his Dragon and dealing with his clan’s shit. Your Dragon attacked Luke as an inferior mate in the fall, so he’s out of the running to be your beau. Plus, I understand complex relationships; you forget how many lovers I’ve juggled over the years. A Dragon’s sex life is a crazy world, Layla, and you’re just getting started. I’m jealous, but I know how to be practical. The last thing you need in your life is a pissy Crystal Dragon trying to encase the rest of your men in quartz cocoons and hide them outside in the snow.”
Layla laughed; she couldn’t help it. Dusk had an ego as big as the moon, but she couldn’t deny his endless practicality. Lifting up, she gripped his lapels and kissed him again. It was deep and sensual, and he wound his strong arms around her with a deviant rumble to pull her close to his fit soccer-player’s muscles as they kissed right out in the open. Their affair was no secret, and Layla didn’t mind the hot kissing in public. It thrilled her, making her Dragon turn over deliciously inside her as she became breathless, her heart hammering. Dusk chuckled as he pulled away, his sapphire eyes luminous and impossibly cheeky as his breath came hot and fast also.
“Besides. You like me best. I can feel it.”
“You wish!” Layla laughed as she slapped his chest lightly, though she was still buzzing from that kiss, her Dragon growling appreciatively inside her veins with a scalding surge of power. “Besides, you’re one to talk about juggling multiple partners. How many lovers do you still have, Casanova, now that you and I are together? I mean, you’ve been with me almost every night this past month.”
“Well, you might be pleased to know I’ve cut my impossibly long roster of lovers to only three these days.” Dusk grinned as he nuzzled her nose, still not letting her wriggle out of his strong arms. “You, Amalia DuFane strictly because she makes me the best outfits after a good orgasm, and Rake André. I’ve discovered Royal Dragon Binds are a lot to handle in bed; sometimes three or four times a night. Not that I’m complaining.”
“Wait, Rake is one of your lovers? Not Rikyava anymore?” Layla blinked, ignoring Dusk’s innuendo about her ridiculously high libido, courtesy of her new Dragon-magics. He wasn’t kidding that there were occasionally nights where Layla woke up numerous times needing to be satisfied – and Dusk was always happy to supply.
Layla had known her best friend and Head of the Hotel Guard Rikyava Andersen occasionally slept with Dusk, though it was a surprise to hear Dusk had cut that association off. She hadn’t known Head Bartender Rake André, who was also interim Head Courtier now that Reginald was on hiatus, was one of Dusk’s lovers. But Layla had known Dusk occasionally took men to bed and the thought suddenly made her body grip hard. A wash of sweet bourbon and orange peel scent wafted up around her as she imagined the fit-as-shit Dusk and the slender, gorgeous Rake André in bed together.
It was a hot image and she knew her cheeks burned as Dusk laughed.
“Rikyava’s still pining for someone, though she won’t tell anyone who. But you didn’t know Rake was one of my regular partners, did you?” Dusk chuckled as he leaned in. Speaking by Layla’s ear, he gave a delicious earth-shaking rumble of his magics that shuddered right to Layla’s most intimate places. “Maybe I’ll let you participate with Rake and I sometime. Rake’s not a Dragon but he slays them in bed, believe me.”
