The Curse of the Dragon Spicy Romantasy Book Box

I stepped outside to greet my brother's fiancee and drew up short at the woman protruding from the door of the carriage. I couldn't really say what I'd been expecting since I'd given it little thought beyond my brother's reaction, but seeing her bent over with her rear end facing my direction was definitely not it.


"Oh good gracious," my mother said before she covered her mouth.


My father coughed, and that caught the attention of everyone in the driveway. Including the woman who was struggling with her bag.


"Oh for goodness’ sake. Ian, go and help the poor girl before she embarrasses herself."


I rushed to the side of the carriage. "Do you need some assistance?" I asked, still somewhat mesmerized by her struggle. And the flare of her curved bottom still aimed in my direction.


"No, I've got it. Thank you, though," she said, her body jerking backward and forward as she continued her plight. Every move threatened to topple her into my lap, causing an awareness I had no business having, tightening the front of my trousers.


"Cordelia!" the woman from the other side of the carriage shrieked when she caught sight of me standing behind her daughter, who remained bent over in front of me, her arse practically in my face now.


"What?!" she asked at the same time she finally got the piece of luggage free. The sudden move made her lose her balance and tumble from the carriage.


Before her bottom hit the ground, I dove forward and caught her around the waist and hauled her upright. Right up the front of my body. And for one sinful moment, all I could think about was how incredible she felt in my hands. There were soft curves upon soft curves, and my mind couldn't help picturing what they might look like unclothed. Or feel pressed against me…


"What the—?" she said, through a long curtain of black-as-night curly hair that currently shrouded most of her face. That moment of seeing but not seeing only lasted a second, but the desire to brush the hair out of her face and get my first look at her rose swift and sharp. Her hands, however, came up and pushed it out of the way and away from her face, beating me to it.


Our gazes met, and for a moment it felt like time stood still. She wasn't at all what I had expected, and yet, she was so much more. Her skin was the color of warmth and smoothly unblemished, as if it had never seen the sun. Her nose a small silhouette but slightly disproportionate to the rest of her larger-than-life features. Her cheeks were a slash of bright pink from either embarrassment or surprise, but it was the green gold color of her eyes that drew me in and made it impossible to look away. They were nearly the identical color to my brother’s, except for the additional flecks of brown as the setting sun danced across her face.


"Oh," she said on a pant. "I'm—I'm so—darn it. Are you—oh boy." She dropped the bag, picked up the edges of her deep-blue skirt, and then dipped down into a curtsy on shaky legs. "Your Highness."


And for the first time in my life, I experienced a glimpse of what it must be like for Isaac. To not care about anything because everything was given to him. No matter what it was. Anger and hatred swelled fierce inside me in a flash, and for the first time in my life, I believed I hated my brother enough to kill him. Because this creature—this woman—was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life, and she belonged to him.