Dragon's Lair by Seraphina Donavan

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
    A fine sheen of perspiration glistened on her skin as Lilly Montague walked the cobbled streets of the French Quarter. Though it wasn’t quite five in the afternoon, the gas lights lining the streets flickered beneath their glass shields. The city was exotic to her, and the wail of a saxophone in the distance made it even more surreal. Something had happened to her since she’d come to the city. It was as if all her senses had come alive and she was more aware of everything. The sights and smells of the city, both divine and repulsive, assailed her, the heat was like a living thing as it caressed her skin, and the light sheen of sweat was not the only dampness that resulted.
    As she moved, she felt the fabric of her sundress shifting over her skin. In deference to the heat, she had forgone underwear, and she could feel the dew of her arousal slick on her thighs. She needed to get back to her tiny apartment and the new toy that was waiting for her. She had never used sex toys before, but she’d gone to a shop on Bourbon Street earlier that day and purchased a large vibrator with small attachments that would stimulate both her clit and the delicate nerve endings of her anus. It would be a new experience for her, but that was the whole purpose of her new venue. Her life had collapsed around her a decade earlier when her father had died and her mother had suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a car accident. A week from her eighteenth birthday, she’d become a full time caregiver to her mother, and her dreams of college, dating and parties had simply vanished.
    Turning down a side street, she walked for more than a block before realizing that she was on the wrong street. She’d called earlier that day about the waitressing gig at a restaurant on St. Ann Street. Glancing at her watch, she realized she was one minute away from being late for her interview. They would never give her a job. Lilly muttered a curse and turned around, only to find herself face to face with a broad-shouldered bouncer. His face was shielded by an elaborate beard and a pair of mirrored sunglasses. His dark blond hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and a tattoo peeked from beneath the tight T-shirt he wore. He didn’t smile, but he turned his head toward her.
    “Are you lost, darlin’?”
    The accent was pure Cajun, and Lilly responded immediately. Her nipples puckered inside the lace of her bra, and the dampness between her thighs intensified. “I seem to have misplaced my job,” she said in a mild attempt at humor.
    His lips quirked. “If it’s work you’re lookin’ for, cher , we’ve got plenty inside.”
    She was tempted—so tempted. She didn’t even know his name, but she could clearly picture them together. The vision of his strong arms around her, her legs wrapped around his lean hips, and his cock driving into her was powerful. Sanity intruded, along with the idea that she didn’t want this gorgeous man to see her chubby thighs and cellulite.
    “I should probably just find the restaurant I was looking for. This place looks a little high-end for me.”
    “Never that,” he said, again with a teasing smile. “Go inside. Talk to Remy. We need a waitress.”
    Glancing down at her dress, Lilly was painfully aware that her pebbled nipples were plainly visible through the thin cotton. “I’m not really dressed for it,” she protested, but even then she wanted to do as he said. She wanted to follow his suggestions.
    “Darlin’, with a body like yours, it’s a damn shame you’re dressed at all. Go in. Have a drink. Talk to Remy. Take a chance,” he said, and opened the door.
    She was like Alice, and he was a bottle tagged with “drink me”. Helpless to resist, she moved past him through the open door, feeling the hard ridge of his cock nudge her hip. She wanted to stop there, to press herself against him, but she didn’t. Moving forward, she stepped into the dark