The Dragon’s Pretend Marriage

The Dragon’s Pretend Marriage Enemies to Lovers Paranormal Romance Beaufort Creek Shifters Book 3 Layla Silver Copyright © 2023 by Layla Silver. All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review. Contents Chapter 1 - Milton Chapter 2 - Brandi Chapter 3 - Milton Chapter 4 - Brandi Chapter 5 - Milton Chapter 6 - Brandi Chapter 7 - Milton Chapter 8 - Brandi Chapter 9 - Milton Chapter 10 - Brandi Chapter 11 - Milton Chapter 12 - Brandi Chapter 13 - Milton Chapter 14 - Brandi Chapter 15 - Milton Chapter 16 - Brandi Chapter 17 - Milton About the Author Books by Layla Silver Chapter 1 - Milton If this girl went on any longer, I was going to lose my appetite. That simple fact was all I could think about while my attention drifted to my surroundings. A white tablecloth decorated each table in the vicinity. Rich violet wallpaper hosted a medley of swirling shapes that could have been vines or whips—it wasn’t clear to me. And it didn’t matter either. I just wanted to get the hell out of here. Glassware clinked and caught my attention. The girl across from me—Rita might have been her name—gave me a pearly grin while batting her eyelashes. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you, sugar?” Her country accent rivaled her perfectly crisp autumn-orange tan, her glowing green eyes, her bleached blonde hair. Nothing about her appearance made me feel any sort of affection. Not even a wiggle from the antenna downstairs. She was just another typical date. I sighed while lifting my glass of whiskey. “Nope.” She blinked rapidly. This time, it was less flirtatious and more from surprise. “Really?” “You think my parents put us on this date to hook us up or something?” I snorted once from amusement when her expression twisted with indignance. “Don’t give me that face, darling. You and every other chick I’ve dated this week have been after my fortune.” “That’s not true!” She slapped the table with her periwinkle-colored clutch. “I accepted this invitation because I care about you and your parents.” I swirled the amber liquid in my glass. “How much did they pay you just to show up?” Her expression shifted again. Remorse. Maybe even shame. She was doing such a poor job of keeping my attention. I had to liven things up by poking a hole in her reality. Letting her know that she wasn’t about to get the dragon and the treasure he hoarded. No matter how many times she pressed her tits together. “My mother probably told you to wear that dress, too,” I commented. My eyes fell on her hourglass figure. She was stunning. But she wasn’t my type. “That shade of blue is irresistible, but it doesn’t suit you.” “How dare you!” I stood up, knocking my chair over loudly enough to invite the attention of every patron in the vicinity. The violinist on the stage in the far corner of the room squeaked slightly at the commotion. But everyone else remained perfectly still. “How dare you try to fool me into thinking that you care about me and my family,” I chided. “How dare you show up wearing that cheap knockoff Gucci and those low pumps.” I peeked beneath the table. “They don’t even match, Rita.” “My name is Ren.” My eyes rolled. “What an impression you’ve made. Tell my parents to pay you the rest of the sum they promised since they’re so intent on making me unhappy.” “Wait a minute. Where are you going?” She was standing now with her palms on the table and her curly hair falling over her shoulders. She was conventionally attractive in a lot of ways, a suitable model. However gorgeous, that didn’t make her a suitable mate. After plucking the appropriate amount of bills for the check plus a tip for both the waiter and the violinist struggling to keep the attention of those now heatedly watching my performance, I bowed my head to Rita—or Ren. Or whatever her name was. “Listen, it’s nothing personal,” I claimed. “I’m just not keen on being hoodwinked.” I grabbed an extra bill from my wallet and handed it to her. “Get yourself an actual Gucci dress from Posh just around the corner. Vivian knows me by name. Just go ahead and drop it.” The woman inspected the bill in her hand, a rouge plumping her cheeks a bit as she sniffled. “You didn’t have to be so rude.” “And you didn’t have to be so obnoxious.” One steely sweep of my eyes around the room forced everyone watching to return to their meals. The dragon had spoken. The show was over. But surely someone had caught it on camera. The beast hiding in the caves of my soul huffed as I headed toward the rear entrance. Shiny cameras are out front. Why aren’t we heading in that direction? Because I wanted some privacy. Because my parents didn’t want privacy. Because it was just too much to handle right this second. A sigh and a shuffle pushed me through the kitchen and into the abandoned alley. My limo pulled up shortly, tailed by a news van. There were some things I simply couldn’t avoid, wasn’t that right? As soon as I hopped into the back, I knocked on the privacy window. It rolled down within a split second. “Take me to a club,” I ordered. “Just a regular club. I don’t care where.” The driver nodded and rolled the window back up. Silence wound around my body, providing me a break from the penetrative energy just outside the car. Once the limo reached the mouth of the alley, flashes of light surrounded the vehicle and a murmur