Destined Dragon

By Laura M. Baird

Dragon shifter and Vegas businessman, Raibert McKade, has it all. Except for a mate. When no one holds his interest and casual hook-ups lose their appeal, he immerses himself in work, leaving no time for socializing. Until one morning, all his plans are rearranged when his mate literally runs into him.

Game designer, Layla Brantley, needs a drastic change, and a dream job in Vegas offers the perfect opportunity. Leaving behind parents who don’t support her and a deadbeat boyfriend who never appreciated her, she’s ready to make her life her own. She never expects to collide with a handsome man and discover he’s Raibert McKade, owner of The Mercury and host of the convention she’s attending. And she definitely doesn’t expect the man to show interest in her.

Raibert has his hands full with the captivating and curvy Layla, and he’d have it no other way. But will he convince her of her destiny, or will she walk away, leaving him to suffer loneliness for the rest of his days?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight
• Release date: Sep 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9780369506924

Laura M. Baird

Wife, mother, Army veteran, dental hygienist, and published author. I strive to write contemporary romance full of emotion, laughter, and suspense ... along with a variety of heat! When not reading or writing, I love spending time with family in the Pacific Northwest.

Book preview

Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2022 Laura M. Baird

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0692-4

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Audrey Bobak

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To those who know the joy of loving your soul mate, may that love always soar.

DESTINED DRAGON

Romance on the Go ®

Laura M. Baird

Copyright © 2022

Chapter One

Raibert McKade swept across the desert sand, the luxurious night air caressing his massive body as his wings propelled him further away from the city.

Las Vegas. Sin City. The city that never slept. The entertainment capital of the world.

He practically rolled his eyes—that was, if a dragon could roll its eyes—thinking about all the inane nicknames for the place he called home. He found himself repeating that action far too often these past several days due to a variety of annoyances, hence the need to lose himself in flight, if only for a few hours.

As the owner of hotels and casinos in Vegas, he handled a lot. Sure, he had trusted managers in place who ran his operations flawlessly, but he’d always been a hands-on person, even if he’d rather stay behind the scenes as often as he could. But in a place like Vegas, it wasn’t always possible to remain unseen.

With the opening of his newest venture, The Mercury, mere days ago, Raibert and his staff found themselves being put to the test. By design, his hotel was the largest establishment not featured on the infamous strip, and they were hosting the CES—Consumer Electronics Show. Normally, it was held at the LV Convention Center, but after an unfortunate incident in November, their prediction for having the facility ready had been overly optimistic. And with other convention spaces unable to accommodate, long story short, The Mercury now had the honor.

Were they capable of handling the task? Absolutely. Raibert had purposely held off initially scheduling any large gatherings, preferring to host more intimate ones to ensure his staff worked through any glitches to achieve perfection. Looked like that plan would be shot out the window. His facility had more than adequate space to handle the numerous exhibitors as well as provide rooms for the presenters and attendees. Preparations had been completed for the flood of people, equipment, and displays that would descend upon him tomorrow. He and his staff were ready, and he had no doubt their performance would be stellar.

His eye-rolling had mostly been due to others seeing this as the opportune time for Raibert to finally pull himself out of his woman slump and find someone to ease his tensions. He’d scoffed at the idea. So what if he’d been celibate as of late due to lack of interest because his relationships weren’t doing it for him? Not that he’d divulge that little nugget, giving them more ammunition at his expense.

Raibert wasn’t into casual hook-ups to ease his libido. His hand could accomplish that without the complication of feelings coming into play. But even those sessions had ceased. He’d had nothing to inspire even a hint of lust or craving. During a rather uncomfortable conversation, his baby sister assured him it was because he was saving himself for his mate. He didn’t even want to think about Ayleigh suspecting how he eased his tension. Hell, he knew she was far from innocent, having a mate of her own, as well as owning a sex toy business. But she was still his baby sister, and as she was his only sibling, he would always and forever think of himself as being her protective older brother.

Saving himself for a mate?

Even now he snorted, shooting sparks that briefly lit the sky before fizzling. He wouldn’t hold his breath hoping he’d stumble upon the one. Besides, it was hard to do when he kept himself sequestered in his offices and suites, or his home situated in the hills above Lake Mead.

Time and again, his family and friends tried to meddle in his love life. He loved them for their concern, but it became a pain in his ass constantly feigning one excuse after another. Could he meet someone? In a place like Vegas, where hordes of people filtered through day and night, meeting someone wasn’t the issue. Meeting someone who captured not only his interest, but also his heart, was.

Casting aside those useless thoughts, he stretched his wings before him and whipped them back, slicing through the starlit night. While above populated areas, he made sure to gain altitude to avoid detection, but once certain he wouldn’t be seen, the fun began. He flew south, taking the same path every time to pass over the Hoover Dam, thinking of his father, who took part in its construction. From there, he headed due east. With his enhanced vision, he could make out the topography of the hills and ravines, and within moments, he reached his destination. Gliding from one rim to the other at the western edge of the Grand Canyon, he dove into the depths of the earth, maneuvering easily due to its expanse. Dipping low, he skimmed the surface of the Colorado River before rocketing skyward, clearing the edge only to dive in once again.

The feeling of euphoria, of enjoying the night in his dragon form was better than any cocktail or connection he could have back in the city. Exploring the canyon had been his favorite pastime since his father first brought him here once he’d gained confidence with his flying. He could fly across all two hundred and seventy-seven miles of this spectacular place in one night, but instead, he took his time to fully