Tallulah “Tee” Alameda is a proud member of the Paiute tribe and a casino hostess at the Crown Jewel. She sends half her salary to support the reservation school and has plans to do more. What she doesn’t know is her boss, Leo Ryan, is a dragon shape shifter. The casino is a haven for dragons. The mark on her back isn’t a burn. She’s Leo’s mate, but neither of them realize it. The physical attraction is there, but he hesitates. His dragon form will fade if he doesn’t find his mate soon. Tee decides it’s time to tell Leo how she feels about him. She invites him to the Black Festival on the reservation. First he says no, but her father, the Chief of the tribe, asks him to go with her as a favor. He believes she needs a protector. Things are changing. The young men don’t trust the Chief to make decisions for them. Tee and Leo go separately. Tee meets an old friend, James, and pretends to be his date. Trouble breaks out and Leo takes Tee to the desert. He shows her his dragon side. She’s scared and doesn’t want to pursue a relationship anymore. To protest the way the Chief is handling things, Tee is kidnapped. Many secrets are revealed, some old and some ancient. Tee doesn’t know who to trust anymore. Will she be happy married to a dragon and moving to Australia?
The story is set in Las Vegas. The city is a character, bringing in stereotype tourists with their outrageous demands. Tee’s job is to pacify them and make sure they gamble. Dragons aren’t even noticed. They are seen as part of the décor of the outside of the casino. Addressing the concerns of the tribe is realistic. The Chief doesn’t want a casino because gambling is addictive and could hurt people. The younger men see the money to be made and want the tribe to get it. The secondary characters help set up the next books in the series.
Tee wants to be independent, but close to her family. Leo lives away from his family to search for a mate. When both realize they were made for each other, Tee knows life as she has known it is over. She has a lot to accept to love Leo. They work well together and understand the sacrifices each one has to make.
No Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty, but the song ran through my head the whole time I read the book. It’s an appropriate title.
**ARC provided by Publisher**
Purchase: |
Amazon |
B&N |
0 comments :
Post a Comment