Read Redemption (Red Dragon Book 1) for Free Online

present."
    "What?" Johann plucked the photo from his hand and turned it around, his eyes widening when he saw what was on it. "Who on Earth is this?"
    It was a picture of Myf the previous summer, looking equally nervous and stunning in a sky blue bikini. Her incredible curves were clearly on display, her sheet of black hair clinging damply to pale skin, and her blue eyes were wide in shock as the photo was taken. She was certainly a Vaughn, even more so than Cat, and from what he had seen with the portraits hung around Caerdydd, there was a good reason their favour had been fought for so violently in the past.
    "That dear cousin is your soon to be wife," he said. "You may thank me later."
    There was silence from Johann as he stared at the picture. "Myf? But she’s fat"
    He couldn't help but roll his eyes at how shallow the other man could be. "No, she was fat six years ago. Then again, so was I."
    Johann slowly nodded his head. "I suppose, I just never thought that she would get ..."
    "Hot?" Valto laughed. "She is a Vaughn Joh, and Cat's sister. You can't have believed that those genes wouldn't win out eventually. Not only that but she's a really nice person, a bit sweet and quiet for the likes of you, but certainly not one of your usual bitches."
    "They're not all bitches," said Johann. "Sirrka wasn't a bitch."
    "No she wasn't, and it's nice that the only one you were serious about was nice. But recently they've all been piranhas."
    "She's sweet?" Johann glanced back down at the photo.
    "Cat calls her submissive," he said. "Must be from their father beating them down constantly."
    "Submissive." Johann's voice was barely a whisper. "I've never really done submissive."
    "Well get the thought of having her on a leash out of your mind." Valto elbowed him in the side. "She's too nice for that sort of thing."
    "I wasn't ..." Johann protested. "... Now I am."
    With another laugh, Valto left his cousin fawning over the picture and weaved his way through the crowd in the ballroom until he was able to push open the doors outside.
    Thankfully there was nobody else on the terrace, though he did take the winding steps down into the garden and settled himself on a patch of grass surrounded by tall bushes. The last thing he wanted was for his other cousins to find him out here calling his fiancé; he would never hear the end of it. Tipping his face momentarily into the fading sunlight, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.
    With his heart in his throat, he scrolled through his contacts before finding Cat's number and hit 'call'.
    "Hello." Her voice was slightly muffled, as if he had woken her up and he had a flash of guilt at that.
    "Cat? It's Valto."
    "Oh." There was the sound of her sitting up, and her quiet yawn made him smile. "How's the wedding?"
    "Starting to wind down now. Kai and Steph have already left, so it's just us stragglers hanging around."
    "Did you give Johann the picture?" There was a certain tone of amusement to her voice.
    "Yes you tease, and I think it'll be providing his entertainment for the evening."
    "That is disgusting! Myf will have a heart attack when I tell her."
    "I don't know why everyone thinks you're nice, you can be quite evil when you feel like it."
    She laughed then. "So did you dance?"
    "There wasn't anyone to dance with. Plus I don't dance, you know that."
    "I'm sure there are plenty of pretty single girls there who would be up for a spin."
    "None of them were you." The alcohol that Kai had been all but pouring down his throat all evening had turned him into a sap. "Why would I want to dance with anyone but you?"
    "How much have you had to drink?"
    "A bit. You know us Finns."
    "Yes I do."
    "How were your meetings? As boring as you thought they would be?"
    "Worse. Agricultural treaties are quite possibly the worst things on Earth. I've come to the conclusion that this is how they actually killed the Kings of the past; they bored them to death. I mean seriously who cares how many