Page 1 of Bully Billionaire Dragon

Prologue - Taylor

Ten Years Ago

TJ Rubens is a god in a teenage boy's body. He has to be. He is tall, tanned, and has the most kissable lips I have ever seen. His lips aren’t the biggest, but they are pouty, and the most perfect shade of pink.

There is something about TJ that makes me turn into a puddle of stuttering goo whenever I see him. It is like my mouth cannot work properly when he is around.

I stare out the window of our beach house, watching TJ run towards the shore in his boardshorts, his blonde hair flopping as he runs.

I grab a beach towel and run to the backyard of our rented beach house. The beach house is vast, standing three stories high. There is a wraparound deck and it leads straight out to the beach.

It is the second day of our family vacation, and the first day we are enjoying the beach, since after arriving yesterday we spent it unpacking and cooking pasta for dinner.

TJ’s family has been close to mine since our fathers started working together three years ago. My crush on TJ has only blossomed since then. He has never shown me much attention, as he and my brother were the same age, but they're only two years older than me; now that I finished my freshman year of high school, I feel ready for love.

I know from the countless chick flicks and romantic comedies I've watched that TJ and I are meant to be. He is the athletic hot jock, and I am the shy girl who is his friend's littlesister. It's almost as if our fate has been predestined—or at least that's what I tell myself as I approach TJ on the beach.

The sand is soft and hot beneath my toes, and it makes me feel calm.

By the time I reach TJ, he is lying on the sand, oblivious to the world with his head buried in some sports magazine as he lies on his stomach.

I walk up to him and clear my throat, trying to pose and show off my new swimsuit.

“Hey TJ, mind if I set my towel down next to you?” I ask, shuffling my feet in the dry sand.

“Do what you want.”

He doesn’t even look up at me.

My heart starts to deflate as I realize his attention is elsewhere.

Maybe I just need to try a little more flirting to get his attention.

I lay my colorful towel out next to him gently, so as to not blow sand everywhere. He'd hated it last summer when I got sand all over him and his boardshorts.

“What are you reading?” I ask, trying to make more conversation.

TJ holds up the cover, and I see it's some basketball magazine. I know nothing about basketball, so I just smile at him as I flop down onto my towel.

That action seems to catch his attention, and TJ finally looks at me as I struggle to look hot on the towel.

“I didn’t know whales could survive on land,” TJ mutters before laughing to himself.

I look around and don’t see any whales on the beach.

What is TJ talking about?

He keeps laughing and a heavy weight fills my belly.

Is he laughing at me?

“What’s so funny?”

TJ shrugs as he sets his magazine down and faces me.

“Why are you wearing that?” TJ asks with a chuckle.

My face flushes, but it feels good to know he is noticing me.

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