Nadia's Dragon: Nadia's Dragon: A BBW Paranomal Romance (Dragon Mates Book 2)

by Serena Simpson

  “This is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Nadia this is my room. I have guest rooms, but they are so far away. I’d like you to stay here, but I understand if you’d rather stay in another room.”

  Her eyebrow shot up in the air. He was giving her a choice not just assuming that one time of intimacy said he owned her. She liked that, instead of answering she found herself walking around the room. Being in his private domain answered questions of who he was but opened up a thousand more questions.

  Opening the huge sliding glass doors, she went out onto the balcony; the area was large and beautiful. She had come to expect beauty in just the short time that she had been here. She could almost imagine his dragon out here. The balcony was secure the banister was wide enough for him to stand on without fear of falling.

  “This is one of my favorite places on my mountain. I can change out here and soar the clouds. To the right is Syn’s mountain to the left is Zeno’s. There have been many days when one of us would dive off the balcony only to rise as a dragon calling the others out. Flying together in harmony as we watch over the land we protect.”

  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her pulling her back into his chest. The heat from his body was amazing and the protection she felt in his arms was enough to beat at the shield she raised when she made it back to this plane.

  “How do you protect the land?”

  “There’s a reason no human was here when we found it. It looked like it was years from sliding into the ocean that surrounds it. My brothers and I were able to stabilize the land. Then we used the natural talents of the people we brought here and replenished the land. When I first came here, it was with a sense of anger and outrage, that we had to run to save our lives. Now I wouldn’t want to live any other place.”

  “Have you ever considered going back into mainstream society.”

  “Mainstream is from your point of view. To me, this is mainstream society, and where you come from is broken without the wonderful talents the world was supposed to share.”

  It was all about how you looked at things. She looked out seeing the blue sky that wasn’t competing with tall buildings or lights. She always thought the skyline of where she lived was beautiful, but it didn’t compare with this. The mountains didn’t give her the feeling of roughing it or even camping. It was a different reality but one she was sure she could like.

  She turned in his arms and felt the beat of his heart underneath her head. She remembered the huge wound he suffered to give them a chance at freedom. Flashbacks of Zeno changing forms and still finding a way to save her life. She could feel the breeze on her face as she rode Maceo’s back. This was all her new reality and the more she was in it, the more she liked it.

  “Can you show me where the bathroom is?” It was the roundabout way of saying she wanted to stay in this room with him. Later she would woman up and say yes right out, but now she still needed a little bit of time to settle into what she was learning.

  He took her back inside to one of the doors on the opposite side of the bed. The bathroom was heaven; maybe she could live in it. It was spacious with a shower big enough for several people. He had a deep soaker tub that she wanted to slide into. There were dual sinks with a nice vanity that she would love to use.

  “This place is a dream. It’s masculine, but I see distinct feminine touches.”

  “There comes a point in our lives that all we can do is hope to meet our mate. We begin to plan for her. What would she like? A vanity with nice lighting with a huge comfortable chair and lots of space to place her makeup, perfume, and other things?”

  Nadia blanched she didn’t have any makeup there was a tube of lipstick in her bag. When you worked in a warm kitchen, you weren’t covering your skin in a lot of different colors. She did have lots of perfumes for when she went out; it was her weakness.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing it just dawned on me that after all these years of dreaming of a mate, you probably want her to be feminine and refined, petite.” Flashes of commercials played in her mind as society told her what being female was. If you didn’t measure up to the standard at times, you felt almost invisible as if you didn’t exist.

  “I imagined my female, my mate so many times. There were times when she was short and petite, and I knew I would have to feed her fast. There were other times she was tall and statuesque. In every incarnation, I knew she would be perfect for me. There was one combination I never imagined and that was you. I could never have paired the beauty of your dark skin with your flame red hair. How could I even begin to imagine the brown of your eyes or your smile? You’re not what I imagined Nadia your what I need and what I want. When I think of feminine all I see is you.”

  This was why she needed a shield around her heart. Without thought, she walked into his arms and let him hold her. She wasn’t thinking of how she looked or how desperately she needed a bath all she could think of was Maceo and the way he was tearing down her assumptions of herself and her assumptions about him. She thought she knew what a male who looked like him wanted in a female. Now she knew he wanted her.

  Her stomach rumbled heating up her cheeks. He stepped back with a smile on his face.

  “I need to feed you; I'm not a good mate. I know you want to take a bath first.” He placed a kiss on her forehead before pulling away. “Let me get you some towels. I have a shirt you can put on or a robe or both. I’ll lay everything out for you.”

  She bit her lips so she wouldn’t laugh, but her cheeks hurt from holding it in. Her smooth dragon was gone and before her stood the male who wasn’t sure what to do in this situation.

  “Thank you, do you have any bath gel?”

  “I do, I bought several kinds one day when we all went shopping with Alexa; she mentioned that mates liked to smell good. I also bought some perfumes and a sponge. She said they like those too.”

  She couldn’t help it a happy smile crossed her face. He had no idea what he was doing despite how long he lived, and it had been so long since she even thought of being in a relationship she was rusty. That made them the perfect pair.

  She got into the shower first. As much as she wanted to soak in the tub, she needed to get some of the dirt off of her body before she sank into it. When she came out, everything she needed was waiting for her. She turned on the water and added some bubble bath before she allowed her body to sink into the hot water. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and allowed her muscles to unwind slowly.

  *~*~*~*

  “Maceo?”

  He was resting on the bed while Nadia soaked in the tub. He wanted to be in there with her, but he consoled himself by saying next time. She might be willing to stay in his room with him, but she hadn’t agreed to mate with him yet, and he didn’t want to rush her as much as both he and his dragon needed her.

  “Syn.” He and his brothers could talk to each other because they were siblings. Over time it had grown hard to communicate this way because they were torn, fragmented and each felt death waiting for them with its cold hand ready to freeze them. Now that Nadia was in his life he felt almost whole.

  “I thought you were back, but I wanted to wait a while.”

  His brother would have felt him when he landed on their island. He also would have been looking for Zeno.

  “He didn’t come back Syn.” There was a quietness as his brother waited but he could feel his fear through their connection. They already lost one brother losing another would tear them apart.

  “What started out as a simple rescue took us to the demon plane.” He explained what happened and how they managed to get free. “Eternity kept Zeno behind and spoke with him. I’ve no idea what she told him all I know was that when he stepped out onto our plane, he was determined to stay behind. He said he wouldn’t find his mate here. How could I argue with that, even the Oracles have said our mates wouldn’t be here.”

  “I would have let him go. There was no other choice, but I
can barely feel him almost like he dropped off the face of the earth.”

  “He was going to stay in a hotel that was built over an old burial ground. No one would know it was there it’s so deep, but it will shield his signal for a while. So we can’t feel him but neither can Mutufa.”

  “I hope he finds what he’s looking for. What about you Maceo? Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “She’s beautiful Syn, and I don’t just mean on the outside. How did you walk away from her knowing she was a dragon mate?”

  “She’s not my dragon mate, and I knew dragging her here wouldn’t be for the best, so I gave her a card with your number on it and waited to see if she was your dragon mate.”

  “She is, but what if I can’t convince her to mate with me? What if Mutufa comes back before we are mated and somehow steals her away?”

  “I don’t have any answers for you. You can do what I did which was hold my breath show her around and hope that she looks at you the same way you look at her.”

  “Jillian was here when we drove up.”

  “What did she want?” There was a growl in Syn’s voice, whenever an Oracle got involved something was about to happen, and it never seemed to be good.

  “I’m not sure she spoke to Nadia alone. She did tell her about the island and the impact we have on keeping it in one piece.”

  “One day if all goes well we will share that burden with our children. Stay on alert and bring her by soon, Alexa wants to see her best friend.”

  “I will.” He cut the communication when he heard Nadia climb out the tub.

  Chapter Eighteen

  There was a button down shirt waiting for her to put on. Normally she would have never looked at it, but Maceo wasn’t a small male. His chest was wide and thick with muscle but if she put it on and it didn’t fit. Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she thought about it. Finally, she put the shirt on it hung on her making her feel comfortable and warm but also the perfect size for him. With a shake of her head, she walked out into the other room to grab some underwear. She never went anywhere without an extra pair or two.

  “Hi.” He was stretched out on the bed wearing nothing but a pair of joggers that were a little low in the front. She smiled when she remembered what he was packing inside those joggers.

  “Do you feel better?” He crossed the room to stand in front of her.

  “Uh huh just hungry.”

  His finger came up to touch the side of her cheeks before he stepped back. “Then we should get you fed. Follow me.”

  He took her back to the elevator and hit the button labeled kitchen. She looked up at him, and he gave her a sheepish smile.

  “I figure this way any guest will know exactly where they are going.” The door opened, and she walked out into a very modern kitchen.

  “This is nice.” It was way better than the kitchen in the little house she rented. It was even better than the kitchen in Alexa’s house although her best friend rarely cooked.

  “How did you get all of this here?”

  “Some of it was produced here others we receive in trades with various companies. A lot of our plants are used to make medicine as well as other products we sell to your world.”

  “So you’re not completely isolated.” She took a seat at the island he had in his kitchen. It was a clean white kitchen with pops of gray to keep it from being too stark.

  “Not completely. Is the color a little too dull for you?”

  Her lips turned up in a frown.

  “I remember your silver and blue kitchen.”

  “Aww, I like this kitchen it reminds me of you. It’s reserved with a spark of color.”

  He straightened a little at her comment making her feel light headed. The crazy beat of her heart continued as she watched him respond to her. For the first time, she began to think about his comments about her being his mate. It was sort of like a wife without divorce. That part was scary. She never knew her dad, he knew her, but she couldn’t remember him since he died before she turned one.

  Her mom never remarried. She told her that sometimes people were blessed and given a second person to love but she already had two loves her husband and her. She had loved Nadia until the day she died. When she died, she smiled because she was going to see her other love and she cried because she was leaving Nadia behind. Maybe she was like her mother and only love one man in her lifetime. Loving Maceo wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  “I’m making steaks.”

  She lifted her head blinking back the tears the thought of her mom caused. “I thought you were making real food.”

  “Steak is real food, but I thought about Beef Wellington.” He gave her a smile before turning back to the sink.

  “Why do I think that you just put in a request for Beef Wellington?”

  “Who me? I thought maybe we could have it for dinner tomorrow. Of course, I’ll make it. Now, what do you do first?”

  She tilted back her head and laughed. The stress of not knowing what was going to happen and all that they went through slid off her shoulders.

  “Beef Wellington would be good for dinner tomorrow. I wonder what’s in the fridge.”

  She slid off the chair and padded towards the refrigerator looking down she noticed the socks she was wearing. He had supplied them with the shirt. She felt like she was at home even though this was her first day here. More importantly, she felt like she knew Maceo and she did. She hummed as she looked inside the fridge taking stock of what he had.

  “We are going to have to go shopping.”

  He nodded giving a happy smile before he stiffened. “Syn and Alexa are on their way over she wants to see you.”

  “I need to change.”

  “Your bag is in the closet.”

  She turned towards the elevator not wanting his brother to see her dressed like this. Once she pushed the button to his room, she leaned back against the wall as she wondered what she was doing. Why am I here? Because Mutufa the evil shadow is trying to kill you. Was that really why she was here?

  You’re not here because Maceo is the hottest male you ever laid eyes on. Right? You didn’t come because he makes you feel like a queen, right? You’re going to leave soon, because starting your business is the most important thing to you, right?

  Was she going to leave soon? She plopped down on the bed hard. The questions she was asking were hard and she wasn’t sure she knew the answers to them. Carrying more mental burdens than she wanted to she gathered her bag and pulled on a pair of leggings. Should she change the shirt?

  Turning she walked back to the elevator, it was her life, and she wasn’t living it to please anyone else including her best friend. She had been willing to die for her, but she wasn’t willing to pretend she was someone she wasn’t for her.

  “Nadia!” Alexa screamed as she ran over to wrap her in a giant bear hug.

  “Alexa, I missed you. You won’t believe what happened to me.”

  They stood there holding each other while the males looked at them before they finally made their way to the island to sit.

  “It started with this black shadow that came into the restaurant…” She told the story from the beginning filling in the blanks for Maceo and Syn along the way.

  She looked down at her now empty plate and grinned. “I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking.”

  “You’ve done a lot. I’m so sorry I didn’t know you were being pursued by Mutufa. If I had known.”

  “What could you do? Nothing. I made it that’s what matters.”

  “You did make it, and you’re here. You will love this island. There’s a lot to do here, and you have to meet everyone. There are even three triplets that are Oracles. I didn’t believe it at first, but they are scary in what they can predict.”

  “I met Jillian already.”

  “You did?”

  She nodded her head as she watched Maceo and Syn grimace.

  “Did she say anything important?”

  “Not really sh
e said pick ruby. Hey, thanks.”

  Alexa laughed a little too hard. “I was wondering if maybe you wanted to take a walk while the dragons are doing the dishes.”

  “I need to get shoes.” She turned and hurried to the elevator.

  “I’ll wait.”

  “Alexa, where were you thinking off taking your friend?”

  “Just outside in front of the mountain. Don’t worry Mutufa’s not here right now and Maceo can’t keep her locked up forever.”

  “We have only been here for a few hours, dragon mate. I am not keeping her locked up although I do wish to spend as much time with her as possible.”

  “I know, but we all know that Jillian didn’t come here to tell her to pick ruby. I was hoping to figure it out while we were talking, besides the fact that she is my best friend and I miss her.”

  Syn walked up and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the side of her mouth then her cheek.

  “It can get kind of lonely here although you're making friends. I’m glad that she’s here and I hope for both Maceo and you she decides to stay.”

  “I’m ready.” She walked in wearing a pair of tennis shoes.

  Syn let Alexa go, and they walked back to the elevator. “We’ll be outside for a while.”

  The guys nodded and watched the door close on them.

  “Alexa it has come to my attention that you neglected to tell me that Syn was a dragon and that he had two brothers that were also dragons.”

  “Oh, you noticed.”

  They laughed as they left the elevator and headed for the front door.

  “I should start by telling you what happened to me without all the editing I put in the first time.”

  “That will be nice I’ll ignore the fact that you didn’t mention dragons since I would have had to have you committed for you own good of course.”

  “Of course.” Alexa smiled before she launched into the story. They strolled around Maceo’s property until they realized they were walking towards Jovan’s mountain.

  “In the end, we fought with Mutufa to keep him from invading the plane. We shoved him back behind the door, but I have no idea how long he will stay there.”