Black scales filled his body, down from the long tail, to the long torso, up to the face with its long snout and head crowned with spikes. The snout was filled with sharp, white teeth and his paws were filled with strong, black claws, made for slashing or gripping. Intelligent, green eyes looked at her, and she held its stare before her eyes strayed to his back.
Wings. Massive, enormous wings that expanded to twice his length, arching gracefully as he extended them.
Myth said vampires would die with garlic and holy water, and that was all a big lie.
Myth also said dragons were extinct, yet here was one.
A glorious, beautiful one standing in front of her.
Oh. My. GOD!
Her mind now screamed in rapture at the discovery. It was a giant being, towering over her and making her feel like a tiny pebble in comparison.
The dragon's head tilted, the movement a blend of arrogance and deadly grace. Her hands itched to touch him, even as she was trying not to back away at the sheer power he radiated.
Then another surprise hit her.
Told you I'd show you.
The slow, male words pierced her mind. Sophia's eyes widened.
“How did you–” she began – then realized her voice was shaking, so she steadied it first before continuing. “You can communicate?”
One of our powers when we're fully shifted. Cool?
The gentle ripple of his words soothed her and she nodded her head. Then, remembering exactly what he did earlier, she narrowed her eyes at him.
“Next time, warn me when you undress.”
Care to tell me via mind?
She tilted her head thoughtfully, still unable to take her eyes off him. Then an idea crossed her mind. She closed her eyes to concentrate – then she released a string of yelling curses about her express opinion of his unsolicited nakedness.
There was a very loud snort and a growl filled with what might have been amusement coming from his snout. Sophia opened her eyes and grinned triumphantly.
“Heard all that?”
Every lovely word.
Sophia shrugged. “Just saying the truth.”
You're going to see me naked eventually.
“Over my dead body.”
We're mates. It's inevitable.
“Not if I can help it.”
Suit yourself. I have years to wait.
Not if she could help it. She kept that thought locked in her mind, a secret he would know soon enough.
What do you think?
Gorgeous. Breathtakingly powerful.
“It's okay,” she said instead, shrugging her shoulders.
Another snort from him, this time of disbelief.
You're a piece of work.
“Thank you!” she replied brightly.
Come. Ride me and we'll go.
The words were promptly out of her mouth before she could process it. “No.” She realized he meant ride him, as in ride him – the magnificent dragon with no harness and a certain wildness about him that could never be contained.
She'd ridden a horse shifter once out of necessity. It hadn't ended well.
We need to get to the castle.
“Then shift back and let's go.”
Ride me.
“No.”
Jesus, Soph.
“Sophia. And hell, no.”
A huge growl emitted from his snout.
You're unbelievably stubborn.
“Thank you. And the answer's still no.”
Fine. Suit yourself.
She picked up his pants and held them in her hand, prepared to turn around while he shifted back to his human form. Instead, he spread his wings high in the air, his snout baring teeth before forming into an arrogant smirk.
A dragon. Smirking.
See you at the castle. Please bring my bag.
Then his wings flapped, his body lifted, and his form flew into the air and in the direction of the castle, leaving amazement and incredulity in his wake.
Amazement because he really was astonishingly magnificent.
Incredulity because he left her.
He left her!
He continued flying away, not once looking back. Sophia found herself glaring at his back as shock and fury blended in a cacophony that made her temper fly.
She stared at the castle, which looked suddenly far away. Then she lifted her chin in the air.
Fine.
First, she was going to toss his pants into the sea.
Then she was going for a long, pleasurable walk.
And she was going to love it.
CHAPTER NINE
Sophia arrived just as the sun set, looking more irritated and fascinated than anything else. Robbie had actually wanted to piss her off, but she seemed to get his game as she gave him one searing look before politely inquiring where her room was going to be.
“I’ll show you in a bit. How was your walk?”
“It was mighty fine,” she bit out.
Then she tossed the backpack in his face.
At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to laugh out loud, but he tried to restrain himself as he showed her around the castle instead.
The castle wasn’t exactly the simple castle that most tourists seemed to enjoy looking at and the royals owned at the moment – it was an actual medieval castle with stone walls, built in the 10th century and owned by one of his oldest friends. The outside of the castle was left alone to resemble what it had been in the past, and the inside, too, except for the addition of some modern conveniences, like a toilet, heating, and plumbing, among others.
And there were antiques – lots and lots of antiques that his friend had collected over the years, dotting the castle here and there.
Sophia remained quiet as she stared wide-eyed at everything, particularly the paintings hanging on the walls. She stopped by a painting of dragons in a field, at war with goblins as fire and blood erupted everywhere.
“Goblins are real?”
“As real as we are.”
Sophia turned her head to him, openly curious. “How many dragons are in existence?”
Five, his mind supplied automatically. Then he remembered that wasn’t true anymore, and he tried to restrain the rage and grief of that statement from flowing out.
“Four,” he murmured to her instead. “One residing in New York, one in Japan, one lost somewhere, and—”
“—and the most awesome and handsome one here in Ireland.”
The voice sent alarm to Sophia’s eyes as she raised a hand automatically as if to cast a spell – then, as if remembering where she was, put it down right away. Robbie raised his brow at the action.
“That scared of them, huh?”
As expected, she gave him a scathing look. “I just like to be prepared.”
“And what a lovely sight you are.”
Robbie’s friend stood right in front of her and offered his hand, shaking hers as he cheerfully introduced himself as the handsome owner of the castle. Then there was some declaration about how Sophia was welcome to stay for as long as she liked, and feel free to ogle my treasures and eat my food because it’s the best in the land. Lastly, there was the statement to ignore the bastard named Robbie Sebastian, who had a stick up his ass and should really just be enjoying this mate thing – because hey, he would.
Finn Jackles hadn’t changed one bit.
Finn took over and showed Sophia her room, with some promise of lending her some clothes and whatever comfort stuff she needed. She seemed to relax around him more – a fact that couldn't be said when she was around Robbie. Once that was done, he went back to where Robbie stood and wordlessly, they shook hands.
“Nice to see you again, buddy.”
“Likewise,” Robbie said.
A twinkle caught in Finn’s blue eyes. “You didn’t tell me the witch was gonna be hot.”
A surge of…something came to Robbie at the words, but he shrugged it off and gave the other a bland stare.
“No,
she isn’t. She’s a pain in the ass.”
A low chuckle, then Finn patted his back. “All women are, mate. But she is definitely charmed by my good looks.”
“It's just the stupid accent, you know.”
“You mean the sexy Irish accent. Now go get yourself changed and we'll have supper in a bit. Lots to talk about, you know.”
Then Finn was gone. With a sigh, Robbie went to his room to get settled.
*****
Supper was a lavish affair. Knowing they had guests, Finn's cook went all-out, and the long, wooden table was laid down with food that could be eaten for days – roasted turkey, steak and roasted potatoes, wild rice, honeyed ham, buttered corn, a pumpkin pie, and a chocolate cake...among others. Two bottles of wine were also served, one white and one red. Robbie took one look at them and raised both brows this time.
“You finally broke them out. Do we have other guests I'm not aware of?”
Finn smirked. “I'm trying to impress the lady since you're too grumpy to do so. And, ah...here she is.”
Robbie had known she was here even before Finn could utter a word because her scent filled the air – a blend of faint lemons and something hers alone. Amused that she'd spritzed some scents on herself, he turned around, prepared to tease and make her act irritable again.
The words died in his throat.
Sophia was wearing new clothes, all right – and it wasn't the type of clothing she usually wore. What she had on was a red dress that cut to mid-thigh, with straps that tied at the back in strings and a looseness that didn't exist because it was tight enough to hug her every curve. The material cut at the lower back, exposing skin so pink and creamy. Her bright blue dress when he'd first met her was sexy.
This was beyond sexy.
Robbie's gaze trailed down, where he found her feet bare instead of wearing...whatever it was that women wore. For some reason, the sight of them had his stomach clenching and his cock surging until his pants felt tighter.
Shit.
“Sophia! Glad you could join us,” Finn beamed. Under his breath, he said, “You call that not hot?”
Finn led Sophia to her seat, which just happened to be right beside Robbie's. All amusement gone now, Robbie followed suit with a scowl.
Sophia inquired if Finn had actual, normal clothes she could wear, and Finn promised with a wink that he would get some for her in the morning.
Robbie scowled further.
Sophia ate ravenously, and pretty soon Robbie was doing the same as his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten anything since brunch on the plane. It wasn't until halfway through that Sophia cleared her throat, eyeing them both with a determined look on her face.
“I'd like to know what happened to the fifth dragon, please.”
Surprise filled Robbie, and it must have shown on his face as she gave him a dry stare.
“I'm not stupid.”
“Never said you were,” he growled.
“Then I'd like to know. Whatever information you can give me will help.”
Robbie eyed Finn, who had turned quiet as he stared back at Robbie. A wordless conversation happened, and then Robbie was subtly nodding his head.
Sophia leaned forward, and Robbie was treated to a view of her bare back again as the story began.
Finn always had a flare for telling stories, and Robbie found himself listening as well as it unwove – how dragons started out as dragons before civilization took over and they had to adapt, how they were hunted to extinction in the past until they had to take cover and blend in with the humans. Eventually, people forgot they existed in the first place, and society became filled with humans who were oblivious to the existence of supernatural creatures – something that the creatures wanted to remain that way.
“People always ostracize those they think are different,” Sophia murmured. There was a certain inflection in her voice that made Robbie look at her, and their gazes met silently.
Honey-brown eyes softened, and she licked her lips and opened her mouth as if to say something.
Then Finn proceeded with the story, and she looked down to continue eating.
Robbie's hands itched, wanting to tilt her chin up and...do something. Irritated at the thought, he clenched them and proceeded with eating, too.
“Our previous leader, Malik, was of Russian descent – and was one of the best fighters the shifter world had known, along with Dylan and Henrik. When he died, Henrik was next in line to take the role, but he couldn't accept what happened and flew into a rage, killing the witch who took Malik's life and disappearing right after – it's been a few years and we still can't find him. Someone had to take over, and Charlie and I didn't want the role.”
“Charlie?”
“Charlie's the shifter in Japan. Henrik's from Brazil, but right now he could be bloody anywhere. So our good man here, Robbie, has decided to take the role.”
“Temporarily,” Robbie clarified.
“Might as well be permanent if Henrik doesn't come back,” Finn said mournfully.
Sophia gave Finn a sober look. “I'm sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
“Not all witches are that evil, you know.”
“I know.”
A hand unexpectedly took Robbie's under the table, squeezing lightly. The quiet move surprised him, but he didn't react. She made a move to disentangle, but he tightened the hold and kept her hand in place.
Surprised, honey eyes flew up to meet his.
Quietly, his thumb moved, brushing a small line on the part of her wrist where her pulse beat.
Her mouth parted, and something flared in her eyes. He could still smell faint lemons and her own definitive scent, but something else added to it that had him hardening again out of his own accord.
Arousal.
Images flashed in Robbie's mind – Finn gone, and him taking Sophia right on the dining room table. Peeling off that god-forbidden dress, and touching her skin everywhere. Kissing every inch, and tasting that part of her where arousal came out like addiction. Hearing her moans as he slid his cock inside her wet heat, over and over.
She licked her lips again.
He imagined her lips on his cock.
His hand moved, reaching out to grab her.
A throat cleared – warningly.
With a jerk, Robbie abruptly dropped her hand, as if burned.
“Anyway, back to the story...” Finn was saying, the warning tone turning back to cheerful again.
Sophia was now ignoring him, looking at Finn as if nothing had happened at all.
Robbie gripped hold of his desire and repeated the mantra in his head.
Sophia was trouble, and he wasn't going down that lane.
*****
The walk back to her room was silent, with Finn's cheerful banter no longer present. When she was finally at the door, she turned to look at him and nodded her head politely.
“Goodnight,” she said.
“We need to train you, Sophia,” he said. “You're my mate and people are going to attack you.”
Silence. Then Sophia nodded her head and held out her hand.
“Let's make a deal.”
He frowned. “Go on.”
“You train me and if I get good enough to beat your ass, I go home.”
Robbie considered this for all but a second. Then he took the hand she offered, ignoring the spark of heat once their hands touched.
“Deal,” he said. Then, “Goodnight.”
It was for the best.
Bothered, but knowing it was for the best, Robbie went out and decided to take his frustrations to the dark sky. He flew with the moon, flew with some bats, flew until exhaustion filled his body and turned his mind to sludge – until it got rid of the lust that seemed to haunt him. At dawn, he shifted back to his human form.
Then he crashed into bed.
CHAPTER TEN
On the first day of training, Robbie decided to test Sophia’s concealment and stealth skills – an activity that she
could do in her sleep if need be, because dealing with vampires and other supernatural creatures as a witch and human meant you needed to hide and become invisible when times called for it. Plus, it was what John hired her for. Finn was visibly impressed as Sophia dodged Robbie’s every move and hid herself wherever she could, whenever she could.
Robbie was not impressed.
“We’ll change it up tomorrow. That’s not enough to have you surviving when danger comes.”
Translation: you’re so lousy.
She merely smirked, knowing she won that so-called round.
On the second day of training, Robbie changed it up by testing her weaponry skills. He did so by giving her a dagger, a pole, and a gun. She had used daggers before in minor skirmishes before running away, and had managed to use it handily enough during their test battle. She had never once used a pole in her life, and had no use for a gun when dealing with supernatural creatures (a fact she clarified with him – loudly), so it was a pretty embarrassing battle when he managed to knock both out of her hands in less than ten seconds.
Finn was encouraging and cheerful.
Robbie was not.
On the third day of training, they tried hand to hand combat – a skill Sophia definitely didn’t master because, well…why engage with them when you can run away and hide until hell blew over?
Robbie managed to knock her out in less than five seconds.
And she wasn’t pleased at all.
On the fourth day of training, he asked her to ride him in his dragon form – and it ended up being a spectacular fail when she refused to do so.
He looked utterly puzzled by her adamant refusal, and did not hold back in saying so.
“It can save your life someday,” he said gruffly. “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal.”
Because I’ve broken my bones once doing that and I’m not risking it again.
Instead, she said, “My spells can save my life someday, thank you very much.”
The cycle went on with that kind of schedule, and Sophia’s body felt on fire for days to come.
*****
“Here, have an apple.”
Sophia caught the apple tossed at her just in time, looking up at Finn in surprise. She’d been so busy staring out into the ocean, she hadn’t noticed him approach – but then again, that was how shifters and vampires were by way of living.
Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series Page 7