Forbidden Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 5)

by Charlene Hartnady

“No.”

  She pulled back each of his eyelids. Everything looked normal. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, just a bit tired.”

  “I’ll bet.” It just slipped out.

  Granite didn’t respond. She hoped he was feeling bad. As in, bad for his actions, not health-wise bad. Even a tiny bit bad would be good, but she didn’t count on it. His breathing was normal. “I need to take a look at your wound.” She kept her eyes on the area in question.

  “Go right ahead.”

  She ripped the band aid off in one hard swipe. It was a large square. It felt good knowing it would sting him. Therapeutic even. He didn’t so much as flinch though. Pity! The area was healing well. The wounds were closed and much of the inflammation was gone.

  “Why are you so angry at me?” She glanced up at him. His dark eyes were on her while he spoke.

  “I’m not.” She grabbed some disinfectant and the cotton swabs from her bag.

  “Yes, you are. That much is very clear.”

  “No, I …” She glanced back up. He was waiting for her response. Seemed like he couldn’t wait to hear it. “I don’t like you. You make me angry … that’s all.”

  He smiled at her. No, it was more of a smirk than a smile, given that the latter would have been friendly. “That’s not it. You like me just fine.”

  He probably couldn’t conceive that a woman didn’t like him. That for once someone wasn’t falling all over him. “I’m pretty sure that I really don’t like you.”

  He snorted out a noise that told her she was full of BS. “You’re either really uptight or you wish it was you waking up in my bed.” He paused. “That’s why you’re so pissed off right now, isn’t it?”

  Her mouth fell open but she forced it closed. “That’s complete rubbish. Neither of those is true. Not even close.”

  “There’s one other explanation ‒ you’re angry because you think I got some and you didn’t.”

  “That’s the biggest load of—”

  “I agree,” he nodded. “It’s bullshit. You go home regularly yet you never fuck anyone, ever, so it can’t be that. That means you’re either really stuck up or you’re jealous.”

  Granite had hit the nail on the head. She wished it wasn’t true but he was right. He pissed her off even more for picking up on it and calling her out on it. Asshole. Who did that? “I’m not jealous of anything,” she tried to sound calm and together but failed.

  “Stuck up it is then,” he nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Oh, my god! I can’t believe you.” She shook her head. “I’m going to ignore your unwanted, unfounded comments. On second thought, you just called me stuck up so I can give you a piece of my mind in return. You’re a male slut and to make things worse, you’re seriously rude as well. No, you’re more than just rude, you’re a rude asshole. I know that you’ll probably have me fired for speaking my mind but quite frankly, right now, I don’t give a damn. I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me while I finish cleaning and dressing your wound.”

  “Some silence would be welcome.”

  Asshole! Her face burned. She’d allowed herself to stoop to his level. She’d acted unprofessionally. Louise didn’t care though. He deserved it. Needed to hear it. Louise continued in silence. Taking her time to clean the wound well.

  Once she was finished, she packed her things away. “Take it easy for the rest of the day. You should be back to normal by tomorrow.”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  “What?” She was taken aback. She really expected him to contact Blaze and have her fired.

  “Tomorrow, Doctor. I will see you then,” he spoke slowly. “For our next appointment?”

  “Ah, yes. That’s right.” Louise picked up her bag. She gave a nod and left feeling his eyes on her the whole time.

  Chapter 7

  Later that day …

  Louise made her way along the busy corridor that led from the great hall. Many of the men greeted her with a nod or a smile. There were very few shifter women. The one or two she saw on occasion were sweet to her but clearly didn’t want to mingle either. She missed girl time. She missed her friends. She’d been thick as thieves with Debbie and Hilary since high school. Both women were happily married with a brood of kids. Louise was godmother to both of their eldest. Not being able to spend time with her two ‘besties’ was the one major drawback about being there.

  She hadn’t dated in a long time so although she missed male company, she couldn’t blame that on being there.

  As she continued on, she spotted a waddling shifter woman up ahead. The woman waved madly at her, blond hair flying. She realized it was Breeze. The woman she had met when she first arrived on dragon soil. She’d seen her once or twice since then.

  Breeze was from the Air tribe and married to one of Granite’s brothers. The next in command if she wasn’t mistaken. They walked towards one another. Breeze was smiling broadly, one hand on her belly.

  “Oh, my word!” Louise covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe it. Is it really you?” She stopped walking, standing just in front of the female shifter.

  Breeze rubbed her distended belly. “Yup! It’s really me,” she smiled shyly.

  “I last saw you three weeks ago.” Louise couldn’t take her eyes off of the woman’s huge and very pregnant belly. “It can’t be!” Her stomach had been a small curve back then.

  Breeze laughed softly. “Yup, my mate is an Earth male.” She said it like Louise was supposed to understand what that meant.

  She frowned. “Okay. I’m going to assume that you’re not pregnant for nine months like a human woman would be.”

  “Assuming the human female is mated to a human male you mean? No.” She shook her head. “My pregnancy will last four months in total.”

  Louise sucked in a deep breath. “Wow! So short. No wonder you are so big already.”

  “Yeah, it’s not just that, we—”

  “There you are.” A really big guy stepped up behind Breeze, he put his hands around her and smiled down at her.

  Louise had to keep herself from reacting. Shale had looked nothing like Granite but this guy on the other hand, looked exactly like him. There were subtle differences but they could be twins. For example, their eyes were carbon copies, only this guy’s were lit up, yet filled with tenderness.

  “I was worried,” he said, brushing a kiss on Breeze’s cheek.

  She smiled. “I am perfectly fine. We are fine.” She rubbed her belly.

  The big shifter put his hands on her belly as well. “I am glad.” He lifted his gaze to Louise. Gone was any sign of tenderness and affection. In their place was distrust and wariness.

  “This is my mate, Volcano,” Breeze said, oblivious to the daggers her mate was shooting at her with those dark eyes of his. Now this was a look she recognized.

  “I’m Louise, I’m an allergist, I’m working on silver allergy resistance in some of—”

  “I know who you are and why you are here.” Short and to the point.

  “Oh good!” she blurted, sounding like an idiot. Her smile felt frozen in place.

  “I was just about to ask Louise to join me for some tea,” Breeze said.

  Volcano made a noise of acknowledgement. “That’s nice.”

  Yeah right! He hated the idea.

  “I have a couple of things to take care of. There was something I needed to discuss with you, if you don’t mind.” He looked back at Louise, jaw set.

  She cleared her throat. “No, of course not.”

  The shifter led his mate away and spoke with her, looking very serious as he did. Breeze frowned heavily and shook her head. It looked like they were having a disagreement.

  Louise felt like she was intruding so she looked away.

  A minute or two later, Breeze was back, all smiles. “Would you like to come to my place for tea?”

  “If it’s okay?”

  Breeze wrinkled her nose. “Of course it’s okay. D
on’t mind Volcano.” She waved her hand. “He’s overprotective of me at the moment. He’s overprotective, period. I’m sorry, he doesn’t fully trust humans. You’ll find that from time to time, especially with Earth dragons.”

  Louise thought it over for a few moments. “Most of them are really nice.”

  “Nice.” Breeze nodded her head. “Our males are starved for female companionship. They will be very nice.” She gave a wink.

  “You’re saying that they just want to get into my pants and that they’re not really just sweet and kind because of my awesome personality?”

  “You are very likable, I wouldn’t worry,” Breeze grinned.

  “If you say so.”

  Breeze took a step in the direction she had been going. “Are you coming for tea?”

  “That sounds great.” Louise looked at her watch. “I’ve got an hour before my next appointment.” Some girl time. Just the thing she needed.

  It was a short walk. Breeze opened up the door and gestured for her to go inside.

  The space was large and airy. It was really homey and open plan like a big warehouse-type apartment. It was similar to the unit she was staying in only much bigger and much … nicer, for lack of a better word.

  “What can I get you?” Breeze rattled off a list of herbal tea options

  “I’ll just have water, if that’s okay?”

  Breeze poured the water and then a glass of what looked like freshly squeezed orange juice for herself. So much for the tea. She gestured to the lounge area. “Please take a seat. I’m afraid I don’t have any snacks …”

  Louise shook her head. “Don’t worry about food. I had a huge breakfast, thanks. I always eat lots when I’m feeling a bit down. I guess I’m the opposite to most people. I lose weight when I’m happy and gain a ton when I’m feeling out of sorts. It’s called comfort eating.”

  “You are tiny.” Breeze sat down heavily. “You could do with a few pounds.” She scooted back in her chair. “Why are you feeling out of sorts? Has something happened to make you feel that way?”

  Louise pulled a face. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” The last thing she wanted to do was to burden Breeze with her problems.

  “What’s going on? Tell me. Maybe I can help. At the very least, you’ll feel better talking about it.”

  Flip! She really shouldn’t have said anything. Breeze and Granite were family. “Um …” She clasped her hands in her lap.

  “Tell me.” Breeze sat back in her chair and waited.

  “Okay … I shouldn’t though.”

  “Why not?” She gave a small shake of the head.

  “It has to do with your brother-in-law.”

  Breeze smiled. “Ahhhh, Granite.”

  “Why do you say it like that?” Louise frowned.

  “No reason. What happened?” She folded her arms over her belly.

  “It’s just that he’s so … rude and arrogant. He’s a jerk and an asshole. He doesn’t listen to me … not ever.” Louise widened her eyes. “You see, we shouldn’t be talking about this. I can’t talk to you about your family like that. It’s not right!”

  Breeze gave a laugh. “It’s perfectly fine.” Then she looked serious for a moment. Then she narrowed her eyes on Louise and scrutinized her. “So, you like Granite.”

  “What?” Louise shook her head. “No, that’s not what I said. We’re not in kindergarten here.”

  “Kindergarten? What is that?” Breeze’s brows pulled together.

  “We’re not young children. You know how youngsters tend to hit a boy because they actually like him? Not that I’ve hit Granite or anything. Even though I really feel like hitting him sometimes … no, all the time. He makes me so mad.”

  Breeze grinned. “You do like him then.”

  “Arghh!” She let her head fall into her hands. Dragon shifters could be maddening. All of them. Granite just happened to take the cake. “I don’t like him, Breeze. Please believe me when I tell you that.”

  She nodded once but her smile told Louise that she didn’t.

  “I mean it. I went to go and check on him this morning and he was in bed with one of the dragon shifter women. A really pretty girl …she was quite lovely.” There was a funny feeling inside her. It was jealousy and not only because the other woman had been with Granite— What was wrong with her? It was also because of her curves and beautiful bronzed skin. Louise didn’t have the biggest boobs and she was almost translucent she was so pale. She hated her freckles and turned red in an instant if she tried to go into the sun without the highest factor sunblock.

  Breeze looked unsure. She was frowning heavily. “Are you sure there was a shifter female in bed with Granite?”

  “What do you mean am I sure? Yes, definitely sure. I know what I saw. She was naked with him in bed. They were both naked.” Anger boiled up inside her all over again. “To think I went over there to check if he was okay. I was worried about him. Meanwhile there he was …” she made a sound of disgust.

  Breeze laughed. As in, all-out laughed. She even put a hand in front of her mouth she was laughing so hard. “I’m sure Shale had a hand in this.”

  “What does Shale have to do with Granite having sex with another woman?” Oh shit! She made it sound like she saw this dragon shifter as the other woman, which wasn’t true at all. “He isn’t healthy enough to be … doing the deed. He was a rude, arrogant, asshole about the whole thing just to top it all off. He kicked her out. Not a word of thanks. No goodbye or thanks for the shag. He just kicked her out.”

  There were tears streaming down Breeze’s face.

  “What’s so darned funny?” Louise asked.

  “There is no way that Granite had sex with any dragon shifter female.”

  “Why not? I know what I saw,” she quickly added.

  Breeze quirked a brow. “Are you sure about that? Did you actually see them rutting?”

  Louise frowned. What kind of a question was that?

  “You didn’t, did you? I know you didn’t.”

  “Well, no of course I didn’t actually see them at it.” She clutched her chest. Thank God! “But that doesn’t mean …”

  “Granite doesn’t rut with dragon shifters.”

  Say what? “Ever?”

  She shook her head. “Not ever. Something about sharing with all his males. It’s ridiculous of course, not all dragon shifter females are like that.” Breeze must have caught her quizzical look because she added. “There are very few females, so a lot of them rut with lots of different males. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just not something that Granite likes. I think he prefers human females, although he would never admit it. I’ve heard that he’s very picky about who he ruts. Only humans, and then they must be to his taste.”

  “Really?” Louise felt sick to her stomach. “Are you sure? I saw them … saw her …” It had been the woman who was wrapped around him and not the other way around. He was still sleeping when she’d arrived. He’d also kicked the shifter out and had mentioned Shale being a— He’d used a choice word to describe his brother. “What does Shale have to do with it?” her voice was soft. Her heart sinking by the second.

  Breeze rolled her eyes. “He’s always pranking his brothers. He knows that Granite would never rut a dragon shifter female so he sent one to his bed while he was unconscious. That’s a classic Shale move. What did she look like? The shifter female.”

  “Tall and really beautiful. Long black hair, almost down to her bum and …” She felt her cheeks heat. “A really great body … smoking hot.”

  “That’s Pebble,” Breeze snorted out a laugh. “She ruts with many of the males. That female would do anything to get her claws in the king. Not Granite’s type by a long shot. He would have been pissed off with her for going along with Shale’s silly prank. That’s why he kicked her out.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me I had it all wrong?”

  Breeze shrugged.

  She groaned and covered her eyes. “I called him a male slut
and told him that he was a rude asshole for treating that woman so badly. I didn’t know. He should have told me.” She looked at Breeze who was laughing softly again. “He’s an asshole for not setting the record straight.”

  “Maybe he should have told you, but despite appearances maybe you shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that.”

  Louise thought on it for a second or two. “No, I guess I shouldn’t have.” Another thought struck her. “I’m going to have to apologize.” She groaned out loud at the thought.

  “It won’t be so bad. You’ll see.” Breeze took a sip of her juice. “Are you ready to admit that you like him?” She smiled slyly.

  “No!” Louise said, far too quickly. “I mean, he’s really hot, I’ll admit that. You’d have to be blind not to, right?”

  Breeze nodded.

  “Hot, but not my type. Not even close. We have nothing in common. Nope, I’m afraid you have it wrong.”

  Breeze took another sip of her drink. “I think you like him, I also think he likes you.”

  “He so doesn’t. He’s grumpy, bossy and rude.”

  Breeze nodded, she was grinning broadly.

  It was time to change the subject. “Even if I wanted to be with him, and I don’t, we can’t go down that road. It’s forbidden. Against every rule.” This line of discussion was making her distinctly uncomfortable. “When is your due date?” She glanced down at Breeze’s stomach.

  Breeze shut down in an instant. “I’m sorry.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Volcano doesn’t want me discussing my pregnancy with you.”

  “Oh!”

  “I’m so sorry,” Breeze added. “Like I said, he’s really protective at the moment. Besides, Earth dragons are pretty closed off and secretive at the best of times. My mate just doesn’t trust humans.”

  “So it’s nothing personal?”

  Breeze shook her head. “No, of course not.” She sucked in a deep breath and looked Louise in the eyes. “Five weeks, I’m due in the next four or five weeks. We’re so excited. I can’t believe I became pregnant during the first breeding season.” Then her eyes widened like she’d said something wrong. “Forget I said that. It’s just that I like you, Louise. I feel like we could be friends.”