The Dragon Billionaire's Secret Mate: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance

by Zoe Chant

  Severin was watching them intently. When he caught Samuel's eyes, he gave an ironic little salute with his glass.

  Samuel turned away, taking a deep breath. He'd expected Severin to come. Their taste in opera was one of the few things they still shared, and moreover, Severin would know he'd be coming with a woman. Samuel knew he was being watched; he'd known Severin would be curious. Better to let him sate his curiosity now, when Samuel could see him coming.

  Theresa excused herself to the bathroom, and Severin immediately seized his chance to come over, Vivienne by his side. They made a striking pair, him all in black, tall and slender as a dagger, and her in a dress the color of glacier ice, her long blonde hair tumbling halfway down her back in artful curls.

  "Severin. Vivienne," Samuel said, inclining his head in greeting. They all knew this wasn't a friendly talk, and yet of course it was unthinkable to be anything less than polite in public.

  "Little brother," Severin said, giving him a smile full of sharp white teeth. Vivienne held out her hand to be kissed. She'd grown up European royalty, from one of the few human families that had known of the existence of dragons for centuries, and liked to make a show of her courtly manners.

  Samuel was aware of people's eyes on them as he kissed her hand, knew Vivienne was aware of the scene she'd created: The two brothers with their almost identical dark looks, her in her striking pale dress; the old-fashioned, courtly greeting. She'd always enjoyed being the center of attention.

  "Did you enjoy the show?" Severin asked.

  "Immensely," Samuel said. "Ms. Carmelo has really grown as a soprano, don't you think?" If Severin wanted to pretend they were having a polite conversation between brothers, he was willing to play along.

  "She's gotten quite impressive," Severin said. "And I couldn't help noticing what a beautiful companion you brought along tonight."

  Ah. So they were finally getting to the point.

  "Her name is Theresa," Samuel said, volunteering nothing else, just for the pleasure of seeing Severin grit his teeth in annoyance.

  "Well, I certainly hope you know what you're doing," Severin said, and this time the threat was blatant in his voice. "Maybe I should have a little talk with her."

  "You could do that," Samuel said blandly. "Just don't take up too much of her time. I'm paying her by the hour, after all," he added, and had the rare pleasure of seeing Severin truly startled for once.

  "Are you," Severin said slowly. "My do-gooder little brother. Really."

  Samuel sternly reminded himself that nothing good could possibly come from punching Severin's face in, no matter how much he wanted to. Showing that he cared would only give Severin a reason to try and chase Theresa off.

  "You're always telling me I ought to blow off some steam," he said.

  Severin watched him for a long moment, a flicker of distrust in his sharp cold eyes. And then he laughed and slapped Samuel on the back, hard enough to stagger him. "Good for you. A man's got needs."

  Vivienne was watching them with her mouth twisted up into an exaggerated pout. "You men are disgusting," she said.

  Frankly, given the topic of this conversation, Samuel completely agreed. He hated this deception. He wasn't a liar, and the games Severin and Vivienne liked to play disgusted him. He respected Theresa, and he liked her, and having to pretend that she didn't matter to him was horrible. But if Severin got even a vague suspicion Theresa might be his potential mate, Samuel knew he wouldn't hesitate to drive her away.

  Still, he'd much rather have fought Severin outright, and he would have if there'd been even a small chance he might win. But there wasn't. A dragon didn't gain his full powers until he met his mate. Severin was at the height of his strength; that alone would be enough, even without Vivienne by his side, and the powers she'd gained when they'd bonded.

  "Well, it was nice to meet you, but I have to leave now," Samuel said.

  Vivienne grabbed his arm, holding him back for a second. "If this is some sort of trick..." she hissed. Where her hands were touching him, cold was spreading up his arm, an icy, prickling numbness. Samuel stopped himself from pulling away. He wasn't impressed by her little games.

  "Samuel, hey. Sorry I took so long, there was a queue," Theresa said from behind him.

  Vivienne let go of his arm with a little pat that almost looked like a friendly gesture, if you weren't paying attention. "Hello! You must be Theresa. Samuel was just telling us about you," she said, the flat stare she'd been giving him disappearing back beneath her friendly mask. "That dress is the most amazing thing, you have to tell me where you got it! This is my husband, Severin."

  "Nice to meet you," Severin said. Like Vivienne, he'd hidden the hostility behind a practiced smile.

  "Theresa, this is my brother Severin, and his wife, Vivienne," Samuel said, suppressing the urge to bare his teeth. He wanted to get Theresa far away from them. But of course Severin insisted on making small talk for a few more minutes until they could finally excuse themselves.

  Samuel guided Theresa away with a hand on her back, hoping he didn't look as crazily overprotective as he felt right now. The dragon inside him wanted to turn right around and go for Severin's throat with his teeth. He tightened his arm around Theresa, pulling her slightly closer, and then instantly worried that he might have made her uncomfortable.

  But Theresa didn't seem to object to staying close by his side.

  "Your brother seems a little...Um." Samuel watched her flounder, trying to come up with an adjective to describe Severin's shark-like intensity without sounding insulting. There weren't a lot of people who could look past Severin's smooth, charming facade so quickly. He wasn't surprised she was one of them.

  "He's a terrible person," Samuel said.

  Theresa looked up at him, startled. "Really?"

  "We used to be close, when we were kids," Samuel said. "But when we grew up, he turned into someone I barely recognize anymore. He's ruthless as hell. Greedy, too."

  "Huh. I always heard he was a good CEO, that Aurum's a really nice place to work. You know, the kind of company that treats its employees well."

  "That's how my father always handled it," Samuel said. "I managed to convince Severin it was in our best interest to keep it that way. You know what it costs to replace a good engineer? It's cheaper to pay people a decent wage in the first place and treat them well, make sure they know they've got it better here than elsewhere. I guess that argument made sense to him."

  He sighed. "Severin's not crazy. He doesn't go around mistreating people for fun. He just doesn't have much of a conscience, either. He can be charming as hell when he wants to, but there's no real feeling behind it. He doesn't care about people."

  "So his wife—They seemed really close. Is he faking all that, too?" Theresa sounded saddened at the very idea.

  "No. That's real," Samuel said. Over by the buffet, Vivienne tapped Severin's elbow and then leaned close to whisper something in his ear. For a moment, Severin's face softened into a real smile, the one he only ever had for her.

  "I think she's the only person in the world who's real to him. He'd die for her. When he first met her, I hoped..." Samuel swallowed hard. He'd really thought Severin might change. In love for the first time in his life, dizzy with it, the matebond burying through to the heart that turned out to be hidden somewhere deep beneath the shell of Severin's icy indifference after all.

  Samuel gave a low laugh, knew he sounded bitter. "Turned out she was exactly like him."

  If ever there'd been two people made for each other in the world, it was those two, Severin and his ice queen.

  "I'm sorry," Theresa said.

  Samuel shrugged. He hadn't wanted to dampen her enjoyment of the evening. "Let's talk about something else, okay? Do you want another drink?"

  ***

  They ended the evening with a drink on the couch again, looking down at the glittering lights of the city below them.

  "Will you tell me why you're here?" Samuel asked. The question ha
d plagued him more and more all day. "You don't really seem like someone who'd care about money that much. There's some reason you need that check, isn't there?"

  "Yeah," Theresa said, looking down. "There is."

  Samuel listened as she told him about her nephew and his illness, and the bargain with the devil her sister had made to pay his medical bills.

  "I'm so sorry. That's horrible," he said quietly.

  "It really was," Theresa said. She stroked the edge of her thumb over her purse, which still held the check Samuel had given her. "But it's gonna be okay now. Joey's healthy, and I'm gonna take care of Carolyn."

  "If there's anything I can do to help—" Samuel said. "You said she's struggling with her mortgage, too—"

  Theresa shook her head. "That's incredibly generous of you, but she wouldn't accept that. But as long as I can get the Grigorieff brothers off her back, we can manage everything else."

  She touched her purse again, smiling.

  Samuel looked at her. It seemed like such a small sum to him. He'd grown up with all the wealth a family of dragons could hoard over generations. But for Theresa, it was a life-changing amount of money.

  And yet, Theresa had something that he could only dream of. Samuel had felt a pang in his chest, listening to her talk about her sister, about how close the two of them were. Severin was the only remaining member of his family. They'd been close, as children, until Samuel had grown up and started to see who Severin really was: his ruthlessness and his hunger for power. Even after that, there'd been a time when they'd gotten along all right. He'd used to be his brother's conscience, once. But at some point Severin had stopped listening to him. They'd grown apart after that. These days, every interaction was strained politeness and veiled hostility. Samuel still missed the friend he'd had in his brother when they were kids.

  Theresa had let her head sink back against the sofa cushions, her eyes falling shut. Samuel gently nudged her arm. "Go to bed. You're falling asleep," he said.

  Theresa made a tired sound and cuddled deeper into the cushions.

  Samuel smiled. "Hey, wake up. You'll regret it tomorrow if you fall asleep here. This couch is comfortable but it's not that comfortable." He gave her another gentle nudge, but she only grumbled something indistinct, hiding her face against a cushion. A wave of protectiveness swamped him at the sight of her. His dragon wanted to place itself between her and the rest of the world, to keep her safe and protected for the rest of her life. "Come on, then. I'll take you to bed," he said, giving in to impulse. He picked her up in his arms, as carefully a she could. Theresa startled, blinking her eyes open sleepily.

  "It's okay, keep sleeping," Samuel said. She leaned her head against his shoulder and let her eyes fall closed again. She was most of the way asleep, Samuel reminded himself, but still, the gesture of trust made the dragon inside him roar protectively.

  He carried her to her bedroom and laid her gently down n the mattress. She'd already taken her shoes off earlier, but apart from that, she was fully clothed. He was sure as hell not going to start undressing her while she was sleeping, though, so he just pulled the blanket up around her. Theresa snuggled into it, curling in on herself and making a sleepy sound. Samuel smiled, helplessly charmed.

  He closed the door between them, and finally let himself give in to the impulse to shift. His reflection in the dark windows blurred and changed, the shadow of wings spreading out towards the ceiling of the room. Samuel looked at himself in the blurry mirror of the windows. Only a mated dragon could shift all the way, so it was still his human body looking back at him from his reflection, unchanged but for the pair of wings emerging from his back and the golden glow of his eyes.

  His dragon's eyes were perfectly suited to the dim light of the room. Colors seemed to sharpen with the shift, scents grew stronger, sounds louder. Samuel could smell Theresa's lingering scent on the couch cushions. If he concentrated, he could hear the steady sound of her heartbeat, the slow, soothing rhythm of her breath. She was deeply asleep.

  The dragon inside him purred contentedly. She was safe here, he'd make sure of that. Nothing human could get through him to her.

  Samuel curled up on the couch. He should go to bed soon, but for now, he could allow himself a little more time spent guarding Theresa's sleep.

  ***

  The next few days were some of the best days of Samuel's life. He took Theresa out sailing again, showed her around the city and took her to all of his favorite restaurants.

  On Tuesday, they went on an after-hours tour of the Shedd Aquarium, just the two of them in the big empty building. He'd been a major donor for long enough that they didn't mind letting him in after all the tourists had left.

  He'd been to the aquarium many times before, but seeing the wonder in Theresa's eyes made it new all over again.

  "This is one of my favorites," Samuel said, pointing at a display in front of them. Theresa squinted at the big algae plant swaying gently in what seemed like an otherwise empty glass case.

  "So what you're saying is, you just really like slimy algae?" she asked with a grin.

  "Look closer," Samuel said. He crouched down to show her what looked like the plant's big, leafy roots swaying gently in the currents.

  "Oh! They're not roots! They're seahorses!" Theresa said, startled.

  "Leafy sea dragons," Samuel said with a smile. One of the little creatures turned its head, looking at them with dark button eyes over its long snout. Then it twirled its tail and swum away, its fins floating in the water exactly like the seaweed they were meant to mimic.

  "They're amazing!" Theresa said.

  They shared a grin. Samuel felt warmed through by Theresa's enthusiasm. "Okay, now I have to show you the moray eels," he said, holding out a hand to pull her to his feet.

  "Are they as pretty as the sea dragons?" Theresa asked. She was still holding his hand. Samuel reluctantly made himself let go.

  "Nope. They're the creepiest fish you'll ever see in your life."

  "Okay, now this I have to see." She hooked her arm into his and let him drag her on, laughing.

  ***

  On Thursday, Theresa stopped him just as he picked up the phone to make a lunch reservation for them.

  "I never thought I'd say this, but I need a break from the gourmet restaurants," she said with a smile. "Can't we just have a picnic by the beach or something?"

  "Absolutely," Samuel said immediately, although mentally he was floundering a little. He'd never had a picnic before in his life. How did you even go about organizing something like that? Baskets and blankets were involved somehow, that was about all he knew. Well, if she wanted it, he'd make it happen somehow.

  It turned out he needn't have worried. Theresa immediately took over organizing their outing. She found a blanket somewhere in the back of the guest room closet, picked out some mismatched cutlery in the back of the cutlery drawer ("You can't take your good forks on a picnic, are you crazy? What if we lose one!"), begged a basket off the housekeeper, and then dragged him on a whirlwind tour through the supermarket.

  Samuel couldn't even remember the last time he'd done his own shopping. In the wake of Theresa's contagious enthusiasm, it turned out to be a lot more fun that he'd have thought it would be.

  They ended up on the lakeshore, lounging comfortably on their blanket, watching the ships go by in the distance and eating a variety of cold cuts and cheeses with a loaf of crusty bread so fresh it was still a little warm on the inside.

  Samuel laid back on the blanket, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his face. "This was a great idea," he said. He reached out blindly for Theresa's hand, giving it a quick squeeze. Theresa squeezed back.

  "I'm glad," she said. She laid down next to him, her hand still in his. Samuel looked at her through half-closed eyes. Her dark curls shone with a reddish glow in the sunlight, and the corner of her mouth was quirked up in a smile. God, she was beautiful.

  They dozed in the sun, warm and content. It took Samuel almost an ho
ur to realize she was still holding his hand. It had felt so natural. He never wanted to let go again.

  ***

  On Friday, they took the jet to New York. They spent the day wandering around Manhattan.

  "Do you mind if we have pizza for lunch?" Samuel asked. "I just, okay, don't ever tell anyone I said this, but the pizza's so much better over here."

  "So you don't like Chicago style pizza? That's what you're saying?" Theresa clarified with a grin.

  Samuel groaned. "It's terrible. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm betraying my city."

  Theresa laughed. "Well come on then. Little Italy's walking distance from here. Let's have lunch, traitor."

  Samuel winced, covering his face with his hands, laughing through his fingers.

  They ended up splitting an enormous pepperoni and cheese.

  "You're spoiling me way too much. I must have gained three pounds this week," Theresa said, eyeing the last slice of pizza on the plate with guilty longing.

  Samuel nudged it over to her. "So what if you did? You look fantastic. We've been walking all over town for hours, and you're not even breathing hard. Who cares about a few pounds more or less as long as you're healthy and happy?"

  They went to the Alexander Hamilton musical, which turned out to be a lot more fun than Samuel had expected, and then took the jet back, flying through the night. He'd figured they'd sleep on the plane, but somehow they just kept talking instead. The sun was rising by the time they stumbled back into the penthouse, both of them so tired they'd gone right through exhaustion and ended up at giddiness.

  Samuel dropped his keys twice trying to unlock the door, and for some reason that seemed hilariously funny to both of them. They were both of them still laughing when they collapsed onto the sofa. And then Theresa turned to him, put a hand on his cheek, and kissed him.

  Samuel froze.

  Her soft lips pressed against his. Her scent enveloped him. Inside him, the dragon was rousing with a wild, feral desire that almost swept him away.