Dragon's Heart, Volume 1

by T. Cobbin

  She couldn’t help but skim her gaze over his crotch. Well, I have to see if he’s well-proportioned to his body. She was pleasantly surprised by how big a bulge was there. Pfft, probably has a pair of socks shoved inside his trousers. There’s no way anyone is that fucking big.

  She moved her gaze back up to his face, and even though the man had been there all night with her his face was still clean-shaven. Strange. Looking at him as intently as she was made parts of her body tingle, and her nipples perked to tight buds. It didn’t help smelling his manly cologne either.

  What if it isn’t a pair of socks and that bulge is all him? Holy moly!

  Bringing herself out of the lusty thoughts, which were making her rather heated, Wendy thought back to how he’d growled and insisted he stay with her. She decided it was definitely time to take a page out of her friend’s book. Wendy was normally the mother hen of the group. She always had a packet of tissues and a shoulder for anyone who needed it, but having friends like Melanie and Bobbie had taught her a few good lessons in the high jinks department.

  Slowly, she moved her legs from underneath the sheet and hospital blanket and over the side of the mattress. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she ducked her head to look in the bedside cabinet, searching for her purse. She quietly unzipped the zipper on her bag and slid her hand inside. Feeling around, she frowned and moved her head closer to look. There was a small hidden pocket sewn into the material of her bag where she kept the emergency joke pack given to her by Melanie, but it was currently empty.

  “Looking for this?”

  Pete’s deep voice made Wendy yip. Immediately, she slapped a hand over her mouth to stop any more sound from escaping and disturbing the other patients.

  “You went in my bag?” she whispered angrily, taking her hand away from her mouth while quickly scanning the ward to make sure she hadn’t woken anyone up.

  “Yep,” he admitted without a flicker of remorse

  “And what gives you the right to do that?”

  “Oh, the small fact I know about some of your friend’s pranks.” He grinned. “Their love of superglue and huge amounts of loose balls of sugar-coated treats. Oh, and you calling me, saying your car had broken down when it hadn’t.” He glared at her.

  He had her there—Melanie and Bobbie sure did love their superglue tricks. On April Fools’ Day Bobbie had stuck two pound coins on the playground entrance, and the teachers had watched from the staff room in fits of giggles as the children and their parents tried to pick them up.

  Wendy herself had fallen foul to Melanie too. She’d called in sick with a bad bout of flu. When she came back to work a week later, Melanie had left her a note on top of her desk. Just in case you get sick again. She’d been confused until she looked inside her workspace. Every single drawer of her desk had been filled with Fisherman’s Friends—pieces of candy for sore throats and coughs. It did, however, leave her classroom smelling rather minty for a good few weeks.

  And as for Wendy’s phone call, she blamed that one on Amy. Her pregnant friend had been craving something greasy and was sick of the rabbit food her fiancé was feeding her. Amy was also having trouble with her parents at the time, so Troy had a couple of his bodyguards watching over her. Pete was one of them, and Amy knew he had his eye on Wendy. Amy had begged Wendy to call the man and say she was in trouble to get him out of the way so Amy could sneak out. The plan had worked, but alas, that was also the reason all four women were now in the hospital. Wendy did feel a little remorse at tricking Pete, but the burger had been worth it. Wendy never shied away from good, greasy food.

  Pushing her thoughts aside, she replied to Pete with sarcasm. “Well, if I happen to need help again, I’ll phone someone else.” She blew out a breath and leaned back with her arms behind her while swinging her legs back and forth. With a roll of her eyes she succumbed to her guilt. “Okay, being you have the upper hand and I feel bad—this time—plus, I’m awake, how about you tell me a little about yourself?”

  “We could get a coffee in the canteen where we won’t have to whisper,” he offered, looking around the sleeping ward.

  She lifted her eyebrows, letting a grin cross her lips. “You asking me out on a date?”

  Pete rose from his chair, and she looked up at him as he stood to his full height. Wow, arm candy or what? Six feet and more of pure sex on legs, she thought, closing her mouth in case she drooled.

  “Sugar.” He lifted a hand and stroked his knuckles over her cheek. “If this was a date, by the end of it, you would be in my bed, underneath me, naked, sweaty, and begging me for more.”

  A shiver of delight shot up her spine and down to her core. Thoughts of her being underneath him had her panting a little and her heart jumping in her chest. Would his cock be as huge as his body mass?

  “Cold?” he asked with a smirk. He walked to the end of the bed, picked up her robe, and held it in front of him in silent invitation.

  She slipped off the bed, her feet touching the cold floor, which didn’t bother her; she never wore shoes unless she had to. She loved walking everywhere in bare feet. People would look at her funny when she’d walk home from work with her shoes in her hands even when it was freezing outside. She walked over to Pete and turned, placing her hands through her robe sleeves. She couldn’t help the small cry that slipped out when she found herself lifted into the air and against his chest.

  “Hey, put me down before you bust a ball.” She had never been one of those skinny chicks. She had fought with her weight during her school years, yo-yo dieting on and off. It had controlled her life until one day she had said: fuck it, I am who I am and if a man wants me, they will have to love my curves as well.

  “You have no slippers, sugar,” he said, walking through the ward doors and into the corridor.

  “I’m used to walking with no shoes on. In fact, I love it so much I don’t even own a pair of slippers. Now put me down. It will draw attention.”

  He continued to carry her as if nothing was out of the ordinary. A doctor passed them, staring with wide eyes, and she could see the indecision in his eyes, wondering if he should stop and ask if everything was okay. Her cheeks heated in embarrassment.

  “Put me down, please.” She huffed again.

  “Nope.”

  She shook her head slightly then turned it into his chest, hiding her face. She was sure she was going to end up in the morgue with a toe tag saying died of shame.

  He must have entered the canteen because she heard noises of clinking china and the slight whisper of voices. She lifted her head from his chest, albeit a little reluctantly being he smelled so delicious. She looked around then caught the smell of liquid gold. Lifting her nose in the air a bit more, she closed her eyes and breathed in deep. “Coofffffeeeeee.”

  “Calm down, sugar,” he said when she struggled to get out of his arms. “I’ll get you one—a big one.”

  She gave him a look that let him know she knew exactly what he was insinuating. His face held no emotion, but the twinkling in his eyes confirmed she was right. Two can play at that game.

  “A big one, huh? I’ll have an extra-large one then with maybe a little cream.” She licked her lips, watching in delight as his eyes followed the movement of her tongue, The irises of his eyes grew darker with lust.

  He walked over to a chair and placed her in it. With a grumbled “Don’t move,” he turned and sauntered over to the coffee machine.

  “Touchy,” she muttered with a smile while watching his jean-clad butt.

  * * * *

  Pete growled low in his throat. She was driving him mad already, and he hadn’t even gotten beyond whispering a few dirty innuendos in her ears.

  When he’d seen her sprawled on the floor of the car park yesterday his heart had nearly stopped. He remembered the first time he’d spotted her. Troy, his manager and friend, had placed him on VIP bodyguard list for his fiancée’s friends. As soon as Pete had seen the group of women walking across the car park toward the club he k
new something was different about them. They weren’t the usual skinny, covered in makeup, and tan women, and they were slightly curvier than the usual lot at the club. The females kept pulling down the hem of their dress or adjusting their top as they looked around. It was as if they were unsure of themselves, already comparing themselves to the other women around them and thinking they were inadequate. But what made them outshine the other women in the club was their individuality. One of the women was wearing cowboy boots, and another with fiery red hair had a top on that pronounced if you can read this, you’re too close. That wasn’t something he’d seen in the club…ever! No, these women were certainly not the usual for Dragon’s Heart. Not that it bothered Pete. He liked his women curvier; there was more to hold onto, and he didn’t have to fear he might break a bone.

  As they were walking to the door, one of the group had stood out even though she was the tiniest of the bunch. She wore a white trouser suit covered in some kind of glitter with six-inch heels. Her waist-length auburn hair was free and flowing down her back in waves. He had an automatic vision of fisting her hair as he drove into her from behind. He had to shake his head to get rid of the lustful thoughts, but then he and his dragon had caught hold of her scent when the group stood in front of him.

  Mate!

  Pete was a dragon shifter. His dragon was the color of crystal blue. He loved his counterpart with all his heart and soul. Pete and his dragon had always had harmony with each other...until that night. That was two months ago, and since then he and his dragon had disagreed more than they ever had in their long lifetime.

  Pete had grown up on a small island off the coast of Wales. His family had bought the island a few centuries ago from some bird fanatic who had turned the place into a bird sanctuary. The former owner had stipulated that the lighthouse on the island was to always be run by one of his charity personnel. At one time Bardsey Island had an occupancy of six people. Pete, his parents, and his twin siblings—which was incredibly rare for dragon shifters—and the last person was the lighthouse caretaker, who was human.

  Other dragon shifters would often visit and stay a while in the scattered cottages for holidays. The island was a fantastic place to grow up. They could release their dragons and fly over the ocean without fear of being seen. Dragon shifters needed to keep their secrecy being they lived pretty long lives, especially in comparison to humans. Pete had watched three caretakers come and go, each of them trustworthy enough to share the shifter secret. That was until the last one.

  Pete had hit his fiftieth year and decided to leave his family and go in search of his mate. With a heavy heart he left his family and moved to London, taking Troy up on the offer to be a bouncer at his club. One night five years later he received an urgent call from his sister. She was frantic and petrified. She kept going on about the caretaker going nuts.

  By the time Pete had found somewhere to safely shift to his dragon and fly home it was too late. His entire family had been murdered. He had called his friends and they had come over and helped him clean up everything and bury his family. That had been twenty-six years ago and to this day, although he had searched, the caretaker had never been found.

  Pulling himself back from his memories, Pete placed the full cups of coffee on a tray with two bowls of fruit. After paying for them he walked back to the table where Wendy was sitting, waiting patiently. He chuckled inwardly, remembering what she’d said to him earlier. Extra-large with maybe a little cream. Oh, just you wait, sugar. Placing the tray on the table, he picked up one of the cups and placed it in front of her with an amused look.

  “Why thank you, kind sir.”

  He sat down opposite her, watching as she lovingly stroked the warm mug. He nearly moaned aloud when she pursed her lips and blew over the top of her mug. Dirty images filled his mind of her stroking his cock and blowing on the tip of it, and his already swollen shaft pushed even more firmly against the zipper of his jeans. His dragon curled onto his back, purring at the thoughts too.

  Chapter 2

  “Enjoying that?” Pete asked with amusement filling his voice.

  Wendy’s eyes flashed up to his from her mug of coffee. Instead of answering his question she asked her own. “So...” She paused, taking another sip of her drink. “You have me here now, are you going to tell me about yourself or do I have to use my mind reading powers?”

  “Mind reading, huh?” he asked, a little confused.

  “When you work with small children, you often have to resort to mind reading to figure out what they need and want.”

  “Oh, right.” He chuckled. “Well, being I’m older than the little people you work with, I’m not sure your power will work on me.”

  “Mmm, let me see. From your build and the way you carry yourself, I’d say you are confident and can handle yourself in a fight.” She paused, and he nodded, watching her chew on her bottom lip in thought. “The tattoos on your arms are not the normal tribal work a lot of men have but show a huge arse dragon flying over a vast amount of water, so I’d say you like your freedom and mythical creatures.”

  He chuckled, thinking just how close to the mark she was. She will find out soon enough, but it’s not freedom you want anymore, his dragon said, sitting up and taking notice. Pete cleared his throat, agreeing inwardly with his other half.

  “I would say you’re in your late thirties, early forties?” she said with a questioning look.

  “Maybe,” he replied, taking a sip of his coffee. He was actually heading into his eighty-first year, but if he told her that now, before she knew more about him, she’d laugh.

  “Well, I know you like me,” she said with pure confidence. “From what you’ve insinuated quite a few times you would love to get me into bed. Now what I want to know is...is that because you think I’m easy, or is it just because I have a pair of tits and a—”

  “Don’t even go there,” he growled, interrupting her. “I first saw you walking across the car park at the club with your friends. And although you are the tiniest in height of them all, you, woman, have fire in your belly. You do have an awesome pair of breasts that I wish to run my tongue over, but first, I want to get to know you.”

  “You’re very forward,” she stated, picking up a grape from one of the fruit bowls and popping it into her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned. “It’s amazing what getting knocked out does to one’s taste buds.”

  He watched her chew, moan, and swallow with avid fascination. His shaft began swelling to an almost painful point, and he shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. It was taking everything he had not to pull her out of that cold, plastic hospital chair she was sitting in and cart her home and into his bed with soft sheets and a mattress where he could pound his cock into her in comfort. He wanted to see the rapture on her face as he made her come over and over.

  Clearing his throat, he too picked up a grape and placed it in his mouth. “I do have confidence, and I am able to take care of myself and others I protect in a fight. I also don’t let something go that I want,” he said. “There is something special about you. I haven’t thought about, kissed, or fucked another woman since I first spotted you.” He leaned forward a little into her space and lowered his voice. “And every time I’ve thought of you it’s given me a hard-on. That’s a whole lot of wood, sugar.” He sat back in his seat and watched the color of her cheeks grow an even deeper pink.

  Wendy took his hands in her own and began to make a drama out of examining them carefully.

  Knowing full well he was falling into a trap, he asked, “What are you looking for?”

  “The blisters or signs of splinters,” she simply stated.

  “What the fuck are you going on about?” he asked, his brain not fully functioning with her hands on him.

  “Well, a man with so much wood is going to have to take care of things himself if he hasn’t touched another woman,” she said, taking her gaze off his hands and looking straight into his eyes.

  Before she could pull h
er hands away from his he gripped one of them and lifted it to his mouth. He placed the tip of each finger in his mouth, one by one, and sucked. He could smell the heat of her arousal, which filled the air between them. He watched her eyelids drop to half-mast briefly before she quickly pulled herself together.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, tugging her hand back.

  “Making sure you don’t have blisters.”

  “What?” she nearly screeched at him.

  Leaning toward her, he whispered with a grin. “I don’t need to read your mind to know just how hot I make you.”

  She sat back in her seat, her cheeks glowing pink. He leaned back and picked up his coffee.

  “This wasn’t how I envisioned the conversation, the night, or in fact the whole damn day to be honest,” she huffed, picking up her mug.

  Be careful, his dragon warned when they both scented the first tinge of irritation coming from her.

  I know. I just can’t resist. She looks so delicious when she blushes.

  His dragon’s answer was a low groan that he liked it too.

  “Can’t go back in time, sugar, but I’ll give you a break and I’ll try to behave for a little bit and we can talk.”

  “Without innuendos?”

  “I can’t promise, but I can try. You know, old dog and new tricks...” He winked at her.

  “Okay, start with where you were born.”

  Pete told her where he was born and about the small island he was raised on while thinking that one day it would be nice to take her there and show her exactly what it was like. When it came to telling her about his family his heart didn’t hurt as much as it had in the first few years following their deaths, but the pain was still there; it would always be there. He vowed again to his grumbling dragon that one day they would find the missing caretaker and he would pay for what he had done.

  “What about you?” he asked, wanting to know as much about his mate as possible.

  “Not very interesting to be honest.” She shrugged. “My mother died in childbirth. She never told her family who my father was and he never came forward. I was raised by my uncle and aunt. They were good people, worked their fingers to the bone to make sure I had everything I needed.”