8
Elma Franklin had seen it all. She was an old dragon, much older than people suspected, and she had lived on Dragon Isle for nearly 50 of her years. She had seen a husband die and her children move away. She had seen dragons mate and live happily. She had seen dragons mate and split up. She had seen cranky dragons, sexual dragons, and wise dragons. She had seen just about everything.
But she had never seen Emerson Dennigan take a liking to any female the way he had taken to Janae.
Perhaps it was the girl’s gentle graces or her unwavering courage in the face of dragons, but Elma thought Janae just might be exactly what their clan leader needed.
Only, she suspected that both Janae and Emerson might need a little convincing.
By the time Janae stepped out of the shower, Elma had finished brewing a pot of tea and had a batch of cookies baking in the oven.
“How do you feel, little human?” She asked Janae.
Janae cocked her head and studied Elma for a moment.
“You all call me that, you know. ‘Little human.’ It’s kind of a strange thing to call someone, isn’t it?”
“Does it bother you?” She motioned for Janae to sit down.
“No, it’s just unexpected.” Janae slid into a chair at the large dining table. Though the studio apartment was comfortable and quaint, it had everything a proper grandmother needed. There was a dining area with a large table and six solid oak chairs. The kitchen had two ovens, which meant it would be perfect for holiday cooking. A large, dragon-sized bed sat in one corner. It was a huge four-poster bed, complete with curtains.
Oh yes, Elma had thought of everything.
Elma handed Janae a cup of tea. The young human eyed it suspiciously, which made Elma laugh.
“It’s not poison,” she said patiently.
“Why are you being nice to me?” Janae didn’t pick up the tea.
“I’m sorry I was so rude the other day.”
“It’s okay,” Janae sighed. “I was pretty hotheaded myself. I’m having a hard time.”
Elma could tell the honest admission came as a surprise to the young woman. Janae looked quite uncomfortable with the fact that she had admitted it out loud.
“And why is that?” Elma kept her voice even and calm. It wouldn’t do to frighten the girl more than she already was. Elma already towered over the frail little thing, and despite her age, Elma knew she could be scary.
Janae looked tense and reached for the tea. She hesitantly took a sip. Immediately, her entire body relaxed as she took another sip. She liked it.
Elma watched her with amusement. She was reminded of the time she brought home a stray cat to her parents. Her mother had fussed and complained, but had eventually let Elma keep the little thing.
Each morning, Elma had carefully tried to feed her kitten. Though it was hesitant at first, eventually, hunger won out.
By the end of the week, Elma’s little kitten was sitting in her lap to eat.
By the end of the month, the kitten was sleeping in her bed.
“I realize you don’t know me from Adam,” Elma said understandingly. “But if you need someone to talk to, I’m happy to listen.”
Janae nodded.
“I’ve never been good at this ‘relationships’ thing,” she admitted quietly. Elma strained to hear her. Even with her keen dragon hearing, the girl was difficult to understand.
“I’m old,” Elma said bluntly. “You’re going to have to speak up, little one.”
“Sorry,” Janae looked bashful. “I’m just a little embarrassed. My mom died when I was a teenager, so I’m not really used to talking about this adult stuff. Not woman-to-woman, you know.”
“I understand,” Elma nodded. She leaned back in her rickety wooden chair and took a hard look at Janae. “I lost my own mother as a young woman.”
“How did you deal with it?” Janae made eye contact, albeit hesitantly. “Sometimes I have so many questions and no one to ask. Although, I mean, it’s not like she would know what to do in a situation like this.”
“A situation like what?”
“A situation where I have a huge crush on someone and I have no idea what to do about it.”
Elma chuckled.
“Why are you laughing?” Janae looked confused. “This is a real problem.”
“Sweetheart,” Elma told her, gently patting her hand. “If the leader of Clan Lostfallen is half as interested in you as you are to him, I think you’ll be just fine.”
Elma got up slowly and made her way back into the kitchen area. Janae didn’t say anything as Elma removed the cookies from the oven and pulled them out to cool on top of the stove. Peanut butter cookies were her favorite. Hell, they were any dragon’s favorite. There was nothing they liked quite as much. Add a few chocolate chips on top and you’d be golden.
“What makes you so certain?” Janae appeared in the kitchen. She leaned over the countertop. Her top slid down just enough to show off a bit of cleavage. Elma smiled and pointed a finger.
“Your nipples are hard just thinking about him,” she laughed heartily and when Janae blushed beet-red, Elma laughed even harder.
“Sorry,” Janae covered herself with her arms, but Elma just shook her head.
“Darling, I’m a dragon. I’ve seen more puberty-stricken dragons accidentally shift in front of the object of their affection that I’d care to think about. I’ve seen plenty of nipples and if you hang around here, you will, too. Nudity is not something that concerns dragons.”
Janae visibly relaxed and let her hands drop.
“Well, thank you,” she said. “For the pep talk and for the clothes, letting me get warmed up. All of that.” She looked longingly at the window, but the storm was still raging.
“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me, sweetheart,” Elma said with a smile. “At least until morning. Then I’ll let my little captive free.” She winked and began moving the cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack, wondering whether or not little Janae actually had the guts she needed to be mated to a clan leader.
Elma thought she did.
Only time would tell.
**
After eating her fill of cookies and drinking another pot of tea, Janae thought her belly would explode. She had never considered that dragons might be hospitable. Then again, before coming to help Liam, she had never thought much about dragons at all.
Elma hadn’t turned out to be the evil bitch queen Janae originally thought she was. In fact, the woman was actually nice and pleasant to be around. Imagine that! She and Janae had chatted amicably until the clock struck midnight. Then Elma muttered something about turning into a pumpkin and went to bed.
While Elma offered to share her oversized bed with Janae, the young human said she would sleep on the couch. Long after Elma started snoring, Janae sat curled up in the corner of the sofa, thinking about her life.
She thought Emerson was just fascinating. What other word could she use to describe him? He was so confident and self-assured. She hadn’t met many men like that. Most men were much too worried about impressing their “bros” to actually have swagger.
Most men were too worried about not making their mamas mad.
Janae had a feeling that Emerson didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought of him. He had to have an attitude like that, she realized, if he was going to be a successful clan leader.
He was a bit young to lead an entire group of dragons, she thought, but Janae didn’t really know much about how dragon politics worked.
Did he have to be elected?
Did he fight another dragon to the death?
Did he have to be born into some sort of royal dragon family?
Maybe she would ask him the next day.
As Janae grew sleepier, her thoughts began to shift around even more, and she found herself thinking of Emerson as more than just the dragon lord.
She started to think of him as a man.
And oh, was he all man. Er, dragon. Er, dragon-in
-human-sexy-man-form.
She wasn’t sure.
But those abs? Amazing. He must spend all of his free time in the gym. Or maybe dragons were just built like that, she didn’t know.
Was there a reason Emerson was single? He was fucking hot as all hell. He was kind. He was attractive. He was interesting to talk to and he was so funny she thought she’d pee her pants from laughing so hard.
Gross visual, but still.
When Janae thought about all of the things her brother said about her, she realized he had been right. She was scared.
But Janae didn’t want to be afraid anymore.
She wanted the dragon.
And when Janae looked around Mrs. Franklin’s apartment one last time before she finally closed her eyes, she realized that Elma was the perfect person to help her get him.
9
Emerson almost choked on his drink when Janae waltzed into his office at noon. She was dressed in a much-too-short-to-be-considered-decent dress, 4-inch-heels, and her long hair was down, not pulled back the way it had been last time.
How she managed to get to Dragon Isle looking like that, Emerson had no idea.
Yet there she was, and she carried a bag full of burgers.
Perfection.
“Your lunch order, Sir,” Janae said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.
Emerson’s cock immediately went hard. Fuck. How did she do that? Though he was sitting at a desk, Janae seemed to know exactly how she affected him because her smile quickly turned into a shit-eating grin.
“Thank you,” he said, reaching for the bag.
“Mmm, I think you need to pay me.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Do I now?” What game was she playing? Was this the same girl from yesterday? Janae was a spitfire. There was no doubt about that.
But she wasn’t flirty.
Not like this.
He wasn’t sure what had gotten into the little devil, but he liked it.
“Yes,” Janae said. She walked around the desk and perched on the edge, angling her body away from Emerson. He guessed it was because her dress was too short to cross her legs and she didn’t want to give him too much of a show.
Yet.
“And what do I owe you, fair lady?” He opened the bag of burgers, and before she could say anything else, he frowned. “These are from Victoria’s,” he said, giving Janae a questioning look. “Why would you bring food from Dragon’s Inn?”
The little restaurant was the go-to place to eat on Dragon Isle, but he was surprised Janae had been there. More importantly, why would she come all the way to the island just to buy lunch upon arrival? Had she lost his lunch while she was boating over?
Janae smirked.
“Nothing gets by you, eh?” She lazily traced a finger on her thigh, eyeing the bag. “Sorry it’s not your regular order. I got stuck here yesterday and spent the night. I didn’t have time to head back to Nellenston before your lunch was due.”
“Wait, you were here last night?” And she hadn’t stayed with him? Who had she stayed with? Oh, fuck all. If it was Gabriel, there was going to be hell to pay. Literally. The things Emerson could do to that dragon.
“Oh, calm down before you start breathing fire,” Janae laughed. “You look like your head is going to explode.”
“Who did you stay with?” He tried not to sound jealous. He wasn’t sure how successful he was.
Judging by Janae’s smirk, he guessed not very.
“Why?” She slid off the desk and took a step toward him. She was standing in front of him. His legs were spread, so she stepped between them. His inner thighs rubbed against the outside of hers. She was so close to him.
If Emerson reached out, he could slide his hand against her thigh.
“Are you jealous?” She asked softly. Her breath hitched and suddenly, he smelled her.
She was aroused.
And excited.
And nervous as hell.
Well, fuck. If this wasn’t gonna be fun.
“What would you do if I said I was a little jealous, sweet human?” He pressed his hands to her outer thighs. She sucked in a breath, but didn’t protest. Her skin was soft beneath his hands.
“I guess I would…um…” She was struggling to figure out what to say. Her eyes closed. Janae had marched into the room thinking she would take charge, but Emerson had quickly shown her that wasn’t the case.
Not here, not today, not ever.
He was a dragon.
He was to be her dragon.
And dragons loved to play with their food.
Especially when it was dressed in black lace and stilettos.
“I want to devour you,” he murmured. Her eyes were still closed, but she bit her bottom lip. She was standing perfectly still, not moving. Her heart raced.
“I didn’t stay with a male, if that’s what you want to know. You don’t have to be jealous.” Her voice was quiet: a whisper.
“Who did you stay with?”
“Mrs. Franklin.”
Emerson choked back a smile. Elma Franklin was notorious for being scary, yet the old dragon had a heart of gold. He wasn’t surprised she had offered Janae a place to stay last night.
He was surprised at how Elma had dressed the young female.
Was she trying to tell him something?
“And she gave you the clothes?” He asked, needing to clarify.
“Yes,” Janae blushed. “I don’t own anything like this. I don’t know where she even got it from.”
“She has daughters,” Emerson rolled his eyes. “And a penchant for matchmaking.”
“What about you?” Janae asked quietly. “Do you like to be matchmaked?”
“That’s not a word, sweet human.”
“You know what I mean.”
He slid his hands up her thighs then, until they were touching the edges of the fabric. He knew he should stop. He should talk. He should say something about how he wanted to get to know her.
About how he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
But he didn’t. Instead, he slid his hands beneath the edges of her dress and cupped her bottom.
She wasn’t wearing panties.
Fuck me.
Janae squeaked at the feeling of his skin against hers, and she opened her eyes. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him. Just looked at him for a good, long minute.
“What are you playing at, dragonman?”
He stood then, lifting her as he did, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
He kissed her, hard and long, then pulled away.
“I’m not playing anymore, Janae.”
“Neither am I.”
10
Penny Alchemy was sitting at her desk when Janae stumbled out of Emerson’s office, shoes in hand. She didn’t even look at Penny as she walked by with a dreamy, dazed expression on her face.
A stab of jealousy shot through Penny as she looked at Janae. She had only been coming to the island for a few days, yet she had completely connected with Emerson.
Why couldn’t Penny find a love like that?
Oh, sure, she was a bit of a shy dragon. She had never really fit in with the other dragons at school or even at work, which was why working for Emerson was so perfect for her.
He left her alone and let her work in silence.
It was what Penny wanted.
Wasn’t it?
Sometimes when Emerson would talk about his conquests, she felt jealous. Oh, she didn’t want to date Emerson. Didn’t even want to sleep with him. She had known the dragonman far too long for any of that nonsense. Emerson was like a big brother to Penny, and just as overprotective.
Still, that didn’t stop her from wishing she could find a mate. Pickings were slim on Dragon Isle, though, especially if you didn’t want to date a human.
Especially if you wanted to find a dragon, someone who understood what it was like to be different.
Someone who understood what it was like to be
a freak.
**
Janae walked barefoot back to the boat. She dropped the stilettos inside and sat down in her seat.
What had just happened?
She had gone from being barely confident in her ability to catch a dragon’s eye to making out with the head of a dragon clan.
Talk about escalating quickly.
She wished, not for the first time that afternoon, that she had packed extra clothes. What wouldn’t she give for a pair of panties?
Emerson was a good kisser, possibly the best one she’d ever been with. Her thighs were slick and wet, coated with her arousal. He had played with her, touched her, licked her neck, but that was it.
He had stopped.
And wasn’t that just a little bit gentlemanly of him?
Janae could have stayed and kissed him for hours, but a phone call interrupted their time together, and in any case, she had to go home to check on Liam.
Liam.
Shit.
Janae hadn’t even tried to text him during the storm. Her cell reception was never good on the island and it was especially poor during bad weather. Had he been worried about him?
She hoped William had passed along the message about her staying on the island during the storm. If not, her brother would be pissed. Well, he’d probably be pissed either way. At least she could say she had tried to let him know what had happened to her.
Janae glanced back toward the village. So much had happened in just a day that it seemed impossible that just a week ago, she had been stuck working the information desk at Strathmore Falls Library.
Just a week.
Her life had been so normal, so repetitive, so predictable. Now nothing was.
And part of Janae really loved that.
She started the boat and headed back to Nellenston. She would call Liam when she docked and find out if anyone else needed deliveries or rides for the day before she went back home. Hopefully she could just relax for the rest of the day.
Hopefully she could just order some food, drink a beer, and think about how she had made out with the hottest dragon on the island.
Dragon Isle Book Bundle 1-3: My Lord and Dragon, The Dragon Fighter, and A Dragon's Bite Page 19