Dragon Isle Book Bundle 1-3: My Lord and Dragon, The Dragon Fighter, and A Dragon's Bite

by Stern, Sophie

  The problem was that Theodore’s mansion was literally in the middle of the biggest forest on Dragon Isle, and there were several. This one was Ashley’s favorite because there were hidden waterfalls, tiny caves, and plenty of forgotten footpaths. She loved hiking through the woods, but that’s all she could do: hike.

  She couldn’t drive through them.

  She couldn’t bike through them.

  She couldn’t carry a bouncy little dragon child through them.

  The only way she would be getting to the village tonight was if Theodore would agree to fly her. Otherwise, boiled macaroni noodles it was.

  She knocked on his office door. A muffled reply sounded, and Ashley walked inside. Theodore was hunched over his desk, his head in his hands. He looked tired beyond comprehension.

  “Are you okay?” She blurted out before she realized it was none of her business. She was the nanny: not his girlfriend. If Theodore was surprised by her question, he didn’t show it. He just shook his head.

  “I’m exhausted,” he said. “A conference call ran late, a client canceled plans for a promotion right before the launch, and I’ve spent the day fielding emails because my personal assistant is off work today.”

  Ashley didn’t want to ask him to fly her halfway across the island now. How could she? The poor dragonman was worn out.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. She crossed the room before she could talk herself out of it. She walked behind him and began to rub his shoulders. Theodore’s entire body immediately relaxed beneath her touch. She massaged him gently, then a bit harder, trying to ease at least a little bit of his frustration.

  “Thank you,” he said when she had finished.

  “It was nothing.” Ashley bit her bottom lip. Fuck, was she seriously turned on by his broodiness? She’d been around dragons long enough to know they were trouble. She’d been around long enough to know when to steer clear, but somehow, she wanted to go to Theodore and tell him that everything would be okay.

  She wanted to make everything okay.

  “What did you need?” He finally looked up and made eye contact. His eyes were normally dark brown, but now they blazed orange. His eyes were orange. She wondered if he was trying to hold off a shift, trying to fight off his “inner dragon,” as it were.

  “I, uh, nothing,” she said. She turned to leave. She couldn’t ask him now. He was exhausted and should just go to bed. The last thing he needed was to be waltzing across the island with her. She could make Stuart eggs for dinner and he’d be fine.

  “Ashley,” his voice was firmer now, almost harsh. She stopped and turned back around to him. “I asked you a question.”

  Then he just waited. He waited until she felt like she should fill the silence, only to give the world some noise. How did he do that? Was this some sort of dragon trick? Theodore stared at Ashley like he had all the time in the world, like nothing else mattered but what had brought her into his office.

  “I need food.”

  “You need food?”

  She licked her lips. Her mouth suddenly felt very, very dry. She wondered what it would be like to have Theodore cross the room quickly, sweep her into his arms, and press his mouth against hers.

  What would he taste like?

  “Yes,” she tried to focus on the issue at hand and not on her insatiable lust. “The kitchen is empty. We need food.”

  “What are you asking me for, Ashley?” His eyes twinkled, and though his voice remained even, Ashley thought he was having fun with her nervousness.

  “Will you fly me to the village so I can buy groceries?”

  Then Theodore chuckled, stood, and grabbed her hand.

  “Let’s go.”

  7

  Theodore hadn’t felt the weight of a woman on his back in several years. He had flown his sister once, when she was pregnant, but no one since then. Even when he took Stuart somewhere, he usually carried him in a basket or carrying device: never on his back. Today, though, he wanted to feel Ashley pressed against him.

  “How is this going to work?” She eyed Stuart before allowing her gaze to travel to Theodore. He was still fully dressed, but she was obviously wondering if she was going to get to see him again.

  “Stuart can ride in the basket with the groceries. He’s too small to ride on my back.”

  “I am not!”

  “You are too small to ride on my back.”

  “I am not!” Stuart stomped his foot, but Theodore just chuckled.

  “Ashley, you can ride on my back.”

  She hesitated, looking from the basket and back to Theodore.

  “What is it?” Theodore knew she was excited, nervous even. Why, exactly, he wasn’t sure. He only knew that Ashley loved the idea of riding on his back. She was practically glowing at the idea.

  “I’m scared,” she said finally. “What if I’m too heavy?”

  Theodore laughed and Stuart chuckled, until the small boy wrapped his arms around Ashley.

  “Don’t worry!” He said. “Daddy has flown lots of girls around and most of them were much fatter than you.” Stuart quickly hopped in the basket before Theodore could react, and Ashley turned back to the dragonman.

  “Lots of girls, huh?” She raised an eyebrow.

  Theodore just shrugged.

  Then he shrugged out of his clothes and shifted. Ashley was no stranger to dragons, but seeing a man completely change his body and turn into such a magnificent creature always took her breath away.

  Theodore looked at her, cocking his head.

  “It’s only a dragon!” Stuart piped up from inside his carrying container. Ashley always called it a basket, but it was really more like a large tub. This one was about four feet long and could easily hold two people or, in this case, a little child and a lot of groceries. “Nothing to see here! Move along!”

  Ashley chuckled. The spell was broken, but she was still impressed.

  “You’re lovely, dragonman,” she whispered, stroking his long, scaly body. Then, with a bit of a struggle, she climbed up on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Hang on!” Stuart called as Theodore began to flap his wings. He grabbed the basket with the little boy in it and took off. “Whee!” Called out Stuart.

  Ashley couldn’t help but wonder what the little dragon would be like when he was older. Would he be quiet and broody like Theodore? Or would he be more wild and free, like some of the other dragons on the isle? Like Gabriel, the troublemaker dragon who was always causing mischief?

  She wasn’t sure.

  The wind blew through her hair, but she had been on a dragon’s back before. She wasn’t afraid. Theodore wouldn’t let her fall or die. She cozied up against him and closed her eyes, then let herself just relax as they made their way to the village.

  When they stopped, she slid off Theodore’s back and he shifted, shrinking rapidly in size until he was just his normal self. At least, what Ashley thought of as his normal self. Some dragons considered their “true self” to be their dragon form. Most did not.

  “Enjoy the ride, princess?” He asked, winking at Ashley.

  She looked at his cock.

  Theodore grabbed his spare clothes from inside the carrying basket and dressed quickly, ignoring her lusty gaze.

  Fuck.

  How long had it been since Ashley had been with a guy? Too long. Not since Darin. Not in years. She had held onto her pain and her horror for so long there had never been any room for anything else.

  Not for lust, not for sex, not for dating.

  Not for fun.

  She expressed herself through her varying hair colors, though she’d been doing that for so long that now her ordinary “brown” seemed crazy and wild for her. She never expressed herself through sex.

  She wondered if she even remembered how.

  “Come on,” Stuart grabbed her hand, pulling her from her thoughts. Ashley followed him and Theodore into a small grocery store. Everything had to be shipped in to the island, which meant th
e prices were expensive. Ashley rolled her eyes when she saw how much a box of cereal cost.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Theodore shook his head slightly. “It’s no big deal.” She knew he had money. Probably a lot of it. How else could he afford to live in a huge house in the middle of nowhere? How much had that house cost to build? Had he made it himself? She didn’t know, but if money really wasn’t an issue, she would definitely be buying the cereal.

  And oatmeal.

  Stuart and Ashley walked through the store, picking out different food. Ashley loaded the shopping cart up with meat, vegetables, and enough milk to feed a small army.

  “What’s with all the milk?” Theodore wrinkled his forehead.

  “Dragons need milk to grow big and strong.”

  “What? No, we don’t.”

  “Yes, you do.” She turned to him. “Haven’t you heard of calcium?”

  “There are other ways to get calcium.”

  “Well, I’m Stuart’s nanny, and I say he drinks milk.” She turned and continued pushing the cart, grabbing different items, and trying to ignore Theodore’s gaze on her backside.

  What would it be like for him to strip her down later? What would it be like to feel his hands on her body?

  Suddenly, she felt very aroused, very excited, and very wet at the idea of Theodore taking her.

  “Hey,” said a dragonwoman nearby, looking at Ashley. “You might want to calm down a little. There are children here, you know?” She jerked her head toward a small dragon, then frowned at Ashley before walking past.

  “Holy dragons,” Ashley murmured, suddenly completing embarrassed. The woman could smell her arousal. She should have known. She shot a horrified look at Theodore, pushed him the cart, and left the grocery store without looking back.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Everyone knew. Everyone knew how she was looking at him. Everyone knew. Dragon Isle was a small place and Ashley knew that by the end of the day, everyone would know about the horny, lust-driven human who had been looking at Theodore like he was going to be the one to save her.

  She wrapped her arms around herself and went and leaned against a tree with her back to the store. How could she face him again? Fuck, it was so humiliating.

  A little family walked by and Ashley pressed harder against the tree, trying to make herself invisible. Is that what she was doing? She wondered as she looked at the family. Was she simply trying to make a replacement family?

  She needed to call Lindsey.

  She needed her.

  Now.

  Ashley pulled out her cell phone and dialed her friend-slash-therapist.

  “Hey,” Ashley said when Lindsey answered, thankful that Lindsey had given her private cell phone number. “I need some help. I’m freaking out.”

  “I can tell,” Lindsey said calmly. Ashley wondered if Lindsey was at home or at the office. She was probably home by now, naked and curled up by Kade’s feet. “Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell me about it?”

  Ashley breathed in and out several times. She could do this. She could. She had to.

  “I’m at the store with Theodore.”

  “Right now?”

  “Yes, well, I’m outside.”

  “Why are you outside the store?”

  “Because I got super turned on and was thinking about fucking him,” Ashley blurted out, glancing around to make sure no one could hear her. “And a dragonwoman scolded me because she smelled my horniness.”

  Lindsey chuckled.

  “It’s not funny,” Ashley protested. “And you’re my counselor. You’re supposed to give me advice.”

  “Ashley, I’m your counselor, but I’m also your friend. You need to ask whether you were embarrassed because a stranger knew you were aroused or because Theodore knew. If you actually want him, you don’t need to be embarrassed. The woman was rude, but why do you care that a stranger doesn’t like you?”

  Ashley bit her lip nervously. She was still hiding by the tree. It’s not like Theodore wouldn’t be able to see her when he came out of the store, but somehow, her tiny hiding spot gave her a bit of refuge.

  “I care because…” she couldn’t finish her sentence.

  “Because why, Ashley?” Lindsey pressed. Fuck. Lindsey always pressed. Why had Ashley bothered to call her? Oh yeah, because Lindsey was amazing at what she did. She wasn’t going to give Ashley the answers. She was going to make Ashley say what she meant.

  “Because I’m scared that I’m going to fall in love with him and he’s just going to die.”

  “There we go.”

  Ashley covered her mouth when she said it. She couldn’t believe she had admitted it out loud. All this time, all these years, all this fear.

  “It’s okay,” Lindsey said, obviously sensing Ashley’s distress. “It’s going to be okay, Ashley.”

  “I don’t want to feel anything for him,” Ashley whispered.

  “But you already do, don’t you?”

  “Mmhmm,” Ashley turned and saw him standing in the doorway of the supermarket. She wasn’t sure if he had heard her. She wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Theodore just watched her with a curious expression on his face, as if he wasn’t sure why she was hurting, but he wanted to try to fix her.

  And she wanted to let him.

  8

  The little trio returned home in silence. Even Stuart was quiet during the flight home and when they arrived, he made himself scarce. For that, Theodore was grateful. Ashley busied herself putting groceries away and preheating the oven, but Theodore wasn’t going to let her hide. Not from him. Not as long as she was working there.

  He strode into the kitchen and cornered her. She backed up when she saw him. Her feet kept moving backwards until she finally hit the wall. Then she actually looked around to see where she could go.

  “You can’t hide from me, little human,” Theodore growled. He placed his hands on either side of her head, firmly boxing her in.

  “I don’t want to hide from you,” she whispered.

  “Sure looks like you do.”

  “No.”

  Theodore waited for her to speak, waited for her to explain her weird little meltdown in the middle of the grocery store. No, the human girl hadn’t burst into tears or anything too insane, but when Melody Holbroke had said something to her in a harsh whisper, Ashley had barreled out of the store as quickly as she could.

  “What did she say to you?”

  Melody had left just as quickly as Ashley had and Theodore didn’t want to make a scene in front of his son. Dragons could be civilized. They could. He kept telling Stuart, but neither one of them particularly believed it.

  “Nothing.”

  “Ashley,” Theodore’s voice was firm. He had learned long ago that his quiet nature often meant people assumed he was a pushover. He was not. A firm voice could get that message across quite clearly, even to a stubborn woman like Ashley.

  Ashley sighed and turned back to Theodore. She crossed her arms, essentially blocking herself off from him. She huffed. Then she looked sad.

  “I left because I was embarrassed,” she said finally.

  Well, that wasn’t the answer Theodore had expected.

  “And what do you have to be embarrassed about, darling?”

  “When we were in the store, all I could think about was riding your cock, okay?”

  Holy.

  Shit.

  Theodore’s cock, previously unbothered by the conversation, was suddenly alert.

  “And what did that,” he swallowed, “have to do with Melody?”

  “She could tell I was aroused. She said I shouldn’t smell so aroused when there were other people around, that there were kids around.”

  Now Theodore was pissed. Of all the fucking nerve. Melody. He knew more about the dragonwoman than he ever wanted to. Yeah, he knew exactly who Melody was and she could suck it. He hated seeing the disappointment and embarrassment on Ashley’s face. Melody was jealous because so many eligible dragon
men chose to mate with humans and she was against it.

  Well, tough shit.

  Ashley had nothing to be embarrassed about and Theodore needed to prove it to her. He stalked her, fisted her hair with one hand and grabbed her ass with the other. He pulled Ashley close to him and kissed her harder than he’d ever kissed anyone before. She moaned and the sweet scent of her excitement filled the kitchen.

  Oh yes, her embarrassment was gone now. Theodore owned Ashley’s mouth. He showed her exactly what he thought about her charming personality and her cute little body and her sweet, sweet scent. He kissed her until he was so hard he thought he would explode, kissed her until he was sure he’d gotten the point across.

  Then he pulled away and just watched her. Ashley’s eyes were closed. Her entire body was relaxed as she leaned against the counter. Her fingers drifted to her lips and she just held them there for a moment, as if she couldn’t believe exactly what had just happened.

  Finally, her eyes fluttered open and she just looked at Theodore. Her eyes held adoration and lust mixed with a little bit of excitement.

  “Oh, dragonman,” she murmured. Her voice was husky with arousal, and that was all the encouragement Theodore needed. He picked her up and set her on top of the counter. Her legs wrapped around him as he kissed her again, even harder.

  She arched her back, pressing her chest out against his. Theodore dominated her mouth with his, but his focus shifted to her nipples, which were hard against his bare chest.

  “Little human,” he whispered. “You make me come undone.” He ran his hand up her side and over to her breast, then gently pinched her nipples through her shirt. She let out a moan that was so deep, it was almost a growl. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought she was a dragon.

  Theodore wanted Ashley very much, more now than never. Now he wanted to show her just how sexy, just how attractive she really was. Now he wanted to show her just how fucking amazing her scents of arousal really were.