by V. Vaughn
Having Andru, even if he was begrudgingly doing his tasks, there next to her decorating her shop for Christmas gave her just a taste of what that part of her dream could be like. When the time came to close the store, they only had a couple more things left to do and their decorating would be complete as well.
“This is a lot of work for a silly holiday,” Andru commented as he put the ladder up in the back of her shop.
“It’s not just a silly holiday. Christmas time is magical.”
“How is it magical?”
“People are in better moods, and they’re thinking about other people instead of themselves. The baked goods are better, and the conversations are fuller. Families are getting together and old friends are flying cross-country to see each other.”
Andru still didn’t seem the least bit convinced.
“Most importantly, shopping in a store that’s decorated for Christmas with carols playing throughout the store is just more fun. You at least have to admit that?”
“I don’t shop so I wouldn’t know.”
“You don’t shop?” she asked him sarcastically.
“No. I have a personal assistant that does all of my grocery shopping, and a personal shopper at several of the department stores that send over clothes when I need them.”
“You don’t shop for your parents?”
He shook his head.
“Siblings?”
Andru shook his head again.
“Grandparents. Aunts. Uncles. A best friend?”
“No.”
“Well, then I’m going to give you another task before we talk about buying and selling shop. I want you to buy me a Christmas gift.”
She saw his eyes glaze over with dollar signs and realized that she was going to have to set boundaries.
“But I have just one rule. It has to come from the historic district, and it can’t cost more than fifty bucks.”
“Fifty dollars? That barely buys lunch these days.”
“Where are you eating lunch? Never mind, I don’t want to know. Deal?”
“A hundred bucks or no deal.”
She glared at him, trying to get her way, but she could tell she wasn’t going to make any headway.
“Fine, one hundred dollars and not one penny more.”
He extended his hand and Jill eyed it carefully. The zing that had shot up her arm and down to her belly yesterday was still fresh in her mind. She was curious to see if it would happen again, but also terrified at the same time. Jill extended her hand and carefully placed it in his. For a businessman his hands were deliciously calloused. His hand engulfed hers as he gave it a few pumps. The same zing was there but this time it buzzed like a live wire, carrying energy between them.
8
Chapter 8 - Andru
“So, I believe you promised me the full historic downtown experience,” he purred.
He loved watching the emotions play out on her face as she tried to figure out what was happening between them. Jill slid her hand out of his and visibly shook from the aftermath of their mate bond. Andru was still feeling the tingles throughout his body as well. Their bond was strong, and his dragon was anxious to finalize it.
“Yes. Let’s go get some food over at the bakery, and then we can browse some of the other stores.”
“You don’t stay open during this?”
“My mom usually comes in and runs the store for me so that I can enjoy the festivities, but the sales didn’t make enough sense for her to miss it, too. Everyone likes to watch the big Christmas tree going up and drink hot cocoa while we listen to the live music. It’s too much fun to miss for a handful of sales. I’m sure that just blows your greedy mind,” she added at the end as she grabbed her coat.
“Just because I’m successful doesn’t mean I’m greedy,” he retorted. He hated that her opinion of him was so low. If he were honest with himself, he was kind of greedy. He made a mental note to have his assistant up his annual donation to charity.
“Come one, Mr. Varcelli, let me show you the true meaning of the holiday season in retail.”
He followed her outside and waited while she locked the door behind her. They strolled down the streets, and as the early winter evening darkened the sky, the street lit up with lights strung on every storefront and lamppost. The old brick roads sparkled underneath from all of the glitter that had been tramped back and forth while ribbons had been strewn about the street. There were people everywhere, and the elves and reindeer Jill had mentioned finished off the scene as they mingled throughout, bringing laughter and smiles from all the children.
Andru didn’t want to admit it even to himself, but it really was a beautiful set up. The decorations were inviting and put even the biggest of scrooges, such as him, in the mood to shop. That thought brought him back to her challenge for him to buy her a Christmas gift. She had no idea how excited he was about buying her something. The monetary cap she put on it would definitely hold him back, but he would make sure it was the best gift she would ever receive.
“Jill! Come here for a second,” the owner of the bookstore called while standing out of her store front.
“Hey, Beth!” Jill called.
The woman knew owners on the street by name and seemed to be good friends with them all.
“Hey, sorry to call you over during the festivities, but I got that book in you wanted.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited. Thank you so much.”
“Of course,” Beth replied, handing Jill a beautiful fixed bag.
Jill and Beth chatted briefly and then he and Jill continued on their journey to get food.
“Is that a gift for someone?” he asked when he couldn’t get over how nice the owner had fixed the bag.
“Nope. It’s all mine.”
“The bag looks like a gift of some kind.”
“Oh, that’s something Beth does. All of her bags are quirky, and unique and she fixes them all up like this. I just love it. I offer gift wrapping and bagging, but I’d love to do it on every single piece like she does.”
“It’s a nice touch.”
“Well, well, well, do I hear you giving some kudos to the small guy?” she joked.
“I have nothing against small businesses,” he defended himself.
“Then why tear them down?”
“It’s a business thing, Jill.”
“Not to me. To us, it’s our lives.”
Andru didn’t say anything. They arrived at the bakery shop, and he turned to face her as he held the door handle. He wanted to tell her that he’d give it all up for her, but it was business and the deal had been struck. The money was already out there and he would be ruined if he went back on the deal. As he looked down in her eyes, though, he felt the mate bond pull him to risk it all to make her happy. He huffed and yanked the door open.
The bakery smelled delicious. His stomach grumbled as he realized he hadn’t ate anything the entire day. The owners greeted Jill with open arms, but their faces quickly fell when they saw him.
“What are you doing here, with him?” Sue whispered into Jill’s ear as if he couldn’t hear her. Humans were so ignorant of shifter abilities, or it was just their arrogance that refused to allow them to believe there was something on this Earth that could eradicate them.
“I’m showing him around,” Jill replied happily.
“Why?”
“If there’s one thing I know to be true it’s that Christmas miracles can happen.”
Sue rolled her eyes, but softened the gesture with a smile. Jill ordered for both of them and once they had their hot coffees in hand, they found a small booth by the front window to sit down. People littered the streets, bags in hand as well as their own cups of hot coffee. Everyone looked happy. As if their joy was contagious, Andru felt a smile tug at his lips. It was like he couldn’t control himself at all around Jill.
“It’s okay to smile. I won’t gloat,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee with a sheepish grin on her face.
; “How did you know?”
“I can see it in your eyes that you find the sight as beautiful as I do. That and your lips are twitching.”
“You’re an observant one,” he whispered.
She blushed under his scrutiny. The red color covered her face and neck. The sight sent a shot a surge of heat to his dick. She was magnificent. He wanted to strip her down and touch every square inch of her flesh. Jill squealed and it broke him out of his train of thought.
“What is it?”
“Look, they’re raising the tree up!” she said, her eyes wide with excitement as she leaned closer to the window. He turned and followed her gaze.
The tree was no match for the tree at Rockefeller center in New York, but it was still beautiful. It completed the look they had all been working towards all day. Andru felt a sense of accomplishment having had a hand in it. He could also see why Jill didn’t want it to go away.
“Here you go. Oh look, the tree is up! Honey, they put the tree up!” Sue called back to her husband. She moved over to stand behind Jill and leaned toward the window. Her husband came out and joined her, and they all marveled over it.
“I guess this is our last one,” Sue’s husband said.
No one answered him, but the melancholy mood was there. Everyone went back to what they were doing, and he and Jill ate silently. After they were done eating, they browsed through the open shops and took in the Christmas tree up close. When the evening was finally done, Andru reluctantly walked Jill home. As he stood with her in front of her door, he felt like a nervous hormonal teenage boy.
“Thank you for letting me spend the day seeing things from your perspective,” he said.
“Did it help?”
“Things are already in play here, Jill. I can’t just stop…”
She held her hand up and nodded.
“I guess the next time I see you, we’ll be discussing business.”
Andru bit his tongue. He didn’t want to waste his time with her talking business. Especially if it meant destroying any chance of telling her about the mate bond, and having her willingly accept him.
9
Chapter 9 Jill
The weekend passed by and Jill didn’t hear a word from Andru. She kept reminding herself she didn’t want to hear from him, but it was a losing battle. There was something about him. Jill could sense that there was more to him than what he was showing. It was more than just him being a shifter, which she realized she didn’t know what he shifted into. It wasn’t a super important fact, she supposed. It’s not as if her knowing what he was would help her with her negotiations, but her curiosity was peaked.
That evening, she locked up her store and headed back to her home when she felt like someone was watching her. Just as she flipped around, she was overwhelmed with Andru’s presence.
“Whoa,” she said, holding her hand up in caution at finding him so close to her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Well, coming up behind a woman on a darkened street late at night wasn’t the best way to go about that,” she said, easing her stern comment with a smile.
He smiled in return, “I’ll take note of that for future reference.”
“Are you here to discuss business so late?”
“No, I’m here to see you.”
“Okay?”
“Jill, I’d like to show you something, if that would be okay? Maybe tell you a bit about myself.”
She eyed him nervously. There was a change about him. He seemed softer, less arrogant as if something had somehow humbled him in the short time since she had been introduced to him.
“Okay,” she finally agreed.
Andru looked around. There were some people still littering the streets, taking in the Christmas tree.
“Is it a secret?” she asked with a giggle.
“Kind of,” he said, taking her hand and leading her further away from everyone.
“Can I be in the know of the secret?”
“How do you feel about flying?” he asked.
“Flying, like in a plane?”
“Well, more like on a dragon?”
“Are you serious?” she asked, releasing his hand and taking a step back.
“The first thing you said to me was you asked me if I was a shifter. I’d like to show you what I shift into, and also if you’re up for it, give you a ride to my rooftop.”
“A ride? You’re a dragon, and you want me to ride on your back?”
Jill was shaking her head; certain there was no way in hell she was getting on his back. She wasn’t even certain she wanted to see him shift.
“You challenged me to get to know your shop and Christmas, so this is my challenge to you. Get to know me, please?”
Jill chewed on the inside of her lip as she thought about his challenge. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself about her attraction to him, it hadn’t done a thing to lessen the pull she felt to him. She owed it to herself to at least get to know him better. If nothing else, she told herself it would maybe help her save her store.
“Fine, but don’t you dare do any flips or anything else,” she said, pointing at him.
“Deal,” he said enthusiastically as he tugged his shirt over his head.
His beautifully sculpted body came into view, and Jill fought the urge to step forward and run her hands along his chest. She shook her head and forced herself to look at his face.
“Why are you getting naked?” she stuttered.
“I don’t want to ruin my clothes,” he said with a knowing smirk.
The arrogant man knew exactly what he was doing. He was putting on a show for her; he didn’t give a damn about his clothes. Jill decided to call his bluff as he slid his pants down his legs, and she let her eyes follow. As she took in his tight black briefs, her mouth watered. The man was built, everywhere.
“Ready?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at her inspection.
“Yep,” she said, the word coming out as barely a whisper.
With one more glance around, Andru shifted into a giant dragon. Jill stumbled backwards. She never dreamed in a hundred years he was going to be so large. The man was bigger than some of the houses around them.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
He gave her a few minutes to adjust and then he ducked his head down and lowered his wing, giving her access to climb on his back. Jill fought through her terror and climbed up on his back. She wasn’t sure where to put her hands and as sweaty as they were, she wasn’t sure she could even grasp anything. After a few minutes she decided to simply wrap her arms around his slender neck. She clasped her hands on the other side and held on for death life.
His wings beat slowly at first and she adjusted where her legs were to stay out of their way. Jill squeezed hard with her legs as well. Then without any warning, he shot up into the sky. Jill screamed as the sight below her finally adjusted, and then she saw the beauty of her view. There was nothing she couldn’t see perched on his back.
The flight over the city was breathtaking, and by the end Jill wanted to squeal with delight. She was certain she would never experience anything so beautiful again in her life. Andru finally landed on top of a tall building in downtown. She had never been a city girl, but the view from the rooftop was spectacular as well. She slid off of his back and took him in again. His dragon was a beautiful shade of red, and his overwhelming size added to the grandeur.
“You’re a good flyer,” she said for lack of anything better to say.
He huffed, and a puff of smoke came out of his nostrils.
“Wait a minute, can you breath fire?” she asked with wide eyes.
He took a few steps back and launched himself back into the sky and seconds later a mighty roar ripped through the night along with a violent flame of fire. Andru landed again and shifted. Jill was still too busy looking up at the smoke left behind to notice he was completely naked in front of her. When she looked at him, he was tugging a pair of jeans up his
muscular thighs.
“That was incredible.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“I bet you fly all the time. I know I would.”
“Actually, I don’t fly often enough. My dragon’s been pretty grumpy.”
“I can see why, that was spectacular. I’d do it every day.”
Andru smirked, and for the first time since she had met him he looked like he was genuinely happy.
“Something’s different about you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure, you just seem lighter tonight than normal.”
He shrugged without saying a word. His eyes bore into hers as if he was trying to silently tell her something, but Jill was still to mesmerized from her first flight to figure it out. Andru chuckled and then turned and pointed towards a table set up in the middle of the roof. Candles lit the table and blankets adorned the back of the oversized chairs. The whole set up looked and smelled decadent.
“This is beautiful. You did this?”
“You showed me a part of your world, so I wanted to show you a part of mine.”
“Thank you, Andru.”
“Come, we better dig in before it gets cold.”
She hurried over to the table and cuddled up under the soft blanket. Andru poured them both some wine and then uncovered the plates of food. Somehow the plates had managed to stay hot enough that steam bellowed up from both plates.
“This smells amazing. What is it?”
“Steak and asparagus, covered in hollandaise sauce from one of my favorite restaurant.”
Jill hummed with pleasure when she took the first bite. Andru’s eyes darkened briefly at the sound and she felt herself blush with embarrassment.