by Julia Mills
Shaking his head and sighing as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, Grinch swatted Lettie in the arm as he groaned, “I sure hope you get a frikkin’ memory for Christmas.” Taking a step closer and looking up at Scarlett, the elf explained, “I told you about my cousin Ella and her mate, Quinn. Remember?” He glared, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. “He’s a dragon, one of the best, a freakin’ fire-breathing Guardsman and according to all the stories her mom is spreading around, there are lots of the scaly heroes all over the world.”
Plopping down on the large rock she’d almost fallen over while moving away from the dragon, Lettie let her head fall forward as she tried to think of what to do. There was no way she could take him back to the village. She couldn’t get anything past her grandparents, Vixen and Victoria.
Being the granddaughter of the reindeer with the magic to make the sleigh fly, wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Sure, she’d inherited the same superty duperty mysticism, but had missed out on impulse control, direction, premonition and coordination, of any kind.
Yes, that’s how you become last in line to fly Santa’s sleigh. I can’t walk and chew gum, let alone fly all over the world in a single night…
Grinning from ear-to-ear as the perfect idea popped into her head, Lettie slapped her hands on her knees, and announced, “We’re takin’ him to the cabin.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” Grinch bellowed, once again throwing his hands in the air and this time shaking his head so furiously that Lettie thought it might fly off his neck. “The last time we were there, like a bagillion years ago, a family of Snowy Owls had claimed it as their own and tried to peck our eyes out.” His head shaking instantly stopped as he warned while pointing his long, skinny finger in Lettie’s direction, “Who knows what in the heck is up there now.”
“Whatever, Drama Elf, it wasn’t that bad and we sure as shootin’ can’t take him back to the Village.” She got to her feet and raised a single eyebrow at Santa’s little helper. “You want to explain to my grandfather how you caused me to run over one of the mighty dragons a week before Christmas?”
“Me? ...Well, I never…You better…I can’t believe…”
Ignoring Grinch’s blustering, Lettie walked over to the dragon, knelt down and slid her hands under his arms. Gradually getting to her feet, she grunted, “Dadgummit, this dragon is hea-vy.”
Holding his head and shoulders against her chest while dragging his heels through the snow, she added with a grumble, “Thanks for the help, Grinch. Way to be a team player.”
“We are not a team, Holly Hoovebreath.” A cocky grin spreading across his face as he added, “It’s called plausible deniability, Fruitcake. Look it up.” Grinch had just stuck out his tongue and had his thumbs in his ears while flapping his fingers back and forth when the man in the reindeer’s arms started to groan and shake his head from side-to-side.
Lettie’s instincts took over. Making an abrupt halt, she dropped the dragon back into the snow, zapped him with a blot of her powerful Christmas magic, putting him back to sleep, and with wide eyes looked at her friend.
It took a few seconds for either one to speak and when they did, it was in unison, “Son of a reindeer’s ass, Naughty List here we come.”
Chapter Three
“Nowell! I swear to the Heavens if you don’t answer me I’m sending Maddox and Kayne to find your stupid ass.” Chance’s grating insults slashed through the weirdest dream Nowell had ever had, waking him with a start.
“What the hell is your problem? Can’t a guy get some sleep?”
“Not two effing days’ worth!” Chance screamed, panic coloring his tone, a split-second before Nowell realized what his twin had just said, bolted upright and bellowed, “Two days? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the forty-eight frikkin’ hours that I couldn’t contact you, couldn’t touch your mind, couldn’t even tell if you were dead or alive. THAT’S what I’m talking about, asshat.”
“No way.”
“Yes way,” Chance chastised. “Where are you? Did you get lost?”
Not wanting to admit he had no idea where he was, Nowell wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked around. Taking in the rotting boards and warped floorboards of the rundown cabin, the dragon cringed as he swallowed the sour taste of magic.
Well, that explains why I slept so long. Wonder who put the whammy on me…
Getting to his feet, holding onto the smoothly carved cherry wood of the headboard of the bed he’d been laying on, Nowell waited until the room stopped spinning before crossing to the window and pulling back the tattered woolen curtain. The glare of the sun on the snow told him it wasn’t quite noon, as the same fascinating scent of evergreen and cinnamon tickled his senses, making him smile. Wondering where the female who belonged to that heavenly aroma could be, visions of the last time he saw her flashed through his mind.
“Well, I’ll be…”
“You’ll be what, Little Bro?”
“Nothing, Chance. Don’t worry about it. I’m in a cabin not far from where I last talked to you. I’ll be…”
“What about the reindeer and the elf and the sleigh you were babbling on about right before I lost contact with you?” Chance interrupted. “Are you losing your mind? Do you have snow madness? Do I need to come and get you?”
It was nice that his twin cared, but really infuriating that Chance pushed his role of ‘big brother’ to the extreme. Ignoring his brother’s questions about the reindeer and the elf, because he had no idea where they were or, if, they were even real. Nowell snapped, “No! I am not losing my mind, or snow mad and I most definitely do NOT need you to come get me.” His fists clenched at his side. “I am getting a cup of coffee, and I will be on my way. So, butt the hell outta my brain, and I will call you back later.”
“Come on, Noe.”
“Go. Away. Chance.” Nowell seethed through gritted teeth when his brother backed out of their connection as far as he possibly could go, having finally gotten the message.
Turning towards the huge, open, arch-shaped fireplace, the Guardsman inhaled the wonderful scent of hot coffee and smiled. Picking up the mug sitting in the center of the rickety, but clean, table on his way to what he referred to as ‘nectar from the Heavens, Nowell filled his cup to the rim, enjoying watching the steam float towards the ceiling.
Taking his first drink, the hot java washing away the last remnants of stale magic from his taste buds, the dragon took a seat and enjoyed his coffee. Not sure what to make of waking up alone, but sure the deer and her surly sidekick couldn’t have gone far, he opened the preternatural senses of his dragon as far as they would go and waited.
Enjoying the serenity of the Tundra, Nowell laughed out loud at the warren of arctic hares playing hide-n-seek among the snow drifts, only the black tips of their ears and nose visible as their fur perfectly matched the white landscape. Glancing farther to the left through his mind’s eye, the dragon saw four huge musk oxen contently munching away on thick bunches of moss they’d unearthed with their massive hooves.
“Those guys have a serious fur coat,” he remarked to himself, looking more closely at the large mammals’ deep brown, matted hair that hung in shaggy clumps, forming a geometrically patterned pelt, the color of dark chocolate, as he added, “Damned if they don’t need it up here.”
The howl of an arctic wolf echoed through the valley, sending not only hares racing for cover but the musk oxen, as well. He could see the pair of snow-white predators standing atop the southern mountain, proud Alphas with their chests pushed out and their snouts lifted high.
“Wonder what they’d think of you,” he asked Fionnbharr as the Dragon King yawned he as stretched within the confines of the Guardsman’s mind. The low grunt and baring of the emerald dragon’s teeth made Nowell chuckle, “I get it. You’d be the one saying, ‘all the better to eat you with, my dear’.”
Setting his empty mug on the table, trying to d
ecide if he wanted another cup or was actually going to brave the subzero temperatures, Nowell jumped to his feet as a female scream slashed through the tranquility he’d been enjoying.
“GRINCH!” She yelled. “Go high! Go high!”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, you damned fool reindeer!”
Recognizing the voices of the two who’d run him down, the dragon raced across the cabin and threw open the door, ignoring the frigid wind that ripped through his clothing. Focusing on the woman, his heart skipped a beat as both man and dragon announced in unison, “Mate!”
Awestruck, Nowell couldn’t look away as she tore across the drifts of snow with a grace he’d never before witnessed. The curls of her long auburn hair flew behind her like flames of a roaring fire, showcasing her beautiful face with its high cheeks bones and oh-so-very kissable lips.
His fingers ached to trace the erotic dips and sensual curves that were evident even though she wore a thick parka and ski pants. Nowell inhaled her intoxicating scent, that when mixed with the frozen arctic air became entirely irresistible.
Her big brown eyes, danced with excitement even though she was running from something or someone who’d obviously frightened her, letting both man and dragon know their mate loved thrills and the feel of adrenaline speeding through her veins. However, Nowell’s enjoyment was cut short as his mate’s nasty, foul-mouthed little friend, screeched, “Go, Lettie! Get your ass movin’!”
Diving to the side to keep from being trampled as the dastardly duo ran over the threshold of the cabin, slammed the door shut and with their backs plastered to the wood gasped for air, Nowell demanded, “What in the Sam Hill is going on?”
Two sets of eyes snapped to his as a pair of the craziest creatures he’d ever met, wailed in unison, “There’s a frikkin’ dragon out there and he’s trying to fry our asses!”
Chapter Four
“What do you mean there’s a dragon out there?”
Worried that she’d fried his brain with her magic, something Grinch had been bitching about since the morning of the second day when the dragon was still not awake, Scarlett knelt down and very slowly repeated, “There - is – a – dragon - outside.”
Looking at her like she had three heads, the sexiest man she’d ever seen continued to stare as he leaned forward. Sweat trickled down the deer’s back. Her heart pounded in her chest. What the hell was she going to do if she’d not only run over him but also zapped the sense right out of his head?
Opening her mouth to ask his name, Lettie’s words were drowned out by Grinch’s shrilled, “Look what you’ve done! Just look!” The elf was again throwing his hands in the air and spinning in circles, his voice getting louder and squeakier with every word out of his mouth. “Son of Krampus’ ass. We’re doomed. DOOMED!” He stopped spinning in favor of pacing back and forth as he continued to shriek, “We’re gonna be shackled and thrown into a deep dark hole in a cave somewhere with nothing to eat but roots and moss. Oh, my Christmas bells! Santa save us. What…”
Doing the only thing she could think of and needing to know if she was going to be sentenced to live in a dungeon for just a hundred years or so, Lettie reached out and smacked the dragon right across the face. Her hand had barely made contact with the stubble covering his gorgeous jawline when faster than she could track: the man sprung to his feet, wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted the reindeer into his arms.
Slamming his lips to hers, both Lettie and her deer were helpless but to open completely when the tip of his tongue licked the seam of her lips. Sparks, like a million fireworks going off at the same time, burst to life, racing through her body like molten lava, lighting a fire that she never wanted to be extinguished.
Feelings she couldn’t explain and had never felt before swamped her senses. Climbing the dragon’s body, Lettie’s legs wrapped around his waist. She moaned into their kiss as his hands closed over her backside, the heat from the tips of his fingers burning through the thick down of her ski pants, warming her flesh as they massaged in perfect rhythm with the slide of his tongue along hers.
Her short, manicured nails dug into the taut muscles of his shoulders as she pulled him closer, needing more, wanting all of him. Nothing but the dragon, her dragon, mattered. Lettie now knew what it meant to find her mate, and she never wanted it to end.
Pulling at the waffled cotton of his thermal shirt, the reindeer bunched the fabric in her hand, planning to undress the handsome dragon and have her way with him. A shout, an irksome scoff that broke through the lust in her brain as it demanded, “Oh my freakin’ Christmas angel. Scarlett Jean get your tongue out of that dragon’s mouth.”
Reality, the harsh, cold bitch, whapped the reindeer in the back of the head with what felt like a metaphorical two-by-four. Scrambling back down the dragon’s body, Lettie was immediately dumbstruck when the hard line of his erection slid against the soft curve of her stomach.
Her eyes snapped to his, silver swirled in their light gray depths, mesmerizing her, pulling her in, making her want this dragon more than she ever knew possible. Giving into temptation, her lips were just about to touch his once again when Grinch hissed, “For Santa’s sake, ya’ damned reindeer-in-heat, unhand the dragon before they charge us with sexual harassment, too.”
Catapulting herself off the dragon’s body and landing two steps in front of him, Lettie spun on her toes and glared at the elf. “I was not sexually harassing anyone, you little stocking full of coal. He,” she whipped her thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the dragon whose stare she could feel burning a hole through her parka, “Started it.”
“Wait one freakin’ minute,” the dragon loudly objected, the low rumbling baritone of his voice caressing both woman and reindeer, making Lettie turn. “What the hell is going on here?” Taking an assertive step forward, he pointed his index finger at Grinch, “You stand there and be quiet.”
“Why I never…”
“I said, be quiet.” The dragon took an extra second to glare into the elf’s eyes before turning to Lettie and confirming, “Your name is Scarlett?”
She was thrilled when he left off the Jean part that Grinch had conveniently screamed but was so discombobulated by the dragon’s steely glaze that she stuttered and stammered, “N-no. I mean, y-yes. I’, L-Lett… I m-mean y-yes I’m S-Scarlett.”
Her cheeks were hot, and she just knew they were as red as holly berries by the smile that transformed the dragon’s face from just handsome to Oh-my-Christmas-cookie- and-silver-bells-with-a-ribbon-on-top gorgeous. “I’m Nowell.” His tone was softer and at least a half an octave lower as it had been when he’d said her name.
Stepping forward before she knew she’d moved, Lettie quickly shook her head and stuck out her hand, “Nice to meet you, Nowell.”
Snickering, he looked at her hand then back up to her eyes and winked, “I think we’re a little past a simple handshake, don’t you?”
The heat on her cheeks went from smoldering to a blazing inferno in a single thump! of her beating heart. Nodding, unable to do more than squeak out, “Yeah,” Lettie spun to her left when Grinch stormed, “Can we puh-lease stop with As the Reindeer Turns? Y’all are making me nauseous.”
“Zip it, Grinch,” Lettie and Nowell roared in unison.
“Well, I never,” the elf huffed, stomping towards the door and throwing it open.
With one foot over the threshold and a parting shot of, “Find your own way home, Scarlett Jean,” Grinch jumped back into the cabin, slammed the door shut and screamed, “He found us! The dragon found us!”
Chapter Five
“Stay here,” he ordered, giving a single nod to Scarlett before moving the elf out of the way and opening the door.
Sure enough, stalking through the snow, his sights set on the cabin, was the Guardsman Maddox and Kayne had described, Asher Baines. Seven-foot-tall with raven hair and eyes such a deep amber they looked red in the bright light of the Tundra before noon.
Stepping out onto the porch
, pulling the door closed behind him, shutting in both his mate and her feisty companion, Nowell took a deep breath and smiled, speaking directly into the ruby dragon’s mind. “My name is Nowell. I have come to take you home. Maddox and Kay…”
Cut off by a cacophony of snarls and growls, he found the ruby dragon’s mind to be little more than a hurricane of rage and frustration. Turning his mind’s eyes to his dragon, Nowell asked, “What more can I do? He’s drakonbound.”
The younger Guardsman thought back to all he’d learned from his mother, their Clan’s Healer before she’d been killed at the hands of the hunters. Dragons who were struck with the disease in many cases were locked away to live out their years, trapped within their minds, fighting a war that didn’t exist with an enemy from their own delirium.
But there had been one, Xavier MacKutcheon, who Nowell’s mother had cured. Trying to remember exactly what she’d done, Nowell listened as Fionnbharr rubbed the ridges of his tongue against the roof of his mouth producing a kind of humming chirp, Nowell had only heard the dragon use when communicating with his twin, Dafydd who shared his soul with Chance.
Stopping all forward motion about fifty yards from Nowell, Asher tilted his head to the side, the long straggly whiskers of his beard pulling tight where they were frozen in the Guardsman’s tattered jacket. The muscles of his face relaxed as his eyes slowly closed. Nowell could hear Asher’s dragon responding, the beast’s ‘music’ an almost exact echo of the emerald dragon’s.
Stepping off the porch, ignoring the Arctic winds cutting through him like a thousand blades, Nowell cautiously took one step at a time, stopping with every stride to be sure the conversation between the two powerful Dragon Kings was still underway. The creak of the door slashed through his concentration causing him to shout, “STOP!” Directly into her mind.
He could feel her confusion which rapidly turned to irritation and was quickly heading to all-out fury, but he needed to focus on Asher. Had to get close enough to put the ruby dragon in a magical coma, in order to get him back to the Lair, where Niall and Calysta could hopefully help heal the renowned Guardsman.