Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1)

by Jo Vanz

  Paul gave Katie a knowing smile, making her blush. “I know a quiet little diner just up the road. It will give us some privacy and good food.” Paul stepped away from the coffee shop and held his elbow out for Katie to grab onto. She sighed, why did he have to act like a gentleman? It made it harder for Katie to not like him. She was going to have a hard time trying to keep things professional between them.

  They walked quietly. No words were said, only charged glances between them. Katie’s heart sped up each time she glanced up to see Paul watching her, his silver eyes dancing with emotion. What was he thinking? What did he want? What was he? The questions flooded her mind, going around in circles. She was relieved for a moment when they stopped in front of a diner.

  The moment of relief quickly passed as they stepped inside the diner. It reminded her of going to the Waffle House as a kid. The family she lived with took her every Sunday after church. They would make her dress up every week and force her to attend services, where they would then tell everyone that she was possessed. She cringed at the memories as they clawed their way out of the box in the back of her mind. Her heart started to pound in her chest, breaths coming fast and shallow.

  “Are you okay?” Paul asked, ripping Katie out of her thoughts. “We can go somewhere else if you would like.” The concern written across his face helped to ground Katie. She stared up into his eyes, her breaths starting to slow and her heart returning to its normal rhythm. Thump…thump…thump. She could do this.

  Katie cleared her throat. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Just memories creeping up when they shouldn’t.” Katie gave Paul’s arm a squeeze. He nodded his head and led Katie to the back of the diner. They passed a family sitting in one of the front booths by the door and a few rough looking men sitting at the bar, sipping coffee. They sat down in the far back corner. Paul sat on the side against the wall. Katie wished she could sit there, she did not like having her back to the rest of the restaurant, but she sat down and gave Paul a slight smile.

  The silence stretched on until after the waitress came to take their order. Katie was not thrilled at the way the waitress eyed Paul, undressing him with her eyes. God, did she have no self-respect? Wait…why did it matter to Katie? It shouldn’t. It wasn’t like she and Paul were a couple. Hell, they were the opposite. Katie picked up her glass of water and downed half of it.

  “All right,” Katie said with a half-smile. “Why don’t we start with something easy?” She waited a moment to see if Paul was going to object. When he nodded his head in agreement, Katie continued. “What are you?”

  Paul let out a small laugh. “I thought you said easy?” Katie just glared at him until he continued. “You really don’t know, do you? I thought they would have told you when they sent you after me.”

  Katie released the breath she had not realized she had been holding, her voice full of annoyance. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking, now would I?” Her voice was a little harsher than she really meant, but it got the point across. She would not be sorry for that fact.

  “Well, I guess that is true,” Paul replied. He looked down at his hands and started to play with a small piece of paper. To Katie, it seemed as though he was trying to avoid telling her the truth, and that pissed her off.

  “Look,” Katie snapped. “You can either tell me now or I can pull out my handcuffs. I didn’t come here to play games so just answer the damn question. Can you do that?” Katie relaxed a little when Paul nodded his head in agreement.

  He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I have never explained this to anyone before.” He let out a soft chuckle and looked back down at his hands. “Actually, we are not allowed to talk about it with anyone outside our race. But it seems I am just breaking all the rules now, so why not?” Paul glanced up at Katie quickly before averting his eyes again. “I’m a dragon shifter.” He said it so softly that Katie was not sure she heard him correctly.

  Was he telling her the truth? Deep down, Katie knew he was but she was not ready to accept it. Sure, she already suspected that there were other races out in the world, so why not dragon shifters? “Well, for the sake of this conversation let’s say I believe you.” Paul glanced up at her for the first time since he told her. Katie wanted to do a happy dance when she saw the hope in his eyes. “Now tell me why the Elders are after you.” She gave Paul a slight grin. “Also, was that a dream last night, or something else?” She did her best not to blush as the memories of last night came rushing to the forefront of her mind.

  Before Paul could respond, the waitress walked up with their food. Both Katie and Paul waited silently until she was finished setting down their dishes. Once done, they both said thank you and waited for her to turn and leave again before either one of them spoke.

  “All right,” Paul started. “Before I can go into detail about what I did, I think I need to give you a back story.” He paused to take a bit of food. “It is said that our beginning is much like some Native American tales. When the earth was created, six dragons descended upon it, claiming it as their home. They brought with them a book. To most it does not look like much, but to the dragons it is something special. It is a book of prophecies.”

  Paul looked up at Katie before taking another bite. “Okay, so how does this book fit into everything?” Katie asked. Why was he talking about a book when he was supposed to be telling her why he was a wanted man?

  “Patience, Katie, I am getting to that.” He took a quick swig of his soda and then continued. “The book is written in an ancient language that very few know. You must be of high ranking with the Elders to be able to read it.” He sat his fork down and ran his fingers through his hair. “I was told a while ago that there is a prophecy about me written among the pages. At first, I really did not care, but slowly it started to take over my every thought.” Paul looked down at his hands again. “Finally a month ago, I could not take it anymore. So I stole it.” He exhaled a laugh. “Sad thing is I do not know enough to fully translate it.”

  Katie sat back in disbelief. All of this over a stupid book? Dragon shifters she could handle, but a manhunt over a freakin’ book? Really? She shook her head. She had thrown away her life, her job, over a stupid book.

  “Okay, so let me get this straight. You are a dragon shifter who stole an ancient book from your own kind because you wanted to know what it said about you?” She looked up into Paul’s eyes. “That sounds a bit selfish, don’t you think?”

  A look of pure shock ran across Paul’s face. Katie fought to hold back a laugh. His face was just so cute. “Well, when you say it like that then yes, it does. Believe me, you do not understand just how stupid I feel for doing all of this. I honestly do not know what came over me. You do believe me, don’t you?” His words were laced with worry.

  Katie made sure to keep her face from giving away her emotions. She did believe him. He did a stupid thing, but did it really mean that his life should be over? No. It wasn’t like he killed anyone. Katie watched as Paul’s eyes dipped again. “Well,” she started. “With everything that has gone on in this world with the vampires, I would have to be crazy to not believe in dragons. I also think you are pretty upset with yourself over all of this. So yes, Paul, I believe you.” His eyes snapped up to look at her and Katie gave him a smile. “Now, you failed to answer my second question. Was that a dream?”

  Paul gave Katie a huge smile that gave her butterflies. “Ahhh, yes, that. No, it was not a dream. That was our minds connecting, though it wasn’t supposed to happen. At least not like that.”

  “What do you mean?” Katie leaned in, putting her elbows on the table.

  “I have this magical stone. It’s supposed to allow me to read humans’ minds but with you, our minds fully connected. That is possible with dragons but even then, it’s not something that always happens. I know my family possesses the skill but others do not.”

  Katie could feel the blood rush to her face as it fully sank in. It had actually been Paul last night. Touching her. Kissing her. Katie
about lost it when Paul winked at her. She barely managed to get out her next question. “Why did it work between us then? I mean it’s not like I’m a dragon.”

  Paul sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “That, my dear, is the million-dollar question. Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself and we can go from there?”

  Katie took a long slow breath while she tried to figure out where to start. She was not sure that she should tell him everything. Finally, she decided that she would just keep it short and sweet. “Well, there is not much to tell really. My birth mother dropped me off at the hospital right after I was born. I was put into the foster system where I moved around every few months. Then when I was old enough, I got myself a job to pay for college. I was accepted into the police academy right out of college. The rest is history.”

  “Why were you never adopted?” Paul asked in a soft voice. That one question Katie always dreaded whenever anyone ever asked about her past. It reminded her that no one would ever love her. That she would forever be alone.

  “Everyone was scared of me. I even lived with a few families that thought I was possessed.” Katie paused. She wasn’t sure why but she felt like she could trust Paul with her secret. “See, when I was a small child, I started to develop special abilities. I could jump long distances with ease. Actually, it was more like soaring. It just freaked people out.” Katie closed her eyes, she hated talking about her past. Even now she was fighting back tears as the memories came rushing back.

  Paul reached across the table and grabbed Katie’s hand in his. Katie was grateful for that little bit of comfort as it gave her the strength that she needed to push past the tears. “Was that your only ability?” he asked in a calm, quiet tone.

  Katie opened her eyes and looked at Paul. If he was in anyway disgusted with her, he was doing a damn good job at hiding it. “No,” she finally replied. “There were other things, too. They were things that I usually kept to myself, except on the occasion that I did not like the foster family that I was living with.”

  Paul seemed to take his time before he asked his next question. “Can you track anything, no matter the size or distance?”

  Katie let out a soft laugh. “I thought I could up until last night. You are the only person that has ever escaped me.”

  Paul squeezed Katie’s hand. “If it makes you feel any better, you were closer to me last night than you know.” He paused briefly. “Have you ever tried tracking down your birth mother?”

  “I requested the information a few years ago, I just never could bring myself to look at it.” Katie paused to take a drink to wet her suddenly dry throat. Her heart started to race just thinking about the envelope sitting in her closet at home.

  “Well, I think it is time that you finally look at it.” Paul gave her a smile.

  Katie pulled her hand out of Paul’s. “Why?” was all she could manage to squeak out. Her heart started to race while she waited for an answer. Katie did not like talking about her past, but this was something more. She was not ready to know who her mother was. Why was Paul telling her that she needed to find out?

  “What you just described sounds a lot like a toddler dragon, only we are not taught to hide our abilities but to embrace them.” Katie’s mind was reeling. She was hit with so many different emotions all at once. Before she could clear her mind, anger took hold and reared its ugly little head.

  “Do you not think that I would know if I could change into some ugly serpent with wings?” Katie let go of the last bit of control she had on her anger. She was just about to get up and walk out when Paul replied.

  Paul lifted his head, jaw clenched as though he himself was having trouble controlling his anger. “No, I do not think you would know. You see, as a male, I came into my full power when I hit puberty. Meaning that was when I was first able to shift. Females are different. They do not come into their full power until they are mated!” He paused to take a breath and seemed to calm down a little bit. “If you were not raised by dragons then you would not know that you are one.”

  “Oh,” Katie sat back, her anger slowly dwindling. “What do you mean by mated? If you mean having sex, well then that ship sailed a long time ago.”

  Paul ran his fingers through his hair. A part of Katie ached to be able to run her own fingers through it herself but she pushed the urge aside as Paul started talking again. “Every dragon has one person they are meant to be with. They are known as fated mates. A dragon can only have children with their mate. It is only after a female has gone through the mating ceremony that she will come into her full powers. Think of it like a marriage.”

  Katie just stared at Paul. She did not know what to say. Before she knew what she was doing, Katie grabbed her purse and ran out of the dinner. She did not allow herself to look back. She was worried that if she looked into Paul’s eyes that she would stop. So instead, she made her way down the street as fast as she could, her mind racing.

  Katie did not want to believe Paul, but her gut told her that everything he had told her was the truth. All Katie ever wanted was to be normal, but that did not seem to be in the cards for her. The thought died as the honking of a car horn tore through her thoughts. Katie had been so wrapped up in herself that she had stepped out in front of a car. She was not sure what happened next. One moment she was standing there frozen like a deer in the head lights, the next she was standing on the sidewalk, her back pressed up against someone.

  Chapter 6

  After Katie had stormed out, Paul had paid the check and raced out after her. He had barely caught up to her when she stepped out in front of oncoming traffic. Without thinking, Paul reached out and pulled her back to safety, bringing her against his chest. For a moment, everything in the world seemed to right itself. The Elders were not hunting him down, female dragons were not dying, and Katie never lived the horrible life that she had. It felt as if Paul was whole for the first time in his long life, but it was all washed away when Katie started weeping. Paul figured that after everything she just found out, she had hit her breaking point. He kicked himself for being the one that had to explain everything to Katie. For making her hurt in this way. He wanted to make everything better.

  Paul was not sure what to do. He did not think he could come up with anything clever to say that would make things better, so he went with his best option. He turned Katie around so that her head laid on his chest. He put one arm around her back and then stroked her hair with his free hand. They stood there silently, just holding each other on the busy New York street. But it did not matter to Paul, everything else just fell away.

  All the lights and noises faded away. It was just him and Katie. Nothing else mattered except the crying woman in his arms. He knew that he would do anything for her and the thought scared him. Was he really ready for what could possibly happen? Paul was not sure, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He could not leave Katie now. Even if she did not realize it, she needed Paul just as much as he needed her.

  When Katie’s sobs slowed down to sniffles, Paul bent down and scooped her up into his arms, turning and heading toward their apartment building. It didn’t take as long to get there as he had hoped. He wanted more time with her. No, he needed it. Paul knew that Katie probably needed some alone time to sort through everything, he just did not like the idea of leaving her alone. Not now. Paul shook his head as he bounded up the stairs to her apartment. This wasn’t normal. He shouldn’t have these kinds of feelings for her. That only happened when you found your mate.

  Paul’s heart began to race. Could she be his mate? If so then that would mean he was correct in assuming that she was a dragon, too. Oh god! The possibility gave Paul so much hope. Maybe everything would be okay, but how? He was a wanted man and Katie was supposed to be hunting him down. How could it even work between them?

  Paul stopped right outside Katie’s door. He let Katie slip down so that she was standing on her own feet, but he kept his hand on her arm to help keep her balance. At least that is what he
was trying to tell himself. He was not ready to accept that he had other motivations, or that he craved her touch more and more with each passing minute.

  “Thank you,” Katie said, pulling Paul out of his thoughts. “I don’t know what came over me. I guess this is all just a lot to take in right now.” Katie looked down at her hands as if ashamed.

  Paul lifted her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. “There is no need to thank me, love. I shouldn’t have unloaded everything like I did. From now on, I promise I will not do so again. There is just so much that you do not know. Things that could help you.” Paul paused and took a deep breath. “Katie, I know I do not have the right to ask you, but do you think you could promise me something?”

  Katie looked a little confused. She licked her lips and Paul followed the movement. He had to fight himself not to bend down and trace its movements with his own tongue. “It depends on what you want.”

  Paul cleared his throat and took a long, slow breath to calm his nerves. “Please do not tell anyone that you could be one of us.”

  Katie looked to be in deep thought for a moment. “I can do that, on one condition. You owe me an explanation, just not tonight. I don’t think I can handle anymore right now. Especially since I have work in the morning.” She pulled her keys out of her purse but before she could push her key into the lock, Paul reached out and stopped her.