Haunted By Her Dragon (The Dragon Guard Series)

by Mills, Julia

  He sat a few minutes longer, drinking in the beauty of his dark-haired angel. Sighing, he removed his hands from under her scrub top and scribbled a note to let her know he would return her car as soon as it was repaired, then walked slowly towards the hallway. Unable to control himself, he glanced over his shoulder for one last look at her and smiled. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to fool, probably himself, most definitely his dragon, and without a doubt the men he called brethren, but in his heart where there was only the truth, he admitted to himself that he was falling in love with Dr. Samantha Malone. Fate would not be denied. He shook his head. All right, now get your ass out there and catch those sons of bitches, so you’ll never be apart from her again, he demanded of himself. And stop acting like a love sick idiot! Turning on his heels, his resolve renewed, he all but flew down the stairs. He locked the door and slid Sam’s keys through her mail slot. When he stood again, Max was walking towards him, back in human form and pulling on a T-shirt. Even as a man he moved with feline grace. The smirk on the Leo’s face said it all. “Something you need to tell me there, golden boy,” Max teased, referring to the color of his beast.

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about, King,” Lance answered, braced for what was to come.

  “All right, we’ll play it your way for now, but I expect an invitation to the mating party,” Max chuckled as he stopped a few feet in front of him.

  “But…” was the only word he got out before Max waved away his response, never one to put up with anyone’s bullshit.

  “Play it however you want. Not my business.” All signs of joking left his face, and he frowned. “What is my business are the signs of trampled foliage, and the lingering scent of black magic. Follow me. Let’s see what we can do to catch these bastards.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Sam awoke to the sun shining through the bank of windows in her room and tried to work up the energy to move. Her cell phone beeped on the bedside table. She stretched and then rolled over to see who had the audacity to bother her on her day off. When she grabbed her phone, she also brought back what appeared to be a business card. The note inscribed made her smile and butterflies flitter in her stomach. “Hope you slept well, Doc. Call you when your car is fixed. Have a good day off. L” She knew she was acting like a lovesick teenager and really couldn’t find the will to care. In the privacy of her own home, during the few hours she actually had away from work, she was allowed to act like a normal almost twenty-nine year old young woman that was attracted to an incredibly sexy, most definitely sarcastic, sex on a stick ‘he-man’ that had curled her toes with the most amazing kiss. It added to his appeal that he had hung around when it was not his responsibility and made sure she got home after thirty-six hours of work and the stress of a car that decided to stop working. Not to mention the incredible dreams she’d had that were so real she would have sworn she felt his lips on her neck and hands on her body.

  She remembered the phone in her hand and looked at the screen at the same time she shot straight up in bed. What the…How did I get into bed? Hell! How did I get home? She retraced everything that had happened after she had finished with Sydney’s chart, and the last thing she remembered was buckling the seatbelt in Lance’s truck. Apparently she had fallen asleep, and it only stood to reason that Lance had carried her to bed. She shook her head and read the message on her phone from Charlie, “Your little patient would like to talk to you. Call if you can. Hope you are having a great day off.” She had planned on calling Sydney anyway but needed a shower and a cup of coffee before she could do anything. After all, she had just slept twelve full hours, something she couldn’t remember doing…ever.

  With only one full day off left to get her long list of chores done, she jumped in and out of the shower in record time. Then she brushed her teeth, threw her hair up in a messy bun, dressed in her favorite pair of sweats and ‘Doctors Do It With Lots of Patience’ T-shirt, and headed in search of coffee. While Mr. Coffee did his thing, she called the hospital and after the nurse gave her the rundown of all that had happened since she’d left the previous evening, was connected to Sydney’s room. The little voice that said “Hello?” warmed her heart.

  “Hey, Sydney, it’s Dr. Sam. I heard you were asking for me. How’re you feeling today?”

  “Oh, Dr. Sam, I feel so much better. The medicines you gave me fixed everything. I told them nurses you would make me better,” her little patient answered with such excitement that she found herself smiling until her cheeks ached.

  “I’m so glad you’re better. Nurse Susie said they’ll be bringing you some mashed potatoes and chicken strips for dinner to see how your tummy feels with real food in it. Okay?”

  “Sure, Dr. Sam, but I really like the red Jell-O and animal crackers.”

  “I’m sure you do, Honey, but we need to make sure your tummy is ready for some real food. You don’t want to get sick again.”

  “If you say so,” Sydney answered with the enthusiasm only a child could muster. “When will you be back, Dr. Sam?”

  “I’ll see you first thing in the morning. Be good and listen to what the nurses tell you.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I will.”

  “See you tomorrow, Sweetheart. Bye, bye.”

  “Bye, Dr. Sam.”

  Sam could hear Sydney chattering away about her phone call as she hung up. That little girl was really something special, and she hoped she was adopted or at least placed with a good family very quickly. Thankfully, the beep of the coffeemaker derailed the maudlin thoughts of her horrible experiences in foster care. There was no time to take a trip down memory lane. She had too many things to be happy about and too many things to accomplish for a pity party. Filling her favorite mug and then adding cream and sugar, she looked around for the Pop Tarts she knew were somewhere. Starvation was setting in, and if she didn’t want chicken and stars soup for breakfast, she had to locate those yummy toaster pastries. Finally, in the last cabinet, she found them, a brand new, unopened box of cinnamon and brown sugar Pop Tarts, her favorite. With coffee in one hand and breakfast in the other, she headed to the living room to cuddle in her big recliner while she ate.

  The day flew by as she did load after load of laundry and cleaned everything that had been left untouched for months while she had worked day and night. She was mopping floors and listening to Lady Antebellum on her iPod when thoughts of Lance flooded her mind for about the hundredth time. Wondering why he was the one man that she had not been able to forget, even though their first meeting had been anything but normal and very brief, she sighed.

  Her smile grew as she thought about how she always felt protected, even special, when he was near, watching out for her. The kiss they had shared became like a film clip on a loop, playing over and over in her mind, causing her pulse to race, her breathing to quicken, and her nipples to peak until they brushed the inside of her T-shirt as she mopped the same spot over and over. That man had the ability to mess with her mind even when he was nowhere around, and she knew with a certainty that should have scared her. In the next breath, she got the feeling that she was missing something. It had to be the weirdest thing she had ever felt, and for some reason, she knew it had something to do with Lance.

  Shaking her head and deciding maybe she just needed more sleep, she finished her mopping and headed out to her recliner. Her cell phone was setting on the table, the red light flashing, indicating she had missed a call. When she ran her finger across the screen, she laughed out loud. Right there, as sexy as ever, was the object of her infatuation, smiling the shit-eating grin she would forever associate with him. She shook her head and could only imagine when he’d found the time to take his picture and program his number into her phone.

  Pressing the key for her voicemail, she barely held back the sigh that came from hearing the baritone rumble of his voice. It wove its way inside, warming her throughout, bringing everything she had been feeling just moments ago roaring to the forefront. Using the focus that had gotten her
through medical school, she pushed aside her lust induced fog to hear what he was saying, “Hey, Doc, it’s Lance. Sorry to call so late, but we’re still waiting on a part to fix your car. It’ll be tomorrow afternoon before it can be driven. I know you have to work early in the morning, so give me a call. I’ll come get you and make sure you’re at the hospital on time. As you can see, I put my number in your phone. Hope you had a good day off. Talk to ya soon.” She all but fell into her chair, stunned and still holding her phone.

  The first thought that came to her mind, when she could think again, was that he had given her a nickname; Doc. Usually, she hated having any nickname other than Sam, but with him she liked it. He thought about her in a personal way. Oh shit and what the hell blared in her mind. There was no way she had time to be getting hung up on anyone, let alone that man. Finishing her residency and getting a permanent position had to be her focus. It had been all she had dreamed of since she was a young girl. It was a promise she made to her dead family. A promise she intended to keep.

  She liked Lance, a lot. There was no denying that she was attracted to him on an almost elemental level, something like the couples in the romance novels Momma Maybelle used to read, in a made for each other kind of way. He was special, and she was sure that his easy-going mannerisms were just a small part of who he was. She sensed a deep, intense side to him that he kept hidden from most. He was passion personified. If the kiss they had shared was any indication, Lance had the ability to turn all her best laid plans into a forgotten mountain of rubble and her into a wanton woman. She laughed out loud at the thought of her as ‘wanton’, and then began to squirm in her seat from the barrage of hot, sexy images of them together that flashed in her mind. A cold shower may just be in her very near future if she couldn’t stop thinking of her ‘hero’. Remembering what he had said in his voicemail, she decided there was no way she was going to ask him to come out of his way to get her so early in the morning after all he’d already done for her. Besides all that, maybe a little distance would be good. Charlie had to work tomorrow, too. She would just give her a call. Her house was basically on her friend’s way to the hospital anyway.

  Jumping up from her chair with her phone balanced on her shoulder, she finished the last of her chores while calling Charlie to make sure she could pick her up in the morning. Charlie asked about the ‘hottie’ she’d seen her with at the hospital. Sam effectively avoided the question by talking about her call with Sydney and then made an excuse to hang up. She felt bad not gossiping with her friend like they always did, but for whatever reason, she didn’t want to share Lance with anyone, even if it was just to talk about how good-looking he was.

  Deciding she would order a pizza since she hadn’t made it to the grocery store and the thought of canned soup turned her stomach; she dialed up Luigi’s and ordered her favorite. In less than thirty minutes, the doorbell rang. She handed the young man all the cash she had, telling him to keep the change. As she looked up to thank him again, she caught sight of two glowing green eyes in the woods across the street. She remembered that coyotes used to roam the woods and wondered if she should call animal control. It would be a shame if someone’s pet was hurt by a wild animal. The longer she thought about it, the more she was sure the eyes looked feline, not canine, and couldn’t remember ever seeing any big cats in the area. Just as quickly as she had seen them, they were gone; making her wonder if she had imagined seeing them.

  As she got ready for bed, she remembered she hadn’t called Lance to let him know she had another way to work. Never shying away from anything in her life, she surprised herself that just the thought of talking to Lance on the phone made her pulse race. Hoping a shower would calm her nerves, she headed upstairs. She stood under the warm spray and thought of everything she knew about the man that had taken up residency in her brain. The instant connection she had felt when he rescued her, the way he occupied her thoughts every day, the feeling that he had been watching and protecting her, and then there was the save on the side of the road. If all that wasn’t enough, he was fixing her car. She had never met anyone like him.

  Wrapping herself in her favorite fluffy towel, she made her way into her bedroom and decided texting Lance to tell him her plans for tomorrow was easier than a conversation. She quickly typed, “Thank you so much for fixing Bonnie Blue. Charlie can take me to work in the morning. Talk to you tomorrow. Night, Sam” and hit send before she could chicken out. When in the hell had she turned into such a marshmallow or worse yet, a girlie girl? She was definitely losing her mind. Momma Maybelle, her foster mom, had always said a good night’s sleep would cure what ailed her and that was exactly what she was going to get. Slipping on her Garfield nightshirt and sliding into bed, she pulled up the covers just as the text alert on her phone sounded. Without thinking, she grabbed her phone and read the words that would fuel the most erotic dreams of her life. “Sweet Dreams, Doc.”

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  Closing his phone after returning her message, he stood in the woods behind her house staring at the window to her bedroom. Now that he had been there, he could vividly imagine every move she made, everything she touched. When the lights went out, he was certain she was snug in bed, and his body ached to be wrapped around hers. The thought of their bodies intertwined, replete from hours of lovemaking, had been in his mind for so long, he thought of little else. He had been sure she wouldn’t accept his offer for a ride to work, but was willing to try anything to spend more time with her, away from the chaos and conflict that haunted them at every turn.

  Turning his thoughts away from his mate and to the asshole that he wanted dead, he thought about the information they had gotten from the werepanthers that had infiltrated the wizard’s camp. At that moment, he was supposed to be meeting with the other members of his Force to plan their next move, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to stop the images of dark, curly hair and passion-filled, deep brown eyes long enough to focus. Earlier, he’d made up some lame excuse, cut the mental connection between him and his brethren, and ridden his Harley as fast as he could just to be near her. It seemed like the harder he pushed for the time he needed to eliminate their enemies, the more difficult it became to resist what had been set into motion almost twenty-nine years ago when the Universe created this amazing woman destined to be his mate.

  He needed to burn off some of the excess energy being fed by his dragon and the mating call that pumped through his veins. Eighty years ago, he would have called forth his dragon and flown for hundreds of miles, but in this day and age, that was something used only when absolutely necessary. He took off running through the woods, using his enhanced speed to mimic flight. The longer he ran, the stronger the need for flight became, until he could no longer deny his dragon or himself what they so desperately needed. Deep in the woods, several miles from Sam and civilization, he called forth his dragon. As the magic infused his body and filled the air around his beast, he felt a freedom and strength he missed when in human form. The golden beast’s scales glimmered in the limited moonlight as his wings unfurled and his dragon stretched after his long hibernation. With a burst of energy and good old fashioned dragon magic, he was airborne. Thankfully, the night was foggy with low visibility, providing the cover he needed to enjoy his much needed flight.

  He headed out over the ocean, able to cover many, many miles quicker than even the fastest jet. The deep, dark water provided a mirror of sorts, and once again, he was in awe of the beast the Universe had paired him with those many years ago. Covered with brilliant golden scales from stem to stern and all around, his dragon was fierce in battle, massive in his own right, with huge horns that protruded above his eyes, curled back over his head, and straightened with points able to tear the toughest of flesh. A line of smaller, but still incredibly imposing spikes ran all the way down his spine, ending just before the featherful, a formation of deadly spikes that tipped his tail. What he liked most were the thorn-like talons that protruded from the thumbs and ti
ps of his wings and the razor sharp claws that extended from every toe. They were smaller than his beast’s other weapons and appeared unassuming but were deadly in their own right. Everything about this incredible creature made him proud to share his being with such a mighty warrior.

  He looked at the marking, a miniature representation of the beast within, that ran across his chest and torso daily, but nothing compared to witnessing it firsthand.

  Time ceased to exist while he was flying, and not until the feel of the air changed against his hide did he realize that he had to have been flying for hours. Turning with the expertise of almost a hundred years of flight, he headed back to the woods where he’d flown from. Several times he felt the air thicken, indicating a magic practitioner; not one that practiced the dark arts, but one whose roots were more elemental. He took note of the location for later inspection and the fact that the magic felt feminine in its origin, while hurrying to his destination. Unable to stop himself, he let the beast fly past Sam’s window in the hopes that his dragon would catch a glimpse of the magnificent creature that was to also be his. The Heavens smiled upon them for there she laid her face lax in sleep, more gorgeous than he had remembered. Damn! He was not thinking straight. He had it bad! All the lovesick, sappy shit he had watched happen to Rayne and Aidan was happening to him; no matter how he had sworn in the past it would not. What the hell was he going to do? ‘You’re gonna lose your fucking mind just like all the others that have found their mates, dumbass.’ He laughed at himself, ‘But before that, you are gonna get your ass busy and catch that stupid son of a bitch traitor.’

  The beast landed in the woods with a stealth and grace not expected from a being so large, and within seconds, the dragon was replaced by the man, dressed in the clothes he was wearing before the transformation. Just one of the many wonders of dragon magic that he had learned to accept without question from the moment the heart of his beast had settled into his soul.