The Christmas Dragon's Heart (Christmas Valley Shifters Book 2)

by Zoe Chant

  Claire’s hands tightened around his own as if she’d heard his thoughts.

  “No need to worry right now. Let’s just get safely home first,” she said softly.

  In answer, Raul pressed his cheek to her hair, breathing in her scent of warm vanilla, now mingled with the scent of horse and the lingering fear.

  “We’ll have a hot bath when we’re back. Some chicken soup from the kitchen, and then straight to bed,” he promised her. “Everything else, we’ll worry about in the morning.”

  His chain of gold was still fastened around her neck. He was aware of it through the deep, mystical connection of his dragon to his gold. It was like a soft melody playing in the back of his mind, or the brush of gentle hands against his own. It filled him with a sense of rightness.

  His mate was alive, and she was wearing his gold.

  For now, that was all that mattered.

  ***

  In the morning, it all seemed like a terrible dream.

  Raul woke to the bright morning sun falling in through his window. It lit Claire’s hair where it was spread out on his pillow, slightly curly from how they’d fallen into bed straight after their soak in the hot water.

  Claire was curled against him, relaxed in sleep. As he watched her, she sighed and moved into his embrace. Her body was warm and soft, and as he wrapped his arm around her, his fingers trailing in a gentle caress over her skin, the dragon within him uncurled in delight.

  His dragon had never been so much at peace as he was at this moment.

  Ever since he’d been very young and his family had lost their hoard, he’d felt unsettled, as if he’d lost his home together with his treasure. But now that he held Claire in his arms, he felt at peace. He felt at home—even though he was in another dragon’s territory.

  This place could never be his own home—but right now, strangely enough, it felt as if it was. As long as his mate was in his arms, he was at home.

  He hadn’t dared to hope that he’d ever feel like this again. He’d been terrified that even though Claire was his mate, he’d never be able to give her what she deserved: a true home, a home that would belong to him and his family not just on paper, but also through the connection a dragon formed with the land that housed his hoard.

  Now, with Claire breathing peacefully in his arms, her cheeks pink and her generous breasts soft against his chest, he knew that he’d be happy in the smallest cave, as long as she was there with him.

  “Mmm,” Claire sighed when she stretched a moment later. She gave him a small smile. “You’re watching me.”

  Raul grinned. “I am.”

  “Like what you see?” she teased, stretching against him again.

  “Do I ever,” he growled playfully, rolling them over until he was resting on top of her. “Do you like what you see?”

  She laughed as she ran her hands up his chest, wrapping them around his neck. “So much that I could get used to waking up to this view every morning...”

  With another soft growl, he bent down, claiming her mouth in a deep kiss that made her arch against him with need. Her soft, naked limbs were hot against his own skin, his body immediately hardening in response.

  “You could,” he said hoarsely when he drew back. “We got interrupted on that mountain—but I’ve been meaning to tell you everything about me. That I'm a dragon shifter—although a broken one. And that you’re my mate.”

  “There was nothing broken about you that I could see,” she said lovingly, her fingers drawing slowly over his shoulders. “You were gorgeous. I didn’t even know that dragons were real—it was incredible.”

  He gave her a wry grin. “It’s been a long time since I even attempted to shift. And you saw what it did to me. It’s hard to focus my dragon’s power. The last time I tried, I ended up with a killer headache that kept me in bed for a week. But yesterday—you were in danger. You would have died without my dragon. I knew that I had to shift, even if it killed me.”

  “And it worked,” she said softly. Her eyes were warm as she looked up at him, and he could feel the thrum of the connection between them vibrate, accompanied by the gentle hum of his gold against her skin.

  “I might not be able to do it again, no matter what.” He swallowed, all of his instincts roaring into full protective mode. “You deserve better. Especially with someone out there who sabotaged our sleigh.”

  At the mention of the accident that hadn’t been an accident, Claire’s expression immediately grew serious.

  “Do you think we should involve the police?” she asked. “I’m not sure if that strap is enough evidence. Would they believe us? And how would we explain the fact that a dragon snatched me right out of the air?”

  “We could claim the sleigh came to a stop right in front of the cliff.” Reluctantly, Raul sat up. “It might be good to have it on record. On the other hand, I’m hesitant to involve human authorities just yet. This is dragon land—the less they interact with us, the better, even if they can’t see us.”

  Claire frowned. “I could see you just fine yesterday,” she pointed out. “Actually—do you think you were visible from the snow castle? It was a long way off, and it was starting to get dark. Could we claim it was a kite, or a balloon?”

  With a soft laugh, Raul bent down to kiss her again. “I promise you that you were the only human who saw me yesterday. You’re my mate. You’ll always see me, no matter what.”

  “So to the driver, the sleigh and the horses just mysteriously came flying back up?” Claire looked as if she didn’t quite believe him.

  Raul nodded. “That’s exactly what it’s like for humans. But he’s from Christmas Valley. He’s been growing up with the dragons of Snow Castle, he knows what happened.”

  “Oh,” Claire breathed. “Wow. I wonder what that’s like. Growing up surrounded by dragons and magic...”

  “I can’t promise much magic,” Raul said softly, “but if you’ll have me as your mate, even if I can’t give you a castle, I promise I’ll make up for it in other ways.”

  “I think you’ve already given me enough magic for a lifetime.” Slowly, Claire sat up as well, the sheets sliding down her body to reveal her generous, soft breasts. She wrapped her arm around Raul’s shoulder and nuzzled against his throat.

  “I don’t know why you think that there’s anything wrong with you. Maybe it’s different for dragons. But I’m not a dragon. And I like you exactly the way you are. I don’t want a hoard of gold—but I wouldn’t say no to the sexiest, most handsome man to ever share a sleigh with me.”

  Raul chuckled wryly. “How many men have you shared a sleigh with?”

  “Only you,” Claire admitted with a grin. She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “But it certainly left an impression.”

  “Anything else I’ve done that left an impression?” Raul growled, unable to keep from grinning as he pressed her down into the mattress once more.

  Claire giggled helplessly, her eyes dark with desire as she looked up at him from soft eyes.

  “I’m not sure I remember... Maybe I need a reminder.” She stretched against him in invitation, giving him a teasing look when he refused to let go of her wrists.

  “Like this?” he asked. He dove down, sucking one of her full nipples into his mouth.

  She gasped and arched against him, moaning softly when he used his tongue to play with the hardening nub.

  “Exactly like that.” Claire sounded breathless, shifting restlessly beneath him.

  With a wicked grin, he moved to the other nipple, circling it with his tongue while she moaned his name.

  “Anything else you can’t remember?” he demanded when he looked up from his work, her nipples flushed a delicious, dark rose, gleaming wetly as if begging him to put his mouth on them once more.

  He was so hard he was aching, his entire body throbbing with need for her. The danger they’d so recently escaped had only heightened his need. He needed to feel that Claire was safe, that she was alive and in his arms.

&nb
sp; That she was still his, and his alone.

  Chapter Nine: Claire

  Raul was posed above her, his generous mouth smirking at her inability to form words. She was lost in a delicious haze of pleasure, unable to think of anything but the way her nipples ached, tight with pleasure. Her core ached too, pulsing with need between her legs, her folds sensitive and wet from his teasing.

  “Remind me of what it’s like to be yours,” she breathed, staring at him in challenge. “Of what it’s like to be a dragon’s mate.”

  At her words, he stiffened, pure heat filling his eyes until they’d turned the orange-red of brilliant flames. His skin was hot, too—so hot that it felt as if she would burn alive in his embrace.

  And yet she felt safer than she’d ever felt before. In his arms, nothing could hurt her. Her dragon would keep her safe from all harm.

  His tongue on her skin was like the touch of living flame. He trailed a path of wet heat down the center of her body. Willingly, she spread her legs for him, needing to feel him even closer.

  One of his fingers found her folds, teasing her with his gentle touch until she was trembling—and then he lowered his mouth over her, and that scalding tongue found her clit.

  Pleasure exploded through her at the first touch. With lick after lick, waves of heat ran through her, making her cry out as what felt like a never-ending orgasm consumed her. He didn’t stop until she was nearly out of her mind with, pleasure, her entire body weak and trembling from the fire that had raced through her again and again.

  When she was so weak from pleasure that she could barely raise her arms to pull him demandingly closer, he finally released her.

  She loved the way he looked like this. Overwhelmed by his need for her. His eyes shone with the brilliant hue of flame. He was tense, every single, hard muscle deliciously outlined against his skin.

  And his erection nudged hard as steel against her thigh, making her hunger for more despite what he’d already given her.

  He reached for a condom from the drawer of his nightstand, ripping it open with his teeth while she shifted impatiently against him. She could barely wait while he smoothed it over himself—but then, at last, he moved over her, and his shaft nudged at her wet folds.

  She moaned in satisfaction when he slid inside, wrapping his arms around his shoulders to pull him even closer. Despite the incredible onslaught of pleasure she’d been given earlier, this was satisfying in quite a different way.

  This way, she could feel just how much he needed her. This way, she could feel every single tremor that ran through his powerful body, his broad shoulders damp with sweat as she clutched at them.

  He filled her so fully that every time he rocked into her, new waves of pleasure rippled through her. The fullness and the heat of him inside her was incredible. This was where he belonged. This was where she belonged. In his arms, in his embrace, with his heart pounding against her skin.

  “My dragon,” she whispered, and then moaned when he lowered his head to nuzzle at her breasts once more.

  Again and again he thrust inside her, filling her perfectly while her inner walls clenched around him as if to keep him here, in her arms, forever. His tongue was hot against her sensitive nipple, teasing it until she cried out his name—and then he, too, groaned her name.

  She could feel it as pleasure overwhelmed him. Every single of his muscles and tendons tightened, like a ripple moving through the strong body beneath her hands.

  He thrust into her one final time as he came, and at last she abandoned herself to his heat. A final wave of ecstasy broke through her and carried her away with it, an orgasm so slow and so intense that it felt like she was trembling with pleasure for long minutes.

  She curled against him when he finally rolled to his side, pulling her with him.

  “Yours. Always yours,” he said hoarsely, pressing little kisses all over her face, his arms holding her tight and secure.

  She fell asleep like that—loved, secure, and very much alive. With a dragon to guard her sleep, who could possible harm her now?

  ***

  In the morning, she wasn’t quite as confident anymore.

  She’d fallen from a cliff. For one long, agonizing moment she’d been sure she’d die.

  She’d never been afraid of boarding a plane before, and she’d never been scared of heights. But now, when she remembered the terrifying sensation of the world turning upside down, of hurtling through the air with the ground far beneath her, she felt her throat close and her stomach twist.

  She’d come really, really close to dying. Without Raul there, she’d be dead now.

  And they still had no idea who could have caused this strange accident.

  Raul had woken her with a kiss when he’d left early in the morning. He was planning to take a look at their sleigh driver’s stable, and see if anyone remembered anything strange. Meanwhile, Claire had a full schedule waiting for her today.

  The first item on her list was to go through the deliveries and outstanding orders for the stalls at the frozen lake. That, at least, brought back a much-needed sense of normalcy.

  She’d always enjoyed putting things into order, and after an hour had passed and she’d made several calls to verify the numbers on some of the handwritten, slightly smudged sheets of papers the stalls had handed in, she was left with a nicely formatted list of items, amounts and prices on her computer. Several phone calls to her suppliers later, all of that had been handled to her satisfaction.

  She took a deep breath and looked at her phone.

  Anything yet? she texted Raul.

  A minute later, her phone blinked. Nothing yet. There were a few groups of tourists in yesterday, but no one saw anything.

  With so many people around, I guess that was to be expected, she answered.

  Unhappily, she looked out of the window. Maybe it had been an accident? Maybe that strange cut had happened when the sleigh had skidded across a sharp rock?

  Her phone blinked again. Try to keep to the castle and the lake—don’t go anywhere without company.

  Okay. Be careful, she typed, her fingers suddenly trembling.

  She was used to rude customers or drunk guests. In her line of work, that was to be expected, and she’d always been able to deal with all of that.

  Once or twice, she’d been forced to call the police on a guest: an aging rock star long past his prime who thought that despite his fading fame, he could still trash a room and threaten her maids. And once, a pop star had been trailed by paparazzi who’d broken into the hotel in the middle of the night, hoping to get a good shot of her rumored new boyfriend.

  Claire had thought that nothing could faze her after the burlesque starlet who’d brought an actual python with her, who’d promptly escaped her room. But nothing had prepared her for the terrifying sensation of having been at the center of a murder attempt.

  If that’s what it was, she reminded herself. It could have been an accident. Or simply someone hoping to scare us.

  A sudden knock on her door interrupted her line of thought.

  She checked her phone, then cursed.

  Ten minutes late for my appointment with the accountant. Shit!

  “Don’t worry, I know you must be busy,” Malcolm Ryder said cheerfully when she opened the door. “We could just handle things here in your office, if you want? I’ve brought the most important things with me.”

  “That would be great,” Claire said with a relieved sigh, giving her blinking phone another guilty look.

  I will. Love you, Raul had texted back.

  Claire flushed a little with happiness. As much as she’d claimed that dating was totally out of the question for someone like her, she’d always subconsciously missed this. Someone caring for her. Someone who’d have her back, no matter what.

  It was nice, being loved. No, better than that: it filled her with a fluttery excitement, the proverbial butterflies turning somersaults in her stomach for the first time since she’d been a teenager with a
mad crush on her best friend’s older brother.

  “So. Taxes!” the accountant said brightly. “I know, you’re excited! Everyone’s favorite topic!”

  Claire laughed a little helplessly.

  “It’s not that bad, I promise.” Malcolm gave her a little wink. “I’ve got some good news, too. But first the bad news: I’ve spent the past days working on the backlog, and there’s quite a number of receipts I’m missing. They should be either filed away in here, or else you’ll have to go through the emails and print them for me.”

  Claire took a deep breath. The filing system had, to her delight, looked utterly sensible—but there was still a big pile of unsorted paperwork from the time before Malcolm had taken over.

  With a flourish, Malcolm presented her with a list that took up most of two pages.

  Claire stared at the list with a sinking feeling, mentally canceling her hope for dinner with Raul tonight.

  “That’s going to take several hours,” she said apologetically.

  Maybe if I skip lunch...

  “Don’t worry.” His grin widened. “I don’t need it until the end of the week.”

  “So that’s the good news?” Claire gave him a relieved smile.

  She hadn’t been able to quite place him—all the accountants she’d worked with before had been dry as dead wood. Malcolm, on the other hand, seemed strangely manic. Most of the time, he appeared utterly distracted—no doubt thinking about numbers and offshore accounts. But every now and then, he stared at her with such a weird, fevered focus that she felt all unsettled.

  And it wasn’t even that he was creepily inappropriate. She’d known that sort of behavior before, after all.

  Maybe he doesn’t trust me. Or, more likely, Henrik and Dara told him to keep an eye on me. If he’s trying to make sure I don’t steal any of their money, that probably explains the weird focus and those scary smiles.

  “That isn’t actually the good news.” He gave her another of those smiles that were just a little too wide to look natural. “I called in some favors and found a sponsor for your snowball fight in the maze. Only one condition: they want me to send them a few photos of you and Raul holding their prize in the maze, and snapshots of the event. It’ll get a feature in the local news—which means publicity for them and for you. Does that sound like a good deal?”