by Sophie Stern
“Um, no,” She tells me. “We just have to hurry and it’s a,” I look at the clock on the wall. “Day’s flight there, plus a day’s journey back.”
“My father…”
“We’ll hurry,” he says. He grabs a bag and start rummaging around the study, gathering everything we’re going to need. He gets bottles and mixers and herbs, and puts them all together in a bag that he hands to me. “You’re coming with me,” he says. “You’re going to be my assistant.”
“Really?”
“Don’t act so surprised. I’m a very nice dragon.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He scoffs and leaves the room. I scurry along behind him, trying my best not to stare at his perfectly sculpted backside. Seriously. Fucking dragons. How do they get to look like that? I never go naked around Fablestone. Never. It’s not just because I’m human, either. It’s because I’m not perfect like the dragons are.
The woman are lovely, curvy, and sweet. They’re strong and fierce and they have these incredible muscles, but me?
My bottom is a little…soft. I don’t think “mushy” is the right word, but I’m never going to be as toned as Donald is right now.
“What are you worrying about?” He stops, turning around.
“Excuse me?”
“Your scent,” he says, cocking his head, studying me. “Your scent just changed. You’re worried. Why?”
“I…”
I’ve never been good at lying. Not when someone asks me a direct question. If someone says something random and I want to deflect, that’s one thing. Lying outright? That’s not really my style.
So when Donald asks me why I’m worrying, I blurt out the truth.
“You have a really nice ass and I’m worried mine isn’t as great.”
A smirk covers his face, and he motions for me to turn around.
“What?” I squeak out, blushing. I can feel my cheeks positively burning.
“Turn around, Natalie, and I’ll tell you what I think.”
I don’t move, instead staring at him. He’s so different now. He’s serious, to be sure, but he’s also a little playful. I don’t remember that part of Donald. He was always so determined and busy studying. He never seemed to have time for fun. Not ever. Now, though, he’s asking me to turn around and show off my backside to him.
Is this something I’m ready for?
I mean, this is Donald, and we sort of have a mission: a pretty damn serious one. We should be hurrying to get to Dragon Isle and find this plant he’s been talking about. We shouldn’t be playing games. We shouldn’t be talking about our bottoms.
And I shouldn’t be feeling myself grow wet at the thought of Donald looking at me.
“What’s the matter, little human?” He asks. “Are you suddenly shy?”
I don’t say anything, and he clicks his tongue.
“Oh, Natalie, I’m disappointed. Here I thought you were this brave young woman. You made it through Storm Dawn and you made it through a snowstorm, but this is what gets you back? What’s the matter, darling? Haven’t you ever showed your sweet little bottom off to a dragon before?”
No, as a matter of fact, I haven’t. No one has ever seen my bottom, and I realize that’s pretty messed up and weird. For someone who grew up in a dragon clan around the sexual liberty and freedom that exists there, being a virgin among shifters is pretty weird. I’ll be the first to admit that.
Oh, I’ve done “stuff.”
I’ve given blowjobs and I’ve had my breasts played with, but no one has ever been below the waist on me before, and I’m very aware of this.
I also don’t like to back down from a challenge.
Donald’s “disappointment” is just the motivator I need, and I spin around quickly, stopping when my back is to him. He sucks in a breath so delicately I almost don’t hear it. If there was any noise in the cave at all, I wouldn’t have heard him, but I do.
“Well?” I ask, holding my hands out.
He steps forward, closer to me. I can hear him. When he’s directly behind me, I feel the air shift. He’s close to me, and I shut my eyes. Images of Donald touching me race through my imagination, and I feel a little bad for that. I’m here to save my dad. I’m not here to fall in love. Not with a dragon. Not with Donald, especially.
Yet something about him being so close to me makes me want to just lean back and rub myself against him, the way a cat would rub against its favorite chair.
“You’re perfect,” he whispers, and his breath is on my ear. He presses his lips to my ear, and then to my neck, and I don’t move. Then, a moment later, I feel his hands on my waist, and he pulls me back against him.
And I feel him.
All of him.
His cock is hard and long, and it presses against my bottom and my back.
“I think you have the most exquisite ass I’ve ever seen, Natalie. Is that what you wanted to hear me say?”
If I wasn’t wet before, I’m completely soaked now, to the point of feeling my own arousal dripping on my thighs. I’m not embarrassed, but I probably should be. I’m behaving like a wanton, but right now, this is exactly what I need.
For this one moment, I’m not thinking about anything except his hands on my body.
“Yes,” I whisper. “That’s what I wanted to hear you say.”
“You’re fucking gorgeous, Natalie.”
“So…so are you, Donald.”
“I shouldn’t be touching you.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, sucking up every ounce of courage I possess. “I like it when you touch me.”
“Is that right? Do you like it when I touch you here?” He strokes his fingers up and down my sides.
“Yes.”
“And how about here?” His fingers move higher, to the edges of my breasts.
“Yes.”
“What about here, baby?” He moves his hands to my front and cups my breasts. I groan, leaning my head back against his chest. Now I do wiggle against him. I don’t know if I look like a cat, but I fucking feel like one: wild and free and taking what I need.
He chuckles.
“Ah, yes, I think you like that one.”
“I like it more than I should,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t let you touch me like this.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
“Who says it’s wrong, baby?”
“You’re older than me.”
“You’re old enough to make your own choices about that, Natalie.”
“You don’t mind that I’m less experienced than you?”
“I can teach you everything you need to know.”
“What can you teach me?” I whisper, breathless. He pinches my nipples between his fingers, twirling them.
“Everything,” he says. “Anything. All of it.”
“Donald,” I whisper.
Then he spins me around, pulls me flush against him, and kisses me like he fucking means it.
Chapter Eleven
Donald
When I left Fablestone, Natalie wasn’t even on my radar. She was young and reckless, but now? Now she’s an adult woman and she’s the most incredible one I’ve ever met. I’ve never known anyone who was as brave as her, and I like that.
I like that she saw a need, and she was willing to meet it.
I like that she risked everything for the clan.
Traveling to Storm Dawn may seem like a simple task, but the reality is that it was a dangerous journey for her. Not everyone in the city is welcoming to shifters or their kind. If she had asked the wrong person about me, suspicions would have been raised. She’s lucky she found Ted right away and not someone like the butcher, who doesn’t like strangers, or someone like the banker, who is just a general asshole.
And now we’re kissing, making out like a couple of teenagers who can’t seem to keep their hands off of each other. Wistfulness washes over me as I realize that this is what I’ve been missing: this connection. I didn’t even kn
ow that I missed having a woman’s hands on me until now, but something tells me that no other woman could make me feel the way that Natalie makes me feel.
My hands are on her hips, firmly holding her in place. She’s pressed against my body and I can feel her nipples rubbing against me. They’re hard, tiny peaks and I want to pinch and bite them. I want to roll them between my fingers until she moans. I want to lick them until she begs me for more.
“Donald,” she whispers, rubbing against me. She’s a wanton and I love that about her. She’s not holding back. She’s rubbing against me like a contented kitten, like she’s getting everything she needs in this moment, and that satisfies me more than it should.
“Natalie,” I whisper right back, and she giggles, pulling back for a second.
“I can’t believe this.”
“What?”
“I’m kissing you.”
“You aren’t right now,” I pout playfully, pulling her back toward me.
“We should go,” she says.
“We have time for one more kiss.”
I kiss her again, long and slow, taking my time. My hands are on her body and in her hair. There’s no time to make love to her right now, but my body is begging me to.
She is our mate, my dragon whispers to me, and I don’t bother fighting him. Whether you believe in mates or not, whether you believe in true love or not, none of that really matters because you’ll either find someone to love or you won’t.
Right now, I think I have.
I think I’ve found someone who makes me feel like I can be strong when I feel weak. I’ve found someone who can make me feel brave when I feel afraid. I’ve found someone who makes me think that somehow, suddenly, I’m not completely alone in the world.
This is a feeling I want to cling to forever.
She pulls away and this time, her eyes are serious.
“Donald,” she says.
“It’s time,” I agree silently.
“What about Cameron?” She asks.
“What about him?”
“He’s going to come for me in the morning,” she says.
“I’ve got it covered.”
“How?” She asks, and I wink at her.
“Every dragon has his secrets,” I tell her.
“Is that right?”
“Yep.”
We move down the hall. She rushes to keep up with me.
“Where are we going?”
“Here.”
I stop at a room with a heavy door. I move to the keypad beside it and enter a series of numbers before pressing my thumb to a little sensor. I’m a little protective of this room. After a second, the door unlocks, and I push it open. She gasps as she looks inside.
“Donald…what is this place?”
“It’s my treasure room.”
“You’re a dragon living in a cave and you have a secret room of treasure?” Natalie shakes her head. “So stereotypical, but also, so wonderful.”
She walks into the room and gawks at the piles of treasure that fill it. Yeah, I’ve been collecting for awhile. Ten years, to be exact. There are items from all over the world in here. Each time I travel to a new place, I manage to come back with something new that will remind me of the place, but that also holds monetary value.
“What are we doing in this room?”
“We’re going to Dragon Isle,” I tell her. “And we’re planning on taking a bunch of their plants.”
“So? Plants are for everyone. Besides, you’re a dragon, too.”
“I’m not a member of the clan,” I tell her. “And I don’t plan on making enemies. This,” I pick up a heavy gold vase. “Will make a good peace offering for their clan leader.”
She comes over and runs her hands over the engraved vase.
“It’s beautiful. Where did you get it?”
“China,” I tell her.
“When were you in China?” She looks up at me. “I thought you did your medical training and stuff in Africa.”
“I did, but since leaving Fablestone, I haven’t stayed put.”
“You’ve been traveling.”
“A little.”
“No, you haven’t been vacationing,” she realizes. “You’ve been helping people, haven’t you?”
She doesn’t say it like she’s impressed or upset or curious or surprised. She just looks like she’s realizing who I am, what I am.
“It’s kind of what I do, Natalie.”
“You’re a good man, Donald.”
“I’m not a good man.”
“You save a lot of people.”
“I haven’t saved enough.”
“Donald?” She steps forward and presses her hands to my chest. We’re both still naked. I’m going to have to find her something to wear since I destroyed her clothing when I was bandaging her. Now she’s in front of me, broken, bruised, and battered, but still dreaming big with those beautiful, hopeful eyes.
“Natalie.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby,” she whispers. “You can’t save everyone. You’re just one dragon, and I…” She presses her lips to mine. “I’m glad I found you.”
Chapter Twelve
Cameron
I stare at the phone number in my hand before giving it to Lee.
“What is it?” It’s not even dawn yet, and I guarantee he hasn’t had his coffee yet. He stares at the sheet of paper and wrinkles his nose in confusion. “Why are you giving me this? Is it a business card?” He looks up at me suspiciously. “Are you trying to get me to join one of those multi-level marketing gigs? Because I read all about MLM’s and I’m not interested, man. Those are all pyramid schemes, anyway.”
“They aren’t pyramid schemes,” I tell him. “And I’m not trying to sell you shit. Look at it.”
“It’s a phone number.”
“Peggy found it in her jeans. She’d forgotten about it.”
“Okay?”
“Remember when she brought us Daisy?”
“I remember, Cameron. Get to the point.”
A few weeks ago, when my sister, Ellie, tried to save her husband from Lucky, she managed to get their daughter, Daisy, and escape. She gave the baby to Peggy and made her promise to deliver Daisy to me at Fablestone. Peggy came through. Somehow, my human mate managed to risk her life and travel through the darkness of the forest to bring Daisy to me.
“Before Peggy left to bring Daisy here, some people came to visit her.”
“People?”
“Scientists. They gave her this card and told her that if she had any information, she needed to call the number.”
He lets out a long, low whistle.
“I don’t want to complain, but it would have been helpful to have this information sooner.”
“With everything going on, she had shoved the card in her jeans and forgotten about it.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he sets the card down, turns back to his computer, and starts typing. I know when I’m being dismissed, so I turn and leave.
I know he’s frustrated I didn’t get this information to him sooner, and to be honest, I should have gone over Peggy’s story with her several times to help her remember the card. Shit happens, though, and sometimes when you’re dealing with things that are really stressful or terrible or dangerous, you forget about important details.
This is one of those details.
I’m not upset with my mate, but I do feel bad for her. Peggy has a heart of gold and I know she’s worried that if she had turned in the card sooner, it would have made a difference when it comes to saving David, my brother-in-law. I don’t think it would have, though. I think sometimes, you do everything you can do, and it’s still not enough.
Sometimes, you fight with all you’ve got, and you still lose.
I leave the building where Lee works as one of the clan’s top IT guys. He’s our main tech guy, but he has a couple of people who work with him. We might have the shittiest cell service in the world out here, but Lee is doing eve
rything in his power to get the clan where we need to be when it comes to technology.
Right now, I don’t have time to worry about that, though.
Right now, I have to go get Natalie.
I don’t know if she managed to find him, but I checked in with my mother about half an hour ago, and it doesn’t look good. Her dad is hanging on, but barely, and my mother told me to get Natalie back here as soon as possible.
I know she wanted to get Donald. I know she wanted to try to save her father and I can’t blame her. I never would have thought of trying to hunt down Fablestone’s long-lost doctor. I was old enough when he left to remember the pain and sadness surrounding Trey’s death and Donald’s decision to leave.
Natalie’s parents had tried for years to have a child and weren’t able to. When they got the chance to adopt a human girl, they jumped at the opportunity. They were so happy to finally have a little one of their own. Everyone in the clan was thrilled for them. It was obvious that Natalie was the light of their lives. She lit up their entire world, and then, just when they couldn’t get any happier, Alicia Wolfe found out she was pregnant.
The entire clan celebrated.
That little boy was so loved.
Not only did Trey Wolfe have two parents who adored him, but he had Natalie, too. She loved being a big sister and even though she wasn’t a shifter, she used to talk about the day she’d get to be the one to teach her brother how to fly. Most shifters don’t actually learn how to change into their true form until after puberty, but Natalie didn’t care about how long she’d have to wait to see Trey shift into an incredible dragon. She read every book she could on shifters and how to shift and how to fly.
But then Trey got sick, seemingly overnight, and everything went to hell.
Cursing at the memory and wishing I could forget, I head home to give Peggy a kiss before I leave to pick up Natalie. Peggy is in the kitchen brewing coffee when I arrive, and I give her a hug before pouring myself a steaming cup.
“Good morning,” I whisper.
“Morning,” she says, but I know she’s feeling upset and tense still. Last night, she cried in my arms for a very long time. I cried, too, but it wasn’t just for the clan. It wasn’t just because we’re losing people. It was because my mate is in pain, and worried, and that made my heart hurt even worse.