Taming the Beast: Eleven Paranormal Romances

by Alyse Zaftig

  “Okay,” Zara said with a clap of her hands. “Assistants please come up.”

  Madeleine jumped as the chameleon moved once more along with several others who had blended in seamlessly with the surroundings. Zara spoke to the chameleons individually as she pointed at each of the women.

  “The assistants will direct you to your quarters. Feel free to freshen up. They will instruct you further.”

  The assistant who had been close to Madeleine motioned for her to follow. “Come with me, please,” he said. His voice was calm and slow, but his eyes darted about in a distracting manner.

  “I’m Madeleine. What’s your name?”

  “They call me Panzan.”

  “Nice to meet you, Panzan. Can you tell me about the dragon I’ve been assigned to?”

  “Nice dragon.”

  “Umm … that’s good to know. Does he have a name?”

  “Beast Lightning.”

  “Wait, that’s his actual name?”

  “That’s what I have always called him.”

  Panzan escorted her down a long, curvy hallway until they reached a row of elevators powered by the floating globes. Madeleine was amazed.

  “How does all this work?”

  “Don’t know. It just does. You’re going to the top floor. Nice room.”

  She panicked a little as the elevator doors shut behind them. The car moved faster than she was accustomed to, sending her hands scrambling for anything to grab onto for security.

  “It’s okay. No need to worry,” he said. “You’ll get used to it.”

  The doors opened to another curved corridor of stone with more floating globe lights. Her room was at the end behind a curved, wooden door. It was surprisingly lovely and feminine as if they’d studied the rooms back at the colony. The bed was made of some type of iron with a soft comforter made of shimmery fabric. A long mirror stood in the corner and a tub carved out of stone rose up from the floor beneath a series of small windows. Bottles of green soaps and gels lined the rim of the tub.

  “What’s in those bottles?” she asked as she reached for them.

  “To scrub,” Panzan said, moving his arms as if he were showering. “It’s made from the moss. You can eat it too.”

  “Really?”

  “Here, try it.” He took the bottle from her hand and squeezed a tiny bit onto her fingertip.

  “Does it taste like chicken?” She chuckled at her own joke.

  Panzan furrowed his brow and said, “No, it tastes like moss.”

  She slowly lowered her tongue to her fingertip and expected her gag reflex to kick in. “It doesn’t taste like anything. Maybe a little like grass. I miss our old grass,” she said with a sigh.

  “Beast Lightning lives there,” he said, pointing to another wooden door on the right side of her room.

  “Right there? Why so close?”

  “Because that’s his room,” he said with a shrug. He motioned towards a large globe light above the wooden door. “When this goes bright, it means you go through that door and service Beast Lightning.”

  “Service him?”

  “Serve him food, serve him water, sweep … whatever he needs. Tonight you are supposed to apply sunscreen.”

  “Dragons wear sunscreen?”

  “Everybody needs sunscreen.”

  Madeleine looked around for a bottle of the type of sunscreen she was used to. “Where is it?”

  “We use the moss gel for that too. He has his own.”

  “Figures,” she said with a chuckle.

  “You know, rub like this,” he said, mimicking a shower once more. “But you may have to use the big stick.”

  “He won’t be in human form?”

  “No scales in human form. You need to protect the scales.”

  “I see,” she said, nodding her head. “Where will you be?”

  “Alllll the way at the end of the hall. But you won't need me. This part is easy. That goes bright and you go in and rub.”

  “I just go in and rub a giant dragon and it’s easy peasy.”

  “No peas here. Just moss.”

  “It’s an expression. I just … okay. That globe lights up and I go into sunscreen mode.”

  Panzan nodded and left her alone in the room. She wasn’t sure what to do first, but the tub was soon calling her name. Her body was sore from all the walking she’d done in the last couple days and a hot soak would offer much needed relief.

  Madeleine turned on the nozzle and let the water run while she undressed. She stared in the mirror and held her arms out wide, flapping them slowly. “I’m a dragon,” she whispered. “A naked dragon about to cover herself with edible moss.”

  The warm water was delicious against her skin. She sank in up to her chin and blew bubbles from her mouth. “This is heavenly,” she said out loud.

  The green gel was cool in her hand as she squeezed it from the bottle. “Scrub,” she said, mimicking Panzan. She had just coated her body with a thin film of the moss soap when the globe above the second door grew bright.

  “Shit!”

  Chapter 4

  Madeleine dunked herself up to her chin again and quickly rinsed the soap off. She hadn’t bothered to locate a towel before getting wet and now splashed along the floor until she located them on the wall behind the mirror along with some white, flowy tunics. She threw one over her head and was relieved to see it reached to her knees. Her hand froze on the doorknob for several moments until she was able to get up the nerve to turn it.

  “I’m coming in,” she called out as the door opened into a short hallway. She took ten steps to clear it before emerging into a rock cavern with an extremely high ceiling. He had his back to her.

  Madeleine gasped when she saw the massive tail resting along the floor. “Beast Lightning?”

  “Don’t call me that,” he said with a deep, booming voice.

  “The chameleon … he said…”

  “My name is Javelin. And you are?”

  “Madeleine. Pleased to meet you.”

  “Did Panzan tell you what to do?”

  “He just said to rub the green stuff on your scales, but is there a specific technique?”

  “There’s a long brush you can use if you need it. Otherwise, just as you normally would apply it on yourself.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Madeleine wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. It was hard to wade through the jumble of emotions now controlling her body. Visualizing herself as a dragon almost caused her to burst into laughter, but the sight of this massive creature made her want to run with fear. The guilt was the worst. She had just enjoyed a leisurely soak while her father was struggling in the valley below. Madeleine was also offended that he hadn’t turned around. She was all about doing the job to the best of her ability, but the role of servant was going to take some getting used to. At least look me in the eye. Sheesh.

  Javelin had actually caught a glimpse of her when she entered. Zara had selected just as he hoped, but he wasn’t aware his caretaker would arrive in a white tunic that was nearly see-through after she’d sloppily dried off from her bath. He was afraid if he looked at her again, he wouldn’t be able to stop an erection from forming and would scare her away forever.

  “Are you satisfied with your quarters?”

  “It’s lovely. Thank you.”

  “Is there anything you need?”

  She paused while concentrating on the cool gel dripping into her hands. “Do you know when we might receive our gold?” She began applying it to his tail, causing him to twitch in response to her bare hands. “I should use the brush. Hold on…”

  “It’s fine,” he said quickly, not wanting her to stop. “You’ll have to work the gold out with Zara. I don’t know anything about that stuff.” His words came out with an extra staccato as he tried to control each breath and keep himself from sounding excited. Her hands were small against him and nimbly worked their way along each scale, tracing underneath and between with her fingers. Javelin ha
d never felt anything so soft against his body.

  “Why do they call you Beast Lightning? What happened to the woman who had the job before me?”

  “She was fired for asking too many questions.” He felt her hands pull back in response and instantly felt bad about his curt tone. “Sorry. I’m not used to being around others. The nickname is a long story and as for your predecessor, there wasn’t anyone.”

  “How did you reach your back?” she asked, leaning against his tail and letting her hand slide down the sides of his body.

  He tried his hardest not to laugh. “Stop tickling me,” he said through broken giggles.

  “I’m not doing it on purpose.” His laughter was infectious. She tried to force it again by repeating the same movement with her hands. “Answer the question.”

  “I used to be more flexible and could easily reach. I’ve gotten a bit stiff with age.”

  “How old are you?”

  “I stopped counting somewhere after 800.”

  “Eight hundred! How is that even possible?”

  “Very slowly,” he said.

  “I’m twenty-six, in case you were wondering.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  Grumpy. She tried pulling on one of the scales with her hands. That’ll teach you some manners.

  “Ouch!” he growled.

  “Oopise.” Madeleine was surprised at how comfortable she was beginning to feel. Maybe it was because she was staring at his rump and not exposed to his teeth. She wanted to know more about him and started to speak when he cut her off.

  “That will be all for now.”

  “You don’t want me to do your wings?”

  “My wings are fine,” he said abruptly.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “I dripped some on the floor. I’ll just wipe it up.”

  “Panzan will do that for you. Please retire to your quarters.”

  Her scent and touch were causing his natural dragon urges to bubble up. Javelin thought those feelings were dead forever, but now he found himself wanting to mate. What would she want with a dragon who couldn’t fly? These feelings will pass.

  Madeleine bowed and exited back to her room. Did I just fucking bow? Ugh. I’m in full servant mode now. She sat on the edge of her bed and tried to wrap her head around her current situation. The mirror caught part of her reflection and caused her to shriek at the sight of the now see-through tunic clinging to her body. “That was probably on purpose. Jerks.” She made a mental note to wear three layers of clothing the next time.

  I just rubbed my hands all over an enormous dragon and lived. Magic, green goo. She tilted her head and stared at the green moss on the walls. “Magic, green goo! We don’t have this in the settlement.”

  Madeleine threw on a second tunic for extra coverage and made her way down to find Panzan. She dragged her hand along the wall, petting the fresh specimens. No doors were in sight, so she kept walking until a voice called out, “Madame.” She jumped and whipped her body around, but couldn’t find him. Panzan stepped forward and came into focus.

  “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? You have to stop blending in like that.”

  “I can’t stop that which is my nature.”

  “Well, at least tie a bell around your neck.”

  “I will do my best.”

  “Do you have more bottles of the moss gel?”

  “We have an endless supply.”

  “Would it be possible to have some delivered to my family in the settlement?”

  “That won’t be a problem at all.”

  “Why is this moss not found on the outside?”

  “Because outside is not inside.”

  “Of course,” she said, shaking her head. “That actually makes sense. Thank you.”

  Madeleine ran her hand along the wall as she returned. “But will the inside grow outside in our greenhouse? That’s the question.”

  She flopped back on the bed, clasping her hands behind her head and thought of the faces that had stared down at them on their arrival. Which one was he? Can I ask him to shift? Her thoughts drifted to her family and the life they had on Earth before the water disappeared. They hosted barbecues and swam in their bean-shaped pool. Her father would fall asleep on a raft and her sister would perform cannon balls to wake him up before he earned a sunburn.

  Madeleine planned on becoming a teacher like both of her parents, but fewer schools were necessary as more people left the planet in search of greener pastures. She missed her friends, the red door of her childhood home, the sound of the wind zipping through the weeping willow in their front yard. The new normal was anything but. She fell asleep in her initial position and probably would have remained that way for hours if not for a scream piercing the air.

  Madeleine thought it was a dream at first. She sat straight up and listened. It came again. She bolted out her door and ran towards Panzan’s location. The screams were coming from the next hallway over.

  “Don’t worry, Madame. It’s nothing,” Panzan said as he gave chase.

  “Nothing? Someone needs help.”

  She opened the first door she saw, but the guest room was empty. A thumping sound came from the connecting hallway leading to resident dragon’s area. Madeleine crept her way forward and peered into the open dragon chamber.

  “Delilah!” she yelled.

  Delilah looked at Madeleine with a shocked expression. Her dragon was holding her like a ragdoll in front of him with his long fingers and claws covering her naked flesh.

  “You’re hurting her!” Madeleine rushed forward and quickly felt a light swat from one of his wings that sent her rolling back against the floor. From this new vantage point, the creature’s massive erection came into view. “What the hell is that?” she shrieked.

  “I wanted to see it,” Delilah explained. “Lagos, put me down.”

  “I heard screaming.”

  “We were just playing,” she said while trying to cover her body with her hands. “Everything is fine. I’ll find you tomorrow.”

  Lagos shifted into human form and pulled Delilah close to him. Madeleine froze in place as she caught sight of his shifted cock. It was still huge.

  “Get out,” he growled, hardly giving her enough time to leave before he started ravaging her friend.

  She made it back to the hallway and ran as fast as she could towards her room. When she rounded the last corner, her attention focused on what was behind her, not in front, and she slammed hard against someone heading in the opposite direction. Madeleine screamed and swatted at the figure.

  “I’ve got you,” a soothing male voice said.

  “I thought he was hurting her,” she said, panting against his chest.

  “Madeleine, it’s okay.”

  “How do you know my name?” She looked into his blue eyes and studied his square jaw. The voice was familiar, but much softer when coming from a human form. “Are you my Beast Lightning?”

  “I don’t like to be called that, remember?”

  “You’re my Javelin,” she stammered.

  Hearing those words, my Javelin, caused his stomach to flutter.

  “Delilah was right,” she continued. “You brought us here to mate. He was still in dragon form and I saw…”

  “I have no interest in that type of mating,” he said. “That must have been Lagos. He will be spoken to.”

  “But what do you want of me?”

  “I want you to complete the duties of a domestic servant. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, please return to your quarters and try to get some rest.”

  “But Delilah…”

  “I will check on your friend.”

  This is exactly what Javelin did not want. Lagos was unable to exercise one ounce of self-control. He at least wanted the women to grow comfortable and feel safe. Javelin waited a few hours before barging into Lagos’ chambers. He was relieved to find Delilah uninjured and snuggled up to the human version of Lagos. Javelin stood by his bedside and thumped him forcefully on the hea
d.

  “What the fuck?”

  “You couldn’t control yourself for one day? Let them get settled in?”

  “Look at her,” he said, pulling back the covers to reveal her naked body. “Would you be able to help yourself? These humans are so soft and sweet.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “I’m not trying to be. I just think she’s beautiful. I asked if she wanted to mate and she was into it.”

  “You couldn’t bother to shift first?”

  “She wanted to see it! Of course I shifted before we sealed the deal. How the hell would a human be able to take that? How did it go with yours? I just love the sound Delilah makes when I go deep. It’s like a guttural moan…”

  Javelin held up his hand. “I don’t need the details. You shouldn’t kiss and tell and you terrified my caretaker.”

  “Then tell her not to be such a Nosey Rosie. In my defense, she did enter without permission. If you’re not going to mate with her, do you mind if I have a go? I mean, they are friends and all.”

  “You will not touch her.”

  “Tell you what,” Lagos said. “Let’s fly for her. Two laps around the cliffs and winner takes all.

  “Fuck you.”

  “At least one of us is doing some of that.”

  Javelin left in a huff. He was ashamed that he didn’t fight more. The Vizalians had very few enemies in the solar system and his aggressiveness muscle had atrophied from eons of nonuse. He was even more ashamed that he hadn’t taken Madeleine in exactly the same way. Every cell in his body wanted her.

  “I was hoping you would assign her to me,” he told Zara when he visited her later that morning.

  “I know. She’s perfect, so why not take her as a mate?”

  “I’m old and broken. I can’t even fucking fly.”

  “You’ll never know unless you try.”

  “I should have just mated with one of my own years ago. Maybe I still should. I’ll just wait until the population shifts again.”

  “Wait a minute,” Zara said, turning his shoulders to face her. “You’ve created this self-imposed prison for yourself and you’ve turned into quite the grumpy fucker. The Javelin I knew centuries ago was way more entertaining. So it took an Earthling to shake some desire out of you. Why not go with it? I’ve observed you studying them.”