Dragon Around

by Zenina Masters

  He spoke to her quietly from the doorway. “So, what does one do here in the daytime?”

  She chuckled and rinsed the china plate she was washing. “We go for runs in our other forms, have coffee, go to the restaurant, do some shopping and return to the bar. If you live here, you socialize with the other permanent inhabitants.”

  Mak stepped into the kitchen, looked around and then started helping her dry the dishes. “Are you a permanent inhabitant?”

  “I am. I can’t really adapt to the modern world, so living here is my best option.” She continued washing and tried not to notice the way his t-shirt clung to his muscles as he dried her dishes and put them away after exploring her cupboards.

  “Why can’t you adapt?”

  “I keep trying to use magic, and it draws attention. Also, humans really annoy me and that is not a good thing.” She wrinkled her nose.

  He laughed. “They are useful. If not for humans, my family would not have carved out a niche in fashion that made us all very wealthy.”

  She laughed. “Your kind can have humans bring you money on platters and no one would complain. Having them extract the funds and offer them to you in exchange for a product indicates the evolution of your people, not the humans.”

  Mak shrugged, not denying the power that his kind held. “Our effect on humans is as marked as it is when we run into the fey. They hate us.”

  Dira drained the sink and dried her hands. “I know. They can stand normal shifters, but put a mythical one in front of them and they get all combative.”

  Mak chuckled. “Exactly. How close have you been to aggressive fey in your time?”

  Memories of battles with fey magic users trying to tie her down to drain her power suddenly came to her. “Pretty close.”

  “Where can I make a call?” His prosaic question rattled her out of her thoughts.

  “Go to the Meditation Centre. They can set you up with an exterior call.” She tried to remain perky, but it was difficult.

  Upstairs, her guests had left destroyed bedding and strewn mattresses. She applied her mind to changing the rooms around while she finished cleaning up the crumbs from breakfast. It was a reflex born of long practice and not something that most of her guests witnessed. Her mind only worked its magic in unoccupied rooms, but she could turn one over in five minutes if the bed hadn’t been clawed into fluff. That would take an extra few minutes as she opened the cupboard in the hall and levitated the new one in and the old one out into the drop chute in the floor. Dragging them up and down the stairs just wasn’t practical, so she always kept a few spares on hand for emergencies.

  The morning diners had been a little on the sloppy side, so she folded up the tablecloth and dropped it into the laundry pile. That was her afternoon all arranged.

  Mak watched her for a moment before he left her alone.

  Dira breathed easy when he exited her territory. Having him at close range was pressure on her self-control. She wanted him, there was no doubt about that, but his interest was overwhelming.

  Part of her wanted him to sweep her away with his hair ruffling in the breeze and the other part of her was dead set against leaving her territory, her horde and her life.

  Her horde was her collection of her favourite items. It was filled with gold, paintings of herself and lovely, embroidered fabrics that had stopped being manufactured hundreds of years earlier.

  The fascination with her own image was not something she was proud of. She had asked another dragon about it once, and she had informed Dira that it was natural. They could see their own magnificence in every image, and it raised their heads high. They had a lot to be proud of.

  Dira hummed as she went about her tasks, got the laundry going and incinerated the destroyed mattress. Controlled burns were now her speciality. The constant baking helped immensely. She loved being able to hold a temperature long enough to properly cook muffins, bread, biscuits and even bacon.

  With an eye to afternoon visitors, she made a batch of scones and warmed a pot of strawberry preserves. Her clotted cream was ready, as always, and she put out the teapot, ready to go.

  She had no sooner prepped everything than she heard a familiar voice. “Dira? Are you up for a visitor?”

  “Of course. Come on in.” She took out a starched and folded tablecloth and flicked it over the round table that monopolised her dining room.

  The morning shift from the café was gathered, and they all wanted to sit and giggle about the unicorn in their midst. Most of the girls were beavers, and they really enjoyed their time at the B and B. Dira brought in the scones, the jam and the fresh pot of tea while one of the girls headed to the kitchen to get the teacups and saucers.

  When they were all settled, every female face turned toward Dira, and Kayla the hummingbird asked, “So, what do you know about Mak?”

  * * * *

  It wasn’t an emergency, but Tony let Mak use his private line to call his mother. The whole situation was ridiculous, and it got worse when his mother squealed with excitement. “Do I have a new daughter-in-law?”

  “Mom, calm down. No. Not yet. I have found a woman I am interested in, but there is a problem.”

  “What is it? Can’t you just charm her?”

  “No, I can’t. That is why I want her. She doesn’t put up with anything. The problem is that I don’t know what she is and that seems to be a barrier to courtship.”

  His mother was suddenly all business. “Is she a standard shifter?”

  “No, she is powerful, very, very powerful.”

  “What have you noticed about her?”

  “She has long black hair, green eyes that turn gold and the pupils change shape to something familiar, but I can’t place it. Oh, and she snorts fire when she really laughs.”

  His mother was silent for a moment. “Fire? She snorts fire and you don’t know what she is?”

  “I guessed phoenix, but she said she wasn’t one.”

  “I did not realise that I raised an idiot. Is she possessive of her home?”

  He blinked. “Yes, she is very attached to it.”

  “Lots of antiques?”

  “Yes.”

  “She is a dragon, dear boy. Her home is her cave, and her antiques are part of her horde. That she snorted fire in her human form is odd. Were there extenuating circumstances?”

  He winced when he thought about how much he had had to drink. “Yes, there was a flammable substance in the air.”

  “That would explain it. She can probably ignite it without thinking. So, does that help?”

  “Have you met a dragon?”

  “No, Mak. Just read up on them. There are several books on the subject.”

  He closed his eyes. “There aren’t any books out here.”

  Tony cleared his throat from his desk.

  “Apparently, there might be. Thanks for the information, Mom. I will keep you posted on my progress.”

  “You had better. I don’t want to see your face again until there is a mate next to you.”

  “If she doesn’t want to leave her home, what am I supposed to do?”

  “You give her a home here and room to shift and fly. You have the money. Use it for something useful for once. Bye, dearest.”

  His mother hung up, and Mak was left staring at the phone. Make a new home for a dragon, how hard could it be?

  Chapter Six

  Tony wrote a note on a small piece of paper. “Take this to the General Store. They will know what to do, and you may need privacy to figure this clue out. It is all I can do without getting myself killed by my wife.”

  “Why would your wife care?”

  “She and Dira have been friends for years. If I leak any information about your chosen female, mine will injure me in strange and unusual ways.” Tony grimaced. “The price of bonding. Your decisions will no longer affect you alone, so you have to think things through.”

  Mak looked at the note, but it didn’t make sense to him. “Thanks for this. Will it help
?”

  “If you can figure it out, it should help and that is all I am saying.” He put his hands behind his head and whistled idly. “Have a good day, Mak.”

  The face of the beaver shifter behind the counter in the General Store was startled as he read the note. Sighing, he pulled a box out from under the counter and used two keys and a combination to open it. Inside was an object covered in fabric.

  “Take this somewhere private and open it where no one can see you.” The young man’s expression was earnest.

  Mak took the velvet bag, and he could feel a book inside. “Why all the secrecy?”

  “Dira would not be pleased to see that particular object. Just go.” He waved him off.

  Curious, he tucked it under his arm and walked casually back to the Open Heart where he walked up to his room and opened the velvet bag, sliding out the contents.

  A Beginner’s Guide to Dragons. The cover was ornately tooled leather with an embossed dragon on it.

  Mak sat down and opened to the first page. A three dimensional image of a dragon appeared. “Cool, pop-up.”

  He read the information and continued through the thick pages, each one showing him a different style of dragon with more images that gave him accurate scale for each type.

  When he turned the page and saw Dira’s face, he froze and focussed on her image for a moment before he read the text.

  Many dragons choose to live near villages and keep their hordes underground. In order to avoid detection, when they walk among humans, they choose a form that resembles those around them. A dragon can be found by its changeable eyes. They take on the colouring of their scaled form when startled or angry.

  He blinked and looked at the design of a golden dragon etched into the page next to Dira’s face. He had learned that there was the same amount of dragons as there were unicorns in the world. The odd number of each species meant that one member of each type was doomed to seek a mate elsewhere. He grinned as he realised that he now had a reason to give his siblings. Once he mated a dragon, they would be more likely to find their mate in another unicorn. As the eldest, it was his duty to get a mate first. He took his duty very seriously.

  He completed his dragon education and sat back, surprised by how thorough the later pages had been regarding sensual hot spots. Under the jaw, back of the neck and base of the spine were all erogenous zones. The back of the knee varied from dragon female to dragon female. For some, it was a turn-on, for others, it was an instigation to attack.

  Mak needed to tread lightly.

  * * * *

  Dira cleaned up after the ladies had left to return to their duties at the shops and restaurants of the Crossroads. Mak had returned to the Open Heart, and she couldn’t feel him moving around up there.

  There were no scheduled arrivals today, so she was free to take herself out for dinner. Once teatime had come and gone, she would be free for the evening, not that she was going to tell anyone with a horn about that.

  She prepped the dry ingredients for scones and took an inventory of her pantry then followed it up with a check on her refrigerator and freezer.

  All levels were appropriate for the amount of guests scheduled, but she needed some more berries.

  She reached for her basket and jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

  “Where are you off to?”

  Mak was lounging against the wall like he was perfectly comfortable in her lair.

  “I need to pick up some supplies for scones and muffins.”

  “May I accompany you?”

  Dira blinked rapidly. “Sure. There are wards around the area that we are going to.”

  “I look forward to seeing them.” He inclined his head and offered his arm.

  She waved toward the back door, and he came toward her, pausing to let her take his arm as they walked down the back steps into a wide-open field.

  “Why is there a large field behind your home?”

  She didn’t want to answer, so she fibbed, “There is no need for additional housing and flat land is easier to build on.”

  “Is this the meadow that you mentioned?”

  “No. That is on the other side of the building, across the street. This is for locals and is my private field.”

  He laughed. “So, where are we going?”

  “That small clump of trees over there. I have cultivated a number of berry bushes and warded them to keep them from the bear shifters. Those buggers can sniff out a blueberry at two miles.” She smiled.

  “How do you lay a ward?”

  “Practice.”

  Mak wrinkled his nose. “That wasn’t an answer.”

  She grinned up at him. “I know.”

  Their walk was nice, they moved at a slow, easy pace until they reached the bramble patch. Dira walked through the path between the stones, and she laughed when Mak got stuck in the wards.

  He looked confused. “Why can’t I move into the berry patch?”

  She grinned and tilted her head in consideration. “You like sweets, don’t you?”

  Mak nodded.

  “That is the problem. Promise me that you will only have a few berries and I will let you through.”

  “I promise not to eat anything in the patch. How about that?” He held up both hands in a gesture of surrender.

  She grinned and flicked the wards with her mind. “Come on in and help then. I promise to make it worth your self-control.”

  He stepped cautiously forward and smiled when he was allowed to continue. “You will have to teach me how to do that.”

  “I don’t think I will have time. The girls of the Crossroads were asking about you. They work in the shops, so they missed your little faux alcoholic display and they are very interested in you.”

  He sighed. “I am not interested in them. I only have eyes for you, and you are well aware of it.”

  She blushed and started to pick berries without another word. In a moment, he was at her side and helping her denude the blueberry bush.

  Casual touches across her back and legs sent tremors of sensation through her. She wanted to reprimand him for it, but he was gone and working again before she could do more than register the contact.

  Once they had the blueberries, they moved onto strawberries. Crouching in the dirt was awkward, but the bright berries that screamed ripeness made the indignity of squatting inconsequential.

  “I think that should do it.” Dira grunted and started to stand.

  Mak quickly helped her to her feet. He took her basket and offered her his arm once again.

  She reset the wards as they left, reinforcing them now that the fruit was ripe. It would be irritating to lose a crop to any of the shifters attracted to sweets.

  “How often do you go harvest berries?” Mak’s question was casual.

  “Every two days. I am going to make a strawberry shortcake for Tony and Teal. It is their anniversary tomorrow.” She smiled at the memory of all the years that the two guardians had put into the gateway to the Crossroads. They stayed where they needed to be no matter what their personal differences.

  The fights between the raven and swan were almost as famous as their make-ups in public. Celebrating their thirtieth year together was something that was best done in private, with cake.

  “Why haven’t you found a mate yet?”

  Dira pulled him to a halt. “I haven’t been inclined to run headlong into the arms of a man if that is what you are asking. In my life, I have travelled, stayed home, ruled a small country and then donated a part of myself to creating the Crossroads to help some of the solo shifters I have met along the way.”

  The expression in his eyes was sudden understanding, and he leaned down to press his lips to hers.

  Dira had a thousand options run through her mind, but she stayed in place until the soft pressure of his lips retreated.

  His gaze was amused. “You had to keep from biting me, didn’t you?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I have been doing
research into your species.”

  Dira couldn’t help but raise a brow. “Have you now? What do you think my species is?”

  “Well, I have never met a dragon before, so you must excuse my ignorance.”

  Shock rippled through her. “How did you…”

  “A little bird helped me out.”

  “I am going to kill that raven. Better yet, I will have Teal do it for me.” Dira scowled.

  Mak laughed. “Don’t be too mad at him. He didn’t tell me anything directly. He just pointed me in the direction my mother gave me. I followed her theory, so if you must blame someone, blame my mother.”

  “I have never met your mother.”

  Mak stroked her neck and slid his thumb under her jaw. “She would very much like to meet you.”

  This time, with that small touch, the kiss was mutual. Dira slid her tongue along his lips, and he returned the favour. When she tasted him, her heart tripped in her chest and she pressed her body against his, holding onto him with one hand around his neck.

  They stood and kissed for what seemed like hours until the prickle of heat on her nose brought her attention back to the passage of time.

  She pulled away and her lips were swollen, his were shining and her thighs were slick with need.

  Mak smiled. “Shall we return to your home?”

  Dira sighed and took his arm once again. “That didn’t mean anything.”

  He snickered. “I look forward to it not meaning anything again very shortly. What are you doing for dinner?”

  She bit her lip. “I was going to dinner at the restaurant. With only two guests in, I don’t need to man the desk today. No one is coming in tonight.”

  “Who else is staying?”

  “A shy wolverine. He is slowly courting a bear, but he will need a few more days. I have no idea if she will take the reins.” Dira chuckled.

  They were back at her home.

  Mak made an observation. “You care very much about your guests’ ability to find love, don’t you?”