by Starla Night
“I will end you now!” Adviser Wrathmoda’s nose elongated. Smoke pooled around her face.
“Fire in the hole!” Shawn shouted, muffled.
Her coworkers dove for the floor.
Rose raced to her team. She skidded the last few feet, dropped next to them, and slammed her faceplate closed
Jasper bent over her and erupted his wings out his back, shredding his suit shirt and jacket, to shelter the group.
Around Adviser Wrathmoda’s mouth, red fury launched out. What started as a focused eruption ignited the clumpy yellow haze fanned around her. Explosive flames deafened her roar and blasted her a foot backward. The ignition reverberated through the floor and heat licked Rose through the hazmat suit. The brilliant light died.
Jasper stood and retracted his wings.
Rose blinked and sat up.
Adviser Wrathmoda rubbed her face. “What was that?”
Jasper’s suit smoked and his fire-resistant brown scales receded beneath his unharmed human body. “The aroma of Earth.”
“It’s explosive?” Adviser Wrathmoda shook herself and began to hulk, growing in size. “How dare you humans insult me! You think to fight a dragon with fire?” She dwarfed the room and made the ceiling creak. “Fight me at my full size and weep!”
“Everybody stay down!” Rose called. “She’s going to blow herself up!”
The dragons dove for the floor, including Larimar.
Adviser Wrathmoda arrested. “What…what are you talking about?”
“The HVAC’s been off for days.” Rose hugged her knees, still tucked and protected. “And the methane from the waste system’s been rising. It’s concentrated at the roof. Shawn checked it. If you break through the ceiling, you will tear electrical wire, cause a spark, and be blown to smithereens.”
“These ‘smithereens’ will not injure me. I’m a female dragon!”
“Oh, yeah? You want to sink your Titanic, you do that.”
“My…Titanic?”
“Your big ship.”
Adviser Wrathmoda craned to see the platform leading to her spaceship.
A small fireball of methane danced around the entryway and melted her paint.
She shrank to human form with a squeak. “My ship!”
Adviser Wrathmoda hurried across the platform and shooed away the fire. It licked her garment, singing the edges. She patted the small fire out, burst to a massive dragon, and soared into the sky.
With the halo of the sun behind her, Adviser Wrathmoda bellowed at the office building. “Now I am outside! You will pay, you flightless, land-bound…uh…”
The rocket pack put Rose at eye level with the big dragon. Her practice chiseling conference tables out of the ceiling had improved her fine control. Rose wielded the toilet wand. “How’s your stomach?”
Adviser Wrathmoda cupped her claws over her belly. “It already hurt. Not because of you.”
“Sure? If the toilet wand doesn’t scare you, I have a sewage pipe welder.”
“Sewage pipe!”
“And Shawn knows where to find an entire dumpster full of decapitated flies.”
“I know where to find an entire dumpster of decapitated flies!” Shawn yelled from the edge of the platform.
Adviser Wrathmoda curled her lip. “What do I care for tiny headless insects?”
Rose smiled. “Kyan identified your ship’s intake ports. We know how to infiltrate your systems. All your systems. Don’t go to sleep.”
“My Titanic!” Adviser Wrathmoda snarled at Rose. “What is wrong with you humans? You’re dirty, nasty, smelly, little…I hate Earth and everything about it!”
“Feel free to leave right now. Or explode. I don’t care. We’re used to cleaning up other people’s messes.”
Jasper floated beside Rose. His brothers flanked the adviser. “This is my female, the one I was telling you about. Rose, this is Adviser Wrathmoda.”
“We’ve met,” Rose retorted.
“She’s resourceful. I hire for determination and thoroughness. Rose is our top performer.”
“All right, Jasper. No more flattery.”
“And problem-solving.” He ignored her, focused on Adviser Wrathmoda. “Rose transformed common equipment into effective weapons.”
“It was the team, actually.”
“And she has a wonderful team.”
“There are more of you?” Adviser Wrathmoda barked. “More than I see here?”
“Imagine how many more traps she can set,” Jasper said. “Imagine how embarrassing it would be if news of your defeat reached your rivals.”
Adviser Wrathmoda’s eyes narrowed. “I am not defeated. Not by a long shot. But, as it happens, I am too important to waste any time on ridiculous rivalries. You want this worthless low-caste so badly, have him!” She flew to her ship.
Larimar flew after her. “Mother?”
“This is ridiculous,” Adviser Wrathmoda spat from the platform. “The original survey was right. The planet is a mud ball full of genetically backward non-shifters; the only dragons who like such pulp are genetically backward as well. I regret ever deigning to covet such a connection.”
“Mother, please—”
“Hush.” Adviser Wrathmoda shook her fist at the gathered Onyx siblings. “You will always be low-castes. Your grandfather was barely a military commander! Your matriarch is a libertine with upside-down morals, and I question Ferocia Carnelian’s judgment at allowing her dragonlets a friendly connection. When my eldest is crowned the new Empress, she will sink your Titanic.” Adviser Wrathmoda hustled her servants rolling the marriage scroll back onto her ship.
For the first time, hope dawned in Rose’s heart. “She gave up?”
“No, I do not give up!” Adviser Wrathmoda snarled. “I have heard no challenge. It doesn’t exist.”
“Mother, please,” Larimar cried.
“I’ve left because Earth is a disgusting genetic backwater. There’s nothing here worth fighting over.” Adviser Wrathmoda flounced into her ship. Her nasal voice rose. “Larimar? I will see you on Draconis!”
Larimar collapsed on the platform and moaned.
The spaceship whirled up, through the atmosphere, and zoomed away.
Had they won?
Jasper crushed Rose through her rubbery hazmat suit. “You fought for me.”
“We all fought for you.” She returned his hug. “We’re a team.”
Liquid shone in his eyes.
They flew over Larimar’s crumpled form and landed inside the top floor. The rest of the staff shook Jasper’s hand. They were glad to see him, too.
Rose called Kyan to vent the roof, and after being certain that the building had aired out as much as possible, they removed helmets and marveled at the wrecked luxury suite.
“The building’s a disaster,” Rose told Jasper. “Sorry you had to come home to this.”
“I heard. What did Peridot promise to lure you in today?”
Shawn shared a look with the others. “I didn’t answer my phone.”
Elle put her arm around Rose and Patty’s shoulders. “We got lured here for you.”
“You came in for me?” Jasper’s chin wrinkled but he held it together. “I would do the same for you in a heartbeat.”
“We know.” Patty squeezed his forearm, and he blinked, misty-eyed all over again. “What happens now?”
He pulled Rose under his arm, keeping her close. “I don’t know. But whoever comes back should request triple plus overtime until you clear this mess, and you know how the sewage treatment system is. A week of neglect is a month of extra work.”
Everyone nodded. They knew.
“So are you getting your old job back?” Elle asked.
“I don’t—”
“No!” Larimar stood, clutching a scrap her mother’s shredded silk kaftan to her chest, and her desperate eyes shifted to rage. She stalked toward Jasper.
Jasper threw Rose behind him and shifted, brown scales showering as his dragon emerged to
defend against the new threat.
“You defeated my mother, but you did not defeat me!”
“Larimar, don’t do this,” Jasper growled.
“You have to build my company. I need to prove myself.”
“Prove yourself with someone else,” Rose snapped. “Do you want the toilet wand? I’ll give it to you.”
“I don’t fear any toilet wand.” Larimar shifted to dragon, shredding her clothes and showering herself with elongated scales. She towered over them. “I’ll spray Jasper with my lust hormones and make him my slave!”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lust hormones?
The dragon whirled and lifted her tail like a cat in heat. She aimed her butt in their direction.
Nothing happened.
The rest of the dragons swore and evacuated, racing out the building entrance while covering their mouths and noses, but Jasper was trapped.
He threw up his arms. “Quick, Rose. Chain me to the wall. Don’t let her enslave me!”
“Any…moment…” Larimar growled struggling with an unfamiliar action. “You will obey me…”
Rose dumped her hazmat helmet over his head, smooshing his snout to fit. Her coworkers wheeled their carts around him like a fortress. Patty and Elle positioned splash guards like riot shields.
Larimar shrieked with success. A fine mist sprayed the splash guards and dripped. More hung in the air like a cloud.
Rose waited to be overwhelmed…but wasn’t. Well, she was human, a female, and not the target. The stench was odoriferous and punky, yet also woodsy…hard to describe…
“Smells like the back forty,” Patty said.
“College boy room filled with stale body spray,” Elle said.
“High-quality bud,” Shawn opined. “I sprayed orange scent to disguise it when the RAs called the campus police.”
Jasper remained hunched and held his breath.
Rose grabbed the Febreeze hooked to her cart and sprayed the air, coated the splash guards, and painted Jasper’s helmet.
He didn’t move.
“Jasper?” Rose tapped his shoulder. “Jasper, are you all right?”
Larimar laughed throatily. “Arise, my slave!”
Jasper wobbled to his feet.
“Cast off your helmet and come to me!”
He took off Rose’s helmet. His beautiful eyes were glazed.
Rose shook his shoulders. “Snap out of it!”
Jasper blinked and focused on her. “R…Rose?”
“Come now!” Larimar ordered.
“Don’t move,” Rose said.
Jasper shook his head as though trying to dislodge a pebble.
Shawn snatched the Febreeze from Rose’s hand and sprayed Jasper in the face.
He stumbled back and scrubbed his eyes. “Ugh. Shawn, what was that for?”
“Oh, sorry, man. You weren’t looking so good.”
“I felt odd at first, but then it dissipated.” Jasper wiped his brow and sniffed. “What is that strange spray?”
“Huh?” Shawn read the title. “Fresh Scent.”
“We ran out of odor neutralizer in the bathroom and Peridot didn’t order anymore,” Rose explained. “I brought it from home. Sorry I didn’t ask.”
“No, I apologize for not reordering before I left. Employees shouldn’t be forced to bring their own supplies.” Jasper held a deep breath and released it. “Is it superior? We should order this brand rather than what we used before.”
She fell under his hug. “I’ll have to review the spreadsheet.”
He kissed her red-and-black warrior hair. “I can’t wait.”
Larimar stood flummoxed. “Did I do it wrong? I’ve never tried to spray a male. It didn’t work?”
“No, your chemical attack didn’t work.” Shawn thumped his chest. “Because we’re environmental techs!”
Larimar shifted to human and swiped the bottle out of his hand. “What is this miraculous substance?”
Shawn averted his eyes from her unselfconscious, nude form. “Er…”
She shook the bottle at Jasper. “This, Jasper, is the chemical weapon you were talking about! It can neutralize lust hormone sprays. Think of the applications! We’ll make a fortune.” She hardened. “And then, when I go to rescue my love, no female will ever enslave him again.”
Shawn broke in. “You’re going to sell the spray that stops you from enslaving guys? Isn’t that like selling bulletproof vests to your enemy?”
“Yes, exactly. Everyone will want a bulletproof vest.” She faced Jasper. “How soon can you arrange an order with the manufacturer?”
“Jasper!” Mal flew in cautiously and then got more confident as no one was enslaved. “You’re free, which means we have to get back to work. Clean this mess. We’re holding an emergency meeting tonight to start the next product launch.”
Larimar turned on her nude heels and poked an index finger at Mal’s unguarded chest. “Jasper’s my employee, not yours.”
Mal’s skin flushed malachite green. “He’s my brother.”
“And look at how you guarded him? Any dragon could steal him away! That will never happen at my company. He’s a valued employee.”
“We value Jasper more than you know!”
While they argued, Jasper leaned against Rose. He wasn’t used to people arguing over him. Rose rubbed his shoulder. Nobody had asked him what he wanted.
Alex strode around the arguing CEOs and returned Rose’s engagement ring. “This is yours.”
“Thank you.” She closed her rubbery fist around the precious metal.
Jasper frowned. “Why did you have it?”
Alex opened his mouth, closed it, and looked away. An unusual agitation marred his cool features. “It is difficult to say…”
“No, it’s not.” Rose pulled off her glove and slid the ring onto her finger. “He told me I was only with you for the money. I got mad and threw the ring.”
Jasper’s eyes gleamed, ruby flecks in brown fire. “What?”
Alex gritted his teeth and met Jasper’s gaze, flinching. “It was a mistake.”
“They thought you might buy off the adviser. I shouldn’t hold you down.”
Jasper pulled Rose into his arms. His unusual aggression focused on Alex. “Never say that again.”
Alex stepped back, and for a second it looked as if he would apologize, but he said, “I won’t.”
“Good.” Jasper focused on Rose, possessive and gorgeous. “You fought for me. Against two rival females, one of them an adviser. That is all anyone needs to know of your bravery and strength.”
She cocked a grin at him. “To be fair, I didn’t know what I was doing.”
“There is no need to be fair.” He covered her mouth with his kiss.
He tasted of crazy delicious love, her Jasper, like every wild thought and wish. She hugged him close, and when that wasn’t enough, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He held her, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, his cock hard as a lever between her thighs. Her pussy throbbed. She wanted him, here, now, forever.
Jasper pulled back, his eyes fiery again. Dark scales shivered near his skin, changing their colors to match. His voice emerged low and hungry. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait!” Both Mal and Larimar protested at the same time.
They glanced at each other, then each overlapped their orders.
“We’re meeting now.”
“You are my employee, Jasper!”
Jasper released Rose and turned on them with contained fury. “Neither of you employ me.”
“Well—”
“You don’t—”
They broke off to bicker with each other.
Jasper cut in and started with Mal. “You kicked me out.”
“But you agreed because our trade secrets—”
“Were nearly burned to the ground. They still might. I can’t open a door without a security escort.”
“I don’t control security.” Mal lifted his phon
e to his ear. “Kyan, the threat to Jasper is over. Reactivate—”
“Don’t.” Jasper focused on Larimar. “You chained me to a wall. Ate my phone. And just now, tried to enslave my mind.”
“Competition in the business world is brutal, Jasper, you know that.”
“I know neither of you has apologized.”
They both startled. Mal grimaced at the ceiling as if searching his memory, and Larimar folded her hands over her breasts as if she would not deign to apologize.
Jasper continued. “You both dismissed me as an employee and devalued my work.”
“We prioritized you,” Mal refuted. “Your freedom trumped everything.”
“You have no idea what I did for the company.”
“Yes, but—”
“You thought so little of my job that you replaced me with a temp. You damaged him, hurt my workers, destroyed the department, and have nearly lost the building.”
“Because we needed you! What is a building? Or a few employees?”
Jasper’s growl made his voice harsh. “You attacked my mate, Mal.”
Mal’s gaze darted to Rose. “But—”
“You ignored her needs. Allowed her to be fired. Accused her—”
“She wouldn’t fight for you.”
“Because she’s a reasonable human being! Would you be so calm if we turned your treatment on Cheryl?”
Mal snarled, claws out. “I would end you!”
Jasper stared at him, point made.
Mal’s jaw closed with a snap. His shoulders sagged. He knew he was beaten. “Won’t you come back? For your family?”
“Maybe.” Jasper snugged Rose to his chest. “After I enjoy a well-deserved honeymoon. And after you hire someone else to clean up this mess and manage Environmental Tech. I performed these jobs at a sacrifice of my personal life, but not anymore. Now, I have a family. I have hours.”
“But, ah, I am starting a much more important business,” Larimar protested. “My defense company will prevent male dragons from being victimized by lust. Work for me because it’s important for all dragon kind! And I will value you. After we are set up and exporting, I will frequently respect these so-called working hours.”
Jasper eyed her. “I may consult with you remotely.”
“But, think of the dragons you’ll save!”