by Zoe Chant
They fell into each other’s arms. Victor’s kisses and caresses seemed to burn with an intoxicating heat. But much as Debbie loved kissing him, she wasn’t as focused on it as she usually was. She felt strange. Dizzy. Fidgety.
“The ceiling is so low,” she heard herself mutter. But that made no sense. The ceiling was as high as it had ever been. “What did Sophronia do to me? I feel so weird.”
“You’re feeling your dragon.” Victor cupped her face in his palms. “Can you hear her? Listen.”
Debbie wasn’t sure what he meant. What was there to listen to?
Then a voice spoke within her. It was the same voice she’d heard all her life, that faint inner voice that she’d always thought was her own heart and soul. And it was. But it was her dragon, too. She could hear it far more clearly now, a hiss like a sword being drawn from its sheath.
I must fly.
“She says she has to fly,” Debbie told Victor.
“Yes, of course.” Victor grinned at her. “Come on! Time to spread your wings!”
He grabbed her hand. As she took a step forward, she realized that the weight and slowness and tiredness of her pregnancy had vanished. Her belly was as huge as ever, but she had a new strength and energy. She felt lighter on her feet than ever before.
When she took her second step, her shoes fell off. She stumbled, but Victor caught her before she could fall.
“What...?” He stared down at her shoes.
Debbie laughed. “They’re a size and a half bigger than I normally wear. My feet had swelled up this morning. I guess that doesn’t happen to dragon moms.”
“I suppose not.” Victor plucked up one of the shoes. “Had you run from me at a ball, I could use this to find you.”
“I’d never run from you. Forget the shoes, Victor. I want to fly!”
Barefoot, giddy and laughing as a child at play, she ran down the hall. Victor had to run to catch up. Together they left the palace and came into a grove where the towering trees hid them from prying eyes.
“How do I do it?” Her voice came out in a hushed whisper. She had no doubt that she could shift—she’d heard the voice of her very own inner dragon—but the idea of it filled her with awe and wonder.
It’s easy, hissed her dragon.
“It’s easy,” said Victor. He stepped back, giving her room, before he said, “Just look at the sky, and think about how much you want to fly. Do you remember the three treasures of the dragon?”
Debbie did. It was one of the things Victor had coached her on, to better impersonate Princess Eugenia.
“Honor.” She had that, she supposed; she’d lied about her identity, but she’d been willing to give up being a princess rather than accuse Princess Eugenia to save herself.
“Gold.” She’d liked gold before, but only in the context of appreciating some specific piece of jewelry. Now she could actually sense the presence of the gold rings that Victor wore. If she closed her eyes, she’d be able to reach out and touch them. And the necklace Victor had given her felt even more precious now, with its delicious cool against her hot skin...
“The open sky.” Debbie looked past the green leaves and up into the endless blue of the sky. She wanted to fly up and be part of it, be free in it. If a heap of gold lay at her feet, but its price had been staying earthbound one second longer, she wouldn’t have hesitated to give it up for a chance at the open sky...
Heat burned through her veins. Her limbs extended with a pleasant feeling like having a good stretch. Her eyesight sharpened, and the green scent of the leaves and fresh scent of the clouds grew stronger. She dug her sharp claws into the soft earth and unfolded her wings. Her muscles tensed as she readied herself, and then she leaped into the air.
In an instant she was aloft, her great wings beating, soaring into the sky. It was a glorious feeling of lightness, freedom, and power. She spiraled upward, watching the palace and gardens shrink below her, reveling in her newfound ability. Debbie soared on air currents, dove in and out of soft clouds, and tumbled in dizzy rolls and dives.
The golden dragon that was Victor joined her, easily flying beside her and matching all her wild flights. She extended a wingtip to brush his, and so they played in mid-air, caressing each other with quick flicks of their wings, chasing each other, soaring and dipping and drifting together in the open sky.
Within her belly, her baby dragon fluttered its wings in delight.
He will be a strong flyer, her dragon hissed.
He? Debbie replied.
Yes, he. Your firstborn son.
The sky blazed red as the sun set, then dimmed to a soft purple. Victor guided Debbie downward until they landed in the grove.
She watched him become a man, and longed to become a woman so she could kiss him and thank him for showing her the sky. With that thought, it happened.
She ran to him, kissed him, and thanked him. Leaning against his warm side, she said, “My dragon said our baby is a son.”
“Did she? I don’t doubt it.” Victor laid his hand on her belly. “Just think, my darling. One more month, and we’ll hold our son in our arms.”
“Oh!” Debbie exclaimed. “We need to get married before that.”
Victor gave her an odd look. “We’re already married.”
“Yes, but the priest said, ‘Do you, Eugenia, take him, Victor,” and ‘Do you, Victor, take her, Eugenia.’ I’m not sure it’s legal.”
Victor seemed to consider it. “Surely I’m not married to Eugenia just because the priest spoke her name. Therefore, I am married to the woman who stood with me at the ceremony. Which is you.”
“I want another wedding,” Debbie said stubbornly. “Just in case. It doesn’t have to be fancy. But I want to make sure we’re really married before our son is born.”
Victor patted her shoulder. “As you wish. Now that I think about it, probably it’s a good idea to reassure the people that everything is proper. After all, they have had a great deal to take in over these last few months.”
“They have?” Debbie shook her head in amazement. “It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around all this. I can’t believe how much has changed in the last six months, and now more has changed in the last six minutes. One moment I was impersonating a princess, and the next I find out I’m one for real. And I have a sister! It’s a lot to take in.”
“And you’re pregnant,” added Victor, patting her belly. “And you’re a dragon. And you’re married—soon to be married twice over—to a man who loves you more than all the gold in his hoard.”
“And I’m not a virgin any more.”
Victor slid his hand up her back in a sensual caress that sent shivers down her spine... and further down as well. “Are you sure about that? There might be some tiny bit of virginity left. Some little patch of skin I haven’t yet laid my hands on. Or my mouth.”
Debbie leaned into his touch, her breath coming fast. “Whatever bit of me is still a virgin can’t wait to be eaten by a dragon.”
Victor gave a husky chuckle. And then the dragon picked up his mate, his most precious treasure, and carried her away to his lair.
EPILOGUE
Victor
Victor caressed Debbie’s bulging belly, loving the feeling of its ripe curves. She laid her hand over his.
“Twins,” he murmured, marveling. They’d only learned that the day before. “I suppose it runs in your family.”
“Double the trouble,” remarked Debbie.
“Perish the thought,” said Victor wryly. “But seriously, it’s been more peaceful of late. We’ve gone an entire day without hearing a single—”
CRASH!
A small silver dragon hurtled through the window, hotly pursued by an even smaller golden dragon. Tiny cubes of safety glass flew everywhere.
The golden dragon caught up with the silver dragon, and both dragons fought briefly in midair before tumbling to the ground. They landed heavily on the thick carpet, then promptly began rolling around on it, talons flashing an
d wings flapping.
Debbie flicked Victor’s arm. “Never say it’s getting peaceful. That’s just asking for it.”
Victor sighed, then shrugged. “I’m sure Eugenia would say it’s good for the economy. Safety glass manufacturing is booming.”
Together they strode to the rowdy dragons. Moving as one, Victor grabbed the silver dragon by the scruff of the neck, and Debbie did the same to the gold dragon. And together they yanked their battling offspring apart.
Both dragons instantly transformed, the silver dragon into a seven-year-old boy, and the golden dragon into a five-year-old girl.
“Mommy,” Natalia, formerly the golden dragon, whined. “Valentin started it!”
“Did not!” Valentin, formerly the silver dragon, instantly retorted. “Natalia started it. She touched my gold nugget!”
“I wouldn’t want your gold nugget!” Natalia shrieked. “I have a bigger one!”
“Do not!”
“Do too!”
The children became dragons again, and started to fly at each other. With the ease of long practice, Debbie and Victor snatched them out of the air before anyone could get bitten or clawed.
Holding the little dragons at arms’ length, each parent addressed them firmly.
“Stop fighting, or I’ll confiscate the nugget,” Victor said.
“Yours too,” said Debbie.
“And that window comes out of your allowance,” added Victor.
“Yours too,” added Debbie. “And stop ditching your babysitter!”
“Where is she?” Victor asked.
The kids transformed again, leaving their parents’ hands gripping the back of their collars. When Debbie and Victor released them, their children shot them sheepish glances.
“Well?” said Victor.
“We didn’t ditch her,” said Natalia. “She couldn’t keep up with us.”
“Of course she can’t keep up if you fly,” Debbie said, sounding exasperated. “And you’re the ones who begged her to babysit. She’s not going to do it again if you keep flying away from her.”
“I’m sorry,” said Valentin.
“Me too,” said Natalia.
“Really truly sorry,” said Valentin.
“REALLY TRULY sorry,” said Natalia.
“Can we do something to make up for it?” asked Valentin.
“Weed the garden?” suggested Natalia. “Wash dishes?”
“Ooh, I know!” exclaimed Valentin. “We can help Granny Phronsie with her potions, for the whole time she and Auntie Eugenia and Uncle Radu and Artur and Andrada are visiting!”
“Yeah, the potions!” squealed Natalia. “Artur and Andrada have all the fun. They have Granny Phronsie around all the time.”
Victor smiled. He and Eugenia had been lucky to escape getting married to each other, but he liked her as a person and was glad that his children and hers got along so well. Eugenia and Radu’s daughter Andrada, a bronze dragon, was only six months younger than Valentin, and their son Artur, a golden dragon, was one month older than Natalia. And Eugenia too was pregnant again. It would be a race to see who gave birth first, her or Debbie.
His children began to chant, “Po-tions! Po-tions! Po-tions!”
“Enough already,” said Victor, laughing. “Yes, if your mother agrees, you can go help Granny Phronsie, and we’ll say no more about docking your allowance or confiscating nuggets.”
Debbie visibly forced herself to keep a straight face as she said, “I agree, but Granny Phronsie has to tell me you really were helpful, and not just getting underfoot. And I will check with her!”
Her children nodded eagerly.
“And can we have pastries with Great-Aunt Agatha afterward?” Valentin asked. “We promise to eat our carrots at dinner without complaining.”
“Ugh, not carrots,” Natalia protested.
“Carrots and no complaining, or no pastries,” Victor said firmly.
Natalia folded her arms. “I hate carrots!”
“Would you rather have beets?” Debbie asked.
“Ugh!” said Natalia.
Teasingly, Victor suggested, “Parsnips? Turnips? Rutabagas?”
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
“Mangelwurzels?”
“UUUUUGGGHHH!”
Valentin glared at his little sister. Then a sunny grin came over his face. “Guess you won’t get any pastries, then. Two of everything for me!”
Grudgingly, Natalia said, “Carrots and no complaining. But no mangelwurzels!”
“You don’t have to have any mangelwurzels if you eat the carrots,” said Victor.
Natalia beamed. Then she and her brother transformed into dragons and zoomed out the broken window.
“Do you even know what a mangelwurzel is?” Debbie asked, smiling.
“Other than some kind of root vegetable?” Victor shook his head. “No, and neither does Natalia, I’m sure. But they sound unpleasant, don’t they? Aunt Agatha used to threaten me with them when I was Natalia’s age to make me eat other vegetables.”
“Aunt Agatha sure is enjoying her retirement. Grandchildren to spoil, and no kingdom business to deal with.”
Just then, Chloe came panting into the room. “I’m sorry! They flew away from me.”
Debbie smiled at Chloe. “Don’t worry about it. They do that.”
The tiny child Debbie had met on an airplane so many years ago had grown into a leggy, confident teenager who alternated spending her summer vacations with her grandparents in Paris and her aunt in Rodica.
Once Debbie’s identity had been publicly revealed, she and Victor had invited Chloe and her aunt to visit them at the palace. Chloe soon became one of the lucky kids to whom Victor—and Debbie—gave rides on dragonback. And when she got old enough to take an interest in expensive Paris fashions, there was nothing she liked better than babysitting two lively dragons and earning her pay in gold.
Chloe looked around. “Where’d they go?”
“They flew out to Granny Phronsie’s kitchen... lab... whatever it is,” said Debbie. “So take a break.”
Victor counted out four gold coins for Chloe. “Here you go.”
Chloe looked at them doubtfully. “You said you only needed me for three hours.”
“Combat pay,” said Victor.
Chloe pocketed the coins with a laugh. “Thanks, Victor. That’ll go toward my Parisian shoe fund. I’ll just go make sure they don’t accidentally turn themselves into toads.”
When Chloe closed the door behind her, Debbie plunked down on a lush velvet sofa. She gave a rueful glance at the floor. “Should’ve made the dragonlings sweep up the glass before they left.”
“I’ll do that. You rest your feet.” Victor went to the closet, grabbed a broom, swept up the glass, and dumped it in a gold-plated wastepaper basket.
“The glamorous life of a king,” remarked Debbie.
“It’s about to get two times more glamorous.” He sat down beside her, lifted her feet into his lap, and began to massage them.
“Oooh.” Debbie relaxed into a puddle of bliss at his touch, as if she was melting into the couch. Lazily, she said, “Got any more names?”
“I do,” Victor said immediately. He’d been thinking about it ever since they’d found out. “How about Sorin and Sonia if it’s a boy and a girl, Sorin and Sergei if it’s two boys, and Sonia and Silvia if it’s two girls?”
“Hmm. I like them, but if we get two girls or two boys, how will Sergei or Silvia live it down if they ever find out their names were your second-favorites? I can hear it now: ‘You like my sister’s name better!’”
“We’ll tell them we liked both names equally, and we tossed a coin to get the hypothetical boy-girl set.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“You look hot,” Victor remarked. “Want something to drink?”
“Yes, please.”
Victor got up, took a bottle of forbidden fruit juice from a cooler, and poured out two glasses. He handed her one, then raised his. “To our f
amily, soon to be even bigger and noisier!”
“To our happily ever after.”
They clinked their glasses. The juice didn’t seethe and hiss like dragonfire, but it was scarlet as burning coals, and the aroma was almost as intoxicating. Victor breathed it in before he drank, letting it conjure up wonderful memories of Debbie sitting in the palace garden while he fed her bites of forbidden fruits.
He set down his glass and kissed her. Victor could taste the intoxicating flavor of forbidden fruits on his mate’s lips. Her fingers strayed upward, to caress his cheek. He reached down to toy with her bedecking gift.
Debbie drew in a breath that grew faster as he continued stroking her necklace. Now that her inner dragon had been released, any gold she wore was almost like a second skin.
“Just one of the little perks of being a dragon,” Debbie murmured. “Like being able to share the open sky with my husband.”
“Happily ever after?” Victor asked.
She leaned back against his chest. “Happily ever after with my dragon king.”
A Note From Zoe
Thank you for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed it.
Did you like Lucas and Journey? You can read their story in Defender Dragon, which is part of my Protection, Inc. series about an all-shifter private security company. It’s book two, but can be read first. Keep paging down to read a sneak preview of it. (If you’d like to read book one first, it’s Bodyguard Bear.)
If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book and hear about free books from me, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
Please consider reviewing The Dragon Prince’s Baby Bargain, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
More Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant
Bodyguard Bear. (Protection, Inc. # 1). A curvy paramedic who witnesses a murder + the sexy bear shifter bodyguard sworn to protect her with his life + firefights and fiery passion = one hot thrill ride!
Defender Dragon. (Protection, Inc. # 2). An adventurous backpacker who loses a shoe at a ball + a lonely dragon prince facing an arranged marriage to a princess he doesn’t love + magnificent castles and deadly assassins = one thrilling romance!