“What do you remember?”
Well, nothing obviously. A shadow crossed her mind and then it came pouring back in.
“I was dying? Why aren’t I dead. Not that I want to be dead, but there was this black object on my chest and fire. There was fire everywhere.”
She stopped her breath coming fast before she looked him in the eyes.
“Am I going crazy?”
“No. Everything you saw happened.”
She nodded before she looked at him once again concern in her eyes. “Are you crazy?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I’m not crazy either.”
She gave a single nod. “Then tell me why I am in your bed in a nightgown?” A very sexy, suggestive nightgown.
“You might not remember this, but you were covered in fire. Your clothes didn’t make it, and I didn’t want to put you in bed wrapped in the blanket I carried you out in.”
He carried her out in a blanket? What must her neighbors be thinking?
“I grabbed some clothes for you; they are in the closet. I left them in the suitcase I didn’t think you would want me to go through them one more time.”
She was going to be permanently red as she thought of him going through her panties drawer. She had a fetish for little scraps of materials that manufacturers called panties.
“Thank you. How long did I sleep?”
“Forty-eight hours.”
“What?”
“You did have something try to crack your chest and become your best friend. I think you needed the sleep to heal your body.”
Right, of course, she needed to heal her body because she wasn’t human. So much for going to the hospital and why did she have insurance coverage. At this rate, she could get rid of it and become the first self-healing human, except she wasn’t human.
“Too much?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you get up, take a shower or a bath and let me feed you?”
“You’re going to get tired of feeding me.”
“I think I could do it for eternity.” He got up showing her the joggers he slept in.
She sighed in disappointment. He saw her she should be able to see him too. She didn’t even try to quiet her libido. They had escaped death, and she wanted the reward of seeing him naked. After he left she got up to get some clothes. She wondered if she should call her friends, but they always seemed to know where she was especially Lori.
A few minutes later she was standing in the shower. Reality slowly sank in. For years she tried to believe that Nathaniel was just off his rocker, but that he wasn't a real threat. That’s what the police told her and even what the judge thought. She was beginning to think he got off on fear. Nathanial wasn’t trying to scare her, something or someone wanted her dead, and he was working for them. The only person who seemed to know what was going on was Zeno. It was time to get some answers.
Could we sleep with him first her libido asked? All she could do was growl and wish she could say yes.
Chapter Six
He ordered room service, and now they were sitting on the couch in the small living room area attached to the bedroom. She had her legs tucked under her while staring at the food she should be eating. The room held the couch as well as three chairs. There was a mini bar that provided the beverages of your choice. There was a wall of windows that were floor to ceiling. The room also came equipped with a discrete television.
“I need to know what’s going on.”
“I know, eat a little you need the nourishment.” He had ordered her a steak, baked potato, and broccoli because he knew she would balk at just eating the meat.
She cut the steak and took a bit realizing she was hungrier than she thought.
“Nathanial has been working for someone named Mutufa. Calling it working is a misnomer. I am sure he believes he is working towards a good and just cause but he’s being used, and he’s too far gone to realize it.”
“Mutufa, is that who was in my apartment?”
“That was him.”
“Why couldn’t I see him? He looked like a shadow, but I couldn’t see any substance.”
“That takes a little more explanation.”
“Then start with why he was talking about dragons and why Nathanial called you dragon.”
“Skye I’m not evil, crazy or out to hurt you. I need you to listen to me and then we’ll talk about your disbelief.”
He might be evil; he kept feeding her and the diet she was trying to stick to felt as if it was long gone.
“Do you believe in dragons?’
She hesitated, the correct answer was no. The answer she learned to give the men in the white coats was no.
“Is this a trick question?” She set her dinner down and stood up. She was dressed in a pair of sweat pants he found paired with a tee. It wasn’t a let me sex you up outfit, but it was comfortable. It reminded her of who she was and made her feel good in her skin once again.
“I won’t be upset whatever your answer is, I simply need to know where I’m starting at.”
She went to stand in front of one of the windows. They were one way so you could see out but no one could see in. That way you didn’t have to pull the curtains to ensure your privacy.
“Maybe.”
He turned his head looking at her with confusion on his face.
“Maybe I believe in dragons, or it may be better to say that I don’t disbelieve in them.”
“All right. There was a time on the Earth when dragons roamed along with dinosaurs.”
“That’s a long, long time ago.”
“I know, they survived when the dinosaurs didn’t.” He looked at her then back at her food.
She shook her head; he was deep into caring for her. She retook her seat and began to eat. Dinner and a story it was working for her.
“What happened to the dragons if they survived?”
“They went on to live with mankind. For a while the world was harmonious.”
“I can’t imagine that, but it must have been nice. What stopped the harmony?”
“There’s a group we call demons. Not the kind you believe dropped out of the sky. These were born just like you and me. They wanted one thing, the dragon's hoard.”
“That’s stupid; everyone knows that dragons don’t give up their hoard.”
“True. Are you just humoring me?”
“My body was set on fire, and I didn’t burn, but my clothes did. If you tell me dragons used to walk the Earth who am I to disagree with you, but what does it all have to do with us, with me?”
“Skye the world was changing. Mankind seemed only to tolerate mankind, and they didn’t do that very well. The demons led by Mutufa began to spread the story around that the dragons were killing and devouring their children. That was not happening. We don’t kill or eat humans.”
We don’t kill or eat humans. He thinks he’s a dragon. She should leave him, this room and this city. She needed a change except she survived being consumed by fire. Why couldn’t he be a dragon? A little dragon that maybe the army didn’t notice.
“Tell me more.” She took another bite of her food and almost moaned at the smile he gave her.
“The humans came after us, at first we laughed at their efforts, but if you have enough of them together working for one purpose they can and will be victorious. We started to die, the numbers growing large while the small children kept dying. Eventually, Eternity agreed to allow us to push Mutufa to her plane to stop the high rate of deaths.”
She stopped eating as she remembered that Eternity looked like a bright light.
“I have a place for you to go Skye.”
She hadn’t looked up to devastated by her grandfather’s death to deal with anyone else.
“I just want to stay here forever.” She was lying on his grave.
“I know, but eventually you’ll want to live and love, and he’ll want you to live and love.”
She had come close and hugged her giving her a comfort sh
e thought she’d never feel again. Then she whispered where she was to go and apply for a job. Then between one blink of the eyes and the next, she was gone. Whenever she thought about it, she chose to think it was a dream.
“My brothers and I came up with a plan to get rid of Mutufa and his followers.”
She hadn’t been listening to lost in her memories.
“It didn’t work?”
“It did for a while. The four of us gathered together and pushed him onto Eternities plane where he would be locked up forever. At the last moment, he released a black powder we didn’t know he was carrying. It spread covering us, and then it spread on the wind. We were already racing towards the ground. That’s probably what saved our lives. When we hit the ground, we weren’t dragons anymore we were human.”
“Wait. You’re not only telling me you’re a dragon, or you used to be a dragon, but you're how many years old. Hundreds, thousands?”
“Over a thousand.”
“You look good for an old man, but I should leave three hundred years is my maximum age limit.”
She moved towards the door she needed to stop this fairytale now.
“You don’t want someone three hundred years they are still a baby. You want a grown male.” He moved towards her with a graceful stride, the movement of his body bringing her to a halt.
Her brain told her to escape; her libido told her in graphic detail what she was going to do if Skye dared to move. Her libido won.
He got in her space forcing her to move backward until the wall was behind her, and he was in front of her.
“I’ve denied myself since the moment I set eyes on you. For two days, I’ve cared for you and imagined what our first kiss would be like. Tell me to stop Skye if you don’t want this. If you don’t want my lips on you, my tongue seeking entrance in your mouth. Only you can make me stop Skye, only you.”
She opened her mouth to tell him to stop instead her tongue came out to moisten her lips issuing an invitation she refused to take back.
“Skye,” he groaned her name before his lips met hers.
He touched her softly as if she were important to him. A lick of his tongue had her panting hard and fast as she opened her mouth. He took over, dueling with her, giving her a deep taste of him. He tasted like sunshine, air, and animal. She moved a little closer to him as he devoured her. Her arms went around his neck as she kissed him back fiercely. He was killing her with his kisses. There was a loud pounding in her head.
He pulled back.
“Why?”
“Door.”
The loud pounding wasn’t in her head it was someone knocking on the door. He went to check to find her friend standing there. He gave a low growl when he opened the door. The Guardian had timed her appearance perfectly.
“Everything okay dragon?” Her tone was low enough that only he heard the question and the smirk in her voice.
“Skye I was so worried about you. I went to your place and saw the door. It didn’t look good, and the police are looking for you, scared Nathanial killed you, but he has an alibi. He’s crazy with worry over you.”
“He’s just crazy.” She felt bad he was the one who had been conned and would probably never be normal again, speaking of normal she still didn’t know what she was.
“Someone was trying to kill me, but it wasn’t Nathanial this time. Zeno save me.”
“I’m not surprised. Dragons are very possessive when it comes to their mates.”
He was going to kill the guardian. Her services were no longer needed he would take care of Skye.
“Mate?” She looked up at Zeno; he obviously hadn’t told her the full story.
“I was getting around to that.”
“Perfect I would love to hear also.”
Ah no. She loved Lori like a sister, but she wasn’t going to have her beautiful older sister flaunting herself in front of the male she wanted to climb like a rope on an obstacle course.
“Lori, I think Zeno and I should talk about this alone.”
“If you think so. I always miss the good parts. Promise you’ll tell me all about it later.”
“I promise.”
Lori walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead before she turned and winked at Zeno.
“Skye.” He said after Lori closed the door behind her. “Go look at yourself in the mirror; I’ll be waiting here when you come back.”
Turning she went into the bathroom, on her forehead was a symbol she had never seen before. It was bold and red with sharp lines almost like a tribal tattoo, but it looked more like an ancient language. As she watched, it disappeared into her skin.
She walked back out and sat on the couch.
“What was I looking at and will it hurt me?”
“It saved your life. Lori’s a guardian. An ancient race of people who I thought had been wiped from the face of the Earth. More importantly, she’s your guardian. She’s been watching over you, protecting you. I don’t know how many years, maybe your whole life. That symbol protects you from fire and it always will.”
“I thought I wasn’t human.”
“You’re human Skye.”
“Why would she do that, protect me?”
“Because you’re a dragon mate. My dragon mate.”
Chapter Seven
She was a what? They hadn’t even got to the part where he convinced her that dragons were real and now he was calling her his mate. Could she go back to sleep and get a do-over on this day?
“Zeno,” she lowered her voice wanting to make sure he stayed calm. “I know you seem to believe in dragons and Lori calling you a dragon didn’t help. You’ve got to know that they aren’t real. It’s called imagination. When I was young, I used to pretend I could fly, but I couldn’t.”
She edged towards the door. Her life was filled with crazy, and she didn’t need another one to add to the madness, but she would always be sad he hadn’t been sane.
For a second she thought he was going to pursue her. Instead, he sat back in the chair making himself comfortable, looking like he wasn’t a threat.
“I can see you in the air, sitting on the back of a large silver dragon. Your hair flying in the wind as you laugh.”
Her hand was hovering over the knob now. All she had to do was turn it and run away someone would help her, but he wasn’t chasing her.
She used to dream that. In school, they asked them what they wanted to do when they grew up, and then told them to write a paper about it. She wrote about how she wanted to ride the silver dragon when she was older. She could still remember her mom shut in the classroom with the teacher. When her dad found out, he hugged her close and told her to keep dreaming sometimes they came true.
“Why did you say that?” She turned around allowing her hand to drop. There was no way she was leaving yet. There were thousands of questions she needed answers to and no one except Zeno seemed to have them.
“My dragon is silver. You can come sit I promise not to hurt you.”
He could have hurt her anytime in the last two days. She was concerned about several things but him hurting her wasn’t one. She retook her seat on the couch and picked up her cold food.
“Let me order you another plate. I never liked my food cold either.”
She gave him a smile and nodded her head. Right now, she was okay with someone taking care of her. He placed a quick call then turned back to face her.
“Where did I leave off?”
“Mates.” She pushed him in the direction she needed the conversation to go.
“Have you ever wanted the one thing that you knew was out of your reach? You lived your life, but you knew when it ended there would still be that unfilled desire.”
She nodded lowering her eyes, not wanting to see an emotion that would call to her.
“After our fight with Mutufa, we thought our lives were over. I knew I would never be a dragon again. The beauty of soaring through the sky was lost along with my hoard. My people were gone, in a couple of
painful minutes, my whole world changed. I was a man, and I lived my life like a man until I realize I wasn’t aging. I think that was the worst part, the understanding that I was locked in a never-ending hell. I had to be on guard to move every ten to twenty years so the humans wouldn’t notice that I stayed the same. Over that time I met fewer and fewer dragons.
“Then one day everything changed, and I became a dragon again. Soon after that, I learned I was a shifter with the ability to go back and forth. With that revelation came pain. The skies that had once been filled with dragons were empty. I saw an occasional dragon here or there but nothing more. Even those were lost before we found our island. Everything I had ever known, my way of life was lost forever and with it my chances of love, happiness, and family.”
He answered the door when they brought her another plate. Quietly he sat it in front of her and watched as she took a bite.
What did you say when someone told you the misery that had been their life? She ate her food in silence and thought of how he listened when she told him about her life and how his presence helped to make her feel better. Placing the plate on the table, she stood prepared to do something she would never think of doing with another male. She walked over to him and climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
“What happened when you realized you were all alone?”
“My brothers and I got together with some of the other humans that weren’t being welcomed in the human world and founded Dragon’s Cove. Soon after that, we realized we inherited Oracles. They were the one’s that finally told us there would come a time our dragons wouldn’t want any other female than our mate. It took us a while, but we finally understood there were mates for us somewhere in the world. Oracles aren’t known for straightforward answers. I don’t think any of us thought we would ever meet this mate before we froze.”
“You think I’m your mate?” Her head was buried in his chest. The heat of his body combined with his scent was making her feel hot and bothered.
“I do.”
“Why?” Her voice was husky, and her hand came up to rub over his chest. She knew she should go back to the couch and put space between them.
Skye's Dragon: Dragon Mate's: A BBW Paranormal Romance Page 4