Dragons For Hire: A Dragon Shifter Romance

by Sadie Sears

  “Show me what you like, Leath.” Her voice was low, sultry, and I swallowed hard.

  “You know what I like.” And she did. She knew what I wanted every time, almost before I knew it.

  “You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.” She brushed her breasts against me, and there was nothing I was going to deny her. My breath hitched as she used her hand to stroke me and my hand along with it. When I was in rhythm, she pulled her hand away and fondled her breasts, pinching and pulling her nipples until I leaned forward to taste one of the hard nubs. She slid her free hand down over her belly and over her clit. I couldn’t have looked away if the house blew down in a storm.

  I watched every swirl and flick of her fingers, every brush and caress while I pumped my dick in and out of my hand. She leaned back against the wall so I could get a better view, and God, if it wasn’t the best view. My hand clenched tighter as I watched, glancing between her attentive fingers and the absolute lust on her face. The noises she made had me shivering with need, and I bit down on my lip.

  When I closed my eyes—if I didn’t stop watching, I was going to finish way too soon—she pulled me in close, then she used her legs for leverage over my hips and her arms around my neck.

  “Fuck me.”

  Oh, I was wrong before. These had to be the best words ever put together in any language. I grabbed her hips and slid my dick inside her tight wet pussy, thrusting hard, over and over and over until she cried out, and I couldn’t hold back any longer.

  This woman knew exactly what to do to make me want her and need her in ways I was never going to be able to control even if there wasn’t a dragon inside me urging me on. She was grace and beauty, elegance and sex appeal, the woman of my dreams.

  14

  Lila

  Who knew hiking was so exhilarating? I certainly didn’t. Or maybe it was the person I was with, the man walking in front of me with the broad back and his dark hair that might have needed a slight trim if I didn’t love the adorable curls fanning out just below the edge of his skull. The man whose scent permeated the air between us and caught on the slight breeze.

  I was probably never going to stop smiling or being happy with him. A laugh bubbled out of me, and he turned. “Are you laughing at my ass?” He twisted his torso as if he could swing his top half around for a look at the back of his bottom half. “I know. It’s big, right?”

  He stopped on the path, and I caught up, took a lower cheek in each hand and gave a firm squeeze. “I am a very big fan of this ass. I’m thinking of having a plaster mold made of it. Putting it on a calendar in my office. Having a star named after it.”

  He shot me a fake glare. “Don’t make fun. I have sensitive areas.” He held up his hands between us as if to stop me from touching it again. Which I very much wanted to do.

  “Aren’t you like 160 years old? And you still have body issues?” I didn’t mean to make light of it, but I hadn’t seen anything that warranted a sliver of shame. And I’d seen it all up close and personal and wouldn’t have minded a bit seeing it again. “I’ve seen every inch of you and, I can assure you with every confidence of a woman who’s seen you naked and hopes to do so again soon, that you are perfect. Every square inch of you is glorious.”

  “Glorious?” He tilted his head. Apparently, if his cock-eyed doubt said anything, it was that this wasn’t something anyone told him very often.

  “Glorious and divine. It’s like it was created by angels to be so perfect that mere mortals weep at the sight of you.” The words might have come from a teasing place, but they were no less true.

  “Oh, for the love…” He turned and started walking again. “You’re so full of it.”

  “Yeah. And I’d like to be full of it again. Soon.” I grinned because he liked when I flirted, and I liked when he flirted back. “Face it, you rock-hard studmuffin. When you were born, the doctor spanked you with the pretty stick.”

  He stopped again, abruptly this time, and I ran into his back. He spun but didn’t take me in his arms. Dammit. “Pretty stick? What happened to rock-hard studmuffin?” Then he stood back and flexed his arm muscles, brought them down in front of him in curls then out to the sides of his shoulders.

  “Oh, yeah, baby. That’s hot.”

  He continued his muscle man poses for a few seconds longer, then dragged me against him.

  I’d never asked to see him as a dragon because I wasn’t sure how I would be able to ever look at him as a man again, but I wanted to see every part of him in close detail. The man. The dragon. “Will you do something for me?”

  “Anything.”

  “Will you fly for me?” I was shy now, unsure if I was asking too much. I pulled my lip between my teeth and batted my lashes up at him while I figured out how to ask for the rest of what I wanted. “I’ve seen your smaller form flying outside my house, but I hoped I could see your full-size dragon.”

  He watched me for a full ten seconds before he swallowed twice and nodded. “You bet.”

  I stopped and waited because I thought he would change right there, but he kept walking for a few steps before he turned and held out his hand. “Come on.”

  We walked together along the path to a clearing, and he opened his backpack and pulled out a blanket and spread it on the ground then helped me sit. Before he moved away, he kissed me, soft and sweet, but quick. Too quick.

  “If I don’t take off my clothes before I change, they shred,” he explained. He yanked off his shirt, and I didn’t stare too much. And when he bent to unlace his hiking boots, I sure as hell shifted to look around him at his ass.

  “You know…” I didn’t even bother to try to hide my grin, but I was serious. “This would be a lot more entertaining for me if you did it sexy.”

  He chuckled and winked then shoved his pants down, and for the second time today, Leath stood before me in all his naked glory. Beautiful and strong. Virile and sexy. “Maybe next time.”

  And then he ran to the edge of the lookout, jumped and sank below where I couldn’t see. I jumped up, horrified that something had gone wrong, only to see him fly up a second later with a wingspan of a small airplane. My mouth dropped as I walked toward the edge. His scales, emerald and teal, goldish bronze and jade, sparkled in the sun as he dove and rolled, soared and twisted. Then he vibrated his wings in front of me like a hummingbird, so that it looked as if he was just hovering. He flew to the cliff where I stood watching him and lowered his snout so I could touch him, his wings beating a breeze around me.

  I felt fearless as I reached to run my hand over the scales at the top of his head. They were smooth and silky, just the barest hint of the ridges of the individual scales. He pressed his head further into my touch, and I grinned.

  “My God, Leath, you’re beautiful.”

  Then he flew toward the thicket of trees at the edge of the forest. The branches waved and sprung new sprouts that budded with fresh leaves.

  I’d never seen anything so elegant in flight. The sun shone brighter, and the color of every leaf intensified. It was like every bit of nature around us became the best version of itself, all vying for his attention. Trees reached for him, the flowers swayed in his direction, dead or dying plants were suddenly rejuvenated. All because of Leath.

  He flew around for several minutes, and I could’ve sat there all day just watching him dip and weave and roll. Leath in flight was absolutely beautiful to see. When he landed on the lookout, shifted, and then pulled his clothes on, I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was beautiful either way, man or dragon.

  Before he tugged his shirt on, I stood and ran my hand over his back where scales would have been and instead of jagged or scored skin, he was smooth, supple, and so damned gorgeous I wanted him again and again. It wasn’t a feeling that went away.

  He glanced down and smiled. “What are you thinking?”

  I couldn’t tell him what I was thinking. I wasn’t ready to say the words and he wasn’t ready to hear them.

  “I love you.”


  Apparently, my brain and my mouth had ceased communication, and my mouth blurted what my heart felt before my brain could censor the words.

  He closed his eyes, huffing a pained breath. “Say it again.” He hadn’t touched me yet since he landed, and I was dying a little more with every second he waited.

  “I love you.” I lifted my head and pointed my gaze at him.

  “Oh, I love you, too. So much.” He picked me up and swung me in a circle. My legs kicked up like I had no control over them. I closed my eyes and laughed as he spun me, my head dizzy with the motion and the words he’d just said. I tried to savor every sensation of this moment. The feel of his arms, the sound of his voice when he said the three words I’d wanted to hear all my life, the way he made me feel like I fit with him, the smell of the fresh air on him when he’d landed, and now as he held me against him.

  There was nowhere else I would ever want to be than with my dragon.

  It was Sunday night before I managed any alone time with Zoe. Every day she changed a little more, and I missed the little girl who used to crawl into my lap and beg me to read her The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Princess and the Pea. Not that I didn’t love the older version of her, but I missed some of what we used to have, too.

  She brought her plate and glass of tea to the picnic table in the backyard, and I sat across from her. Crickets chirped, and the backyard was twinkling with a few fireflies who were too excited to wait for nightfall. The sound of the leaves swishing in the slight breeze brought a peace down on us. It was a beautiful evening.

  “I’m glad you decided not to stay at Shae’s tonight.” I smiled at her. She was a carbon copy of Gretta when she was that age, and with the sunset behind her, I could almost see Zoe in ten years. A college student. Studying for whatever it was that she wanted to be.

  She smiled. “We haven’t spent much time together. I’ve been busy with the theater group, and I thought maybe I was ignoring you.”

  Warmth spread through my chest. I’d raised a kind, good-hearted girl who would grow to be a kind, good-hearted woman. No accomplishment in my life would ever make me prouder.

  “You’re allowed to have your own life, Zoe.”

  “I know, but I want you to be a part of it.” She smiled and forked in a bite of her broccoli, cauliflower, and weed cheese casserole. After she swallowed, she stared at me for a minute. “Is Leath your boyfriend?”

  I’d wanted to discuss this with her anyway. “I don’t know that I would call him my boyfriend.” But he was far more than just a friend. I sighed, picturing him in flight. “But I have some pretty strong feelings for him.”

  Pretty strong seemed like an understatement after my accidental confession in the woods. He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world, and I’d imagined on more than one occasion what my future would look like with him in it. I wanted him there. How had Gretta said it? It was like finally coming home from a long vacation.

  “Feelings like love?”

  I’d already said it to Leath, telling Zoe should’ve been easy. But I was worried, even though she liked him, and I had plenty of evidence she did—nightly board games, baking sessions, cooking lessons. The fact was that his presence would eat into my time with her, and instead of the twosome we’d always been, there would be a third wheel.

  “Yeah. Yeah, I love Leath.” Moment of truth. “How do you feel about that?”

  Zoe took another bite, chewed then shrugged. “I’m happy, I guess. I like Leath. And I want you to be happy.” Her long, dark ponytail swished over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t even mind if he moved in.”

  That was a little fast. Although, on the first day we’d met, Leath had claimed to be my fated fella. My destined dude. He would’ve probably loved the idea of moving in. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but I’m glad you would be okay with it if we get there.” For being so small, if was a big word.

  “Have you guys set the date for the grand opening?”

  “We’ve narrowed it to late August.” We still had so much left to do and even late August was probably optimistic, but Zoe’s smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just thought I would be able to be there and maybe help out a little bit before school starts, but we start school the last Monday in August.” Her mouth twisted into a frown and guilt settled in my stomach. “So, I won’t get to help out at all.” She shrugged. “Shae and I were going to serve cookies and drinks.”

  My heart swelled, and I laid my hand over hers, touched. She wanted to be there with me, for me, to help and to be a part of one of the most important days of my life. How did I win the amazing kid lottery?

  “Let me talk to Sophie and maybe we can move the date up.”

  Somehow, without my even noticing, my life had evolved. I had a new business on the horizon with a best friend I loved like a sister, a daughter who’d always been the light of my life but shone brighter and brighter with every passing day, and a man who loved me. Maybe I’d just forgotten to look around and be thankful, but it had been a long time since I’d felt so blessed.

  We finished eating then did the dishes together before I walked her upstairs to her room. At her door, she stopped and put her arms around me. “I’m glad you’re happy, Mom.”

  I didn’t remember any specific incident that I had a hand in that made her into such a great kid, but I loved that she’d turned out so well.

  She went inside her room and shut the door, and I turned toward my room. Whether it was the inertia of how quickly I turned, or something worse, I stumbled and tripped, but caught myself before I fell.

  Not again.

  15

  Leath

  Early morning was the best time to fly. Lake Champlain sparkled under me, the sun warmed the earth and the sky around me, and my dragon was never happier than here, circling the sky over Spruce, soaring with the wind under my wings. Even when I was in the military, with a purpose of saving those around me, I wasn’t as fulfilled. I’d thought the army was the place for me to utilize my skills because it allowed me to protect so many people. But then Mitias told us about Spruce, said it was a little town in Vermont with a magical presence that would welcome us with open arms.

  And now I had found Lila. Even when we were apart only for a few hours, or even minutes in a day, my heart longed to be with her, pined for her. I imagined us shifting, circling the skies together, fulfilling destiny’s plan for us. Oh, to see Lila as a dragon. She would be the fiercest earth dragon ever.

  My dragon roared at the thought. The reality was my dragon would never be content until I found a way to convince her to take the claiming bite. And to do that, I had to prove to her I was the man and the dragon she needed me to be, that it was all real. And it started with making her dreams come true.

  I shifted back to human form and dressed, then drove straight to Sacred Spaces. There were floors to be laid, walls to be tiled, and a mosaic Lila had designed to grout. And if sweating my day away inside the building to do these things for her showed her I was all in, I would happily sweat gallons.

  With a float in one hand and a bucket of grout in the other, I started working. About an hour in, I shucked my shirt and let the sweating begin. Then I started whistling a happy tune. Me. Whistling. Happily.

  At first, I thought the wolf whistle from behind me was meant as a punctuation to the song I’d already started, but I turned, and there she was. Lila, the woman of my dreams, the mate to my soul. My dragon purred.

  I stood and walked across the room to where she’d walked in the back door. “Hey.” I leaned in for a good morning kiss that tasted like cinnamon coffee and Lila. “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I’d come in and start painting in the massage room.” She bent to pick up a gallon of paint then held it out to me. “It’s called Serenity. Isn’t that just…”

  I waited a second for her to finish and when her brow crinkled like she couldn’t find the right word, I smiled. “Destiny?”
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  My reward—the smile she tried to hide by biting her lower lip—sent a shiver through me. Nothing I liked more than seeing Lila smile, and I would do whatever it took to make sure she kept smiling forever.

  “Before I get started, do you want to go get breakfast with me?” As if to emphasize her request, her stomach growled.

  “Sure.” There was no way I’d ever say no to feeding her, or to at least making damned certain she ate. I held up a hand to show her the grout hardening on my fingers. “Just let me get cleaned up a little.”

  She grinned and ran her fingertip from my collarbone to my belly button. “I think I like you a little dirty.”

  My dick stirred, and I may have growled a little, but that was nothing new. Being near her always affected my bodily systems—made my heart race, my breath shallower, my cock spring to life like it was on a toggle switch that only she controlled. Her grin widened like she knew exactly the effect she had on me.

  I went to the bathroom because I needed a minute to pull my head out of my pants or I was going to end up seducing her on the floor of Sacred Spaces. Out front, I heard the door open.

  “Hi, Frank. How are you?”

  At Lila’s soft welcome, I poked my head out the bathroom door for a look. Stalker Frank stood about five inches too close to Lila, hand on his cane, body slouched like he was in pain.

  He cleared his throat. “I remembered you said”—he cleared his throat again—“to come in and schedule some classes.”

  She’d said call and make an appointment. My senses tingled, but I pulled my shirt on and moved to stand against the wall outside the bathroom. I could see them, and if either of them looked up, they’d be able to see me, but he wasn’t taking his focus off of her. Not that I could blame him, but I didn’t like it, either. My dragon wanted me to tear Frank apart, and if he stepped another inch closer to her, I would.