How to Date a Dragon (24 page)

All the way to Drake’s place, she ruminated over the little things she hadn’t been able to focus on for the past day and a half. Her prize money was going to be eaten up by a new apartment, new furniture, and a new wardrobe. Sheesh. On the other hand, what would she have done without it?

She thought about the stores that catered to her eclectic taste. When her sister had made her weekly phone call from India, of course her mother talked about the “engagement.” Her sister wanted to know if Bliss would like some beautiful bed linens she could buy over there. Next time Bliss spoke to her sister, maybe she’d know what size her bed was and if she was engaged or not.

Bliss finally arrived at Drake’s front door and rang the bell. She didn’t even have a key yet. Their relationship had moved so far, so fast, some basic milestones had fallen by the wayside.

She was just about to ring the bell a second time when Drake opened the door and pulled her into a tight hug. “I just got home. If I’d had more time, I’d have met you with roses.”

***

Drake inhaled her fragrance and detected the faint scent of lilacs. It was wonderful to hold her in his arms again. She had been either off limits or surrounded by hoopla lately, and this was the moment he’d been looking forward to for days.

“No roses needed. I just want to curl up with you and talk.”

“Just talk? Damn.”

She chuckled. “Of course I want to shag you silly, but there are a few details I need to clarify for my own peace of mind first—
then
I’ll shag you silly.”

He stepped back and made a sweeping gesture. “Please, come in.”

Drake had a few things he needed to clarify for peace of mind too. During his visit with Gaia, he’d told the goddess he was in love with a human. She seemed strangely okay with that and wanted to meet her. How and when the meeting would happen was anyone’s guess.

His major dilemma now was how he could prepare Bliss for it. If he didn’t, she might get upset and cope by saying something snarky… something she’d regret. On the other hand, maybe Gaia would get a kick out of their shared attitude.
Probably
not.

“Can I get you a glass of wine?”

“Oh, yes please. That would be perfect.” She fumbled with a small piece of paper, stuffing it in her purse, and mumbled, “Jeez, I have receipts up the wazoo.”

Drake pulled the chilled bottle from the refrigerator. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you check your wazoo. Have you eaten?”

She grinned and took a seat in one of the Lucite chairs at his tiny kitchen table. “I had a snack. I’m all set for a couple hours.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to starve while I’m making sweet passionate love to you.”

Bliss grinned.

He handed her the glass of Chardonnay and took the other chair. “It seems we both have some things to say, but you can go first.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”
I
still
have
to
think
about
the
right
way
to
say, “You might be meeting a real, live goddess at
any moment.”

“Okay, let’s start with an easy one. How do you know Zina is no longer a problem, and is that going to last?”

Drake almost groaned.
That’s not an easy one
. “Why don’t we come back to that? The explanation is a bit—confusing.”

“Oh.” Bliss took a sip of her wine and seemed to be thinking something over.

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything.”

She smiled and seemed satisfied with that. “Okay. In that case, I think we’d better talk about our so-called engagement.”

“So-called?” He didn’t like the sound of that. Was she having second thoughts?

“I mean… you didn’t actually propose. You just said you wanted me in your life. My mother was the one who took that as a proposal and just assumed I’d say yes.”

“Now I’m confused. Did you want to slow down or something?”

She took another sip of wine.
Maybe
she
needs
courage?

“Please, Bliss. Just say whatever you have to say. We can figure this out if we talk and stop assuming things.”

She set her glass down. “Okay. Did you or did you not mean to propose marriage?”

“I didn’t mean to at that moment… surrounded by mostly strangers in the middle of a noisy hallway. I’m not taking it back, though.”

She smiled and looked down at her hand.
Ah, she must be wondering about the ring.
“I didn’t buy a ring yet, so if you want to help me pick it out…”

“Oh, yes please. I have kind of picky taste in jewelry—especially something I’m going to wear for the rest of my life.”

Whew.
Drake grinned, but he still had to ask… “So, is that a ‘yes’?”

“It’s kind of fast, but…
hell
, yes.”

He chuckled and rose enough to lean across the table and kiss her. “There’s more where that came from, but I don’t think we’re done talking yet.”

“Not by a long shot.”

“Okay. What else did you want to know?”

“Would you be heartbroken if we didn’t go to Hawaii?”

“No. But that’s part of the prize you won, isn’t it?”

“I’m not afraid of flying, but I’m not in love with it, either. I’m sure they’ll understand if I say, ‘No, thanks. Fourteen hours in the sky is just too much.’”

“The judges will be disappointed.”

“That was just for TV. They’ve all got busy schedules and weren’t planning to attend a wedding anywhere, much less in Hawaii. Besides, if any of them really want to go, they can arrange their own vacation.”

“Boy. You’re a hard ass, aren’t you?”

She chuckled. “You’d better believe it. Still want me?”

He reached for her hand. “Very much.”

She glanced over at his bed, which he’d just made before she arrived. “So, can that explanation about Zina wait for a bit?”

“Why? What did you have in mind?”
Please
be
too
turned
on
to
wait…

“I’m too horny to wait.”

Close
enough.
Drake got out of the chair so fast that he almost tipped it over. Still holding her hand, he strode to the bed and kissed her as they fell onto it.

Lying beside her again felt so right. Finally together with no threat of Zina, no cameras, and no fires to put out, it was time they stoked the fire between them.

“I love you, Bliss.”

She sighed. “I love you too.”

She stroked his jaw and then began placing little nibbling kisses along the path where her fingers had trailed.

“Bliss… I have to touch you. More of you.
All
of you.”

She giggled and began unbuttoning her blouse.

“I’ll do that,” he said.

She smiled and let him undress her. As soon as he’d revealed her beautiful breasts, he dove for one and sucked while he unzipped her jeans. She arched into his mouth and moaned.

“Not fair. I want you naked too.”

“I’ll get there. Don’t worry.”

“Get there now,” she demanded and pulled his T-shirt out of his pants.

He chuckled, jerked his shirt off in one quick move, and tossed it on the floor. His pants soon followed. Bliss didn’t wait for his help and discarded the rest of her clothes too. At last they were skin to skin, in bed and in love.

Bliss gazed at him. His chest rippled with muscles. A light thatch of chest hair arrowed down his tight abdomen. And his cock.
My
God
, the man was impressive. She vividly remembered how it felt when he thrust into her, so hard and so deep.

He kissed her tenderly, then leaned over to do the same to each of her breasts. A soft moan escaped from her lips as her nipples tightened.

***

“Wait. I want to do something for you first.”

When he looked up at her, his eyes glowed gold. “And what would that be?”

“Lie back, and I’ll show you.”

Drake grinned and did as she asked.

I
love
a
man
who
doesn’t balk when I want to do something nice for him.

His gaze seemed to glow even more. It was a bit distracting, but where Bliss was going, she wouldn’t see his eyes anyway.

She scooted down and took his thick cock in her hand. He let out a moan and she thought she saw a tiny curl of smoke out of the corner of her eye.

“Are you about to spontaneously combust?”

“Honey, it’s been a few days, and, hey… I need you, bad.”

She stared at his pecs. His strong, muscled chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Is this a good idea? I mean, can you handle the… attention I was planning to give you?”

“If I can’t, I’ll let you know.” He propped his head up on his arm so he could watch. His lips rose on one side in a smug smile.

Her fingers didn’t meet as she gripped his cock, but she stroked up and down as best she could. Meanwhile, she kissed the reddened tip and tongued the slit. His groan of pleasure meant the world to her.

Then she moved so she could lick the length of him, finally taking the head into her mouth. He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth.

She let her tongue swirl around his cock. He tasted salty. She drew him into her mouth deeper, loving the way he arched slightly and groaned. She took him as deep as she could, then applied suction and withdrew.

“Playtime’s over,” he said, grabbing her and pulling her up his body. His mouth crashed down on hers, and his tongue plunged into her mouth.

The room spun and she found herself on her back, her legs spread with Drake over her. His legs were between hers and his cock was poised at her opening.

“I’m sorry about the lack of foreplay. I promise I’ll take care of you better next time.” She noticed his heavy breathing as he spoke.

“Hey, it was entirely my fault.”

He grinned. “Yes, it was.” He dipped two fingers into her channel and said, “You seem ready for me…”

“Oh, I am. Go for it, dragon boy.”

“Not just yet. There’s a little something I can do for you first.” His slick fingers found her clit and rubbed slow circles around it. She arched and moaned.

“That’s my good girl.” He sped up the motion and zeroed in on her most sensitive spot. “I’m going to make you come for me,” he almost growled.

Like she could resist…

He leaned down and sucked her breast as he continued his love massage. She couldn’t hold back the noises emanating from her throat if she wanted to. He lifted his head and latched on to her other nipple. As he sucked, she began to erupt.

Oh, God… Oh, God… Oh, God…
Ripples of sheer joy burst through her. She bucked and screamed out her release.

Her eyes teared up. When her thighs stopped quivering, she was spent, but she
so
wanted to give him the same pleasure. She reached for him. “Come to me. Come
in
me. I love you.”

“I love you too.” He positioned himself so that his cock was pushing at her sex, and then he thrust, filling her.

“Oh, God. That feels so good,” she murmured.

He answered with a groan, then found his rhythm and rode her hard.

“You’re so tight. So hot…” His breaths came in short gasps as he angled his pelvis and slammed into her.

It felt incredible. She could only lie there, riding the waves of pleasure and moaning in joy as he thrust in and out.

She couldn’t believe it. A second climax was building.
Dear
Lord
.

The familiar rippling built to a peak and she cried out. He did too. She spasmed as her body shot into heaven again. His body jerked with wild abandon, both of them crashing over the same wave at the same time.

He rode her to the last aftershock and then collapsed on top of her. Taking his heat and weight was no hardship. She felt protected, covered with his love. Their chests heaved for another few seconds, and when he rolled off her, he gathered her in his arms.

“That was incredible,” he said, panting. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Hell, no. Every bit of it felt fantastic. I’ve never… well, let’s just leave it at fantastic.”

He chuckled. “Okay, then. If that will hold you for a while, I’ll make something for dinner. I’m starving.”

She was too but hadn’t noticed until he said something. “Can I help?”

He rolled out of bed and pulled on his pants. “No. You stay right there and rest.”

That sounded perfect to her. She didn’t want to move. She could lie there and bask in the afterglow all night… or until dinner was ready.

“I’ll tell you the rest after we eat.”

The
rest?
“The rest of what?”

“Zina. I thought you wanted to know.”

“Oh, I do.” Bliss couldn’t believe she’d almost forgotten about her nemesis.
Good
sex
will
do
that
to
a
person, I guess.

Drake chuckled. “Practice those words.”

“What words?”

“I do.”

Drake and Bliss sat at his tiny table and bumped knees. Fortunately, when bumping knees with the love of his life, Drake didn’t mind at all.

“So, tell me. What happened to Zina?” Bliss took a bite of her chili dog—Drake’s specialty—and chewed politely.

“Well, it’s a long story.”

She nodded, swallowed, and said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Unless
you
react
badly
to
the
truth, and then you might run out of here screaming.

“Well, it’s like this… I need to tell you more about my supernatural world before what happened to Zina makes any sense to you.”

Bliss groaned. “Oh, no. There’s more? Is this it? Because I’m really getting sick of learning all this crap nobody knows and being sworn to secrecy.”

“This is it. In fact, this is such a big secret, most paranormals don’t even know about it.”

“Fabulous,” Bliss muttered.

“It’s not too late if you really don’t want to know. I don’t have to—”

“Oh, yes you do. Otherwise I’ll wonder and project and drive myself crazy. Please, tell me everything. Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than finding out you’re a dragon.”

Hold
that
thought.

Drake bought some time by taking a bite of his own hot dog. Someone else did most of the cooking at the firehouse, and his kitchen was so tiny he’d never learned much more than how to open a can of chili and microwave a ready meal.

Bliss crossed her arms and waited for him to swallow. Apparently she wasn’t going to eat until he told her the story.
Just
as
well… when she learns about Mother Nature and all the rest of the pantheon, she might choke on her hot dog.

“Okay, here goes… Do you remember the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses from your mythology books?”

Bliss turned her head without breaking eye contact. “Yeah…” she said slowly, as if preparing to be skeptical.

“Well, they’re real. Case in point—Vulcan.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But Vulcan is a Roman god.”

“You’re right. His name in Greek is Hephaestus, but he prefers Vulcan. It reminds him of his blacksmith shop inside a volcano. I don’t think he gets to spend a lot of time there anymore, and he misses it.”
Shut
up, Drake. You’re babbling.

Bliss leaned forward. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying the reason Vulcan was able to walk through a wall and transport me out of Zina’s clutches was because he’s a god?”

“Correct.”
Whew, this is going better than I thought.

And then Bliss burst out laughing. When her laughter disintegrated into giggles, she swiped at her eyes and said, “I suppose that’s one explanation for a majorly cool magic trick.”

Damn.
If she didn’t believe Vulcan was a god, how would he explain Gaia and all the rest?

She held up her index finger as if she’d just remembered something. “Okay, so let’s say he’s a god. When he took me somewhere with a blinding white light, was that supposed to be Heaven?”

“Ah, I don’t think so. I wasn’t with you so I can’t say for sure, but he may have tried to blind you so you couldn’t see the rest of the Council.”

“Council? What Council?”

“It’s called the Gods and Immortals Association.”

“Wait a minute… we weren’t alone. I
did
hear a woman chewing him out for taking me there.”

Here
we
go…
“That would be Gaia, also known as Mother Nature. She’s the head of the Council.”

Bliss’s jaw dropped and the conversation took a long, awkward pause.

“She’s the one who took Zina out.”

Bliss gasped. “She killed her?”

“Well, no. I said that wrong. Actually, she took away her fire, her flight, and her fertility, then dumped her in Siberia.

At last, Bliss closed her mouth and gulped.

“She wants to meet you.”

“Me? Are you saying Mother Nature is real and she wants to meet me?” Bliss’s eyes opened so wide, he could see the white all around her pretty brown irises.

Drake took a deep breath. “Yes. She’s very powerful, so I don’t blame you for being afraid.”

“I’m not…” Bliss took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Hell. I’m lying. I’m terrified. I can’t forget that blinding light and her anger at Vulcan for bringing me…
wherever
it was.”

“The Council is headquartered in a downtown office building.”

“In Boston?”

“Yes. They can go anywhere they want to with a snap of their fingers, but they seem to like it here. At least Gaia does.”

Bliss started with the giggles this time and worked herself into laughter. “Of all places… Boston? Why not Tahiti or Rio?”

“She likes the change of seasons.”

“Well, she’s freakin’ got it here.”

Drake chuckled, not only because Bliss entertained him, but also because he was relieved. His lover seemed to believe him. He smiled as he realized that was major evidence of her trust.

“So, why does she want to meet me?”

“She has a job offer for you.”

Bliss’s eyebrows shot up. “A job offer? What kind of job can I do for Mother Nature? Weed the public gardens? I’m pretty sure there are city workers already doing that.”

Now Bliss was babbling. He had to quickly explain the situation before she panicked.

“Bliss, honey, listen carefully. When I helped capture Zina, Mother Nature rewarded me by giving me back my immortality. I respectfully declined unless she could do the same for you. I couldn’t imagine going through eternity without the woman I love. As it turns out, she needs more muses. The original nine aren’t able to keep up with all the technological advances.” He waited for her to digest that much information before he continued… only Bliss filled in the blanks herself.

“And she wants me to be a muse?”

“Yes.”

“But what about my greeting card career?”

“You can still do that. In fact, she wants you to use your expertise in that area.”

“Huh?”

He reached across the table and took her hand. “You’re talented. You’re modern. You understand contemporary communication. She wants you to be the muse of social media.”

“You’re kidding. Like Twitter? What would I be? The head twit?”

“No, sweetheart. You’d be what you are—a goddess.”

“Awww…” Her eyes softened and she gave his hand a squeeze. “But no. I really don’t want a job outside of my card business. It’s about to take off, and it’ll be all I can do to keep up with that.”

Drake reared back. “You don’t want to be a goddess? Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, you know how I feel about the Internet. If I didn’t trust it for my cards, how can I trust social media? I’ll bet the pay and benefits suck too.”

He laughed but couldn’t help being a little disappointed.

***

“Way to go, Dragon Breath.”

Bliss whirled around to see a woman standing behind her. She wore a flowing white gown and had long, white hair, crowned by a ring of blue cornflowers that matched her eyes.

It
can’t be…

The woman jammed her hands on her hips. “I wanted to be the one to tell her, blabbermouth. Now you’ve gone and ruined the surprise.”

Drake cringed. “Sorry, Gaia, I thought I ought to prepare her for your arrival.”

“Why? Because she might faint at the sight of me?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Well, you never know… She’s been incredibly understanding up to now, but everyone has their limits.”

“Hey, people.” Bliss waved. “I’m right here.”

Mother Nature grinned. “She’s feisty. I like that. Vulcan vouched for her, so I was pretty sure she could handle my glorious presence.”

Drake smiled at Bliss and let go of her hand as he rose. “Gaia, I’d like to formally introduce you to Bliss Russo.”

Bliss rose and offered Mother Nature her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Gaia.”

“Odd little custom,” Gaia muttered, but she shook hands with Bliss.

“Please… have a seat,” Drake said and offered her his chair.

Mother Nature glanced around the room and finally pointed to a spot by the table where an extra chair appeared. “Sure. But first, I’d like a glass of water. Do you have any on tap?”

Drake moved quickly to the refrigerator. “I can do better than that. I have bottled water.”

“Ack!” Gaia turned her head and shielded her eyes as if just seeing the item might offend her delicate sensibilities. “Don’t tell me you buy water in those damn plastic bottles. It’ll take centuries for them to decompose.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t… never mind. I can get you a glass of tap water.”

Still frowning, Gaia sat in the chair, then popped back up. She pointed to the seat and a cushion appeared. When she sat again, she wiggled a bit as if getting comfortable. “There. That’s better. I don’t mind a few modern conveniences as long as they don’t muck up my world.”

She tapped the chair next to her, inviting Bliss to sit down.

“Can you make one of those cushions for me too?” Bliss asked.

Gaia leaned back and studied her for a moment. “If you took the muse position, you could make it yourself.” She sighed. “Let me give you a taste of what it would be like to be a goddess—even a minor one. Just point to the seat and think ‘cushion.’”

Bliss could hardly believe this was happening. Did she have the power to make things appear and disappear at will now? She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and thought, “Cushion.”

Something soft landed on her head. Opening her eyes, she noticed a matching cushion to the one Mother Nature had conjured tumbling onto the floor.

Gaia reared back and laughed.

Bliss glanced at Drake, who appeared to be trying hard not to smile. He set the glass of water in front of Gaia.

“See? I’m not cut out for this,” Bliss said.

“I’ve heard you’re a quick study,” Gaia said. “I won’t have the time or patience to train you.”

Bliss’s eyes rounded. “Then how would I know what to do? I might transport myself into the middle of a tree or accidentally blow up the Internet.”

Gaia smirked. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t let you loose on the world without supervision.” She snapped her fingers and another young woman appeared. She looked exotic and was wearing colorful silks in the style of a belly-dancing costume. “Where were you, Thalia?”

“Just having a bit of fun,” the young woman said and chuckled. “Some kid found a beer can on the beach and rubbed it, wishing for a genie.”

Mother Nature rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes… you’d get along just fine. Bliss, this is Thalia, the muse of comedy.
If
you take the offer, she’d show you how to be a muse. And, Thalia…” Gaia pointed to Bliss. “This one doesn’t need you putting crazy ideas in her head. She has enough of those already. I’d just need you to teach her to be a well-behaved minor goddess.”

“Of course.” Thalia bowed to Mother Nature and rested a hand on Bliss’s shoulder. “You can count on me. What will she be the muse of?”

Mother Nature pointed to the middle of the room where a desk and computer appeared. “Keeping electronic communication healthy. Not poetry readings like the rest of you ninnies. She’ll be in charge of the Internet.”

“Whoa.” Bliss held up one hand. “Don’t I get a vote? Because if I still have a shred of free will, I don’t want the job.”

Thalia muttered, “Damn! Me and my sisters would love to be rid of
that
responsibility.”

Bliss shrugged. “Sorry.”

Mother Nature folded her arms. “Are you sure?”

Thalia draped an arm around her shoulder. “We could have so much fun! Think of the video bloopers. You should at least try it.” Thalia pointed directly at her. “Don’t touch the politically incorrect jokes, though. The jokes are mine.”

Bliss was tempted to back away. “Watch where you point that thing.”

Thalia leaned back and laughed.

“Look, you make it sound like fun,” Bliss said. “But I’ll bet there’s a whole lot of unfun stuff you’re not telling me about.”

Gaia straightened to her full height. Actually higher than her full height. She appeared to be hovering a few inches off the ground. Thunderclouds appeared in her eyes.

Oh, shit. Now I’m in for it.

Just as unexpectedly, Gaia floated to the floor and her whole demeanor changed. “How about a bribe? If you live in this little hovel, you can’t be making that much. Here’s a money tree.” Gaia pointed to the spot where she’d put the desk, and it disappeared. A second later a tree with rectangular leaves replaced it.

Are
you
kidding
me?
Bliss strolled over to the tree and plucked a crisp hundred-dollar bill from a low branch. With her mouth hanging open, she swiveled toward Gaia. “You can do that?”

“Of course I can. I’m Mother-freakin’-Nature. If I want a tree to grow puppies, I can make one.”

Bliss was too blown away to speak. Drake ambled over to her and put his arm around her waist. “I have some money saved up to buy us a bigger place. We don’t need to rely on Mother Nature to provide for us.”

Her gaze swept over the tree. It was firmly rooted in the floor. The ceiling was high enough to accommodate several branches, and there must have been thousands of dollars on it.

“I reward my muses. The last one wanted her own gallery on Newbury Street. That wasn’t cheap, either. Believe me.”

Thalia chuckled. “Actually, I think the tree is kind of brilliant. Unless there’s something else you want…”

Bliss stared at Drake and thought hard. At last she said, “I can’t think of anything I want that I don’t already have.”

Drake pulled her into a long, warm hug.

“Aw… that’s so sweet. I’d better go before you attract flies.”

“Wait,” Drake said. “Before you go. If Bliss doesn’t want to be a muse, I don’t want to be immortal.”

Gaia’s jaw dropped.

“I can’t imagine facing eternity without her.”

The powerful goddess threw her hands in the air. “You two are impossible to please.”

“Sorry,” Bliss said. “But thank you for the generous offer.”