How to Date a Dragon (17 page)

“It’s more than that. They don’t want humans knowing about our existence at all. I can understand their concern since I employ humans. I’ve tried to find paranormals to work here, but most aren’t interested in such mundane duties and lousy pay.”

Drake laughed. “Can you blame them?”

“No. If I didn’t firmly believe in my theory that hostilities between the factions would cease if everyone just got to know one another’s daily struggles and challenges, I wouldn’t be doing this, either.”

“It’s a positive message and I, for one, hope it’s working.”

Anthony nodded. “For the most part. I’ve had to mesmerize a couple of employees who’d seen too much, but it was absolutely essential. They had to forget about our… uniqueness.”

“I understand. But Bliss knows about me, and now that Vulcan has intervened, she may know a lot more.”

“She’s a smart woman, and I trust her not to blab. You must too if you’re sitting here and talking to me casually. I thought you might ask me to mesmerize her.”

“As you said, she’s smart. I think she knows no one would believe her, and I trust her not to jeopardize my safety. Just now, she made up a crazy story about being knocked out and having a near-death experience.”

Anthony’s brows shot up. “That’s a little much, isn’t it? Why not temporary amnesia?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her about it later. Right now I want to wait until her shift is over and see if I can talk her into going to my place for the night.”

“You don’t believe she’s safe here anymore?”

“It isn’t that. She’s probably safe anywhere. Vulcan said he was going after Zina and Bliss was back at the bar. You have no idea what a relief that was. The Council must have Zina in their custody by now.

“I can’t imagine that Bliss would have been able to escape without their help. That’s probably why she made up that bullshit story about seeing God. I can hardly wait to hear what really happened.”

“Ah, I think I understand now.”

“If I’m right, we should have nothing to fear from Zina from now on. Thanks for your help while she was being a menace.”

Anthony chuckled. “I may ask you to return the favor someday. Wait until you see Ruxandra on a rampage.”

***

Mother Nature screamed a string of obscenities. “Are you kidding me? You had that dragon bitch in your grasp and you lost her?”

Vulcan’s gaze dropped to where his white robe met his bare feet. “I’m sorry, Gaia. She was about to open the bathroom door and I panicked. I grabbed the mortal and returned her to safety instead of grabbing the immortal and going back for the other one later. You’re absolutely right. I should have done it the other way around. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking it would be easier to deal with a helpless mortal than battle a nasty fire-breathing dragon.”

It chafed, but she was probably right. That’s why Vulcan didn’t visit earth very often. He was much more comfortable in his solitary workshop or among his own kind. Mortals were so frail and easily broken, they made him nervous.

“Not only that, but you actually brought the mortal here.” Mother Nature tossed her hands in the air. It was never a good sign when she began talking with her hands. “
Here!
No mortal has ever—or
should
ever—be aware of our location. They need to think we’re everywhere. Otherwise there will be chaos wherever we’re not.”

“Yes, Goddess.”

“Fortunately I was able to blind her with über-bright direct sunlight. If I hadn’t, she could have seen everything. How would you have explained it to her then?”

“I don’t know. I am very, very sorry.”

“Well, get your sorry ass back down there and find that friggin’ dragon. You know how I hate dragons! I’ve almost wiped them out completely, but if this one manages to get pregnant… Gaaaah!” Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Vulcan had never seen Mother Nature this angry. Well, no, that wasn’t quite true. She’d caused some impressive earthquakes and tsunamis when she was
really
on a tear. Vulcan wondered what kind of destruction was taking place on earth during this tirade, but he wasn’t nearly as concerned about that as he was with his own hide at the moment.

“I’ll find her, Goddess.”

“Damn right you will, because you won’t be allowed back here until you do.”

Why
did
I
ever
volunteer
to
help
in
the
first
place?

“I thought you didn’t want me to leave my building. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to be out and about again. I was beginning to feel like I was on house arrest.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re safe now, or I wouldn’t have suggested coming here.”

Drake unlocked his front door and led her down the hall of the old brick house. Near the end of the corridor, he unlocked another door and let her go inside first.

“I know it’s small. Someday when I have more money saved, I’ll look for a bigger place. Basically, it was affordable and convenient to walk to work.”

“Your place is… cute.” Bliss took in the entire apartment from her vantage point. The room couldn’t have been more than twenty by twenty-five feet, but he had managed to make every square inch useful. There was one door in the middle, which had to be the bathroom. On the left side stood a very efficient kitchen.

A set of bookshelves ran the length of the opposite wall, but built into the middle was a dresser and, on top of that, a TV. The wall unit looked as if it had been custom made. Perhaps it was. She remembered his telling her about making his own Murphy bed and desk combination. She spotted them on the other side of the bathroom door and walked over. “Am I in your bedroom now?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said in a sexy, low voice. “And you look mighty good there.”

She chuckled. “Where do you sit and talk? You
do
still want to talk, right?”

“We should. Let me fold down the bed. It’s my sofa too.”

She backed up out of the way, and he made short work of flipping up his desk, fastening it in place, and dropping down a queen-size bed.

“You made that look easy.”

“I’m used to it.” Then he gestured to his bed, inviting her to sit on it.

She couldn’t help but wonder if other women had been to his place. It really wasn’t an entertainer’s paradise. She had a hard time reconciling her social guy with a place like this. Bliss took a seat on the end of the bed and tried to cross her legs at the ankle and tuck them beneath her. She was a little too close to the ground for a ladylike position.

Drake sat down next to her and pulled her close for a long, warm kiss. Afterward, he rested his forehead against hers and spoke so softly, she almost didn’t hear him.

“I’ve never been so worried about anyone in my life.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through that.”

He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s not exactly your fault. It wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t involved with me in the first place.”

“Yeah, well, I’m glad I am. I just don’t understand why Zina wants you so badly.”

He looked surprised and she realized how that must have sounded. Her face heated and a nervous giggle escaped. “I mean… you’re a great guy and everything, but the only thing she said to me was that I was ‘in the way.’ She seemed to have some kind of plan for you.”

Drake hung his head. “She wanted to mate with me. Dragons are only fertile once every five years and the cycle only lasts for a month.”

“Oh.” Bliss didn’t know quite what to say to that. She hadn’t known him a month yet? It seemed at times like they’d known each other for years. And what if they were still together in five years? Did that mean she’d have to worry about Zina coming back?

“Look. You were never ‘in the way’ because I was never going to be with her. If I had just been honest from the beginning and told her I wasn’t interested…”

“I don’t think it would have mattered. She seemed to think you were her property. If she really is a princess as she claimed, maybe she’s used to just telling people what to do and being obeyed.”

“She certainly acted like a spoiled princess,” Drake agreed.

“So, now what happens? Is the month over? Will she just give up and go away when it’s too late?”

Drake shook his head. “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about her anymore.” He ran the back of his fingers over Bliss’s face, tenderly. “I know you were probably told not to tell anyone how you got away, and I won’t say anything, but I figure we should talk about it… just between us.”

“Oh, um, that.” She looked at her lap, not even sure if
she
knew what happened. “I—I don’t mind telling you, but please don’t laugh.”

“Laugh? Believe me, I won’t laugh.” His voice sounded sure and sincere.

She gazed up into his eyes and took a deep breath. “God helped me. I know it sounds nuts, but I was sitting on the toilet in a disgusting tiny bathroom in a warehouse. No way out. Zina standing guard. I thought I was done for. Suddenly this… guy appeared. He turned around just long enough for me to pull up my panties and then zing… we were somewhere else. It was so bright, I think it was heaven… but maybe not. I heard a woman’s voice, and she sounded angry. Then, zing… we were standing outside in the alley behind the bar.”

“Zing?”

Bliss waved away the word in frustration. “I don’t know what to call it. There wasn’t a noise involved. I was just somewhere and then I wasn’t there anymore. Then I was suddenly somewhere else.”

“And you think God took you to heaven and brought you back?”

“Either that, or he was some kind of angel and the angry woman was God… or a goddess… Oh, I don’t know.” She rose and paced toward the windows. “I knew you’d think I’m crazy.”

He followed her and grabbed her by the arms almost as the mystery man had. “You’re not crazy.” He turned her in his arms and kissed her. “You’re perfectly sane. I don’t know
why
you’re not losing it after what you’ve been through, but I’m glad you’re not.”

She blinked. “You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“Put it this way, crazy things happen. Maybe denying that is crazy.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank goodness you understand.”

***

Back in her hotel room, Zina paced and muttered to herself, “So that human thinks I’m spoiled? Nothing could be further from the truth. I had a very critical father. Nothing I ever did was good enough for the king of the Amazon. There was no pleasing him. He said he was toughening me up for the world. You know what? Now I just want to punch the world in the face.”

She punched her own palm, then shook it to release the sting.

“Come on, Zina, think. You have three more days to get this Drake guy to sleep with you.” She snorted and a curl of smoke left her nostrils. “Yeah, willingly or not. At first, I thought I only had to show him my charming side, but nooo… that wasn’t good enough.

“Now I not only have to come up with a plan to get him alone, I also have to think of some way to threaten him into cooperating. I thought for sure, holding his woman hostage would get him to do anything. Now I find out she has some kind of magical power that lets her escape through walls. Damn it! I can’t catch a break.”

As she paced, she became angrier and angrier. “Why the hell would he allow the whole dragon species to die out? Am I that repugnant? He knows how few and far between we are. He said so himself. And I know that Bliss bitch isn’t a dragon. I mean, we’re good, but even a dragon can’t escape though a solid wall without leaving a big, gaping hole. What the fuck?”

She halted in her tracks as a kernel of an idea came to her. “Maybe I can just threaten to burn the city to the ground. He knows I can do it, and I don’t think he’d let that happen.” The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea.

***

Drake tucked a loose strand of Bliss’s hair behind her ear. “A couple days ago you said you thought you loved me but reserved the right to take it back. Now that we’re safe from Zina and all her crazy distractions, do you have a definite opinion on that?”

Bliss smiled and lay back on his bed. “I do. Come here and let me show you.”

Nice.
It was all he could do not to tear her clothes off and make love to her. Now it looked as if they’d get there after all
.
But he didn’t want to assume and be wrong, so he lay next to her and waited to see what she’d do next.

She reached for the buttons on his shirt and undid them slowly. The heat in her eyes spoke of good things to come, and she didn’t look away. Perhaps she was waiting to see if his eyes turned gold. Regardless, making love face to face was something he’d wanted to do from the start, and now that she knew his secret, he could.

As soon as she’d removed his belt, he reached out and unbuttoned her blouse with the same care she’d shown his uniform. It took a lot of restraint, but he managed to get her clothes off without tearing anything.

She rolled him onto his back and kissed him. Their tongues found each other instinctively.

Drake hadn’t expected this slow seduction to appeal to him, but it did on many levels. The heat inside him built more slowly, and he finally felt like he had total control over his shift. That didn’t mean he was reacting any less. His balls were tight and his blood was pounding. When she took his cock in her hand, he had to force himself to breathe.

“I see we have a situation here,” Bliss said.

“A situation?”

“A situation that might need my attention.”

“Oh, yeah. I think you’re right.”

Bliss slid down the bed until she was at eye level with his cock, stroking it the entire time.

He thought he might explode right there. “I should point out that this ‘situation’ is entirely your fault. If you weren’t so damn sexy—” He gasped when she took him into her mouth.

Her hair dark fell forward, obscuring his view, so he swept it back over her shoulder. Watching and feeling was almost too much stimulation for a man or dragon to bear. He had to close his eyes for a moment. He was rigid, hot and ready. Too ready.

“Bliss, honey. I can’t take much more.”

She eased her mouth off his throbbing cock and kissed the swollen tip. Then she tongued his hole and he almost short-circuited. He grasped under her arms and hauled her up, then flipped her so she lay looking up at him.

“That mouth of yours is sheer magic. Let’s see if I can do the same for you.”

He bent over her breast and circled the hard nipple with his tongue. When he covered the entire areola with his mouth and sucked, she arched and moaned. His hand found her other breast and cupped its fullness, then he stroked her nipple with his thumb.

After thoroughly suckling one breast, he switched to the other. She breathed out his name as he moved. If possible, she moaned even louder when he latched on to her nipple and gave equal attention to that side while adding a rub to her clit.

“Oh, God,” she rasped. “I need you—inside me.
Now.
”

He let her breast pop out of his mouth and grinned. “I believe in giving a lady what she wants.”

“In that case, I want to be on top.”

Drake had no objections to her taking control. If their situations were reversed, he’d want to watch her face as they made love too. She might want to watch his eyes for a change in color, or perhaps she just wanted to gaze into them, but either way he was ready to let her.

She positioned herself over his hard erection. She sank her slick channel over his length, and there was no question about her readiness to accept him. Incredible sensations took his breath away for a moment. Then he grasped her waist and let her ride him how ever she wanted. They made eye contact and didn’t let go. A wicked little smile teased the corners of her mouth, but her eyes burned with passion.

As the pressure built, she changed her tactic and moved in a circle, grinding down on his pelvis. A sudden spike in pleasure brought on the inevitable tingles at the base of his spine, signaling a sweet release was imminent.

“I can’t hold on much longer, Bliss.”

“Then don’t. Just let go.”

“You’re coming with me.” He rubbed her clit and she bucked like a wild horse. At last, she doubled over and howled just as he spilled his seed. The pleasure that ripped through him was more powerful than anything he’d ever felt before. “Good God!”

Bliss tumbled off to one side, breathed out, “That was amazing,” then panted like she’d run a marathon.

He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her damp forehead. “Indeed it was.”

They lay happily sated for several moments, allowing the air to cool their overheated bodies. When Bliss cuddled closer, he grabbed the sheet and dragged it over them.

“Your eyes didn’t glow this time,” she said.

“Not to worry. All of me is glowing inside right now.”

They held each other in silence, basking in the lovely serenity for a few minutes. Bliss eventually stirred.

“I guess we can’t lie here all day, as much as I’d like to.”

Drake chuckled. “I know what you mean. I’m a little hungry. Can I take you out for a late dinner?”

“That sounds perfect. I’d like to go home and change, though.”

“Really? You don’t want to wear your uniform out to dinner?”

“I would if it were cute and didn’t smell like beer.”

“Gotcha. I’ll walk you home. And because tomorrow’s your day off and I don’t have to report for duty until five p.m., why don’t you pack an overnight bag?”

***

The following morning, Bliss awoke to bright sunshine. She and Drake had made love so many times during the night, they’d slept in to recover. Trying not to disturb her still-sleeping boyfriend—or dragon friend—or whatever, she rolled over and was about to get up when she noticed a male figure sitting on the end of the bed. She shrieked and pulled the sheet up to her neck.

Drake sat bolt upright. “What’s the matt—Oh, it’s you,” he said to the man-angel who’d rescued her from Zina’s clutches. “Bliss, this is Vulcan, a friend of mine. There’s no need to be afraid.”

“Vulcan? I—I’m not afraid. I’m stark naked under here. Jeez, guy. First you pop in on me while I’m sitting on the potty, and now I wake up to you sitting on the end of my boyfriend’s bed. What is it with you? Don’t you ever knock?”

Vulcan gave her an indulgent smile. “I’m sorry, but it was necessary.”

“How do you get through locked doors? Is that something Vulcans can do? Can you do that mind-meld thing too?”

Vulcan cleared his throat. “I’m not
that
kind of Vulcan—but let’s not focus on me. You have bigger problems.”