LovingDragon (9 page)

Stopping at the last stair, she spoke again. “Release my husband.”

Dragon did as she said and Howard struggled to stay on his feet. “Ma’am, I’m Dane Maldonado. Your daughter Catherine is missing and has possibly been taken against her will. I’m just trying to locate her to make sure she’s all right.”

“I remember you from the bar. Mr. Maldonado, there is really no need to be so melodramatic. I assure you Catherine is just fine. Now if you will be so kind as to exit our home, we will not call the police and report your assault on my husband,” Virginia Stanley stated coolly.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, not until I see and talk to Cat myself,” Dragon answered.

“We seem to have a little problem then. You, sir, have arrived at a most inconvenient time. Today is my daughter’s wedding day, and my husband and I were just leaving to attend the ceremony. So as you can see, we are in a bit of a rush.”

She went to sweep past him, but Dragon placed his hand on her arm to halt her progress. She looked up at him then. Her green eyes were so like Cat’s, but yet so different. Where Cat’s are warm and full of life and love, her mother’s were cold and empty. Cat was right. She was nothing like her mother.

“Where is the wedding taking place?” he asked. “I will talk to Cat, if this is what she wants I will leave and Cat will never hear from me again.”

“Well isn’t that real big of you. Look around you Mr. Maldonado. This is where Catherine was raised. Can you give her that? Can you keep our little princess in the style that she is accustomed to?”

The old nagging insecurities that he had dealt with his whole life came back to whisper in his ear and before he knew it he was voicing his thoughts. “I’m not good enough for Cat. I’ll never be good enough, I know that. But no one will ever love her more than me. I figure we should let her decide what she wants.” Dragon wasn’t one hundred percent sure himself that Cat would choose love over money, but he would still make it her choice.

“If you happen to follow us to the country club, I suppose there is not much we could do about it, is there?” asked Virginia.

“Virginia what have you done?” asked Howard.

Virginia turned to Howard and for the first time Dragon saw her face soften. “Howard, you are a wonderful father to Catherine, but we can’t make this choice for her anymore. There comes a time when we must let her make her own choices, and yes, her own mistakes. Douglas Washburn isn’t good enough for her and he never will be. Sadly, neither are you, Mr. Maldonado, but in your case I have hope you’ll prove me wrong one day. If my Catherine chooses you, I will accept her choice.”

Dragon nodded in understanding. “I will make it my life’s goal to prove you wrong about me, ma’am. Thank you.”

Dragon closed his eyes with relief. He had to get to Cat, he had to hold her and know what was in her heart before it was too late for the both of them.

****

“Miss Stanley, we are ready for you now,” said the voice on the other side of the door. Cat presumed it was the wedding planner.

“Thank you. I’ll be right out,” answered Cat. The ride from Douglas’s house to the country club in the back of the limo had given her time to whisper her plan to Ashley. Once in the room provided by the country club, the women had quickly switched clothing. Behind the cover of the veil, Douglas wouldn’t realize until it was too late that he had ‘married’ the wrong woman, and by that time Cat planned on being long gone. Ashley had been only too happy to agree to the charade, assuring Cat that she would be able to handle Douglas’s anger when he realized he had been duped. Catherine wasn’t so sure, but relented in response to Ashley’s confidence. She almost could feel sorry for Ashley, but in the end they were both getting what they wanted. She was getting out of marrying someone she abhorred and Ashley was only too happy to help her
not
marry the man that Ashley felt she loved. It was a win-win for everyone—even for Douglas, though he didn’t know it yet.

“Remember, Ashley, keep your head down, and with any luck he won’t know it’s not me until he lifts the veil for the kiss. I just need you to go along with the wedding plans, to just stall for time. By then I should be long gone.” Catherine sighed. “Last chance to back out. Douglas will be very angry Ashley. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Ashley shook her head. “No, I’m not backing out. I love Douglas and I know deep down he loves me too and one day he will love me enough to overlook my unfortunate family and our duplicity and marry me for real. Let’s do this and get it over with.” Catherine nodded, squeezed the young woman’s arm for support and opened the door.

Chapter Twenty

Something was wrong. Douglas Washburn watched as Catherine made her way down the aisle that had been decorated by the wedding planner with a sprinkling of pink rose petals out on the green. Catherine was certainly beautiful in the soft, flowing wedding gown that he had specifically chose for her. The strapless, sweetheart designer gown showed off the glowing skin of her shoulders and the tops of her full breasts. The veil with the diamond encrusted tiara hid her delicate features from him, but he could still make out her blonde hair carefully twisted up in a neat chignon. The thought of watching her pull out each and every pin as her hair fell around her made his crotch twitch with anticipation.

He was certainly pleased by Catherine. He had known when it came down to it she would make him proud, and obviously she had come to her senses and seen that this marriage would be very advantageous to both their families. Yet something was nagging at him and he was frustrated that he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Catherine was keeping her head down looking neither right nor left at their few carefully chosen guests. She didn’t even acknowledge her parents as she passed by where they stood. The other guests stood quietly as she breezed past them, almost in a hurry as if she couldn’t wait to marry him. Douglas knew that not to be the case. When Catherine stopped in front of him, Douglas frowned as she continued to stare down at the bouquet of pink roses instead of up at him. The harpist that he had hired played beautifully, but it couldn’t drown out the sound of a motorcycle as it came to life somewhere close by. A gentle breeze lifted the corner of Catherine’s veil and she quickly reached up and snatched it back down into place, but not before he saw…Ashley!

****

Dragon pulled his Harley into the parking lot of the country club. The Stanley’s had done everything they could to lose him on the way over, he should have known better than to trust them. But he was here now and from what he could see he prayed he was not too late. Knowing there wasn’t much time he gunned his bike and headed across the grounds.

****

“Boss look who I just found trying to steal a car,” said one of the big goons that worked for Douglas. He had caught Catherine and was now dragging her kicking and screaming right into the middle of the wedding. Catherine watched with a sense of horror as Douglas reached over and ripped the veil from Ashley’s head. It was right about then that all hell broke loose. Dragon came riding right down the aisle on his bike, sending stunned guests screaming and running for cover. He brought the bike to a skidding stop right in front of Ashley, took one look at her, and then glanced over at Catherine.

“What the hell?” he asked.

“Dragon, what are you doing here?” asked Catherine as she watched him climb from the bike and walk to stand in front of her.

Dragon didn’t even look at her. Catherine could feel his rage. Instead he addressed the goon who was still holding her upper arm in a vise-like grip. “Let go of her,” he said and his voice was deadly calm.

“Fuck off, buddy, and mind your own business,” muttered the goon.

Dragon moved so fast that one minute the guy was holding Catherine’s arm and the next he was holding his bleeding nose. One quick punch had sent him staggering back. “Catherine, would you get on my bike? I would like to take you somewhere quiet so we can talk.”

Catherine moved to get on the bike.

“Now just a minute here. Catherine is my fiancée and we are getting married,” sputtered Douglas, who had finally come out of shock and moved to stop Catherine.

“Catherine?” asked Dragon.

“Nope, not going to happen,” she answered as she sent Ashley a sympathetic smile and climbed on the back of Dragon’s bike.

“Well, it would seem the lady has broken off the engagement. If you ever come near her again, I will make you wish you hadn’t…is that clear?” Dragon asked.

“I don’t think you know who you are messing with,” sputtered Douglas.

Dragon got up close and personal in his face. “Yeah, I do. I’m
messing
with a dead man if you don’t heed my warning.”

“Douglas, it would seem my daughter has made her choice,” stated Virginia, stepping forward.

“We had a deal!” Douglas fired back.

“Well, now we have a new deal. If you want my husband, Congressman Stanley’s, unwavering support for your Senate run, you will never go near my daughter again or else I will ensure that some very inappropriate videos of you taking a kickback on a certain land deal comes to light,” whispered Virginia. She then walked over to her daughter. “Princess, I love you, and I’m so sorry. Just be happy, okay?”

Catherine hugged her mom for the first time in years. “Thank you, mama.”

Dragon mounted the bike and kick started it to life, without a second glance he roared across the grass and onto the pavement. Catherine hugged him tightly, she still could feel the anger coursing through his body, but as they rode, the cycle eating up miles and miles of pavement, Catherine could feel his tension lessen as he began to finally relax. Catherine knew they had a lot to talk about, and she only hoped he would understand that she kept quiet for his protection.

Chapter Twenty-One

It was dark when Dragon pulled his motorcycle into the drive of a modern two-story house. The garage door rose up and he pulled inside and cut the engine.

“Where are we?” Catherine asked, almost too exhausted to even care. The past twenty-four hours had taken their toll, mentally and physically she was drained.

“This is my place. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if we crashed here for the night. We need to talk, Catherine.” Dragon said, climbing from the bike and helping her off.

“Yes, okay,” she said, following him into the house. It was a wide open space, neat and modern. “Your home is beautiful,” Catherine walked into the living space and stood looking out a window at the night. Meanwhile, Dragon made a quick call to Cutman who was with Mia and let them know what was going on. When she heard the call end she turned to him and they stood ten feet apart staring at each other.

“Mia told me that your parents locked you up and tried to force you to marry Washburn. Is that true?”

Catherine sighed. “Yes, Mia and her mom helped me escape.”

“Tell me if I’m wrong here, but I thought you had feelings for me. I thought that maybe we had a relationship going. You couldn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth or you didn’t care enough about me to tell me the truth? Which is it, Cat?” Dragon’s voice was soft, yet Catherine sensed the hurt there.

She took a step toward him, but stopped. “I never meant to hurt you. Just the opposite, actually. I was frightened for you. I knew that Douglas was dangerous that he had goons at his beck and call. I was protecting you. It wasn’t a matter of trust or of lying to you I just wanted to keep you safe. I didn’t want you to have to fight my battles for me. I thought, hoped that with time Douglas would give up looking for me and move on.”

“Catherine, for the love of God, I’m a champion MMA fighter.
I can hold my own in any fight. I can take care of myself and of you, if you would just stop being so stubborn and let me.”

A single tear trickled down Catherine’s face. “That’s the thing, Dragon, my whole life I’ve been taken care of. I love you, but I won’t play the part of some princess in a tower who needs saving or some silly damsel in distress. I don’t want to be taken care of. I don’t want you to have to fight my battles for me. I just want to be loved for who I am. Can you just love me, Dragon?”

Dragon stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms. His hand reached up and gently he used his thumb to brush away her tear. “Not only can I love you, but I will love you. You’re my weakness, and I’m always going to want to take care of you and see you safe and protected. You are definitely not a princess, though…I would call you more like a Dragon-slayer… my slayer.”

Catherine the Dragon-slayer smiled. “I can work with that.”

THE END

Mastered by the Mothman

T Lee Garland

College student Kate is headed to a cabin in the remote mountains of Virginia to meet up with her sorority sisters when she finds herself lost and stranded in a broken down car. After falling asleep, she is awakened by what she assumes is the glow of a police car coming to her rescue, but instead comes face to face with the legendary Mothman. A half man half moth, the beast has terrorized the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia for more than a half a century, with his glowing red eyes and penchant for showing up at disasters. 

Horror-stricken when he quickly scoops her up and flies her to a cave on top of a mountain, Kate thinks the mysterious creature intends to make her his dinner. Kate quickly discovers, however, that the Mothman does have a voracious appetite – one that will leave Kate hungering for more…

August Heat

T Lee Garland

Daisy Mae Coleman is spending the summer after her college graduation at home on the farm in Kentucky. One sweltering evening she decides to cool off by taking a dip in her favorite swimming hole…only to discover a naked man has beat her to it.

After his fiancée decides she’d rather be with an investment banker, cowhand August Henson leaves Texas in search of a new life. The last thing he had in mind when he took on a position at the Coleman farm was falling for the boss’s daughter.