Loved by the Dragon Collection Page 18

  “So… can you tell what she is?” Smaller than a bear. A wolf maybe? No… Chloe’s thoughts turned over a hundred possibilities, from an exotic tiger to a long legged deer.

  She peeked around the corner and ogled Annette. The gorgeous woman had long legs and an exquisite figure suited to running, but Annette’s odd, tri-colored hair and gentle eyes drew memories to the front of Chloe’s mind. With startling clarity, the truth struck Chloe in the next instant. She’s a dog. She’s a dog shifter. I know it.

  “Ah, judging from your expression, you no longer need my answer.”

  Chloe swatted him. “Why didn’t you tell me at the reunion?”

  “I did not know it mattered.”

  It didn’t. If anything, the divulgement of Annette’s identity inspired a sense of relief for Chloe. Her father deserved a loving companion who would stick by him through thick and thin.

  They returned to the tail end of her father’s thoughts about a recent vacation to Dubai before his hip replacement. “Dubai was a beautiful place. Annette and I plan to visit again in the fall,” Sam said.

  “Come with us next time, Chloe.”

  “Ahh… I don’t know.” Chloe rubbed the back of her neck. While she had taken her father aside to share news of the baby, she hadn’t told the rest of her relatives. “I’m pregnant, and I’ll probably be too big for a plane by then,” she fessed up.

  Annette’s mouth fell open. Her mismatched eyes flicked between Saul and Chloe, working out the obvious truth: the baby clearly had been fathered by another man. “Congratulations. To both of you,” she said, words spoken in a cautious tone. “I’m so happy for you, Chloe. A new husband and a new baby. Oh goodness. There’s a small shop near my bakery with the best little clothes.”

  “When we find out what we’re having I’ll plan another trip over here to shop with you,” Chloe said. “It’ll be fun.”

  “Excellent. And now that you’re on the west coast, we’re only a drive away,” Sam reminded her. “Any time that you need me.”

  Chloe didn’t miss the pointed look directed at Saul, but her kind dragon lover feigned ignorance and twisted to chat with Mahasti. She patted his thigh beneath the table. “And the same goes for you two, Daddy. Come out and visit us sometime. You’ll love hunting on Saul’s property.”

  Annette studied Saul again, using only the corner of her eyes. “I’m going to run to the ladies room,” she excused herself from the table.

  Recognizing an opportunity to get the canine shifter alone, Chloe quickly rose to her feet. “Hey, wait for me, Annette. All this water is going right through me.”

  “Sure.”

  As they left the celebration party behind, Chloe overheard Leiv playfully taunting Mahasti, asking if she planned to disappear to the women’s room too. Contrary to the myth about women all leaving in flocks, she remained behind with the men.

  There’s no gentle way to do this, Chloe realized while washing her hands. Annette emerged from a stall to do the same, prompting her to let the words rush out in an awkward tumble before the chance was lost. “Look, Annette, I just wanted to say that I’m really happy my dad has you.” Chloe studied Annette’s reflection in the mirror and smiled when their eyes met in the glass. “And… I know what you are.”

  Annette’s mismatched eyes widened in surprise and a hint of color crept into her cheeks. “You do?”

  “Yeah…” Chloe almost felt bad for springing it on her like this. The faucet automatically turned on when her hands reached beneath it, jetting out tepid water.

  Annette sighed. “I figured it would come out, all things considered.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Not to me,” Chloe assured her. “But… do you think you’ll ever tell Dad?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  Chloe laughed, nervous beneath Annette’s knowing look, and snagged some paper towels. “Somehow I think dragon is gonna be harder to swallow. I mean, how do I even start that conversation?”

  “Well maybe I can ease him into the idea for you. So as for your question, yes, I do intend to let him know. But…” Annette glanced to the door and parted her lips to speak, only to shut her mouth and clam up. The silence between them thickened the air until an undercurrent of anxiety swarmed in Chloe’s gut. Being around Saul and Leiv had granted her an exceptional awareness at reading shifters’ emotions.

  “What is it? We just broke the ice about the hard stuff, right?”

  “Right,” Annette agreed. She inhaled a deep breath. “Are you sure about what you’re doing, Chloe? With a dragon?” The dog shifter’s brows rose, allowing Chloe a brief instant when she saw past the human facade and into the loyal soul beneath. Instead of irritating Chloe, Annette’s concern touched her in a display of genuine compassion. The love her mother never showed her.

  “I love Saul, Annette. He doesn’t scare me and I feel safe with him. Cherished.”

  “He does appear to be nice,” came the woman’s reluctant agreement. “But do you know him well?” Annette wrung her hands together and severed their eye contact. “Do you know dragons and their rules? I do, and they’re not friendly. They’re never friendly without something to gain from it.”

  This is none of her business, and I want to be mad, but she looks so damned worried about me. “I’m learning about them,” Chloe replied, opting for full disclosure. “He’s not trying to keep me in the dark, if that’s what worries you. It’s just a lot to learn, but I have Saul, Leiv, and Mahasti to help me. No one has kept any secrets from me. Not a single one.”

  “Okay.” Annette forced a smile. The uncertainty clashed with her failed attempt to appear cheerful. “I don’t mean to pry.”

  “It isn’t prying. I would have been upset if I later found out you knew about him but didn’t try to warn me.”

  “If you ever need to talk…” Annette offered.

  Chloe followed her gut instinct and pulled Annette into a tight hug. Her father’s new girlfriend wasn’t the mom she’d needed growing up, but in as few as two meetings, Annette’s compassion surpassed the memories of the cold, selfish woman in Chloe’s childhood memories. “Thanks. I mean it.”

  They headed back to the dining room arm in arm. True to his gentlemanly nature, Saul stood to greet her when she returned to the room. The sight of him sped her pulse, making her breath catch.

  I hope I never stop feeling this way about him.

  “I believe it is time to retire and, if my memory serves me well, it is a tradition to carry the bride.” Saul scooped her into his arms, much to the delight of their guests. Even her father clapped and laughed.

  Diners all around the room joined in, tapping silverware on their wine glasses or clapping as Saul carried her out. Red-cheeked, Chloe turned her face into his shoulder and giggled. In his arms, she was a princess, fancy wedding dress or not. A bellhop held the elevator for them and the moment the doors closed, leaving them in seclusion, Saul’s lips came down over hers. Neither of them came up for air until the elevator dinged its arrival on the top floor.

  She remained in his hold down the hall and into the room, only released when Saul lowered her with gentle care to the bed. Not that she allowed him to move far. Her fingers fisted in his shirt, keeping her dragon close.

  “I love you, Saul, more than anything, and I’m so happy to be your wife.”

  Chapter 9

  Despite Chloe’s great love for her family, the return to the estate came as a welcomed treat. She collapsed on the sofa shortly after their arrival and napped long into the afternoon, until Mahasti awakened her.

  “Mmm… How long was I asleep?” Chloe asked. A kittenish stretch accompanied her twist amidst the cushions.

  “Several hours. We all thought you could use the rest. Come,
join us on the veranda for a while. The fresh air will do you some good. Are you thirsty?”

  Chloe readily accepted the glass of lemon-infused water that materialized in Mahasti’s hand and drained it within seconds. To her parched mouth, it may as well have been ambrosia.

  Outside, they chatted over drinks with their friends, shared a bottle of freshly pressed apple cider, and caught each other up to date on recent developments.

  While Mahasti normally handled business matters concerning Drakenstone Studios, several conflicts among the crew of a potential blockbuster led to a prized actor walking off the set.

  “Actors,” Saul snorted as disdain twisted his features into a grimace. “Does nothing please them?”

  “Cocaine,” Chloe suggested. She then ducked her head a few seconds later. “Sorry, that was in bad taste.”

  “I, for one, am relieved you thought to clarify, Miss Ellis. Otherwise, he may have sent me to the darker parts of Los Angeles to collect drugs,” Leiv muttered.

  Chloe twisted in her seat to face her husband. He shrugged.

  “Anyway, didn’t I tell you to call me Chloe, Leiv? We’re all friends, and I plan to be here a long time.”

  “Yes, you did. I am having trouble remembering. It is habit,” the bear shifter replied, thoroughly abashed. Hints of red color spread over his darkly bearded cheeks.

  “Besides, she is a Drakenstone now,” Mahasti reminded him.

  They toasted again, and after Chloe drained her glass she snuggled against Saul’s side. As the others talked, her eyelids grew heavier.

  “Chloe?”

  “Mm? I’m okay, just tired is all,” she mumbled in reply to Saul’s concerned voice.

  “But you woke only a short while ago.” Saul’s brow crinkled in confusion.

  “Hey, I’ve got a bun in the oven. I’m allowed to nap whenever.”

  “Ah.” Saul nodded. The mere mention of pregnancy-related issues shut him up without a fight. He hadn’t yet seen her at her worst when susceptible to the hormonal imbalances of PMS. The idea made her grin and shake off the drowse.

  “Okay, so prepare me for what I need to know about Drakenstone Studios. What should I expect?”

  “Plenty of bowing and scraping,” Mahasti quipped. She refilled Chloe’s glass.

  “Come on. What’s it really like at the studio.”

  Leiv grimaced. “Very much like what you witnessed the day you first arrived in Los Angeles. It is very busy, very loud, and there are rude people everywhere who will not listen to reason unless you are him.” He gestured toward Saul. “As you are to be the assistant executive, you will not face such troubles again.”

  “I hope not. That was sort of horrifying until you showed up to drive me here. I had never been so embarrassed in all of my life. The man carried me out of there kicking and screaming.”

  Saul chuckled. “I reviewed the security footage the next day. You put up quite the scene.”

  “Damn straight. I didn’t come all that way to be turned around.”

  Even if her childish tantrum didn’t land her a visit with the head executive of the studio, she’d met up with him later when Mahasti answered their mutual wishes. Chloe’s despair and Saul’s loneliness culminated in an irresistible wish the genie couldn’t – and hasn’t wanted to – deny.

  “I can’t thank you enough, Mahasti.”

  “I did what was right. I saw Saul’s suffering and I saw your heart. It may be beyond my power to make two souls fall in love against their will, but the two of you had already fallen for each other. I only had to nudge you back together.” Mahasti waved off her praise. “So I sent Leiv in the car to retrieve you.”

  Once all jokes were set aside, the trio gave Chloe the rundown on the senior staff and the peons directly beneath them. Saul treated all of his employees with dignity and respect, but he’d somehow gained a terrifying reputation after traumatizing a former employee.

  “Okay, okay. So you scared this guy so badly that he didn’t return to work for a few days. What the hell did he do? ” Chloe asked.

  “He paid a lesser wage to my female employees,” Saul answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Chloe continued to wait for the rest of the reason. When none came, she prodded him with a finger. “Well?”

  “Well?” he echoed. The confusion drew his brows close.

  “Saul, my friend. You must explain to her why this is a criminal act,” Leiv spoke up.

  “Ah, I see. It is theft. They were not paid adequately for work they had performed. A dragon does not steal from the hoard of another being, dragon or otherwise.”

  “So after Saul adjusted their salaries, he had his accountants pull employee records and issued checks for the difference accumulated over their months of employment at the studio. He even issued checks to women who were long gone.”

  His motivation had nothing to do with feminism and everything to do with draconic honor. Despite that, Chloe laughed good and hard until her belly ached and tears stung her eyes.

  By the next morning, she’d come to dread their arrival. After she dressed in an impeccable suit with a mid-thigh length skirt and sassy heels, Mahasti braided her hair into a business casual updo. When it came to hairstyles, Chloe was all thumbs. A ponytail and a bun were her limit, but she and the genie had bonded over the weeks and acquired a familiar level of comfort. Enough comfort that she received the entire lowdown on Mahasti’s budding relationship with Leiv.

  “He’s a good man, Mahasti. I’m happy for you.”

  “You’re not upset that Saul no longer owns my lamp?”

  “Pffft, no.” She admired her reflection in the vanity then held up a hand mirror for a better look at the back. Small, black pearl pins secured her braided bun. They stood out, a stark contrast against her white-blonde hair. “Maybe some other women would be mad, but I’m just glad to see you’re both happy. I don’t need a genie at my beck and call.”

  “Now that Leiv holds the lamp, I’m limited in what I can do for you and Saul, but I will continue to do whatever I can to ease your days. Calling my name three times will be sufficient.” Mahasti smiled. “It’s an honor to serve you both.”

  The drive to Los Angeles gave Chloe the time to rehearse her introductions. Saul laughed at her again along the way then assured her that she fretted for nothing. He urged her from the vehicle and escorted her up the building steps.

  “Why is everyone staring?” Chloe whispered. Did they remember her tearful pleas to see Saul a month ago?

  They didn’t. As implied the previous night, Drakenstone Studios had its fair supply of drama to overshadow the miserable five minutes Chloe spent at the receptionist desk before a security guard dragged her out of the building. The same man smiled and courteously greeted her today without an ounce of recognition in his eyes.

  “I rarely come to the building, my love. As the company executive, I leave the business matters to friendlier individuals unless absolutely necessary. My company is an extension of my horde, as I mentioned last eve.”

  Something told Chloe that dragons didn’t mess around when it came to their possessions and wealth. She didn’t want to see Saul’s bad side.

  “They’re all scurrying around.” She resisted the urge to twist and watch the hurried movements she caught from the corner of her eye. Saul’s amused chuckle gave her something better to focus on.

  “They did not expect me.”

  They’re probably alerting the other big wigs upstairs. Hell, I’m surprised someone hasn’t run up to offer him coffee yet.

  As if summoned by Chloe’s thoughts, a well-dressed young man veered over and presented a snifter of cognac to Saul. Electric blue framed eyeglasses perched on his nose and lent color to his otherwise
pale face. He reminded Chloe of an albino mouse, an amusing likeness that made her giggle inappropriately and receive a curious stare from her husband.

  I hope he isn’t another shifter, too.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Drakenstone.”

  “Harris.” Saul accepted the snifter, then seemed to reconsider after a glance at Chloe.

  “We didn’t expect you today, or your guest.”

  “My wife, Chloe,” Saul introduced. “Today seemed as good a day as any to acquaint her with the office. My apologies for failing to provide forewarning.”

  “It’s no trouble, sir.”

  It seemed as if every set of eyes on the office floor had turned to ogle her sexy dragon in his suit. Her most paranoid thoughts convinced her that the dozen or so female employees were mentally appraising her every aspect like a snake measuring prey.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Harris,” Chloe spoke up despite her shyness.

  As she offered her hand for a shake, Harris’ eyes dropped to the precious jewels decorating her ring finger. Confirming Chloe’s suspicions, some of the hustle and bustle near them quieted as curious employees strained their hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation. ‘Wife’ must have been the magic word.

  “Congratulations, sir. I had no idea.” Harris recovered from his surprise swiftly and gave Chloe a courteous smile followed by a firm handshake. “Can I get you anything, Mrs. Drakenstone? Coffee? Tea?”

  “Water for her.”

  Chloe nudged him sharply in the ribs with her elbow. Saul’s soft grunt indicated she hit the right spot. “Don’t speak for me.”

  Saul held up both hands. “My apologies. Order as you will, my love.”

  After a pause, Chloe sighed. He was right about the water and until she knew the upper limits of what his personal assistant could acquire, she didn’t want to ask for something more exotic like a pomegranate and mango smoothie, no matter how great that sounded. “Water will do.” She whirled to face Saul before he opened his mouth. “Don’t start,” she warned.