Loved by the Dragon Collection Read online

  Without picking up her teacup, Marcy darted to the balcony for a closer look. Saul settled on his hind legs and propped one forearm on the balcony edge, showing Marcy his massive claw.

  “Oh my God, oh my God, he’s huge,” she repeated, trapped between feeling terror and awe. Clearly, she chose awe and reached one trembling hand toward the nearest maroon talon. Her fingers slid over the smooth, curved claw.

  “Would you like a ride? Chloe has grown very fond of flying,” Saul said.

  The dragon’s ability to speak caught Marcy off guard and stumbled her back into Chloe. She lost her balance then nearly toppled onto her ass until Saul adjusted his claw to catch her against the leathery paw pad.

  “He won’t hurt you. I promise, he’s exactly the same guy he was before.”

  “I’m not freaking,” Marcy replied quickly. “Not freaking.” Nor was she breathing. Her motionless body tensed from head to toe, but eventually her muscles relaxed and she dragged in a lungful of air. “He’s beautiful.”

  “Yeah. He is.” Chloe smiled up at her golden-eyed dragon, expecting him to preen with pride. His magnificent wings fanned out to reveal their full span, while Marcy’s eyes widened even further.

  “Fuck yeah, I want a ride!” Marcy finally cried out once the initial terror faded.

  An hour later, once Marcy finally had enough of the wind whipping through her hair and the gorgeous expanse making up Saul’s thousands of acres, he deposited both ladies by the front door. They watched him amble off in search of a meal.

  “He kind of smells like Felix when he’s fresh from the groomer.” Marcy sniffed her shirt, searching for Saul’s lingering scent.

  “You know, you’re right.” Then Marcy shoved her. A playful nudge of both hands made Chloe stumble a step to the side. “What was that for!?”

  “For not telling me about this when he came to my place for a month! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  “I didn’t know how to tell you. I mean, if I outright said he was a mythological creature, you would have made some crack about his sexiness being magical and ignored me.”

  Marcy grumbled a reluctant agreement, “I guess you’re right. Okay, as pleasant as that was, I feel a little scummy from the pool.”

  “I’ll show you to one of the guest rooms. The bathrooms here are awesome. Mahasti will provide you with whatever clothes you think you need.”

  A desire to soak away the morning’s stressful ordeal divided Chloe and Marcy for an hour. They chatted over the household’s intercom system from their individual bathrooms and met again in the room designated as the future nursery. Chloe brought her laptop along as directed and connected to the estate’s WiFi while Marcy marveled over the room’s design. Felix, ever curious, followed them and gave the space a thorough inspection. He explored the walk-in closet, batted at the drapes, and then made himself comfortable on the wide window ledge.

  “Girl, you have an awesome view.” Marcy peered out while giving the large cat scratches beneath his chin. “I bet we could put a rocking chair right here… and I’m sort of envisioning the crib over there. Since we have access to Genie Airlines, I can come out whenever you’re ready to help paint.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “You’re my best friend. You bet your ass I’ll be here to help. I’ll get Mom’s brushes and stencils.” Marcy scanned the nursery’s barren interior and cream walls. She had always been the one with the artistic talent.

  “I love you, Marce. I really, really do.” Grateful tears misted Chloe’s eyes, and without warning, she threw her arms around her friend.

  Foresight or the gift of perfect timing allowed Saul to arrive at the conclusion of their heartfelt moment. The oblivious dragon passed Chloe his credit card without uttering a word.

  “Seriously? He just hands off his platinum card and that’s that?”

  “I don’t even argue with him anymore. ‘What’s his is mine.’ He says the same thing about that massive treasure room of priceless crap we showed you.”

  “Crap?” Saul demanded. He crossed his arms, scandalized features drawing laughter from the two women.

  “Uh. Beautiful relics,” Chloe corrected herself. He grinned and took a seat on the floor while they perused high-end baby stores online.

  “Look, this crib converts into a toddler bed, then a full-size.” Marcy pointed at the laptop screen.

  “It’s a good thing they don’t have a one-click feature,” Chloe muttered as she ticked the item off into her wish list for later comparison. “What do you think about this bed set, Saul?”

  “Ah…” Both girls giggled at his befuddled expression.

  “Men are always hopeless with baby stuff, Chloe, you know that.”

  Saul cleared his throat. “The color is fetching. If you like it, my love, then I’m happy.”

  A frenzied internet shopping spree ensued. As the evening dwindled, an unnatural silence fell over Saul until he no longer participated, aside from the occasional curt nod. He excused himself from the impromptu three-person baby shower and retreated to the movie den where Chloe found him seated in front of an old black and white film an hour after his disappearance. He loved King Kong, and she’d watched it countless times with him since their reunion.

  “What’s wrong?” she called.

  “Many thoughts on my mind.”

  This is as new to him as it is to me, Chloe thought. “About the baby? You’ll be an amazing father, Saul.” She scooted sideways onto his lap and set one arm around his broad shoulders. Her long legs went over the arm of the recliner once she slouched down to rest her cheek over his heart. She’d counted them once, a powerful but lazy rate of thirty-two beats a minute. Too slow to sustain a human, perfect for a dragon shifted into a smaller body.

  “Perhaps.”

  The brooding continued, a sour stain on Chloe’s mood that she longed to wash away with her good news. “Saul, there’s something you need to know. About the baby.”

  “Is something the matter? Mahasti told me she convinced you to visit a physician. I hope all is well.”

  Chloe bit her lower lip. His patience must have rubbed off on her, otherwise she would have never held the secret so long. The old Chloe would have blurted it out the moment he arrived poolside.

  Sitting up, she studied his face and touched her fingers to his golden beard. Slim digits caressed the soft velvet, and then she kissed his lips. “You’re going to be a father.”

  “We established this, Chloe. I will adopt your little one.”

  “No, Saul. This baby is yours. You fathered our child. Your blood.”

  For the first time in their relationship, Chloe witnessed Saul stunned into speechlessness with his gaze lowered to her belly. Guiding him with gentle hands, Chloe brought his left palm to her subtle bump.

  “ Our baby, Saul,” she whispered.

  “That cannot be possible… I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “It is. While you were gone, Mahasti took me into the hoard to your gold collection… I never saw anything so radiant in all of my life. Now I know why I sleep so well with you in your vault, Saul. I do because our baby wants to be there. The gems sang to me. I always thought I heard sounds at night but… it’s so beautiful now. I can’t describe it.”

  Still as stone, Saul failed to utter a word, but an underlying sense of his happiness snaked into her senses. “Mine?” he finally whispered.

  “Yours,” she confirmed.

  “I never thought… how is this possible?”

  “Mahasti told me there are legends of a dragon warrior born from a female dragon and a mortal man.”

  “My father always told me those are only stories and tall tales to frighten us… or I wo
uldn’t have given away…” Saul swallowed and gazed beyond her, through her, revealing thoughts of great importance weighing on his troubled mind. “That matters none at the moment.” The abrupt change in his mood treaded a fine divide between thrilled and morose.

  “Saul?” she whispered again.

  “It is merely difficult to believe… This news pleases me greatly, my love.” Saul dipped his head to place his bearded jaw against her smooth cheek and sighed. “I am undeniably happy.”

  “Then why are you so distant now? What happened?”

  Saul inhaled a deep breath. In the little time since their relationship began, reading his emotional state became a fine art. Her new husband was an open book, wearing his feeling on his sleeves. “Trouble. But you have suffered enough worry this day. Now is time for celebration.”

  “Don’t protect me like I’m some delicate flower. What’s happening?”

  The silence told Chloe all she needed to know. When he turned his head away, she raised a hand to his face and directed him back to her. Eyes the color of rich liquid gold gazed down at her. “I met with Maximilian and Brigid. It did not go as planned.”

  “I’m here to listen to you,” she reminded him. “That’s what being married is about.”

  “They will not accept the cessation of our betrothal. Rather, Brigid will not accept and her father has no inclination to dissuade her from pursuing this to the end.”

  Cold swept over Chloe, an icy kiss leaving goosebumps over her arms. “What does that mean? Why won’t they?”

  “Her father does not consider our union as a true mating bond,” he spoke slowly.

  “He can’t be serious. You told me that you chased her for decades while he said nothing.”

  “Indeed, and he said as much during our meeting. He is a mediator in this and nothing more. Maximilian was quite fair, all things considered, but Draconic Law is indisputable. Once pledged, both parent and child must release me. He is willing, but she stands firm in her decision to have me, and he will not force her.”

  “What if you told them that I’m carrying a half-dragon child?”

  Saul shook his head. “I am reluctant to share as much with the rest of my kind. We are a traditional lot, set in our ways, and easy to anger. Change becomes terrifying when it is not guided by our own hands.”

  “In other words, you’re afraid they’ll try to kill me.”

  Saul nodded his head. “And I would lay down my own life before I allowed harm to come to either of you.”

  Chloe blinked away the hazy field spreading over her vision until her eyes no longer stung with impending tears. I won’t cry and worry him even more. I won’t. “What happens now, Saul?”

  Saul’s weary sigh and reluctance to speak became clear with his next words. “Our baby has changed everything, so now we wait for Brigid to make her next move, and we prepare for the worst. According to our laws, you have usurped her claim by breeding with me and she would have every right to issue a challenge if you were also a dragon.”

  “But I’m pregnant!”

  “To a female dragon, that means nothing, my love. But because you are human, we have the right to refuse. She cannot force you to obey our laws.” His strong arms squeezed her close, conveying the security she craved, but how could he possibly protect her from an envious fire breathing dragon?

  “I’m terrified,” she breathed out on a shaky breath.

  “So am I, but we will weather this storm together.”

  Chapter 12

  Saul and Chloe celebrated their good news in the morning, surrounded by their close friends. Amid laughter and jokes, they were able to ignore the threat overshadowing the joyous occasion.

  After breakfast and tea, the two girls stole Mahasti and Leiv away for a day of exploring Los Angeles together. Saul remained true to his word by arranging for Marcy to walk onto the set of a movie as an extra, and she caught a passing glimpse of one of her favorite male actors.

  “Damn, he’s sexier in real life than he is photoshopped and airbrushed.”

  “Definitely,” Chloe agreed.

  They stopped for haircuts, visited top landmarks, walked Hollywood, and caught a double matinee feature. Eventually, Marcy googled a boutique on her phone and dragged Chloe away to shop for leggings, slip-on shoes, and little dresses with ribbons and elastic beneath the tits. Half an hour into their shopping spree, Chloe realized she was ecstatic to tell the world about her child.

  I’m so glad she convinced me to come out with her.

  “You’re rocking that new haircut, too, chica. I didn’t think you’d ever cut it like that.”

  Chloe ran her fingers through her short bob of blonde hair. “Thanks. It’s nice to splurge and not worry about money for once.”

  “This is the life. The stuff we always dreamed about in high school,” Marcy sighed in contentment and gazed out the car window. “I’d go bonkers if I had to drive in all that city traffic. It’s worse than Houston.”

  “Leiv and Mahasti make it pretty easy to arrive in style.”

  “They’re an awesome team. Thanks,” Marcy called to the front seat.

  Leiv chuckled. “You are very welcome. Ah, now, Mahasti. This is a good time to take us to the estate.”

  “With pleasure.”

  They’re such lovebirds. If he spent any more time moon-eyeing her, he wouldn’t be able to drive. Chloe giggled and whispered her thoughts to Marcy. She nodded her agreement.

  The genie whisked them away from Los Angeles to the secluded driveway leading up to the estate. As Leiv angled the car for the garage and hit the automatic remote, a sporty convertible cruised down the lane toward Saul’s home.

  “Oh man, is that a Ferrari?” Marcy pressed her face against the window.

  “It is trouble. Only trouble,” Leiv muttered.

  Chloe swore under her breath when she recognized Brigid in the driver’s seat. Her wind-tousled hair gave her a Just-Got-Fucked look that Chloe couldn’t pull off. Without prompting, Mahasti transported Chloe and Marcy both inside the house. The moment the mist dissipated, Chloe bolted for the front door. She beat Saul to it.

  “Why are you here?” Chloe demanded after she jerked the door open. Saul attempted to budge her, and in a fit of childish pique, she drove her elbow into his ribs. His audible ‘oof’ assured Chloe that she was stronger than she appeared.

  “I came to see my betrothed,” Brigid answered, snide tone filled with as much venom as a coral snake.

  “Then we will speak outside. You are no longer welcome within my home. Chloe, stay inside.”

  Chloe followed Saul despite his warning for her to keep clear of Brigid. She didn’t trust the female dragon. Not one bit.

  “I have spoken of this, Brigid. My mind will not be changed,” Saul growled. “Chloe is my wife. My mate.”

  “She is an insect. An inferior—” Brigid cut herself off abruptly and her nostrils flared. She inhaled deeply and twisted to face Chloe. “What have you done? What manner of atrocity did you commit to pull this off, Saul? This mortal smells of dragon’s blood.”

  Crap! Why didn’t she notice that before?!

  Unlike Chloe, Saul didn’t seem worried about the revelation. He drew himself up, proud and strong, and met Brigid’s gaze without a flinch. “The child she carries is mine, Brigid. The cherished result of a true mating.”

  “An abomination,” Brigid hissed between her teeth.

  The deplorable insult stabbed Chloe in the heart. She opened her mouth to fire a retort, but Saul beat her to it.

  “A child,” her husband said. “A beautiful child I will raise, love, and treasure alongside a woman who is every bit your superior. Now leave us.”

  Brigid trembled
with rage. A hot flush swept over her porcelain cheeks as fury curved her teeth and elongated her claws. Instinctual self-preservation drove Chloe to fall back a step. “Slay her at this moment, Saul, and all shall be forgiven. It isn’t too late to make amends for this. You can make things right in my father’s eyes.”

  Saul didn’t budge. “Maximilian and the rest of the Conclave know you for what you are: a self-absorbed child. Be gone from my estate.”

  The change took place in an instant. Leather slacks split and white linen burst at the seams. Ember red dragon’s hide covered Brigid from head to toe as she towered above Saul’s human body. As she dove forward, Saul caught her with his own considerable bulk. Shreds of his jeans fluttered to the ground. He had transformed in the blink of an eye.

  Somewhere behind Chloe, Marcy shrieked as the two behemoths tumbled across the ground. They snapped and bit at each other, raking their claws like brawling lions going in for the kill.

  “Saul!” Chloe screamed.

  Snorting, snarling, and tearing up sod, the two beasts twisted upon the ground, each in a bid to gain the upper hand. Chloe watched as a helpless bystander until wisps of jasmine smoke surrounded and whisked her away. After the dizzying teleportation ended, she stood with the door between her and both draconic beings.

  “It is unsafe to stand outside while they fight,” Mahasti told her gently. “For your safety, please stay indoors this time, Chloe.”

  “What if she kills him!?” A tight vice constricted her chest, hindering her breaths until each inhalation took more effort than the last. Her lungs burned and tears fell easily down her cheeks. “Mahasti, do something, please.”

  “Can’t you make them stop?” Marcy asked the genie.

  “She won’t kill him, Chloe, I promise. It’s not unusual for dragons to fight to release aggression, and Brigid isn’t stupid enough to risk it. To kill Saul on his own property would be to bring the wrath of the Dragon Conclave down upon her. It would be murder.”

  “Conclave?” Chloe asked.

  “The Dragon Conclave. They’re a council of the eldest and most ancient wyrms. They construct Draconic Law.”