Loved by the Dragon Collection Read online

  “Speaking of significant others, given any more thought to your mystery sex god?” Marcy waggled her brows. “

  “I doubt he even remembers me. Guys that hot diddle a dozen girls a week.”

  “Oh please. You’re a fox, Chloe. If he forgets you he’s an idiot.”

  “You’ve got me beat. You’re like a Latin sex goddess. Maybe you should find him for yourself,” Chloe joked awkwardly in a futile attempt to change the subject. She had to play it safe. Marcy would never believe her super Prince Charming had turned into a fire-breathing beast. She didn’t know if she believed it herself.

  “C’mon, tell me what you remember. We’ll try and look him up.”

  “I dunno. He said he worked at Drakenstone Studios.” Drakenstone… Drake. Dragon. Fuck. How didn’t I notice that before?

  “What did you say his name was again?

  “Saul.”

  “And does this Saul have a last name?”

  Chloe shook her head. “I never asked for details.”

  “Hold up, check this out. According to the studio website the CEO is listed as a Saul Drakenstone. No picture though.” Marcy maximized the profile on the screen and read the vague details out loud. Saul Drakenstone, age 34, inheritor of the Drakenstone legacy at the age of 29.

  “You found some sort of elusive billionaire, girl. Congrats.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Chloe breathed.

  “Sweetie, unless he lied about his name and stuff, this means you slept with a bigtime exec.”

  “He never… why wouldn’t he tell me that?”

  “Don’t gold diggers chase after men like him all the time?” Marcy pointed out gently. She resumed her internet search in vain. Despite all of the best tricks, Marcy’s work yielded no fruit since it appeared Saul lacked a Facebook page, Instagram, and all other forms of social media. No other record of him existed on the virtual world. He was a ghost who had never attended the premieres for his company’s produced movies over the past five years since taking over for his grandfather.

  Is that a ruse to conceal that he’s an unaging immortal creature or something? Chloe wondered. She shook off the strange feeling and put on a humorous tone to playfully feign taking offense to Marcy’s words. “Hey, I had no idea who he was and he’s the one who wanted more from me.”

  “Maybe he wanted to hire you on as his professional girlfriend,” Marcy teased.

  Chloe chucked a pillow at her friend. The small square bounced off Marcy’s head. “What should I do?”

  “Um, duh. You should fly out there and see him, that’s what.”

  “I don’t know, girl…” If I told you that I dream about him nightly, you’d think I was insane.

  “Oh come on. You quit your job so you have the time.”

  “I don’t have money to toss around on futile flights across the country. What if he doesn’t remember me? He’s so hot he probably sleeps with anonymous women all the time.”

  “While camping in a cold, dank cave with them in the middle of nowhere? After he’s hunted and killed a fucking deer with his manly bare hands for them?” Marcy dropped her brow into one palm and released a sigh so loud and exaggerated that Chloe immediately felt silly.

  “You’re right. Fine. Fine. I’ll do it.”

  Marcy squealed and worked her magic on the computer. In a few short minutes she had a flight itinerary selection pulled up.

  “No, no, no. I can’t fly out tomorrow, Marcy, the prices are outrageous.”

  “I owe you money for that dress you helped me buy to impress Jeremy Peterson.”

  “Marceline Vargas, that was in high school! I’m not letting you buy this.”

  Marcy grinned smugly. “So what? I think with all the years of interest this about covers it.”

  “But what do I do when I get there? I’m pretty sure I can’t just waltz in and ask to see the CEO.”

  “Why not? It’ll be like a movie,” Marcy assured her.

  “That ends with me being led away by security.”

  Or in the belly of a beast.

  ***

  “You don’t understand. I’m here to see Saul Drakenstone. He knows me. We met a month ago on a… wilderness hike,” Chloe blurted out to the stone-faced secretary at the front desk.

  Every architectural structure in the lobby had been crafted from granite, glass, and stainless steel. The modern look clashed with her memories of Saul. It came across as cold, a stark contrast to his warm personality. The secretary fit right in with the harsh decor.

  Contrary to Marcy’s big plan, an unannounced arrival was not to Chloe’s benefit. The receptionist at the front desk tapped a button and bellowed, “Security. Please see this young woman outside.”

  A portly man in a grey and black security uniform approached. The only person standing between Chloe and the a reunion with the draconic enigma of her literal dreams was a flashlight cop with a shiny badge, nightstick, and pair of designer knockoff aviator shades that he probably picked off a mall kiosk’s shelf for fifteen bucks.

  Chloe whirled to face the desk again and desperately blurted out, “Look, if you don’t believe me, beep your boss on the intercom and tell him Chloe is here. Tell him Chloe is sorry and needs to speak to him.”

  “You’ll have to leave the premises now, ma’am,” the officer told her.

  “No! I came a long way to be here and to see Saul. You’ll have to drag me out.”

  Apparently, she had foolishly allowed Officer Chunk’s girth to cloud her judgment. While his proportions were indeed sizable, they were to his advantage and only concealed the stout muscle beneath. He flexed one arm around Chloe’s midsection and hoisted her up off of the floor with the sort of effortless grace that belonged on a cheer squad. She struggled and kicked her feet, too headstrong to surrender to the futility.

  “Please! Just call him! Tell him Chloe’s here!”

  The security guard dropped her outside on the granite steps. Frazzled, Chloe raked both hands through her hair and screamed in frustration.

  I knew it. I told Marcy it was too late. All this way for nothing.

  Next to chasing away Saul, taking her friend’s spur of the moment advice had to be one of the most foolish decisions in her life. With little else to do, she sat on the top step of the lavish building and wept into her hands.

  Chloe had never been the sort for spontaneous crying, but the rush of building emotion welled within her to such a point that it hurt. It had to come out. It exploded in tears and shoulder-shaking sobs that earned the occasional glance from passers-by.

  She didn’t care.

  Stupid, dumb, desperate thing to do for a man I only met once. A man who isn’t even a man. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe I had the right idea the first time, Chloe convinced herself. Once she inhaled a few shaky breaths, she straightened and fumbled with the snap on her purse to find a tissue.

  Everything about her carefully laid plan was falling apart. She’d planned every step, starting with her cute and sexy outfit. The skinny jeans and white v-neck top seemed plain at first glance, but paired with knee-high black stiletto boots and a push-up bra she had sexified the look up a notch. The two hours spent in Marcy’s favorite salon getting her body waxed and buffed to a perfect, silky glow - completely wasted.

  She’d never waxed for any man in all of her life.

  A handkerchief suddenly hovered near her face, scaring the crap out of her with its abrupt appearance in the corner of her vision. Chloe jerked her head up and gazed into the patient features of a tidily dressed man in a traditional chauffeur’s ensemble. A hint of dark, closely buzzed hair peeked out from beneath the cap.

  “Good evening, Miss. I am told there is one Chlo
e Ellis awaiting transport from Drakenstone Studios. She would be you, I presume.”

  “Who’s asking?” Chloe demanded. She ignored the offered cloth and hastily dried her face with the heel of her palm.

  “I am Mr. Drakenstone’s driver, Leiv. I am sent to retrieve you.”

  He has a driver? Of course he has a driver. He owns a multi-million dollar company. “I don’t understand.”

  He extended one gloved hand to help her up from the cold steps and gestured toward the parked vehicle alongside the street. The sleek black vehicle gleamed in the sunlight, either meticulously maintained or fresh from the detail shop. Probably both. “I will take you. Come, come, Miss Ellis. Champagne?”

  “Um…” Yes, say yes! “No, thank you.”

  The white leather seats were as soft as butter. Chloe sank against the plush interior and wondered if everything recent in her life was a crazy dream. Maybe I smacked my head in that cave and I’ve been dreaming everything since then. Maybe I’m dead and no one will ever find my body. This is my own special little waystation between Earth and Hell, maybe even Heaven...

  The city passed by outside the windows, viewed through sheer curtains. Chloe leaned back and closed her eyes trying to imagine her reunion with Saul. A musky scent reminiscent of sandalwood and amber wafted from the vents. Like Saul’s skin, she thought, drifting into a doze.

  “Miss Ellis, we have arrived.”

  The driver’s voice startled her from sleep. Over two hours had passed since her departure from the steps of Drakenstone Studios. Leiv, the handsome and rather stocky driver, smiled kindly at her and held the door open with his hand offered out to assist her from the vehicle. Chloe’s mouth fell open in awe as she stepped from the Maybach 62. The chauffeur shut the door behind her, bowed, and gestured to the front door.

  Holy shit. He’s really, really rich.

  “Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Ellis.”

  “Thank you. Leiv, right?” She couldn’t identify his accent, but he definitely didn’t have American origins either. It was Slavic most likely, or maybe even Russian.

  “Yes, Miss.” He bowed again and returned to the driver’s seat.

  It was the kind of home that belonged in a magazine, or on MTV’s Cribs. Once again, she felt compelled to pinch herself because nothing about her current situation could be within the realm of possibility.

  The home was built into a rocky cliff face, but not cute and quaint like a hobbit hole. Two stories of glass windows and stone wall dominated the impressive landscape. To her left, green fields stretched out towards a thick treeline. Goats munched on the lush grass behind an immense fence.

  Chloe pinched her arm several times along the walk to the door.

  She expected a maid, or some form of servant to answer the door. She found it unlocked - who in their right mind would rob a dragon who lived in the middle of nowhere? She laughed hysterically for a moment.

  This is ridiculous. Go in, talk to him. Apologize. Tell him that you can’t get him out of your fucking mind.

  A flurry of concerns and niggling worries harassed her to linger. What if he didn’t forgive her? What if he decided she’d taste better with ketchup now that she’d refused his advances once and spurned his affection?

  Courage guided her hand to the knob again. She pushed and stepped inside.

  “Hello?” Chloe nervously called. Her voice echoed across the foyer, which seemed to stretch infinitely. Her heels clicked against the marble floor. “Is anybody home?”

  Saul appeared at the top of a curved staircase. It came around again in a horseshoe, but it had a landing at the top that split toward an east and west wing. He didn’t approach or descend the stairs to greet her.

  “Chloe.”

  He was exactly as she remembered, naked chest and all. His jeans hung low at his hips and his feet were bare.

  “Hi, Saul… Surprise.” Her stiff smile died as quickly as it appeared. Saul didn’t appear pleased or welcoming of her presence.

  “Why have you sought me?” He maintained the distance. The realization of it struck Chloe like a knife in the heart.

  “I missed you,” she truthfully replied. She straightened and proudly raised her chin, unashamed of admitting her feelings. “And you stay on my mind. I can’t get you out of my head. I can’t stop thinking about you, dammit. I don’t even know anything about you but your name!”

  “And that I am a monster.”

  Still, he didn’t approach, so Chloe did it for him. She crossed the room, aware of how much harder her heart pounded with every step. Something about his expression and the misery in his brown eyes made him seem too vulnerable, a shadow of his former, confident self.

  God, she wanted to hear him laugh again.

  The man rewarded her ascent up the steps by backing away when she reached out to touch his cheek. His nostrils flared and his eyes widened, distrust evident in his features. He distanced from her again, a cornered animal backing away from a predator. At any moment, he could lash out at her to escape.

  “Why seek a creature you loathe?” he asked. “Why have you come here?”

  “I don’t loathe you. I was frightened, yes. Can you blame me? I mean… I woke up and you were…. you were…”

  “A dragon,” Saul answered quietly.

  “Yes.” It still boggled her mind. “It’s not something people expect. Ever. I spent the days after our meeting wondering if I imagined you. I had your photograph on my phone, but I just… I couldn’t bear to look at it and prove you were real.”

  “Why? Why now?” He swept her hand aside gently when she reached for him but he didn’t backpedal completely.

  Chloe’s heart rate thrummed as fast as a hummingbird’s wings. She swallowed a few times and wet her dry lips uselessly with her tongue. Her entire mouth felt like the Sahara. “Because I want to get to know you,” she said. “Because in those short hours together, we were more real than any relationship I’ve had in years. Because I hurt you and I’m sorry . There are worse things a man can do than...” Turn out to be a mythological creature. “Forgive me.”

  Saul studied her in silence, revealing no change in emotion. “I wronged you as well. I knew the consequences of laying claim to you.”

  “Fuck the consequences. If you can forgive me, I can forgive you.”

  “Can you?” he questioned softly.

  “Why shouldn’t I?”

  He didn’t answer. A minute change in his facial expression gave her reason to wait, allowing Saul the time to think over his response. “Are you not troubled by our bond?”

  “No. I already told you, Saul. There are worse things you could have done than want… me to be yours. I want to be yours. I want to see where this goes. Let’s start over,” she told him.

  This time, when Chloe bridged their gap, her palm raised to his scruffy cheek. He had the perfect amount of facial hair, and it was as soft under her touch now as it had been in the cave. He leaned against her hand, closed his eyes, and breathed her in with a heavy breath.

  “I missed you. No day passed without you touching my thoughts. I believed… I was certain I had lost you. That my true appearance frightened you away.”

  “You are scary but… you’re also a very handsome dragon,” Chloe shyly offered.

  He didn’t respond, but his close presence made it difficult to breathe, like a band had compressed her lungs. She ended up taking quicker, smaller breaths instead. Those treated her to the rich, smoky scent clinging to his skin.

  “I’m sorry, Saul. I’m sorry that I hurt you. Please talk to me.”

  “I dream of you,” he replied gruffly. “It is… maddening.”

  “You’re in my head at the worst time
s. I had a breakdown at work and quit my job. Every man I meet is such an asshole compared to you. I always knew they were jerks but… something about you made me realize I deserve more. You showed me kindness. You were good to me.” And she’d thrown it in his face. Chloe turned her face against his throat and nuzzled him appreciatively. He felt so warm. Her own personal radiator.

  “What do you want from this, Chloe? I am not human. No matter how I appear before you now, I can never become a true human.”

  Despite his warning, Chloe knew that if she walked away, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. “I don’t care. I want you to do this to me again.” She leaned back and tugged aside her top’s neckline, revealing the faded bite. He’d bruised her without drawing blood and somehow, over the course of the month it hadn’t quite healed completely. It remained a faded hint of yellow and green long after it should have diminished.

  “You do not ask for a simple thing, Chloe.” Saul’s eyes flared briefly, a touch of the golden color returning.

  “I don’t know what it means, but you can tell me later. All I know is that I want you to trust me again. You trusted me with this secret. Trust me one more time. Please.”

  No more words passed between them. Saul lifted her into his arms, exactly as he had several weeks ago in the cave. His long strides took them by several lavish rooms but she paid them little attention. All her focus was where it belonged - on him.

  Moonlight spilled in through a large skylight, painting the room in silver hues. As the central ornament of the expansive room, a large platform bed dominated the space with a bevy of cushions and satin-covered pillows.

  Saul introduced her to the bed by tossing her on it. “Remove everything,” he ordered her promptly. His hands tugged at her clothes, as if too incompetent with a human woman’s garments to remove them properly. Her panties became the first casualty of their encounter, ripped by his enthusiastic hands and tossed aside. She hastily unfastened her bra to save the expensive underwire from suffering the same fate.

  Apparently dragons went barefoot and commando at all times. For Saul, undressing was as simple as dropping his jeans and kicking them aside. The carved V formed by his hip muscles was a thing of absolute beauty. Bodybuilders strived to attain a figure like him.