Damaged and the Dragon

Damaged and the
Dragon

Bijou Hunter

Copyright © 2014 Bijou Hunter

Smashwords Edition

Dedication

Freckles, Tigger, Pooh, and Roo for owning my
heart

Mustang Sally and Marvelous Miranda for
having my back

Saucy Sarah and Hardcore Patty for knowing
the genre

Eusebia, Jennifer, Arnie, Gail, and the rest
of the awesome Denny’s crew

Bijou Hunter
Books

Damaged and the Beast (Apr ‘13)

Damaged and the Knight (July ‘13)

Damaged and the Cobra (Oct ‘13)

Damaged and the Outlaw (Nov ‘13)

Damaged and the Bulldog (2014)

Damaged and the Saint – Final Damaged Book
(2014)

Bijou Books

Gator (Feb ’14)

Used (June ’14)

*****

This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the
products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious
manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or
actual events is purely coincidental.

As Bailey Fucking Johansson, my life should
have been easy. For a long time, even after the devil child was
born and I was no longer the center of the universe for my parents,
my life remained pretty damn good. I didn’t know when shit went
downhill, but I clearly needed dramatic changes if I wanted my life
to improve.

My new boobs were the most obvious change. I
went from a big A to a small C cup. While I wanted them to be
Double D Dolly Parton big, Raven said no. She put her still casted
foot down and claimed I would look like a loser. Wussing out, I did
as she commanded.

My mom would have gotten me any size I
liked. She always wanted me to make my own decisions and be
independent. She even pretended to support my choice to move out of
the house. On the other hand, Pop was thoroughly against me
leaving.

“
First, you want new tits!”
he yelled. “Now, you want to move out. I’m suspicious of where this
ends.”

Pop refused to say goodbye when I moved into
my new place, but Mom and Sawyer joined me for dinner. Later while
they prepared to leave, I studied their matching curly blonde hair
and blue eyes. Getting lucky by having Pop’s straight blond hair,
I’d also been blessed with Mom’s eyes. Those eyes that were now
tearing up.

“
You can always come home,”
Mom said.

“
I just moved out,” I
muttered, smacking a mosquito on my sweaty arm.

“
No, I mean if you’re
lonely or want to spend a night or two at home. Your room is still
yours.”

“
Thanks, Mom,” I said,
hugging her which wasn’t easy with my new knockers in the
way.

Sawyer shook her head. “I liked how you were
whining less. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”

“
I’ll still be
around.”

Giving me a hug, Sawyer stared at my boobs.
“I’d have gotten them super big.”

“
I know. You told me that
an hour ago.”

“
Just saying.”

“
Well, we should go,” Mom
sighed, taking Sawyer’s hand. “If you need anything, you know where
we are.”

“
Tell Pop I love
him.”

“
He knows. It’s just hard
watching his little girl grow up.”

“
I’ll see you
soon.”

Mom gave me a little smile before she and
Sawyer walked across the long driveway and disappeared into our
cabin-style house. Left alone at the apartment over the garage, I
stared at what looked like a million stairs. As nervous as I was to
be on my own, time had come for me to grow up and be a new
woman.

A month earlier, Mom had the apartment
remodeled to give it a more feminine touch. In the past, my oldest
brother Cooper then our buddy Vaughn used the place for their
harems. While I told my parents I didn’t want to touch anything
skanked up by the prior residents, I really didn’t want reminders
of when Vaughn’s cousin nearly beat my friend Raven to death in the
living room. I hated imagining her suffering the way she did.

Raven and Vaughn now lived in a big yellow
house, just another happy couple in love.

I hoped getting my place would be the first
step to finding love one day too. First my idiot brother Tucker met
Maddy then my smarter idiot brother Cooper hooked up with Farah.
Her sister Tawny fell for the Reapers’ enforcer Judd. Our crew soon
expanded when Lark married Cooper’s best friend Aaron. Finally,
Lark’s sister Raven jumped on Vaughn and refused to get off.
Through it all, I remained alone.

Now in my new place, I warmed up a Hot
Pocket and sat in front of the TV. An hour alone made me realize I
was nervous to be on my own. My fear was stupid since my parents
were within yelling distance and I’d been alone in the main house
overnight. Even so, I decided to get one of our millions of giant
dogs to stay with me.

Opening the door, I found Pop halfway up the
stairs. He looked conflicted until seeing me then he smiled.

“
Do you want a dog to stay
with you?” he asked, walking up the final steps. “Do have your
phone nearby? Gun too?”

“
Yes to all three,” I said,
hugging him.

His strong arms held me to him. Pop smelled
like Marlboros and Old Spice with a hint of barbecue sauce from
dinner. Mostly, he smelled like home.

“
Thanks, Pop,” I said when
he let me go.

“
I want my little girl to
be happy.”

“
I just need to grow up a
little.”

“
A little.”

“
Not too much,” I
promised.

Tall and powerful like the boys he fathered,
Pop stroked my hair then looked into the dark night. He whistled
and a few dogs rushed over.

“
Danger is a good indoor
dog,” he said then called out to her. Once the Rottweiler rushed up
the stairs, we pet her for a minute. “See you at breakfast,” Pop
said, hugging me once more.

I stood at the top of the stairs until Pop
reached the house and disappeared inside. Danger and I walked into
the apartment where I locked the door. While the dog got
comfortable by the TV, I pulled out my journal. Keeping my ideas in
one place was my therapist’s idea. She had a lot of great ideas,
but once I had my new life plan in motion, I didn’t really need her
anymore.

In the journal was my four part plan to
happiness.

Step one ~ buy new
boobs.
Check. They were excellent
too.

Step two ~ get serious
about my career.
Check. I changed my major
to business and hired a personal assistant to practice bossing
people around.

Step three ~ move into a
place of my own.
Check. The place smelled
new. Not even a hint of whorehouse remained.

Step four ~ get me a good man.

The final part proved to be the trickiest so
far since Nick Davies wasn’t cooperating.

The first time I stepped into the cage at
the Thunderdome I could barely breathe. The crowd was smaller then,
yet rowdier. Wasted guys threw empty beer bottles at the cage.
Hell, sometimes they tossed hot dogs and nachos.

My first opponent was a Reaper’s son who had
won his last three fights. Wearing sweatpants and an oversized tee,
I stood in my corner and wondered if getting pounded was worth a
hundred bucks.

Never imagining I’d win and make the three
hundred winner’s pot, I only hoped for easy cash to take the
pressure off of paying my bills. After getting a concussion from
Cooper Johansson, his family paid for my freshman year tuition. I
figured making extra money the first year would make the rest of my
college experience easier.

When the biker’s kid came at me, I feared
the first blow, yet the pain awoke something dark in me. Growing
up, I took more punches and abuse than this fucker. I knew I could
beat him. Not through brute strength, but by lasting longer. After
he came crashing to the ground and I held the winner’s fee in my
hand, I knew Dragon was back.

Fighting in the Thunderdome became a chance
to act out my ugly past. I pretended I was defeating every asshole
that ever treated me like shit. Every douche standing in my way.
Every loser who made me hide as a kid. Once I kicked the asses of
all those imaginary foes and lost the fire for winning, I simply
fought for the money.

A lot of my opponents were real athletes
while others were jerks looking to impress girls. A few were crazy
fucks wanting to legally hurt someone. I dealt with each opponent
differently.

The athletes arrived with a plan of attack,
so I had to frustrate them until they made a mistake. With the
jerks, I only needed to score a few hard punches before they didn’t
want to play anymore. As for the crazy fucks, well, I made those
fights personal.

They were easy to spot. Unlike the other
guys who played the crowds, the crazy fucks only cared about their
prey. I was a victim they got paid to pound into the ground. Once
the gate closed behind them and they focused on me, I doubted the
freaks even remembered the money or crowd. They only wanted me to
bleed.

My dad was the same kind of man. How many
times had he bitched about laws against hitting wives and kids? He
claimed what happened in a family should be family business. I knew
he wanted a legal way to pound on people.

The crazy fucks were mere obstacles between
me and my money. Even so, the Dragon part of me wanted them to feel
like the people they preyed on. No way was I the first one they
viewed as easy prey. I wouldn’t be the last either, yet I enjoyed
the look on each freak’s face when my first punch took him off
guard.

Everyone said I had a
boyish look about me. The Thunderdome manager Axel mentioned the
same thing when I arrived for my first fight.
Why does a sweet boy like you want to get your ass
kicked?
I just smiled at his comment since
I never had a talent for the kind of trash talking that made so
many men scary. As a teenager, I practiced acting tough in front of
the mirror. I always ended up laughing because even I didn’t
believe the bullshit coming out of my mouth. Though tall and
strong, I’d never be scary.

Every guy I’d fought over the years thought
he could take me in less than a minute. Even now as Dragon, I never
scared anyone. Their lack of fear was what made the first punch so
perfect. The moment my opponents realized they were fucked.

The guy tonight was an athlete. Wide in
every way, I suspect he played football. I enjoyed fighting the
bigger guys because they were easier to dodge and wear down. If I
escaped the brunt of most punches by being faster, I could outlast
them until I delivered the final punch.

Glancing at the crowd, I saw girls wearing
dragon shirts and makeup. Their interest meant Axel paid me more to
keep fighting. Even appreciating that the girls’ lusty squeals
distracted the athlete, I planned to dodge them like I dodged the
guy’s punches. Only one girl interested me, but I hadn’t found our
right moment just yet.

All my friends were joined at the groins and
I wanted to know the secret to their happiness. Dropping by Cooper
and Farah’s suburban house to chat with my least favorite
sister-in-law, I brought along my new assistant.

A month earlier, I’d hired Winona Todds to
take notes for me in class. She also helped me keep organized. The
adopted daughter of the Reapers’ pastor and her sister Harlow had a
rough time over the summer when a few crazy fuckers grabbed them. I
didn’t know everything that went down, but the girls killed one guy
and escaped. Now, Winona was my first employee.

Once inside the two-story family room,
Winnie attempted to disappear into the furniture. As much as I
liked how quiet she was, sometimes I forgot she was there. Once I
even left her at a pizza shop, only remembering hours later.

Since Farah snared my
manwhore brother, she clearly knew a few tricks. Asking for advice
was my new thing, but it hadn’t helped me so far. Raven’s brilliant
tip to catch a man was flashing my titties. Tawny told me to play
coy. I didn’t even know what the hell that meant, but it sounded
boring so I never asked her to elaborate. Lark’s advice was to be
true to myself.
You know, as if I was
living in a Disney movie.

Finally, I turned to Farah for help. The
uptight bitch never should have worked with Cooper, yet somehow she
wrapped his giant asshole ego around her finger. I wanted to know
her secret, so I could use it to trap my man.