Danburn: The English Dragon ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance (5 page)

As soon as he got to work he sat at his desk and began looking up things about being a romantic. He found a great deal of speculation on how that could work for men. Danburn wasn’t sure any of it would work on Kendrick, but he made notes. At several points while he was working quietly at his desk, he considered calling her and asking her what she wanted. But he knew that most of the time, women had no idea what they wanted. He’d read that several times now as he worked through the information on the computer.

When Noah came in a little before noon to go with him to two meetings, one of which was going to involve Julia and her brother, he asked him what Kendrick was doing. He didn’t seem to want to answer him, kept fobbing him off on other information that he didn’t need. Finally, he told him to tell him.

“She’s very delicate.” Not a word he might have used for her, but he listened to his friend. “I don’t mean in the fragile sort of way, even though there are times when she is that as well. But what I mean is she’s not had anything nice done for her or given to her. I would imagine all her life. And when she sees something, like the cut flowers in the hall that were put out this morning, she went on and on at their fragrance and color. The beautiful way that Beth had put the colors together to make them seem brighter. I sent her to the yard with Pierce to have him show her the castle walls. I know I find them beautiful.”

“I like her.” Noah said that he’d figured that out. “No. I mean I really like her. She’s not like the other women I’ve met. She’s straightforward and doesn’t seem to care that I’m a lord with money. Of course it’s never come up, but I have a feeling that should it, she’d just tell me to fuck off.”

“She would at that. I think, and I have less experience with women than you, but I do think she’s like a breath of fresh air.” Noah looked slightly embarrassed for a moment, but continued. “I had it in my head that she wasn’t good enough for you. Not in any way but as a bed partner. But I have since changed my mind into thinking—and please do not take this the wrong way—but I’m thinking that you’re not good enough for her.”

It hurt. He would only admit that to himself, but he thought Noah was right. He’d been overbearing to her. Mean even. Ordering her about like she was a minion. And the incident in the bedroom had shown him that he wanted more from her than just a good fuck. He wanted to make love to her.

The meeting seemed to go on for hours with Conrad, Julia’s brother, and his lawyer. They thought that since he had the money that they should be able to go on as usual. He, however, thought that he should keep his money and bring in some of his own people to run the place. After he spent a fortune in getting things up to code. The complex of new homes was nearly in ruins when he’d stepped in.

Four weeks ago he’d bought the bank note on two housing developments. One was in the upper side of town, the other mid-range income homes. Most of the houses were empty, the work done on them shoddy and short. As he walked through the house they were using as a demo, he started snapping pictures to compare to the ones he knew were to be sold to the public. The man with them and his attorney had taken exception to that.

“There is no reason to think that the other homes are going to be this nice. That’s just not the way that things are done around here.” He asked them why not. “Well, this is a model of what they can be doing to them, not what we have done in them. Of course this house is going to look better. People who buy them should figure that out right away.”

“No, this house should be the same as the one that they’re buying. When you put this model home here, to let them see what you’re selling, it should be the same if not less than what the consumer gets.” He pulled up a picture that he’d taken a couple of weeks ago when the paperwork had been approved for his purchase. “This is the house that is currently on the market. What do you think the person who has paid for the model home does when he gets in his home and finds that he not only has no countertops in his kitchen and baths, but that the flooring is only subflooring and that the walls aren’t painted? I would be very upset with you and demand my money returned to me. I do believe that’s why you’re behind in your payments here, as well as having several clients suing you.”

“Well, then you should fix them. That’s what you bought the notes for, isn’t it? To own all this and have an income from the houses. But I have a better idea than that. One that I think you’re going to do.” Danburn said nothing but looked at Noah. “You have all the money now. And my bank loans. I can’t sell the houses, as you said, the way they are. So fix them up, and then we’ll be able to sell them for you while taking a cut.”

“
We’ll
be able to sell them? I don’t think so. No, what is going to happen is, you’re going to leave the premises, and I’m going to bring in a crew to settle these homes up and then sell them on my own. I told you when you made this appointment to talk to me that your services were no longer required.” The man only huffed at him. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear on this.”

“Oh, you were very clear. But we’re not leaving. What you paid off, that doesn’t give us back what we invested of our own money in this venture. We’re staying. As I told you before you purchased this out from under us, we are part of the deal.” Danburn nodded to Noah, who slipped out of the room as the man continued. “You either play ball our way so that we can make money, or we come in, destroy everything here, and you’re left with shit to sell.”

Conrad smiled at him. Danburn felt his beast run along his skin to let him know he was there if he needed him. When Noah returned and nodded back at him, Danburn stretched his neck and heard it pop twice before he looked at the man and his lawyer, who hadn’t said a word since this thing started.

“You can do this my way or you can be arrested, Conrad. You have less than five minutes to get into your expensive car and get out, or I will, as I have told you I would do, have you arrested for trespassing.” Conrad only nodded, smiling at him like he had a great secret. “You won’t have to worry about the office equipment being gathered, by the way. The Feds have been going through that since we arrived, and left there.”

“What do you mean, the Feds?” The lawyer finally seemed to wake up and looked panicky as he turned to his client. “You didn’t tell me that there would be Federal officers involved. You said this would be a simple case of bullying a rich man into getting your money back. I told you when you called me yesterday that this wouldn’t work. I’ve known Danburn for years, and he does not walk away from a deal. As of right now, Conrad, I’m finished. I’ll send you a bill for my services, but this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done as far as I’m concerned.”

The attorney—and Danburn could not for the life of him remember his name—waved at his ex-client as he left them standing there. When Conrad turned back to him, Danburn had a feeling that the man was going to try something very stupid, and watched him as he smiled.

“You can’t do shit to me. And you’re going to do just what I tell you to do and keep your mouth shut about it. Would you like to know why?” Danburn nodded. “Because I have something that you want. And you want it badly. You might say I have an ace up my sleeve when it comes to having dealings with men like you.”

“And what would that be?” Danburn had a few things that he wanted. One of them was currently in his home, injured and upset with him. But there was nothing that this man could do for him or get for him that Danburn had on his list. “You have no money and the car you drove here has been repossessed as of now. Your home, used as collateral on the development you have across town, is now in the hands of the bank. The few friends that you had have long since told you to fuck off, and you couldn’t borrow the money for a newspaper if they were giving them away. Whatever do you think you might have that I’d want?”

“Why, I have Julia James. You remember her, don’t you? The woman that you have been dating for a few years now? I have her, and if you ever want to see her again, you’ll sign the paperwork I have here now.” Danburn said nothing as Conrad produced several sheets of folded paper from his pocket. “Just sign where the markers are and this will end nicely for all of us. Julia is currently hidden away and ready to be given back to you once you do as you’re told and put me and my company in charge.”

“Really? Then let me talk to her.” He was shaking his head even before Danburn finished speaking. “So, on blind trust that you have her, I’m supposed to just sign off on this paperwork and let you ruin me. Because as much as I don’t trust you now, I doubt that things will get any better between us. How much more are you going to try and get from me, Conrad? Millions? More? Tell me.”

“You never know what I might want in the future from you. I might just let you off with only making you pay me an upfront amount of five million, or I might want five mill a month for the next fifty years. By the way, that’s in the paperwork too, that I can get money from you whenever I see fit.” Danburn said nothing as the man stood there. “Well?”

“Well what?” He asked him if he was going to sign the paperwork to get Julia back. “No. I don’t work that way, and if you thought I did, then you’re stupider than we all thought. And let me tell you, I knew how stupid you were from the beginning. Who builds a housing development like this? There are no roads here. No kind of entertainment for the masses. Or did you expect them to spend all their time fixing up the pieces of shit that you sold them? That’s it, isn’t it?”

“I don’t really care what they do with their time so long as they don’t come to me whining about what I did or didn’t do. That’ll be your problem from now on. But back to Julia. You’d just let her die? Because you think you’re better than me? I think not.” Danburn didn’t answer him. There was no way that he’d kill her, he knew that for a fact. Nor did he have her hidden away. “I can’t believe the great Danburn English would just let a woman die over money.”

“You are. Not me.” He stood there for several more minutes, and could tell that Conrad was nervous. For the first time that day, Danburn felt within his element. Wanted to shout to the world that things were going his way for a change. As he rocked on his heels, waiting for the man to take some sort of action, he kept an eye on Noah as well.

Noah was an immortal, much like he was. They could die, yes, his father had proven that for them, but it was harder to do so and they lived forever. Noah, because of his relationship with Danburn, would of course live forever too. But he did have limitations that Danburn didn’t. And they were great.

Noah couldn’t change into a dragon, for one thing. There wasn’t any magic that he could use, as Danburn and his kind could. And for most shifters he knew, with age came the added abilities afforded to them. More magic being one of them. So he kept an eye on his friend in the event that Conrad got any dumber. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt if he could help it.

Danburn, with just a wave of his hand, could kill a waterway or give it as much life as it could hold. His scales, in his dragon form, could heal lakes and oceans, as well as the earth surrounding it. His castle, the one that he’d built when he’d come of age, was the result of some of that magic. It was the main reason it butted up against the large mountain. He was, when you thought about it, a part of the waterways that ran beneath the mountain as much as he was the stone and grounds around it. It was safe there, not just for him and his mother, but those that lived and worked there. Danburn took care of his own.

The Feds moved just past the doorway as Conrad started naming off all the things that he was going to take from him. Danburn knew that Noah had called them in, and now that they were here, he could do just what he’d been asked to do. Get the man to confess to his crimes. It was sort of a letdown, he supposed. He had wanted to hurt the man for what he and his sister had done. Noah gave him the thumbs up, and he looked at the man in front of him.

“Julia is in custody.” Conrad started shaking his head, his body hard with fear now. “Conrad, you were never going to get away with this. You and Julia should have known better than to play a hand you had no chance of winning. And there was no way you were going to win this, no matter who you kidnapped.”

“You think not? Well, that is where you’re wrong. We know things about you that will ruin you when it comes out.” Danburn asked him again what he thought he had. “You’re a dragon. A man that can shift into a beast, and the world will know about it if you don’t sign the paperwork now.”

Danburn didn’t even bother looking around to see who might have heard him. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed. He had no idea how they had found out, but there was no point in denying it. Nor was he going to agree with him. Conrad asked him if he’d heard him.

“Yes. A dragon, you say? Well, I suppose that’s about as truthful as it comes. Tell me, Conrad, what sort of dragon am I? Do I burn villages with my hot breath? Am I the kind of dragon that sheds tears for the money that I need to take over failing business like yours? Or am I the kind of dragon that flies below the surface of the waters and eats all manner of men and women who dare venture into my territory?” All true to a point, but some of them had happened very long ago, when the world was a much different place. “I know. I’m a great silver dragon that does all those things and more. I fly the skies on cloudy days so that I can have the freedom of spreading my wings when I’m alone. I command mountains to build a castle that is as much a part of the stones that it was shaped from as the fish are to the water that holds them in its belly.”

He took the necessary steps to Conrad to close the distance between them. Then he grabbed his head and pulled it to his, their foreheads touching. When he locked his eyes to his, Danburn let Conrad see him—all of him—in his glory, and what he looked like when he was pissed off. Then he let him go. Few had ever seen what he’d shown the human male. And no one would believe a word he said when he told them.