Dragon's Pride: BBW Paranormal Dragon Romance (4 page)

Kale

Cerul stared at me, motionless. Today his eyes were dark and hooded, black circles drawn underneath. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all. “You do?” he asked.

For a moment, I pitied him. Then I remembered the way he had just spoken to me. “Don’t ask me why, considering that you’re a jerk who hasn’t said a single nice thing to me since I moved in here. But apparently I do. We can stay here, since you’re not capable of even thinking about going outside. Get on the bench.”

He followed at my heels as I walked to the gym, then took my instructions without complaining – for once. The muscles in his arm strained and he pushed the barbell high into the air. I counted, my voice inflecting higher and higher until I got to the number eight.

“Do you see what you just did?” I said then, pulling the weights back away from him. “You just bench pressed double the weight you could when I got here. Double!”

I was worked up, waving my hands wildly in the air. “Don’t you see the difference in yourself? Don’t you feel any different?”

He had made such progress in these past few weeks. The way he was filling out his clothes now, well – it was getting to be a little distracting. All of our exercising had taken its effect. His biceps bulged, his abs rippled. Not only that, but his greasiness was a thing of the past. His face was always clean-shaven, and his longish hair was always freshly washed.

But his attitude hadn’t changed at all. It was as piss-poor as ever. While it had been kind of endearing in a childlike way at first, it was getting less acceptable every day. Cerul had worn on my nerves to the point where I could say he was the most exasperating person I had ever met.

He hadn’t told me much about himself – not for lack of me trying. Maybe there were things going on in his life that I didn’t know about. It couldn’t be that bad, though. He didn’t even have to work for a living! He owned his own home at a young age, and his rich aunt was providing for whatever he wanted and more.

I might have been harsher with him than I would’ve been with someone else. I just couldn’t find any sympathy for him moping around all the time. He had it so much better than so many people. Myself included, if I was being honest about my feelings. I would have loved to lie around all day like he did instead of yelling myself hoarse at a reluctant client. This job left me plenty of time for long baths with bottles of wine, but I still had it nowhere near as easy as he did.

“Can you really not see how hard I’m working trying to get you strong and healthy?” I hissed. “You don’t see why I have to push you at times? Don’t you have the slightest interest in your own well-being?”

Cerul stared at me. Despite how sleepy he had looked a moment earlier, he suddenly looked as awake as I had ever seen him. For the briefest second, I actually thought he might apologize.

“I never asked you to come here,” he said instead. “I’d be fine, if it wasn’t for… Never mind. I don’t need you!”

“I’ve been putting up with your whining for a month,” I said. “I’ve tried everything I could to get my job done – not just because it’s what your aunt is paying me to do, but because some perverse little part of me actually feels sorry for you. I just can’t believe that now that it’s getting done, now that we’re seeing results, you’re still just as stubborn as ever!”

My client took a step back, his eyes widening and fists raising. “Did you say you feel… sorry… for me?” he spat.

That seemed to have touched a nerve. I briefly wondered if I should back down. No, he needed to know how I felt. “Sure did,” I said. “It’s a pretty pathetic life you have here. Moping around… never leaving your house… And when someone tries to be a… a friend to you, you push her away!”

With the words out, I took deep breaths. Cerul might just murder me now. I had never seen him half so emotional. For a moment, the two of us just looked at each other.

Cerul launched forward and breathed down my neck. “A friend?” he said. His breath was hot, yet somehow made me shiver. “You have not tried to be my… friend. You’ve treated me like a child since the day you got here, like a human – like a child.”

Looking up at him, I trembled. I wondered what he would have said if he hadn’t cut himself off. My mounting fear wasn’t enough to stop my big mouth, though. These words had been dying to come out for one full month. “Because you act like a child!” I said. “Whining, complaining, trying to get out of what you’re supposed to do. You know what a real adult does? Take care of himself. Accept the help that people offer them – and thank them for it. Go outside, for heaven’s sake!”

His eyes burned down into mine, and I became conscious of the closeness of his body. It was powerful in a way it hadn’t been a month ago. He wasn’t stronger than me yet when it came to lifting, but physical fights were different. I could draw on playground scuffles with four older brothers and innumerable male friends, which I somehow doubted he’d had. Then again, he had the advantage of height and weight. If it came down to a fight, we might be evenly matched.

I braced myself, waiting for him to hit me. What I got instead was his fingers seizing my waist. “Would a child do this?” he demanded.

His lips crashed down so suddenly I didn’t have time to object. Only when he was already kissing me did I think to squirm and wriggle. Cerul held me there, though, kissing me more fiercely with each passing second. The sensation was so unexpected, and when I couldn’t get away I realized it was so… good.

I couldn’t hold myself back. I’d been waiting too long for a handsome man to embrace me this passionately. My lips softened and parted, and I melted into the kiss. I kissed Cerul as if it would make up for all the men who had looked past me or rejected me. Thoughts of “personal trainer” and “client” were nowhere in my mind. I wasn’t even thinking about his arrogance or his petulance. There was only him and me – man and woman.

We battled for control, me pushing forward, then him pushing back. His teeth dug into my lip, then mine clamped down on his neck. We weren’t matched at all, I realized with horror. While my head spun and uncontrollable little moans sprang from the back of my throat, Cerul hardly seemed affected at all.

Clutching at him frantically, I let one hand venture up under his shirt and explore the body that I had built. Every push-up I had counted had gone into these biceps. Every sit-up I had guided him through went into these abs… oh… and the V that dug down on each side. My mind went to wicked places as I ran one finger along those lines, only stopping where his shorts’ waistline forced me to. If I kept going, it might be more than I could handle.

Just like that, my self-control returned. I pulled back, shocked that these kinds of thoughts were even occurring to me. “What are we doing?”

Cerul gazed down at me, seeming taller and more attractive than ever. “I’m showing you why you should never disrespect me.”

“Look,” I said, breathing shallowly as I struggled to finish composing myself. “If you can look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to be strong and fit, maybe I really should just leave.”

Tilting my head up, he let his eyes blaze at me. “I don’t care about being strong and fit,” he said.

It was the answer I’d expected from his stubborn self, although not the one I’d hoped for. “Okay,” I whispered. I shouldn’t have thought our kiss would mean anything. Of course it wouldn’t. The bastard was just trying to prove a point… somehow. “I can get my old jobs back. They told me I could. And I’ll find a new apartment. I’ll stay out of your way until I find one.”

“No, Kale, you still don’t understand!” he said. He took a step back, the absence of his heat leaving me shivering again. “I don’t care about it because I shouldn’t have to work for it. It’s supposed to come naturally to me. That’s why you could see I used to be in shape. If everything was as it should be, I would never need any of this foolishness.” He gestured to the equipment surrounding us in the room. “But I don’t want you to leave.”

He had said a lot of things, many of which I hadn’t understood. Maybe I should have pressed him harder at that point; maybe it would’ve made things easier later on. As it was, the only part I’d really followed was his last sentence. He didn’t want me to leave.

“Okay,” I whispered. I stared up at his lips, trying to work up the nerve to kiss him again. It wasn’t there, so I just waved shyly and went back to my room.

I tiptoed around Cerul for the rest of the day, staying out of his way as best as I could. It was our usual routine. He was in his room all the time doing who-knew-what, while I frequently went out to the gym or to play sports with friends. Our kiss might have made me feel different, but something made me too nervous to try to change things just yet.

I planned to take part in a pick-up basketball game that day, even if I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. My brother still wasn’t too keen on the idea of me living with a man, and he was perceptive enough that he’d definitely notice something different about me.

Maybe Ricky was right about Cerul. It was a weird situation, and from the outside, it would have looked like something of a questionable one. But Ricky didn’t know half of the situation. Nothing untoward was going on. It wasn’t like that.

I was halfway out the door when my phone rang. About to ignore it, I glanced and saw it was Jersey calling. This call couldn’t be missed.

“Kale, how is everything?” she asked.

“Good. No… well… it’s good.”

“Okay.” She sounded less cheerful than usual, and I even thought I heard a sigh of relief. “Cerul is okay? He’s been going through some stuff – family stuff. I was afraid it might’ve been a bit rough on him. He’s acting normal?”

I shook my head, although she couldn’t see me. No, he wasn’t acting normal, but how could I begin to explain what had happened? Even if she wasn’t my client’s aunt, I wasn’t about to tell her we had kissed. “He’s okay,” I said. “Maybe a little… no, he’s fine.”

Concern was clear in Jersey’s voice. “And you’re okay, too? I can hardly hear you. Are you sick?”

“Maybe a little sick,” I said. “I think I’ve been coming down with something. I was just on my way out, too, so I’d better go.”

“You should stay home,” she said. “Relax, recharge…”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Thank you, though. I appreciate it.”

She sighed again, and I wondered what exactly was going on. If only I could have asked! But I wouldn’t have even known where to start.

“I hope you feel better soon,” she said. “Just keep an eye on Cerul, would you? He might not be in a very good place right now.”

When was he ever? I hung up after insisting that the two of us were fine, but not before scheduling a visit. She was going to come check on her nephew the next day, and she wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

When we were off the phone, I found myself lacking in desire to play any pick-up basketball.

And wondering if him kissing me had anything to do with being in a “not very good place.”

Cerul

My usual routine didn’t feel as satisfying now that Kale and I had kissed. Brooding in my bedroom and ordering take-out sandwiches was little distraction from my memories of it, and my mind kept circling back to the feeling of her lips.

I half-expected her to come knock on my door and drag me out to talk about what had happened. The banging on the door never came. Around mid-afternoon I heard her voice in the hall as if she was talking on the phone. Then the front door opened and shut behind her.

Leaning on my windowsill, I gazed outside. One building towered over the rest of the city. Its top floor spun slowly, all glass and steel. I was told it made one rotation every hour. Inside was a restaurant where I had gone often in days gone by. Looking back at it brought back memories, and I wrenched myself away from the window.

The research I usually performed with every spare waking minute couldn’t seem to interest me today. I was at the end of my rope, anyway. The Internet didn’t have much more to offer on the subject that concerned me, and I was almost finished working my way through the books, both arcane and contemporary, that I had ordered.

I sat back on my bed and let the memory of her soft figure under my hands overtake me. I’d kissed her to assert myself, but I would have been lying if I’d said I didn’t enjoy it. She was a truly breathtaking young woman, a natural beauty. No frills were necessary to make her attractive, unlike the girls I sometimes saw on TV. It was all her – her face, her smile, her hair, her endless curves…

The thoughts were making me want to do things I never did. Improper things unbecoming of the near-godly being that I was. I fought the urges as hard as I could. I wouldn’t allow myself to spill my seed. That would weaken me, make me lose my potency.

How could I be less potent than I already was? I was already trapped in this form, possibly permanently. “Weakened” was hardly a strong enough word for my condition.

Still, I forced myself onto my feet. I refused to debase myself to that extent. There had to be something to get my mind off this. Anything…

As I paced around the main floor of my house, my eyes lit upon the elliptical.

I was still there when Kale returned. Half an hour had passed, perhaps an hour. I wiped sweat from my brow and worked the handles in front of me. At least I couldn’t think about her when I was punishing myself like this.

“Well, look at you.”

Her voice at the door startled me, and I almost fell. It was filled with amusement, and she seemed to be suppressing a laugh as she watched me fight for my balance. The girl still hadn’t found the proper respect for me!

I glowered at her. “Where have you been?” I demanded, letting the machine come to a rest. I stepped off, intending to interrogate her further.

“Playing basketball.” She took another step inside, smirking. The shorts she wore were far too tight, and they showed too much of her legs. I didn’t like the idea of other men seeing that much of her voluptuous body.

“You didn’t tell me where you were going.”

Her eyebrows raised sarcastically. “That’s the first time you’ve ever asked. Is somebody jealous? Aww, did somebody miss me?”

“Stop that,” I snapped.

“Stop what?”

This woman did unacceptable things to me. I meant for her to stop making my heart race with her smile, but I couldn’t tell her that. I breathed as deeply as I could, knowing I was on the verge of blasting fire.

“I’m going to order pizza,” I said abruptly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

The food was bland and tasteless, and for a moment I wondered if I would always have to eat alone. Company might make this meal more enjoyable. I wondered where Kale was, who she ate with. She had friends, if she was playing basketball with them. Maybe family. Suddenly I was curious, and I vowed to ask.

The next day, I was up minutes before my human “alarm.” I had already brushed my teeth and combed my hair before Kale arrived with her usual clamor. When I opened the door, fresh and perky-eyed, she looked as surprised as I’d ever seen her.

“Look who’s up,” she said as if just convincing herself that what she was seeing was real. “This is a first.”

“I woke up early,” I grunted. “Couldn’t sleep.”

In the gym, I followed her instructions to the letter. And the way she watched my muscles working didn’t escape my notice. The interest in her eyes was more than that of a personal trainer. There was something decidedly unprofessional in them now.

“Good job,” she said as I curled weights behind my head. She circled around me, and I could almost feel her eyes on my butt. “Make those triceps work.”

“They’re working, they’re working,” I said. I might have been grumbling, but I also had a smile on my face.

Now it was her hands that I felt on my butt. I jumped at the sudden sensation. “Make them work harder,” Kale whispered.

I didn’t stop, even with her fingers clenching and relaxing on my glutes. I brought the dumbbells high above my head, then swivelled to face her. “I can think of some other things I’d rather be doing.”

She leaned up with sultry eyes, and I couldn’t have stopped myself from kissing her again even if I’d wanted to. The sparks flew just as hard as they had before. Her lips were so soft, so plush – I could have thrown myself into that kiss and not come out for days. She kissed me ever harder, and I laced my fingers through her hair and gave it a soft yank. She had to remember who was in charge here.

“Enough,” she breathed after far too little time. “Back to work.”

My breathing was as ragged as hers, and there was little that appealed to me less than working out at the moment. “But we were just getting started,” I complained.

“Give me twenty sit-ups, and you can have another kiss.”

Grumbling, I got onto the mat. When I finished what she had requested, she gave me one quick peck. I opened my mouth, expecting more. She had already pulled away, a barbell in her hands, a sadistic smile on her face.

“You’ll get another after your bench presses.”

The weight seemed heavier than ever, and my muscles ached as I forced myself through the repetitions. Kale grinned down at me as she waited. “Good boy,” she said when I was through. One tiny kiss was all she planted on my lips.

As infuriating as ever. If she knew, if she had the least idea who she was dealing with…

I couldn’t maintain the familiar irritation. Even if Kale didn’t know what she was rubbing up against, her attitude was growing on me.

When our work-out was over, Kale slung a towel over her shoulder and began to walk out.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “You don’t want to stay and talk for a little bit?”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said. “You see, my client never wants to talk to me. He didn’t even want me around in the first place. I try to stay out of his way as much as possible when we’re not working out.”

She smirked at me, knowing I had no way to logically object. I had told her a million times how little use I had for her, how much I wanted her gone. She had to see that things were different now, of course. She was just toying with me.

“Don’t be silly,” I said, reaching out for her. “Stay.”

“Maybe another time,” she said teasingly. “For now, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I cursed as she left. It wasn’t fair for her to have this amount of power over me. And she seemed immune to my own charms. How else was she able to just walk away like that while I was left here longing for her?

The day passed slowly. I went about my business as best as I could when she was on my mind. Everything I did passed through a Kale-colored filter. Even when my aunt came to visit that night, it was her that I was thinking of.

Jersey sat down beside me, a sympathetic look on her face. “How are you doing?” she asked. She used a soft voice, as if speaking loudly might damage me.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you, really? I know how much you hoped for your mom to come around the other night.”

“I’m really fine.”

“And it’s going to be hard for you to wait another year, if she’s even feeling more charitable on her next birthday…”

“Aunt Jersey, I’m telling you that I’m fine!”

She recoiled a little. “I’m just trying to help,” she said with clear hurt. “If you don’t want to talk to me about it, I’ll go upstairs and visit with Kale.”

“Good,” I said. “Go.”

I paced the house, trying to catch a glimpse of my personal trainer. She evaded me skillfully. Either she was in her room with the door closed, or in the bathroom with the shower running, or she was out. I tried not to think about how much I wanted to open that door, or to join her in the shower. That would have been letting her win.

The moment she appeared in my bedroom the next morning, all attempts at self-control went out of my mind. I didn’t say a word, just seized her and held her close to me and kissed her as if I would never stop. She wriggled in my arms, but I didn’t let her get away until I’d had my fill of her soft lips.

I caressed her curves, feeling the hardness under her soft flesh. My desire for her was palpable, and from the way she was looking up at me, I could tell she felt the same. I intended to drive her so crazy she wouldn’t be able to resist me.

“You can’t just tease me forever,” I growled. “Tell me you don’t want me to keep going.”

She bit her lip, which somehow got me even more aroused. “I don’t want you to keep going,” she whispered.

“You don’t want me to touch you here?” I ran my hand over her midsection. “Or here?” Above the cup of her bra.

Her jaw hung open and she looked up at me with glazed eyes. Still, she refused to give in to me. “No,” she said, her voice barely audible. “Not yet.”

I took her by the wrists and pressed myself against her so that she could feel my hardness against her waist. “You just want to go downstairs and work out?”

“Yes,” she sighed.

I couldn’t understand why she insisted on denying herself, but there was little that I could do while she continued. My erection didn’t go down until halfway through the work-out, and it continued to pop up after that when she turned in the wrong direction or looked at me in a certain way with those eyes of hers. I tried not to look at her lips at all to prevent thoughts of burying my cock between them. The little kisses she occasionally bestowed as rewards were more torture than pleasure. With the frustration she was putting me through, I would be in pain all day.

When we finished, she started to walk away again. I caught her by the hand. “Tell me why you won’t let this happen,” I ordered her. “You keep kissing me and then stopping. Why?”

Her eyes opened wide. I had caught her off guard, and for a second she seemed unable to answer. The expressions changing on her pretty face were like a window to the thoughts racing through her head.

“I don’t understand you,” she finally said. “Nothing about you makes sense. I’ve tried to ask you so many questions, and you wouldn’t answer any. I want to know more! I think we might actually have something here, but how can I get involved with someone who won’t let me in even a little bit?”

I nodded slowly. It was true, I was closed off. And maybe she deserved to know some of what was going on. I wouldn’t tell her everything, of course, but I could give her a little bit of an idea. No details.

“What exactly do you want to know?”