Firefighter Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (11 page)

Virginia giggled, impishly shifting her glorious backside against his stiffening cock. "You've got to be kidding me. Again? Already?"

"I can't help it." He traced the gold and emerald chains looping her arms. "I'm wild for you even when you're fully clothed. You have no idea what seeing you properly adorned does for me."

"Hmm." To his surprise, Virginia wriggled away from him. He would have been dismayed, but the mate-bond reassured him that nothing was wrong—she'd just made up her mind about something. "Wait here a minute?"

Dai crossed his arms behind his head, all the breath sighing out of him at the enticing sway of her breasts as she got up. "Any longer and I'm coming looking for you."

True to her word, she was back in moments, slipping into the room with a shy expression and something concealed in one palm.

"You showed me yours." A mixture of pride tinged with a hint of nervousness radiated down the mate-bond as she held out her hand, opening her fingers. "It seems only fair that I show you mine."

Dai bolted upright. "
Fuck me!"

Virginia burst out laughing. "That
was
my general intention, yes."

"No—I mean yes, but—" Dai clutched at his own head, nearly deafened by the roars of his inner dragon. The beast was a storm of flame and goldlust, wings beating frantically.

The jewel, the lost jewel, the Dragon's Eye! Jewel of kings!

A torrent of mental images flooded his mind's eye. Warriors in crimson cloaks, dragon-headed ships plunging across a storm-lashed sea, swords and shields and a dragon-eyed man crowned with gold and rubies...

"Dai?" Virginia touched his bare shoulder. "What is it?"

Dai became aware that he'd hunched over as if hurricane winds were howling around his ears. He made himself uncurl, clamping down on his inner dragon's agitation. He stared at the massive star ruby in Virginia's hand in disbelief. "That’s the artifact you found? It's called the Dragon's Eye, and it's important. It belonged to...a king?"

Virginia's eyebrows shot up. "I'm pretty certain it's from the helmet of King Brithelm. He was a Saxon warrior who founded the first settlement here, which eventually became Brighton."

"He was also a dragon shifter." Dai rubbed his forehead, trying to sort through the sudden influx of racial memories. "Maybe the first white dragon in the British Isles. Red dragons are native here, but the white dragons came over from Europe along with the Saxon invaders. No wonder Bertram's desperate to get it. Any dragon who claimed that gem would gain incredible dominance."

Virginia's fingers closed reflexively over the artifact. "Dai, if I could give it to you I would, but—"

"No, no." Dai shook his head emphatically. "It's yours. I won't let my dragon try to steal it from you."

His dragon lashed an indignant tail.
Our mate's hoard is a wondrous as she is. We would never seek to diminish it.
It paused for a moment, looking wistfully through his eyes at the ruby.
Unless she wished to trade...?

Despite his headache, Dai chuckled under his breath.
I don't think so,
he told it
.
"Actually, my dragon is very impressed with you. That piece is a spectacular hoard all on its own. You'd have a lot of power and status, if you were a shifter."

Virginia sat down cross-legged on the bed opposite him, turning the artifact over in her hands thoughtfully. "You talk like your dragon half is a separate being to yourself."

"Well, it is and it isn't." Dai hesitated. "If you really want to have a serious discussion about the metaphysical nature of shifters right now, do you mind if we put on some clothes?" He gestured sheepishly at his groin. "It's really hard for me to think straight when most of my blood isn't making it as far as my brain."

Virginia's expression clouded with dismay. "I'm sorry, I killed the moment." She held up the Dragon's Eye. "I intended to ask if you'd like it if I adorned
you
."

"Oh," Dai breathed, as his inner dragon surged up. "Oh, yes. I would like that." From Virginia's brief downward glance and sudden smug smile, she could see exactly how
much
he would like it. Nonetheless, he got up. "But later."

"Why later?" Virginia asked, pouting a little.

He kissed her as he started removing his hoard from her gorgeous body, piece by piece. "Because our bond tells me that you're hungry."

"I am?" Virginia's eyebrows drew down, then she let out a surprised laugh. "I am. And so are you."

"So we'll eat, and talk about dragons, and then..." He kissed her again, more lingeringly.

Despite the temptation to decide that neither of them was
that
hungry, they got dressed, though it took rather longer than strictly necessary. Virginia's clothes were still soaking; she rummaged through his wardrobe, finally settling on one of his dress shirts, which drowned her from neck to knees.

"I feel like a reverse Cinderella," she said ruefully, rolling up the sleeves. "From princess to rags."

"You look adorable," Dai told her, holding out his bathrobe for her. She shot him a dry, disbelieving look as she shrugged into it. He spread his hands, smiling. "Just check the mate-bond if you don't bel—"

DANGER!

His inner dragon's shriek came barely in time. Dai flung himself on top of Virginia as the skylight above them blazed with incandescent flame. The glass barely withstood a second before exploding in a hail of shards, but it was enough time for Dai to make the fastest shift of his life, basic self-preservation instinct overriding Bertram's restriction. Dragonfire washed over his back, scorched his armored scales.

The space was much too small for his dragon form. His sides and tail squeezed agonizingly against the walls for a moment before the brickwork crumbled. The floor gave way, unable to support his sudden weight. All Dai could do was curl in a tight ball of wings and scales around Virginia, desperately trying to shield her as they plummeted.

The impact of hitting the ground made him black out for a moment. When he came to, the first thing he was aware of was Virginia writhing in his grip, her hands shoving futilely at his scaled chest. The second was the crushing weight of the collapsed house. With tremendous effort, Dai forced his wings open, bricks and beams sliding off his back.

He twisted his neck, rain running over his spines and into his eyes as he scanned the sky. Since there was no sign of another imminent attack from above, he painfully uncurled, his tail sweeping through burning debris. He managed to roll to one side just far enough to allow Virginia to wriggle free from his grasp.

Heedless of the wreckage all around, Virginia stumbled back, her huge eyes fixed on him. Her terror and panic beat at him down the mate-bond.

"Dai!" she screamed, looking around wildly. "
Dai!
"

His heart froze in his chest.
Impossible. She knew, she told me she knew!
Yet there was no trace of recognition in Virginia's expression.

*I'm here,*
he sent urgently to her. He tried to get to his own feet, but fallen beams still pinned his hindquarters to the ground.
*Virginia, it's me!*

Virginia shook her head in mute denial, still backing away from him—and then Dai saw what was lurking, invisible to non-shifter eyes, right behind her.

*VIRGINIA!*
he roared, both physically and psychically. He made a desperate lunge, but couldn't reach her.
*NO!
*

Virginia broke and fled—running straight into Bertram's waiting, outstretched claws.

––––––––

V
irginia struggled back to consciousness in a cold, muddy field. Her first thought was:
He's a dragon. Dai's a dragon shifter.

Her second thought was:
I really wish he were here now.

The white dragon crouched opposite her, legs and wings folded neatly. With an involuntary whimper, Virginia scrabbled away from it, her back hitting a wall before she'd gone more than a foot. The great burning eyes stayed fixed on her with unblinking fascination, like a cat watching a trapped mouse. The tip of the dragon's tail twitched slightly.

Virginia swallowed hard. "I know that's you, Bertram," she said, her voice trembling despite her best efforts. Her legs had turned to rubber. "And you aren't impressing anyone, so you might as well knock it off. I know you aren't actually going to eat me."

The white dragon yawned expansively, giving her a fine view of teeth as long as her forearm.
*What makes you so sure?
*

Virginia skin crawled at the oily, slick feel of Bertram's voice in her head. She made herself sit up straighter at least, trying to pull together what dignity she could while barefoot and in a bathrobe. "Because you'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble with the other shifters."

*The Parliament of Shifters?
* Bertram's black, forked tongue lolled out in amusement.
*My dear delectable Virginia, shifter politicians are much like politicians anywhere
—
concerned only with keeping their supporters happy. And my family have been
extremely
generous supporters.*

"I didn't mean the shifter government," Virginia said, hoping she sounded a lot more courageous than she actually felt. "If you don't let me go right now, you aren't going to last long enough to face any formal court of justice. Dai will tear you apart."

Bertram rustled one wing in an unconcerned shrug.
*The last time I checked, the little red was occupied with more pressing matters. Such as the house on top of him.*

Virginia's blood ran cold as she remembered her last sight of Dai—his sinuous dragon's body pinned under bricks and beams, battered and broken. Even now, he could be bleeding to death, trapped in the rubble...but the mate-bond was a steadfast, warm presence in the center of her chest. Even though she was too far away from Dai to tell what he was thinking or where he was, she knew that he wasn't badly hurt.

Hugh,
she thought in relief, remembering the silver-haired healer with the magic hands.
Hugh and the rest of the crew must have helped him.

"He's fine," she said defiantly. "And I bet he's already on his way here."

*What touching faith. You always did have a knack for rejecting the facts.*
Bertram cocked his head to one side, still looking amused.
*How exactly do you think he's going to find you?*

Virginia risked taking her eyes off Bertram long enough to glance around. She'd blacked out during the terrifying flight, so she had no idea where he'd taken her. They seemed to be in a paddock—behind Bertram, she could see a small group of horses huddling at the far end as far away from the dragon as they could get, though curiously they didn't seem totally panic-stricken by his presence. The wall behind her looked like part of some sort of stable building.

Dusk had fallen, but it wasn't yet fully night, so she must have been unconscious for about an hour. It wasn't raining anymore, so either John had called off the storm or—more likely—Bertram had carried her well away from Brighton.

How
is
Dai going to find me?

"He'll find me," she said, and was rather surprised to find that she
did
believe that he would, with absolute faith. "He's my mate, and he'll find me."

Bertram flipped his tail dismissively.
*Then I'll kill him.*
His jaw dropped in an unmistakable feral grin.
*I am still dominant over him, thanks to his pathetic hoard. I can stop him from shifting.*
His head snaked down so that they were eye to eye, his slitted pupil the size of her entire head.
*Tell me, my dear Virginia, how much of a chance do you think a human stands against a dragon?*

Virginia had a horrible certainty that Dai
would
take on a fully-grown dragon with his bare hands, if it was standing between him and her.
The fire crew,
she reminded herself.
They'll help him. He won't be alone.
"I think, if it comes to you or Dai, I'm betting on him."

Bertram's orange eyes narrowed a little.
*Give me the artifact,*
he demanded abruptly.
*Now.
*

Virginia's mind raced. She wrapped Dai's robe tighter around herself, mustering as withering a look as she could manage under the circumstances. "Bertram, I'm wearing a
bathrobe.
Do you honestly think I've got a fragile, priceless artifact in my pocket?"

Twin jets of smoke hissed from Bertram's nostrils.
*Where is it?*

Virginia took a deep breath, steeling herself. "Dai has it."

Bertram reared back as if she'd slashed him across the snout with a sword. He roared in outrage, the blast of his reptilian breath flattening her against the wall.
*WHAT?!*

"I showed it to him, and he recognized what it was. Like you warned me, he wanted it for himself." She folded her arms across her chest, tucking her hands into her armpits so that Bertram couldn't see how they were shaking. "You're too late, Bertram. With the Dragon's Eye, Dai's got a more valuable hoard than you.
You
'
ll
have to submit to
him
. Just give up now, while you still can."

Bertram growled. Without warning, he snatched her up in one of his front feet, the white claws closing around her so tightly Virginia couldn't even draw breath to scream.

Hobbling awkwardly on three legs, Bertram carried her out of the paddock and into a courtyard surrounded by stable buildings. The complex was dominated by a huge structure, big enough for even a dragon to enter, which Virginia assumed had to be a covered riding arena—until Bertram nosed open the door, and her eyes were blinded by dazzling gold.

My God. And I thought
Dai's
bed was over the top.

Bertram hadn't been kidding about being able to sleep full-length on top of his hoard. The plain exterior of the barn concealed an enormous mound of jumbled gold, silver and gems. An almost physical pain shot through Virginia's chest at the sight of so many artifacts so casually tumbled together. It was a far cry from Dai's meticulously stored and treasured collection.