Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (25 page)

Before the convulsions ended he grabbed a
handful of my hair and wrenched my head to the side exposing the
line of my neck. He sank his fangs deep, plunging them into my
throat, sucking with obvious relish. With every pull of his mouth
and thrust of his hips another explosion of ecstasy shattered
through me, overwhelming me with sensations. When his fiery release
erupted inside me he lifted his mouth from my neck and roared with
his head thrown back and my blood dripping from his fangs.

Dragon collapsed to his knees with me still
wrapped around him and licked my neck where he had buried his
fangs. His breathing was ragged and he seemed to be struggling for
control. Before I knew what was happening he set me on the tile
floor and leapt to his feet. He looked at me with fierce
satisfaction etched on his face and then the dragon burst out of
him in a violent explosion. He stood on his hind legs and spread
his wings while streaming fire into the air. The dragon was just
how I remembered him from my dreams; his magnificent black and red
scales, his razor sharp claws, and all those spikes. He ducked down
for me to climb on and I didn't hesitate for a second.

Once I was situated he shot into the air and
took me for a spin out over the water. It was just like in my
dream. Loops and flips with me screaming my head off the whole
time. It was exhilarating and I wanted to do it again and again.
Eventually when the storm calmed and the sky started lightening we
had to head back to the safety of his apartment. He landed smoothly
on the terrace and I climbed down. The air shimmered and Dragon
stood before me wonderfully nude. I was shivering in my sodden
clothes, scant as they were, and wet hair. Dragon came forward and
rubbed his hands on my arms.

"Let's get you inside. Do you want to take a
hot bath with me to warm up?" He picked me up in his arms and
carried me into his apartment.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."
My teeth were chattering and he pulled me closer to his body
letting me feel his warmth. "I wonder if anyone saw us flying out
there. That would be one hell of a 911 call." I chuckled.

Dragon grinned. "Don't worry, I wrapped us in
shadows, no one saw a thing. I guess that's one good thing about
being a vampire."

When we entered the bathroom Dragon sat me
down on the steps by the tub. Once he had the water going he dumped
in some bubble bath and came over to help me undress. The bathroom
was already warming and filling with steam. His touch was gentle as
he cared for me and I felt his love for me radiating through the
bond. There was so much we needed to talk about but both of us knew
it could wait until later. He removed my boots, the halter and then
the skirt and thong.

"I want to see the real you." He started
checking all my fingers until he found Solomon's rings. When they'd
both been removed he froze for a moment then stepped back and
stared at me with an expression I couldn't understand. I tried to
get a read on his emotions but there were too many for me to get a
lock on them.

I started to ask what was going on when a
glorious smile curved his lips. He reached over and shut off the
water then went to his knees in front of me - never a good sign
with Dragon. It meant he was going to spring something else on me.
Whether it was good or bad I could only wait and see. "Have you
felt anything strange today? Maybe like you had a fever?"

"How did you know...?” I didn't know where
this was going but whatever it was Dragon was ecstatic.

"Look at your arms. Do you see how the red in
the marks is glowing? How it almost looks alive, like lava flowing
over your skin?" I did as he asked and saw that he was right. The
marks were brighter than I had ever seen them, pulsing with a fiery
red glow.

"Do you remember what I told you about
shapeshifter fertility?" He asked. I looked in his eyes trying to
understand what he was telling me. And that was when it hit me.
They were glowing. Dragon knew when I finally caught on. His
glowing red eyes confirmed my suspicions. I could feel his fierce
joy through the bond and I wondered if there was any possibility
that he was wrong.

"Oh Dragon! You don't mean...?" I couldn't
believe it. He just nodded his head at me, his eyes still sparking
with joy.

He kissed me until we were both breathless.
"I love you Serafina. Tonight you have made me the happiest man
alive. My dragon is free, I have my mate by my side, and before you
know it, we will have a child to nurture and love." He placed his
hand on my lower abdomen affectionately.

I looked down and covered his hand with mine.
"Are you sure? Is there any way you could be wrong?"

He shook his head. "The mark was glowing when
I took you on the terrace. There is no doubt you're with child
now." He looked at me seriously. "I know this is much sooner than
either of us expected. If I had seen the glow before it was too
late I would have stopped and we would have decided how to proceed
together. But neither of us knew you were fertile and there's
nothing we can do about it now. There has never been a reported
case of a shapeshifter planting his seed in his fertile mate and it
not resulting in a child."

A mother; a week ago I hadn't expected to
ever get married let alone be a mother. Now I was a mate and soon I
would be a mother. "Are you going to make an honest woman out of
me?" I teased nervously.

He kissed me again, a long, lingering meeting
of our mouths. When he lifted his head he spoke with love vibrating
in his voice. "Serafina Leroux, you are my mate, my queen, and soon
you will be the mother of my child. Would you honor me by also
being my wife?"

I had tears streaming down my face. I
couldn't believe this fairy tale I had fallen into. "I would be
honored to be your wife." I kissed him sweetly. "I love you Donovan
Drake." He grinned at me then swept me into his arms and lowered us
into the steaming bubble bath. After the bath we had some hot
chocolate by the bedroom fireplace then made love again and cuddled
under warm blankets. I went to sleep wrapped in Dragon's arms
feeling like I was the luckiest woman on earth.

Dragon and I spent the next morning in bed
talking and laughing between bouts of making love. It was a new
experience for me. I'd had sexual relationships but I had never
felt that comfortable with a man before. I had never spent hours
enjoying someone's company while we were both completely nude. Even
when we were just talking we caressed and massaged each other or
simply lay in one another's arms. It was a level of intimacy I'd
thought I would never have outside of my dreams.

In the late afternoon we were getting dressed
because Rook was on his way over to fill us in on what really
happened the previous night. I was standing in the bathroom looking
at myself in the mirror when Dragon walked in behind me. We had
already showered together and he had on a pair of jeans but nothing
else. I wanted to run my hands over his chest but one thing would
lead to another and we were out of time. I turned back to the
mirror and that was when I noticed something strange and asked
Dragon about it. "Why aren't there any marks where you drank from
me?"

"When I was finished drinking from you I bit
my tongue to make it bleed before I licked your neck. The blood on
my tongue healed your wounds instantly," he explained. He wrapped
his arms around me from behind and placed his hands over my lower
abdomen.

"I guess there's not any doubt now." I was
looking at the mating mark in the mirror with the new dragon eye
peeking out of the claw marks on my right arm. I saw Dragon shake
his head in the mirror. "When will the marks stop glowing like
this?" I put my hands over his, almost like we were holding our
baby together.

"They will glow until the baby is born." He
smiled brightly behind me, the proud father.

"So not only will everyone know I'm your mate
with just one look, they'll also know I'm pregnant." I groaned. "I
don't know if I'm ready for this Dragon."

"You will do just fine Serafina." He kissed
the top of my head then slapped me on the butt. He dodged out of
the way laughing when I smacked at him. "We should get dressed;
Rook will be here any minute."

We finished dressing and were on our way
downstairs to wait for Rook. Before we reached the stairs Dragon
stopped me with an arm around my waist and pulled me close. Even
after all the time we had spent in bed it was difficult to
concentrate on anything but the heat of his body. "Serrano is
already planning a party for tonight to announce our mating and to
celebrate the return of our beasts. How would you feel about adding
our wedding to his plans as well?"

That got my attention. "How could he possibly
get everything ready for a wedding by tonight? We wouldn't even be
able to get a marriage license that quickly." Married tonight? Was
he crazy? Forget about the license for a minute. I didn't have a
dress, we didn't have rings, what if his people didn't accept me?
Not to mention my mother would never be able to make it here. She
was the only family I'd ever had.

"Leave that to me. All you have to do is say
yes and everything else will be taken care of." He watched me
expectantly while I thought it over.

"Dragon, I can't think of anything I want
more than to marry you tonight. But. Are you sure this is the right
thing to do? Should you give your people more time to get to know
me first? Once we're married I really will be their queen. Maybe
they would accept me better if we took more time." I had no idea
how the nightshifters would feel about me being their queen. What
if they resented their king mating a human?

"Serafina, you are already their queen. The
moment my mating mark appeared on your body you became the Dragon
Queen. The marriage is not really necessary as far as shapeshifter
culture goes, but if we're going to have a ceremony I would like to
have as many of my people able to attend a possible. We're opening
the clubs and restaurants late and calling in all our humans for
the casino and hotel so that any supernatural that wants to come to
the party will be able to. I can't think of a better time to make
you my wife. We'll be celebrating the end of the curse. We may as
well celebrate the beginning of my marriage to the woman who made
that possible."

When he put it that way how could I say no?
"Then my answer is yes. Make the calls and do whatever you need to
do to make this happen." I shook my head smiling at him. "Sometimes
it must be really good being you."

"Now that I have you in my life, it is always
good being me. I need to call Serrano and Solomon then I'll meet
you downstairs. There should be a room service cart in the dining
room if you're hungry." He kissed me and then headed to his
office.

I went downstairs and fixed myself a plate.
When I was just about finished eating there was a knock at the
door. I answered thinking it would be Rook but found Claire waiting
instead holding a garment bag over her shoulder. She threw her free
arm around me. "Congratulations Serafina, I am so happy for you and
my son! I can't wait until my grandchild arrives. Do you realize
how long I've had to wait to be a grandmother? Oh never mind,
that's not important right now. I've come to bring you a gown for
your wedding. You can't get married in just any old dress after
all."

I was surprised but very happy to see her. If
I couldn't have my own mother here then Claire was a good
substitute, not to mention she brought a dress. "How did you know?
We just decided fifteen or twenty minutes ago. Do rumors really
travel that fast here?"

Claire looked at me with the expression of a
patient mother. "Do I need to remind you again? I am psychic dear.
Now, we need to make sure this fits properly, and then I will take
it downstairs to The Gateway. You can meet me there about two hours
before the party starts so I can help you with your hair and makeup
if you'd like."

The dress turned out to be a perfect fit. I
took Claire up on her offer and said I would meet her at The
Gateway before the party. I was still a little sad that my own
mother wouldn't be present for my wedding, but how would I be able
to explain all the supernatural things in my new life? Even if I
figured that out, there was no way she could get here before the
ceremony.

After visiting with Dragon for a few minutes
Claire left to help with preparations for the ceremony. When I came
downstairs from trying on the dress Dragon and Rook were waiting
for me in the living room. I was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt
and the mating marks were clearly visible. The shutters were closed
and I wished we could sit on the terrace. "Doesn't it drive you
crazy to be closed in by shutters all the time?" I asked Dragon as
I took a seat beside him.

He kissed me, just a peck on the cheek and
shrugged. "I've had a lot of years to get used to the darkness.
Besides, why do you think I opened a casino? You can never tell if
its day or night in a casino. They're kept that way so that their
guests will keep gambling and not feel the need to call it quits
when the sun comes up. I can go anywhere in this resort without
risking exposure to sunlight. That's not even including the
alternate worlds and dimensions I could travel to through the
portals. If I had to stay here in this apartment it would probably
drive me mad, but I have a lot of options available to me."

"I'd never really considered why you chose to
open a casino, but now it makes a lot of sense." I took Dragon's
hand in mine and we looked at Rook expectantly.

"Let me begin by saying congratulations, I am
truly happy for both of you." He gave me a kind smile and I
inclined my head to him in thanks before he continued. "It looks
like the Phoenix Prophecy has finally been fulfilled. The spell is
completely broken but it's taking some of the beasts longer than
others to wake up. Doyle, Solomon, Serrano, basically all of the
clan leaders can change shape. The others are getting their senses
back, increased hearing, strength, scenting, but they haven't been
able to become their animals yet. So far there haven't been any
major incidents involving guests and the resort is still operating
smoothly. There will probably be some strange occurrences due to
loss of control while the rest of the beasts awaken but Claire is
trying to help us head those off before they get out of hand. I
have asked all of the managers to put as many humans as they can on
the schedules so that our people can have time off if needed. There
are rumors flying around like crazy as a result of everything that
has happened over the last week. Some of the vampires we created
even said they felt like they were punched in the chest last night.
I don't know what to make of that but I'll keep listening in case
it's important."