Romance: Sold To The Alpha Dragon: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (BBW Romance, Paranormal, BBW Shifter Romance) (3 page)

Chapter 6

Maria enjoyed the bath and closed her eyes as she lay in the water. She focused on her wounds being washed, which burned but was bearable.

When she wanted to stop focusing on the pain, she thought about how gentle Will’s hands were against her skin.

She wanted to believe that he liked seeing her naked skin. She wondered what his skin felt like. Only one thing bothered her and it was something she couldn’t put her finger on. The suspicious secrecy about his past. All the money.

Maria didn’t know, but she definitely planned on asking more questions to get to know him better.

A knock on the door surprised Maria before she remembered Mrs. Gilbert was to arrive.

“Mrs. Gilbert?” she asked.

“Yes,” the maid responded.

“Come in!”

Mrs. Gilbert entered with a handful of sundresses and set them on the stool. Maria tried to cover her chest with hands and crossed her legs under the water.

“Oh, don’t be so shy,” Mrs. Gilbert said as she held up a large towel.

Maria got out of the tub and wrapped herself in the towel. Mrs. Gilbert started patting Maria’s long hair dry.

Maria looked at the sundresses and picked up a light purple one with a white ribbon.

“That’s a good one,” Mrs. Gilbert said.

“I’ll leave.”

“Wait,” Maria said.

“I was wondering what you meant by Will. He’s not very open…”

“Of course he’s not.”

“But he also doesn’t seem mean. He’s kind,” Maria started to say.

“He wouldn’t get angry like you…”

“You want to know what he’s like,” Mrs. Gilbert said with a smile. “If you’ll be here long enough, you’ll find out. Just know that his parents died while on vacation in London. William was seventeen. Wanted to go to University but decided to use his talents to keep the mansion up. Thankfully he did, or I’d be out of a job.”

Mrs. Gilbert left swiftly. Maria still didn’t see what his parents had to do with his shifty attitude.

Chapter 7

Maria sat on the bed in her room, folding Will’s mother’s robe and her own dirty clothes.

“We’ll wash those,” Will said as he entered the room. He showed Maria that he had a bag in his hand.

“First aid kit. And alcohol.” He revealed a bottle of scotch and two glasses in his other hand.

“I’m not much of a scotch…”

“It’ll ease the pain, though,” Will interrupted.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I can get another type.”

“No, no,” Maria said. “I’m fine.”

“Sit back,” Will ordered.

Maria did as he asked and lifted the dress up to reveal her open leg wound. Will dabbed alcohol on a cotton swab and pressed it against her thigh. He was so close to her that she didn’t mind or really notice the pain at all.

Once he wrapped it in gauze, he grazed his hand to her knee. He felt around her bones, which did make her squirm from pain.

“I think it’s out of place,” he said. “If not broken.”

This worried Maria only a little because she trusted that he completely knew what to do. Will lifted Maria on her feet and made her walk back and forth from the bed to the window. He watched her legs closely.

Will put his hand behind her knee, the tips of his fingers almost tickling the back of her thigh, which made Maria flush. The heat crawled up her neck and into her cheeks. Will let go and stood at her level.

Eye to eye. Maria couldn’t help but think how perfectly sparkly his green eyes were among his dark eyebrows and light brown wavy hair.

“Try to stay off of it for a few days,” he said.

“I think it’s just out of place. I don’t know how to push it back in, but there are exercises you can do, I think. I’ll help you stretch them and…”

“Okay,” Maria interrupted.

“But it’s nothing serious? And my back?”

“Nothing terrible but will take a few weeks to heal. And I’m not sending you back to your uncle like that.”

Maria hopped on the bed and smiled.

“Thank you,” she said. “Did you ever want to be a doctor?”

“I did,” Will sighed. “But I also didn’t want to leave and go to school to study it while my dad and mom…”

“I know,” Maria said. “I lost my parents too.”

“How did you hear about my parents?” he asked.

“Small town.”

Will nodded.

He sat next to Maria on the bed and grabbed her hand. She felt the intense heat rise again in her belly all the way up to her face.

“It’s like nothing else to lose parents,” he said.

“But you were younger than I was.”

“It’s okay,” Maria said. “I never noticed. From five years old, all I knew was living with my uncle. He wasn’t entirely bad all the time. He didn’t use to be so…”

“Bad people aren’t always angry people,” Will said. He let go of her hand.

“And angry people aren’t always bad people.”

Will began to stand but Maria instinctively wrapped her arms around his and hugged him. His body seemed to be on fire, which warmed her more than she thought she could be in the moment.

He gently enveloped Maria and placed his hands on her back. He slipped his hands down to her waist and rested his head against hers. She rubbed his back and enjoyed the moment of holding him.

It was like she could feel his inner tortured soul. She thought she felt him sniff her hair before he let go.

“Don’t go,” Maria begged.

“I may not be able to walk on a tour of the place but I still want to know more about this
beautiful
place. I’ve never seen anything like it. Must be ancient!”

Will laughed out louder and happier than Maria had heard so far. It made her happy to see him let go for a minute. He told her of how his grandfather helped his father build the mansion.

They talked all day and drank scotch. Maria learned quickly to love the taste of it. She noticed that Will was a great storyteller when he spoke about his mother’s silly habits like tapping her fork against the table before eating.

Maria shared a few moments from her childhood with her best friend, Annabelle, running into the woods and pretending that monsters were after them. They shared laughs and even lay next to each other on the bed.

Maria felt closer to him. She rubbed his arm when he told her about the day he found out his parents had died in a train accident.

The intimate moment grew when Will finished his story and tilted his head, staring into Maria’s eyes. She stared back and wondered when the moment would end.

Everything she saw and felt in him was good. So good that she felt guilty for wanting him to touch her hips that she purposefully kept bumping against his.

He leaned in. Maria turned on her side and rested her head on her hand, leaning in as well.

“I can’t,” Will said. He sat up.

“You can’t what?” Maria asked, partly knowing what he meant.

“I just wanted to help you, not come onto you like must’ve happened to you all ye life,” Will explained.

“No, it’s okay, I…” But Maria couldn’t finish her sentence.

“I mean, I can’t be with any woman, Maria. I shouldn’t want to,” Will continued.

He left Maria on the bed. She stared at the ceiling and sadly accepted her eternal friendship with Will.

Chapter 8

The next few days consisted with Will’s instructions on how to stretch Maria’s leg, cleaning and bandaging wounds.

They spent a few days eating outside, having picnics on nice days in the garden. Will gave her a cane to use for the first week even though she insisted she didn’t need it.

The second week of staying in the mansion passed until Maria felt secure enough to ask Will about walking in the garden. She knew he didn’t want her to go into the woods. Maria thought she had a compelling reason for him, though.

Maria and Will broke pieces of bread and dipped it in their soup bowls outside surrounded by purple, blue, and yellow flowers. A few pink bouquets were planted closer to the pathway towards the woods.

Will crossed his legs on the stone ground after wrapping a shawl around Maria’s shoulders.

“What are those pink flowers?” Maria asked, pointing to the woods.

“Mum planted those, so I always keep them.”

Maria uncomfortably sat on her knees and leaned over her soup, putting her weight on her hands.

She slowly put her hands on Will’s chest.

“What are you doing?” Will whispered.

Maria planted a soft kiss on his lips. She paused, soaking up the feel of his full lips on hers. His mouth moved with hers. Her heart started racing because she finally felt that she knew the truth. That Will loved her too.

Maria thought that all their time spent together was only child’s play and she was developing feelings for him that weren’t real. When he leaned back in that moment and smiled, Maria knew her feelings were real. And she was convinced he felt them too.

His smile faded, though. “I told you I can’t, Maria,” he said.

Will stared at the ground.

Maria felt so upset and confused.

“Why?” she asked.

“I know the way you look at me is different than the way anyone’s looked at me before. It’s the way I look at you.”

“You love me?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Maria said, surprising herself by answering so ferociously.

“Admit you feel the same way.”

Will shook his head. “Won’t do any good if I do.”

“Fine,” Maria yelled.

“Then let me go. I’m clearly healed!” She stood up and accidentally kicked her soup over.

“I can run away if you want.”

“You can leave if you want,” Will said quietly and calmly.

Maria waited a moment for Will to make a move or say something. When he didn’t, she ran for the woods. Down the path she wasn’t allowed before.

She figured she could go through the woods, which was the fastest way back to her uncle or any little village. She looked behind her to see Will chasing her.

“Maria, don’t go in the woods!” Will called out.

She didn’t listen and tried to run faster. Tears ran down her cheeks. Will grabbed her arm before she could pass the pink flowers. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and put his hand on the back of her head.

She cried into his shoulder without struggling to leave his grasp.

“Shhh,” Will comforted. “You’re right. I do love you.”

“Then be with me,” Maria sobbed.

“I’ve waited for almost three weeks now and I don’t want to leave. And I thought I would. Because of you.”

Will hugged Maria and rocked her. He stroked her hair and stared into her eyes. Maria leaned her cheek against the palm of his hand.

It felt warm and safe as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.

“Follow me,” he said.

He grabbed her arm, his nails digging into her arm.

“You’re hurting me,” she said as she ran with him into the woods.

Will loosened his grip and stopped in front of a giant cage. No tree was inside but the path lead to the door of the cage.

“Sometimes it wants to eat me up inside,” Will said.

He let go of her and walked to the cage door. Maria admired in stunned silence at the tall contraption towering at the same level of the trees. Will locked the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” Maria nervously asked.

“You’re going to see something, and when you do, you won’t want to love me anymore,” Will said.

Maria waited patiently as Will turned his back and took off his shirt. He flexed his arms. For a moment, Maria was distracted by the oddity of Will’s behavior.

She watched his pants fill out. His thighs grew larger. He bent over and screamed like he was in pain. Maria finally felt the chill of fear trickle down her neck.

Large spikes, like that of a stegosaurus’, poked through the skin along Will’s back. His shoulders popped out of their sockets and revealed large, scaly wings growing along with the rest of his body. His neck elongated like a bird’s.

Maria couldn’t see his face transform, but the look of his distorted huge lizard-like body still stretched with human skin haunted Maria. A look she knew she could never forget.

It looked so painful, which made Maria worry about Will’s safety. It was confusing because she also worried about her own safety.

As Will grew larger and his skin changed into light green scales, Maria backed away slowly out of shock. She watched his toes turn into claws. His large tail swung the sides of the cage, which made a lot of clanging noise.

Everything about Will’s look scared Maria. She backed into a tree and then hid herself behind it. She peered over the trunk in time to see Will’s large dragon snout.

He opened his jaw and bared his sharp teeth, saliva dripping from them. Maria screamed and started to run just as the dragon in front of her flapped its wings and roared. The cage rattled when Will’s dragon arms grabbed the bars.