Dragon's Heart, Volume 1 Read online

  Today he would have to show her the other side of him and tell her about their whelp. What if she ran? He couldn’t let her go, that was for sure. He felt along their bond and felt the still wisp of a link, she still hadn’t let him in.

  We will treasure her. Keep her and the whelp protected.

  I know, my friend, but what if she doesn’t accept us after we show her?

  Ours! We would die without her, and she without us! Our treasure! His dragon humped and plopped down, then curled up and went to sleep.

  The beast wouldn’t accept that their mate would be without them. Troy wasn’t so sure. Revealing his dragon to her would be a very big risk, even telling her about the youngling. But one thing was for sure—no matter what happened, if she went home he would follow. He would be her constant shadow, never far from his goddess!

  He reached out and picked up his phone. Careful not to wake his mate, he slipped from the bed and made his way into the living area, naked as the day he was born, and placed a call to his mother.

  “Hey, son. How are things?” His mother had always been the voice of reason. She was the one he had turned to more when he couldn’t find Amy.

  “Hey, Mama, I have a favor to ask. Will you please meet me at the beach house tomorrow? I’m going to need a motherly hand, so to speak.”

  Between he and his mother they made plans for the day ahead. He watched the twinkling of the lights over the city as they did.

  His mother gave him all kinds of advice when she found out about the whelp. She had gotten so excited his father had asked what was going on, which led to a long conversation. When Troy was finally happy with the plans and he had a promise from his parents that they would be there, he slipped back into bed with his mate.

  Amy’s scent filled his room...well, it was their room now as far as he was concerned. He would make sure one way or another that she would be embedded in his life. They were going to have a child together. That child would grow up to be a shifter like he was. Looking down at Amy, her long blonde hair all over the place, he couldn’t resist kissing her soft skin. Pulling the sheet down, he sucked on one of her nipples, making it peak. His cock grew and swelled. If she wasn’t already pregnant, she would be by the time he finished.

  * * * *

  Amy’s hips lifted toward the heat. A slick tongue licked around her clit, flicking it backward and forward.

  “Again? You’re insatiable.” She moaned as two long fingers pushed inside her. “Ohh...yes...more...please,” she groaned, her hips now moving with his fingers.

  “That’s it, baby.” His lips and teeth nibbled along her inner thigh, moving up her stomach, placing long, lavish kisses on her skin, between her breasts until a hot mouth tucked a nipple into its velvet hold.

  “Ohh...” She bucked her hips.

  He withdrew his fingers, and she watched as he sucked them into his mouth.

  “Mmm, sweet as honey.”

  Her pussy clenched at his words.

  “Get on your hands and knees,” he ordered.

  Stroking a finger down her slightly damp body, she smiled and continued down through her wet folds. “Well, Mr. Baliarth, I could just finish myself off here—”

  He gripped her hips and flipped her over so fast she didn’t get to finish. In another second he was deep inside her, making them both groan.

  “Miss White, I’m going to have to teach you it’s not fun to tease. This is mine, baby. I will bring you to the end every time. Every time!” He fucked her hard, his balls slapping against her clit.

  “Yes,” she moaned, pushing back toward him.

  He drove in and out, until finally her legs shook, her pussy quivering around his steel rod. He pinched her swollen clit, sending her soaring. He shouted his climax a few seconds later, pumping his hot seed inside her.

  * * * *

  “This place is perfect.” Amy looked around wide-eyed.

  The beach house was stunning. What he called a beach house was a two tier place, glass windows lining the walls. A white balcony sitting on long stilt poles wrapped around the top layer. Floor-to-ceiling doors on both floors opened outward, facing the beach. The inside was decorated in white and shades of beige. There were several glass tables. He even had a few other decorations that were made of glass. A large cabinet with glass doors stood against one wall. Inside were tiny crystal dragons of various sizes and shapes.

  Amy shook her head. This definitely wasn’t a child friendly area. Oh, where did that thought come from?

  She wondered who the hell cleaned the place, because not a single smudge or layer of dust was anywhere to be seen.

  “I have a team of cleaners that do my club, and they also do my residences.”

  “Oh.” She blushed, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

  “Come, my mother is serving brunch. She is pretty eager to meet you.”

  The roast his mother was going to make turned into a late brunch. Amy had made arrangements with her group to leave for home about three that afternoon.

  “Hello, my dear,” Troy’s mother greeted them, his father behind her. His mother was a short woman, only coming to her husband’s shoulders. She wore a flowery dress that wrapped around her waist. Her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back from her face. His father wore a striped shirt with black trousers, his broad shoulders pulled back, showing just how proud he was of his family.

  “Mama, Pop, this is Amy,” he announced, kissing his mother and nodding to his father.

  “It is so nice to meet you.”

  The smile on Amy’s face grew wide. “It’s really nice to meet you too.”

  His mother ushered them both to the table where a fantastic meal had been laid out.

  “Oh gosh, you didn’t have to go to this lengths. I mean last night was...extravagant too.” She giggled. “He hired a chef.”

  “Pish-posh, nothing is good enough for my son’s mate.”

  Troy held out her chair as his father did the same for his mother, and they all sat down to the meal. It was wonderful. As the conversation flowed she slowly relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon.

  Troy’s parents were fantastic. Watching them and how they were with Troy, Amy briefly wished she had been loved that much by her parents. Xandor, his father, adored his wife, Saphira. The passion that flew between them was almost visible. Xandor touched Saphira as often as she touched him. Amy’s heart melted, bricks falling away from her heart when she realized Troy did the same to her. Looking at Troy’s face and into his eyes she could see the love he had for her. But so quickly?

  She was told quite a few tales about Troy as a child, some of his antics making her laugh until tears fell from her eyes. She learned that Saphira would have loved to have more children, but sadly wasn’t gifted with another life. His parents traveled a lot, but didn’t like to be far from their son no matter his age. It seemed family was very important to them. Amy wished she could tell them of a happy childhood, but she kept quiet, not wanting to see pity in their eyes.

  She felt some tension though as the meal began to end. Her offer to help clean up was denied and Troy led her to the living room.

  “You asked me yesterday what mate meant to me. What the word implied.”

  She nodded. He seemed to be nervous. Was he afraid of what she would think?

  “I’m going to show you something.” He hesitated, looking toward the beach. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you. You may feel it’s rather early, but I believe in true love at first sight.”

  Turning to look at her again, the emotion in his green eyes had her heart clenching. She realized that whatever he was going to say or show her was important to him.

  “My family...we have a long line of magic in us. We are dragon shifters, baby. A mate to us is someone who will mean more than treasure, more than anything we could ever possess. You are my heart, my goddess.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Yeah, I know a joke, play a prank on the school teacher,” she rambled, standing and w
alking toward the open doors. “Wendy,” she called, “you can come out now!”

  “Amy.” Troy followed her, gripping her arm and turning her around to face him. “Wendy isn’t here, and I’m telling you the truth.” He gently pulled her onto the beach. “I will show you.”

  Before she had a chance to turn around and get the hell away from this craziness, he held his arms out and shifted.

  She felt the blood rush to her feet. One moment there was the sexy, handsome, dimple-faced man dressed in jeans and a open-collared shirt, who had loved her all night, and the next, a massive, emerald green dragon with its wings extended standing before her. She couldn’t breathe. Her nightmare came flooding back to her. Shit! She couldn’t think. All she could do was stand there and stare.

  “It’s okay, honey. He won’t hurt you. Troy is there, inside the beast,” a soft voice said from close behind her. She turned back to see Xandor and Saphira had come up behind her. Saphira stepped forward and laid a hand on her shoulder, offering her much needed support.

  “He ate him?” Amy asked in total shock, not really realizing what she questioned.

  “No.” Saphira chuckled, walking toward the dragon. “This is Troy too. Shifters have two souls, dear,” she said, placing one of her small hands on the dragon’s snout. “One soul is human and the other dragon. They share one mind.”

  The dragon leaned into Saphira’s hand and began purring.

  “I’m standing on a beach with a huge ass dragon and his parents,” Amy let out breathlessly. She looked around her, still shocked someone wasn’t playing some kind of prank on her. “It’s a costume, or something,” she murmured.

  The dragon swiped its tail to the side and took a small step forward. Then another and another until it was standing in front of Amy. It dropped down on its belly, flipped over, squirmed a little in the sand, and then looked at Amy upside down with amusement. She couldn’t help but giggle. Seeing her enjoyment, he squirmed more. She laughed as she watched the huge beast rubbing itself around in the sand.

  “You’re just like Toothless in that dragon film.” She knelt down and held her hand out toward the creature. “Troy? You’re really inside?” she asked cautiously as his snout touched her fingers.

  The beast purred, flopping its head into her lap. She looked deeply into the dragon’s eyes. It was like looking into Troy’s. She smiled, letting him know she was okay. Looking around, she noticed Xandor and Saphira had disappeared inside, leaving them alone on the beach.

  “I know you say that you will be my one and only, but what if one day you decide that I’m not the treasure you wished for, and that some other diamond or gem is shinier? I’m like your glass you love, Troy—I can shatter and break. My parents were rotten people. They thought there was a better life out there for them. They constantly searched for that zing. Adam and I weren’t that, we were tossed aside like worthless pieces of crap. I can’t be thrown away again.” Tears pooled in her eyes and fell down her cheek. “I know what love is. Adam and I only had each other. It broke my heart when I lost him. I can’t feel that again.”

  She watched a crystal clear tear form and leak from the dragon’s eye. She caught it with her finger to find it solid. A tear-shaped, translucent gem.

  * * * *

  “It is very rare that a dragon sheds a tear. This is a gift from him. He has heard you and has handed you his heart, Amy.” Troy’s head laid in her lap now, looking up at her holding the crystal tear. Enclosing his hand around hers, the gem safely tucked inside, he sat up and pulled her toward him. “I vow to you, my goddess, that no matter what treasure comes our way it will never outshine you.”

  She lifted her head and looked deeply into his eyes. A feeling of contentment and love flooded her. Since losing Adam this was the first time she’d felt accepted. Loved.

  “I believe you,” she whispered. The wall around her heart fell apart and drifted away, leaving it open and true.

  They sat curled up on the beach for a while. Troy explained about his shifter family and also about the bond they shared. With his help Amy found that wisp between them, gasping as he sent the emotions that he felt for her. The beaming smile that he gave her was worth it, when she sent back what she felt.

  “So what happens now?” she asked. “I have a job to go back to and friends. I can’t just up and leave. And you have a club to run.”

  “I, um, have one more thing to tell you, my goddess. You also carry our baby.”

  Chapter 10

  Troy stared down at his blonde-haired goddess lying on his couch. The last bit of news had been too much, and he’d watched as the blood drained from her face and she slumped to the side. He’d caught her, swept her up, and dashed inside the house, calling for his mother.

  “Here you go, son,” his mother said, handing him a fine bone china cup and saucer with tea inside it. “For when she wakes. Do not worry too much. The hardest part is over—she has accepted your dragon.” She sat down in a chair beside them and drank her own tea as if nothing in the world was wrong.

  His mind was in turmoil. Yes, Amy had accepted his dragon, but what of the child? She had told him a little of her life and bringing up her brother. He shook his head. No, she wouldn’t have a problem with a child, other than possibly the fact that it had happened so soon. It never bothered him in the slightest about the child, he wanted to see her swell and grow. His dragon wanted to plant their seed inside of her over and over. Yes, many younglings.

  He placed the cup and saucer down on the table beside him and opened his hand to reveal the dragon’s tear. She had nearly dropped it when she’d passed out. An idea came to him. “Mama, can you please get me a nugget of gold big enough to go on her finger?” He could have gone outside and used his dragon magic to find a piece deep underground, but he didn’t want to leave Amy.

  His mother gave a knowing nod and smile and walked out of the room. She returned a little while later with a small gold nugget, handed it to him, and went back to her tea.

  He held the gold and tear in a fist and visualized the ring he wanted to give his mate. With his dragon’s help his hand heated and the ring molded together with magic. A minute later inside his opened hand lay a gold ring with the tear encased in it.

  * * * *

  Amy’s eyes flickered open. She looked up at Troy with confusion, and then recollection flooded her mind, tears quickly forming in her eyes.

  “It will be okay, my goddess. You won’t be alone anymore.”

  “A baby? How do you know?” she asked, tears rolling down her face. Her hand automatically slid down her body to her stomach.

  “Your scent, baby. I can scent the little bud. My dragon and I will be able to sense the whelp too in another few weeks. Like the bond we share, another develops between the child and I, it helps us bond while inside of you.”

  “Youngling? Whelp? It’s a baby. A child!” Amy sat up, feeling a little fire inside of her.

  “It’s titles of old that we dragon shifters hold onto, dear, but you’re right, it is still a child. Drink your tea—it will make you feel better.” His mother gestured toward the cup in Troy’s hands.

  “Today has been a lot to take in, but this still doesn’t answer the question I asked earlier—what happens now?”

  Troy placed the cup and saucer on the table beside them and knelt before Amy. “A mate, Amy, makes you mine and I yours. With the mark that I gave you our first night, we are fully mated...married, if you like. But the human side knows that you might need more.”

  He reached inside his pocket and pulled something out of it. He opened his hand, and Amy gasped when she saw a small gold ring laying in his palm. Inspecting it closer, she noticed set inside the ring was the dragon’s crystal-shaped tear. Tears again started to flow down her cheeks. She looked up into Troy’s beautiful green eyes.

  “A little magic.” He shrugged, answering her unspoken question about how he had managed to have it set so quickly. “My dragon loved you from the first moment he saw you. He gif
ted to you his heart. Now I am gifting you with mine. I know you think you’re fragile, but you’re much stronger than you think, or else you wouldn’t be sitting here as accomplished as you are. I want to spend my life with you, love you every single one of our days. Be our greatest treasure, Amy. Stay with us and let us share in all that will be.”

  What a weekend. She had come to London to take a course with her friends so she could keep her job, but not only had she found Troy again, she had learned she was having a baby and technically now had a husband. From the corner of her eye she could see Saphira dabbing her eyes.

  “We can have a proper wedding, right?”

  “Yes, baby, my mother loves to arrange parties.” He winked.

  “Yes! You have already claimed my heart and broken down the brick wall that was surrounding it, something no one else has managed to do. I love you, Troy. Love at first sight?” She shrugged. “Maybe I believe in that now too.” She giggled.

  After Troy placed the ring on her finger, he picked her up and swung her around.

  “Put me down, you fool.” She giggled. “It’s a good thing I put my hair up this morning.”

  He lowered her down, his lips touching her ear. “My mother wouldn’t want to see your bare arse either,” he whispered, causing her to blush. She indeed had no panties on, they were still somewhere on Troy’s bedroom floor, where he’d tossed them after he’d torn them from her body last night.

  “You’re so bad.” Smiling, she kissed him on the lips, tasting him.

  He pulled her in closer and whispered, “Right now I want to take you to bed and make sweet love to you.”

  “Now we have to sort my job and friends out. But later? I’ll take you up on that.”

  Chapter 11

  The next month flew by. Troy had left his father and Todd in charge of Dragon’s Heart for the time needed for Amy to hand in her notice and work her final few weeks. Troy was adamant there was no way he was going to leave her now.