Dragon's Heart, Volume 1 Read online

  Mate? What the hell? Another over-bearing male in her life was the last thing she needed. All she wanted to do right now was get to her son.

  “Ahh. You are so frustrating.” She threw the keys into his waiting hand, too tired to argue. Her previous relationship had also left her a little wary of men. Although she felt deep in her bones that this incredible, tattooed man with more muscles than she could ever imagine wouldn’t hurt her, she’d been hurt before so still didn’t trust herself to fully believe it.

  She had never known her father. One morning he had just up and left. Her mother may have helped that along. She was a rather peculiar woman. She could be calm as a mouse one minute and a raving bitch the next. She was eventually diagnosed as bi-polar with asperger syndrome. Meds had helped for a few years. Those were Sarah’s happier times with her. Alas, it hadn’t been long before she was back to her old self. The woman was currently living in a care home.

  Her husband had been lovely when they had first met. Gradually, he began enforcing rules and regulations like she was a child. It only got worse after their son was born, he would strike out at Amy for the slightest little thing. No matter what she did to prevent Freddie from seeing it as he grew he still did. Sarah couldn’t care for her mother when she was in trouble herself, so when her mother’s condition worsened she’d been placed in the care home. After Sarah’s divorce and her ex-husband’s incarceration she refused to put Freddie through any more so left her mother where she was. She and her son now lived in a small two-bedroom cottage near the nursery where she worked.

  They were finally both happy and carefree for the time being. Alas, she knew that could come to an end soon as her ex was due to be released, and knowing him, it wouldn’t take long for him to start looking for her. She had begun to put money away when she’d started her job. Her plan was to buy a small camper and teach Freddie as they traveled. However, she had no clue what she would do once her money ran out.

  At the moment she worked and lived her life as any normal person did. She had a fantastic babysitter she trusted immensely, who would watch over Freddie when she wanted to go out, or even a few nights a month when she had to work late. It wasn’t often. She lived her life for her son. She hadn’t imagined this weekend going the way it had. The plan was simply to drive to London, visit her pregnant friend, spend the night at a hotel, and go home.

  But noooo! She had ended up being kidnapped by Amy’s crazy parents, delivering a baby, and then had to spend the night in the hospital with a cracked cheek.

  Now she just wanted to get home to her boy. If it meant this rather dominating man driving her, then so be it! She trusted him enough to drive her home. Amy had encouraged her to believe in him. Told her he was nothing like Blake, her ex-husband.

  “Come on, darlin’, let’s go get ou...your boy. We’ll talk on the way.”

  * * * *

  Shit, he had to stop himself before saying our! Dennenth hadn’t even met the boy yet. Sarah also had yet to ask any questions about what she’d seen in the field. He supposed once she had her son wrapped tightly in her arms the questions would flow. He had patience. He was going to make damn sure they had the rest of their lives to learn about each other.

  He had been born and bred in the highlands of Scotland. He and his family living far enough away from population to fly at will. He loved the brisk, cold weather there. How the wind would howl at times through the mountains. The snow on the peaks added to the peace, it was like a blank canvas hiding the beauty yet to come. He would often just fly to the highest point and sit listening to the wind. It was instant pacification.

  Dragon shifters mates were rare. They were only able to have younglings with their mates. Dragons weren’t immortal, but they lived pretty long lives. They loved being around large groups of friends and family, but to find their mate was the absolute ultimate treasure. They craved it, because it gave them the feeling of being whole. After a certain amount of time, if they didn’t find that one person who they were meant to spend their life with, it became painful, and some shifters left, never to be seen again.

  Dennenth had left his family, needing to find his one true mate. Troy, an old friend, was opening a nightclub in London called Dragon’s Heart, so Dennenth accepted Troy’s offer to became a bouncer. He didn’t need to work. because over the years he and his dragon had gathered enough shinnies to have an easy life. But doing nothing all day? Not bloody likely.

  Plus, working as a bouncer had its benefits. The women practically fell at his feet. He was a big man, just over six and a half feet tall, with a lot of muscles and tribal tattoos up and down his arms. It drew the ladies in like bees to honey. Now though he had one very specific flower he wanted to pollinate—Sarah.

  He had first spotted her at Dragon’s Heart. She had arrived with a group of three friends. Pete had walked past him with the party in tow, leading them upstairs to the VIP section. Her sweet scent hit him first, the delicious aroma of strawberries and vanilla. Hot damn, his cock went from flaccid to rock hard in a second. His mate! His dragon had gone near ballistic, jumping around inside of his head, stretching his skin to get to her.

  Mate. Go get her!

  In the few seconds it took for her to walk past him, he had memorized her from top to bottom. Her waist-length brunette hair was loose, hanging in ringlets around her small, oval, fragile looking face. Her skin was as pale as the snowdrop flower. She had a pert little nose. Her pouty lips were hidden behind pink, sparkly lip gloss. He wanted to lick that stuff off just to see what their natural color was. When she laughed her eyes shone brighter than the stars in the night.

  She had a simple, yellow dress on. The square neckline showed the tops of her creamy, ample breasts. She had a thin, golden chain around her neck, a small heart-shaped locket attached to it. The flowing skirt came just above her knees. To show she had a quirky side to her, she had on brown leather cowboy boots that came halfway up her shins.

  Get mate!

  Patience, old friend. We will. She is as white and fragile as the snow on our mountains. We don’t want to cause an avalanche. Let us learn. She will be ours!

  He had followed the group and watched as they headed toward Troy’s mate’s VIP room. For the rest of the evening, he had volunteered to be their bouncer along with Pete. He watched, listened, and learned as much as he could about his mate. Only when he had what he needed would he step up and make her his. He wasn’t a man to rush into something without looking, especially now that he knew his mate was human. She would need time and patience before he unleashed his dragon.

  Things hadn’t turned out the way he had expected. First, Amy was accosted in the club. However, because of that, he got to babysit Amy for the next couple of weeks and that meant when her friends came to visit he got to see Sarah. He was disappointed to learn that Sarah didn’t live in London but in Kent, which was on the outskirts of London, so he couldn’t see her as much as he wanted to. Then, two days ago she and Amy had been kidnapped after they’d snuck away from the men guarding them to go out to a burger joint. Bloody women!

  After rescuing the women he had spent the night at the hospital with Sarah. He knew questions would be going around her head. After seeing two dragons—creatures that most people considered to be mythical—who wouldn’t have questions? But she had refused to acknowledge him at the hospital and now she was ignoring him on the drive to her home. He was happy that when the police questioned her, she hadn’t mentioned anything about dragons.

  Although he was a patient man, this was kinda driving him up the wall. He wanted her to react, say something, do something. He had heard through the other women what her ex-husband she had been like. The bastard. He and his dragon wanted to go chop his balls off and fucking toast them and feed them to him. His dragon paced around his head, growling and moaning that someone had hurt her.

  The drive was only an hour. Dennenth glanced at Sarah every so often, just to check on her. She was still so pale. In the reflection of the window he coul
d see the bandage on her face covering the few stitches and the bruise on her cheek. It made him angry each time he saw it. He wanted to go back and kill the fuckers over and over again for hurting her.

  Before they left London they had paid a quick visit to Amy. Bobbie and Melanie were there too, and Dennenth had overheard their conversation.

  “You are taking the fortnight off, right? You’re going to take Dennenth up on his offer?” Bobbie asked.

  “I’m not sure. I need to work, you know that. Plus, I have Freddie to sort out...”

  “You will scare the kids with that face.” Amy laughed.

  “Cheeky. But I’m more worried about how Freddie is going to handle it. I know I should take the time off, but sick leave money will leave us short.” She sighed. “I really hope Freddie doesn’t take it too badly.”

  “I know, but going in with a face like that won’t look good. Mind you, with Blake you did a lot of covering up, walking into cupboards and doors on a daily basis.”

  Dennenth growled then and perked his head up, letting the women know he was listening. “She will be taking the fortnight off. She and Freddie will also be joining me at my place. I have plenty of rooms and a huge back garden for the nipper to play in. Plus, Amy said she would love your company with the new babe and all.” He turned to look at Sarah, waiting for her objection, sending a challenge her way.

  “Wow!” Melanie had snorted. “What the fucking hell? First Wendy gets carted off and now you going all goddamn gung ho! This girl here doesn’t need an over-possessive, over-bearing, pompous arse of a jerk. If you weren’t so big, I’d kick your fucking arse. No matter how tall you are, a midget like me can still find your balls.”

  Before she could rant any more, Sarah started chuckling. They all stood there and watched the woman laugh so hard tears streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around her middle, laughing for all she was worth. He was so close to going over to her to make sure she was okay but held back, not wanting to offend her.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I can just imagine how high you’d have to kick your leg to reach his arse.” She giggled, looking at her tiny friend whose head came a little under Dennenth’s chest. “You’d have to do the splits seeking his balls out.” She started to laugh again, and this time Melanie, Amy, and Bobbie joined in with her.

  “Yeah, well, just because I have little legs doesn’t mean I couldn’t karate kick it.” Melanie let out a quiet war cry and karate chopped her hands in the air.

  “Girl, I love you. Thank you for helping and being there.” Sarah hugged her friend tightly. “I’ll be okay. I actually trust him. He has saved me already. And if I so much as walk into a door or fall, I’ll let you at him.”

  The women turned toward him, each of them holding a quiet challenge in their eyes. He would take that challenge. He wouldn’t hurt a hair on Sarah’s head.

  Chapter 2

  “Mummy!” Sarah’s little boy came running out of their home straight into her arms. His short brown hair was all tussled from his afternoon nap.

  She whipped him up and spun him in a circle. “Oh my baby, I missed you. Sorry Mummy was late, but she got into an accident.”

  “Mummy has a acc..acci..dent?” He drew a little away from her and looked at the bandage on her face. His little hand rose to touch it. “Did Daddy...”

  “No, baby, it’s okay,” she said, pulling his hand away before he could touch her face. “Mummy’s shoe fell off and she fell down some stairs, and this big man, Dennenth, he caught me.”

  “Wow, just likes Cinderellie, but she didn’t fall,” he said, shaking his head.

  She knew he loved his Disney musical cartoons and had concocted the story, knowing it wouldn’t frighten him. She watched his eyes grow huge as he looked behind her at the colossal man.

  “He is giant, Mummy,” he whispered into her ear as she carried him inside.

  She heard Dennenth chuckle behind her. Sarah rolled her eyes, knowing Dennenth had heard. Amy had already warned her about shifter senses and how they were better than human’s. She placed her son on the floor, patting his bottom and sending him off to play with his toys.

  After paying the babysitter and getting a rundown on how Freddie had been, she watched her son. She wasn’t sure how he had managed to do it, but Freddie had Dennenth lying on the floor with him playing with his cars. It was something Freddie had never been able to do with Blake. His father had never been interested in playing with him. Blake had always treated Freddie as a hurdle, something in the way all the time.

  Freddie was a shy little boy. He was okay around her, chatty, laughing as light as a sunbeam. But around others he was quiet, withdrawn. But there he was chatting away with Dennenth like he had known him all his life. She watched as they crashed cars together, her son giggling at the noise and just plain silliness of it.

  Going into the kitchen, she fixed some beans on toast and brought the snack into the living room. Placing it on the small table, she watched as Freddie dug in. He wasn’t a great eater, picking mainly. Fish fingers were his favorite. She had made them often when Blake was around. When the fighting would start, Freddie would run and hide in his wardrobe or under his bed. She had made small nests of his favorite blankets and toys so he had some sort of comfort. She hated the effect her marriage was having on Freddie then, but leaving Blake was more frightening. She’d left him once before when Freddie was just over a year old, but it didn’t take Blake long to find her hiding at her friend’s place. He’d convinced her he would stop and seek help. She’d gone home with him only to receive a beating and a warning if she was to run again he would kill her and make sure Freddie’s life was a living nightmare.

  The last incident occurred just before Freddie turned three. Blake had hit her and knocked her unconscious. She had woken to numerous bruises and a couple of broken ribs as well as a broken wrist. He must have continued kicking her after she had lost consciousness. Freddie had curled up next to her, and he was cold and shivering. That has been the last straw for her. She knew she had to leave. When Blake slept that night, she had crept out of the house with a backpack holding a few clothes for her and Freddie and ran.

  The first stop had been the hospital, but when she exited the building a few hours later, her heart sank when she saw Blake waiting for them. Plucking up a little courage, she shoved Freddie back inside the building and quickly walked to the reception desk, asking—well, more like begging—for help. She was sure if security hadn’t held Blake back while they waited for the police to arrive she would have suffered a lot more.

  He’d assaulted the police officers while being arrested, so the charges were upped, leaving his sentence at three years. That was just under two years ago. In that time she had managed to get her divorce and move to a new place. She knew moving wouldn’t stop the man from coming after her, but she hoped with all her heart he would stay away. Yeah, the likelihood of that was slim, but still she hoped. Looking toward Dennenth, she now had a little more hope. Somewhere deep inside of her, even though she’d only known him a short time, she trusted him.

  “Shall we talk?” she asked, moving toward Dennenth.

  She sat on the floor beside him, keeping an eye on Freddie. She could feel his heat. He smelled like some kind of spice. It reminded her of her favorite cake. Her mouth watered, imagining eating ice cream off his skin. She looked up into his gray eyes, watching for his emotions.

  “I know you want me to go back with you, but I need to know why,” she stated in a quiet voice so her son couldn’t hear the conversation.

  * * * *

  Time to tell our mate. Keep her.

  Dennenth was still lying on the floor, so he wiggled closer to her, away from Freddie’s little ears. He looked at Sarah while trying to calm his dragon so he could answer her question. Her hazel eyes drew him in. He knew she was watching for his reactions.

  She had already seen his dragon, but now was the time she learned other stuff. He would either gain a mate or die of a broken
heart. He was determined to fight hard for his woman. Dying of a broken heart was not something he or his dragon wanted to face.

  “You saw the other side of me in the field,” he said, keeping his voice low so Freddie wouldn’t hear.

  He inwardly laughed at his dragon’s antics. It was leaning down, ducking its head between its forepaws in disgust at him saying something so obvious. But he still took this time to pause and wait for some kind of confirmation from Sarah. When she nodded he continued.

  “I am a dragon shifter, darlin’. My mind shares two souls. One is a dragon and one is human.” He smirked, holding his hands out as if to say ta-da.

  “Confident in yourself, aren’t you?” She chuckled. “Are there more of you? I know Troy is one, but are there others? This is like something from a fairy tale I would tell Freddie.”

  “Aye, there are more, although the numbers are decreasing as the years go by. You see, dragon shifters can only have whelps with their true mates, and it’s rare to find your mate. The longer we go without our mate the more we get lonely and depressed. Our souls feel the emptiness more and more as the years go by. In the end we just wither away. We are only truly one when we have our other half with us.”

  “So where does that leave us?” she asked warily.

  “I can lay with any woman I wish, but the only one I want in my life or bed...” He winked. “...is you. You are the one thing that any shifter would call the biggest and most searched for treasure in their lifetime. You are my true mate, darlin’.” Turning onto his stomach, he placed his chin on one of her knees, looking up directly into her eyes. “A mate to me means that you will be the woman I will spend the rest of my life with. When we do finally come together, I will place my mark on your neck, directly over your pulse. Chemicals in my fangs will flow into your bloodstream and will slow down your aging. I want you to share your life with me.”

  She suddenly looked grief-stricken, and she glanced quickly at Freddie. “What about my son? If I was to become your mate and live a longer life, then Freddie will get old before me. Dennenth...” Tears welled in her eyes, one of them slipping slowly down her unhurt cheek.