Daddy Dragon Guardians: The Complete Series Boxset, page 17
Achieving at least a serenity of mind, if not a decision, Summer slowly opened her eyes. The night was much brighter than when she had started. It was a trick of her eyes after having been plunged in darkness for so long, but the moon had also drawn higher and brighter in the sky. Its light pierced the leaves above her head and danced down in abstract shadows.
And just then, immediately before her on the dirt inside the circle, the shadows formed into the shape of a dragon.
It was at that point, Summer knew that Xander was right. She couldn’t reach out with her hand and dash the symbol out of the dirt to deny it. The spirits had made it in their own time and in their own form, one that a simple human couldn’t disturb.
All she needed was a little space to figure out how to move forward.
9
Xander hadn’t slept much—in fact, he couldn’t be sure that he had slept at all. The ceiling above his bed had been a series of still shots all night, with the shadows moving along in slow rotation to the movement of the moon.
The only thing he could think of was Summer. Things had been going so well, but they had changed so quickly. It was his fault. He shouldn’t have reacted so angrily when she had called him out on treating the dinner as being more important than it was. He should have agreed with her, accepted his misstep, and moved on. But no, he’d had to keep shoving his agenda down her throat, regardless of what she wanted.
Morning came, but brought no revelations with it. He didn’t know what he could do to fix things. Though he had no doubt that Summer would talk to him again if he tried—she was just that sort of person—he knew that he really did need to do what she had asked and give her some space.
Xander scrambled an egg for Nora and fried two for himself, serving them up with bacon strips and toast. He put her plate on her high chair and sat down at the kitchen table across from her. “We might as well eat up, little one. I don’t have any other exciting adventures planned for us today. What do you want to do? Go to the park?”
Still in her pink footie pajamas, Nora picked up a piece of bacon between her thumb and forefinger and took a bite. “Some?” she asked.
“No, I don’t need some. That’s yours.” Xander took a bite of his eggs but could barely taste them despite the seasonings he had adorned them with.
“Some!” Nora insisted. “Go see some!”
With an understanding that broke his heart, Xander felt his shoulders slump. “No, we can’t go see Summer today. She’s busy.” He knew that at least this was mostly the truth. Summer likely had the shop to run, so that meant she was busy. But that wasn’t why they couldn’t go see her.
“Busy?” Nora asked.
“Yeah. She’s got work to do. So, what are we going to do? Go to the park? Maybe go see some of your cousins?”
The little girl tore off another bite of bacon and nodded. “’Kay.”
They dropped in at Beau’s house later that morning. He answered the door in a white t-shirt, jeans, and bare feet. His dark blonde hair was combed back as usual. “You must be psychic or something; Elliot was just asking about Nora. We haven’t seen you guys for a while.” He opened the door to let them in.
Xander set Nora down so she could toddle across the living room floor to where Elliot was playing with a set of bulky plastic toy cars. “I know. I’ve been a little distracted.” He did his best to keep the story of Summer as concise as possible while Beau led him into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for each of them.
Beau raised a flaxen eyebrow over his coffee cup. “So, you’re saying that you know she’s the one for you?”
“That seems to be the case.” Xander easily recalled the turmoil she sent his body into every time she came near.
“I’m surprised you didn’t tell me. That’s a pretty big deal.” Beau was the caretaker of the group, always concerned about everyone else’s well-being. “What are you going to do about it?”
Xander swirled the dark liquid in his mug absently. “I don’t really know. She doesn’t seem interested in pursuing this whole thing. I can’t force her to, and I know, at least for the time being, I need to let things cool down.”
“That’s probably a good idea. When you think about it, it’s pretty crazy that we have to pair up with human women at all. They’re different from female dragons in a lot of ways. I’ve had my doubts from the very beginning as to whether or not we could be successful at this.”
Listening to the sound of the children playing, Xander had to disagree. “But we owe it to our children. I’m not saying we aren’t good dads, but they need to have more than just us. Besides, we haven’t been through the hard stuff like puberty here on Earth. They need someone who’s going to really understand what it’s like.”
Beau said something in response, but Xander was no longer listening. His mind had shifted its attention to some strange vibration in the universe that was speaking only to him. He didn’t quite understand what it was, but he felt the distinct bunching of the muscles in his back that meant his wings were threatening to come out once again. A buzzing settled in the pit of his stomach. “I—I think something’s wrong.”
Beau leaned in his chair to look at the children. “They’re fine. They’re just playing.”
“No, not them,” Xander replied impatiently. He tried to focus the energies that were coming to him, but he didn’t understand them well enough. “It’s something else.”
“You say this woman is the one, right?” Beau narrowed his eyes.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe it’s her.”
Xander had been thinking the same thing, even though it had seemed ridiculous in his own head. He shot out of his chair. “You mind if I leave Nora here for a little while?”
“She’s always welcome.” Beau followed him to the door. “Be careful. Let me know if you need anything.”
With a kiss on Nora’s forehead, Xander was off, headed for downtown. He couldn’t get there fast enough, even though he didn’t know why he was being drawn there in the first place. He only knew that he had to get to Summer and make sure she was alright.
When he pushed open the front door of The Enchanted Elm, he immediately noticed how quiet the place was. Instead of the steady stream of traffic he had seen the day before, there was only one customer in there, and she was on her way out the door.
Summer turned to the door with a smile upon hearing the bell ring, and her eyes widened as soon as her gaze landed on Xander. “Good morning. I can’t say I expected to see you here today.”
“I’m sorry.” He charged up toward the counter. “I wanted to give you space; I know I’ve been coming on a little too strong. But I—I know this sounds crazy, but I just had this bad feeling, and I had to come in here to check on you.”
“Are you sure that’s not just an excuse to see me again?” She laughed as she turned away from him to restock a book on a shelf.
“I promise I’m not making excuses. I just wanted to be sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. Really.” Pausing for a moment, she turned to face him again. “You know, I’m glad you stopped in. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about things; about us. I value my independence, and I guess I’ve just been hesitant to give this a shot because I don’t want it to get swallowed up.”
Xander nodded. “I completely understand. I…” But he trailed off as the bell over the door rang again. A young man walked in wearing black jeans and a wifebeater that showed off his numerous tattoos. His boots pounded on the hardwood floor as he marched up to the counter. “We’ll get back to this in a minute,” Xander said.
He headed across the store floor and pretended to study a display of rune stones. He didn’t intend to eavesdrop on Summer’s conversation, but the demanding attitude with which the young man spoke caught his attention.
“Can I help you?” Summer asked.
“Yeah, I’m looking for a love potion.”
“I could provide you with certain crystals that can enhance existing love or smooth out an argument.”
“No, no. I want a love potion. I like this girl, but she won’t talk to me. A buddy of mine said you could whip up a batch of something I could slip into her drink.”
Summer’s voice carried a trace of indignance, but Xander could tell she was trying to remain professional. “I’m afraid your friend is mistaken. There’s nothing anyone can do to make someone fall in love with you. Love potions simply don’t exist.”
“I see how it is.” The man nodded his head and tightened his jaw. “You gotta problem with me because of my tattoos? Or because you’ve heard I’m a troublemaker? Let me tell you something, lady, you’re the only one who’s a freak around here. Oh yeah, I’ve read about you online. I know you’re out dancing naked with the devil in the moonlight. So, don’t go acting all innocent.”
Xander was eager to put the customer in his place, but Summer had made it clear that she didn’t want any help from him. He would have to hold his tongue and let her deal with this.
“Get out of my store,” she advised the man in a low voice. “I don’t tolerate that sort of talk.”
“I want the love potion, bitch! Quit being stubborn and fucking give it to me already.”
“I’ve got nothing to give you!”
But he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He leaned over the counter and grabbed Summer’s hair, holding it firmly in his grip. “Give me the goddamn potion, you fucking freak! I know you can do it, so you’d better just give it to me now. And I’ll take all the money in the cash register, too.”
Just as Xander stepped out from behind the display and headed toward the counter, he saw the man pull a gun from the back of his pants. Xander’s feet transformed even as he was moving them, shedding his human traits for his dragon ones. His spine lengthened and thickened, stretching forward and pushing his neck out into the space in front of his body. His skull cracked as his face shifted from round and flat to long and cylindrical, and he felt the heat of fire rage through his entire body. Wings tore through the back of his shirt and sent crystals and tiny glass figurines crashing to the floor. Xander reached out with clawed hands as the angry customer turned around to see what was going on.
“What the fuck?” he screamed, the gun waving wildly in the air. He let go of Summer’s hair.
Xander knocked it aside easily, sending it into the same display of candles that he and Nora had been admiring recently, and several of them rolled to the floor. Snatching up the assailant by the back of the neck, Xander was once again at war with himself. While the urge to shift was no longer a concern, he knew even in his dragon form that he couldn’t kill this man. He wanted to crush his head between his strong hands and watch as the blood flowed from his eye sockets, but Summer was just a few feet away, watching with her hand on her chest. She was a peaceful person, a loving person, and no matter what a rotten douchebag this guy was, she wouldn’t want to see him murdered. Instead, Xander picked him up by the neck and pitched him across the room. He flew into a bookshelf, bringing it to the floor with a thud. Books cascaded down onto his head.
The customer dug himself out quickly, heading for the door on his hands and knees with blood running from his temple. But before he was able to leave, Summer raised her hands, joining both index fingers and pointing them at the menace’s head. “You will have no memory of what you’ve seen here, and you will never return.”
With a blank look in his beady eyes, the man fell into a trance. “I saw nothing. I will never return,” he murmured. Summer nodded, and as she dropped her hands, the assailant’s gaze resumed to normal. The bell dinged his exit as he scrambled onto the street.
Xander’s breath heaved in his chest as he kept his fire contained. He took a deep breath and let his body slowly shift back. He adjusted his balance on his two feet as his tail narrowed and disappeared, and his wings folded into his shoulder blades with a decisive snap. He watched as his coppery scales turned back into smooth skin.
He glanced at Summer with his tongue between his teeth. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but fear was still evident in her eyes. He didn’t know if it was aimed at him, but it probably was. After all, a fully-grown dragon was a lot more intimidating than a baby one.
10
Summer had difficult customers before, but never like that one. She didn’t know what she would have done, and there had been nothing more incredible than seeing the fierce form of Xander as a dragon charging forth to save her.
He turned to her, sadness in his eyes. “I promised to give you space, and all I did was come and wreck your shop.”
Summer understood exactly what the spirits had been trying to tell her. She had fought so hard against Xander, but he truly was at the very center of her circle, no matter what her mind had been telling her. “You came here when I needed you to,” she said, her cheeks warm and her chest even warmer. “Somehow, you just knew.” She saw Xander as though through a soft light, and she could hardly take her eyes off him as she crunched across the floor toward the front door.
“You’re not angry about the mess?” He gestured helplessly around him at the broken glass and the scattered stones.
Summer locked the door with a flick of her finger and stepped toward him. “Not at all. I’ll just cast a spell to get things back in order.” Smiling, Summer put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. He was warm and firm, hard in all the right places as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. She moaned a little at the pleasure.
It was then that she understood just what Xander had meant when he’d said they were destined to be together. She didn’t need to be able to explain it or comprehend it. It didn’t even matter how hard she had tried to resist it, because Xander was right. Her body surged toward his, demanding him. She didn’t care about anything else, and she was determined to make him realize just how much he was beginning to mean to her, too.
Xander moved his mouth from her lips and trailed kisses down her jawline, still holding her tightly. His breath steamed along her skin as he made his way down to her collarbone, pulling aside the strap of her dress to kiss her shoulder.
“When you shifted,” she admitted as she closed her eyes, “I could finally see every ounce of determination and passion in your eyes.”
He laughed softly against her collarbone. “So, how did you like me when I was a dragon, anyway?”
Summer pulled his head up so that she could look him in eye. “I like you in any form you’re in, Xander.”
His mouth covered hers once more, and she melted underneath him. There was no shop to run, and there had been no dangerous customer. There was only Xander as the two of them tumbled to the floor. She pulled hastily at his belt buckle, desperate to get past his khakis and see what was waiting for her underneath. The giant copper dragon in her shop had been gorgeous, a striking figure that was both intimidating and awe-inspiring, but she knew the man would be just as thrilling. She wasn’t disappointed when she revealed his hardness, ready for her, a dusting of fine dark hairs traveling up his rippling abdomen. Summer splayed her hands against his firm chest as he held himself over her, patiently waiting for whatever she desired, and her heart pounded in her chest.
She wasn’t a virgin, but she might as well have been as Xander slowly peeled her dress down and shimmied it over her hips, exposing her naked skin. “You are even more stunning than I imagined,” he breathed as his eyes roved ever downward. She could feel his gaze on her, blasting her like a laser with a heat that gathered and built between her legs.
Summer nearly cried out with the agony of wanting him, and he seemed to sense her pain. He bent his head to take her nipple into his mouth. Bolts of electricity shot through her body from the points where he touched her, combining with that heat and gathering into a tight ball in the very lowest reaches of her abdomen. “I want you,” she whispered.
Xander smiled sweetly as he moved to her other breast. “I want you, too,” he whispered back. “I need you.”
He paid thorough attention to her nipple, leaving it cold when he removed his hot mouth from the pert bud and kissed a slow line down her quivering stomach. Summer obediently spread her legs as he brushed his lips against her delicate folds.
He pulled her thighs around his neck as he dove deeper, driving his tongue inside her as he explored her most delicate area. Summer shook around him as her muscles tightened. She tipped her head back against the floor and closed her eyes, focusing on that white sphere of heat and electricity that was her entire world at that moment. Xander wet his finger and slipped it inside her, leaving his tongue free to flick against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Every stroke of his tongue sent a spasm through her legs until she couldn’t control herself any longer. Her fingers spread against the floor and her back arched as she came, crying out for more. Ripples of pleasure vibrated through her body like the waves from a drop of water on a still pond, and Summer embraced the chaos.
Xander showed no sign of stopping as long as she was pleased, but she couldn’t take it any more. She had never been so turned on in her life, and it was almost more than her body could handle. “Xander, please. I can’t. Oh, Goddess!” She rolled her head back as he sucked her into his mouth and got her going once again.
“What’s the matter?” he asked gently, looking up at her with an evil gleam in his eye. “Don’t you like it?” He slipped a second finger inside without waiting for her answer.
“Oh, you know I do,” she gasped. “But I want to return the favor.”
“I said I would do anything you want,” he reminded her, “and I meant it. You just tell me.”
