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Dragon’s Mission
Dragon Blaze Ops: Book One
A Curvy Girl Military Romance
by Jasmine Wylder
Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Thank You!
Also by Jasmine Wylder
About the Author
Dedication
To my loved ones B & B, who encouraged me to fly toward my dream:
Let’s soar.
Chapter One
Colonel Patrick Sheen slammed the folder down on the table. Of all the shitty luck, he managed to get this.
Struggling to contain his emotions, he looked up at Dr. Maura Rizzoli, who gazed at him with a cool look that he had come to recognize over the past several months. The one that was just as commanding as any general Patrick had come across.
“This isn’t what I signed up for,” he said, gesturing at the file. “I was under the impression that I would be training my team, not that command would be handed over to a civilian.”
“I assure you, Fiona Tadfield is well qualified for this assignment. She will not be in command of the Blaze Ops, just heading up your team’s training.”
Patrick fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I am well aware of that, Dr. Rizzoli. What I’m saying is that I didn’t think my men and I were going to be trained by someone who has no military training and—”
“We have been going around in circles for ten minutes,” Maura interrupted. “The Magnus Academy is not military. The Blaze Ops and all other teams that will be operating under its jurisdiction will remain with military oversight, but I am in charge here. I am the one who decides what happens. And I have decided that your team needs to learn skills outside of military training. You are very good at what you do, Colonel. But this team was put together for covert rescue and recovery operations.”
Patrick grated at being told what he already knew, but he remained silent. Maura was giving him that look again. The look that said she had already explained her reasons, and this was the last time she was going to remind him of anything because she was tired of listening to his protests.
“In order for you to be off the books, at least as far as the military goes, you have to be under civilian operations. You already knew that you would be stepping outside the normal chain of command and operating with a heavier civilian influence. Fiona is very good at what she does. If you don’t let your ego get in the way, you will be able to learn quite a bit from her.”
Maura’s tone said that the conversation was over. If Patrick hadn’t had so many years of respect for authority drilled into his head, he would have kept on arguing his point. He knew what she was saying, though, and knew that arguing wasn’t going to get him anywhere. This Fiona Tadfield’s skills would speak for themselves, he supposed.
“Now. If you’re finished?” Maura rose a brow. “Your team is waiting for us.”
Patrick stood, smoothing the front of his uniform. The whole situation was less than what he had expected, but this was the chance of a lifetime. Normally, off the books missions were of the kind that he found morally repugnant, but this… this was the ability to ignore red tape and bureaucratic bullshit in order to save lives.
Five men waited for them in the briefing room when Patrick followed Maura into it. His gaze skimmed over them, putting names to the faces and reminding himself of what they were bringing to the team. With so many dragons in the same room, the scent of smoke was a tangible thing. Patrick’s own flame burned steadily, waiting to be unleashed if needed.
The men all stood, and Maura nodded to each of them. “Gentlemen, welcome. I trust you’ve all had time to read over the files you were given?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Captain Liam Young replied with a nod of his head. “The men are ready for your inspection.”
Patrick nodded in satisfaction. The Captain was going to be a good right-hand man. He’d put in his recommendations for this team, of course, but ultimately, they had been selected by someone else. Fiona Tadfield, in fact; the civilian who was apparently going to train them.
What they could learn from a civilian that they couldn’t learn from years of military experience, he didn’t know.
A woman entered the room behind them, and Patrick did a double take. His flames burned higher at the sight of her. She was all curves, just like Maura, but unlike the doctor, there was a clear, distinct ripple of muscle beneath her softness. Instead of a suit she wore training fatigues, her long dark hair wound up into a bun at the back of her head. She walked with a grace that surprised him.
Patrick didn’t realize he was staring until she met his gaze and rose a brow. “Colonel Sheen, I presume. You’re the only one I haven’t met yet.”
She held a hand out, a hardness creeping into her eyes. Disapproval or annoyance? Because of the way he’d been staring or something else?
Patrick shook it, guessing who this was. “Fiona Tadfield.”
“Dr. Tadfield,” she replied coolly.
“Doctor. An MD, then, or something else?”
“Neither,” she replied with a smirk playing about her lips that made his heart flutter unexpectedly. “My parents wanted a doctor in the family but didn’t want to spend money sending a kid through university so just named me Doctor.”
Patrick released her hand and narrowed his eyes. So, she thought she was a joker, did she? This was already shaping up to be a clusterfuck. Dragons needed a hard line to keep them in place, especially men who were brought in from various branches of the military like this lot had been.
“It’s good to see you again, Dr. Fiona,” the youngest of the bunch, Specialist Evan Collins, said. Computer expert, he’d have charge of the team’s technological needs. He gave their curvy instructor a wide grin, and Patrick glared at him. The last thing he needed was his men getting distracted by a pretty face… and the body attached to it.
“Is Doctor a pretentious name or a legitimate title?” he asked before the situation could dissolve. He had no intention of referring to the woman as ‘doctor’ if she had no right to the prefix.
Fiona rose a brow at him and glanced at Maura. The doctor gave her a hard look, the same look she’d given Patrick earlier. Fiona put a smile on her face and cocked her head to one side. “It’s a title I earned, Colonel. I’ve got a doctorate in dance studies.”
Patrick had never heard of anything so ridiculous and was unable to keep the scorn from his face. “And that helps qualify you for this position how?”
“It doesn’t.” Fiona gave him such a sweet smile that he was taken aback for a moment. “My qualifications come from other areas of my life. And I’d be more than happy to discuss those qualifications with you another time… after you’ve read my file, perhaps, because they’re all in there.”
Liam snickered, and Patrick’s cheeks warmed. Of course, they were in her
file! Who the bloody hell wouldn’t read her file when wanting to find out about her qualifications? He locked his jaw and narrowed his eyes back down into a glare. Liam stopped snickering and bent his head. At least he showed some respect.
“Your training with the military was for a very specific purpose,” Fiona continued, her voice losing the tinge of annoyance as her expression sobered. “For the purposes you have here, you require new skills. Or at least, the development of skills that have not been developed as much as we need.”
Patrick folded his arms and nodded at her. He could accept that. By why give them a dance instructor? Did rescuing hostages include ballet these days? This wasn’t Guardians of the Galaxy, he very much doubted they’d be able to achieve their missions by challenging their enemies to a dance-off.
“Your training will be focused on unarmed missions.” Fiona watched him closely, a smile still playing about her lips. “And performing your missions to completion without shifting.”
What the fuck?
Patrick’s arms dropped to his sides. He was so shocked that he couldn’t even make the exclamations that he wanted to. Was she completely off her rocker? What was the point of this whole exercise if they were expected not to use their shifting capabilities?
“In case you haven’t noticed,” he growled as his flames rose higher, “we’re all dragons here. The six of us were chosen because we can turn into massive, fire-breathing beasts. We’re being called the Blaze Ops, for Christ’s sake!”
“There is no need to raise your voice, Colonel. I thought that you would have received a full report of what is expected of you—”
“Nowhere in there did you say you want dragons to pretend that they’re not shifters!” Patrick snarled. He slammed both of his hands onto the table, making Maura and the men jump, but Fiona didn’t so much as blink. “Us shifters have fought long and hard to be recognized. Is this one of those bullshit training programs that say shifters aren’t in control of themselves when they shift? If you think for one moment I’m standing for this, you can think again!”
Fiona rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth, but Patrick wheeled on Maura. He wasn’t going to put up with this crap. As a shifter, his development was somewhat slower than the average humans which made him look a lot young than he actually was. It was a thorn in his side and one of the reasons why he was still a colonel when most of the men he’d trained with had been promoted by now.
He had lived long enough and fought in enough battles to know when he was being screwed. This was just another attack on him for being a shifter and not being quiet about it.
“You can’t be serious,” he snarled at Maura. “You’re a shifter, you know how deeply that identity goes.”
Maura started to say something, but he didn’t want to hear it.
“I can’t believe you would expect us to be trained by someone who thinks we should be cut off from who we are—a civilian and not even a shifter!” He shot a glare at Fiona, who had the gall to look amused. “Not to mention she can’t be more than twenty years old. Evan here is older than that. What can she possibly teach us that we don’t already know? Or is it important that we can tap dance?”
Maura drew herself up. Her eyes flashed, and her lips pressed into a thin line. “If you are unhappy with the choices that the Magnus Academy has made, you are free to hand in your resignation.”
Patrick pressed his lips together to force himself not to reply to that.
“We don’t have time to waste on your ego,” Maura continued. “There are plenty of other candidates who are just as qualified as you are who would be more than happy to take your place. In case you don’t remember, Senator Alex Kinsman was abducted several days ago. If the Blaze Ops was fully functional, we would be sending you lot after them. We’ve already had more delays than I care for… So, if you can’t be a team player or if you can’t serve under a civilian’s command, then you have no place here. Am I understood?”
Patrick grated at being dressed down like a new recruit, especially in front of these men that he didn’t even know yet. He shot a glance over his shoulder at the five dragons who were meant to serve under his command. Maura could have handled this more discreetly. His jaw flexed, but he nodded.
Maura relaxed her stance and gave a nod toward Fiona. “They’re all yours, Doctor.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Fiona responded. She waited until Maura left the room before she turned to the five recruits. “Liam, why don’t you and the others go outside and start on a run. The Colonel and I have to work out the training schedule for you lot.”
A bit of the tension eased from Patrick’s shoulders. She was going to involve him at least. That was a good sign.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Liam saluted and ushered the men out, leaving Patrick and Fiona alone.
Fiona’s air was cool and confident as she sat down. “Now, Colonel. Shall we begin?”
Chapter Two
Fiona side-stepped the half-assed punch that Liam sent at her. She almost had the urge to roll her eyes at that. Why was it that men only had two settings? Either being overly macho and trying to ‘put her in her place’ when she didn’t fawn over them or to go easy on her, like she was some sort of damsel in distress. Liam was a good guy. But that didn’t mean that Fiona was going to let him hold back in training.
When he punched again, angling his arm so he wouldn’t hit her anyway, she grabbed his wrist. A quick turn, her elbow in his face, followed by her leg wrapped around his knee and a jerk. He was flat on his back before he even realized what was going on.
The others crowed and mocked their fallen Captain. All except the Colonel, who only scowled and shook his head.
“The hell was that, Young? You plan on fighting like a girl when your crew’s lives depend on you?”
Fiona rankled at the insult. Fight like a girl indeed. She’d like to fight like a girl with Patrick. So far, she hadn’t invited him to spar, and he didn’t seem too interested in going against her, either. Was it because he thought he was so far above the rest of them that he wasn’t going to deign to fight with her? She didn’t think he was practicing any of the techniques she’d taught the crew, either.
“No, sir,” Liam shot back to Patrick as he got back to his feet. “I just like it when a woman puts me on my back is all.”
“Shut your damn mouth,” Fiona snapped. She didn’t really like swearing but when she was around these military men? Well, it was part of their culture, and she had to use their language if she was going to get through to them. “You make one more sexual comment about me and I’ll rip off your balls and serve them to you deep-fried with a side of fries.”
Liam’s eyes widened and he grinned. He saluted quickly. “Yes, Ma’am. I apologize for my comment.”
There was something of a cockiness about his actions but not in a way that seemed mocking. Fiona glared at him a moment longer to make sure he knew she meant it, then gestured at the men. “Now you five try that. Evan, you’re with Liam and Adam.”
The men broke off into their groups and Fiona walked around them, checking their technique and making sure they were doing it properly. Patrick remained standing where he was, his massive arms folded over his chest and a fierce glare on his face. The tank top he wore showed just how strong he was. Shoulders as broad as an ax-handle. Muscles upon muscles. Well-defined shoulders and back. Tight abs. It was all she could do to stop from staring, especially at the tattoo tribal patterns running down his left arm, shoulder to wrist. There were words tattooed on his collarbone, but Fiona hadn’t gotten close enough to read them yet.
She made her way over to the Colonel, curious about what he was glowering at her about now. She rose a brow at him when she stopped beside him.
“So, I don’t get to spar?” he asked in a low tone. “Am I in time-out for thinking that a non-shifter has no business teaching shifters how to fight without their abilities?”
A non-shifter? Fiona laughed and, in her chest, her tiger laughed with her. The big ca
t paced, enjoying the sight of these strong young men fighting one another, muscles bulging, skin gleaming with sweat. It pawed at her, trying to turn her gaze back to Patrick, but she refused.
If he really was as good as he thought he was, he’d already have worked it out that she was a shifter. Clearly, he still had not read her file.
“So what’s this about?” he asked, lowering his voice as they watched the crew spin and duck and weave. “Turning them into ballerinas, are you?”
“You think this looks like ballet?”
“Certainly doesn’t look like fighting.”
Fiona rolled her eyes. “Then I guess that I should just show you how much of fighting it is, then.”
Patrick snorted, a puff of smoke billowing from his nostrils. “Sorry. I don’t fight girls.”
“So is this about me being a civilian, me being a non-shifter, or are you just a sexist asshole?” Fiona shot back. This man and his infuriating attitude! He was the best for the job, she knew that, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to march into Maua’s office and tell her to get a new commanding officer for the Blaze Ops. She lifted her lip in a sneer as she turned to face him fully. “Or are you just worried about getting your ass handed to you again?”
“You think you handed my ass to me?”
“Maura certainly did. And in front of your men, no less,” she mocked. “Must have been terribly embarrassing for you.”
Patrick’s glare intensified. “Not as embarrassing as it must be for the men you’re training to act like pussies around you, so you don’t bruise up that pretty face of yours.”
“Is calling me pretty supposed to be an insult?”
“If you weren’t a girl, I’d tell you to fuck off.”
Fiona snarled. “One, I’m not a girl. I’m a woman. Two, I am also your superior. Talk to me like that and I will have you written up for insubordination. You don’t have to like me. Hell, you don’t even have to agree with me. But you do have to respect me. Is that understood?”
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