Griffith: The English Dragon ― Erotic Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “Older than you by nearly three times.” That startled him. He’d had no idea that there were beings older than Danburn. “Of course, like you, I’ve not thought about the years either. It’s sort of depressing when you’re all alone, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. But with you here, I feel younger than I have in decades. I didn’t know that you were older than Danburn.” She told him that there were a lot of her kind that were older than even Danburn’s mother. “I just realized that it’s James’s birthday as well. I can’t remember the last time we celebrated together. I would guess it’s been hundreds of years.”

  “Mother and I, we celebrate our birthdays by picking a large bouquet of flowers and sending them out to sea. The fishes are so happy to get them that we stand for hours while they disappear.” Lilac kissed him on the mouth quickly as she stood up. “Come on now. I’m starving. You helped me burn off a lot of calories this morning.”

  The town had gone all out for his birthday. There were gifts, all of them handmade by them, that he knew that he’d cherish forever. There was plenty of food too; everyone was able to get their bellies filled, and enjoy plenty of drinks too.

  Griff found Elissa and thanked her for the party. “It was my pleasure. I figured that with all this other crap going on, you and your mother could have a nice day of it. She’s over there, near the cake.” He saw her and smiled when she turned to him. “You’re a very lucky young man—you know that, don’t you? To have your mother after all this time, I’m so happy for you both. But what are you going to do about James?”

  “I’m going to call him out and finish this. The council and my mom gave me permission to do what I must. Kip and Dana are going to be with me.” She asked him why not Danburn. “James isn’t a dragon, but the child of one. So if Danburn shows up at this, James could plead his case to him. I don’t know what he’d say, but it would be drawn out more while James was able to call out witnesses on his behalf, as well as a written statement on why he shouldn’t be imprisoned. This will get it finished quicker.”

  Elissa hugged him and then moved on. Lilac joined him then as they stood in line to grab some of the food. Griff was going to do this. Soon. It was well past time to take his brother down. And he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as it sounded in his head.

  ~*~

  James wandered around the little town after leaving his mother to her business. The thought of her living in his home made him so mad that he could barely contain himself. Smiling, James thought of the way that he’d been able to soothe himself. He’d managed to kill four people, heinously as his brother would call it, and he felt like a new man.

  “Teach them to have a picnic close to where I’m residing.” Like he was really residing in the caves. That too had burned his toast, as his father had been so fond of saying. “I live in a fucking forest, surrounded by all kinds of bugs and other shit.”

  James looked at his arms. They were covered in bite marks. Some of them he’d scratched raw. Even his legs looked as if he’d been laying in a hill of red ants. Which, he thought, was just what he’d done. The fuckers had bitten him so many times that his legs were more red and bloody than they were flesh. He wondered if his brother had anything to do with that, and decided to blame it on him anyway.

  “He’s going to get his soon.” James had thought of and dismissed a great many plans to make his brother pay. None of them were very good. He had to keep reminding himself that his brother was a dragon, and if pushed too hard, would hurt him. “I have plans that will keep me going for some time, and having myself injured will not help me with that.”

  James wondered if Griffith’s promise to their mother would still stand. She wasn’t dead, so perhaps Griffith would now be able to hurt him. Since he was an immortal, there wasn’t any way for Griffith to kill him, but he could definitely put him in a world of hurt.

  “Would serve him right if he were to hurt me in a way that would require me to be bedridden, and he would have to care for me.” That sounded like it would be fun. With the exception of the pain part. No one in their right mind would want to be in pain. “I love to inflict it, but never do I want to feel it. Having my hand busted up was enough for me.”

  The town seemed to be dead today. He noticed that several of the shops that he’d frequented were closed up, as well as the library. James wondered what the fuck was going on when he saw the building and the party going on. Stepping into the alley that gave him the best view, he watched as balloons were brought to the front of the place and a band set up nearby. Whatever was going on, it was a big hoopla. Getting closer, he could see now that it was some sort of birthday celebration.

  “Probably Damn Bird having himself a party. The fucker never once invited me to any of his parties. Just Griffith.” Watching the proceedings, he thought about birthdays and realized quite suddenly that it was his own birthday. Then it hit him. “Mother fuck, they’re having a party for my brother. That should be for me, not him. I’m going to have to have a talk with him. The fucker didn’t even remember to wish me a happy day.”

  Stalking his way to the building, he paused when he saw the other dragons there as well. They were men, of course, but he knew them all to be dragons. They had hung around his home often enough that he even knew all their names. From Damn Bird to the youngest of them, Kipling Newton.

  The band started playing almost as soon as they got set up. “Happy Birthday” was sung by everyone there. James saw his mother there, holding onto Griffith like he deserved it. And he saw that she was singing the loudest, wishing her little boy a happy day.

  James made his way to them now. He didn’t have a plan, but he was going to have it out with them. To think that he’d not been invited to the party, nor had anyone bothered to wish him well today. Grabbing his mother’s arm, James jerked her around so that she could see him.

  “Mother dear, have you forgotten what day this is for me as well?” When she took a step back from him, his temper burned through him. But before he could reach for her the second time, his woman stepped between him and his mother. “You’re coming with me. It’s the very least that you can do for not having me a party as well.”

  Reaching for her, he grabbed thin air. He found himself lifted from the ground without anyone touching him. Screaming to be let go, that this was his birthday as well, he spit at his mother and the woman that had been taken from him.

  “You seem to not understand that none of us like you, James.” He started to spit on Damn Bird, but he laughed, a laughter that made James’s skin crawl. “You spit again and I will tear out your tongue and shove it up that pansy ass of yours.”

  “Put me down this minute. You have no right to detain me like this. This isn’t even your concern. This is between my mother and my mate.” Damn Bird crossed his arms over his chest and it made James realize just how out of shape he was when he did that. “What the fuck do you care what is going on between us, you moron? You know as well as I do that you have no rights over me.”

  “That is where you’re wrong, my dear asshole. When you kill a dragon, you immediately come under my rule. The council came to me just this morning, telling me that they’d ruled that you were to be treated like a dragon and I was to take care of you. How do you want to die, James? I’m all for stretching it out for as long as I can, but I will give you the choice. But you will heed my word or face the consequences.”

  “You can’t kill me, you fucking dick. I’m an immortal.” He was let down to touch the ground, but he wasn’t able to take a step. “If you persist in this, whatever you call it, in trying to make me heel, I have news for you—it won’t work, Damn Bird. I’m not a part of your realm. I’m not a dragon, sadly, or you’d be toast right now. Christ, I fucking loathe you.”

  “Well, that’s good. Because I’d hate to think that after all this time you’d fallen in love with me. Christ, that would be just shitty on your part, wouldn’t it, Jiminy Cricket?”

  James saw red. His temper just s
napped and he tried to lunge at the man. But something was holding him, and he looked around for the source and eyed his woman.

  “Let me the fuck go, and I’ll make your death painless and quick. Not to say I’m not going to fuck you—I’m going to do that over and over—but after I’m finished, I’ll just remove your head and be done with you.” He laughed. “I might even not piss on your dead body if you were to let me go right now.”

  “I’m not holding you.” She moved to her right and there stood a little girl. She couldn’t have been much older than about ten or so. “This is Carmine, my niece by marriage. She’s very strong, James—you should remember that when you fuck around with this family. And she doesn’t have to touch you to know what you’re thinking. Unlike you must do.”

  James knew that wasn’t true. He could feel magic, and it wasn’t coming from the child. Then she snapped her little fingers. The pain in his arm made him puke down the front of his shirt. He couldn’t move away, couldn’t even try and hold himself where the pain was coming from. Looking at it, he could see that it was broken in two places, the bones sticking out of his flesh like a bizarre art project.

  “What the fuck have you done to me?” The child stepped to him. “You are going to fucking pay for this, see if you don’t. And when I’m through with you, there won’t be anyone that can recognize your fucking body.”

  Another snap of her fingers and his other arm was broken. Screaming at her around the pain, he was weak with the agony. When she looked up at him, no more than a few feet from his broken body, he wanted to reach out and snap her neck. But it was the expression on her face that made him think that saying or doing anything at this moment would not only get him killed, even being an immortal, but he’d be in a great deal of hurt until she ended his life.

  “You’re a horrible man.” He whimpered; no sound other than that would make its way past his lips when Carmine spoke. “I would like nothing more than to send you away, but you need to suffer for what you’ve done.”

  “I am suffering, you little fuck. Fix me or else.” She laughed, and it felt like nails on a chalkboard to him. “Let me go. Please, let me go and fix me.”

  “Nope. You’re not nice, and if you’re hurt like this, I want you to think about what else I could do to you for all the people that you’ve killed.” Her hair danced around her head, and he felt the heat of her anger all over him, much like the breath of a dragon. The step she took toward him had him flinching away and causing more of him to hurt. “When you’re dead, we’ll all rest easier. You will suffer at the hands of those that you think should worship you—you will hurt worse than you ever have. And you will die by the one that you would least expect to be able to kill you.”

  He found himself in the forest again. James tried to sit up, to see what other hurts she’d bestowed onto his poor body. But without the use of his arms he was stuck there, lying like a turtle that had been turned to his back.

  Sobbing about what he’d had to endure over the last few days, all he could think about was the pain. Pain that a child with no more magic than the rocks that he was uncomfortably lying upon. James didn’t know what to do now. She had warned him, yes, but he knew that with her so young, there was little that she could do to someone as powerful as him.

  “Just because she broke my arms doesn’t mean that she can kill me. I’m a fucking immortal, and she’d better learn that people bigger and stronger than her will kick her human ass all over this place.”

  He laid there until the darkness came over his resting place. James didn’t move any more than he had to. His pain tolerance, if someone would have asked him, was higher than most. But right now, he’d give anything for someone to knock him out, or to give him something for the pain. And somehow, he knew that it was going to take longer than it usually did for him to heal.

  “You mother fucking bitch, you’re not on my list.” He cried some more, wondering why everyone seemed to be out to get him. “I’m firstborn to a very wealthy family of dragons. Why isn’t anyone taking care of me? Why do they persist in making my life miserable like this?”

  It wasn’t until the sun was coming up again that he thought he could sleep. His mind was a jumble of activity in coming up with tactics. Every plan that he had and then rejected had to do with him killing his brother and his woman. But the child, and whatever she had in her arsenal, would cock block every move he came up with.

  “I will get you, kid. You just wait and see if I don’t.” He tried to remember if there had been anyone there that looked as if they were helping her. “You have an entire dragon herd around you, and that is completely unfair. I’ll even the odds the next time we meet. You can bet on that.”

  Just as he was falling asleep, he heard her laughter. It scared him so badly that he jumped, hurting himself more than he had in the last hour. Something else to add to what he was going to make them pay for. Haunting him while he tried to rest.

  Crying himself to sleep didn’t help his disposition any, but he was making progress, he thought, on getting healed. As soon as he found a way to get them, he was going to have them pay for everything that had happened to him. Even if they’d had nothing to do with it.

  “Fuckers, every last one of them.”

  Chapter 9

  The house was finished. Walking from room to room with Griff had her thinking of all the fun that they’d had going to auctions and finding pieces that they’d wanted. They were going to two this weekend and were hopeful of getting a few things to put in the storefront that they’d been planning.

  “Do you really think that people will want to come to a shop like this? Just to look around?” They’d discussed it a great deal, opening a shop that didn’t sell antiques but had them on display so that people could see how people used to get things done in a day’s time. “I mean, I think it’s a wonderful idea. But then, I’m happy to be doing anything with you.”

  “Thank you.” Griff kissed her on her nose and smiled at her as he wrapped his arm around her. “I do think they’ll come, actually. We both have things that we’ve collected over the centuries. I can see how it would appeal to a great many people to see uniforms of every decade. The swords and knives alone will be the highlight for every little boy within a hundred miles.”

  “And the plates that we’ve found, as well as the few that we managed to keep, will be marveled at by most of the adults.” While she was warming to the idea, she still had her doubts. “I saw some of the farmers around looking over the old steam engines when they were brought into town. One of the older men was telling his grandchildren how hard he’d had to work to keep the old plows going. Also, I heard from the other dragons; they’re going to put a few things in it as well when we rotate some of the items out.”

  Danburn had been in favor of the museum of sorts. He was also glad that they were going to hire some of the people around town to be on hand to help with the tours that were being set up. And Elissa had been giving them smaller things with information cards with them for the last few days. If nothing else, when they first opened, Lilac figured that they’d have a lot of people coming by to see what they had.

  “I think not charging anyone to come through is a good idea too.” Lilac agreed with Griff as they made their way to the last bedroom down the hall. “This is the only room that needs a few things in it. The bed is perfect, and the canopy is one that my mother designed for it. I simply love it. But I think it needs a couple of wingback chairs. Just to sit by the fireplace.”

  “Good idea. And what did you think of the room next to this one? With all the babies coming along, when the others visit us, we’ll have a place for the children as well. Did your mom have nannies for you, or did she care for you and James by herself?” She looked at him when he didn’t answer. “I’m sorry, Griff. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

  “You didn’t. I was just thinking about your question. My father was very hands on with me. Not so much James, as he wanted nothing to do with any kind of sports or pla
y. Mom, she would be on the sidelines of every game I was playing in, dragging James along with her. He hated to be with us, and it finally got to the point where he’d just stay home, and we’d go on adventures without him.”

  “That must have been sad. Though, I don’t know how. Not having James around to suck all the fun out of your trips might have been a good deal more inviting.” She sat down on the bed and loved how it felt under her. It was a thick mattress, the kind that they’d have had during the time period of the bedstead. “Have you seen him lately? I heard from Rett that he’s been in town a couple of times. Just to snatch up some food and return to wherever he’s been staying.”

  “The grocery store had a list of things that he’s swiped from them. Mostly it’s been food, but he did get himself a few extras. I haven’t any idea how he thinks he’s getting away with this. But as of tomorrow, his stealing is going to come to a halt. They’ll be watching for him after today and will have him arrested on sight if he does it. And let’s be honest here, there isn’t any way that he’s going to stop. Not when he thinks that he’s been getting away with it for so long.” Griff laughed with her. “Yesterday I was told that he took several cans of beans. I would hate to be around him when they finally go through his system. Mr. Wells said that he took about fifteen cans of the stuff. He’ll be a mess when he’s finished with those.”

  Making their way down the stairs, the front doorbell rang as they were hitting the last step. Hoke had apparently been in the house, because he came from the kitchen area as soon as Griff started to open the door.

  “No.” Griff backed away from the door but stood close to it when Hoke warned him. “There are a few people around town looking for you. One of them is a woman, and I can’t get close enough to her to figure out what she is.”

  “How do you know that it’s them?” Hoke just pointed to his nose. Lilac was whispering, but she knew that both Hoke and Griff could hear her. “So, do you pretend that we’re not home? Or do we open the door and find out what the hell they want?”