by C. D. Gorri
“Winifred!”
They landed in a heap on the floor with Callius frantically whispering her name and caressing her face. She started giggling uncontrollable. He exhaled and kissed her head while she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“My love, you scared me. Are you okay?”
“Am I okay? Callius! You have more money in that account than I have ever seen!”
“Oh, that, well, Dragons do like their treasure, my love. But it is ours now, mine and yours.”
“Oh Callius, I couldn’t, I mean, that is your money.”
“Winifred, you are my true mate. I share everything with you. My heart, my mind, my body, my diamond rose, and of course, my treasure.”
“You know the money doesn’t really matter to me, right? I mean I would choose you if we had to live in a cardboard box.”
“I know, my sweet Fred, that is part of the reason I chose you as well.”
She smiled and sighed when he leaned down and kissed her. This time their lovemaking was slow. Fred exhaled as he caressed and worshipped her with his mouth and hands. She didn’t mind the hardwood floor one bit. Not when he loomed over her with his big, warm body, and especially not when he pushed inside of her.
He touched more than just her body when they were like that. He touched her heart. Her Dragon Valentine.
Epilogue
One week after Valentine’s Day at The Thirsty Dog.
“Are you certain you want it this way?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then,” Callius picked up a large piece of the nine layered, white-chocolate wedding cake with habanero-raspberry filling in his hand and mushed it right into the face of his beloved wife as he fed her a bite.
He grinned widely as his bride laughed and lovingly did the same to him. Callius licked the sweet and spicy confection from her cheek as the small crowd of friends and well-wishers that filled The Thirsty Dog applauded and toasted them.
“Is it everything you wished for?”
“Oh yes, Cal, I love it,” Fred had never been so happy in her entire life. She wished her brother could be there but knew in her heart he was there in spirit. It warmed her that he would approve of her mate, her husband now.
“Shall we sit?”
“Um, you go on, I need to be excused.”
“Oh, okay, I will be here.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Fred excused herself to the ladies’ room.
She could hardly believe this was all real. Days ago, she was dumped, almost homeless, with no real prospects, but look at her now! Dressed in a marvelously expensive white dress made from the finest silk and lace, with a diamond on her finger. Married. To a Dragon!
She stared at her smiling face in the mirror and gasped. Was that really her? She was so happy it seemed to radiate from her skin. It was like a beautiful dream. She jumped a little when the restroom door opened.
“Congratulations, Fred!” Charley Maccon, Alpha female and Rafe’s wife, entered the bathroom with one hand resting on her barely visible baby-bump.
“I am so happy for you two! So, a Dragon, huh?”
“Yes, thank you! He is a Dragon, did Rafe tell you everything?”
“Oh yeah! And I for one would love to see him, you know, Changed and all! So, ooh, excuse me, I have t pee,” she ran into a stall and continued talking as Fred washed her hands in the sink, “So how did you know he was the one?”
“He’s my mate and I’m his. That’s all there is to it,” she couldn’t stop smiling, saying it aloud gave her a rush like none she had ever felt.
“I know how that is,” Charley laughed and exited the stall. Her pretty, blue dress swirled around her legs when she walked. She smiled radiantly at the new bride as she dried her hands.
“I just wanted to say thank you for inviting us. I really love weddings! It’s so important to celebrate the good things with everything else that is going on, you know what I mean?”
“Absolutely! And of course, you are invited, you are my Pack, thank you for coming,” Fred smiled and hugged the shorter woman.
“Now that’s enough, I swear I’m like a leaky faucet these days. You’ll make me cry out my new mascara!”
“Oh, I know! Me too! I swear I never knew I could be so happy.”
“That’s married life, though there are downsides do. Not that I can think of any, ha! Anyway, Rafe told me Callius bought the place you were renting and is planning on fixing it up?”
“Oh yeah! You should have seen Barbie, you know the realtor, when he pulled an emerald the size of his fist out of his pocket to pay for the property. She almost died!”
“No way!”
“Oh yeah. Dragons really do love their treasure!”
“Wow! Well, I am so happy for you especially when I heard you’ll be getting your degree and working at the Youth Center on a full-time basis once you have it!”
“Yes, it’s my wedding gift from Callius.”
“That’s awesome! Ooops, excuse me, I have to go again, this little one is resting right on my bladder!”
“Oh, no worries! Thanks again, Charley!”
A few moments later.
A slow rock ballad played over the speakers as Callius spun his bride in circles on the small dance floor.
“Callius?”
“Yes?”
“You know, you have never actually told me you love me.”
“No? Well, I’ve given you my diamond rose. It is my lifeblood, Winifred, my heart and soul, as it beats and breathes inside of me, it rests in you as well. Is that not enough?”
“Well, that’s incredible, but still, I’d like the words.”
“Very well then, Winifred Falk, mea Castillo, I love you.”
“You do?”
“Yes, my sweet Fred, I love you from the silver gold strands of your hair to your blood painted toes. I love the way you moan when I touch you and the way you cling to me when we sleep at night. I love all of you. Your snow-white Wolf and your amazing heart. You are my diamond rose and I intend to love you and keep you, to treasure you, forever. Es meus.”
The end.
The Dragon’s Christmas Gift:
A Falk Clan Tale
by C.D. Gorri
For my fans! Merry Everything and Happy Always!
Copyright 2017 C.D. Gorri
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either part of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to a person, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. No part of this book is to be reproduced, scanned, downloaded, printed, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of any materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Tagline:
“His heart is frozen; can she change his mind about love?”
Synopsis:
Alexsander Falk is content to let his heart grow as cold as the ice he breathes in Dragon form. When his newlywed brother calls him home to Castle-sit during the holiday season, he reluctantly agrees. Unaware that he’s to host a Christmas party for the local teen outreach program.
Noelle Gifford is the new owner-operator of Present Tastes. She’s been contracted to cater the party at the newly remodeled home on Beach Drive, aptly named Castle Falk.
She is determined to be bright and cheerful for her client! But what’s a girl to do with a Sexy Scrooge who refuses to listen to any of her ideas?
PROLOGUE
White clouds, heavy with unfallen snow, pressed in on Alexsander as he sped forward through the winter sky. He had one destination, a place he’d been avoiding ever since they were freed, home.
“Brother,” Sander replayed the familiar voice of Callius in his head. His eld
est brother had called to him through the telepathic link they shared just a few hours ago.
“Winifred and I must go away. We go to announce our dominion over these lands to the High Chiefs and, well, my bride requires a vacation. Besides brother, after months of building, Castle Falk is complete. Come home, Alexsander.”
Without any hesitation, Alexsander took to the skies. The air was frigid at such heights, but the bitter wind bounced off his translucent white scales. His Dragon was fast and strong. He reveled in the speed with which he flew towards his new home.
Power pulsed through his veins as he raced towards the place his brother had built for the four of them. To think that the Falk brothers were now freed and had a home of their own was almost too much to wrap his mind around.
Years of abuse had almost killed any hope he’d had of ever seeing the day when he’d be free to live his own life. He’d never imagined they’d have a castle of their own too. Leave it to Callius, he thought. His brother had found both mate and home within hours of leaving the icy island that had been their prison.
Sander held out no such hope. He was destined to be alone. Seeing Callius settled with Fred only added to his pain. Despair and anger warred within him as he flapped his mighty wings against the cold air, gaining altitude.
Still, he continued his journey. Sander knew that he could not ignore his brother’s request. It was his duty. He owed Callius that much. For you brother, I will come home.
Icicles formed on his snout as he broke records soaring through the skies, but he didn’t mind it. He was an IceDragon after all.
Sander loved the cold. His unique coloring allowed him to hide in the blinding December sky. A useful tool, shielding him from the spying eyes of normals.
They travelled in enormous commercial airliners by the thousands during this time of year. It was the busiest of all seasons. The holidays here again! Bah!
He blew out a stream of crystalized ice from his nostrils as he pictured them, poor slobs, crammed together like sardines in great big tin cans. Normals were like pests.
They crowded and polluted the heavens that were once the domain of his kind alone. This time of year, it was almost unbearable! Christmas, he growled the word in his mind’s eye.
The season had been celebrated by normals and supernaturals alike since before he was born! Whether it be the Winter Solstice or a virgin-birthed Messiah that caused you to hang your lights and wrap your gifts, winter was a time for celebration. Yet, he felt nothing of the kind.
Sander snarled in his mind’s eye at the hypocrisy of it all. Greed was the motivation behind these so-called holidays. It was neither religion nor faith that brought normals to intrude on his rightful domain at such a frenzied pace.
No. It was self-gratification. Money was the bottom line. He who received the most, the newest, the biggest, and the baddest was deemed winner of the season.
Bah, he thought to himself again. What was it that fictitious misanthrope said, ah yes! Bah humbug! Sander couldn’t agree more. If Dragon’s could snort, his did as he pictured the famous anti-hero.
Distracted by that bit of whimsy Sander almost missed the huge jetliner that came hurtling forward through a dense cloud. The thing nearly took his right wing off. He growled ferociously but managed to veer left just in time.
When exactly did airplanes start taking off within seconds of each other, he wondered as he ducked to avoid yet another one of the damned contraptions. His knowledge of current events was somewhat limited. While Dragons in other Clans were growing with the modern world, enjoying the freedom to learn and observe normals, Alexsander had been kept behind stone walls.
A prisoner, held in servitude for a crime he didn’t commit, along with his brothers, Callius, Edric, and Nikolai. Five-hundred years, they’d served and scraped to get by under the torturing claws of Chief Dragomir of the Blackthorne Clan. The Bastard.
Just thinking about his soft-bodied, cruelty-inclined captor made Sander want to throw his head back and let loose a roar loud enough to shake the heavens. Do not got there, Sander. It is over.
He was free now, and there was nothing more to rage against. The past was done. He could not change it. No good came from dwelling on what had once been. He should accept it and move on, but he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried.
He’d been irrevocably changed. He’d always carry around physical proof of the horrors he’d endured. There was no escaping his past. No future either for a half-handed Dragon.
Sander had tried to make peace with that a long time ago. He knew his time on this Earth would soon be up. His heart was growing cold as the ice he breathed.
His inner GPS alerted him that he’d reached his destination. Pushing his morbid thoughts aside, he closed his great Dragon wings and caught the wind hurtling himself down towards the tiny speck of land that grew larger with each passing second.
He’d arrived at the place his brother called their home. Castle Falk.
He landed on the large runway Callius had installed on the roof. An empty helicopter sat there new and unused. Probably so as not to draw attention, he imagined.
He glanced around approving of the location. Private, protected, easy access to the water, the air, and the forest. He’d found the place without any problem.
He’d memorized the latitude and longitude before taking off from the deserted island where he’d spent the last few months swimming in the deep and trying hard to bury his past. He should have stayed there, he thought for the hundredth time since he’d set out. Alone.
He smirked as he looked at the towering structure his brother had conceived. It had all the beauty and intricacies of any castle of old, along with modern tech and convenience. Clearly, Callius had spared no expense.
Each brother had chipped in a quarter of the total costs. They could afford it. Dragons did love their treasure after all. Even captive Dragons were allowed some of their plunder and with access to the internet and stock markets, increasing their assets in the past twenty years had been easy enough.
Castle Falk. He started down the stairs to one of the secured entrances to the common living quarters. After placing his hand on the scanner and entering a passcode that only someone fluent in Dracan, the ancient language of Dragons, would understand, he entered.
His brother ensured that all four brothers spoke the language fluently, something modern Dragons did not undertake. He smirked at the memory of the tedious hours of study. Callius was a good brother, if a little serious at times.
He still couldn’t believe it was true. His brother had succeeded in finding both mate and Castle in record time. It took a while, but it was finished.
A formidable presence on the Eastern seaboard. The Castle was made of the finest brick and mortar as far as Sander could tell. It was, indeed, grand. Enough private wings for all four brothers. Outfitted with the highest technological advances and comforts.
Shame filled him as he descended the stairs, he was the last to see the place. He should have at least honored his brother’s efforts by showing up sooner. Truth be told, he didn’t feel as if he belonged there. Not with his ruined hand and his cold heart. He had not wanted to see his brothers’ worry.
There were no happy endings in store for him. He would die alone. And soon. Without a mate, his sapphire rose would turn to ice and his body would follow. That was his fate.
CHAPTER 1
Noelle Gifford parked her small, new to her, metallic teal SUV at the top of the long, winding driveway that led to Castle Falk. She’d loved the color of the surprisingly powerful machine and couldn’t stop herself from signing the deal to purchase it on the stop.
She’d gone looking for a bigger car to help cart around her purchases from her daily market trips. Owning and operating a catering business meant she’d had to make a lot of changes in her life just lately. Upgrading from her tiny yellow smart car was just one of them.
Noelle had yet to regret a single change she’d made in her efforts to increase her bus
iness. The SUV was kind of a perk. It gave her confidence, especially when driving in the snow. Okay Noelle, it’s show time.
She exhaled a long, nervous breath that came out as a long, white stream from her naturally pink lips. You got this! She thought to herself as the butterflies in her stomach went full on mosh-pit!
This job could mean the difference between having an exclusive catering business or providing school lunches forever. Cringe!
Not that anything was wrong with hormone-free cold cut sandwiches on white bread, crusts cut off, with sides like mandarin oranges and baby carrots. After all, that was where she’d gotten her start.
Providing wholesome lunches and snacks for a half dozen of the local preschools and another handful of the private schools in the area were all well and good, but the chef inside of Noelle longed to create foods for the more discerning palate!
She wanted to cater exclusive affairs! Events like engagement parties, bridal showers, weddings, christenings, conferences, holiday parties, fundraisers, that type of thing.
Noelle was a professional now! Sure, she’d begun her journey way back in high school by making brown bag lunches for the nursery school nearest her home.
She’d actually gone there as a child. In fact, her mother still worked there as an aid. She used to wake up at five in the morning to hand pack and then deliver the food every single day.
It began with a few requests from kids she babysat for, but soon others were asking about the homemade meals and treats. By senior year, she’d had more orders than she could fill all by herself and she’d had to hire some help.
Zoom in to present day, Noelle still shivered with excitement when she told someone she was the very proud owner and operator of her own catering business. It was early days yet for Present Tastes, but she vowed to work very hard to make it a success!
She’d listened patiently to all the naysayers who’d told her the food industry was cutthroat and didn’t suffer fools. But in the end, she’d listened to her dreams and went ahead and invested the little money she’d saved.
