Forbidden Dragon (The Bride Hunt Book 5)

by Charlene Hartnady

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll head out for a couple of days and you’re going to fall ill. Think of something bad. You’re holing up for a couple of days.”

  “What will happen if they find out?”

  His jaw clenched. His eyes darkened. “It’s not going to happen. I will do what it‒”

  “What will happen?”

  “You’ll be fired and sent away.” He was breathing heavily, like the thought of her going was terrible. “I’d be whipped.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.

  “What?” she half-yelled the word. “Are you serious? Physically whipped?”

  Granite nodded. “The Air king received twenty lashes for mating a female who wasn’t technically available to him. It doesn’t happen often.”

  “Whipped? I can’t believe that.”

  “Yup! The whip has a silver-barbed tip. It’s normally twenty lashes.” He gripped her closer. “It’s not going to get out. Blaze will never find out. I can handle being whipped but I don’t want you to go.”

  Louise had planned on turning herself in. Blaze would fire her and send her home. She couldn’t do it now though. Not if it meant Granite getting hurt. She nodded. “Okay. We can try to hide it.”

  “Four days will be enough to lose the scent. I bit you so it will take a bit longer,” he frowned. “Three days for me but I need to go for a week. My trips to … My trips are always for a week so I don’t want to raise any eyebrows and come back sooner.”

  “Why so long?”

  “It’s only a week. I’ll be back before you know it,” he smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. It was at moments like this that she felt like she was in a real relationship with him.

  “Only a week.” Her eyes stung so she blinked a few times. She couldn’t cry. Wouldn’t cry. “I’ll miss you,” it just slipped out but she couldn’t help it.

  “Mmmmhmmm!” a deep vibration. His eyes were so dark and intensely beautiful. “I’ll miss licking your sweet pussy.”

  Louise worked hard to stop herself from feeling hurt but failed. She nodded anyway, forcing herself to smile like she meant it.

  Granite rose to his feet; he took her with him, lifting her easily. “Don’t touch yourself until I get back.”

  A rush of need worked its way through her. It was amazing how in tune her body was to him. Louise swallowed hard. “Okay.”

  “I mean it.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t you dare touch yourself. I’ll know.” Then he turned serious. “And don’t worry. I’m going to take care of everything. We’ll be more careful in the future.”

  She gave a small murmur of agreement.

  “Now remember, you are sick. Very sick. Volcano will keep you safe. I’ll see you in a week.” He leaned in and kissed her. She could feel him begin to pull back but she wrapped her arms around him and licked the seam of his mouth. Granite deepened the kiss with a low growl.

  When he broke away, he was breathing hard. “Save it for my return. Stay low and listen to my brother. You trust me, don’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “I fucked up but I’m going to fix this.” He ran his finger down the side of her cheek.

  She nodded again, feeling like her heart might just break in two.

  “Okay then,” he gave her a quick smile. It was gone in an instant. “I can’t wait to see you again.” He kissed her one more time and headed for the balcony. In seconds, a great dragon stood in his place. The beast pulled back and then launched itself into the night sky. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Louise wiped it away.

  Chapter 26

  Four days later …

  Breeze closed the nursery door behind her. She had milky vomit on one of her shoulders and a wet spot on her left boob. The good news was that she didn’t look as tired as she had been a week ago. It had been a couple of days of hell, but the babies were on a schedule now.

  Her friend rushed towards her and wrapped her arms around her in a hard hug. “You don’t have to do this,” she mumbled against her shoulder.

  “I do.” Louise’s eyes teared up so she blinked in quick succession. It had become her modus operandi lately.

  Lots of blinking.

  Lots of thinking about other things.

  Fanning her face if need be.

  No crying. No crying whatsoever! Forget that. “I have to,” she added as Breeze pulled away.

  “Why? I don’t understand,” she shook her head.

  This was the first time she was seeing Breeze since being confined to her bedroom. Her friend knew what had gone down. The only condition Volcano had to helping them was that he could tell Breeze.

  Then the other woman widened her eyes. “This isn’t just rutting to you. You have feelings for him, don’t you?”

  “Shhhh,” Louise looked back over her shoulder. “He can’t ever know.”

  “I knew it,” Breeze smiled broadly.

  “This isn’t a good thing, so you can stop your smiling.”

  “Why isn’t it a good thing? I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about you.”

  Hope wrapped itself around her for a brief moment. The good, warm fuzzy feelings didn’t stay as reality set in. “No,” she shook her head. “He doesn’t have those kinds of feelings. He’s made it clear.” She put a hand to the scarf around her neck. The tiny wound was almost sealed.

  “You still scent of him, you know.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t worry. It’s barely noticeable. You will be with Volcano so everyone will think it is him.”

  Louise touched the knot on her scarf. “Why is that? Do they smell the same because they are brothers?”

  Breeze nodded. “Yeah. Their scents are similar” Then her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe you’re leaving.”

  “I have to go.”

  “No you don’t. You could speak to Granite and then show the guy all he’s missing.” She sniffed. Thankfully she didn’t cry.

  Louise forced herself to breathe. “I can’t. The next hunt is in a couple of weeks. He’ll hunt down a woman and then I’ll have to watch him—” She shook her head. “Watch them. I can’t.”

  “He never brings a female back.”

  “What if he does?” Her heart beat overtime. “If not this time then next time. Or the next. We can’t be together. Even if we want to, we can’t. Besides, it’s not what he wants and this isn’t me being pessimistic or negative. It’s just the way it is.” When she’d told him she’d miss him, he’d told her he’d miss her pussy. Her love was wasted on an asshole like Granite. Only, she didn’t see him as an asshole anymore. She wished she did. It would make this easier.

  Breeze paused for a few moments. “You are right, about not being permitted to be together. I’m not sure about the rest, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  “That’s lust.”

  Breeze nodded, looking sad. “You’re probably right.”

  “I am right.”

  “Okay. I’m going to miss you.” Her eyes flooded with tears all over again.

  Louise couldn’t help it when the same happened to her.

  “You have become a very good friend to me.” Breeze hugged her again. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

  “You’ll be just fine. You’re such a good mom. I can only hope to do as well one day,” Louise sniffed. A few tears may or may not have fallen, despite her best efforts.

  “You’ll be great.” They pulled apart. Both of them wiped away the tears. “I’m going to miss you, my friend,” Breeze said.

  “You too. Very much!” They hugged again.

  “Are you ready?” It was Volcano. He smiled as she turned towards him. He had her suitcase in his hand.

  Louise nodded. “Goodbye,” her voice cracked.

  Breeze just nodded. Her friend was trying not to cry. She recognized the symptoms. There was lots of blinking. Tons of waving of the hand in front of her face.

  Volcano closed the door behind them and ushered her towards the m
ain hall. “Stick close, I don’t want anyone picking up on your scent.”

  Louise gave a nod, she waved her hand in front of her face and blinked a couple of times.

  Volcano looked her way. “I think you are doing the right thing. For both your sakes. I want you to know that I respect that. I’m grateful.”

  Louise wasn’t sure what to say to him, so she kept silent. He was right. Of course he was. Why did she feel like she was leaving a part of herself with these people? She felt like she was letting everybody down. Granite would hate her for leaving with her tail between her legs like a coward. Ultimately that’s what she was, but she couldn’t face him. He would talk her out of leaving. This was the last opportunity she would have in a long while.

  The vase hit the wall with a loud crack. It shattered into a hundred pieces and crashed to the ground, its contents strewn across the floor below. Granite picked up a side-table and threw it against the same wall. There was another loud cracking noise as it tore apart from the impact.

  He smashed both fists on the coffee table, which splintered into several pieces. None of it made him feel any better. His scales rubbed him raw. His teeth were sharp. Rage coursed through him.

  With a loud roar he lifted the sofa above his head, wanting to hoist it across the room. Sweat dripped from his brow.

  “The couch didn’t do anything wrong.” Volcano leaned against the far wall, out of harm’s way.

  Granite hated how relaxed the male seemed. He envied Volcano. He dropped the sofa … some internal structure of it cracked. Not that he gave much of a fuck.

  “I’m going after her,” he growled. Something inside him eased. Yes! He’d been too angry before to think clearly. He was going to bring her back.

  Volcano shook his head. “No, you are not.”

  “Don’t you dare think to tell me what I can and can’t do. Louise is a good doctor and we need her to beat this silver affliction.”

  “There are other doctors. Blaze had two others lined up, he is—”

  “No!” Granite snarled. “I don’t want anyone else.”

  Volcano narrowed his eyes. “Are you still talking about her as a doctor, or as a female?”

  “As a doctor,” Granite responded, his heart beating.

  “Are you sure? Because you seem highly emotional. I agree that she will not be so easily replaced, but—”

  “Exactly,” he snarled. “I will bring her back.” His voice sounded guttural, he was on the brink of shifting and if not careful, he would shift right now.

  Volcano put his hand up. “Louise does not wish to be here. She left of her own accord and made it clear that it was her wish to do so. She was worried that your … relationship would become public knowledge over time. It was—”

  “That’s bullshit!”

  Volcano frowned. “I agree with her. You fucked up badly, but we managed to cover it up. Next time—”

  “There would not have been a next time. We were going to be more careful.”

  “Listen to yourself. There is no such thing for a dragon shifter.”

  “We were nearly done anyway,” he gave a shrug. Fuck her! Why was he even bothering?

  “Well then, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

  “It’s not. Not personally.” Even as he spoke the words, his insides twisted inside him. “But our people needed that female. She let us down ‒ all of us. I’m fucked off! She isn’t the person I thought she was.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “You say that Blaze has someone else lined up to take her place?”

  Volcano gave a nod. “The male wants you to contact him to discuss the details. He seemed taken aback that you were at the mines on an unscheduled visit. This whole thing could still blow up in your face.”

  Granite shook his head. He couldn’t give two shits if it did come out. Let the male whip him. Louise was gone, so it wasn’t like he was protecting her anymore. He wasn’t sure why he had gone to so much trouble in the first place.

  It was better that she’d left. The female had been a distraction he couldn’t afford right now. There was too much at stake. He’d been blinded by lust. “I spent a couple of days at the mines, so I will be able to report back to him. What reason did the doctor give for leaving?” Why had he even asked? What difference did it make?

  “She said that she was homesick. That she needed to be amongst her own kind.”

  Something in him knotted tight. He found it hard to breathe for a few beats. Granite had to set his jaw to keep from growling. “Let’s move on. The sooner the next doctor can start the better.”

  “You know that the reason she gave wasn’t the real reason, don’t you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. We need to move on.” He wiped his hands on his pants.

  Volcano put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry this happened, brother. I can see that you are upset.”

  “I’m pissed off that she dropped us like that,” his voice was gruff.

  “It’s more than that.”

  He shrugged the male’s hand off of him. He didn’t need misguided sympathy. “No, it’s not. This is the last we will speak of this. You were right, there is a hunt in a few weeks. I think I am ready to take a queen.”

  Volcano gave a nod but looked concerned. Worry lines marred his forehead. He was being an idiot. Granite planned on putting the whole incident behind him.

  Chapter 27

  Five weeks later …

  “Come on,” Hillary knocked shoulders with her. “Have another glass of wine.” She held the bottle-neck over Louise’s glass.

  Louise shook her head and covered the opening with her hand. “I’m exhausted. If you guys don’t mind, I think I’m going to turn in. You can carry on without me.”

  “You sipped on that tiny bit of wine the whole evening and now you’re kicking us out!” Debbie grabbed her chest dramatically. “You’re killing us here.”

  “Yeah, we understand that you’re hurt, that you think the world is ending, but it’s not.” Hillary gripped her hand. “It’s our jobs as your besties to prove it to you.”

  Louise rolled her eyes. “I’m not kicking you out!” She gave Debbie a dirty look. “And, I do not think that the world is ending, trust you to be so dramatic,” she looked pointedly at Hillary. “I fell for a guy who didn’t want me in that way. End of story. I left before I could get too invested ‒ just in the nick of time ‒ and here I am. Am I a bit depressed? Yes! Do I still think of him …?” Flip! She could feel her eyes tear up. Cue blinking and swallowing. “Yes, I do but I’ll get over him one of these days, it’s just going to take time.” Cue sniffing.

  If she was really honest, she’d hoped he would have chased after her. For those first couple of days she’d held her breath and had waited. She’d jumped at every noise. Had turned to look at the skies. She hadn’t pursued a new job, she hadn’t even contacted her friends. She’d waited. Lived in limbo. In hope. It was so stupid of her. Granite wasn’t coming. His not turning up on her doorstep or breaking down her door had been proof that he didn’t feel the same way about her. To think that she’d been ready to give it all up. To fight so that they could be together. She was an idiot, plain and simple. Granite was not coming to swoop her up into his arms and declare his undying love for her. It wasn’t going to happen.

  She was on her own.

  Her lip quivered.

  She was so afraid. What the hell was she going to do? What if …? No!

  “Oh, honey,” Hillary leaned in, preparing to give her a hug.

  “No!” too harshly delivered. “I’m sorry! If you hug me, I’ll cry and he’s not worth my tears.”

  “No, he is not!” Hillary said, injecting venom into her voice.

  “The bastard!” Debbie added. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing. You’re too good for a guy like that.”

  “He’s not a bad guy,” Louise shook her head, still working hard at holding back those tears. “He’s just not my guy. That’s all.”

  “Then he’s an idiot! You
are an absolute catch.” Debbie leaned forward in her seat. “If I wasn’t straight and already married, I’d snap you up myself.”

  A laugh was pulled from Louise.

  “Yeah, what she said,” Hillary piped up, she was laughing as well. Then she turned serious. “You have a good job, a family and friends who love you.”

  “My parents live on the other side of the country.” Louise missed them. She needed to book a ticket and go to see them, the Easter holidays were coming up.

  “And friends who love you and are here for you,” Hillary emphasized the word. “You’ll get over him. I promise you that much.”

  Louise nodded. She forced herself to smile. She knew her friend was probably wrong.

  Most likely. Not thinking about it!

  “I hope so,” a whisper, followed by a sniff. What a pathetic thing to say. “I will get over him,” more resolute, “it’s going to take time though.” And lots of praying.

  “That’s more like it,” Hillary squeezed her hand.

  “I love you guys.” Louise looked from one woman to the other. “Thank you for being here for me.”

  “We’ll always be here.” Debbie’s eyes were filled with concern. “Through thick and thin. You’ll meet the right guy for you someday soon. You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

  Louise nodded.

  They talked for a couple of minutes longer and then Louise let them out. She put her back to the door, relieved that they had finally gone but nervous at the same time.

  She pulled in a deep breath and walked towards her purse. She picked it up and then put it back down.

  Louise cleared the glassed and the chip bowl. The cleaned and placed the items on the drip rack. She looked at her bag and shook her head. Grabbing a dishcloth, she dried the items and packed them away. Then she wiped the kitchen counters before wiping the coffee table. Lastly, she plumped the couch pillows.

  Maybe she should sleep on it. Tomorrow was a new day with new possibilities. A fresh wave of nausea hit. Louise sat down for a second and breathed in deeply. Flip, she hadn’t eaten a proper dinner. She’d had a few sips of wine. Guilt accosted her. It wasn’t like she could refuse alcohol. Her friends would smell a big, fat sewer rat if she turned down Chardonnay. Another wave of nausea had her clutching her stomach. She had to face facts, the nausea was getting worse by the day and she hadn’t started her period. Two weeks late. Two whole darned weeks. At first, she’d been too busy to notice, too wrapped up in her own hurt and despair to realize … but then her boobs had become sensitive. Not just that, they were a bit bigger. No, that was her imagination. It had to be.