Daddy's Christmas Date: A Single Dad Romance

by Piper Sullivan

  The sweet-painful heat flooded her system, maximizing her orgasm to a level she’d never experienced before. She pressed her eyes closed tightly and sighed when fireworks burst behind her eyelids. Her body convulsed over and over as she rode wave upon wave; shocked when it seemed to go on forever.

  “Is this what it’s like being with a dragon?” Olivia gasped as a searing heat bloomed in her stomach.

  “It’s our mating,” Jaxen whispered in her ear from where he still lay sprawled atop her. “It may get uncomfortable, but don’t fight it, just let my essence sweep through your veins. It means we’re becoming one. Our DNA is mingling and mine is supercharging your dormant genes.”

  Suddenly, along with the fire sweeping through her veins an unfamiliar sensation also blossomed inside her heart. Could it be love? She wanted to scoff at her insane notion. They hadn’t known each other long enough for that and yet when she thought about spending the rest of her life with him, she wanted to smile. Simple elation filled her. Was it possible?

  A sudden piercing pain ripped through her body and her back bowed violently off the bed, successfully tossing Jaxen to the floor like a weightless rag doll.

  “What’s happening,” Olivia demanded and then screamed as another flash of torture tore through her flesh.

  Chapter 9

  Curling into a fetal position, Olivia held her knees to her chest and held the wail from escaping through her parched lips.

  Skin slicked with perspiration, her entire body shook from the magnitude of the pain. She shivered as violent shiver after shiver rolled through her and no matter how strong she was, or how much dragon DNA she had, she barely managed to stay conscious.

  Jaxen paced the floor beside the large, canopied bed like a caged lion. His face was drawn in a worried, pensive mask and every once in a while he’d curse under his breath.

  “Something isn’t right,” he murmured. “This isn’t right. It isn’t supposed to be this painful.

  She tried to ask him what he was talking about, but her teeth chattered so severely she was afraid she’d bite her tongue if she tried to speak. The only thing she could do was hold on for dear life and hope the pain went away. She’d been told that by ‘mating’ with Jaxen, her DNA would rearrange itself so that she’d evolve completely. So, essentially her human DNA was undergoing so strange morphing thing.

  But nothing could've prepared her for this.

  A cool hand came down on her forehead, deft fingers wiping sweat-soaked strands of hair from her face.

  “You’re burning up,” Jaxen inhaled sharply. He leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her eyebrow. “I’ll be right back, I need to get someone to help you.” And just like that he was gone.

  Olivia closed her eyes and let her mind float away from her present problems. She let it take her somewhere beautiful, safe and cool. The beach. She let the cool water lap at her skin, cooling the fever, siphoning it from her system like a leech. Waves crashed against the shore, the soft whoosh and hiss of the spray as the water collided with sand echoed softly, creating a cocoon of bliss.

  She sighed in relief as some of the pain finally lessened and let herself drift off on the next wave.

  “She’s not submitting,” Samuel murmured as he ran the cool cloth gently across Olivia’s scalding hot skin. “In order for the mating to succeed, she has to allow herself to love you, to accept you and this new life. She’s fighting her foreign nature with the only one she’s ever known.” Samuel looked up at Jax. “She’s so very strong, My Lord, she’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met, dragon or human.”

  “It won’t matter how strong she is, if she doesn’t allow the change to happen, she will die,” Jaxen muttered and fell to his knees beside the bed. Reaching across the sweat-soaked sheets, he took her limp hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.

  “I know you can hear me,” he whispered to her. “I need you to let go. I need you to accept us both for who we really are.” His voice broke and his eyes teared, the plump droplets running down his cheeks. Crying wasn’t a manly thing to do, but at the mere thought of losing his new-found mate, he felt like screaming to the heavens. Since he’d physically shared his life-force with her, if she died, he would as well.

  But that minor detail aside, he couldn’t exist without no matter. He’d come to love her and for him - she was his life - his forever. She’d filled a hole inside of him and should she not survive, that hollow spot would grow, rot and erode until nothing of him remained.

  “Should I summon someone, My Lord?” Samuel asked softly.

  Suddenly inspiration smacked Jaxen like a bolt of lightning. His head snapped up and he knew his eyes had illuminated even without Samuel visibly cringing. His need to protect his mate, primal as it was, had risen to the surface and nothing could stop him from doing just that.

  “Summon Elandra,” Jaxen ordered. Samuel nodded curtly and hurried to the chamber doors. Jaxen brought both of Olivia’s hands to his forehead and bent his head for one last request. Should Elandra fail, they were both doomed.

  Chapter 10

  Dream-walking was both an exact science and a delicate approach. Jaxen had his faction’s priestess summoned with the intent of sending himself into Olivia’s dreams where he could plead with her face-to-face. At least by doing that, he’d given them both a chance.

  Jaxen deeply inhaled the incense and let his mind fill with visions of Olivia. Her wild auburn curls fanning his pillow, her face alight with happiness and wonder. He even recalled the sound of his name on her lips as they’d made love. He felt his body lighten and then float.

  After a few moments, he opened his eyes and studied his surroundings. He wasn’t surprised to find himself on an obstacle course designed for soldiers-in-training. However, instead of young men and women running the gauntlets, one lone figure struggled to beat each deterrent. She wore a heather gray sweat suit, her wild hair tamed in a ponytail and her face was red as blood. Her chest heaved heavily as she jumped one mud hole and then crashed to the ground to crawl under a low barb-wire fence.

  “Olivia,” he called gently and stilled when she rose to face him. Her face was covered in smatterings of blood, sweat and - he imagined - tears. She pulled her sleeves upward and advanced on him with an angry glint in her eye.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “Isn’t it enough you’ve taken over my life, now you want my dreams as well?”

  Jaxen reached out and took her hands in his, holding firm when she tried to pull away.

  “If you don’t submit to what’s happening to you, you will die,” he stated matter-of-factly. “And if you die, I die.”

  Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

  “Why would you die?” she asked, suddenly more emotional than he’d ever seen her. The woman from within broke through the tough, soldier exterior and he realized just how amazing she was. She was everything he’d ever wanted in his mate.

  Perhaps he’d gone about this all wrong. Having the President merely order her to marry him might have been the fallacious approach after all.

  “I bound my life essence to yours during our ceremony,” he explained softly and took another step closer to her. He offered her his open palm and smiled when she tentatively placed her own hand in his. “So, if you die, I will too.”

  “Why?” she asked, her voice sounding small and broken. “Why would you do such a thing knowing I might not survive the mating? Is it a tradition, did you have to?”

  “No,” Jax answered simply. “No, it’s not tradition, and no one forced me to. I wanted to.” He tugged her hand and brought her body against his, wrapping his arms around her waist. She placed her palms on his chest and pushed him back just far enough so that they could look into eat other’s eyes.

  Why would such a magnificent being risk his life for a nobody like her? She’d fought all her life to be taken seriously, to be stronger, faster, smarter than all the boys. She’d never been dainty and feminine like most girls. She’d neve
r fit in anywhere. But from the moment she met Jaxen, she felt like she’d finally found home. Of course the whole mating business had seemed like utter nonsense, but the more she’d listened to Samuel as he’d told of the dragons’ history, the more she allowed herself to embrace the strange, new world. Somewhere up her ancestral line a dragon had taken a human mate, creating a line of hybrids. So, she’d thought that maybe her life had a higher purpose after all. Maybe all her time in the military had served as training for her real destiny. It had certainly honed her into a lethal killing machine. But as she completed the mating ceremony and began her metamorphosis, she’d quickly realized she was nowhere near strong enough.

  But now, in learning that if she succumbed to that black abyss of nothing, she’d also condemn Jaxen to the same fate, she knew she had to fight. She to fight harder and not just for her. She had to fight and save the man she’d fallen in love with.

  Her mind made up, she tilted her head back and looked up at him.

  “Tell me what I need to do,” she asked. “I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

  As soon as the words left her mouth, Jax’s body faded into empty air and Olivia found herself tumbling headfirst down a virtual rabbit hole. The world around her spun wildly, air kicking up in turbulent gusts. It was so strong it pulled her hair free of the ponytail, leaving the thick tresses to whip around face. Her insides ignited and pulled taunt. Her first instinct was to fight, but she forced herself to relax, both in body and mind.

  The gale-force wind lifted her body off the ground, tossing it about like a limp rag doll and all the while Olivia let the wind do what it willed. The warmth within her spread from her core to encompass every particle of her being. When the scalding hotness reached her throat, she opened her mouth to scream and stared in shock as fire spewed forth instead.

  She had breathed fire.

  She only had a moment to revel in the surprise before the winding funnel sucked her inside and she surrendered to the darkness.

  Chapter 11

  Jax stared in open-mouthed wonder as Olivia’s body levitated off the bed. He’d hurried to cover her with a sheet and watched in amazement as a swift wind swept into the bedroom and caressed her in its fold. He reached out and took one of her limp hands, relieved when her skin was cool to the touch. He lightly traced his lips across her forehead and smiled. Her fever was gone. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to convince her, but he was glad he’d done it.

  She’d live - forever - at his side, as his Queen and mate. All they had to do now was allow her body to ascend into its rightful state.

  He saw the orangish-red light spring to life within her womb and watched in rapture as it quickly spread throughout her body, filling her veins with the fire of her ancestors. No elements could successfully interbreed, but considering she was a human/dragon hybrid, this was new territory for all of them.

  Her head whipped back and golden light spewed from her open mouth, filling the room in a searing red-hot heat.

  Once the blast of heat subsided, Olivia’s body slowly lowered back to the bed, her hair now a flaming red, curls spread across the sheets under her. The wind had caused the sheet to wrap itself around her long, voluptuous body in a toga-style dress. When she opened her eyes, Jaxen inhaled sharply as he stared into those now emerald green orbs. She was absolutely breathtaking.

  “How do you feel?” he asked softly.

  Olivia raised herself to sit cross-legged and arranged the sheet to cover her a little better. Jaxen’s question echoed wildly in her ears and she realized all her senses had changed dramatically. She saw clearer, heard better, even her skin was more sensitized. If her future were half as exciting as these new sensations rolling around inside of her, Jax was in for a very long and unexpected marriage.

  “I’m starving,” she announced and smiled.

  THE END

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  Witch Bride

  Chapter 1

  Arabella

  My head throbbed excruciatingly as I started to regain consciousness and for some reason opening my eyes was nearly impossible. It felt as if my eyelids were glued together. I was also well aware of the fact that I was not in my own room, in my cosy bed, with my cat Silvester. My stomach turned and I tensed nervously. If I was not home, and this was no dream, then where was I? Fending off the sudden sense of panic threatening to hijack my mind, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself.

  “Hello?” I asked in a croaky voice knowing it was a weak attempt at drawing attention. Just as expected, there was no answer. The silence that shrouded me was deafening, something was horribly wrong.

  I managed to push myself off the hard slab I was laying on and then dropped to my knees. The cold concrete floor beneath me was rough and as I slowly crawled forward, I kept feeling ahead for anything of substance. Barely a few feet ahead of me was a wall and with trembling fingers I felt my way up against it, using it as leverage to stand on my own two feet. There had to be a door or a window, unless I was in some sort of a pit. A nauseated feeling clenched around my insides, but I forced myself to move.

  “Hello!” I cried anxiously, hoping that someone would hear me, and although I had no idea where I was, or who would come to my aid I knew that just the mere presence of another living being would be comforting, in some strange way. But what if…no, no, no, I could not allow myself to panic. Just stay positive Arabella, I encouraged myself, because I knew the moment I lost heart, I might as well kiss my backside goodbye.

  As time slowly ticked by I started to feel a sense of normality return. The hazy fog that wrapped around my mind and limbs started to subside slowly and soon enough I managed to open my eyes. Although things around me were still very blurry the room started taking shape. On the far left was a single bed, a basin to the right and a toilet, very similar to that of a prison cell. I kept hunting through the recesses of my mind to figure out what happened, but I came up blank. The locator spell, that’s what I was doing before I lost consciousness, I must have been trying to locate something of relevance, but what was it?

  The sound of footsteps drew my attention as they got closer and closer, but my sense of relief was short lived. My good old friend panic reared its ugly head. Whoever locked me away in this cell was definitely not friend, but most likely foe, and I clearly had something they wanted.

  The door glided open and my heartbeat drummed loudly in my ears. Immediately, I backed away from the door and stood with my palms turned upwards, ready to call on the four elements to ward myself against the impending threat.

  Two larger than life men stepped into the cell, both wearing some sort of a uniform. And the deadpan look on their faces, made the hairs on my neck stand up. With my trembling heart I focused on the two men and willed the power of the elements to ward them off, but to my surprise the warm glow of magic dissipated like a candle lit in a drafty room. What the hell?!

  “You’re magic won’t work here,” the taller one of the two said as if he could read my mind and reached for me, but I jumped back and flattened myself against the wall.

  “Where am I and who are you?” I asked them raising my fists to shield myself, ready to strike if I had to, and by the look on their faces, I was not intimidating them at all. In fact, it looked like they found me more amusing than frightening.

  The other, slightly shorter one, although not by much, chuckled and casually stepped forward, and as I punched towards his face, he gripped my wrist firmly in his hand.

  “Come now, you don’t actually think you’ll be able to fight us, do you?” he said mockingly.

  He was right. Damn! They were way taller than I was, and much bigger and without my magic I stood no chance, I was going to have to be crafty and play by their rules if I was going to see another sun
rise. Feigning defeat I lowered my other hand and the tall one locked his big monstrous hand around my upper arm.

  “If you don’t struggle you won’t get hurt,” he said as they lead me out of the cell into a long dim lit passage.

  “Just tell me what’s going on.” I asked them, but neither bothered to answer me, they simply hustled me along.

  As we walked along the corridor, there were other cells, similar to the one I woke up in, if only I had the ability to see beyond those walls now, maybe that would give me an indication of where I was and what I was doing here. But no matter what angle I tried, I was powerless.

  We turned left and then right until we reached another set of doors, one of the men pressed his palm on the biometric scanner and the doors swished open. Half expecting them to chaperone me into the room, they remained outside, simply shoving me forward and then the doors closed.

  The interior of this room was so much different than the corridors beyond the large doors. To my left was a large indoor terrarium that contained plants, which, to the best of my knowledge, became extinct long before the fall of man. I was very tempted to study them, but too scared to make any sudden moves. I simply stood in one spot and glanced around the room, feeling like a bird, trapped in a cage.

  “Arabella Autumn, I wish we were meeting under different circumstances,” a deep timbered voice said from the far corner of the room.

  “I am Major Edmund Bernhard.”

  Startled, I looked in the direction of the disembodied voice, and even though my nerves were shot and my brain misfiring horribly, I managed to keep my composure.

  “W-well, so do I, what do you want with me?” I asked bitingly, “and why does my magic not work in this place?”