Aurum Dragon (A Paranormal BBW Shape Shifter Romance) (Dragons of Cadia Book 3)

by Amelia Jade

  Miranda was the princess?!

  That certainly explained the odd things he’d seen amongst the security detail. It wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Daxxton had been ready to hear that she was the princess’s sister, or cousin perhaps. Something that gave her more status than just Head of Security. But this? This was unexpected.

  Umm.

  His mind was trying to tell him something. It was right there. He could feel it. What was it? Something about her status. But he couldn’t—

  Oh. SHIT.

  He’d slept with her. With Miranda Pyke, Princess of Tanith.

  Except the princess’s name wasn’t Miranda.

  Was it?

  “I am so confused,” he muttered, not even realizing he’d said it out loud.

  “I’m sorry,” she said apologetically, her voice pitched low as the Council itself buzzed with surprise at the revelation that the princess was amongst them, and not back at the Nova Estates as they’d thought. “I’ll explain it all afterward, I promise.”

  He nodded, keeping watch on Klara as the councilwoman eyed Miranda dangerously.

  Even as he did, his mind raced, filling in all the blanks that this new knowledge implied.

  Including the reason why she’d looked so panicked after they’d had sex. Daxxton had noticed it at the time, but he’d been so caught up in his own guilt and grief that he’d not said anything about it. He’d been intending to bring it up with her at the bar, but once more, they’d been interrupted.

  She had slept with him, a powerful figure in the Cadian world. As security chief, that was pretty bad, but could be waved off as a simple physical dalliance. That was frowned upon, but everyone knew it happened.

  As the Princess of Tanith however, she was expected to keep much better control of physical urges. Which meant that if anyone knew they had been together, it could spell doom for Tanith’s reputation for neutrality. Hell, it could even provide Fenris with the ammunition necessary to make an open move against her government.

  Stir up enough support among the anti-Cadia sentiment he was sure existed, and Fenris could move in and claim they were doing so for the good of the people, freeing them from the union their monarch had made with the disgusting Aurum Dragon from Cadia.

  It would need a bit more planning than that, but the basics were there, and he didn’t doubt that those in power in Fenris would have a field day with doing just that.

  He needed to do something to ensure the Council acted in her favor.

  But what?

  Daxxton stepped forward, his mouth opening before his brain had even begun to process what it was going to say.

  “The Princess is right,” he said, his strong baritone voice carrying easily across the chamber and overwhelming the side conversations occurring all at once.

  Heads turned to look at him. Although he might have arrived in the company of someone who had deceived them about her true persona, they knew well who he was. Daxxton Ryker commanded respect from almost all of them, and even those who didn’t respect him would be careful to speak out against him.

  In effect, he thought with a mental smile, his speaking was the equivalent to telling them all to shut up, and he used that power to its fullest effect.

  “We need to do something. Not because it would bring more glory or power to Cadia. But because we are the only ones who can. That is what this stronghold was founded upon, the essence of wanting to do the right thing, to be there for those who couldn’t do it completely alone, but wished to try anyway. For a long time, we did that, and we managed to grow and become strong because of it.”

  He glared at the entire assembled Council, letting them feel the full brunt of his wrath, of his true feelings on politicians and their ilk.

  “This is no time for debate, to ensure the best terms for Cadia. We will come out stronger from this simply by doing what we have done in the past. It is what you are doing now that is making us weaker.”

  Several sets of eyes narrowed as he spoke.

  “Yes, I know the current mindset of this Council and its obsession with money and power. You have grown complacent. You have been led astray, and Fenris is set to overtake us on the global stage. It is not the fault of anyone but you, the decision-makers.”

  “That is just blatantly not true,” Klara snapped, finding her voice amidst the tongue lashing he was giving them.

  Daxxton just laughed. “Are you serious? Your house, your house Klara, was infiltrated not once, but twice by their agents. People are dead because our borders are more porous than a fishnet. Who is it that authorized all the budget cuts to the Guardian program, stating it was no longer necessary? It certainly wasn’t me.”

  He looked out over the Council once more. Fourteen members sat there, representing the various shifter species within Cadia. Two each of wolves, gryphons, bears, dragons, tigers/big cats, Pegasi, and even two who represented the multitude of smaller races that existed. A number of them had looks of dissatisfaction on their faces. Some of their glares were directed at him, but enough were directed at Klara that he knew he was getting through to them.

  It was time to let them know how the rest of Cadia felt.

  “I can see in your eyes that you’re well aware of the reality of things. But let me clue you in to something. She,” he stabbed a figure at Klara, who shuddered with impotent rage at being singled out, “is a cancer in your midst. And trust me,” his voice dropped a level. “The rest of Cadia agrees. So, do the right thing here.”

  “Just what are you trying to say?” Klara asked, stepping forward.

  Daxxton drew himself up to his full height and turned to face her, letting the gold of his dragon flow through to the surface of his skin, giving him a fierce glow.

  “Are you threatening me?” he asked, his voice deadly quiet.

  There was complete silence in the hall now.

  Klara’s eyes widened at the change in his attitude. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed heavily, her nerves betraying her. She might be a power in her own right, but he was an Aurum Dragon, and Klara Nova knew better than to challenge him to a straight-up fight.

  “I thought not,” he said again in that same tone as she backed down.

  Daxxton turned back to face the remainder of the Council. “Mark my words,” he said loudly. “She is a cancer, not only in your midst, but in the side of Cadia as a whole. She is killing it, all the while telling you that the sky isn’t falling around us.” His eyes glinted with steel. “But I tell you this, she is wrong. We are on the brink of falling into ruin and opening ourselves to a hostile takeover from Fenris. We need to turn this around now, or risk losing Cadia to her enemies forever.”

  He turned and left, his long strides carrying him swiftly to the doors. Boots clicked on the tile as he walked, joined a moment later by the soft scuff as Miranda spun on her heels and walked out next to him.

  ***

  Miranda

  “Are you nuts?” she hissed, just loud enough for him to hear as they made a beeline out of the chamber.

  “Maybe,” he replied. “But they can’t do anything to me, and they know it. I hate my reputation, the awe that people have over me. I detest it. But if I can use that for the good of my home, than I will do whatever it takes,” he growled as they approached the double doors that led out into the rest of the building.

  “Daxxton,” a voice called.

  He stopped, and she thought it was only because it wasn’t Klara.

  “Yes, Horus?” he asked of the male shifter who had spoken.

  “The Council will think on your words swiftly this night.”

  “Thank you, Horus, I believe you will,” Daxxton said in a much kinder voice, though he still didn’t turn around.

  Inside, Miranda felt a small sliver of something grow. It took her a moment to identify the feeling, because it had been a while since she’d felt it within her. But she wasn’t so far gone as to not recognize hope when she felt it. Daxxton’s words had stirred up something in the Cadian Co
uncil. More so than her own, she thought, wondering if she’d made the right move in revealing herself to everyone. Had that helped or hindered her cause?

  She might never know, but the tone in Horus’s voice was thoughtful, and she judged it to be genuine, and not an act. Perhaps the wolves understood the truth of what was coming their way, better than the more powerful, longer-living dragons did.

  Miranda could only hope, for the sake of her tiny stronghold, that they did.

  “So, Princess,” Daxxton said with a little bit of irritation as they exited the building at last, the night sky dark above them but for the plentitude of stars that lit the vast landscape. “Where shall we go?”

  “Don’t take that tone with me,” she pleaded. “Call me Miranda. That is my real name, after all. It’s just not the one anyone knows me by publicly.”

  Daxxton shook his head, and she could see the hurt in his eyes at being lied to. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch him, to pull him into a tight, desperate hug and let him know she hadn’t done it to hurt him. He was a strong man, but he’d just opened up to her earlier that day and told her his deepest, darkest secret.

  And only a few hours later he’d found out she was a fraud.

  “Of course, Your Royal Highness,” he said stiffly. “Whatever you wish.”

  “Daxxton,” she said sadly. “Please don’t do this. I’ve not lied to you about who I am. What you’ve seen, that’s me. The real me. Yes, I am the princess and ruler of Tanith. The woman you think is her is just a very good body double. But I haven’t faked anything for you.”

  He stared straight ahead, looking out at the panoramic view of the night sky, not saying anything.

  “I’m sorry,” she said so quietly at first it didn’t seem he’d heard her. “I’m so sorry. We pulled the switch before we made the break for Cadia, just in case. It seemed the prudent thing to do.”

  She sighed. “I should have told you after they attacked us in the bar. It became clear then that they knew who I really was. I’m sorry I didn’t, but I think you can agree things were rather rushed at the time.”

  “I trusted you,” he said, speaking at last.

  Miranda cringed at the betrayal evident in his voice. How few times had he allowed himself to truly trust another, especially on the level which he’d opened up to her? Miranda doubted it was very many times, even over the long span of his life.

  “And I hurt you,” she said. “But I could never have expected to fall for you like this when we were making the plans for the deception, and you know that just as well as I do.”

  He nodded. “But you could have confided in me when it became apparent I was going to be near you for the duration of your stay. I could have—”

  “You could have what?” she asked with a bit more snap in her voice than she intended. “Protected me? Ensured I had extra security? Treated me more like a package than the person I am?” She shook her head. “Daxxton, I’m crazy about you because of the way you looked at me, with respect, dignity, and admiration. Not because of what I was born into, but because of what I showed you. With my confidence, my mind. My body,” she said with a whisper. “That is what attracts me to you. If I had told you the truth, you would have done away with all that.”

  She looked at him sadly. “And I couldn’t bear that. I’m sick and tired of being fawned over, and treated like I’m some evil bitch simply because I happen to be the daughter of the last Princess of Tanith. Do you know how fucking annoying it is not to be taken seriously, or to have your brains so underappreciated that people think my advisors are the ones actually running Tanith? All because I’m considered good-looking. That’s all it took for my persona to be undermined,” she said with a snort of derision. “But then you came along, and you looked at me like I was beautiful, but you treated me like I was strong.”

  She watched his golden-brown eyes, and within them she saw an answering emotion, which surprised her greatly.

  “Actually,” he said a bit wryly. “I do know.”

  “You do?” Miranda was confused. What wasn’t he telling her that would allow him to understand that?

  He extended one arm, the light from the moon and the stars reflecting off burnished gold scales as he called them to the surface.

  Of course.

  “To many, I am nothing but an oddity. Something to be practically worshipped and revered, simply because of the color of my scales,” he said sadly. “I am accorded status and respect, not because I earned it, but because people feel I warrant it because I am rare.” He smiled, but there was no joy in it, only sadness. “In some places I am looked at like an animal in a zoo.”

  She nodded. “That’s why you fly at night. So that others can’t see who and what you are.”

  He tilted his head once at her. “Yes. It’s the only time I get some peace and quiet.” Daxxton shrugged as she watched, his muscles bobbing up and down with the motion. “Don’t get me wrong, I have used that to do many great things, I hope. I love teaching new generations of dragons at Top Scale Academy as well. That is a great privilege for which I am extremely thankful. But you are wrong, Miranda Pyke, if you think I do not understand how you feel, because I do. Perhaps more than many others.”

  She nearly shook when he called her by her name, and not her station.

  “It seems I owe you another apology,” she whispered, the seed of hope that had blossomed with Horus’s words threatening to bloom with the apparent acceptance of her apology by Daxxton.

  “Perhaps,” he said, turning to look at her, his eyes scanning the nearby area for anyone else.

  “Maybe,” she said, biting her lip. “If you care to escort me back to the Nova residence, I can find a way to show you just how sorry I am?”

  “No,” he said firmly. “There will be no more apologizing.”

  She felt her spirits sink.

  “But if you wish to come relax and be together as equals, I could be up for that.”

  Miranda grinned. “I would like that, Daxxton Ryker. I would like that a lot.”

  “So would I,” he said, reaching out to take her hand in his, eliciting shiver of delight from her as their skin touched once more.

  ***

  His skin touched hers much more once they made it back to the Nova Estate and informed everyone of the goings-on.

  They excused themselves as quickly as was reasonable and returned to his quarters. Thankfully he’d only destroyed one of the bedrooms in his suite, and not everything. After sharing a laugh over the destruction he’d wrought, Daxxton had carried her over the ruins and into another bedroom, where he’d proceeded to promptly remove all of her clothing.

  Not that he’d escaped unscathed. Her hands had been busy removing his as well, leaving the pair of them naked and entwined in each other’s arms as they lay on the bed.

  Miranda whimpered as his big, strong hands caressed her inner thigh, teasing her constantly as he came close to touching her clit with each stroke, but never actually giving in and pleasuring her.

  “That’s not nice,” she admonished, her own hand resting playfully just above his already-hard cock.

  Daxxton used his free hand to pull her mouth to his once more, kissing her softly but passionately for several moments before replying.

  “I know.”

  Even as he spoke his index finger dipped directly between her legs. He gently played with her opening, coating his finger in her wetness so that he could more easily slide it across her.

  “Yes,” she said, biting off the word as he finally caved and began to rub her clit in slow circles. “Fuck, you’re so good at that,” she hissed. Her hips began to gyrate in time with his fingers, bringing her closer to the edge.

  “I want you to cum for me,” he whispered in her ear, his tongue running gently over her lobe even as his hot breath washed over her neck.

  Miranda nodded jerkily in response as his finger pressed ever so slightly harder.

  “Can you do that for me?” he asked.

  �
�Yes, I can,” she said, the words practically gasps as he brought her closer and closer.

  “I want you to tell me when you’re cumming for me,” he ordered in her ear.

  Miranda felt fresh warmth rush between her legs at the commanding tone, the way he spoke to her so intensely erotic she felt her nipples harden from that alone.

  “I will, I promise,” she moaned, desperate to say whatever he wanted so that he didn’t stop touching her. “Just like that. Please. I want to cum for you.”

  “I know you do,” he growled, his body moving alongside hers with a sinuous grace that turned her on even more.

  The pressure of his digit against her increased slightly, and she shuddered at the change in sensation.

  “A little more,” she told him, and this time Daxxton didn’t hold back. He pressed harder, his circling forcing ever more moans from her mouth as she felt the pressure building to an incredible level within her.

  This was so much gentler, more exploratory than the first time they’d been together. She felt like a goddess the way he was worshipping her body, his hands having been all over her constantly. Her nipples she swore had never been harder, and her thighs were soaked from the way he touched her.

  “Daxxton, I’m going to—”

  Her words cut off in a rush as she began to jerk in his grasp.

  “Are you cumming?” he asked, his voice a deep growl that vibrated against her skin.

  “I am,” she gasped as bliss rolled over her like a tsunami. “I’m cumming. For you.” She barely got the words out amidst the waves of ecstasy. They hammered at her constantly, a new one spurred on each time his finger made contact with her clit.

  The moment went on, and on.

  And then it was gone, and she heaved for breath, crashing into him as he used both arms to pull her tight, stroking her back lightly as she whimpered with helpless delight as her orgasm finished having its way with her.

  “That was so hot,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m so hard just from watching you.”

  And just like that, Miranda was ready for more. The knowledge that he’d gotten turned on—and she could feel how rock-hard he was as her hand slipped between his legs—from watching her cum was just too much.