Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1)

by Jo Vanz

  He turned her head so that she was looking into his eyes. “You are mine.” Then he was kissing her again. It was another ten minutes before they walked out of her office and headed toward the elevators. Walking hand in hand, Katie could feel everyone’s eyes on them as they waited for the elevators to open. As soon as they were inside and the doors closed, Paul pushed Katie up against the wall and started kissing her again. They were so wrapped up in each other that they never heard the elevator ding, or the doors open.

  It was not until Katie heard clapping and whistles that she pulled away from Paul. She blushed when she looked out to see a group of men standing there watching them. As they stepped out of the elevator, there was a lot of congratulations and smiles. It seemed like everyone was happy for them. All except one. Sam was standing in the back corner just glaring at them. Katie acted as though she did not see him, but she still kept an eye on him as everyone made their way to the conference table and took their seats.

  After a few more moments, Fabian stood at the head of the table and waited for everyone to stop talking before he began. “It has been a long five hundred years since my wife gave birth to my twins and their little brother. I wish more than anything that she could be here today to celebrate with us all.” He looked down with a look of shame that made Katie wonder what had happened to Paul’s mother.

  “She would have been proud of our son Paul today.” Fabian looked at Paul and Katie. “Paul, your mother always loved you. She could not wait for this day to come. Katie, meeting Paul may not have happened under the best conditions, but we are all happy that it happened. I know that if my wife were here, she would be in tears. But she would tell you this - the fates have put you two together for a reason. You are made for one another. This does not mean that you will not fight or that you have to rush into anything. You are now a part of our family, we will always be here for you. I am sorry that you have gone your whole life feeling alone. I vow to you now that we will exhaust all of our resources to track down whoever is responsible for the travesty.” Katie could feel the warm tears running down her cheeks. This was all she ever really wanted in life, to have people who cared about her and a place where she would fit in.

  Fabian cleared his throat. “With that being said,” he turned to face everyone, “I will be sending teams to every state. Katie has stumbled onto something that is now our main priority.” Mark stood and picked up folders and started to hand them out. “Mark is handing each of you a folder containing names of possible female dragons. They have somehow ended up in the human foster care system.” No one dared to even breathe as they looked over the list. “I need everyone to get a team together and head out to your designated state. I want you to find these ladies and bring them straight here.” Fabian paused, his face looked like death. “Do not attempt to mate with these women. They have been through enough as it is, and it may not get any easier for a while.” Fabian turned and headed for his office without looking back.

  Everyone watched as he walked away and then turned their attention to Katie. They did not say anything, but they did not need to. Katie could see it written all over their faces. They had hope. Paul stood and grabbed Katie’s hand, waiting patiently as she stood. They walked to the elevators quietly. Once inside, they did not say anything. They just stood there and held each other.

  Katie and Paul stopped at her desk long enough for her to check her email and grab her bag. She had only one email sitting in her inbox. She was going to be heading the investigation here in New York and Katie was thrilled about it. If she could even save one girl from going through what she had, then she would be happy. They were out of the building in thirty minutes.

  Walking hand in hand, Katie looked up at Paul and could see sadness in his eyes. “What happened to your mother?”

  Paul sighed. “You have to understand, my mother was a good woman. She saw the beauty in everything and everyone. My parents tried for years to have a little girl. Then twenty years ago, it happened.” Paul smiled. “We were going to have a little girl in the family. All of us males waited on her hand and foot. I think she was actually pretty annoyed with us.” Paul paused, taking a deep breath. “The day finally came when Lilly would come into this world. We all crammed ourselves into a little sitting room outside my parent’s room, just waiting to hear that Lilly was here. We all jumped and yelled in excitement when we heard a cry from the other side of the door.”

  Katie could not help the smile she got when she looked up to see the huge grin on Paul’s face.

  “Lilly was the most precious thing ever. She had these big green eyes that melted my heart every time she looked up at me.” He sighed as the sadness crept into his eyes again. “I am not sure what happened. One day, she was a happy, healthy baby girl. Then the next, she was gone.”

  Katie could see the tears in Paul’s eyes and knew that she was tearing up, too. Her own heart was breaking for his loss. She squeezed his hand and hoped that it brought him some comfort.

  “My mother could not take the grief. A week after we buried Lilly, we were burying my mother, too.” Paul sniffled and cleared his throat. “I honestly do not know how my father survived. For years we did not even hear from him. He had run off and hid from everyone. Then one day, he just showed up again and took over Elder Enterprises.”

  Katie stopped walking, wiping her nose on her shirt. She reached up and threw her arms around Paul’s neck. “I am so sorry, Paul. I know it does not sound like much, but I mean it.” He did not say anything. He did not need to, Katie knew how he felt as he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close. They stood there for a few moments before Paul pulled away and cleared his throat.

  “My building is right up here.” He pointed to one less than a block away. “I want to get you home and into my bed.”

  Katie smiled. “I like the sound of that.” Paul turned, grabbing Katie’s hand as he went. They made their way down the street and into the building. Once inside the elevator, Katie stood there in shock as Paul pulled out a key and placed it into a slot on the wall panel. He then pushed the button for the top floor. Katie was definitely not use to this.

  “It has been a few months since I have been home so it might be a little dusty.” He winked at Katie before giving her a serious look. “I will see about getting you your own key made ASAP. What is mine is now yours, too.”

  Katie smiled. “You really do not have to do that. I mean, I will understand if you want to take things slow. Hell, we just met a few days ago.”

  Paul turned to look at Katie. “I have waited five hundred years for you. If we take things slow, it will be because you want to, not me.” He paused and ran his fingers down her cheek. “I never want to be away from you. So if you want us to slow down, you need to tell me now.”

  Katie thought about it for a few moments. “No. I think I have been alone long enough.” Paul did not say anything, just bent down and kissed Katie. When the doors opened, he picked her up and carried her to his bed.

  Chapter 14

  Katie woke up the next morning feeling refreshed but hungry. After a night of sex, she had fallen asleep rather than eating. She sat up bed and looked around. The room was huge. She sat on a four post bed with a canopy of black sheer surrounding her. Over against the far wall was a reading nook. Katie could not help herself. She crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Paul, and padded quietly over to it. She stood in awe as she took in the sight of all the books that lined the shelves on the wall.

  Katie took a few steps closer so that she could touch them. She ran her fingertips over their spines, loving the feel of them. She stopped as one caught her eye. Carefully, she pulled it out and flipped it over in her hands. It was old but held together by a sturdy leather cover. She traced her fingers over the large embossed title, wishing she understood what it said.

  Katie spotted a lounge chair sitting in the corner. Walking as swiftly as she dared, she made her way over to it and sat down. Carefully, as to not rip any pages, she flipped it
open. Looking through the book, she may not have been able to understand the words but she enjoyed looking at the pictures. It featured five different dragons. A gorgeous white one that reminded her of Paul, soaring in the sky. A red dragon, spitting fire at a large group of trees. A blue one swimming deep in an ocean. A green beauty sitting on top of a mountain. But it was the last one that really caught her attention. A purple dragon standing tall as others bowed in front of it. She had never thought she would see a dragon bow down to anyone, but here was the whole group of them bowed down now.

  “Just when I thought you could not get any more beautiful, you prove me wrong.” Katie jumped. She never even heard Paul get out of bed. She looked up to see him standing there leaning against the wall, just watching her.

  Katie smiled. “Good morning to you, too. I am sorry if I woke you.”

  Paul walked over and sat on the seat next to Katie. “I only just woke a few minutes ago. I rolled over and saw you over here so I thought I would come join. Do you know what you are looking at there?” he asked, pointing to the book.

  “Not really, but the pictures are amazing.” Katie frowned when her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she still had not eaten.

  Paul grabbed the book and stood up, holding out his free hand. “Come, let me find something for you to eat and I will tell you all about it.” Katie gladly grabbed his hand and stood, following Paul out of the room. In the hall, she let her hand slip from his as he walked ahead of her. She fell behind, captivated by all the pictures lining the walls. From the plains of fly over states to waterfalls, they were absolutely beautiful. They made a part of her yearn to visit them in person.

  She slowly pulled herself away and made her way down the hall. Last night she really had not had the chance to look around but now, she felt overwhelmed with everything. The apartment was massive. Her whole apartment could fit into the living room twice over. Red carpets laid out on the floor, walls ranging in color from gold to black. It was beautiful. If she could piece together her dream apartment, this would be it.

  “What would you like, pancakes or waffles?” Paul asked, dragging Katie’s attention back to the fact that she was now starving.

  “Pancakes, please,” Katie said with a grin as she hopped up onto a bar stool. She enjoyed watching Paul dance around the kitchen. No one had really ever cooked for her before, but she was starting to think that it needed to happen more often. Paul made cooking look sexy, from the way he would glance back at her as he waited to flip the pancakes, to the way his muscles rippled as he beat the eggs. If Katie did not watch herself, she would be having Paul for breakfast.

  Finally, Paul sat two plates down on the counter in front of Katie, then walked around to sit down next to her. After a few mouthfuls, Katie looked up at Paul. “Okay, so tell me about the book.”

  Paul swallowed the bite of food he had just put in his mouth and then washed it down with a drink of milk. After setting his glass down, he turned to look at Katie. “It is a history book. This one specifically goes over the types of dragons. There are five types. Green is the earth dragons, they can literally move or build mountains, if enough strong dragons are together.”

  He paused and took another bite. Katie welcomed the moment of silence. The thought of being able to move mountains sounded pretty great in a terrifying way.

  “Then there are the white dragons, they are the wind dragons. Like me, we own the skies. We can fly faster than a speeding bullet if we really push ourselves. The red are the fire dragons. Their name says it all, they can wield and control fire. Then we have the blue dragons. They are the only ones that can swim. And yes, they too can wield and control water.”

  Katie was again grateful for a moment’s pause as they both ate. All the dragons’ powers sounded awesome to Katie. It made her excited to find out what she would be. “Okay, so what are the purple ones?”

  “They are our royalty. They can take on the powers of any of the other dragons.” Paul put his fork and knife down. “But we have not had one of those in centuries.”

  This surprised Katie. It made her wonder why they did not have a royal family. “Why?” she asked.

  “I am not really sure. You see, unlike with humans where they pass their royal line down through blood, dragons are random. No one knows who the next royal will be until they first change.”

  “Oh,” Katie found that interesting. To not know who your true leader was, or if it was even you until that person changed. “I wonder what I will be.” She looked around, not really sure if she wanted to ask the next question, but pushed herself to do it. She was going to find out sooner or later. “So how do we become fully mated?”

  A huge grin appeared on Paul’s face. “Think of it like a human wedding, but instead of regular vows, we stand before a group of Elders and speak an ancient dragon vow.” Paul’s smile wavered. “It is something that we are taught at a very young age.” Katie frowned, she had missed so much growing up outside of the dragons. Paul must have sensed what she was thinking because he added, “But no worries, love, I will write it down for you. So when you are ready to undergo the ceremony, you will be prepared.”

  Katie felt a little better knowing that Paul was going to help her through all of this. But there was still a part of her that wanted to scream. She had gone her whole life not knowing what she truly was, always feeling like there was something major missing in her life. Then to know there were hundreds of others out there just like her? She would search down each and every one of them if need be. But first, she wanted to know why. Why were they being abandoned as babies? And who was behind it all?

  Katie did not have time to say anything more. Her phone started going off in the bedroom. She hopped down off of the stool and raced into the other room, managing to pick it up before the call was sent to voice mail. “Hello?” she said as she brought the thing up to her ear.

  “Hey, Katie, it’s Mark. How are you doing today?” It took Katie a moment to answer. She was trying to figure out why Mark was calling her and not Paul.

  “Oh, hi, Mark. I am doing fine this morning. What can I do for you?” she asked as Paul came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Katie leaned into him. She loved his arms being around her, it made her feel safe and grounded. Her life had basically been flipped upside down, so she took anything that helped her feel like she was not alone.

  “I was looking at the list of names for here in New York last night.” He took a deep breath. “It seems one was dropped off less than a month ago. I am hoping that someone will remember who left the baby there. Would you and Paul like to meet me at the hospital?”

  Katie did not need to ask Paul or even think about the answer. “Yes, send me the address and we will head that way now.” She hung up the phone before Mark could reply. Turning around in Paul’s arms, she explained to him what was going on.

  “Okay, then let’s get to it. I had clothes delivered for you last night while you slept. They are in the closet by the bathroom.” Katie did not let herself be surprised by this. She did not have the time to right now. Spinning on her heel, she went and quickly got dressed.

  By the time she came out of the closet fully dressed, Paul was waiting for her by the bedroom door. She went over and placed her hand in his and walked out of the room. As they stepped onto the elevator, Katie’s phone beeped notifying her that she had a text message.

  “Crap!” Katie blurted out as she read the message.

  “What’s wrong?” Paul asked with a look of concern on his face.

  Katie sighed and looked up at him. “It looks like we will have to take a taxi. The hospital is outside the city.”

  Paul laughed before sobering up when he looked down at Katie. “No worries, love, I have a car we can use.”

  “You do?” Katie asked, amazed. She had never bothered with getting a car. She could get everywhere she needed to be on foot, or the subway. She never really saw a point in spending the money. But now as she thought about it, it might be a good i
dea to look for one. She had a feeling that she would be doing a lot of traveling in the next few weeks.

  “I sure do. It is in the parking garage for emergencies like this.” He gave Katie a grin that made her wonder what he was not telling her. She thought it was crazy that only after a few days, she was already picking up on things like this from Paul. Things were moving so quickly and it scared her, but she was not about to back down now. She needed Paul.

  Katie followed Paul out of the elevator when the doors opened. They walked three rows back before Paul stopped and just stared at a row of Mustangs. From what Katie could tell, they were all from different years. She picked out slight differences in their bodies. “Which one is yours?” she asked, though she had a feeling that she already knew the answer but needed to hear him say it.

  He looked down as his smile got bigger. “All of them. I have been collecting them since they came out. Think of them as my treasure.”

  Katie took a deep breath. She did not understand why but just looking at the row of cars was a little overwhelming. A statement that Paul was much older than she. After a moment, she was able to clear her head. What did it matter that he was older? She was falling for this man and that was all that mattered now. Clearing her throat, she asked, “So which one are we taking?”

  Paul leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “That, my dear, is up to you.”

  Katie smiled. She did not think she would ever get use to all of this. Turning slowly, she started making her way down the row, looking at each car that she passed. It was not until the end that one really caught her eye. It looked to be a newer model. It was purple with white racing stripes going down its center. She turned and walked around it, admiring each curve. She was in love. It was feminine yet masculine. She had no doubt that it could get the job done and have fun while doing it. Once she was back at the hood, she pointed to it. “This one, please.” She even threw in a few bats of her eyelashes to get the job done.