Willow's Dragon: Dragon Mates: A BBW Paranormal Romance

by Serena Simpson

  Her cheeks were heating so she dashed into the bathroom and kept her hands away from her very sensitive parts. She took a quick shower because it looked amazing and she still didn’t feel very clean even after her dip in the pool.

  When she was done, she went into the main room and sat at the table. The cooler was still sitting there. She opened it and took out the water even as she looked around the room. Where was he? She felt lonely. When she went back to the cooler, there was a plate with actual breakfast food. She tried to smile and then she said a soft thank you, but she wasn’t hungry and pushed the food around.

  “You need to eat.”

  “Where were you?” She dropped her fork and looked at him. He looked more ghost like today. He was fading away. When he did, he would never come back.

  Her stomach tightened in pain.

  “Willow stop. It will be okay.”

  “Then tell me where you were?”

  He raised his eyes to look at her. The color floored her, she knew they were navy blue, but they flashed at her with so much warmth and sorrow that she was overwhelmed, the depth of his anguish touched her. She knew sadness so deep that she wasn’t sure why she wasn’t on the floor in a ball.

  “I’m dying.”

  “That’s not funny!” She took the bottles of water that she barely touched and put them away and followed it by placing everything back into the cooler including the plate with the food that she hadn’t eaten. Once the area was cleaned up, she jumped to her feet and started pacing.

  “You can’t die. You’re the reason I’m here. How dare you bring me here then tell me you’re going to leave.”

  “Willow—”

  “Don’t Willow me!” Deep breaths take deep breaths. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know. Ever since I came back here from the dream, I’ve been feeling less like myself. I wasn’t here when you woke up because I didn’t know where here was.”

  She went over to the dragon and ran her hands over his flank. It wouldn’t matter if he fell apart if Javon wasn’t here.

  “Do you think it has anything to do with me?”

  “What?”

  “The kissing, the hugging.” She dropped her eyes.

  “I want to tell you not to be ridiculous, but instead I’ll tell you something else. When I didn’t know where I was, I felt like someone was calling for me, searching for me.”

  Darkness surround him, making it hard to tell what lay in front of him. The voice was still calling his name. It sounded sweet and a little scared as it told him to come back. His heart ached, he needed to see the person who belonged to the voice. He knew she was female but couldn’t remember her name or what she looked like.

  He took several steps before he heard it.

  “Stop.” The voice was masculine. He felt a shudder of distrust move through his body.

  “Stop.” The voice was commanding. His feet stopped moving even as his mind screamed at him not to listen. His body tried to change shapes but it couldn’t.

  “You must stay away from her.” The voice was slick with friendship. He could feel it crawl down his spine even as his body stiffened. What was happening?

  “Are you listening to me?” Against his will, his head shook.

  His chest was rising and falling, and his breathing was coming much too fast. Drops of water slid from his hands to the floor. His head began to constrict and then his heart began to do the same thing. Still, the voice talked to him trying to be louder than the soft, sweet feminine voice that was still calling him.

  He may have stood there forever with that battle raging around him. It was when his breathing became shallow, and there was pressure on his throat cutting off his ability to cry out or breath that he chose the feminine voice. He would always choose the feminine voice as long as there was life in him. She gave him the power to break free and he followed until he found her.

  “You’re the reason I’m here Willow. Without you, I would be dead.”

  “I wish I could touch you.” Her voice was soft with longing.

  He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her forever, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for him.

  “I have to get you to the safety of my brothers. They will take care of you.”

  “No.” She held up her hand when he went to say something. “They can’t keep me safe each of them has a wife…a mate. And that’s who they have to keep safe, besides if you die they won’t have to keep me safe, there will be no need for me.”

  “Mutufa.”

  “Doesn’t want me. The question is what did he want?” She walked back over to the chair and dragged it over to the dragon’s side. Once there she stood on it and climbed on the back of the dragon.

  “You seem to like my dragon form.”

  “I like both your forms. The male is hot, but the dragon is the key. That has been going through my mind nonstop since I found you. The dragon is the key. I keep asking the key to what, but that little voice in my head ignores me.”

  She leaned down and placed her arms around his neck. “How can you be so big? I mean I’ve seen the skeletal remains of the dinosaurs and even though I know they were real it’s kind of surreal to think animals that big roamed the earth. You’re more than a skeleton.”

  Her hand petted him like she could feel the softness of his feathers or the hardness of his scales.

  “You're golden.”

  “I look like my father. He was also a golden dragon.”

  “Beautiful. I can almost see the sky full of dragons. It must have been a sight to see.”

  “I miss those days. When we were free to fly across the world without having anyone try and kill us. You can’t stop change, no matter how hard you try.”

  “I know I’ve tried. Does this make sense? You've been locked away, the only form you can take is a shadow. Then you get your body back, or you get a body. What’s the first thing you would do?”

  “Find you, wrap you in my arms and kiss you until your panting with desire.”

  Her heart fluttered and her lips curled into a smile. She’d have to wait until he was flesh and blood to know for sure, but she was certain he was a keeper.

  “Then why did Mutufa attack us in a dream?”

  “No woman would have him so he thought he would try and take mine.”

  “Oh, I’m yours?”

  “You are, and as soon as I get my body back, I’m going to prove it.”

  If he got his body back, he was fading away fast.

  “Let’s assume there was another reason.”

  “What other reason could there have been. It was a dream I’m sure he didn’t want the wine and strawberries.”

  “Javon!”

  “I’ll come back as soon as I find the way.”

  He faded out of sight. There was no way he was coming back because she was supposed to find what he needed to keep him here and she failed. Cry Willow at least show some emotion to acknowledge he was here.

  Instead, she climbed down off the dragon and went over to the male. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

  “I’m sorry I never meant to let you down.” She ran her fingers down his chest and stopped there was something over his heart. No there was a space over his heart like he was missing something. Did they take his heart when he froze?

  She moved over to the dragon and began to run her hands over his large chest. Nothing so she closed her eyes and did it again. This time much slower, there it was the same space she felt when she touched the male. It felt like something was missing.

  What could it be? She ran through the dream from the time Javon said hi to her. What was there that Mutufa could have wanted? Lying on his lap with his hand gently touching it was a jewel. One he said he had with him when he became human.

  Why would Mutufa come for a piece of jewelry? Was there something special about it. Before they woke up, Mutufa ran his fingers across it. At the time, she thought he wanted to steal it because he was looking for jewels
. What if he wanted to contaminate it?

  He said he wore that necklace as a dragon. Would he have put it on and taken it off? What did the well-dressed dragon wear when he was trying to end his enemy’s life? Her head moved, looking at the dragon, then the male and finally the big black onyx circle on the pure gold chain. That necklace didn’t come on and off. Someone placed it on him, and he never took it off.

  Could it be? She walked over to it and picked it up. There was warmth radiating off it. She noticed that when she touched it the first time but didn’t think anything of it. Placing it gently on the ground she went and randomly picked up other pieces of jewelry. None of them were radiating heat.

  Serenity told her she already knew the answer. She just had to connect the dots. This didn’t make sense at the time, but she picked the necklace up and carried it back to the chair. She climbed up and placed it around his neck. Then she quickly climbed down and went to the furthest point in the room. Dragons needed a lot of room to change. She waited, but nothing happened.

  Her head hung with despair, she had failed.

  Chapter Ten

  The roar had her trying to disappear into the corner wondering why she didn’t retreat to the bathroom. A blast of fire came from him as she watched through fingers that were open as they covered her eyes. His body shook as it started to change. She hugged the wall even closer as he turned into a male.

  He took one step and collapsed. She ran to him dropping to her knees to try and help him.

  “Javon?”

  “My legs are used to being frozen they didn’t like the idea that I wanted to walk.”

  “Don’t move.” Her head dropped into his chest as she tried to hide the tears that were finally flowing.

  “Willow don’t cry.”

  “I thought I failed, that you were gone forever.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes on his shirt.

  “I knew you could do it.”

  “No, you didn’t.” She raised her head and gave a small chuckle.

  “I did. I knew you could save my life, so I put all my trust in you.”

  “But you disappeared.”

  “I told you before I did I would come back. I knew you would figure it out and then I would find my way back to you.”

  He reached up and pulled her close to him.

  “What do you need?”

  “To lay here for a little while holding you, then maybe you’ll share some of that water with me.”

  “I can get it now.”

  “I just want to hold you.”

  She moved around until she was stretched out by him. Her head was pillowed on his arm. His head was arched towards her. His heart beat fast under her hand.

  “You’re so warm.”

  “Dragons run hot. Does it bother you?”

  “No.” She shook her head and snuggled closer to him. “Is this strange? The two of us huddled so close together when we just met ten minutes ago?”

  “Is that how you feel? Like we just met each other? I met you a long time ago, Willow. I watched you. Maybe that was unfair, but I did it anyway. I didn’t stalk you, and I never reached out to make you uncomfortable, but I wanted to see my mate.”

  Her thoughts were all over the place. She wanted to give in and say she felt like she knew him her whole life, but part of her was saying caution. Maybe he was just using her to get what he wanted.

  “Can you move?”

  “A little.”

  “I want to get you off the floor, it’s not cold, but it is hard.”

  She grabbed the covers and went to make the bed. If she was honest with herself and it was so easy not to be honest, she knew him. She knew him before being thrown overboard, before even boarding the ship. In the past, she used to call the dreams her escape. How many times had she ridden the back of the dragon or even talked to Javon, her mystery man?

  She called them hard nights. Sometimes she thought of the dreams, the fantasies as her drug of choice. So much better than drinking or getting high. Losing herself in a world that didn’t exist seemed just as extreme as all the other ways to self-medicate, and she loved the feeling more.

  She sat on the bed after it was made and looked at him. This was where the rubber met the road. Would she acknowledge that she felt more than a passing interest in the strong male who was temporary weak or would she flee?

  Running felt like her personal motto but it was becoming old fast. She needed to do more than run from one spot of safety to another.

  She ran her finger down the side of his cheek. “Javon, wake up. I need you to help me get you to the bed.”

  “Willow, I searched for you everywhere. I never thought I would find you.”

  “You found me.” She placed her shoulder under his arm and slowly helped him to stand.

  They crossed the room him leaning on her heavily. Her mouth quirked up in a smile as she looked at him. If she hadn’t survived who knows how many days out at sea, then walked this island like she owned it. She wouldn’t have the strength to hold him up. He collapsed on the bed. She bent over to take his shoes off, then she undid the belt, button, and zipper to his pants. It took a little muscle to get him all the way in the bed.

  He needed water. She grabbed a bottle and forced him to sit up so he could drink. When he was done, she laid him down and put the bottle back. Then she climbed into the bed with him.

  “Thank you for finding me Javon.” She rested her head on his chest with her hand over his heart.

  *~*~*~*

  “Hi.” His voice was deep, and rusty like he hadn’t spoken in forever.

  “We’re forever saying hi to each other.” She smiled at him, contented for the moment to lay in his arms and allow his heat to warm her.

  “What happened?”

  “You turned into a flesh and blood dragon and then a male before you collapsed on the floor.”

  He winced. “That couldn’t have been fun for you.”

  “I don’t know, I enjoyed taking care of you.”

  “Thank you, my Brave Willow.”

  She slid her fingers over his shirt. “What happens next?”

  “I get my strength back.”

  “You look strong. Umm I mean you look like you haven’t been frozen.”

  “I’ve never done this before, but my body froze at the peak of health. The male and the dragon were healthy, and so I came back the same way. The outside can be deceiving. I feel the weakness in my body like I haven’t moved in a century or more. I’m also starving.”

  “I have food, well the cooler has food, and I’m going to claim it as long as it’s in my possession. I’ll bring it to you.”

  “Wait, I want to go to the table. My muscles need to remember how to work. Collapsing on the floor when I try to hold onto you for a nice slow dance isn’t what I have in mind.”

  He wanted to dance with her, such a nice simple thing, but the flutters in her stomach were springing to life. She helped him up trying not to smile like an idiot. The walk to the table was slow, but he wasn’t leaning on her as much.

  “I bet after you eat you’ll feel better.”

  She opened the cooler to find not only water but an assortment of juices and energy drinks.

  “This is why I always made sure not to piss the oracles off.”

  “I think I need to meet them.”

  “You will.”

  She went back into the cooler, and it provided them both with delicious steak dinners.

  “Why steak? Don’t get me wrong this is better than the sandwiches which I appreciated. Thank you, Oracles.”

  “Your body needs red meat it helps to power your gift. I need red meat also, dragons need the nutrition for their bodies and although you’re not a dragon you’re a dragon’s mate. Now that you're so close to me your power should be making itself known.”

  She cut her steak as she watched him eat before she took a bite.

  “Javon, can I ask you some questions?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do dragons really b
elieve that they only have one mate?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  He turned around in his chair and pointed to one of the tapestries on the wall. “Do you see that tapestry with the large golden dragon and the smaller multicolored dragon?”

  “I see it.”

  “Those are my parents. Dragon lore says that only true mates have offspring. My mother had been told that her true mate was someone other than my father. She ended up in a forced mating. Year after year my mother waited, hoping to produce her first offspring, but none came. The male that forced her to mate with him severed ties to her. He told his family that she tricked him and they tried to kill her. They almost succeeded, but my father found her.

  “He would always tell us the story of how she refused to believe they were mates until one night she couldn’t resist his considerable charm. A year later I came along.”

  “Don’t you mean 9 months?”

  “No, I mean a dragon’s year. Fourteen human months.”

  She stared at him, mouth open as she waited for him to laugh. Eventually, she realized he was serious. There was no way she was going to be pregnant for fourteen months. The thought of having his child brought a smile to her lips and she knew she was in deep.

  “What do children have to do with true mates?”

  “Dragons can only have offspring with their true mates.”

  Her mouth opened in a large O, but nothing came out of it.

  “When dragons became shifters we had another indication of our true mates. After a certain point in life, we are unable to ejaculate without our mates.”

  “As in you can’t…?”

  “Nope, I can’t, not with a female or under my own power.”

  “Why?”

  “It seems to be biological. When our dragons begin to mourn the fact they haven’t found their mates, they refuse to touch another or allow the male to have relief.”

  “Here I thought being a female could bring you down some days.” Her fingers went to the bottle with the nutrition drink and slowly slid it over the table.

  He gave her a smile full of I see what you’re doing before he took a nice long swallow of the drink.