A deep, unfamiliar male voice spoke up behind her. “Ms. Melanie Hall?”
Mel pulled away from her mom and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan before she turned around to find a tall man with dark hair and eyes, looking at her and her parents with what could only be called suspicion. The thick, black tattoo that crawled out from beneath his short sleeves to just above his elbow told her the man was a dragon-shifter.
The only question was whether this was to be her dragon-shifter or not.
Regardless, she had decided over the last two weeks that she wouldn’t be afraid of them unless they gave her a reason. Even then, she’d do everything in her power not to show her fear. She had a feeling the dragon-shifters would appreciate a show of strength.
She squared her shoulders, raised her chin, and said, “That’s me.”
“I’ll give you three minutes to say your final goodbyes. Come to me when you’re done.”
With that, the man went over to a patch of trees, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared. Even from fifteen feet away, she felt the intensity of his gaze, and she was starting to understand how most women would freak out at it. However, Mel had dealt with worse during her part-time jobs all throughout university; first at a bar and later a restaurant. A grumpy, verbally stunted jerk would be like a walk in the park in comparison.
Determined not to waste what precious time she had left with her family, Mel turned back to her parents and tried to ignore the heat of the dragon-shifter’s gaze that undoubtedly still was trained on her back.
~~~
Tristan watched the short, curvy woman with reddish brown hair and green eyes as she hugged her parents. She was a bit rounder and softer than the females of his people, but at first glance, he didn’t find it unappealing. The woman’s tits alone should be able to get his cock hard enough to do his job.
Provided he could get her naked first. He wouldn’t force her, but thanks to Bram’s choice of sacrifice, it was probably going to take more than a few caresses to get her willing. He decided to glare in Melanie’s direction as down payment for the trouble the woman was going to cause him.
If Bram thought Tristan was going to turn into a gentle, flattering male for the human female, his clan leader was in for a surprise. The human female was here for one purpose, and one purpose only—to breed. He’d do his duty and fuck her until she became pregnant. Then he could go back to his life until the child was born. If she managed to survive the birth, he could only hope the woman would flee back to the humans and leave the child’s upbringing to him.
Like most dragon-shifters, Tristan cherished the gift of children, even if his would be half-human.
However, he was getting ahead of himself. Melanie would have a two-day adjustment period before she was required to have sex with him. He just wanted to hurry up and get it over with, but he’d signed the sacrifice contract and he wouldn’t embarrass his clan by breaking it.
The woman’s time was up. He was about to go fetch her when she gave a wave to her parents, picked up her suitcase, and strutted toward him. He’d discovered one thing about her—she was punctual.
When she was only a few feet away, he put out a hand and said, “I can carry your bag.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know your name, so how am I supposed to trust you with my things?”
No matter how much trouble it’d be later, he still preferred feisty to whimpering or scared shitless. “I’m Tristan MacLeod of Clan Stonefire.”
She peered up at him with her light green eyes and Tristan frowned. Why were human women so short?
Melanie stared at him for another two seconds before she offered him her bag. “That still doesn’t really tell me who you are, but since I’m to stay with Stonefire for at least the next six months, I can hunt you down if you run off with my things.”
He pierced her with a stare. “If I decided to run off with your suitcase, I guarantee you wouldn’t be able to find me. I have wings.”
“Right. You’re a dragon. I’m not sure how I forgot about that.” She offered her bag again. “Well, take it then. I’d say it’s heavy, but you look like you can handle it.”
She’d forgotten he was a dragon? Fuck. So much for using the rumors of dragon brutality to get her to leave him alone. This was going to be a bigger challenge than he’d anticipated. His preemptive glare had been justified.
For now, he just needed to deliver her to his clan leader. He could worry about how much trouble she was later.
He took her bag. “We have a meeting. Follow me.”
He turned and started walking. Since he didn’t try to pace his strides with her much shorter ones, she had to half-jog to keep up. Good. Maybe if he kept her winded, she wouldn’t try talking to him. He had no intention of getting to know Ms. Melanie Hall.
~~~
Melanie wasn’t sure what she had expected on meeting her first dragon-shifter face-to-face, but Tristan MacLeod hadn’t been it.
Yes, he was tall, lean, and muscular—okay, she’d admit sexy—but he could probably snap her in two if he tried. Manners and politeness definitely weren’t his forte. She doubted he even knew how to smile.
And yet, she had a sinking feeling this was the male who had been assigned to her.
Best not to jump to conclusions, Hall. Right. She was a social scientist. She needed to observe and obtain more information before forming any sort of definitive opinion. Maybe this dragon-shifter was merely having a bad day.
At least the walk was doing some good to help calm her nerves. She might’ve put on a brave front for the dragon-shifter, but inside she was nervous as hell, and she’d only been on the dragon-shifter’s land for ten minutes.
She took a deep breath and remembered her decision to treat this as nothing more than a difficult fieldwork assignment.
Observing Clan Stonefire as an anthropologist was going to be her coping technique. Yes, she would have to get naked with some dragonman and possibly bear his half-dragon child, but she was going to make the most of her six months here, or longer. If she played her cards right, she might be able to write her doctoral thesis on something to do with the Stonefire dragons.
She’d been struggling to come up with a good thesis idea, but a close study on how the dragon-shifters lived would be groundbreaking since very few true facts were known about them. In Mel’s opinion, giving humans a glimpse into their daily lives might help ease the fear surrounding the dragon clans. Far too many parents still told legends of how dragons would swoop down and pluck children from their parents to eat them as part of the nighttime story routines.
A sound that was a mixture of an eagle’s cry and a lion’s roar echoed through the air. Mel stopped in her tracks as she clapped her hands over her ears against the noise. Before she could look up to see what had caused it, she had to close her eyes against the wind as it whooshed over her. Two seconds later, she opened her eyes to see the receding shapes of two dragons—one gold and the other red—fade into the distance. She could only make out their wings and large bodies before they disappeared from her line of sight, and disappointment rushed over her. One of the perks of living with the dragon-shifters was that she could finally see a dragon up close, but it looked like it wasn’t going to happen quite yet.
She looked over and saw Tristan standing with her bag. Before she could stop herself, she said, “Do you ever take humans up with you when you’re in dragon form?”
His neutral expression became dark. “We’re not pack animals at the mercy of human masters.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“You obviously haven’t had to deal with dragon hunters or pro-containment activists. Some say that being pack animals or blood donors is all we’re good for.” He turned and started walking. “Come on. Stonefire’s clan leader is waiting for you.”
Asshole. Even if he was having a bad day, he didn’t have to be so rude.
Mel half-jogged to catch up with him. He was still a foot
or two ahead of her, but if he thought it would deter her from continuing their conversation, he was sadly mistaken. Anger had always made her brave—and a little bit careless. “You’re right; I don’t know much about the poachers or the anti-dragon people. But unless you tell me, I never will.”
Tristan stopped and she nearly ran into his back. He looked over his shoulder. “Look, I’m going to lay out the facts for you. While you might’ve volunteered for this, I didn’t and I don’t plan to waste my time on getting to know you or some such bullshit. I will do what I’m contracted to do, nothing more. I suggest you gear yourself up for some sex and enjoy it, because that’s all you’re going to get from me.”
Mel blinked. “You’re the male assigned to me?”
Tristan turned and gave a mocking bow. “The cream of the crop, my lady.”
“Somehow, I doubt it.”
There was a flash of hatred in his eyes. “I don’t want this any more than you do. But you signed the contract, which means you’re going to try to give me a child. And if all goes well, I hope you’ll leave me and my child alone and go back to your human life.”
He started walking again, and all Mel could do was stare. How in the hell was she supposed to sleep with him? She’d tried not to build up any fantasies about her life with the dragon-shifters, but never in a million years had she expected such a bastard to be assigned to her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a choice; her hands were tied with the contract she’d signed.
Mel clenched her fists at her side and then started jogging to catch up with Tristan. At least by the terms of her contract, she had two sex-free days to get to know the clan and have her basic questions answered. Somehow, in those two days, she needed to either find out why Tristan hated her so much or try to find a way to transfer the contract to a different male.
Chapter Three
Thankfully, for the rest of the walk to Bram’s house, Melanie remained silent.
Tristan had laid out the facts and been as blunt as he could be, but if the stubborn glint in her eye was anything to go on, his brusque manner wasn’t going to be enough.
He still couldn’t believe that her first question about his clan was whether dragons ever took humans up for a ride in the air or not. Even putting aside the fact she didn’t know much—if anything—about the dragon-shifter ways, would she ask a human male she’d just met if she could get a piggyback ride? No. She wouldn’t.
Humans felt entitled and had always viewed themselves superior to the “dragon beasts”.
As a boy, he’d dismissed the tales of human cruelty as nothing more than stories. But then they had tortured and killed his mother and he’d finally understood what monsters they could be.
At least Melanie had reminded him of that fact. A small, very small, part of him had wondered if his assigned female would be different. It was good to know she wasn’t.
Since his behavior didn’t seem to scare her off, he’d just have to think of other ways to persuade the female to leave either when her time was up or after she gave him a child.
To be honest, he wanted a child. A little male or female to help start a new family. His sister Arabella had been with his mother when the humans had captured her, and to this day, she hadn’t forgiven herself for leaving as their mother had begged her to do. But maybe a niece or nephew would finally help her to heal and move on.
Of course, that brought his problem full circle, to the female trailing behind him. Children required sex, and since he wasn’t a rapist, he’d have to get creative to get her naked.
The sound of Melanie’s half-jogging steps stopped. Wondering what she was doing now, he turned around to see her gaping at the collection of houses and workshops in the clan’s central living area. All of the houses were two stories and simple stone or brick, but even if her accent wasn’t quite English, she would’ve seen similar buildings in the little villages she’d passed on her way here.
But on closer inspection, he realized that she wasn’t staring at the buildings but rather at the commotion going on behind them. The young dragons were practicing their take-offs and landings in the designated safe area.
The sight was an everyday occurrence to him, but not to the human.
But he didn’t care. All that mattered was getting her to Bram as fast as possible. He itched to go for a quick flight before the welcoming ceremony and every minute the female wasted watching the young dragons was a minute less of freedom spent in the skies.
Tristan walked over to Melanie and barked, “Stop gawking. We have a meeting with the clan leader.”
Her mouth had been hanging open, but she promptly shut it and scowled up at him. “There is nothing in my contract about having to follow your every order.” She crossed her arms across her chest and he forced himself not to look at her plumped up breasts. “Just ask me nicely to pick up my pace and see what happens.”
Yes, that determined glint was still in her eyes. As much as he wanted to get to Bram’s house, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you afraid of me? For most humans, a dragon-shifter barking at them would send them into a fit.”
“I’m guessing by your comment that you didn’t read my file, so here it is: I’m earning my PhD in Social Anthropology. You do know what anthropology is, don’t you?”
He glared, careful not to let his confusion at her change of topic show. “I might be a big beast, but I have a brain. Anthropology is the study of culture.”
“Close enough.”
“And that has to do with your behavior how, exactly?”
She gestured to their surroundings. “All of this is new to me, and all I want to do is look at every detail and store it away into my memory. New cultures don’t scare me, they fascinate me.”
Yes, this female was going to take a lot of persuading to leave at the end of her time. “You can look your fill tomorrow. Right now, you either need to start walking, or I’ll use other ways to get you to the meeting.”
She pointed a finger at him. “You act all scary and badass, but unless you want to risk your clan’s participation in the sacrifice system, you won’t hurt me.”
She was right; he would never deny the future of his clan that way. Nevertheless, he could do many things without hurting her.
He tossed her bag on the ground, bent over a little, pushed his shoulder against her body, and lifted her.
She squeaked and said, “What are you doing?”
He tightened his grip on her legs and tried to ignore the soft, feminine curves pressed against his body or the way her feminine scent made his inner dragon rumble in appreciation.
Forcing his dragon-half to behave, he said, “I’m not going to argue with you or try to be all nice and polite. That’s not who I am, and I’m sure as hell not going to change for you. So in the interest of time, I’ll just carry you. Your contract allows that.”
He started walking. He expected her to struggle, but leave it to the woman to start talking instead. “I have always believed the dragon-shifters weren’t the caveman alphas you’re all rumored to be, but your behavior has changed that. What are you going to do next? Chain me to a bed?”
“Thanks for giving me the idea, human. Keeping you tied to my bed might speed up the conception process, and then you can go live with the other unmated humans and give us both some peace.”
Melanie huffed, but fell quiet. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or be worried that she was coming up with a way to get back at him. If she kept acting up like this, he might just have to tie her to the bed to keep her out of trouble.
~~~
Mel was trying, but failing, to keep her temper in check. She was aware that she’d fallen into the trap of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but the dragonman had a way of stirring her anger. If his words weren’t enough, he’d then picked her up and carried her on his shoulder as if this wasn’t the twenty-first century, but some far-gone time when women were nothing more than property.
True, she had no id
ea if women were viewed as property inside the dragon culture. Her research in the last few weeks had turned up very little about the dragon-shifters’ gender roles, or much of anything for that matter. But if the females were anything like the male under her stomach, she doubted they’d put up with this crap.
She was clever enough to know fighting him was a waste of time; he could overpower her with one hand. Besides, being this close to his body, she couldn’t ignore the amount of heat radiating from the hard muscles of his chest and back, or the way he smelled of the wind and something uniquely masculine.
Before she could do something stupid, such as take a deep inhale of Tristan’s oddly intoxicating scent, he stopped and slowly slid her body down his. Her curves loved the contrasting hardness of his chest and much to her embarrassment, her nipples hardened. No doubt, the dragonman would use her body’s betrayal against her.
The only saving grace was that she felt the betrayal of his body poking hard against her stomach.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Tristan released his hold on her body and moved away as if he’d been burned. The mixture of irritation and disgust in his eyes poked at her self-esteem.
Melanie kept her head held high. She knew she wasn’t one of the stick thin models who had to watch every damn thing they ate, but she wasn’t unhealthy. She cooked everything from scratch and enjoyed her near-daily walks. If he didn’t like what he saw, too bad. She wasn’t about to let this bastard chip away at her hard-earned self-esteem.
Not caring if her mouth got her in trouble, she said, “Stop treating and eying me like a piece of meat.”
“Why? You’re the one who offered your body to a stranger.”
“To save my brother. That makes the world of difference.”
He looked unconvinced. “Rationalize all you like, I don’t care. All that matters is that your body reacts to mine, which means I won’t have to try too hard to get you naked.”
Sacrificed to the Dragon: Part One Page 2
