Heat Wave (Shifter Paranormal Dragon Romance) (The Fire Dragon Series Book 1)

by Faye, Amy

  I’ll let him stick around and bring me to orgasm until he finally disappoints me. Which, knowing men, wouldn’t take that long at all. But maybe Blake was different. Everything about him seemed completely strange and new to me.

  Sliding my panties onto my legs, I look around the room some more and soak in the opulence. The walls had landscape paintings hanging on them. There was a door across from the bed, which I eventually found led to the bathroom. The shower looked awesome, but I decided I’d rather shower in my familiar, small tub than in this strange place this time.

  Next time, though? I’ll be showering in there with Blake, for sure. There were knobs in the shower that did who knows what, and I was very curious to find out.

  Once I was dressed, I sat down on the bed and let the memories of last night come flooding in with a wicked smile. God, Blake was undeniably talented. With everything! His cock. His fingers. His tongue. His words.

  That was the kind of good sex a girl could settle down with.

  He left a pen on the side table next to the paper, which I used to doodle a heart and then write down my cell phone number for him. I felt a little girlish after the heart was already drawn, but fuck it. I finally found someone I might want to actually date instead of just sleep with.

  The more I remembered about last night, the more I wanted it to happen again… and again… and again! It wasn’t just the sex, either. He really was interesting when we were just talking at the bar. So interesting it was scary.

  Fully clothed and a little bit lonely in Blake’s huge house, I decided it was a good time to leave. The sun was only just coming up, really. I’d have enough time to pick up a coffee, get home, and shower before I had to get to work. Hopefully a shower would clear my mind of Blake’s smoky scent and the lingering touch of his fingers.

  I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the taste of his hot mouth. Pressing a finger to my lips, I smiled again. It felt nice to be excited about someone.

  Out of his bedroom, I walked down spiral stairs that I hadn’t noticed last night when Blake carried me up them. There, I was met by the front room and a few sculptures.

  Blake must be a collector, and they were all beautiful. One was of a woman dipping down as if to pick something up, her fingertips capped with gold. Her dress draped over her hips so delicately that it almost hurt to look at.

  Another was a woman cloaked in a thin fabric, but somehow her skin showed through the marble fabric. Whoever the sculptor was, they were very talented. They didn’t look particularly old.

  The main sculpture in the room, one that stood as if to greet people as they came in the front door, was eerie. Not because it was poorly done, or even that it was meant to be weird.

  It was strange because the woman looked almost exactly like me. Maybe there were a few differences, but somehow the sculpture even had the five freckles on my left cheek. Such a strange thing, but it had to be a coincidence.

  I laughed a little, shaking my head. There was no reason to be weirded out by it. Maybe the similarity was why he chose to talk to me at the bar in the first place. That certainly made more sense than any other theory I could come up with.

  I’ll just ask Blake about it next time I see him.

  And God, I hope I do see him again.

  3

  The best thing about working in a museum is getting to interact with the kids. Arcadia Science Museum was one of the largest ones in the country, and certainly the largest in the state. For that reason, we got a lot of school field trips and home school kids that come during the day to check out the snakes and learn how tornadoes work.

  I was holding a tarantula for one of the groups from a nearby school to see and pet when three men came into the museum and loudly asked for me at the front desk.

  “We need to see Cassidy.” The voice that said this sounded cruel and pushy.

  I quickly apologized to the kids and set the tarantula back into its case before wandering to the opening between the insect room and the front lobby.

  My boss snorted. “I’m afraid she’s busy, and you’ll have to come see her after work.”

  “No,” the man said, crossing his arms. “We’ll see her now.” He stared at my boss, waiting for him to jump at his command and fetch me. Too bad that’s not the kind of man he was.

  All three of the men were exceptionally tall. One had silver hair and pale skin, and seemed to be acting as the leader. The second was the shortest of the three, with curly brown hair that seemed to have a red shimmer to it and sad eyes. He looked embarrassed to even be there.

  The third was the tallest, with dark skin and both arms covered in tattoos. His hair was cut short and styled to the side, with the sides shaved away. He was so muscular it was scary.

  “I don’t know what this is about, but if you don’t leave I will call security.”

  Silver hair scoffed. “Call security. See how well that goes for you, old man.”

  “What’s wrong, Adam?” I asked, finally popping into view. Adam was stubborn, exactly the kind of stubborn that could get him hurt if he was faced with the wrong people. And these men definitely seemed like the wrong people to stand up to.

  “These three men are demanding to speak to you,” he sniffed. “Take them outside and talk to them, and be quick about it.” He gave me a look that told me he wanted them gone, now. That if I didn’t get rid of them, he’d get rid of me.

  I said nothing and only walked out the front door of the museum and onto the wide steps that led up to it. The road was busy, and people were shopping and running errands, so whatever happened there would be a lot of witnesses. It made me feel a little safer.

  Turning around, she tried to smile calmly. “So, what can I do for you men?”

  The man with the tattoos leaned against a pillar while silver hair stood square in front of me. “My name is Seth, and these are my brothers Dante and Lance.”

  “Okay,” I said, encouraging him to continue. “What do you need?” They were starting to irritate me, but they didn’t seem like the kind of people you should tell to fuck off.

  “You spent the night with our brother. We need to know why.” There was a cruel glint in his eyes. Dante, the sad looking brother, wiped his face and groaned. Yeah, he was clearly embarrassed by this whole thing.

  “Your brother…” I repeated. “What? Oh, Blake?” Who else could he have meant?

  Seth nodded. Looking closer, I realized that though his eyes were green they still had that golden ring around the pupil. He was definitely related to Blake.

  For a second I was pissed that I was being harassed, but then that cool calm came over me. It’s how I handled all disappointment or bad situations with men. I detach. “He was just a one night stand. I don’t intend to see him again.”

  There’s always a problem with the men I like. Hollie and Alina were right to be worried, and that pissed me off.

  Just another notch in the bedpost I’ll never see again. It’s not worth causing drama.

  “You really think that’s the case?” Seth asked, laughing cruelly as he glanced back at his brothers. “That’s not what he said when we talked to him. No, he seemed very interested in you. Giddy, almost.”

  “I don’t give a damn what he said. I’m never seeing him again, so you can go be assholes to whoever he fucks tonight.” I stepped around Seth with a wave. “Fuck off.”

  I was just about through the door and into the museum again with Lance cleared his throat. “Blake doesn’t have one night stands. You’ll be seeing us again.”

  And then they were gone, presumably off to harass someone else. Someone that was willing to put up with their crap.

  What the hell was that all about anyway? Who does that to their brother?

  Adam was fuming as I came back inside. I could tell by the way he flipped through the release papers from today’s field trips, muttering to himself. He wasn’t an unkind man, but he was anxious and hated when things got weird, and that was undeniably weird.

  “I’m so
sorry, Adam,” I said, stepping up to the front desk. “I got them to leave.”

  He stops, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Don’t let that happen again. Don’t bring trouble to my museum. If you want to run this place one day, you need to get your personal life under control.”

  That stung. I do want to run this museum one day. In fact, it was just about my only long term life goal. In spite of all the bad memories Arcadia has given me, I want to stay and this is the only museum I have any interest in.

  I nod, hoping he realizes I understand. “It won’t happen again. I’m really sorry.”

  “Just get back to giving tours and helping the kids.”

  That was as close as I’d get to him accepting my apology, so I took it with a smile. Wandering back into the insect room, I found a mother and two kids looking at the cicadas and went to talk to them.

  4

  After work every day, I like to relax with a glass of wine and some trashy television. It’s one of the few things that really takes my mind off of the crap I go through sometimes, aside from sex.

  Unfortunately, tonight my cell phone rang, and I knew who it was before I even looked at the number. Blake.

  My heart sunk into my stomach and I turned off the TV, setting my wine on the table next to my couch. My cat, a tuxedo named Dash, was lazily lapping up the dying sun in my only South facing window.

  I held the cell phone in my hand, trying to decide what to do. Before it could go to voicemail, I finally answered it and held it up to my ear.

  “Hello?” His voice was like music. Just hearing him talk threatened to wash away the spine I had gotten and made me so much less angry with him. I wanted to beg him to come over and fuck me against the wall, but I got myself under control.

  “This is Cassidy,” I answer, pretending I don’t know who he is.

  He clears his throat. “Oh. This is Blake. I was wondering… well, I miss you, and I feel bad for leaving you so abruptly this morning. I should have warned you that I work early in the morning. Sorry about that.”

  “Is that what you’re sorry for?” I don’t know why I was being so bitter. Normally I wouldn’t even be angry. I’d just tell him never to contact me again, hang up, and be done with it. But detaching myself from Blake seems impossible.

  “Yes. But I was hoping I could make it up to you. Would you like to go on a date tonight?”

  I stand up straight and try to regain some of that spine I lost. “No. And do you want to know why? Because your messed up family almost got me fired today.”

  “What?”

  “Your brothers came into my work, demanded to speak to me, and then basically threatened me for sleeping with you. So I’m sorry, Blake, but I won’t be seeing you again. I don’t need whatever kind of drama your family has going on. I had my own family drama for too long, and now that that’s over I don’t want more of it.”

  He groans. I can imagine him looking pained, maybe gnashing his teeth. Maybe he really didn’t know about his brothers. “Jesus. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think they’d come after you like that. Look, I’ll make them back off.”

  “What’s their problem, anyway?”

  There was a pause. “They’re just protective of me, even though I’m the older brother. And they think I owe them something that I just can’t give them.”

  I take another sip of my wine. I knew all about family responsibilities. “What do they think you owe them?”

  “Don’t worry about that. In time, I’ll tell you, but for now it’s too messy and it’ll just upset us both. Look, I’d really love to take you out again. Will you please give me another chance? I guarantee that you’ll like my plan.”

  There was every reason to disengage and never talk to Blake again. I tried to rationalize with myself that I’d be better off if I just hung up. If I could just forget about him, move on, have another one night stand.

  But I couldn’t. I had to see Blake again.

  “Fine,” I said. “But I expect some answers from you. And I better not get harassed by your brothers again.”

  “I promise, they will leave you alone.”

  “Good. Well, when do you want to meet up?” I was getting a little giddy now. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.

  “I’m free now, if you’re okay with going out tonight.”

  I thought, looking at myself in the mirror. There wasn’t anything too bad about how I looked. “Sure. Just give me a half hour to get cleaned up.” I told him my address, then hung up and sprung into the bathroom to clean up my makeup.

  The car that pulled up to me was a shiny black Lexus, practically brand new off the lot by the looks of it. But I already knew Blake was loaded, so it wasn’t too surprising.

  Slipping into the car, I look at him and grin. “Hey,” I say, trying to sound natural. In reality, I was nervous to be near him again. He has such an energy, a presence.

  “Hello,” he answers, leaning over to take my chin and kiss me. His lips were so hot against mine. Instinctively, I threw my arms around him and kissed him harder, wishing there weren’t an armrest separating us.

  He pulls away with a grin and presses his thumb against my lips. “Save it for later. We have a date to get to.”

  “What are we going to do?” I ask, putting on my seat belt and grinning from ear to ear. Blake makes me feel like a completely different person. Happier.

  “Take a look back there and guess!” He points his thumb to the back seat as he backs out of my driveway. Glancing back, I see a huge wicker basket and a pile of blankets.

  “Are we going to have a picnic?” I ask, raising my eyebrows. For a rich guy, he’s pretty down to earth.

  Blake nods. “Yep. You guessed it. We’re going to sit under the stars, drink wine and eat expensive cheese, and then we’re going to make out like teenagers. Sound good to you?”

  I looked at him for a moment, my heart thumping hard against my chest. “That sounds incredible.”

  5

  I was already staring up at the stars through the car window when Blake parked, amazed at how bright they were when we were still so close to Arcadia. He somehow found the one spot where it was dark enough to see everything.

  That spot happened to be on a cliff overlooking a park, rather than the park itself. He got out of the car and came to open my door for me, helping me stand up as I looked at the stars.

  “Have you ever been out here?” He asks, brushing a hair from my face.

  “No! It’s incredible.”

  He seems satisfied by that, and with a smile he goes to the back seat and grabs the blankets and the basket.

  Blake sets us up really close to the edge of the cliff, so we can see people running through the paved path in the park and watch the trees shift in the wind. This has to be the most breathtaking, beautiful spot in all of Arcadia, and even after 24 years of living here I never knew about it.

  Even better, we were all alone. There were no other couples chatting away or making out. It was quiet solitude. The perfect place to get to know someone.

  I help Blake set up the blankets, then lay back and look up to the stars some more. “I never knew a place like this even existed near Arcadia.”

  “I found it after a particularly frustrating day at work. This is where I go when I need to think.” He lays down next to me and tangles his fingers in mine. We stay like that for a while, just looking up and enjoying the view.

  “I have to admit,” I say, turning to him. “I’m charmed by this whole thing. You’re strange for a rich guy.”

  He laughs and rubs his forehead. “I get that a lot, actually.”

  “I kind of expected to be taken to some restaurant where I’d never fit in and never be able to afford. I prefer this.”

  “Well, I hope I can keep surprising you.”

  We finally sit up and start eating and drinking wine. He tells me more about his job. What happened that day. Why he has to go to work so early.

  ”I get up at 3 and am out the door by
3:30 every day, just so that I can call my clients at a reasonable hour.”

  “That’s got to be rough. I work at 9, and even that’s too early for me.”

  He rubs my knee with the palm of his hand. “Do you like what you do?”

  “Hell yeah! I’ve always loved working with kids. I actually volunteer at the library once a week just so I can be around kids more and help them learn.”

  “Hm. You’ll be a great mom one day.”

  A twinge of sadness twisted in my gut, but I nodded. “Yeah. I might adopt, one day.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I wave my hand and take another sip of my wine. “Don’t be. No one really thinks about infertility unless they’re living with it. Anyway, there are plenty of options out there.” I smile, but I know it was a sad smile because Blake’s eyes filled with worry and regret.

  He’s such a sweet man. How did I get so lucky to get involved with him?

  Blake leans over and takes my glass, setting it aside. His hands press against both of my cheeks and tip my face up to look at him. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he says.

  I am about to protest when he kisses me, hard. His smoky smell invades my nose again, and his tongue darts between my lips. His hand cradles the back of my head, his thumb stroking my neck. His touch feels like flames, it’s so hot.

  With his fingers tangled in my hair, we remain like that for a long time. Just kissing. Then I slide my hand up his thigh and feel his growing hardness.

  A sound in the distance distracts me, but not enough for me to pull my lips from his. But then there’s a second sound, and I think I see someone from the corner of my eyes.

  I break the kiss and look back at the car, then I gasp. Loud.

  Blake’s fucking brothers were right there, watching us.

  “What the fuck?” I yell, sitting up. “Did you know they’d be here?”

  Blake looks back with wild, worried eyes, then his eyebrows furrow and it’s like I can see his aura and it’s bright red and angry. He almost seems to glow, or something. “No. I didn’t know they’d be here.”