by Starla Night
“Mal can’t see the treasure he has right in front of him.” Sard Carnelian’s voice was deep and resonant. “How can you trust your career to that male? Here at Carnelian Clothiers, we have already proved our ability to bring your art to a hungry dragon audience. Stick with the number one company and your reputation will soar.”
That was a pretty speech. Awhile ago, it might have been the encouragement she needed to hear.
But that was not what she needed now.
“Perhaps you don’t know I’m engaged to Mal. The last thing I want to do is work for my rivals.”
The CEO shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, you will not own the company for long. The Onyx matriarch gave away your port privileges. Your company can’t survive.”
“I know all that. I’m sticking with Mal anyway.”
“Your loyalty is admirable but misplaced. He’ll never see you as more than an asset to exploit.”
“That’s a lie!”
“Is it? You know, if he marries the Empress, he could get the port privileges reinstated and save the company.”
Her stomach dropped. The female dragon he was supposed to marry was the absolute ruler of all dragons? Their Empress?
“I don’t believe you,” she said slowly.
“No?” He pushed an old phone at her. “Call him yourself. But don’t be surprised if he doesn’t have time to talk to you. Even now, he’s negotiating with the Empress’s adviser.”
A part of her cried inside. Once again, his company came before she did. It would always be that way. Life with Mal, married or otherwise, meant taking a back seat to the Onyx Corporation, whatever type of business they were running.
Worse, he might actually decide to marry the Empress. He had done everything up to now to save the company. Cheryl came a far distant second.
Well, maybe not everything had been for the company.
“For us, you will be a valued employee.” Sard smiled broadly. His silver-capped teeth gleamed. “We appreciated your talent long before Mal knew you existed. We will be here long after he’s gone. Join us and you will never have to worry.”
Again, he spoke the truth.
If they were only going to talk about Mal, then probably this male could find a counter to every argument. He was a dragon, Mal was a dragon, and they were both guys. Who knew how the male dragon mind worked? The longer Cheryl dated Mal, the less she was sure.
So, she had to take the pressure off Mal and place it where it belonged.
On her.
“I can’t join your company,” she said. “I’m not interested.”
He opened his palms. The picture of confusion, gentleness, and surrender. “Why not?”
“Because your actions to me have been dishonest.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“You lied about who you were.”
He laughed softly and looked at the ceiling in askance. “I never said I was someone else. I used an identifiable user name.”
“You kidnapped me from the middle of my capstone art show.”
“I was told employers would be conducting interviews. We are conducting an interview.”
“I’m done.”
“Please.” He laughed again. “You haven’t heard our offer.”
She studied him. Sard Carnelian did not roar like Mal. He acted kind and gentle. But underneath that patina was the same controlling demands. They had flown her here so fast she didn’t even know which direction she’d gone. Sard had her, and she had no choice.
“I don’t care about your offer.” She sucked in a deep breath and lifted her chin. He was smug, arrogant, and convinced she should fall all over herself in appreciation for his attention. She saw no reason to put up with his attitude. “Take me back to my art show.”
“You’ll like working here.”
“I already hate it.”
“Please, Ms. Miller.”
She gripped her skirt to stop her hands from trembling. “Now you’re being disrespectful.”
His kindly expression froze. The worst thing dragons could do was disrespect each other. His lips twitched, and she could tell he wanted to expose his teeth and snarl. Mal would have already yelled her out of his office.
She loved Mal’s blunt honesty. He would never try to sweet talk her into doing something she’d regret. He laid it all out on the line. That was why Alex had to do sales. Mal was too much himself.
She loved everything about him.
Sard clamped down on his emotions. But his “gentle” words had more bite. “Should we call Mal up? Perhaps you can hear him propose to the Empress himself.”
“This isn’t about Mal.”
“Of course it is.”
She shook her head.
“You lose the company. You lose his lair. You will receive nothing.”
She snorted.
Sard stared.
Cheryl had spent her entire life being cautious for other people. She’d let her mom ignore her for years rather than demand they rebuild their relationship. She’d been sensitive to Mal’s drive to run his company and resigned herself to coming in second. Now, a strange dragon had kidnapped her from her own art show to cram a job down her throat?
“I am tired of other people telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“Ms. Miller, just accept my offer—”
“You accept my offer.” She stabbed her finger at the so-called CEO. “Which, if you return me to my art show immediately, is to not sue you for copyright violation.”
His brows drew down. “Copyright violation? You gave me those pictures. I have it in writing.”
“You asked if you could ‘have’ a picture and if I’d sign your print.” She narrowed on him. “I don’t know how copyright works on Draconis, but no court on Earth would say that gives permission for a business to print out a billion copies to sell products. And if any business in this part of the world tried it, I’d have a hundred lawyers banging on my door begging to represent me in court.”
His lips tightened. “Good thing it did not occur on Earth.”
“Except it did. You dragons agreed to obey local laws. You’re paying foreign business tax to Uncle Sam. And our ‘contract’ took place on a human-owned website.”
“Look, Ms. Miller—”
“No, you look!” She bared her teeth at him. He blinked in surprise. “When I decide to have a relationship, it’s going to be equal. When I marry my husband, he’s going to uphold our vows. And when I accept a job, it’s going to be the one I want on my terms.”
Because she was worth it.
“I am not going to accept an offer forced on me by someone who pretended to be my fan. Someone who tricked me into leaking critical information that betrayed my current employers. Even if I forgave you for everything else, I will never forgive you for that.”
His red eyes glowed.
He controlled his anger, however, and held up a calming hand. “I am an honest fan. I just happened to learn something about my competitors. It would be irresponsible to stockholders not to act upon that knowledge.”
“Uh huh. Is that how you sleep at night?”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. Why are you talking about sleep?”
“Never mind.”
“No.” A growled clung to the underside of his soft tone. “You will explain yourself.”
“Or what? You’re going to imprison me here even longer?”
He caught himself. “Imprison? Ms. Miller, I’m trying to help you. Your blind infatuation with Mal has clouded your mind. He doesn’t care about you. We’re trying to help you gain your own independence.”
Cheryl crossed her arms over her chest and crossed one leg over her knee. “Sounds like that’s a ‘yes’ on longer imprisonment. Can I at least get some not-drugged food or a glass of water?”
He gestured to his subordinates. Syen left; the other guard remained at the window, crunching candy.
Sard noticed her gaze. He plucked the candy from his subordinat
e’s hands and offered her the plate. “It is not drugged, I assure you.”
Fine.
She took one smooth, speckled brown jewel and popped it into her mouth. It dissolved on her tongue. Not sweet, exactly, it had a weird, powdery texture that unsettled her stomach.
Syen returned with a sandwich and a glass of water.
Thank goodness. She gulped the water.
Her stomach twinged.
Delayed nerves? She grabbed the top slice of bread and tore into it.
“So as I was saying.” Sard frowned as he tried to return to a less incendiary topic. “You cannot refuse our offer. The Onyx Corporation will soon to be no more. You have nowhere else to turn. Mal does not love you.”
Her stomach boiled with acid.
She dropped the bread and clenched her belly. “Did you feed me poison?”
“Brimstone candy is not poisonous,” he said.
Brimstone. Yes, there was a vague rotten-eggs flavor building up on the back of her tongue, along with a mouthful of angry saliva.
The two males chewing it as they stared out the window reinforced her faith Mal was coming for her. They were trying to build up defenses for when he arrived. Males could make fire after eating brimstone candy, Amber had said.
A painful burp gathered in her belly.
She gasped, struggling to contain it. “So, now I can make fire?”
“Not at all.” He laughed at her ignorance. “It only affects dragons, not humans.”
From the window, Syen softly added, “Or humans who are pregnant with dragonlets.”
Sard frowned. “Mal’s so busy with his company I doubt he gave her any time.”
Jerk.
Her belly bolted for her throat. She grabbed the waste basket and folded over.
Molten heat poured out her mouth. Orange flames singed the backs of her front teeth. The discarded papers and wicker caught fire.
“And I’d be wrong.” Sard’s eyes flew wide. “Congratulations.”
His two subordinates stared at her in horror.
Syen flew for the door. A second later, a fire alarm blared.
She dropped the flaming waste basket and stood. Her belly growled like a bubbling cauldron. They were just getting started.
“I’m pregnant?”
“Sard!” The anonymous goon was horrified. “There’s no way Mal will give up on her and marry the Empress now. He’s going to murder us when he found out we stole the mother of his dragonlets.”
“I know, you fool. Our only hope is that he does not yet know her condition.”
Saliva pooled in the back of her throat again, soaking her mouth. She leveled her gaze on the panicked dragons. “I told you to take me back to the art show. Blargh!”
The rival CEO shot backward. Flames engulfed his desk. His executive chair rolled out of her path with force, shattering the glass window. The hall behind her filled with shouting employees.
Except for nausea, light-headedness, and nasty smell of her eyebrows singeing off, this was pretty fun. She aimed her next flaming belch at Sard’s smarmy, red velvet couch.
He roared at his minions. “Get a fire extinguisher!”
Chapter Thirty-Three
There it is,” Kyan told Mal and Pyro. His soft voice was ripped away by the hot winds generated by their furious speed. “Sard Carnelian’s complex.”
“Hit it fast,” Mal ordered. “He’ll expect us. Whatever you do, protect Cheryl.”
They dove. The curve of the planet flattened as they thundered for the ground.
“There’s smoke!” Kyan shouted over the screaming atmosphere.
“I see it!”
What could it mean? Sard Carnelian dared to threaten Cheryl with fire? Mal bellowed. He would save his future wife and then rip the rival CEO’s wings off.
They closed on the complex. Smoke billowed from broken windows. Fire alarms wailed and the distant sirens of emergency vehicles blared.
“That evil bastard,” Pyro breathed, coming to the same conclusion. “I’m going to rip his wings off.”
“To your left,” Kyan said.
Two dragons flew from the smoking building in full dragon mode, one speckled like granite and the other the color of peridot. Pyro tucked in his wings and aimed for them, claws out.
“Leave them!” Mal dove. “Our priority is Cheryl.”
She wasn’t flame-retardant. They had to get her out of the burning building.
Pyro banked away from the chase and rejoined him and Kyan.
A third dragon burst out a window, jeans shredding as he scrambled to avoid a blast of flames.
Sard.
He turned red as his namesake. The heavyweight CEO couldn’t disguise himself.
“Sard!” Mal roared.
All three brothers tucked their vulnerable wings and descended upon the rival CEO in battle mode.
Sard banked hard, avoiding a furious Pyro by flinging himself into Kyan’s tight hold. Sard thrashed. The heavyweight nearly broke free, but Kyan had fought dirtier battles in his mercenary days. Kyan immobilized Sard and turned him to face Mal.
“Give me Cheryl!” Mal roared.
“Take her!” Sard gasped, kicking helplessly. His eyes rolled white with panic. “Get her out of my building. She’s on a rampage!”
Pyro flew at Sard with all four claws out. He was going to rake them across Sard’s exposed belly and eviscerate him.
“Pyro! Stop!” Mal shouted.
His brother roared with incomprehensible rage. He was too far gone to hear anything.
They didn’t need the blood of another family on their souls. Kyan released the CEO.
Sard deflected Pyro’s attack. Pyro scrambled and slashed his fury. Sard fought back. Kyan hovered near to step in if it looked like the claws and teeth were going to damage anything permanent.
But Cheryl was still in the building.
“Kyan!” Mal dove.
He narrowed on the broken window where Sard had emerged.
Cheryl stood in the center of the flaming hallway. Her feet were set, her head was bowed, and her hands rested on her belly.
Was she wearing a dress?
She looked up and saw their shadows.
“Cheryl!” Mal flew to her, transforming into a human with his arms wide.
She braced and opened her mouth. Flames erupted out.
Kyan tackled Mal from behind, throwing him sideways into the smoking carpet. Searing heat passed within inches of his head. He smelled burned hair. His or Kyan’s? The volley of flame passed.
His future wife was breathing fire.
Kyan rolled off.
Mal pushed himself to his bare, human feet and stood naked in front of her. “What the hell?”
“Oh, Mal.” Cheryl covered her mouth. “Sorry. I thought you were the other guy.”
No time for apologies. The building was on fire. And it didn’t look like the charred support columns were going to hold much longer.
He grabbed her and dove backward, out the window, to open air and safety.
The building shuddered and the floors collapsed with a boom.
She gasped and stared at the flaming building as they flew away from it. “Oh my god. I could have died.”
Yes. She could have.
Mal held her. She was soft, warm, and alive. “I’m sorry I wasn’t faster.”
“It’s fine.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I knew you were coming for me.”
His heart swelled painfully in his chest.
She had complete faith in him. More faith than he had in himself.
Cheryl stroked his back. “Hey. Are you naked?”
“Yes.” He lifted her chin with his thumb and claimed her in his kiss.
She accepted his claim and stamped her own. Smoke, fire, and brimstone flavored her saliva. Their lips melded, their tongues tangled, and their hearts synced.
Then, and only then, did he relax and release her lips to kiss her chin, her cheeks, and her forehead.
Sh
e sighed.
With her in his arms, he could finally think.
Ash smudged her cheeks and the hem of her dress had melted to charcoal. She smelled like fire and sulfur. But she also seemed filled with new vitality. Her brown eyes sparkled and a fearless smiled brightened her beautiful face.
He stroked the dirt off, squeezing her biceps and thighs. She was whole and in his arms and safe.
She squeaked and wiggled, proving she was fine.
“What did they do to you?” he demanded.
“Forced job interview.” She hiccupped and covered her mouth. “Ooh. Fly me close to one of them. I have a few more ‘feelings’ to share about their methods of recruitment.”
But the rival dragons were long gone.
Another shudder tore through him. He had screwed up. Now she was safe. She was here. His arms tightened. He would never let her go again.
Kyan flew beside them. He kept his scaly, blue-gray dragon form. “I interrogated Sard’s employees. They swear all they gave her was brimstone candy.”
“Brimstone candy! Why—”
“At her request.”
She nodded. “I was hungry.”
Oh. Damn them for starving her. He would… Wait. Brimstone candy gave her a burst of fire? That meant…
Kyan looked at Cheryl with even fiercer protectiveness than before. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” She swallowed. “This is going to redefine morning sickness.”
Mal squeezed her. Sard had dared to steal his pregnant fiancée from him. “I’m going to kill him twice.”
“Do it later.” She coughed. “You have to take me back to my capstone art show.”
“You’re in no condition to attend.” He was flying her directly to his lair, washing the stink of the other males off her, and covering her with his.
“Don’t argue. I will flame you.” She swallowed again. “And fly carefully. That’s an order.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mal flew Cheryl to her university.
He wanted her to go back to his lair and recover, especially now that she was pregnant with his dragonlet, but she was determined.
