Dragon Ugly (Dragon New Year)

by Selena Illyria

  It didn’t put her off that Brent worked as a server. Carissa worked three jobs to put herself through college, and saved all her extra money for the shop. As much as she loved shopping, she only spent what she could afford to lose, and splurged when there was a sale. She always made sure her spending wouldn’t interfere with her ability to make her rent or car payments.

  Despite what Jezebel and Anna thought, servers were hardworking people who did a lot more than most saw and put up with things that would have made Jez and Anna quit after an hour on the job. Scentify was their first experience working anywhere. As much as she loved her friends, sometimes their attitudes rubbed her the wrong way.

  “Just because he’s a server shouldn’t put him off limits,” Carissa started. “He works hard, and puts up with a lot of crap.”

  Jez just shrugged. “But is he going anywhere? Does he have ambition?”

  Anna didn’t say anything. She was busy taking apart her onion bloom.

  “I take it you don’t want any kissing tonight?” Carissa teased.

  “I have been dreaming about this damn thing for weeks. I’m going to enjoy every buttery, herbaceous bite.” With that, Anna dived into her plate.

  Jez sighed. “You guys and diets. I’ll never get it.”

  Carissa laughed. “Must be your vampire side coming out.”

  Jez rolled her eyes. “It’s garlic that’s supposed to scare away vampires, not onions. Besides, not all myths are accurate. Otherwise the dragons would be hoarding the jewels and kidnapping virgins—so you’d be fresh out of luck in that department.”

  “How do you know?” Anna demanded. “I could be a virgin.”

  “And I’m Joan of Arc,” Jez shot back.

  “You’re at least old enough to have met her,” Carissa ducked and concentrated on her food. A smile played on her lips. It had been so long since they’d just had fun. Work had taken its toll on them.

  Jez said nothing, which to Cari meant that she was plotting on a way to get her back.

  Brent returned to check in on them and refilled their drinks before checking on his other tables. The brief contact only added fuel to the fire inside of Carissa. Her arousal continued to simmer. She tried to ignore it as she ate and kept a watch out for him. When he came to clear their plates, he took their soup and salad orders. He gave her a wink before going off, making her feel giddy. For once, her cautious nature did not take over and try to analyze what was going on. All was bliss as far as she was concerned. She took her friends’ teasing in stride and settled into her chair to take in the beautiful night around them.

  Brent came back with their second round of food. “Enjoy. You’ll love the Festival berry salad. It’s our most popular.”

  “I’m sure I will love it.” Carissa gave him a nod and was pleased when his smile grew to show off his teeth. Again she glanced down at the front of his pants to see the bulge was still there.

  He caught her staring, and winked again, mischief sparkling in his bluer-than-blue eyes.

  She winked back, without even a blush of embarrassment at how forward she was being.

  He leaned toward her. “I’ll be back.” He turned slowly and she enjoyed the view as he walked away.

  Jez and Anna said nothing for a few seconds before they burst out laughing. “Do you want us to leave or would you just like to take him here and now on the table while we watch?” Anna teased.

  Carissa sighed. “No. A, I’m not an exhibitionist; and B, you still haven’t gotten your dinner yet. But if you start irritating me I may have to throw you both into the lake,” she joked. That set both women off even more.

  “Look at her. She’s afraid that we’ll steal her man,” Anna chuckled.

  Carissa shook her head. “You two don’t even have a chance.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder, which made them guffaw to the point that they both almost fell off their chairs. She found herself smiling at their mirth.

  Louisa came over, a tight smile on her face. “You guys doing okay?”

  Jezebel and Anna managed to get themselves under control and nodded.

  “Yup, they’re just being dorks because Brent and I are flirting.” The last bit was blurted out and she waited to see Louisa’s response.

  Louisa gave her a genuine smile and her shoulders came down, stress fading away. “Good. He’s a great guy. Hard working, a total sweetheart.” Someone called Louisa’s name and she groaned. “Gotta go.”

  “Good grief, it’s almost ten and it’s still packed in here. Maybe we should have kept the shop open a bit longer?” Anna looked at both Carissa and Jezebel, and she nibbled on her bottom lip.

  Jezebel shrugged. “No worries. We’ll keep the shop open later than usual tomorrow. Tonight, we relax.”

  Their second course arrived, and Brent rushed off with an apology. “Sorry, can’t stay. Some clubbers have come in and they’re a bit rowdy. This night needs to end now.”

  A pang of regret hit Carissa. The restaurant was becoming chaotic. Louisa and Brent rushed around going from table-to-table while people kept coming into the main dining room. It didn’t look like they would be able to spend any more time together, except for those in-between moments while he delivered food, cleared plates and took orders.

  “On second thought, I’m glad we didn’t keep the store open. Can you imagine dealing with all that?” Anna shook her head. “Don’t need that headache, not in the least. I would spell the whole place to calm down but I don’t want the backlash from the Witch’s Council.”

  A cry went up as a man got into a headstand and seemed to be drinking out of a large cup. Carissa could only shake her head. A sense of claustrophobia began to creep up on her. There were just too many people and too little space. She shifted in her chair and tried to relax. Drinking more wine seemed to help, but she wouldn’t be able to drive home at this rate. With a sigh of reluctance, she pushed away her glass and picked up her water.

  Jez frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  For the first time since she met Jez, Carissa envied her friend. Vampires weren’t that affected by alcohol. Werewolves metabolized it at half the rate that humans did, but it would still take time to sober up, and she had no desire to stay here with all the revelers. The decibel level increased as the music volume was turned up and people got on the dance floor. Carissa watched some young people doing the latest moves, while others just did whatever they wanted. It would all be amusing if she didn’t think that it could lead to a fight. She winced as one dancer began to punch the air all around him, barely missing his fellow dancers.

  Carissa dove into her salad and sighed in pleasure as the tartness of the fruit and crispness of the baby spinach rolled over her taste buds. “Mmm, delicious,” she said around a mouth of food.

  Once, she looked up to find Brent glancing in her direction. She gave him a nod of approval. Tension filled her just looking at him. All around him, people were barely behaving. More keg stands were going on and more dancers were hitting the floor. Louisa looked like she was going to shift at any minute. Agitation swirled on the air, and tugged at Carissa’s wolf. It wanted to shift too, and stop whatever it was that was causing the irritation.

  Elemental forces danced on the atmosphere. She could taste the smoke and the tang of metal, but under it all was the soothing calm of water, clean, cool, and safe. She latched onto that feeling and looked over at Brent once more, gratefully. The wolf backed off, but only by a bit. She focused on her food again, taking great pleasure in every bite, alternating between her wine and water.

  By the time Brent was able to get back to them, it was almost eleven, and Carissa was feeling the call of a nice hot bath. She would sleep well that night—that much she knew—only to start all of this again on the morrow.

  “We are so not going anywhere unless we absolutely have to this week,” Anna commented. “I’m already getting a migraine and I’m this close to hexing the table next to us. I swear to the goddess, if one more person starts to do a keg stand I’ll zap them
with a lightning strike.”

  Cari smiled. “Now, now. Do no harm. That’s what you witches say, right?”

  “Hey now, be thankful vampires don’t have the magic witches do,” Jez purred. “I’d have started tearing out their throats with just a thought an hour ago.”

  Anna laughed. “Oh, to be quick and dangerous and able to lengthen my nails at a thought or a wink. The power, the power!”

  Carissa rolled her eyes. “Down, both of you. I don’t think I have enough money to bail you out.”

  Jez shook her head. “Don’t need bail. I can just glamour us off the hook. So, feel like being dangerous this week?”

  “You just want to get frisked,” Anna teased.

  “Handcuffs and a uniform? Yes, please.” Jez took a sip of wine before flashing her fangs.

  “And here I thought you were a snob,” Cari grinned.

  “Well, I can make exceptions. But only a few. A girl’s gotta have standards.” Jez turned back to her own meal.

  They fell silent, but the mood had been lifted, if only at their table. Everywhere else it just seemed to get more and more raucous. Brent made it over to them eventually and took away their plates. He didn’t flirt this time, but he did give her a small nod and a smile. “Sorry about how slow things are,” he said. “It’s a madhouse. I hate to ask this, but would you guys mind taking a doggie bag for your desserts? With all the people here the kitchens are backed up and going crazy.” Worry filled his eyes.

  Cari wanted to give his hand a squeeze but she didn’t make a move. She wasn’t sure how he’d take the attention, so she kept her hands to herself. Instead, she decided to suggest something a bit easier for him to handle. “How about we take our dinners and desserts to go. Would that help?”

  Conflict feathered across his face; his lips thinned and a crimson flush filled his cheeks. The fact that she was so in tune with his emotions should have scared her, and yet it didn’t. He drew in a deep breath and let out a soft sigh. “That would help…but I don’t want to kick you guys out of your table. You’re behaving; they’re…not.”

  She looked at her friends who nodded in agreement. “Okay, we’ll order our dinners and desserts to go and take our check at the front. How’s that?”

  Brent gave her a slow nod. “Okay, I’ll meet you guys up front in fifteen minutes.” He sped off, making Carissa wonder if she’d ever get to see him again after this. Or if she would still want to once the alcoholic relaxation wore off.

  With a sigh she finished off her water and gathered up her purse.

  “Well, I will say this,” said Anna, “it was a nice dinner. We should do this again, preferably during a calmer time. Say, the dead of winter when no tourist in their right mind would come here?”

  Carissa gave her a small smile. But would Brent still be here then? She didn’t ask that question aloud. Jez and Anna would never let her hear the end of it. They got to the front and settled down on the bench, reserved for people waiting for takeout. They were the only ones there.

  By the time Brent came up to the front with their orders, they were all anxious to go. He gave Carissa a smile as he handed her the bags. He leaned forward, bringing his face just a hair’s breadth away from hers. “There’s a surprise in your bag. Talk to you later, honey.” He strode away before she could respond.

  In his wake, Carissa’s lips tingled and her skin heated, her pulse ticking upward. The air thinned around her as she struggled to get into some semblance of calm but she felt flustered and off kilter.

  “I’m almost disappointed I didn’t get a prize in my Happy Meal too,” Jez teased. “Better be a good one.” And then they were off.

  It was nearly midnight by the time Carissa got behind the wheel of her car. She called on a bit of energy from her wolfen counterpart to overcome her exhaustion, backed out of the space, and headed out of the parking lot. There were still a lot of cars out on the road, even at this time of night. Parties seemed to be everywhere. The downtown area was lit up like it was Christmas. Even now, she could tell that tomorrow at Scentify would be chaos—that was, assuming there was anyone alert enough to shop by tomorrow.

  As she turned down her street she could see that at least here, her neighbors were asleep. Windows were dark, and the night time critters were out, scouring the neatly mowed lawns for any food. She had to brake to avoid a cat darting across the street. Its lamplight-green eyes glowed in the headlights as it stared at her car, almost as if to say, “How dare you attempt to hit me?”

  Carissa could only roll her eyes and wait, while her wolf wanted to chase the cat and play with it. She shushed the canine and tapped the steering wheel as the cat took its sweet time hauling its ass over to the opposite sidewalk.

  “Why’d we do that? Road kill kitty tastes really good. A bit oily though,” the wolf said.

  Carissa’s stomach bubbled as bile started the climb up her throat. She almost threw up at the suggestion. She didn’t want to consider what she did when in wolf form. The memories were always vague and blurry, for which she was thankful.

  A sense of safety and comfort filled her as she arrived home. It may have been a rental, but it was still her space. She grabbed her purse and food bags, got out of the car and glanced up at the sky. It was a week until the full moon. Already the silvery crescent’s pull was starting to tug at her body. She could feel its magic shiver along her bones as her senses became keener. The bushes rustled. On alert, she wheeled around and inhaled deeply. The earthy perfume of a mouse rushed up her nostrils. “Small pickings,” her wolf told her.

  Shaking loose the need to hunt, she headed up the stone walkway. The clicking of her heels echoed out into the night and an owl hooted overhead. Then in a flurry of wings and squeaking, the mouse was carried off. Carissa didn’t pay it any mind. That was the nature of life.

  She unlocked the door and stepped into her home. The scents of peach, cinnamon and vanilla greeted her. She hung up her keys on a hook near the coat rack and placed her purse on one of the spokes before making her way toward the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d skipped dinner, despite the filling appetizers and salad she’d had.

  Carissa grabbed a bottle of red wine and poured herself a glass as she looked through her food bag. At the bottom of the dessert package, she smiled as she spotted a small piece of paper. Unfolding it, she saw it was Brent’s phone number and email address. She flipped it over to read, Call me after 1:00 if you’re still awake. I have the perfect way of helping you get to sleep. She laughed and shook her head. She doubted that she’d need it just yet, but went to her purse, grabbed her cell phone, and saved his number.

  She went into her bathroom and started the water, pouring in some sage, citrus, and mint bath salts, and then went back to the kitchen to get her food. Settling down at the table, she flipped on the TV and watched the late night news as she tucked into her meal. Her thoughts traveled to Brent and she wondered if he was off work yet. A look over at the clock on the microwave said no. She got up and went back to the bathroom to turn off the faucet before returning to her meal. Cari decided to save her dessert for tomorrow and went off to her bathroom, where she undressed and got into the tub. The water had cooled enough to be the perfect temperature: hot enough but not so hot to it would burn her skin.

  With a sigh she closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the tub.

  Brent.

  A spark started in her gut as her stomach muscles tightened and liquid filled her pussy. Rather than push it away, she decided to see what would happen if she indulged it. What would it be like to fantasize about a man who actually wanted her for a change? Her blood began to simmer. She blew out a breath and allowed her muscles to become liquid. Arousal took center stage. Water lapped softly against her chin and warm currents and eddies brushed against her legs and arms, gliding like silk against her flesh. It reminded her of the feather-soft touch of a lover. Sky blue eyes gazed down at her, darkening in the center as desire flared in their depths. Sh
e trailed her fingertips along the outside of her arm, imagining it was Brent touching her. His fingers brushed against her collarbone, raising shivers and threads of desire.

  Fantasy Brent guided her hand down the slope of her breasts to circle her pierced nipples. The edge of his fingers brushed against first one barbell, then the other, pinging the metal and sending lines of electricity straight to her core. Her stomach muscles bunched and relaxed as her arousal increased. The circle continued to trace around the areola, becoming smaller and smaller, skipping over the metal bar until her fingernail brushed against the tightened tip of her nipple.

  Her thighs rubbed against each other as her skin tingled, becoming more sensitive to sensation. She felt the slosh of the water all the more keenly. The warmth of the bath helped to increase her desire, and she took her nipple between her thumb and forefinger and gave it a pinch, setting off sparks of lightning that shot to her womb. Her clit throbbed and plumped as it filled with blood.

  She moaned as she squeezed the hardened peak again, then rolled the barbell between her fingers, setting off delicious shivers of fire through her body. Her back arced and she bit her lip, but she couldn’t hold back small whimpers, which echoed back at her from the walls of the bathroom.

  Carissa moved her hand down to between her legs, teasing her thickened petals with soft touches, brushing her fingertip over the protruding nub. Fire flared through her groin as her vaginal walls fluttered. An aching deep inside of her made her muscles tense and relax. Her heartbeat sped up and her breath came out in huffs. Sweat beads bathed her face, trailing down her temple as her head shook back and forth.

  Carissa tugged and rolled the nipple piercing, while her other hand spread her wet labia. She dipped her finger between her folds and worked over her clit, first with gentle brushes and then with pinches and circles. The shards grew large and larger with each roll and tug, until her nipple became too sensitive for further ministrations. She switched to the other tip and shuddered as her toes curled. Her finger increased its speed on the bundle of nerves. The pressure built as cracks began to break open inside of her.