by A. K. Koonce
The Prince shifts until his chest is skimming my bare arm, his warm breath tangling in my hair.
“What if you give me the dragons today, we make it an even million, and I’ll buy you dinner?” Long fingertips skim the inside of my arm and the sound of his rasping tone seems to make all three of the dragons rumble with low and intimidating growls.
I feel the same way, my loves.
A million. What a low-balling asshole.
My palm pushes slowly up his chest, trailing over the shining badges of honor pinned like décor all over his uniform. The way my chin tilts up to his towering height is intentional. Every single thing I do is intentional.
“What if,” the smooth tone of my voice has him watching my lips with intensity, “what if you paid me the full one point five, and I’ll buy my own fucking dinner?” Long lashes flutter with each innocent blink I give him.
A slow smirk crosses his lips.
“You’re impossible, do you know that?”
“I do.” There’s no sarcasm in my voice. I’m entirely serious about this money.
“What if I gave you half now, half after they’ve been delivered, and you buy me dinner?” Another step is taken, and his hips are fully in line with mine now, settled heavily against me but not deterring my determination in this deal in the slightest.
Half now, half later, and he gets a bologna sandwich out of the deal.
And I get a lifetime of security.
“It’s a deal.” I nod and step abruptly back from him and his warming body heat.
His hands raise from his sides as if he’s not sure what the fuck just happened.
“I’ll wait for John to bring me my payment.”
The handsome Prince’s face falls as he studies the dirt between us. He looks dejected. Guilt tries to root its way into my stomach, but I shove that feeling aside.
My ex was a handsome man. A deceiving man. I was in love with him. Or at least a form of love. But who he was on the surface wasn’t who he was when the world was not watching. And so, I’ll live alone. I’ll live in poverty. But I’ll never put my heart out there again.
Because sometimes, more than just your heart gets broken.
Sometimes, the people you care about most get hurt. Hurting them hurts more than anything else.
“John, John.” I beckon the guard over and, on uncertain and slow steps, he dawdles toward us. “John, the Prince needs you to run and bring me exactly seven hundred and fifty thousand parchels.” I nod as I speak quickly. “If you could get that in small, spendable bills that’d be really appreciated, John.”
John’s dark eyes shift from me to his Prince and back again.
“Arlow, I can’t just give out that kind of money. The expense will have to be approved. It’ll take a day or two at least.”
A day or two… I don’t have any food at home. I have three dragons who might eat me themselves if I don’t have food for them.
“Oh.” I bite my lip as my eyes shift toward the ground. “Of course.” My voice is tiny and only slightly calculating. “I suppose I’ll have to try to search for roadkill along my hike home to feed my little darlings tonight.” A short and awkward smile perches against my lips. “It was three miles into town, did you know that? Surely, I can find something on that long journey home, right?” My head bobs with a continuous nod, but I don’t give up the act just yet. “The upside is I don’t have to worry about being mugged on that long trek back home because I have absolutely nothing to my name. Noth-ing.”
Did I lay it on a little strong?
His full lips part and he reaches out to me, but Kain snaps at the affectionate touch before he ever reaches my fingertips. The palm of his hand pulls back as if he didn’t intend to comfort me at all.
“Arlow.” My name is a long sigh on his lips. “I—I can get ten thousand without question. Let me at least give you ten thousand today. Because we’re friends.” At the word ‘friends’ he tilts his head down, trying to peer into my line of sight.
Friends …
Now is not the time to tell him I avoid friendships and relationships of any kind.
I’ll keep that little detail to myself.
Chapter Three
The Transformation
My journey home is a bit more lavish than my hike into town. The royal carriage bumps and bustles, and I sit with my bare and dusty feet kicked up on the navy cushioned bench across from me. I peer past the silky curtain of the back window once again to check on the petite tote there. Ten thousand parchels. Let’s repeat that once more, shall we? Ten. Thousand. Parchels.
You know that fluttering feeling your heart gets when someone attractive locks eyes with you? That’s how I feel right now every time I look at that little tote.
A content sigh slips over my lips and Chaos nuzzles his warm head into my lap. He’s sweet when he’s tired. My fingers push absently back and forth across the smooth scales of his head and deep purring emits from his throat.
On the opposite bench, Kain and Rime watch the trees pass out the window.
For once, they’re being good. They’re the good boys I always try to talk them into being.
“I’m going to miss you,” I whisper sweetly to the quiet cabin. None of them acknowledges the sentiment, and I shake my head as I roll my eyes at the little assholes.
We stopped twice while in town. An overflowing basket of bread and cake rests near my leg and what is now the tattered remains of fresh roast litters the floor. Kain and Chaos ripped it apart the moment I sat it down.
Perfect.
The ideas of what my future could be begin to flood my thoughts. I’ve never been able to make it too far. Our Kingdom is enormous. I started on the coast in the city of Warf and five years later I’m just now in the heart of the Kingdom. If I could put space between Kreedence and me, I know I’d finally feel safe. If I could travel farther north, I’d never have to worry about him finding me. I’d never have to worry about anything.
The shaking of the carriage comes to a halt, pulling me from my thoughts. The sleek and glossy door opens, and the footman lifts his hand to me for assistance. Before I can even step out, Kain and Chaos shove past me and run to our quaint little run-down shack.
A tired sigh makes my shoulders slump. I place my hand in his, and the man helps me from the cabin while Rime waits stoically. Only when I look back at him does he leap down. Dust billows around his white scales, but he doesn’t take a step forward until I do. He keeps a quiet pace with me, and I keep a slow pace with the solid tote the men carry in for me. The two men give the hellhound lounging near my door a shifting look. Grim’s crimson eyes follow their movements, but he doesn’t so much as lift his lazy head. I bend and push my fingers through his coarse hair, making his eyes close slowly at the feel of my soothing touch.
I follow behind my money. The King’s men set the tote just inside my home, and the moment the door shuts behind the men, I’m already pulling out the money. For a moment, I just let my fingers skim over the neatly stacked parchels. There’s an inviting smell that accompanies the bundles of money.
Who knew wealthy had a scent?
Mmm. It smells like crisp paper and long-lost dreams.
I shove harshly at the first several stacks and try my best to push as many bundles into my emergency bag as possible.
Then I struggle to pull the heavy tote across the room. It’s weighted despite its small size. It cries with the sound of wood dragging across old boards as I stumble and tug it over to the corner. I pull at the corner floor board, and the loose panel pops free. Rime wanders over to me as I begin the quiet task of stacking up the money in a long line in the empty compartment beneath my floor.
Rime sits in front of me, his head tilting as I work. I look up at him from time to time, but I keep myself busy for the most part. When the money is stacked as high as the flooring, I call it a day and grab the board. I push it in place, but it won’t settle back in. My jaw clenches as I shove hard, but the money beneath the board
pushes right back.
I huff in annoyance and put all my weight into shoving the flooring back into place.
“Dammit.” The curse snaps from my mouth while I fight the little piece of wood.
Dark locks of my hair fan against my lips as I heave in deep breaths.
Rime tips his head low, meeting my eyes, and when I finally focus on him, his scales shimmer oddly against the firelight. My eyes narrow on the glistening tint that’s rolling across his body. Right before my eyes, his white scales and wide wings transform in a puff of pale smoke. It fumes thickly around us like a fire smolders somewhere within the animal. Where a curious dragon with beautiful eyes was just sitting, kneels a sexy and incredibly naked man.
“Oh. My. Fuck.” My eyes grow wide and my feet try to move, but the most I can manage is to stumble back until my ass hits the floor.
“It’ll probably close if you just removed one of the several stacks of money.” His pale blond hair falls into his eyes as he nods to me. The sharp lines of his features are entirely serious.
The rumbling tone of his words threatens to steal my breath away, taking my voice and all rational thought with it.
His skin is pale and smooth, casting shadows down the hard lines of his arms, stomach, and thighs. I force myself not to look at the one part of him that really piques my curiosity.
Shit. Too late.
Goddess, is every inch of this man perfect?
“You’re…” Images drill through my mind. Clear images of the pretty white dragon swirling into an apparition of the sexy man who now sits before me. “You’re a shifter.” I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never met one. I just assumed the men who turned to animals were a sort of fairytale. It appears I was wrong.
I can’t reveal my magic. Not yet. Very slowly, I reach up, my fingers fumbling until the knife on the countertop is in my grasp.
His crystal-clear eyes drift to the weapon in my hand.
“So, you weren’t afraid of a dragon, but a man terrifies you?” His steady tone is filled with condescension.
If he knew the men who had been in my life, he’d understand. Not that I owe this stranger an explanation.
“Animals are kind for the most part. People can be cruel. And men, don’t even get me started.”
“You tried to sell me an hour ago. Let’s not throw stones while you’re living in a very fragile glass shack.”
My brow cocks at this arrogant man.
Nerves fire through my body as fear trickles in, but I keep my hands steady with a look of total composure.
“The other two, they’re shifters too?” I nod toward Chaos and Kain who are ripping apart a loaf of bread on the floor.
“Hey--” He turns his head as he shouts and the other two both tilt their heads to look at him. “--our … lovely host wants to know if you two are just fucktiles like she thought.”
Ouch. Fucktile. I guess I could have used a more endearing term for them.
Chaos and Kain stalk toward us until they’re just behind Rime. In a swirl of red and black, the glistening scales retract from sight, revealing smooth skin. In a matter of seconds, the two dragons shift from beast to man. Their … manhood hangs directly in my line of sight. My eyes close as I quickly put my hand up before I even see their features.
“Okay, there’s an abundance of cock in face right now, and I’d really appreciate it if there was a little less nudity.”
Chaos’ big hand pushes across his dick, and for an instant, I think he’s going to cover himself with his hand. But no. He grips his dick and blatantly adjusts himself. A little piece of me dies inside. And another little piece of me comes to life, I swear it.
“What’s wrong with nudity?” Chaos’ question demands that I be an adult and look these men in their eyes.
Maintain eye contact. Maintain eye contact. Maintain eye contact.
A shadow of a beard defines his strong jaw. My breath catches when I look at him. His eyes are beautiful. Inky lashes line one amber eye and one sapphire eye, and I swallow hard at the sight of his intense gaze. The glaring attention Kain gives me reminds me that a question was asked.
“There’s nothing wrong with nudity, I just don’t want your junk in my face.”
Why am I having this conversation right now? Where did my life go so wrong that I’m arguing with my pets about having their dicks in my face?
I should have put my new money to good use and bought wine. I need wine. Lots and lots of wine.
Rime reaches above himself until he grabs the hand towel from the table. Carelessly he tosses it in his lap. It covers his pale skin with the most minimal amount of modesty, but at least the meat market is concealed.
Kain shifts on his bare feet until he spots the nearest cloth. He pulls the thin curtain down from my small kitchen window and holds it respectfully between his lean hips. Light red hair trails down his abdomen and I have to force myself not to follow it all the way down to where the cloth is now held in place.
Okay, two of the three little pigs are now safely within their homes. Not that I’m going to huff and puff and blow anything for anyone.
When my gaze locks with Chaos’, he finally starts to get the message. It’s not that hard. Cover. Up. The. Dick. Why is it so hard to train these three to do anything?
There’s not much in his reach. He stands at Kain’s side just near the table. He pauses for a second, the panes of his chest skimming against Kain’s before he grabs the only thing on the table.
A glass. My drinking glass. He lowers it until it’s perfectly in place in front of his dick. Unfortunately, it’s a clear glass and only seems to magnify and warp the image of his cock.
Seriously?
I should have just settled for the one million the Prince originally offered.
Chapter Four
The Shifters and the Mage
Kain shoves the other white curtain at his friend and it takes Chaos a second to understand what Kain wants him to do with it.
When the three of them are nicely covered up, I finally really look at them. Kain’s hair is nearly as fiery as his scales were. Sculpted lines veer down his body just like the other two men. Though, Rime is a slighter build out of the three. They look like they were built for destruction and power but also beauty and grace.
It’s an odd sort of mixture that I’ve never really seen before.
“You guys can shift back though, right?” I’m mentally trying to figure out how I can present these three to the Prince and still get paid …
“We can.” Kain nods, his jaw locking firmly back in place.
Tension lines his body as if he’s always one instant away from roaring back into the dragon I know so well.
“Okay…” I take a breath and try to think through all this. What the hell was Agatha doing with three shifters? “I watched you hatch, but you seem to be very grown.” I blink up at them and force myself not to emphasize what part of them seems the most grown.
A smirk tilts Chaos’ lips.
“Someone enchanted our dragon form into hatchlings to make us more trusting to anyone who might find us. He wants us to bring him back what he recently lost.” Chaos’ words are spoken clearly, but they only cause confusion.
A line creases hard through my brow as I try to make sense of the man before me. Someone sent the three of them here to retrieve something he recently lost … an odd feeling twists through my stomach.
“I’ve lived here for a while, what are you searching for?”
Chaos looks to Kain out of the corner of his pretty eyes. Kain’s lips part slowly as if he isn’t sure he’ll really tell me.
But he does.
“We’re looking for a mage in the area.”
Fuck.
That twisting feeling turns so tightly I hunch a little to prevent the pain.
This has to be about Kreedence. My throat tightens just thinking about everything.
“A mage? Mage magic is illegal. The King may have already executed the woman.” I speak quickly,
filling my lies with all the confidence I possess.
“This one is very much alive. She’s young. Beautiful. And very manipulating.”
Shit, that does sound like me, doesn’t it?
“Hmm.” I try my best to feign a look of total innocence. I give them a look like a virgin trying to understand what voyeurism is. Pure innocence, I tell you.
“You know, I have heard rumors about a mage hiding away in a cottage near the river.” Sorry Aggie. It’s me or you. And it isn’t not going to be me.
Besides, she can handle these three.
“Shit, that must be her.” Chaos turns his focus onto Kain. Rime does the same.
While Kain just pins me with the most skeptical look. It makes me shift beneath his heated and calculating gaze. He’s smart. Too smart.
But I’m pretty. Who are we going to trust here, boys?
My palm reaches out, earning Rime’s attention as I bathe him in my comforting affection. Slowly, my fingers skim across his forearm and he watches that movement closely. My gentle touch doesn’t have the same effect on him as it does the Prince. He’s still just as distrusting.
“I could take you guys right to her.” My soft voice has him nodding just slightly.
They really are just like sweet, trusting puppies. I almost feel bad for them.
Almost.
Kain lowers himself, hunching down while holding that small little cloth between his legs. The strength of his thighs demands my attention, and I have to force my gaze to meet his.
“If you’re fucking with us—” There’s a cruel lick to his words that’s harsh but sensual. “—if you fuck us over, I’ll kill you.”
“Calm down.” Chaos shoves at his friend’s shoulder. “She just said she’d help us. Don’t be a dick.”
Kain continues to stare his glaring eyes into mine.
“Don’t be a victim to her sweet demeanor, Chaos. Not everything is as innocent on the inside as it appears on the outside.”
Well, holy shit. The asshole shifter and I have common words to live by.
“In the morning, I’ll run to town and find you three some clothes that cover a little more than your dicks.” A smirk creeps across Chaos’ face as if he enjoys me talking about their cocks.
