Dragon King (The Bride Hunt Book 3) Read online

  Roxy began to shimmy out of her damaged dress. Within the next few seconds, she would be completely naked. If he saw her completely naked then he would have to have her again.

  “I’ll wait in the hall.” He didn’t wait for her reply. Once in the hallway, he could breathe again. Jealous. He, king of fire, was jealous. It was pathetic.

  It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep from going back in and rutting her again. The female was his. All that was left was to discuss the terms of the mating with her. If she agreed, they could go ahead.

  His dragon would stop harassing him and things could get back to normal. Although, he suspected, that until she was pregnant, he would probably remain just as rattled as he was right now.

  Five minutes later, she stepped from the room, her purse under one arm. Roxy gave him a dirty look.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “This,” she pointed to a red welt on her neck.

  Blast and damn! “I’m sorry. I guess I got a little carried away.” Seeing his mark on her eased something inside him. At least the others would know that she was taken. There would be a couple of single males in attendance this evening. It was rare for a dragon to mark a female before they were mated. This might raise some eyebrows but he didn’t give a shit. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

  Roxy shook her head. “No, it’s superficial.” Then she frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I was told that dragon shifters only bite their mates. Julie mentioned it during our initial briefing. She said that relationships progress pretty quickly with shifters so she didn’t want us to be alarmed if it happened.”

  “Yeah, it’s mating behavior, when I hold you down, pull your hair, bite you, the rough sex, it’s all mating behavior.” Blaze ran a hand through his much shorter hair. He felt so much better with all of it gone. He’d let his appearance deteriorate over the last couple of weeks. Coal’s theory was that he had done it because deep down Blaze didn’t want a human. He’d gone for a grooming session because he had changed his mind and was now trying to win Roxy. It was absurd. Utter garbage.

  “Okay.” She didn’t sound so sure.

  “The hunt must’ve spurred it on. Don’t be alarmed, just because I’m exhibiting the behavior doesn’t mean that we are mated or anything. I’ll try and be more careful.”

  “No, don’t. I kind of like it.” Her eyes widened like she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. He liked that she didn’t have much of a filter.

  Blaze chuckled. “We’d better get going.”

  Something flared in her eyes. “Shit! We’re crazy late at this point.”

  Blaze walked slightly ahead of Roxy so that he could direct her through the maze of hallways that worked their way through the vast lair. Within a few minutes they were outside one of the formal dining halls. “Ready?”

  Roxy looked pale. Her lips were shiny and her eyelashes looked longer and darker. She was wearing make-up. She really wanted to impress the entourage this evening. Another lash of jealousy hit him. This one had barbed hooks of silver. Fuck! He needed to get these emotions under control and as soon as possible.

  Without thinking, he cupped her chin. “You have nothing to worry about.” Her gaze softened and she seemed to relax.

  Blaze pulled his hand back. “Julie is here as well. I’m sure you will have been seated next to her.”

  Roxy let out a breath. “Let’s do this.” It was their first public appearance together since claiming her fully. The human was right to be a little nervous; as his potential mate, she would be judged. Thing was, she had nothing to worry about. Roxy would make a fantastic queen. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to him, she had a backbone. The female was also intelligent. She’d shown emotion which meant that she could be compassionate. It was an important quality for a female in power. Roxy would make a good business partner, she would be a good mother and raise strong potential heirs. That made her perfect.

  Everyone hushed as they walked into the room. Roxy froze in place as soon as she laid eyes on the busy table. Blaze put his hand on Roxy’s lower back. The gesture served to guide her forward. There were two seats still available.

  Inferno rose to his feet. “It’s about time.” The fucker’s beady little eyes drifted up and down his human’s body.

  The dress she changed into was form-fitting. It hugged her curves lovingly. Inferno’s gaze settled on her chest.

  Fuck that. He wrapped an arm around her waist. Mine. The thought startled him. This level of jealousy was new to him. It was the hunt and the whole claiming thing, it was messing with his mind. It was purely instinctual and had nothing to do with emotions or feelings.

  He’d never been this close to mating someone before. That wasn’t entirely true. He’d been close to mating someone once before. Too fucking close. It was like a wound opened up inside him. Blaze released Roxy. This was business. He was the fucking king, he could handle this. He could handle all of it.

  Chapter 12

  Roxy had never been more nervous in her whole life. She felt like a bug underneath a microscope, although the guy at the end of the table was making her feel like she was a naked bug. That last bit didn’t make sense since bugs were naturally naked. Now she was talking nonsense to herself. Clearly overly nervous.

  Then Blaze was stepping in next to her. She caught Julie’s eyes, the other woman was smiling at her. It made her feel marginally better. Although, Julie was sitting at the other end of the table. Nowhere near the open seats. Oh shit!

  Blaze was talking. Damn! She hadn’t been paying attention. He was introducing her to people at the table.

  The guy sitting next to Julie smiled and gave a small wave. Shit a brick but she needed to pay attention. She forced herself to focus.

  “Next to Coal is Pauline and Flame. Flame heads up the Pinnacle warriors and Pauline is his mate; she’s also human.”

  What were Pinnacle warriors? She’d have to ask Blaze later.

  “Hi. Nice to meet you,” the tiny blonde smiled at Roxy.

  “You too,” she managed to get out. It felt like she was grimacing rather than smiling. Her muscles were just too tense for casual hellos.

  “That’s Lisa and Scorch. Scorch is also a Pinnacle warrior and Lisa, his mate, is a human.” The dark-haired Lisa was sitting on the big guy’s lap. Neither of them acknowledged that they had heard the introduction and from where she was standing, it looked like his hand was up her skirt.

  “A pleasure to meet you both.” Roxy quickly averted her eyes as his hand disappeared even higher up her thigh.

  She recognized the next lady. “Sue, how are you?”

  The other woman’s chestnut-colored hair curled about her face. She smiled but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. She didn’t look happy to see Roxy. That couldn’t be right. “Hello.” Her voice was flat. The other woman was probably just nervous as well.

  “I’m sure you remember Lava.” It was more than likely her imagination but Blaze’s voice became a little deeper as he locked eyes with the big shifter. The guy had wanted to fight Blaze for her.

  The shifter gave a nod.

  “Are the two of you together?” Roxy blurted.

  Lava smirked, he put his hand around Sue’s shoulders and drew her a little closer to him. “I had to take down a couple of others in order to win her, but yes, this beauty is my human.”

  Sue seemed to tense as he touched her, she even folded her arms and turned away from him with her knees. Roxy found the whole dynamic quite interesting. Lava didn’t seem to notice or maybe Roxy was reading too much into things. More than likely the latter.

  “Then we have Burn, Heat and Crimson.” Blaze looked at each of the huge males in turn. “Aside from Flame and Lava, these males are my best Pinnacle warriors.”

  Although, Burn and Crimson were ogling the hell out of her, Heat was the one who was all out undressing her. His gaze moved from her boobs to between her thighs and back again. He even made a sniffing noise as he did so.

  Blaze growled. “Roxy is my female. Mine.” Then his eyes widened in what looked like shock. He was quick to school his expression and then pulled a chair out for her. She couldn’t help but notice how he put his body between her and the three men.

  “Your female. We can all see that,” a younger looking guy said. Although, he was seated at the table, Blaze hadn’t introduced her to him. “Let me guess, you tripped and fell and your teeth pierced into her,” he laughed, his eyes trained on her neck. She knew exactly what he was looking at, it was the bite mark. The shifter pulled out the chair closest to him, he gestured for her to sit. “I’m Inferno, Blaze’s brother. Come on, take a seat. I can’t wait to meet the female who has got my brother so rattled.” He patted the chair.

  “Careful,” Blaze warned.

  “Apologies, my lord.” Inferno gave a semi-bow from his seated position. It was more mocking than respectful.

  Roxy glanced at Blaze; his eyes were narrowed, his jaw was tight. She took a seat, Blaze slipping into the chair next to her.

  “Good to see you finally got rid of the animal that was growing on your face.”

  “Beards are in.” Blaze reached for a pitcher of red wine.

  “So are man buns,” Inferno laughed. “Come to think of it, you would look awesome with a man bun.”

  “Shut it,” Blaze snarled at his brother before looking her in the eyes. His demeanor softened… just a tad. “Would you like some wine?”

  Her nerves were frayed. Alcohol would loosen her up a bit. Roxy nodded. “Yes, please.” She had to strain to pick up the golden goblet in front of her. “Sheesh. This thing is heavy.”

  “If you think that’s heavy, try this,” Inferno held his own silver-looking goblet out to her. Roxy could feel her eyes practically bug out of her skull as she took the cup from him. She had to use two hands and she made a squeaking noise.

  Inferno chuckled. “Yeah, stick to the gold, leave the platinum cups to the shifters.”

  Gold.

  Platinum.

  She took another look around the room. There was a golden chandelier with what looked like emeralds, rubies and diamonds. Surely not? The picture frames were gold gilt. No!!!

  Blaze filled up her gold goblet. Gold. Roxy took a big slug of the wine. It was really good. Smooth as silk and just the right temperature. Not that she was an expert. Not even close. It seemed that dragons enjoyed the finer things in life.

  “So, Roxy…” Inferno leaned forward, drawing her attention. “Tell me a little about yourself. What did you do for a living?”

  “I work, worked…” She cleared her throat. At this point she didn’t know if she was going back or not. She decided to err on the side of caution. “I work in a bakery. I run the sales side of things. All the front of house stuff.”

  “Oh, so you can bake?” Inferno smiled. “Blaze loves chocolate chip cookies, so that’s a good thing.”

  “Actually,” She felt herself blush, “I can’t cook, let alone bake, to save my life. I’ve tried it a few times and nearly burned down the bakery. My best friend owns the place so it would’ve been terrible if I’d succeeded.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Inferno winked at her. “Blaze might enjoy chocolate chip cookies but I know another type of cookie that he’s way more into.”

  Roxy couldn’t help but to choke out a laugh, she tried hard to hold it back but failed. She could practically feel the tension radiate off of Blaze.

  Just then a couple of servers walked in carrying large trays. She turned to the male in question, hoping to change the subject and to start a conversation with Blaze. “I’m starving.” And then she whispered under her breath. “It’s so good to be out. Your brother seems really friendly.”

  “Hmmmm.” he sort of smiled then muttered something under his breath that sounded very much like ‘don’t confuse horny with friendly’.

  The servers began putting plates in front of each of them. The entrées looked amazing. “I love scallops,” she announced, brushing her arm against Blaze’s.

  “Me too,” was his short, curt answer.

  Everyone talked amongst themselves. Lina stayed sitting on her mate’s lap and they fed each other. It was rather bizarre.

  Roxy picked up her knife and fork – even the cutlery weighed a ton. She wondered if the knife and fork set were white gold or platinum. It didn’t really matter to her, only that she found it a little excessive and a lot bizarre.

  “So,” Inferno stuck his fork into one of the scallops. “What do you do for fun, Roxy?”

  “What is this?” Blaze asked. “Twenty questions?”

  “Roxy might just be my future sister-in-law, thank you very much.” He raised his brows. “I’d like to get to know a little bit about her, if you don’t mind.”

  “As long as there are no ulterior motives,” Blaze’s voice had dropped dangerously low. “I know you, brother, better than you know yourself.”

  If Roxy didn’t know better, she’d say that he was jealous. Her heart beat just a little faster and she found herself actually liking the idea. It meant that maybe there were some feelings for her alongside the lust. It was still a bit early to tell, but hopefully there was more there than just really good sex for him.

  Inferno chuckled, lifting a scallop to his mouth. He paused just in front of his lips. “I would never move in on your female.”

  Blaze narrowed his eyes. “Not if you want to continue breathing.”

  Inferno popped the scallop into his mouth and chewed before swallowing. He licked his lips. “By claw, brother, I think you might be smitten.”

  “My relationship with Roxy is none of your business.”

  “I would be interested to know as well,” the big shifter sitting next to Blaze said. She couldn’t remember his name.

  Blaze pursed his lips, a tic developing in his jaw.

  “What are your interests?” Red… no… Flame… no, that was the other guy with the human mate. It was another term for red… Crimson, his name was Crimson.

  She suddenly recalled that he’d asked her a question. The couples talked to one another but all the single guys eyes’ were glued on her. It was definitely a tic in Blaze’s jaw.

  “I bet you enjoy swimming,” the guy at the head of the table answered for her. “Do you prefer to wear a one-piece or a two-piece swimsuit?” He pushed his empty plate aside and leaned forward, his eyes narrowed in on hers, they dipped to her boobs for a second before lifting to her eyes once more.

  She felt Blaze stiffen next to her. Oh shit! “Actually,” her voice was high-pitched but she needed to head this off. “I love reading and taking long bubble baths.”

  “Mmmmm…” Long, drawn-out and deep. The guy at the head of the table rubbed his jaw. “Bubble baths are awesome, especially when shared,” he winked at her and Blaze growled.

  There was a really naughty side to her that loved the attention. Roxy had an okay body, her hips were a tad wide and her bum…well let’s just say she had some junk in the ol’ trunk but she was comfortable in her own skin. Guys did show interest in her from time to time, but never like this. They didn’t come on this strong. They weren’t this attractive either. At the same time, she felt really uncomfortable as well. Blaze seemed to hate every minute of it.

  “I also love baked goods,” she gave a nervous giggle. “I have that in common with you, Blaze.” She gave his arm a bump with her own.

  He nodded once.

  “I love cream buns and donuts. My favorites though are the coconut tarts from Sweet Treats.” She glanced Inferno’s way. “That’s my friend’s bakery, the place where I work.” She turned back to Blaze. “I also love chocolate chip cookies, by the way.” She was rattling off but couldn’t seem to help herself. Roxy gave her thighs a tap. “I eat way too much of the wrong things, as you can tell.”

  “You are quite beautiful,” Crimson said.

  “I would have to agree,” Inferno remarked. “Lush and—”

  “Do not talk to my female in that way.” Hearing Blaze refer to her as his made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

  Inferno leaned forward. “I was merely stating a fact. Setting the record straight.”

  “Well don’t,” Blaze growled.

  “They’re just trying to be nice,” Roxy said under her breath; she could see that this was going in the wrong direction.

  “Nice!” Blaze snorted. “They’re not trying to be nice. These males don’t know the meaning of the word nice. All they can see is a beautiful female. You are a fertile human, highly-prized. You also have a very appealing scent. They’re not being nice; they’re trying to…” he paused. “Don’t buy into their bullshit. I’m not.” He gave Inferno a long, hard stare and then turned his attention to the other three males.

  All three visibly paled and seemed to shrink in their chairs. Roxy wasn’t sure if she liked the caveman bullshit or if it irritated her. Maybe a bit of both.

  “Um…” she put her napkin on the table and pushed her chair back. “I need to go to the little girl’s room.” Roxy was perfectly fine, she just needed a break. She made her way to the restroom. There were communal facilities. The only toilet was separate from the actual restroom, which had a large vanity with a lounge area complete with an antique-looking couch. It looked like something straight out of the French Renaissance. Marble, gold and intricate motifs made the space warm and inviting. Thankfully the toilet was free.

  Roxy put down the toilet lid and sat for a few minutes. Julie had mentioned that shifters were highly territorial. They could be overbearing, overprotective and even a little caveman-like. If memory served, she’d even used the term barbaric. She wondered if this was more of the mating behavior that Blaze had referred to. It had to be.

  It was so peaceful and relaxing in the small stall, but she couldn’t hide out here all night. Roxy flushed the toilet and walked out, almost colliding with Sue.

  “Oh, hi,” she said. It was nice to see a familiar face.

  Sue gave a nod. “Hi. If I didn’t know better, I would say that you were hiding out in here.”

  “Busted.” She pulled a face. “It’s getting a bit hot and heavy in there.” She pointed at the door that led to the dining hall.

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