Dragon King (The Bride Hunt Book 3) Read online

  That made two of them. “I’ll make time,” he growled.

  “There was something else.” She put the mug down.

  “Name it.”

  “There has to be some sort of show of affection in public…” she paused. “For all intents and purposes, we are dating. It would be even more important if we ever mated. I’ve watched how couples interact with one another. Shifters are affectionate, always touching, kissing, holding one another’s hands.”

  “It would be purely for show?” Blaze didn’t like it. Females were wired to fall in love with such contact.

  “Yes, of course.” She looked like she meant it. “I don’t want people to talk. It would be seen as unnatural otherwise.”

  Blaze thought back to the conversation he and Coal had, had. His brother had called him out on his lack of affection shown in public and if Coal had noticed then others would have as well. He planned on having an unconventional relationship but it would still be a partnership. He wanted others to see them as a close-knit unit. As a proper mated couple because they would be a proper mated couple just without all the nonsense. Blaze finally nodded. “You’re right. We should be affectionate in public. Just the basics.”

  Roxy nodded. “We’re already intimate with one another so what’s a little hand holding or the odd kiss?” She shrugged like it wasn’t an issue.

  Blaze nodded as well. “No kissing during sex though. No making out. We keep the rutting as purely for pleasure.”

  “I like kissing during sex. It makes me come harder,” she quickly added.

  “You come just fine without it. It’s an unnecessary risk.” He knew he was being a bit of a dick but he couldn’t help it. The last thing he wanted was for Roxy to fall for him. The more time he invested in this, the more he wanted it to work. It would be a shame to have to start over.

  Roxy snorted. “Whatever,” she shook her head.

  “Was there anything else we needed to talk about?”

  She shook her head again. “I think we’re good.”

  “I think so too,” he grinned at her. “In fact, I think we’re more than good. You had me worried. For a moment I thought you had fallen in love with me. You looked like you wanted to cry earlier.”

  “I was a little shocked. I was pissed off that you thought I would fall in love with you so easily. You really are full of it. I thought about it and…” she paused, “I think it could work.”

  “I’m really glad. I meant what I said, I think we have something good. I know we can be great together. Best buddies.”

  Roxy smiled, she looked a little sad for a moment and then it was gone. “Best buddies.” There wasn’t a hint of sadness or emotion present in her voice. He must’ve imagined it.

  “You’ll let me know if you start to fall for me and I’ll do the same.”

  Roxy nodded. “Definitely.”

  “Good!” This was fantastic. “I think we should celebrate.” Blaze rose to his feet.

  “How do you propose we do that?” Her stunning eyes drifted to his fully erect cock.

  “I can think of a couple of things. They all involve you screaming my name.”

  “In true fuck buddy style,” her voice was laced with sarcasm. Maybe she wasn’t as okay with this as he thought. Then she pulled her sweater over her head and his mouth went dry. Her breasts were full, her nipples so damned plump. “Let’s celebrate,” she bobbed her eyebrows and gave him a naughty grin. Nah, she was okay with this. More than okay.

  Blaze almost tripped trying to get out of his pants while walking to her. His blood burned in his veins. All he could think of was being inside her, of marking her and branding her, of mating her. Soon. If he had his way, it would happen very fucking soon. Roxy was his, he would never love her but she would still be his female. It was for the best. Not just for him but for the both of them.

  Chapter 16

  Three days later…

  “I’d rather be unzipping you,” Blaze said as has he pulled up the zipper on the back of her dress. Up, not down. “There should be a rule against this.”

  The garment was red for Claw’s sake. It clung to every curve. He stepped in behind her, pushing his erection into her lower back. Her ass was a thing of utter beauty. “I can make it very quick,” he whispered into her ear, eliciting a shiver.

  “We’re late. Besides, you came home for lunch.”

  He had come home for lunch. Roxy had made them ham sandwiches. They talked. He found that he enjoyed their time together… as friends. They hadn’t done much else other than share a meal or two per day. Quality time as Roxy put it. He’d never had a female friend but if there ever was a candidate for such a thing it would be Roxy. He’d fucked her on the dining room table after lunch. A fitting way to end a meal. According to Roxy, it was what fuck buddies did. Blaze found that he didn’t like the term. He didn’t know why, he just didn’t.

  “Lunch time was hours ago.” He nuzzled her neck and nibbled her earlobe. She gave a small whimper.

  “We’re leaving right now,” her voice was breathless.

  “Five minutes.”

  “Right now!” She gave him a shove with her elbow and he took a step back. “Poor baby.” She turned and a beautiful smile graced her face as she gave his hair a light ruffle. “You’ll live.”

  “Hmmm, I’m not so sure. Males can die from having blue balls.”

  She raised her brows. “There is no way in hell your balls are blue.”

  “Are you sure about that?” he had to laugh. “Maybe you should check just to be sure.”

  She gave him a light slap on the arm. “We need to leave. Thanks again for my earrings.” She moved to the side so that she could look in the mirror. Roxy touched the dangling jewelry on one ear. “They’re so sparkly, you would swear they were real.”

  Blaze chuckled. “They are real.” This female was a breath of fresh air.

  Roxy’s eyes bugged from her skull. “Oh my god!” She shook her head and started to take them out.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I can’t possibly accept these. How many diamonds are on each of these things?” Her hands were shaking but she managed to get the first one off. She held it up. “Oh my… there are at least a dozen. They’re not tiny stones either. How many carats are in my hand right now?” She was talking more to herself.

  Blaze walked over to her. He took the earring from her. “I bought them for you. I want you to have them.”

  “Fuck buddies don’t give each other gifts like this.”

  Blaze frowned. He really hated that she kept calling them that. “Take the jewelry. I’m enjoying our friendship. I want you to have them.”

  “I’m enjoying the friendship as well, but this is too much.”

  “No,” he shook his head. “It’s not. I want you to have them.” He tried to put the earring back but she turned her head.

  “Keep them, if we end up mating then I’ll wear them but I don’t feel comfortable taking them now.”

  “Look,” he hadn’t planned on having this conversation just yet. “I want you as my mate. This is working. The friendship thing is going really well.”

  “I’m not ready to take that step.” Her eyes widened even further. “It’s too soon.”

  “Wear the earrings. Take them as a loan. If you decide to mate me then you can keep them and if not, you can give them back.”

  She visibly relaxed. “What if I lose them?”

  “Roxy, wear the damned earrings. I don’t give a fuck if you lose them. It’s not important to me. It’s only money.” He didn’t know why it meant so much to him that she wear the earrings, but it did.

  She held his gaze for a long while. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” He moved forward. “Now, tilt your head to the side and stand still.”

  “Bossy boots,” Roxy murmured.

  He couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not wearing any boots.” He closed the clasp. “There.”

  “Well, I’m not wearing any underwear so I guess that makes us even.” Roxy winked at him and walked out of the chamber.

  Blaze groaned. The human killed him. How the hell was he going to get through this evening knowing that her pussy was bare under that sexy red dress?

  Blaze’s arm was around her waist. It felt as weird as it did right. He pulled her closer as Thunder approached.

  “Hello, human. How are you?” The huge shifter boomed over the noise in the crowded room.

  “I’m good.” She smiled at him.

  Thunder and Blaze said their hellos while Roxy looked about the room. “Where’s Lily?”

  The air king’s face clouded. “She’s gone back home.”

  “Why? What happened?” Roxy couldn’t believe it.

  “She was only interested in the prestige and material things.”

  “Really?” Roxy could hear the shock in her voice. “She seemed really sweet. She looked like she was seriously into you.”

  “The rutting was good. It was nice to have a female in my bed every night. Someone to talk to and spend time with,” Thunder sighed. “Some things about her didn’t sit right with me from the start though. She asked me strange questions. It started out in the wild. Remember how she wanted to know how big the air castle was? She was very excited that I was a king. Then she started asking things like, where did dragon shifters get their money? She wanted to know if she would get a crown if she became queen and seemed disappointed when I told her that we don’t wear crowns,” he frowned.

  “Maybe Lily was just excited about becoming your queen.”

  “Nah, that wasn’t it! She wanted things. Lots of things. Dresses, jewelry, more jewelry. The diamonds weren’t big enough. The pearl strings weren’t long enough. She asked for bags that cost more than the jewelry and shoes that cost more than the bags.” He made a growling noise that clearly expressed his annoyance. “We’re talking leather here. I couldn’t bring myself to buy some of that stuff. I just couldn’t. So Lily refused to talk to me, she withheld sex and threw a tantrum.” He looked sad. “I was tempted just to buy them for her to keep the peace.”

  “So, what happened?” Roxy couldn’t believe Lily had behaved like that. She seemed sweet. Then again, she thought about Sue who was also clearly here for more than just finding love and a future. That woman also had some serious ulterior motives. She was still hanging off of Lava’s arm so he hadn’t wised up to her yet.

  “The vampire kings warned of such females. They have had a few try their luck in the program as well,” Blaze said.

  Thunder raised his brows. “We should brief our males. Tell them what to look for. I went back later to talk it out with her and she was digging through my things.” He shook his head. “She had found some of my family heirlooms. My mother’s rings and a pair of earrings that belonged to my grandmother. Lily was wearing them.”

  Blaze stiffened. “I am sure that something like that must have made you angry.”

  Thunder grit his teeth. “It was the last straw for me. She didn’t realize how angry I was. She went on and on about our mating ceremony. How lavish it was going to be. She told me that she wanted me to buy her a car… I can’t remember which one. One of those fancy convertibles, low profile with doors that open sideways.”

  “A car?” Roxy asked. “Why?” She had to laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to make light of it.”

  Thunder grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I laughed my ass off when she asked me for the thing as well,” Thunder went on, “She wasn’t too thrilled at my reaction. The female was crazy. When I told her it was over she lost it. She busted my lip and gave me a black eye. She broke every plate and every glass in my chamber. I eventually had to restrain her. Crazy is too nice a description.”

  “I can’t believe it. You guys seemed perfect. She seemed so nice.”

  “Well, looks can be deceiving. People can be deceiving.” He continued, “I’m glad she’s gone. I’m wary about meeting any more humans.”

  “We’re not all bad.” Roxy felt guilty. She was technically being a bit dishonest with Blaze. She was trying to get him to fall in love with her against his will. It was probably worse than gold-digging. She didn’t like misleading him. Hopefully he would understand when she came clean.

  “I would love a female like you,” Thunder smiled.

  Blaze growled. “Roxy is taken.”

  “I can see that,” Thunder laughed. “You are one lucky male. I’m surprised you guys haven’t mated already.”

  “We will be soon.” He kissed her temple. “I’m working on convincing Roxy that mating me is the right thing to do.”

  “Good luck, although, I don’t think you’ll need to convince her for much longer.” He lowered his voice, “I can see that your female is crazy about you.” Thunder laughed, then he stared somewhere over their shoulder. “The snacks have arrived. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Oh shit! It must be obvious that she was falling for Blaze ‒ and boy, she was falling for him. The more time they spent together, the worse it became. This whole plan could backfire on her big time.

  “Did you hear that?” Blaze whispered in her ear.

  “Hmmm,” she made a bit of a squeaky noise. Was he going to call her out on it? She tried to stay calm.

  “We’re doing a good job convincing them,” he whispered. “We look great together. We are great together. Think about mating me, will you?” He pulled away so that he could look her in the eyes.

  Roxy nodded. “Okay.” She got away with it, this time.

  Blaze smiled. He cupped her chin and gave her a kiss on the lips. Blaze held his mouth against hers for a moment or two, their breaths intermingling. It wasn’t a friendly kiss. It wasn’t a fuck buddy kiss either. It was confusing because it felt like more of a lover’s kiss. It was just for show though, she reminded herself. Just for show. Blaze didn’t mean anything by it.

  Chapter 17

  Two and a half weeks later…

  “Just say yes already,” Blaze nuzzled her neck. Then he planted kisses all the way along her collarbone before kissing the side of her mouth. He probably didn’t realize it but he was touching her more and more in private and not just to initiate sex.

  He stepped away. “What can I do to convince you?”

  Love me.

  It was the one thing he said he couldn’t give her and the one thing that she needed the most. “Soon,” Roxy finally answered.

  “I like spending time with you. We’re friends… really good friends. That was your one concern wasn’t it? That we wouldn’t get along, and we do. So why should we wait any longer?”

  “I’m not quite ready.”

  “Okay.” He looked disappointed. There was a part of her that wanted to throw the plan out the window. She would love Blaze whether he wanted her to or not. In time, he might reciprocate and he might not. They did have a good relationship. He would look after her and respect her and they would have fun, but ‒ it was a big but ‒ there would always be something missing. They would always have this whole ‘terms and conditions’ thing hanging over their heads. What if she accidentally told him that she loved him? What if she didn’t need to tell him? Her actions, her eyes, the way she held him, surely these things would give her feelings away? What then? Would he leave her? Turn his back on her? What if they had kids together?

  She couldn’t live in a state of limbo. She’d done it for eight years with someone else. A man she didn’t have half the feelings for that she did for Blaze. A half-assed relationship wasn’t for her back then, and it certainly wasn’t for her now. She was an all-in kind of girl and she needed an all-in guy.

  “Soon though?” He squeezed her hand to draw her attention.

  “Yes, soon,” she nodded. Roxy would need to have a serious conversation with Blaze and very soon. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in love with him. She only prayed that he had fallen at least a little bit in love with her as well.

  He smiled broadly. “Now, are you going to let me taste one of those cookies?”

  Roxy shook her head. “I was just about to throw them out. They’re no good.”

  Blaze gave a big sniff. “I recognize that smell.” He grinned, looking so handsome. His green eyes glinted. His long lashes lowered as he narrowed his eyes. “That night I came home to a burnt smell. Did you try and bake chocolate chip cookies then too?”

  “I planned on giving you my own terms and then celebrating with your favorite baked goods when you agreed to them.”

  “You were that sure I would agree?”

  She nodded. “I was hopeful. Besides, it’s rude to table a whole list of terms and not be willing to accept a couple in return.”

  “Agreed,” he smiled. “You trying to bake for me is very sweet.” He looked at her with such affection such… love. His gaze heated up. Then he put his hands on either side of her and caged her in against the counter, grabbing behind her.

  “Don’t,” she warned. “You’ll be sorry.”

  Blaze took a really big bite. The cookies were partially burnt but that wasn’t the worst of it. He chewed twice and stopped, trying hard not to grimace.

  “I tried to warn you,” Roxy said.

  Blaze swallowed. What a sweetheart. He actually swallowed. Roxy had spat out her bite and it wasn’t nearly as big as the one he had taken. “Um…” She had to laugh. “I think I put in too much bicarbonate of soda and not enough sugar. The chocolate chips are dark instead of milk, that’s what the bitter taste is… Oh, and they’re burnt… not as badly as last time though.”

  “Chocolate chip cookies aren’t my favorite anymore anyway.” He pushed his hips against hers and leaned in close, his mouth was against her ear.

  “They’re not?”

  She felt him shake his head. “Your cookie is my favorite. My little brother was right on the money on that count.”

  “Oh yeah,” she sounded breathless.

  “Yeah.” Just hearing him talk in her ear, feeling his body pressed against hers, smelling his manly scent, it was enough to have her panting, enough to soak her underwear.

  -->