Billionaire Dragon's Mate: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Dragon Romance Nove (19 page)
Read Billionaire Dragon's Mate: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Dragon Romance Nove Online
Authors: Anya Nowlan
That same night, after the ceremony, he had taken her down to the vaults under the keep and shown her his fortune. To her, it looked like countless lifetimes worth of wealth, and it had certainly felt more than enough when he made love to her on top of the piles of gold. Still, she could see it in his deep green eyes and the way his voice fell when he talked about the downward spiral of his family’s name that her husband was not quite done building the Greenmeadow riches.
Whatever he wanted to do, Ruby would support him. Considering that his mode of fixing the predicament also kept him close to home, instead of running around fixing issues for dangerous people, Ruby couldn’t really complain.
She squinted slightly, seeing something move over the mountains in the distance. It grew larger with each moment until the afternoon sun glinted off the golden green scales of her husband, heading home after a long day of literally digging for gold.
„Your daddy’s almost home,“ she whispered, looking down at her belly.
The closer he got, the better she could see that Cillian was again covered in mud and dirt, and he was loving every second of it. She watched with a sense of happiness as the large dragon landed on the roof of the keep, making the whole building shudder under his weight. Soon, there would be three dragons bounding around Emerald Ridge. If nothing else, at least the townsfolk at Emerald Court would have something to talk about.
Cillian shifted, and as soon as he was in human form, Ruby found herself in his muddy, dusty arms, getting the breath kissed out of her. She laughed as he finally let her come up for air again, grinning brighter than the sun.
„Good day, I take it?“ she asked, letting her hands trace over his wide, strong shoulders and the tattoos that ran down his arms.
She knew that under his shirt, right above his heart, he now wore a tattoo with her name and a golden green dragon coiled protectively around it.
„We’re getting close, yes,“ Cillian said with a nod, before leaning down and laying a smacking kiss on her stomach. „And you three? On your worst behavior?“
„Always,“ Ruby promised with a smirk.
Things were finally coming together. Uncharacteristically for a dragon, Cillian had turned out to be an avid, relentless worker. He knew there was gold in the mountains around Emerald Ridge, and he was determined to find it. His enthusiasm was infectious, and soon, Emerald Court had started teeming with life again.
The only real dark spot in their lives at the moment was Carrick. He’d all but disappeared after Cillian’s impromptu meet-up with him. Ruby had just about had to rip the words out of Cillian to hear what had happened. She understood why he didn’t want to dwell on it. If Carrick ever showed his face again, he would have to be shunned from the family. A dragon without his family wasn’t much of a dragon at all and Ruby knew it must have been eating at Cillian to make such a decision. It was the only right thing to do, though. Carrick couldn’t be trusted anymore.
Families long lost had returned and joined Cillian on his quest, setting to work on the little streams of gold he had already uncovered, while he dug for the mother load. His family barely approved, but when their coffers started filling with gold again, they couldn’t really grumble for too long. Even Cillian’s younger brothers had promised to come pitch in as soon as the babies were born.
Births were far too rare for dragons those days, and it was not unusual to have most of the kin gather when there were new dragons to be welcomed into the fold.
„You look radiant,“ Cillain said, straightening up again and kissing her gently.
Ruby’s heart warmed. Forgotten were the days when she couldn’t wait to run faster and further away. Now she was staying put and all her adventures involved the most caring, brave and smart man she had ever known. Chicago was just a distant memory, though judging by her parents’ calls, things must have been going well.
The Accardos and the Crimson Fang Riders had stuck to their deal, and it seemed it might have been the best call they could have made. With less reason to oppose either faction, the streets had become calmer and even safer – funny how life worked itself out.
„I look pregnant,“ Ruby bit back, laughing.
„I believe the two are not mutually exclusive.“
Cillian’s arm wrapped around her, and she sighed contentedly. She had gold chains braided through her locks that made her long red hair twinkle with a gilded glow. On private days like this, she also wore the tiara Cillian had meant to give her when she went missing. A gorgeous emerald pendant framed in bright and gorgeously carved gold rested around her neck. It had been the dragon stone that had brought her back to him, and now it was a symbol of their love, turned into the emerald necklace during the ceremony.
In the beginning, it had felt odd wearing such lavish jewelry, but the way Cillian looked at her when she wore them – as if she were the most precious gem of all, making the jewels pale in comparison – gave her plenty of incentive to keep wearing them.
„You know, Apollo invited us to one of their concerts,“ Cillian said, leading her towards the door that would allow them entrance into the keep.
„I have not seen him or Alexander for much too long,“ Ruby said, leaning against Cillian.
The Goldplains brothers held a special place in her heart. As if called by some greater force, the duo had arrived in Chicago just in time to help her get Cillian back to Colorado. They’d healed him with their presence, and Alexander had even helped Ruby find a doctor in the area so she could finish her residency. She was going to start her own practice in Emerald Court as soon as she had had the babies and felt comfortable with spending some time away from home.
Considering how fast the town was growing, they were going to need a good doctor.
„Well, hopefully their absence has been due to happy reasons,“ Cillian said with a chuckle. „We haven’t exactly made ourselves publicly available either.“
„How about you make yourself privately available for me?“ Ruby teased, ducking into the keep. She yelped as he grabbed her ass, batting him away.
That man could make her flame with need at the slightest touch, no matter how pregnant, tired or grouchy she got. And, best of all, she was sure it would never change. This one was for keeps.
„After you shower!“
„Only if I can take you with me,“ Cillian growled, picking her up in his arms like she barely weighed more than a feather.
Her hands locked around his neck, and Ruby gladly let herself be carried off to a very
steamy
shower. Rebelling was so much more fun when there was someone to do it with.
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BILLIONAIRE DRAGON’S FATED EXCERPT
Just then, a perky looking waitress sauntered over to them, giving Alexander and Apollo a dazzling smile and Jade barely a glance. Jade relaxed immediately. Finally, someone who treated her like she was expecting to be treated! Like she barely existed next to the forces of nature that were the Goldplains. Jade smiled and slumped back against the backrest of the booth they’d taken up right under the big windows overlooking Main Street.
She could deal with catty women and bitchy servers. It was much easier than wracking her brain over what the hell was going on.
“Hey, boys! Haven’t seen you around in forever!” the waitress purred, her long legs seeming to go up forever.
Jade watched with guarded interest as Apollo and Alexander greeted her. She knew Apollo’s reputation. He was an absolute womanizer. Jade wasn’t sure of what she was hoping to see, but one thing was for sure – Apollo wasn’t doing it. He barely seemed to notice the hot, redheaded waitress, his attention mostly flickering between his beer and Jade whenever he thought she wasn’t looking.
But Jade definitely noticed all the looks she was getting from him. How could she not?
“Yeah, Katie. We’re back in town for a little while. Can we have the regular? I assume the fish platter hasn’t changed?” Alexander said, flipping together his and Apollo’s menus and picking up Jade’s as well.
“Nope, still the same. Some good things never change,” Katie said with a wink, accepting the menus.
Alexander nodded at that, giving her a mild smile, and Apollo just tipped his beer in reply. The leggy waitress looked at Apollo long and hard, but he remained as impassive as ever. Katie didn’t even look at Jade as she spun around and trampled off, obviously a bit taken aback by her reception. Jade noticed that even when she was pissed, she could keep her hips swinging back and forth in that exaggerated, sexy walk that women sometimes did when they thought they were being watched.
Just, this time the only one watching was Jade.
“What’s her deal?” Jade asked, grabbing for her bourbon and taking a long sip.
“We sometimes hook up when I’m in town. Nothing serious, though she might not agree with me on that,” Apollo said grimly.
Jade smirked at that. Of course it was Apollo who was getting up to no good. She’d expect nothing less from the charismatic singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
“Is that what you do? String women along?” Jade teased.
The look she got from Apollo surprised her, though. He seemed almost… hurt. Or at least a bit unhappy that she would think that of him. She filed it away for later. There was a lot of stuff she found herself wondering about all of a sudden, most of it having to do with the Goldplains and how she was going to survive being alone with them for so long without doing something… ah, silly.
“No, I don’t. I made it clear to her that I wasn’t looking for a relationship. She knows what I do.”
“But?”
“But what?”
“Aren’t you going to see her now that you’re in town this time?” Jade asked, genuinely needing to know.
She wasn’t sure why Apollo’s, or Alexander’s, love life was of any interest to her right now, other than the fact that she couldn’t help but imagine herself in it, but her curiosity spoke louder than her rationality told her to shut up.
“No,” Apollo said simply, finishing out his beer and waving at another waitress for another.
“Okay. I think it’s time we explain something to you, Jade,” Alexander said as Apollo’s beer arrived into his awaiting, thankful hand. His words cut the tension and it was a welcome change.
“That’d be great! I’d love to hear what it is that I’ve managed to rope myself into,” Jade said, nursing her bourbon.
She had a dozen theories, one sillier than the next, but she’d forced herself not to mull on any of them. Between enjoying the presence of the Goldplains and just reminding herself that she’d chosen to trust them, there wasn’t too much time to drive herself crazy, thankfully.
“The reason why you’re getting so much attention from the town, and the servants, is because you’re our mate. Our bride. And we’re going to get married in about a week, during the gold moon.”
Alexander said that like it was the most natural thing. Jade just about choked on her bourbon, some of the heated liquid going down the wrong pipe and making her cough and sputter. When she regained her ability to talk, she stared at both of the men with wild eyes, trying to make out whether or not they were trying some odd rendition of a joke.
“WHAT!?” she screeched, loud enough to get a bunch of looks from the people around them. “Sorry,” she said, motioning to everybody, before turning back to the Goldplains, leaning across the table and glaring at both of them. “What!? Marriage!? Gold moon? Bride!? What the hell are you on about?”
“It’s like this,” Apollo started, leaning towards her as well.
That devilish smirk on his face made her want to scream, though. This was no time to be cute or sexy or breathtakingly hot or… Dammit.
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