ROMANCE: SHAPESHIFTER ROMANCE: Dragon Baller's Bride (Dragon Shifter Alpha Male Romance) (Paranormal Romantic Suspense) (58 page)

R
on had never had
much luck when it came to love, but when he moved to Alaine and had found a room to rent with David and Julie he thought it might start to improve. As a vampire though, he had a lot to hide and he was terrified they would find out and he would have to run just like he had before coming to Alaine. His new roommates kept to themselves though, and they didn’t get involved in his life much.

David and Julie had been a couple for a few years but they had always felt like something was missing. They had no idea what it was and as dragon shifters it was hard for them to figure it out without giving themselves away. After all their added strength often tipped off everyone else that something wasn’t quite right. When they needed the additional income of renting out one of the rooms in their home, they encountered Ron who seemed slightly lost. Seeing it as a way to help someone who clearly needs help they let him move in. Soon they realize that Ron might be what they have been missing, but can they risk losing the perfect roommate to satisfy their own needs?

R
on knew
he had to find somewhere to live but by the time he arrived in Alaine he was exhausted and he did not have the energy to go looking around for something he could afford. He couldn’t really afford a hotel either though, but he knew he didn’t have much of a choice if he wanted to stay here. He had heard good things about the town, and most importantly there had been a few job openings in the paper. Having to move around a lot, his resume was pathetic and he always had to start at the bottom, but he didn’t mind too much. Maybe Alaine was the town he would finally settle down in permanently.

Looking around as he stood in the town square, he sighed at the knowledge that he didn’t have a choice but to find somewhere to rent because he really couldn’t afford a hotel room for even a night as long as he didn’t have a job. That knowledge alone spurred him on as he started to walk in the hope of seeing a sign that indicated something for rent, but he wasn’t having much luck as the only places he saw were out of his price range. He knew he should have called around for a place to live before coming, but he had panicked when his girlfriend had found out about him and he had packed up his belongings and left town.

Just as he was about to give up and go find a cheap motel, he saw a small sign in a window of what looked like a normal home. It said there was a room for rent, but based on the size of the home he had no idea what they would ask for it. He doubted he could afford it but he knew he had to ask and he walked up to the front door, ringing the bell, before he could change his mind. As soon as the door opened and an incredibly good looking man stood in front of him, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had mostly dated women but he wasn’t blind that this man was beautiful. Tall and muscular, hair down to his shoulders and a genuinely nice smile. He immediately noticed the hazel eyes and slightly red lips and instantly forgot why he was there.

“Can I help you?” the man finally asked.

“Sorry, yes. I saw you had a sign that you are renting out a room?”

“We are. My girlfriend and I have been living in this big house by ourselves and could use the extra income as well as the company. Do you want to see the room?”

“How much is it a month? I’m on a bit of a budget and don’t want to waste your time.”

“A hundred a month. You’ll have a private bathroom, but we share the kitchen and living areas. Would you like to see it?”

“Absolutely,” Ron said, knowing he would accept it even if it was the size of a shoebox. A hundred a month was a third of what he had been paying on rent for several years and he would soon have enough saved that he could take the time to look for a halfway decent home. “I’m sorry, my name is Ron.”

“Oh how rude of me. David. This is Julie. Our room will be on the opposite end of that hall, this one would be yours. You are welcome to have guests but discuss it first if at all possible.”

“I doubt I will have any but thank you. This room is nice,” Ron said as he looked around his room. It wasn’t huge by any means but it was large enough that it had a queen sized bed, dresser and night stands. There was a built in closet and as he looked through the bathroom door he noticed a simple bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. “This is perfect. When would I be able to start renting?”

“Whenever you’d like. Since it’s almost the first of the month we won’t charge you for the next week if you move in now and just start on the next month, if that works for you?”

“Thank you, that would be amazing. I left my luggage in a locker at the bus station so I just need to go get it.”

“A locker? That’s not a lot of belongings.”

“I’ve moved a lot over the years and just kept downsizing. If you don’t mind I’ll be back in about thirty minutes?”

“I’ll come with you and help you get your things, and we can have a key made for you,” David said, giving Ron a concerned look.

Ron didn’t know that David was worried about his few belongings and how easily he had accepted the room without seeing the rest of the house. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days and didn’t stay anywhere long. It sounded too familiar for his liking and a glance at Julie indicated she had thought the same thing. Ron clearly needed some people in his life as well as a place to sleep and David almost felt bad charging him rent.

“Sounds good. Thank you so much,” Ron said, smiling for the first time. “I’ll need to get some groceries while I’m out.”

“Oh no, that’s included,” Julie said quickly, seeing an opening. “I love to cook and since I’m doing it anyway might as well cook for three. Anything you want outside of the regular three meals you can get yourself, as well as whatever you like to drink. For now, it is late so why don’t you get your things and then tomorrow we’ll show you where everything is in town?”

“That would be great. I can’t thank you enough.”

As they walked to the bus station, David kept glancing at Ron who looked like he was barely holding himself upright. He wanted to order the man back to the house and into bed but knew he couldn’t do that, so instead he remained silent.

Ron in the meantime was wondering how he had gotten so lucky. David and Julie seemed genuinely nice and it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Nothing ever went this easy in his life and he had no doubt something would go wrong soon, but for now he counted his blessings.

“How old are you?” David asked.

“Twenty five. You?”

“Thirty. Julie is twenty eight. What do you do for a living?”

“Anything to pay the bills honestly. Right now I need to look for a job.”

“Do you have savings?”

“I’ll pay rent, don’t worry,” Ron replied quickly, thinking David thought he would be a bum and not pay.

“That was not why I asked. It would do you well not to jump to conclusions around us. If you didn’t have savings, I would offer to hold rent until you got a job, at which point you could pay what you owed. I don’t know what kind of people you’ve encountered in your life, but I’d like to get the benefit of the doubt. Now, which locker is yours?”

Ron almost cringed at the mild scolding, not wanting to anger his new landlord so quickly, and walked towards the locker with his belongings. When he pulled out the duffel bag, David looked at him in concern. “That’s it? Your entire life is in that bag?”

“It is. Where do we go to get keys made?” Ron asked to get the attention off him and his bag.

“Right over here. It looks like you need someone to get you to stay in one place long enough to accumulate more. Let me carry that bag,” David said, taking the bag while completely ignoring Ron’s complaints. He simply slung it over his shoulder and walked into the store to get a copy of the key made while Ron walked after him, shocked at David’s easy going ways.

It didn’t take them long to get back home, a new key now in Ron’s pocket, and the smells of food came their way from the kitchen. “Ron, I made you some dinner. If you came on the bus I’m sure you’d like some.”

“You didn’t have to do that Julie.”

“It was my pleasure. Do you need the laundry room? I can show you where it is?”

“I’ll deal with that tomorrow, thank you. I think I just want sleep.”

“Eat first, then sleep. If you leave your clothes downstairs I’ll at least throw the first load in for you, save you some time,” Julie said easily as she put a plate on the table. Seeing David eying it she put a second, smaller, plate on the table as well and pointed. “Eat you hungry beast.”

Once Ron had gone to bed, leaving his clothes behind despite his many protests, Julie quickly took it to the laundry room with David right behind her. “That boy needs someone to look after him. Look at these clothes, they won’t last him all that much longer. What does he do for a living?”

“Nothing right now, he’s looking for a job. He said he does whatever work he can get. Something isn’t right but he gets very defensive very easily so we need to take it easy and not ask too many questions,” David said calmly. “I’ll make some inquires for a halfway decent job for him. He looks like a hard worker, at least once he’s had some sleep. I wonder where he came from but I think we’ll find out over time.”

“You’re going to hate me for saying it, but he’s kind of cute,” Julie said as she closed the washer and turned around.

“I thought the same and I don’t usually fall for guys. When I opened the door he clearly looked me over before realizing that he was checking out a guy. I could see all his thoughts right there on his face. It could be exactly what we’ve been missing.”

“A threesome?”

“Or at least someone else to flirt with, even if nothing happens.”

“I’m fairly certain if I flirted with someone else you’d drag me to our bedroom to show me who I belong to,” Julie said with a chuckle as they made their way back to the living room.

“Exactly right. We haven’t had heated sex like that in a while, you know that.”

“True. What do we have recorded that we can watch?” Julie asked, clearly ending the conversation there. They both knew it wasn’t fair to Ron, but at the same time it could end up working well for all of them.

W
hen Ron woke
up he felt better than he had in a long time, and he knew it was because he hadn’t slept this peacefully in a long time. The building he had been living in before had been noisy and his girlfriend had been asking suspicious questions for a while which had him on edge. He had always counted himself lucky to not be a full vampire which meant he could eat normal foods even if he didn’t necessarily crave them and he could do without, which had always allowed him to pretend to be normal when with others. The other side of it meant that he needed sleep like normal people, while full vampires didn’t. Looking at the clock he saw that it was late morning and he knew he should get up before his new housemates came looking for him. He wasn’t sure if their nosiness was a good thing, but he had almost instantly taken a liking to them.

As soon as he walked out of his room he almost tripped over the laundry basket sitting there, all his clothes clean and folded inside. He stared for a minute before putting it on his bed and heading down the stairs. “Julie? You didn’t have to do all my laundry. I could have done it.”

“It was no problem! Are you hungry? You must be after missing breakfast!”

“I’m actually not, but thank you. I should go out and look for a job, I’m sure David has told you by now.”

“He did and he said not that long ago that he thought he had found you something. It’s not incredibly exciting but it pays well. I think he’s in his office.”

David had been looking for a job for him? Ron thought as he walked to the office. Why would he do that for someone he had barely met and who clearly didn’t have clear skills? “David?”

“Ron! Glad to see you awake. Any longer and I would have had to make sure you were alive. You must have been exhausted. Did you eat?”

“Julie offered but I’m not hungry. She said you had found a job?”

“Yes. It’s quite boring but it pays well. Our local hospital has huge archive rooms but everything is going to digital data now. They need someone who can scan in all the old patient files so they can be shredded. Are you interested?”

“That does sound boring but at least it’s inside and out of the weather. I imagine it gets cold up here?”

“It does, soon it will be winter and most other jobs are seasonal because of it. The hospital is always looking for workers so I had called and they told me about this one. They haven’t been able to fill it because it truly is boring, but they said they are willing to pay a little bit more if you can start right away? They said if you finish the backup scanning at any point, which would be a long time from now, they’d find you another job within the hospital.”

“At this point I just need a job. I can start tomorrow if they’d like. Should I call them?”

“I will call. You’ll have to go in this afternoon for background and drug testing.”

“I can do that. Thank you David.”

“You’re welcome. So if you don’t mind me asking, where did you come from?”

“Knoxville.”

“Tennessee? You’ve come a long way then. What made you come here?”

“I had heard good things about this town, and heard there were jobs here.” Ron didn’t add that he had heard about it when he was already in Minnesota, and that arriving in Minnesota had been because it was the cheapest bus ticket that got him a good distance from where he had lived.

“Well I hope we can live up to that reputation, but we’re happy to help you. Is there anything you need?”

“No thank you. I need to run errands and then I should head to the hospital.”

“Dinner is at six, we expect you there,” David said firmly. “And I want to hear that you ate lunch at the very least.”

“You do realize I’m a grown man, not a child?”

“You are far too skinny. Just grab a sandwich and be at dinner, otherwise I have to listen to Julie complaining about you not eating.”

Ron just nodded and headed out of the house, knowing he needed to go hunt before going to the hospital and being around all that blood. He hadn’t hunted in a few weeks and he needed it desperately, so when he saw a path out of town he walked down it to find it leading right into the woods. Closing his eyes he focused his senses until he caught the scent of a rabbit. It wasn’t much but it would do for now so he crept through the woods, hoping to catch it quickly. The longer he was there, the more time he would have to cover for if someone noticed him missing and he had the feeling that David and Julie would notice him missing. If the rent wasn’t so low he wouldn’t put up with it, but for now it was exactly what he needed. Sensing that he was closer to the rabbit, he paused before suddenly jumping right on it.

His needs satisfied and feeling more at rest, he started his way out of the woods only to come face to face with David. “I think we should talk.”

“I’ll pack my bags,” Ron said easily, feeling rejected at losing this opportunity so quickly.

“Did I say you had to leave?”

“I just assumed.”

“You assume too much. Come on, I just don’t want to talk out in the open. I came after you because you left your wallet. Julie had found it in a pants pocket and put it on the hall table.”

“Look, you are probably freaked out so let me just get my things and I’ll get out of your way.”

“If you don’t stop assuming we’ll turn you away, I will tie you to a chair while you hear us out,” David said, now with an authoritative tone in his voice. “We are not going to kick you out.”

Once inside, which didn’t take long, David pointed at the couch and called for Julie. “First, Julie. Ron here is a vampire.”

Ron looked surprised when she didn’t even flinch or look shocked, before turning back to David. “Half-vampire actually. Why are neither of you shocked?”

“We aren’t fully human either. Dragon shifters,” Julie answered with a smile as she plopped down on the couch next to Ron. “So you can eat like normal?”

“Yes, though if I don’t I can live on blood alone but I have to do one or the other. I also need sleep like a normal person. I do have urges if I go without blood for too long, which is why I went into the woods this morning before going to the hospital. I can infect someone through two ways, either by biting them or by fathering a child.”

“Interesting. Wonder if any children you and I would have would be dragon and vampire both,” Julie said thoughtfully.

“You’re not going to find out,” David growled. “Though I agree that’s an interesting question. Is this why you’re always moving?”

“Yes. My last girlfriend found out and threatened to get someone to shoot me. I’d rather live in safety.”

“Makes sense. Nobody knows about us. We will keep your secret, you don’t have to worry about that, but if you get urges we need you to be honest. I don’t really want to be a dragon vampire shifter.”

“You’re not as pale as I imagined vampires to be,” Julie said as she ran her hand over Ron’s cheek.

“Julie, get your hands off him,” David threatened.

“It explains your demanding ways,” Ron said as he looked at David. “Dragon shifters tend to be more dominant, right?”

“We’re protective in different ways. It’s why Julie is always asking if you want to eat, she feels it’s her duty to protect us from ourselves by not eating or sleeping enough. I can get angry if Julie flirts with someone else too much or if something else threatens her or our relationship. Now you are part of this household I will probably be protective over you as well, but we’ll have to see how that plays out. I’ve never tested it.”

“Just don’t tell me what to do.”

“Then don’t do or say anything stupid.”

“I need to get to the hospital. I’ll see you both for dinner, and yes, I will be here.”

“Don’t you dare run. I will hunt you down,” David said just before Ron could walk out. He heard the threat but didn’t respond to it and started walking towards the hospital. He just wanted to get the paperwork done so he would have a job, and then he could worry about what to do next. He had no doubt David was serious and he had to be honest in saying he did not want to find out what David would do if he did run. He might be a vampire but he was no match for a decent sized dragon and based on David’s size, he was probably a large dragon.

Paperwork, background and drug tests and other explanations took much longer than he expected and when he got home it was already six thirty. He knew he was late for dinner and the moment he sat down Julie cuffed him on the head before handing him a plate of food. “Glad to see you came back, I was getting worried there for a minute. Did you get everything taken care of?”

“Yes, it just took longer. I start at eight tomorrow. Do you two work?”

“I don’t,” Julie answered. “I do catering and baking, but that’s only part time.”

“I own a construction company,” David said with a smile. “We are finishing up some projects now and then we are moving to smaller inside projects for people during the winter months. I’m usually not as involved with those and I can set my own schedule for the most part. This house is actually one I renovated, it was in pretty bad shape when I bought it years ago.”

“That’s pretty cool. So how long have you known each other?”

“Two years,” David answered. “She was new to town and getting involved with some fairly shady people so I told her to move in here. The rest is history I suppose, we’ve been together ever since.”

“This town looks so peaceful, are there really that many shady people around?”

“There are always a few, no matter where you go,” David said easily. “I take it you are used to either really small towns or big cities?”

“For the most part. I’ve always preferred the big cities, there is less chance of anyone finding out anything. I usually avoid dating so that I don’t get close to anyone, but I had been in Tennessee for almost two years and it just happened. I never intended for it to get serious, and it didn’t, but she still got close enough that she noticed when I left town suddenly for a few hours. She was clingy but I never thought she’d resort to following me. As it turns out, she thought I was cheating on her which is why she followed me. Thinking back there were signs that not only was she following me, she was getting too close but hindsight is always twenty twenty. I packed my things, cancelled my apartment lease and left town within an hour of her confronting me. I don’t know if she understood what she saw but I wasn’t sticking around to find out.”

“That was probably a good idea. It’s easier for us to hide since we don’t have any specific urge towards changing, so we can go longer times between it. The main thing we have is added strength but we can play that off as working out. We actually have a gym in the basement for that reason. What are your feelings about working around the smell of blood at the hospital?”

“It’s overwhelming but I just need to make sure to go hunting more regularly. I’ve worked in a hospital once before and I didn’t hunt often enough and it became unbearable if there was a big trauma coming in.”

“If at any point you feel that need, go hunt. Don’t worry about us and we can cover for you if need be. You’re not alone in this anymore, don’t forget that. Do you mind if I ask how you are a half-vampire?”

“My father was a vampire, my mother wasn’t. It’s rare for a vampire to mate without turning his or her mate, but my father did. It’s odd because it means I don’t fully fit into the vampire communities but not really outside of it either.”

“I had never heard of that being possible. Just communicate with us, alright? We will do the same. I’m fairly large once shifted so I can’t shift here, but if we ever leave to do so and you want to come, you are welcome to. We aren’t dangerous once shifted, we still recognize others.”

“I won’t deny I’m curious to see a dragon. I’ll try to communicate but I’m terrible at it,” Ron replied, understanding what David was saying but knowing he would struggle with it. Ever since he had moved out of his father’s community after high school he had struggled with finding his own way and while it had been hard, it had also made him much more independent. Relying on others wasn’t something he did, and with his father angry at him for leaving what he believed the right place for him to be was, he had never wanted to go home either.

While Ron wasn’t necessarily a shifter, he understood being different and he knew that David and Julie understood him on a level most people didn’t. Because he was so secretive about it he probably had encountered others at some point without realizing it, and he knew he would have likely done much better in some of the places he had lived if he had friends he could depend on. Looking at David he knew he could depend on the man, and that he would be there for him when he needed it. He had no idea why that made him twitch but seeing how Julie looked at David made him want Julie to look at him that way as well.

“Stop undressing me with your eyes,” David said, amusement in his eyes.

Ron flushed furiously but Julie just put a hand on his thigh, which increased his flush. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. He likes it,” Julie grinned. “Don’t you David?”

“Well it is quite flattering but I’ve always been more attracted to women,” David laughed back. “Though if Ron wanted to watch, he’s welcome to.”

Ron immediately started sputtering as Julie’s hand slid further up his thigh and he felt himself starting to grow hard. He wanted to curse himself for having these thoughts and feelings, which were clearly visible to both David and Julie. David suddenly stood up, pulled Julie off the chair and flipped her over his shoulder, swatting her butt hard. “That’s for that hand being where it shouldn’t be. Would you like to join us Ron?”

“Uhh no thanks,” Ron finally said as David looked at him. It was very obvious that David was as hard as himself and what they were about to do, and as much as he wanted to watch, that was moving entirely too fast for his liking.

“Just come in if you change your mind,” David said as he slapped Julie again before turning and walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs. To get his mind off what was happening upstairs he started clearing the table, but he couldn’t get his mind off the fact that he had just been invited to watch sex between two very sexy people. Dropping the silverware in the sink he started up the stairs, his mind made up. He heard noises and he was uncomfortably hard, and as much as he thought he should go to his own room and finish himself off, he wanted to watch. Opening the door quietly he slipped into the room and the second he saw what was going on in there he knew his pants had to be unbuttoned to make more space for his erection.