Taming the Dragon (Loved by the Dragon, #3) (4 page)

“I wished to remind you of our lunch plans tomorrow,” Teo said. His thumb made a single stroke over Marcy’s shoulder then he released her.

Lunch plans? What the fuck is he talking about?
Marcy thought. She tilted her head to gaze up at him with her mouth slightly slack. When her eyes lowered to their dinner companions, she saw Helena’s glare had chilled to Antarctic levels.

“Lunch sounds great, Teo, thanks,” Chloe replied, smiling as she played along.

“I’ll meet you both at noon by the cove. I think Astrid will enjoy the calm waters there,” Teo said.

“We’ll see you then,” Marcy murmured. Her shoulders felt cold without his hands on them.

After Teo’s departure, their dinner companions became more amicable. Marcy wasn’t fooled by their change in tune, but at least it made the time less uncomfortable.

Charitable donors made speeches prior then servers visited each table with artfully arranged dinners. The expensive plates held succulent cuts of medium-rare steak, grilled asparagus spears coated with a layer of savory butter, and the cheesiest mashed potatoes Marcy ever sampled. The miniscule serving size of the creamy side dish was enough to fill her stomach. The night ended with a performance by talented dancers. For show, Chloe broke decorum and penned her check at the table, adding enough trailing zeroes to make Helena and Archibald stare.

“Holy crap, that was intense. I didn’t know snobs could backpedal so quickly,” Marcy said as she and Chloe stumbled into the elevator, giggling crazily together. “I’ve now had my first taste of rich people wine. I wonder how much of the money they raise went into supporting that shindig?”

“Barely a fraction, girl. Which is why all of the portions are so tiny and rich. They fill you up with bite-sized morsels and microscopic steak filets so you don’t have room for a lot of their expensive wine.”

“I really am full,” Marcy agreed. “Even though I think I had only a bite of food. I wish I had the recipe for those asparagus spears.”

They rode to the top and entered their shared suite. Inside, they found Nuri curled upon the bed fast asleep. Astrid had cuddled against her nanny, clutching a blanket in one hand and burying her face against the wolf’s rust red pelt.

“That is too adorable.”
And too cute to pass up.
Marcy dug out her camera and clicked a few photos with the flash off.

“Nuri is a godsend,” Chloe whispered. “I had my doubts when Saul first told me he wanted to find a werewolf babysitter, but I’m glad to have her. She’s amazing.”

“I still can’t believe she does it for free with no expectations of compensation.”

According to Chloe, some shapeshifters like Nuri were born as animals, only they learned to walk as humans at some point in their adult lives. Nuri lacked appreciation for technology and had simple desires. Family. Peace. Belonging. She lived as part of Saul’s pack.

Quiet as thieves, they moved into the neighboring room and used the sink to wash the makeup from their faces. Afterward, they changed from their finery into pajamas and settled on the couch in front of the television.

“Why didn’t you warn me you made lunch plans with Teo?” Marcy asked, interrupting their movie with her abrupt question.

“I didn’t,” Chloe laughed. “I think he was only trying to put Helena in her place. Did you see her expression? She looked like she’d sucked on a lemon.”

“What if he was serious?”

“Trust me. Teo has better things to do than to hold our hands at his resort,” Chloe assured her.

Chloe was right. The next day passed without Teo’s presence for a shared lunch by the cove. Despite her disdain for the arrogant dragon, Marcy couldn’t help but feel let down by the ruse.

W
aves crashed against the white sand shore as Marcy captured the foaming tide with paint. At first, she’d sat beside Chloe with a collapsible watercolor easel while Astrid made castles in the sand. The child made the perfect artist’s subject until she’d passed out. While Marcy finished the painting, Chloe sat nearby beneath an umbrella with a sexy paperback novel in her hands.

“Ugh. Hey, Marcy? I’m going to take Astrid back to our room. I’m feeling a little tired myself. Watching her run around wore me out.”

“All right. I want to finish this painting first. Guess I’ll see you guys for dinner?”

“Sure.” Chloe gathered Astrid into her arms and plucked their blanket from the sand. With them gone, Marcy had no distractions from the creative scene coming to life on her easel.

Astrid is such a beautiful little girl. Smart as a cookie, too.
Marcy had been taking pictures of the child since her birth, saving the couple any need to hire a professional photographer. It was only another of Marcy’s hats: artist, plant enthusiast, blogger, candlemaker, and financial whiz. She had her own mother to blame for it by sharing a love of all things artistic.

A shadow fell over Marcy and her work. When she glanced up to her left, she saw a man standing over her with his hands in the pockets of his loose, white linen pants. A small, startled shriek rose in her throat until she recognized the chiseled features and intense green eyes.

“You scared the shit out of me!” Her heart pounded in her chest, a wild and frenzied rhythm

“My apologies. I did not wish to interrupt your work.”

“Well, say something next time. It’s kind of creepy to just stare at a woman.”

“I apologize again.”

Marcy tilted her head and raised one hand to shield her eyes from the sun shining over his head. “You’re full of apologies today. I guess you felt like an asshole?”

“Indeed. I came to ask if you have seen my aviary.”

“No, I haven’t seen the aviary,” she said in a clipped tone. Another place where he’d no doubt attempt to rub his immense wealth in her face.

“You wish to be alone,” Teo said. His words were as much an observation as they were an inquiry.

“I wish to know why the hell you’ve hovering by me,” she mocked him, only to feel like a bitch when the words left her tongue.

“I would like to make amends for the poor impression I have made.”

I’m going to regret this. He’s hot, but all of the good looks in the world won’t change the fact he’s an asshole,
Marcy thought sadly.
Or a dragon. Not like I really have a chance with him anyway.

“Marcy?” Teo spoke in a soft tone.

“Why now?”

Five years ago, meeting Teo had seemed like an outrageous, impossible dream. Her best friend had fallen in love with an amazing dragon shifter who worshipped the ground beneath her feet, and the arrival of his friend Teo seemed fated until the black dragon opened his mouth.

“Chloe tells me you own a camera. You will want to bring it with you,” Teo told her. “Meet me inside the hotel lobby in thirty minutes.”

He left Marcy staring with her mouth agape while he walked away.

The nerve of him, ordering me to meet him. Fuck that. I’m not going.
She turned back to her watercolor, determined to blow Teo off. Five minutes later she packed her materials and stalked across the sand.

“Fine,” she muttered to herself. “I’ll go, but not for him. I want to see the birds.”

Marcy traded her art supplies for her camera bag, took a quick shower, and pulled on her favorite sundress. The burgundy color flattered her tanned skin and dark hair. She considered it her armor, boosting her self-confidence so she could withstand Teo’s aristocratic bullshit for another day.

She peeked in to see Chloe and Astrid snuggled tight on their bed, then she left the suite to embark on her day. As promised, Teo waited for her in the lobby where he stood out like a sore thumb. Female tourists took appreciative glances at him, clearly unaware the hunky specimen was the resort’s owner. No man should look as good in white as he did.

“So where is this aviary? I didn’t see anything on the map,” Marcy commented. She adjusted the strap of camera case, aware of Teo’s eyes drifting over her legs. If she had to pick any part of her body to take pride in, it had to be her legs — her tits a close second. Marcy’s legs were thick but strong, her calves perfectly shaped when worn with heels to boost her height. Four inches would only nick the surface of the height difference between her and Teo.

“Of course not. Only attractions belong on the map. My private aviary is a sanctuary,” the mysterious dragon said. He offered his arm to her, which she took with dwindling reluctance.

They took a dune buggy down one of the private dirt roads leading away from the resort grounds. Teo drove, offering another surprise. Marcy had expected him to summon a servant. The thirty minute drive took them deeper into the natural jungle, where Marcy spotted monkeys in the trees and wild capybara wandering beside the road. Teo slowed the vehicle long enough for her to take photos and to point out the animals she missed along the way.

The aviary took up a large tract of land. The metal frame gleamed in the light and supported the wire mesh stretched between each section. Semi-translucent glass composed the lower five feet around the entire structure.

“You may wish to remove your shoes. The heels will sink into the soft soil here.”

After heeding his warning, Marcy padded on her bare feet behind him over cool ground with dense patches of grass and growth. It felt good beneath her naked toes. Teo unlocked the door and held it open for her like a gentleman.

Inside, brightly plumaged parrots perched on branches with thick foliage. Long legged pink birds strutted beside a small river, accompanied by a few native ducks. A trio of hyacinth macaws nested above a man-made pond located near the back of the structure.

“There’s so many.” Her eyes became as wide as saucers when she noticed a rare, blue macaw preening its feathers on a low branch. “You have a Spix!”

“Two,” Teo murmured. “The fate of their kind angers me, and so I have spent some of my fortune to put an end to smuggling. From time to time I acquire a bird long past its prime and unable to survive in the wild. They are rehabilitated here and given a home. We buy them from irresponsible pet owners who would put them in tiny cages.”

It wasn’t what she had expected from him.

“That’s wonderful, Teo. I mean it. Are your pair mates?”

Teo shook his head. “Not yet, but I hope they will change their minds. I try my best to give them a good life while here, but...”

“It’s no substitute for the wild,” she finished.

“No, it is not,” Teo agreed sadly.

An umbrella cockatoo worked his way closer to them and studied Marcy from afar. She hung back while Teo reached out to caress its feathered fringe. “Why are you standing there? Come this way. They wish to meet you.”

“I can touch one?”

“If they desire it, yes.” When Teo turned to face her, a large macaw with ruby wings landed on his outstretched arm. The blue and green feathers accenting the red made for a striking contrast.

“Why don’t they fear you? Chloe once told me animals can tell Saul is a predator. I’ve seen some give him a wide berth.”

“They can. Most animals recognize me for what I am, but many adapt to my presence over time. I visit these creatures often and have gained their trust,” he explained.

“But how? I’d be afraid you planned to eat me.”

Teo shook his head. “Does a lion not eventually earn the trust of his human handler?”

“I always considered it to be the opposite, that the human earns the lion’s trust.”

Teo’s quiet but brief chuckle almost escaped her notice. “No.”

“Does he have a name?” She trailed her fingers down the soft feathers.

“This one I call Bailador.”

“Dancer?” Marcy’s brow shot upward.

“It suits him,” Teo replied with a shrug. “When my servant tends the plants here, he often plays music. This one likes to bounce to the beat.” Teo brought the bird close to his face and lowered his voice to a whisper, as if in conversation with the creature.

He’s like a whole different person in here,
she mused, intrigued by the change that had come over him.

Bailador hopped from Teo’s arm to Marcy’s instead. The sudden weight surprised her and she remained still as the bird sidled up her arm and settled on her shoulder. His claws tickled her bare skin, but she didn’t dare to utter a complaint, even when he used his beak to groom through her hair. Bailador nibbled at the small clip pinning her bangs back from her face, but quickly lost interest when Teo placed a handful of large shelled nuts in Marcy’s palm.

“
Nogal
,” the bird called in its croaky voice.

Marcy giggled. It made sense the bird would speak Spanish rather than English. “You want this walnut, hmm? Here you go.”

The green-winged macaw took the offered treat in one claw and went to work on cracking the thick shell. Teo stepped back around the corner.

“Where are you going?” Marcy called to him.

Teo reappeared with a full-length mirror and tilted its angle on the stand until Marcy and the parrots on the perch came into view.

“I do not know the first thing about taking photographs with your device. I asked my servant to bring this for your use.”

Marcy stared at him initially, then the laughter spilled out of her. “Teo, my camera has a folding tripod and a timer. I’m not a girl taking selfies in the bathroom for Facebook.”

“Oh.”

Once Marcy set up the stand, she made a few adjustments of the lens and deactivated the camera flash. She posed for at least a dozen pictures of herself and her new friend. Bailador cooed and rubbed his feathered cheek against her face.

“Will this do for your profile photograph?” Teo asked, his voice soft and genuine, catching Marcy by surprise.

“Yes...” She stole a peek at him. “Thank you. But... my camera does have a timer. Aren’t you going to take a photo with me?”

“You are very welcome, but I do not take photographs.”

“Why not?”

“I prefer paintings. It is a lost, forgotten art often set aside in the digital age due to the ease of using technology.”

“Forgotten art? I’ve spent years taking photography classes to develop my skill. It’s not as easy as point and shoot, Teo.”