Treasure Lane Dragons: Complete Series (BBW Paranormal Dragon Shapeshifter Romance) (4 page)

Gold Valley produced some of the best gold in the world, and it was the home of the most talented craftsmen, the town having lived and breathed gold for as long as it had been around. As such, it was in both the best interest of the dragons and the humans for it to stay intact.

The dragons profited from keeping the humans there, of course, as they helped fund their riches. Some of the traditions that had been formed over the centuries were now long outdated but still ripe in the pages of the town’s history. One of those traditions was the one that now caused Gemma such aggravation.

Each year, the town had to pay the Bluewings a bounty set by the dragons. It was supposed to be fair but just high enough to make the craftsmen worry and toil, as they couldn’t just hand over chunks of gold – no, it had to be carefully made into gorgeous jewelry and nothing but the best would do for the dragons.

But, with each generation, there were less and less craftsmen in town, and so the bounties were harder to fulfill on time.

And now, Devon Bluewing had made it more than clear that what used to be enough would no longer be anywhere near adequate. It could potentially drive people from their homes – after toiling over the dragon’s work, there wouldn’t be enough gold to sell to put food on the table. Of course, no one dared disagree with the dragon, but dammit, Gemma couldn’t just endure it without saying a word. He might have been a big bully, but he was just going to have to see reason.

Even knuckleheaded dragons could be negotiated with, right? Besides, wasn’t paying a bounty awfully outdated to begin with?

On shaky legs, she stood up and brushed herself off, the knees of her worn jeans grey with dirt. She sighed inwardly and adjusted the pack on her shoulders, stocked with a sandwich, a flashlight and her cellphone, and trudged onwards. Nope, he wasn’t going to scare her that easily. Devon Bluewing was just going to have to deal with hearing from her, and there was nothing in the world she could think of that could scare her away from her mission this time.

CHAPTER THREE

Gemma

Gemma squared her jaw in a desperate attempt to keep from shivering like a leaf. She’d never been to the mansion, and for good reason. No one ever went up there, unless one of the Bluewings personally sent for them, and over the centuries there had been plenty of people, who saw the mansion once and then promptly died. Dragons didn’t take kindly to disagreements. She tried to put that aside. It was a civilized time now, and even dragons had to play by the rules, right? Gemma swallowed hard.

She’d been left to wait in a large library, the walls covered with old leather-bound books in languages she could only guess the heritage of. The servant who allowed her entrance, had smooth features and dazzling sandy eyes – a Komodo dragon shifter, she guessed. Though shifters were a bit of an open secret, dragons were still barely acknowledged or talked about even in the shifter circles, let alone by humans.

There was just something unsettling about the thought that these creatures, who could level cities at a whim, were still alive and well in the world. Perhaps that was why only other reptilian shifters could work for them.

When the door creaked open behind her, she whipped around immediately. Her breath hitched in her lungs a little as she caught her first sight of the fabled, hated man, the playboy every woman gushed after. Devon Bluewing strolled in, standing much taller than she had anticipated and being much more striking in person than she’d dared expect.

He walked straight up to her, stopping just a few feet from her, and so abruptly that she stumbled back a step. He smiled, a predatory grin that made her weak at the knees.

The way he looked at her felt like he could see right down into her soul, his blue eyes seemingly so innocent, but hiding a fire that was almost palpable.

„What is it that you require, miss...“ he said, trailing off as he raised an expectant brow at her. He had a long face, a strong nose and high cheekbones that hinted at the beast that was hidden within. Everything about him screamed power, speed and ruthlessness. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but the man was
hot
.

Of course he’s hot. He’s a dragon, after all,
Gemma thought to herself, suppressing the snicker that wanted to crack her lips.

„Teeley, Gemma Teeley,“ she offered, trying her best to stop undressing him with her eyes.

It was harder to do than she thought it would, though, what with how his broad shoulders bulged out of his black silk button-up and how his slacks clung to his thick muscled thighs. The paparazzi had not done the man justice – he was built like a Greek god, and suddenly it became
very
easy to understand why every single model and actress in Hollywood was drooling all over him. He showed up in the tabloids with a new girl or two every week, and Gemma had started wondering if the damn dragon had some magic she wasn’t aware of.

It turned out he did – being mouthwateringly gorgeous, in that dark, gloomy kind of way.

„Gem. A pleasure. Devon Bluewing,“ he said, a slight smirk perched on his lips. She wondered how his lips would taste if he kissed her, and the makings of a blush wanted to creep on her cheeks. Hell, she didn’t even mind the nickname.

No, behave!
Gemma told herself sternly.

„Mister Bluewing, I...“

„Call me Devon,“ he interjected, keeping his blue eyes on her. It was like being stared down by a wild animal – she knew she could make a run for it, but it wouldn’t really matter. He would catch her anyway.

“Devon,” she started again, reluctantly liking the way his name felt on her tongue. “I’m here today because I feel I have to tell you that the new bounty rule you set on Gold Valley isn’t fair.”

Like someone had flipped a switch, his casual, almost warm expression turned stony and cold in the flash of a second.

Oh no. Not good,
she thought, keeping herself from gnawing on her lower lip. Now he was really looking at her like he was going to eat her up, and not in the good but the
bad
way. The way that ended with her in a box, sent to her parents as a pile of ash. Still, she persisted, ignoring all the klaxons screaming in her ears, and trudging onward, determined to get through her little monologue before he cooked her like a marshmallow.

“Gold Valley can barely deal with the old requirements set by your father. He knew that, which is why he hadn’t raised the amount for so long. We’re just barely coming out of the recession now, and the jewelry market is only beginning to bounce back from the hit it took, so I feel like it’s really unfair that you… “

“Stop,” he said, motioning at her like she was a gnat buzzing around in his peripheral vision.

Her words got stuck in her throat, and Gemma frowned. She hadn’t noticed before, but she was trembling a little. Not out of fear, but the adrenaline that coursed through her veins, knowing that she was standing in front of the man, whom she knew as the giant dragon, flying over her house. Just looking at him made her feel vertigo, thinking of him flying so high, his huge wings carrying him into the clouds, higher and higher… Gemma felt a bit woozy at that mental image.

She might have had a
teensy
, tiny, completely unnoticeable deathly fear of heights. Having a conversation with someone, who could take her into the stratosphere and then drop her to her death, was not something that soothed her phobia in any way, shape or form.

“How long has your family lived in Gold Valley?” he asked, turning his back to her and walking to one of the windows that provided a clear view of the valley. It was dark outside, and she could barely make out the flicker of lights down in the valley. One of those lights was her home.

“Six generations.”

“Good. Then your family was here when my grandfather Dominic still ruled, and they know that the Bluewing dragons have been nothing but protective of Gold Valley, and we would never ask for more than we know the town can provide. I remind you that it is only because of the protection of the Bluewing dragons that Gold Valley still stands,” he said, his words pointed as daggers.

“Does it really matter, which dragon lords over us – Greenplains, Redblades, Bluewings? You’re all the same,” Gemma snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. He whipped around, his eyes ablaze. Gemma got the feeling she’d just said something very wrong.

“The Bluewings are nothing like the Redblades,” he spat, venom in his words. “You best not think we are.”

“Is that a threat?” Gemma asked, raising a brow at the man.
What the fuck are you doing, Gemma? Of course that’s a threat! Shut up!
But of course she wasn’t going to shut up. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and she could feel anger rushing through her. Dragon or no dragon, she wasn’t going to let him be a total prick.

She could almost see steam rising from him, and while the similarities with his dragon hadn’t been so obvious before, she could see it clear as day now. In the faint light that fell on him through the window of the soft-lit room, the shadows under his eyes and cheeks made him look severe and dangerous. His blue eyes flashed gold, and his nostrils flared. It was only for a fraction of a second, but right then and there, she knew exactly what he looked like as a dragon. It had been that obvious.

Instead of chilling her to the bone, as it would have any rational person, it just angered her further. Who the hell did he think he was, trying to intimidate her? Pfft, no overgrown lizard with wings was going to make her tremble!

“I have nothing to gain from threatening you,” he said, his voice level. His expression cleared, and he smirked once more, giving Gemma a look at that bad boy visage he had so carefully constructed for the public eye. “But I’m not going to lessen the demands on Gold Valley either. Most of the families have been here for more than five generations. If they wanted to leave, they would have by now.

By raising the demands, I’m making sure that the families who have something to contribute keep growing, and the ones that are simply dragging along leave. It’s tradition to ask for a bounty from the village in return for our patronage, and I am not about to change that.”

She fumed.

“You talk about tradition! What about some of the old traditions, huh? Gold Valley had to offer a sacrifice of the most beautiful girl in town every decade some generations ago. Are you going to bring that back too, seeing as you’re such a traditionalist? Or what about the ritual roof burnings, where every five years all the straw roofs were burnt down by the Bluewing elder? Or… Why are you looking at me like that?” Gemma asked, the look he gave her suddenly stopping her from rattling on about old and forgotten traditions that had been left to the side because they were no longer civil or reasonable.

He eyed her as if he’d just seen her for the first time, as if she was standing there in front of him without a stitch of clothes to cover her, naked underneath his gaze. The way he pierced right through her, made Gemma question whether it really was such a good idea to come confront the man. He walked back to her from the window, standing so close to her that she could inhale his musky scent with each breath. His foreboding presence made her core throb and her knees wobble.

It was quite unfair, really – no man should be allowed to have that kind of effect on a woman.

“You’re right, my Gem,” he said, his tone sugary sweet now. “There have been plenty of traditions that have been forgotten. Not least of which is the fact that I
do
have a right to the most beautiful woman of my choosing. You’ve given me a great idea, Gem.” Without missing a beat, he raised his fingers to her chin and trekked a line down over her neck, finally stopping at the very collar of her shirt. Gemma was rooted in place, her heart pounding wildly, and his touch leaving a scorched trail where it crossed her skin, sending sparks of desire scuttling through her.

“What idea?”

“It is time to bring the forgotten traditions back to life. And I’ve chosen you.” He took a deep breath, and his eyes fluttered closed, long lashes resting on his cheeks. Devon almost looked gentle that way, though Gemma was in no condition to notice anything good, kind or nice about him at that very moment.

“What!?” she shrieked, drawing a chuckle from the man. He withdrew his hand, licking his lips like he was about to eat her up as color rose to her cheeks, tinting them with an angry red.

“You heard me. I’ll give you one night to gather your things from your home, and I expect you back here tomorrow. We will have the wedding in two weeks. I’ll send a servant down to help you fetch your things. I’m sure we’ll be happy together, Gemma.” He turned to leave, seemingly unfazed by the righteous indignation etched across Gemma’s features.

Who the fuck does he think he is!?

“Wait! You can’t do that!” she gasped, indignation fighting with all-out fury in her. Devon stopped, only half-turning to face her.

“Really? Who’s going to stop me?” he asked, a smirk perched on his lips.

“Um,” she mumbled, startled. Could he really be
that
full of himself? Probably. Yup, he definitely could be just that full of himself. “You have no right to demand that of me. I don’t have to agree to that!”

He seemed to ponder that for a moment, his blue eyes glancing downwards before locking on hers again, ferocious and full of certainty.

“No, you don’t. But if you don’t want to play by the rules, then there’s really nothing stopping me from burning Gold Valley down to the ground, is there? I mean, if the village doesn’t want to adhere to its side of the bargain, then why should I, hmm? Of course, your decision is your own.” With that, he gave her a wink and spun around, heading out of the library as if he’d just told her something completely casual and common, instead of the fact that he was going to
ruin
her life.  She was left in the library, sputtering and shocked.

But, she knew exactly, who he was and why he thought he could do something like that. He was a dragon, and a dragon always got what he wanted.