Fire & Rescue Shifters Collection 1 Read online

  Bertram hissed, but reluctantly raised his tail to allow Dai past. The firefighter’s eyes stayed fixed on Virginia, without even a glance at the gold coins crunching under his boots or the fantastic hoard all around.

  Perfect trust in her poured down the mate-bond as he stopped directly underneath her. “I’m here, Virginia.”

  Virginia met his eyes, reflecting the faith and love straight back at him, the mate-bond so incandescent she could almost see it in the air between them. “Daifydd Drake, my mate.”

  She took her hand out of her pocket, opening her fingers. Gold and rubies gleamed as they fell. “I give you the Dragon’s Eye for your hoard.”

  Bertram lunged with a shriek of rage, but Dai was faster. He leapt, snatching the Dragon’s Eye out of midair. Before his feet hit the ground again, they had shimmered into talons.

  The red dragon spread his wings, green eyes blazing with rage and triumph. White-hot flame spilled from his jaws as he roared. *Bertram Russell, I challenge you!*

  The white dragon twisted awkwardly as he aborted his charge. He eyed up the red dragon for a second, then his spines lowered submissively. *Your hoard is superior. I concede your dominance.*

  *I reject your submission!* The red dragon lunged, claws flashing.

  Bertram barely managed to twist away in time. *You—you can’t do that!* He backpedalled rapidly, nearly tripping over his own tail. *I’ve submitted. You can’t hurt me. You’d be outlawed!*

  *And you’d be dead.* Dai’s snarl made Bertram flatten to the floor in terror. *I’ll kill you for touching my mate!*

  “Dai, wait!” Virginia called down, but the red dragon ignored her, intent on stalking Bertram. Virginia danced from foot to foot, nearly toppling off the beam. She didn’t know what happened to outlawed shifters, but she was betting it wasn’t good. “No, he’s not worth it!”

  The white dragon made a break for the door, but the red shot a blast of fire that forced him away from it again. Bertram shrieked in pain as Dai’s teeth closed with a sickening crunch on his throat. The white dragon writhed, futilely trying to claw at Dai, but the larger dragon pinned him down. Virginia could see the thick muscles of Dai’s jaws strain, striving to choke the life out of Bertram.

  If Dai killed him...Virginia took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Concentrating on the mate-bond, she threw her heart and soul into reaching her mate.

  Chapter 16

  *DAI! STOP!*

  Dai jerked as Virginia’s voice echoed in his mind. Her mental shout broke his dragon’s bloodlust, leaving room for human reason to take over. He could feel Bertram’s jugular pulsing under his teeth. It would be so easy to bite down...but then he’d be declared rogue. His own fire team would have to hunt him down.

  A moment of revenge is not worth a lifetime with our mate, he told his inner dragon. The dragon’s rage boiled in his blood...and then slowly, grudgingly, began to subside.

  Dai opened his jaws, allowing Bertram to squirm free. He stared disdainfully down at the cowering white dragon for a moment, then turned his back. Stretching upward, he held out one forefoot to Virginia, claws open.

  She stepped into his grasp without hesitation, and Dai carefully lowered her to the ground. She let out a relieved sigh as her bare feet touched the piled gold of Bertram’s hoard. She swayed, and Dai quickly shifted, supporting her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Virginia leaned her head against his arm. “Never better.” She reached up to his face, tracing the bruises and cuts Hugh hadn’t had time to heal. “You?”

  “I’m fine.” He kissed her fingertips, overcome with relief. “Virginia. My mate.”

  Belatedly, he realized he still clutched the Dragon’s Eye, now that he’d shifted back to human. He chuckled as he pocketed it, freeing his hands to embrace her tightly. “My clever, clever mate. Figuring out how to break Bertram’s dominance over me.”

  “I wasn’t sure it would work,” Virginia said, slightly muffled against his chest. “But I thought, if the Dragon’s Eye is that valuable...” She trailed off, and Dai felt her shoulders move in a small sigh, a twinge of regret passing down the mate-bond. Before he could ask her why, she pulled back a little, looking at Bertram. “What about him?”

  The white dragon glared balefully at them both. Dai sent a wordless command to Bertram, exerting his dominance in order to force the other shifter to revert to human form.

  Bertram struggled to sit upright, blood staining the front of his suit. “You won’t get away with this.” His voice was hoarse but outraged. Already his shoulders were settling into their usual arrogant lines. He pointed an accusing finger at Dai. “You attacked me after I submitted. I’ll see you dragged before the Parliament and outlawed.” His trembling finger jabbed at Virginia. “And as for you—”

  Exactly what Bertram planned to do to Virginia, they never found out. A fiery, winged shape soared through the open doors, so incandescently bright that Dai instinctively squeezed his eyes tight shut. When he opened them again, Commander Ash stood in front of Bertram, hands clasped behind his back.

  “Bertram Russell?” the Commander asked, perfectly composed.

  Bertram stared at him. “Who the bloody hell are you?”

  “Fire Commander Ash, of the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.” Wisps of smoke rose around Ash’s feet. Behind him, the wooden floorboards were scorched black in the outline of feathered wings. “I am the phoenix eternal, and you are in my jurisdiction.”

  “I don’t have to answer to some jumped-up bird shifter,” Bertram spat. “I am a dragon, of the line of kings! You have no authority over me.”

  “By birth, by blood, and by order of the Parliament of Shifters, I do. All wildfires are mine, and those who light them. You have committed arson and assault by flame, and so put yourself into my power.” Holding Bertram’s eyes, Ash crouched so that their faces were level. “As you have sought to burn others, so shall you yourself burn.”

  Bertram seemed hypnotized, frozen in place. His expression still betrayed his utter incomprehension, but his breathing sped up with primal, instinctive fear. “You—you can’t burn me. I’m a dragon. I’m fireproof.”

  “I am the phoenix. There is nothing I cannot burn.” Very gently, Ash placed one fingertip on the exact center of Bertram’s forehead. “From the ashes, you will rise anew.”

  White light flared. Dai pressed Virginia against his chest, turning to shield her from the wash of intense heat.

  “What was that?” Virginia exclaimed, as the blaze faded. She looked at Bertram, who was now slumped vacant-eyed and slack-jawed, but otherwise unharmed. She turned to Ash. “What did you do to him?”

  The Commander rose, his expression as impassive as ever as he gazed down at Bertram. “I burned away his dragon.”

  Chapter 17

  “What’s going to happen to him?” Virginia said, watching the uniformed paramedics escort Bertram to the ambulance.

  The former dragon shifter stumbled docilely between the muscular assistants. His face was still as blank and wondering as a newborn baby’s.

  “They’ll look after him at the psych ward. It’ll take him a while to adjust to the loss of his dragon.” Dai wrapped an arm round her shoulders, holding her close. “I’ve seen this before. He’ll be all right in the end. Just...very different.”

  Virginia shivered, huddling up against Dai’s side. She was glad Commander Ash was fully occupied talking to the other emergency service workers that he’d summoned. She was grateful to him, of course...but right now, she’d rather be grateful from a distance. There was something deeply unnerving about a creature who could so fundamentally change people against their will.

  “Is it over now?” she said hopefully. “Can we go home?”

  Dai tilted his head, presumably communicating telepathically with his commander. Across the courtyard, Ash never glanced round from his conversation, but after a second Dai nodded.

  “He says we should slip away now.” With a touch on her elbow
, Dai guided her away. “The Commander will handle the police and Bertram’s relatives. It’s best if we stay out of the way.”

  “No kidding.” Virginia realized that they were headed further into the field. “Uh, Dai, the road is back that way.”

  He flashed her a wry grin. “I don’t usually go places by road. And I noticed that there’s a lovely park behind your house. Perfect for landing.” He hesitated, expression turning somber. “Unless you’d rather I called a taxi. I’d understand if you’ve had enough of dragons for one night. Or lifetime.”

  Virginia laced her fingers through his. “There’s one dragon I can never get enough of.” She squeezed his hand, then released him, stepping back. “And I want to look at you properly, now that I’m not in terror for both of our lives. Go on.”

  Dai’s outline rippled. Light distorted strangely around him—and then the red dragon stood in his place, posed like some heraldic beast. All the breath sighed out of Virginia’s lungs. She cast a glance over her shoulder, but the police and paramedics were still going unconcernedly about their business, completely unaware of the wonder behind them.

  Flashing lights from the emergency vehicles washed over Dai’s scaled hide, striking gleaming red highlights from his jewel-like scales. The dragon’s horned head curved downward, luminous green-gold eyes tracking her anxiously as she circled him. Virginia tentatively ran her hand across the vast shoulder, feeling the furnace-like heat emanating through the plated armor. The dragon rumbled, leaning into her palm a little. With a rustle, he spread his wings, one foreleg bending to offer her a way up to his back.

  Feeling as though she’d stepped into a fairytale, Virginia climbed up. She fit herself between the crimson spines that ran down his spine, straddling the base of his neck. She felt Dai’s enormous muscles shift and bunch under her thighs. Then, with a mighty leap, they were airborne.

  It was nothing like her abduction by Bertram—Dai bore her up smoothly, with utmost care. His steady wingbeats rocked her as gently as if she was floating on the surface of the ocean. Virginia leaned into the motion, exhilarated by the wind rushing past and the sight of the ground falling away beneath them. She whooped, and Dai roared, echoing her delight.

  All too soon, they reached the city. The lights of Brighton spread out like a shining constellation underneath them. Virginia braced herself against the spines before and behind her as Dai spiraled downward. Despite his bulk, he landed so lightly she didn’t even realize he’d touched the ground until his wings folded closed. She slid off his back, wind-swept and laughing, stepping back to let him return to human form.

  “Oh, that was wonderful!” She couldn’t stop grinning like a loon as they walked the short distance from the park to her apartment. “Can we really do that whenever we like?”

  “You’ll never have to take a train again,” Dai promised, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction at her reaction. “I’m afraid you’re still stuck with planes for trans-Atlantic flights though.” He hesitated on her doorstep. “Ah. You know, with Bertram gone, you don’t need me by your side constantly anymore. If you’d prefer some privacy, I could go to—”

  Virginia stretched on her toes to kiss him, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Rose was right,” she said when she’d finished. She took his hand. “You really do overthink things.”

  He smiled ruefully as she led him to the bedroom. “I did make rather a hash of this, didn’t I?” He caught her in his arms, tucking the top of her head under his chin. “My beautiful, brave mate. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you everything straightaway.”

  “I didn’t exactly make it easy for you.” Virginia leaned against him. Even in human form, he retained that draconic heat. She snuggled closer to his chest, enjoying his more-than-human warmth against her wind-chilled skin. “I’m sorry too.”

  Dai was silent a moment. She had a sense of him diffidently questing at the edges of her mind, trying to untangle her mood.

  “You’re still sad about something,” he said at last.

  “No, not sad.” Virginia sighed, still pressed against him. “Just a little regretful. I would have liked to examine the Dragon’s Eye.”

  Though she couldn’t see his face, she felt his puzzlement down the mate-bond. “Why can’t you?”

  “I’ll appreciate it if you’ll let me look at it, of course. But it won’t be the same as being able to study it properly.” She sighed again. “And it would have made a spectacular centerpiece to a museum exhibit.”

  Unexpectedly, Dai laughed under his breath. “Oh.” His long, strong fingers circled her wrist, turning her hand over. “Virginia,” he said, taking the Dragon’s Eye out of his pocket. Without the slightest hint of hesitation or doubt, he placed the priceless artifact in her palm. “You didn’t think I meant to keep it, did you?”

  “B-But—” Virginia stammered. She stared down at the ruby-studded gold, then up into his warm, dancing green eyes. “I gave it to you, freely. It’s part of your hoard. I thought dragons never gave away anything from their hoards.”

  “We don’t.” He tilted her chin up, bending his face down to hers. “But we do trade. So you’ll have to give me something of equal value.”

  He kissed her, long and deep and slow. Virginia melted against his strong body, sweet fire singing through her veins. She could sense answering heat rising in Dai, their mutual desire echoing and amplifying along the mate-bond into an inferno of passion. That fire swept away all thought, all time, everything in the world except the two of them. She floated in a perfect, endless moment, aware of nothing except the blissful sensation of his mouth on hers.

  Dai drew back fractionally. “There,” he said, his lips brushing hers. He cupped her face in his palms, his thumb reverently stroking across her cheek. “That seems like a fair trade to me.”

  “Oh, no.” Virginia pushed at his chest, guiding him down to sit on the bed. She stood in front of him, between his sprawled legs, and held up the Dragon’s Eye so that the massive cabochon ruby caught the light. The hidden six-pointed star in its heart flared.

  “I wouldn’t want the other dragons to think I cheated you.” She shook her head solemnly. “This is worth much more than just one kiss.”

  Dai’s green eyes gleamed wickedly as he allowed her to push him back onto his elbows. His feet were still on the floor, his long, muscled body stretched across the bed. “Is it worth two kisses, then?”

  “I’ll show you what it’s worth.” Virginia let her robe slip off her shoulders. She still wore nothing but panties and one of his dress shirts underneath.

  He watched hungrily as she slowly undid each button until the shirt hung open. She shrugged it off, and was rewarded by Dai’s long sigh. His need pulled at her down the mate-bond as she slowly slid her panties down. She could feel how badly he wanted to touch her, to worship her.

  *Wait,* she told him silently.

  After all her recent fear and helplessness, she wanted to reclaim power in at least one small area of her life. From the gentle glow of acceptance and love that washed over her, she knew that Dai had sensed her need to take control, and understood it. He settled back onto his elbows obediently, though his eyes tracked her every movement with intense desire.

  Virginia straddled him, feeling the thick swell of his erection even through his jeans. His hips jerked involuntarily, the friction sending delicious waves of pleasure through her.

  “Wait,” she said again, out loud this time. She brushed his lips with her fingertips, forestalling his protest. “It’s my turn to adorn you.”

  “Yes,” Dai said hoarsely. His eyes had gone to thin rims of gold around the wide, dark pupils. His strong hands clenched in the bedcover. “Oh, yes.”

  Raising herself up a little on her knees, she freed the hem of his t-shirt. His abs bunched in hard ridges as he leaned forward to let her pull it over his head. Pushing him down flat again, she sat back on her heels, for a moment just admiring the gorgeous lines of his body.

  *Mine,* she thought wonderingly, and didn�
�t even realize she’d sent the thought to him until she felt the wave of wholehearted assent coming back down the mate-bond. He was hers; all of him, always, hers and hers alone.

  Very carefully, Virginia placed the Dragon’s Eye in the center of Dai’s chest, right over his heart. The gold and gems sparkled at his sharp intake of breath. The star at the center of the largest ruby danced with his heartbeat.

  “Daifydd Drake, I adorn you.” She tapped the artifact with one finger, shooting him a mischievous smile. “Now stay adorned. If you can.”

  Virginia bent to kiss the hollow of his throat. Her breasts brushed deliciously against the hard planes of his chest as she traced the line of his collarbone with her tongue. She ached to feel him inside her, but forced herself to stay slow and unhurried, relishing the way his breathing quickened as she worked her way down to his tight nipple.

  He groaned as she grazed his nipple with her teeth, every muscle tightening. “Virginia—!”

  “Careful,” Virginia murmured against his tanned skin. She tapped the Dragon’s Eye with one finger. “Don’t let it slip.”

  He subsided again, though she could feel what exquisite torment it was to him to have to hold still. To have such a powerful man willingly placing himself entirely at her command was as exhilarating as flying on dragonback. Her own heartbeat sped, matching his as she worked her way yet lower, licking along his hard abs.

  “Virginia,” Dai gasped as she unbuttoned his jeans. His head was raised, watching her over the gold glittering between them. Awe and agony mingled in his face. He lifted his hips a little to allow her to work his jeans down. “Oh God. Virginia.”