The Christmas Dragon's Mate: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance Read online

  Quickly, before his uncle could regain consciousness, Henrik reared up once more. A stream of ice hit the ground until a prison had formed around his uncle. It would not hold Alistair forever—but with his uncle weakened, and with Henrik in full possession of his power once more, his uncle would be trapped at least for a day or two.

  He’d have to contact someone to take care of Alistair. His uncle had broken the law, after all, and he didn’t want him to remain here, even as a prisoner.

  Although Henrik hadn’t talked to other shifters in ages, there was still distant relations he could count on. The black dragon was too dangerous to remain free; other dragons would agree with that.

  Henrik’s heart was still racing in his chest, the power burning so bright within him that for a moment, he began to fear that his uncle was right, that he had unleashed a terrible monster within himself—but then his gaze fell on Dara once more.

  Dara was smiling up at him. Dara wasn’t afraid.

  She was still holding his diamond in her hand, and now she gently raised it up for him to see.

  “I think this is yours,” she said, and then she began to laugh until she had to sit down in the pile of golden coins. “Your uncle got it wrong. I’m not a gold-digger at all—I think this makes me a diamond-digger!”

  Chapter Nine: Dara

  It took them an entire day to recover. Once they made it out of the maze, Henrik had alerted another dragon—a distant cousin, he’d told Dara. His cousin was a fire dragon, shockingly red against the white of the snow when he arrived a few hours later. Dara had watched his arrival from the safety of a window.

  Henrik didn’t want to deal with Alistair himself, and so the fire dragon had taken his uncle away. Alistair would pay for his crimes, and Henrik would finally have a home free from guilt and old pain.

  There were lots of things Dara wanted to talk about, but that would come later.

  First, they’d spent an entire day curled around each other in Henrik’s large bed. He’d lit a fire in the fireplace and they’d pulled the covers over their frozen bodies, hiding from the world in their cozy little nest.

  They’d been too tired to do more than just kiss and hold each other tightly. Henrik had still been limping a little when they’d made it out of the maze and back to his home, despite the way the diamond Dara had recovered had seemed to energize him. But his uncle’s claws and fangs had left wounds in his skin—even though Henrik had reassured her that shifters healed quickly.

  When Dara finally woke up the next morning, it was to the seductive scent of coffee and the sight of a freshly showered Henrik with nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, the wounds already faded to scars.

  “Morning,” he murmured when he crawled back onto the bed to kiss her.

  Dara eagerly melted into his touch, her arms coming up to wrap around Henrik’s neck.

  “Morning. Mmm, coffee. I could get used to this,” she teased and then playfully wriggled out of Henrik’s grasp to grab a mug instead.

  “You can, you know.” Henrik sat up to look at her, suddenly all serious despite the way his hair was still curling with dampness and his towel was slipping down. “Actually… I’ve been hoping you would decide to get used to this. To me, and to my home. And to stay here with me.”

  Sudden warmth burst within Dara’s chest. She had to bite her lip to hold back laughter. “Henrik Drakeson, is that a proposal?”

  “Oh!” he said, his eyes widening as he stared at her. Slowly, the towel was sliding down even further.

  Dara kept biting her lip. The vision was too delicious to interrupt. Also, she wanted to see what Henrik would come up with…

  “Oh,” he murmured again, flushing a little for the first time since Dara had known him. “Wait. I really messed this up, didn’t I? I should have come with a ring…”

  Now Dara couldn’t hold back her soft laughter anymore. She reached out to touch the heavy, priceless diamond that hung from a chain around her neck, together with the smaller necklace Henrik had first given her.

  “All things considered, I think I can let you off the hook when it comes to that. Given that I seem to have stolen your dragon’s favorite diamond yesterday.”

  She reached back as if to take it off, but Henrik quickly reached out to stop her.

  “No,” he said, his voice hoarse. “No, that’s what I was getting to. I’m sorry—it’s a little different for dragons and their mates. If this is what you want too—all it takes is for my dragon to claim you.”

  “Claim me,” Dara repeated playfully. “Hmm. I like the sound of that.”

  “That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have a real ceremony, with a big party and your friends and family—but what I want most of all is for you to be mine, and to be yours in return. And for that, I want you to keep this.” Gently, Henrik reached out to touch the diamond that even now seemed to pulse warmly against her skin at his touch.

  This was the secret to his power. His greatest strength, and also his greatest weakness.

  “It’s my dragon’s heart stone,” he explained earnestly. “It’s my gift to you—along with my own heart. If you will have us.”

  Dara shivered. He trailed his hand a little lower, allowed it to gently cup one of her breasts. Instinctively, she arched into his touch. It wasn’t really a question of if she wanted to be his mate, because deep in her heart she knew she already was. She’d always known, from the moment he found her in the snow and carried her to safety.

  “Yes,” she then whispered. “Yes. I’m your mate. And you are mine.”

  Very gently, he pushed her down onto the bed. Her own hands came up to trail down his back, pushing the towel aside as she allowed herself to be spread out.

  “Traditionally, there’d be more gold involved,” Henrik murmured as he looked down at her with all the possessive pride of his dragon. “But I’ve given you my greatest treasure, and that is more than enough for the bonding.”

  She flushed as she rested on the bed, the soft curve of her belly rising and falling. Her nipples were hard, taut little buds that ached for his touch.

  She couldn’t look away from him. He was just as glorious as his dragon—all hard muscles and sinew.

  Every time he moved, she could make out the shifting of muscles beneath his skin, his rippling abs crating little ridges and valleys that she wanted to explore with her fingers—or her tongue. He smelled good, too. There was always something of the ice to him—that peculiar crisp, clean smell of freshly fallen snow, mingled now with the smoky undercurrent of the fire and a touch of masculine musk that made her stomach tighten with want.

  Between her breasts, the large diamond was still resting, heavy and warm. If the small diamond he’d first given her as a gift had been worth more than she’d ever earned, this one was worth more than she knew she could earn in her entire lifetime. But where before, the thought had made her feel insecure, as though she didn’t truly belong here with someone who could afford to casually give away such gifts, now that doubt had completely vanished.

  They’d fought a dragon together. They’d made their way through a maze and to his treasure cave, and they’d nearly died. All that had saved them was that they’d worked together, as if they’d been made for that one moment when their eyes met and Dara had been filled by a deep certainty. She’d known in that instant that the glistening diamond was hers as much as it was Henrik’s; that for the diamond and the land, there was no longer any distinction between her and Henrik.

  A dragon and his mate—that was what they were. With or without his treasure, they’d still have this overwhelming connection, as if fate had finally shown her all the things that had been missing in her life.

  No, she no longer felt as if she didn’t belong. She was Henrik’s, and Henrik was hers. And the diamond pulsing with his dragon’s power was only precious to her because it carried a part of his dragon in it.

  Henrik’s mouth was on her belly now, pressing little kisses to her skin as he made his way lo
wer and lower. Dara bit her lips as she let her thighs fall apart in invitation. She was already wet, dripping with her need for him—but wicked as he was, his mouth avoided her for a moment to press adoring kisses to the inside of her thigh instead.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he breathed, a finger finally taking mercy on her and trailing upwards, sliding through her slickness. There was something of the dragon in his voice now—that possessive pride that made her shiver with need.

  Then his finger slipped inside her, and she arched up at the sensation just as his mouth moved upwards. His tongue was teasing her, licking little circles of fire around her clit. She couldn’t keep from writhing as his demanding finger slid in and out, twisting inside her just a little to touch her where it made her tighten around him for more and more.

  “Henrik,” she gasped, her fingers sliding through his hair.

  She’d wanted to pull him away from her, wanted to feel him inside her when she came. Instead, he seemed to take her moan as encouragement and fastened his lips over her clit instead, sucking on the sensitive little nub until she felt as if she was flying apart. Waves of pleasure raced through her, and she throbbed around his finger in a sudden, dizzying climax, panting for air.

  Then Henrik at last released her, only to slide over her instead. She was exhausted, but even so, the sensation of that powerful body atop her made her moan anew. His eyes were filled with the dragon’s power now, that stunning, gleaming blue of a glacier.

  Against her thigh, she could feel his arousal. His cock was hard as a rock, and large enough to make her moan with overwhelming need as he finally slid inside her.

  It was just as good as the first time. He filled her perfectly, so that every thrust made her body tremble and tighten around him as pleasure raced up her spine, setting all her nerves on fire. But this time, with his diamond resting on her damp skin, with his blue eyes watching her every move as if he was still afraid that somehow, he might lose her, there was something even deeper than the pleasure.

  It wasn’t just Henrik making love to her. It was his dragon that was claiming her. She could see it in his eyes, the stunning blue that shone with power and which was completely focused on her. And she no longer had to wonder what he felt, because she knew.

  She knew.

  In her chest, there was an answering surge of heat, like two lonely souls finally touching and fusing—a dragon and his mate truly becoming one, not just in body, but where it truly mattered.

  Overwhelmed, she threw back her head. Her chest was heaving. Inside, she was on fire, Henrik’s shaft deliciously large as it filled her again and again until the pleasure overwhelmed even her ability to think.

  It had never felt like this before. Her toes were curling, all the nerves in her body ablaze as he pushed them higher and higher—and then the pleasure broke.

  Crying out, she tumbled off the cliff, soaring together with his dragon as she throbbed around him. Dimly, she could feel the heat of his own release fill her. His breath was hot against her sweaty skin as he gasped her name, and she clutched at him, riding out the climax that went on and on as he bucked against her.

  Between them, the diamond pulsed warmly, joining the rhythm of their hearts, which were beating in sync now.

  Dara pressed her damp cheek against Henrik’s shoulder. Her fingers found the rippling muscles of his broad back, stroking them as they drifted through the afterglow together. The dragon had claimed her as his—she could feel it in her heart now, the overwhelming joy of this powerful part of Henrik. But at the same time, she’d claimed him for herself as well. They were one now, and nothing had ever felt so right before.

  Epilogue: Dara

  It was snowing outside.

  Dara watched with a pleased smile as snow kept falling from the sky in big flakes. She’d hoped it would snow again this weekend—after all, she’d planned to organize a snowman contest for the visiting children this afternoon, and they could certainly use some fresh snow for that. And this snow seemed to have just the right consistency to build some amazing snowmen.

  One year had passed, and in the meantime, Dara had learned more about snow and ice than she ever thought possible. But even after a year of living with her very own Christmas dragon, she couldn’t help but watch the falling snow with the same joy as all the happy children down in her courtyard.

  Sudden laughter made her lean forward to see what was going on below on the ground.

  Together, she and Henrik had worked hard to rebuild. Now, slowly, the snow castle was becoming the winter attraction it had used to be. So far, they had only reopened one of the old wings—but already there were plans in motion to follow with other wing next winter. One of Mrs. Henderson’s nieces had offered to help out with the food stalls this winter, and she’d been so successful that Dara and Henrik had sat down with her last month to discuss the opening of a restaurant in the empty wing.

  This year, they had reopened the ice rink where even now, people were skating to the soft sounds of music. Every weekend, one of Mr. Henderson’s friends would organize sleigh rides around the castle. He didn’t own one of the huge Clydesdales Henrik remembered from his childhood, but instead his sleigh was pulled by four tiny, shaggy ponies, which delighted the visiting children even more.

  Mrs. Henderson had helped them with the guest rooms—not that Dara had needed the help for long. She’d soon found out that running a big tourist attraction wasn’t so different to keeping order in her old boss’s office.

  In the end, all you had to do was to keep the chaos under control—and there was always something that went wrong, even here in her dragon’s snow castle. But no matter whether the wrong flavor of ice cream had been delivered, one of their helpers called in sick or a child spilled cocoa all over a dress, as long as Dara stayed calm, every catastrophe could be dealt with.

  It was her own magic, Henrik said. Secretly, Dara thought that she preferred it even to dragon powers. After all, the ability to make ice follow commands didn’t help much when they desperately needed someone to cover a shift out at the ice rink.

  Not that Henrik’s powers weren’t useful. He’d spent a lot of time out at the snow castle and the ice maze, which had both been reopened for their visitors this year.

  At the heart of the maze—at least the heart meant for tourists—there was now an ice cream stand, and a large ice sculpture of a dragon. Meanwhile, the true heart of the maze, the part that led to Henrik’s hoard, was inaccessible for anyone who wasn’t a dragon. Henrik had made sure that no tourist would accidentally come close to it by hiding it behind a sturdy wall of ice, which would melt away only at his—or Dara’s—touch.

  “Should we go outside?” Henrik murmured and stepped close enough to her that he could rest a hand on the gentle swell of her belly. “I think your friend is waiting for us.”

  From the courtyard, Miranda gave them a wave. She’d arrived yesterday with her husband in tow, and even now Dara could hear the barking of an overexcited golden retriever.

  As she watched, the dog came bounding up to Miranda, a ball between his teeth, dancing around her until three small children had caught up with him. Only then did he drop the ball, and with squeals of delight, one of them grabbed it to throw it again.

  “I can’t wait for our little dragon to arrive,” Dara said, still watching the children. “I thought nothing could top last Christmas—but I think this year will be the best yet.”

  Henrik was laughing softly against the skin of her throat, nuzzling her as he looked outside over her shoulder.

  “Just wait for next Christmas then. There’ll be three of us by this time next year.” There was still a touch of awe in his voice, and his hand curved tenderly, protectively around her belly.

  “And the Christmas after that, maybe we’ll already be thinking about another…” Dara closed her eyes for a moment as she leaned back in his arms.

  She’d always been grateful for how much her mother had done for her. All the same, she’d always felt that sma
ll hope that one day, she’d have a large family to share the holidays with. A real Christmas morning with a decorated tree, wide-eyed children, and long walks in the freshly fallen snow with a man by her side who’d never grow too old for a snowball fight with the kids.

  And now she had that. No—she had more than she’d ever dared to dream of.

  Out here in the snow, she’d found her very own Christmas dragon. And she knew without a doubt that from now on, every Christmas would turn out better than the last.

  ***

  A note from Zoe Chant

  Thank you for buying my book! I hope you enjoyed it. If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

  Please consider reviewing The Christmas Dragon's Mate, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  Page down to read a special sneak preview of The Easter Bunny's Bear.

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