Firefighter Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance Read online

  "I know," Dai stopped in front of a black, iron-banded door, set uninvitingly in an otherwise blank wall. "Which is why I've brought you here."

  Virginia looked up at the grimy sign above the door. It was so thick with dust that the full moon painted on it was only barely visible. "To...a pub?"

  "Not just any pub," Dai said. He rapped on the door with his knuckles.

  "We're closed!" yelled a woman's voice from inside.

  "No you're not," Dai called back. It wasn't much of a password, but it sufficed to keep out random passers-by.

  The door opened, revealing the round, smiling face of Rose, the pub owner. "Ah, there you are at last," she said, beckoning them in.

  In contrast to the plain, forbidding exterior, the interior of the pub was a snug, comfortable haven of polished wood tables and plush velvet chairs.

  "All the other lads beat you here. They're waiting upstairs." Rose's kindly gaze fell on Virginia, who was looking around with a startled expression. "And you must be Virginia."

  Although Dai hadn't told her anything more than Virginia's name, there was no hiding anything from Rose. She scrutinized both their faces for a mere second, then clasped her plump hands together. "Oh, Dai, I'm so pleased for you."

  "Why?" Virginia asked, a perplexed crease appearing in her forehead.

  Dai shot Rose a warning look, but she just laughed. "Because our Dai's never brought a lady friend in with him before," she said to Virginia. "And I can already tell you're not one to put up with any of his nonsense."

  It was Dai's turn to frown. "What nonsense?"

  "Now that would be telling." Rose winked at Virginia. "Which I shall do later, my dear, when you have time. Our Dai is a lovely lad, but he does tie himself up into knots through overthinking things."

  "I do not!" Dai protested.

  "Ah, you sweet summer child." Rose patted his arm, then gestured at the back of the pub. "The lads are up in the Fire room, of course. Give me a shout if anyone wants another drink." Rose headed off toward the bar, calling back over her shoulder, "Except Chase!"

  Virginia flashed Dai a wry grin as she followed him through the bar area and up the staircase toward the private rooms. Dai's heart leapt. It was the first time she'd smiled at him since Bertram's visit.

  "I take it this isn't an ordinary pub," she said.

  "No," said Dai, smiling back at her. He ducked his head to avoid the heavy oak beams. For a shifter pub, The Full Moon had inconveniently low ceilings. "It's for people like me."

  "Dragon hunters?" Virginia asked.

  "Amongst other things," Dai said. "Dragons aren't the only type of shifter." He opened the door to the Fire room. "And I want you to meet some of them."

  Chapter Nine

  My God, Virginia thought in bemusement. It's full of muscles.

  The small room was decorated in rich shades of red and gold, creating a warm and snug space that would have been perfect for an intimate private dinner. It was entirely unsuited to the sheer volume of rippling beefcake that currently occupied it. Five men were crammed around a circular table, their broad shoulders hunched over their drinks. The moment Virginia stepped into the room, she was pinned by five sets of interested eyes. She froze under the weight of so much focused attention.

  "Dai!" A man with black curly hair sprang from his chair, nearly upsetting his drink into the lap of the blond man sitting next to him. He punched Dai playfully in the shoulder, flashing him the widest grin Virginia had ever seen.

  "What took you so long?" the man asked in a strong Irish brogue. His bright, dark glance flitted to Virginia, and his smile widened even further. "Forget it, my question is answered." He made an elaborate bow in her direction. "Lovely lady of mystery, it's a joy to lay eyes on you at last. If you ever need any more midnight supplies, consider me forever at your service. I hope you enjoyed the—"

  "Chase," Dai rumbled forbiddingly, and the smaller man shut up, still grinning.

  Dai turned to Virginia. "This is my fire crew," he explained. There was something oddly shy in his expression, as if he was introducing her to his family. "My fellow fire fighters. Virginia, this is Chase, our driver. He's the one who brought me the clothes last night."

  "In that case, thank you," Virginia said to Chase, shaking his hand. Under any other circumstances, she would have thought him tall and muscular, but standing next to Dai he appeared practically lithe. "And thank you for getting the crew to me so fast last night. Any later and I would have been in big trouble."

  Chase's eyes brightened. "My pleasure. Always nice to meet someone who appreciates speed. Tell me, have you ever wanted to take a ride in a fire engine?"

  Dai took a firm grip on Chase's arm, dragging him away. "Do not get into any form of vehicle with him. Ever."

  "Spoilsport," Chase said, as Dai deposited him firmly back in his chair. He folded his arms in mock-petulance. "It was only one little crash."

  Dai ignored this, gesturing to another man, who was sitting in a corner of the room a little apart from all the others. "You've already met Hugh, of course."

  "How could I forget?" Virginia said, recognizing the silver-haired paramedic.

  Now that she could see him properly, rather than in the confusion after the fire, she realized that he couldn't be any older than Dai. His fine, elegant features were young and unlined despite his prematurely white hair.

  "I'm glad to have a chance to meet you in better circumstances." Crossing the room, she held out her hand to him. "Thank you for, well, saving my life."

  "You are most welcome," Hugh said, leaning back a little. His tone was polite enough, but his upper-class English accent couldn't help reminding Virginia unpleasantly of Bertram. He made no move to take her hand.

  Dai gently tapped her wrist. "It's nothing personal. Hugh's not really a hands-on sort of person."

  "But I am, so let me make up for my colleague's rudeness," said one of the other men, rising. He was stocky, with a mane of shaggy blond hair framing a square, kind face.

  His broad, calloused hand enfolded Virginia's in a warm grip. "Griff MacCormick," he introduced himself. "We have already met, in a way, though I'll be astonished if you remember me."

  There was something familiar about that reassuring voice with its light Scottish burr.

  "It was you on the phone!" Virginia exclaimed, realizing. "When I called the fire services!" She squeezed his hand gratefully before she released it. "You talked me through what to do, and kept me calm while I was waiting for rescue."

  "Ah, wasn't much work for me, what with a brave lassie like you on the other end of the line." Griff smiled at her, laughter lines crinkling around his golden-brown eyes. "I've never heard anyone describe a dragon so thoroughly."

  "I think I was in shock," Virginia admitted.

  "And this is John Doe," Dai said, continuing the introductions.

  Virginia turned, and took an involuntary step backward as she was confronted by a solid wall of muscle. Dai might have made Chase look slender, but the man who'd just stood up made Dai look small.

  "John Doe?" she said inanely, the man's sheer size temporarily stunning her brain. "Really?"

  "I am told it is traditional use-name amongst your people." The giant's voice was so deep, it practically vibrated Virginia's bones. He had to keep his head bent to even fit in the room. Despite his size, he had a handsome, intelligent face, with deep blue eyes that perfectly matched the shade of his long, braided hair. "I fear you would find my true name unpronounceable."

  Virginia couldn't help rising to the bait. "I speak seven languages, four of them extinct. Try me."

  "Actually, even John can't pronounce his own name," Dai said. "Not above water, anyway." Before Virginia could ask what he meant by that, Dai gestured at the final man, who had been sitting quietly observing all the other introductions. "And last but no means least, this is Commander Ash."

  Now I know what they mean when they talk about people being "old souls."

  A shiver ran down Virginia's s
pine as she met the Commander's calm, assessing gaze. Ash couldn't have been more than ten years older than she was, but she had the sense of something ancient behind those dark eyes. He made her feel oddly small, even more than John had.

  "Sir," she said respectfully. She looked around at the five men—all different, yet all powerful in their own way. "So...are you all dragon hunters too?"

  All five men stared at her for a moment. Then, in perfect unison, they looked at Dai.

  Chapter Ten

  "Dragon...hunters?" said John.

  *Just go with it?* Dai sent to them all. Normally he couldn't make five mental connections simultaneously, but panic gave him the strength. *I know it's an oversimplification, but—*

  Chase snorted. "Oversimplification is kind of the understatement of the century."

  "You mean it's more complicated?" Virginia said, understandably under the impression that he was responding to her. "Do you hunt other shifters as well, then? Dai did mention something about that a moment ago."

  Griff was shaking his head. "I don't know what Dai's said, but—"

  *PLEASE!* Dai's psychic shout made the other five men wince. *Don't scare her off. She's my mate!*

  There was a momentary pause.

  Then Chase let out a whoop. "Uh, sorry," he said, as Virginia stared at him. "I just thought of something funny."

  "O...kay," Virginia said, edging away from him a little. She turned back to Griff. "What were you saying?"

  "I, uh." Griff flashed Dai a glance that said he had a lot of explaining to do later. "I...wouldn't exactly call us hunters." He cleared his throat, recovering some of his usual aplomb. "But we do specialize in handling incidents relating to shifters."

  "I am curious," Hugh said to Virginia. His pale blue eyes were narrowed. "What exactly has Dai told you about shifters?"

  "Not that much," Virginia said. "We've mainly talked about dragons, for obvious reasons. About how they're vicious and greedy, driven by animal instincts."

  "Yes," Chase said solemnly, clearly fighting a grin. "Yes, they definitely are. Utter bastards, the lot of them." John made a noise somewhere between a cough and a growl, and Chase quickly added, "Just fire dragons, though, of course. Sea dragons are majestic and noble and incidentally would never ever even think about punching someone smaller."

  "Um, right." Virginia had clearly given up on making sense of anything Chase said, which Dai felt showed her to be an excellent judge of character. "Unfortunately, my problem is definitely with a fire dragon. The one who started the fire that you rescued me from." Her mouth twisted. "I've come to really dislike dragons."

  Five fascinated stares fell on Dai again. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.

  *She doesn't know I'm a shifter,* he sent, in a very small mental voice.

  "What?!" Griff exclaimed out loud. John said something in his own language which was probably the equivalent.

  "As I thought," Hugh murmured into his drink.

  *My friend, you are totally fucked,* Chase sent. *And not in the good way. What were you thinking?*

  "Uh," Virginia said, obviously baffled by the way everyone's expressions had just changed. "Did...I say something wrong?"

  "No," Commander Ash said. "You did not." Dai shrank down, feeling about two inches tall as Ash leaned forward, folding his hands on the table. "But it seems Daifydd has neglected to tell you some important facts. Firstly, that we are shifters."

  "Real shifters?" Virginia flinched back a little. "Not just descended from them, like Dai?"

  *What in the name of sweet green apples did you tell her?* Chase mentally demanded of Dai. *If I'd known you were lying to get laid, I would not have helped you out.* For once, he actually sounded completely serious.

  *Kin-cousin, this is both unwise and dishonorable.* John's sonorous psychic voice undercut Chase's. His face was set in a mask of disapproval. *I cannot take part in your deception.*

  The overlapping telepathic communication made Dai's head hurt. "I was going to tell her, when I found the right moment," he said, having trouble keeping all the conversations straight. He gestured at John, hoping to forestall any more awkward questions. "John here is another dragon shifter, but a different type of dragon. He's a sea dragon."

  "Oh," said Virginia, her usual boldness subdued. She looked John up and down, or rather up and further up. "Um. Majestic and noble, huh?"

  A small smile cracked John's stern face. "We like to think so," he said. He tilted his head, the gold hoops that ran up the edge of his left ear glinting. "Although, from my perspective, I am actually a human shifter. My people live in the depths of the oceans. We are born as dragons, and we die as dragons. Very few of us ever walk the land."

  As Dai had hoped, Virginia's curiosity overcame her apprehension. She leaned forward eagerly, her brown eyes alight with professional interest. "You have your own culture? Entirely separate from any human culture? How—"

  "I'm sure John would love to tell you all about his people, but it'll have to wait for another time," Dai said. Inwardly, a glimmer of hope grew to a flicker. If she was warming to dragons, maybe she wouldn't hate him when he revealed he was one. "In any case, you see now that dragons aren't all bad? Despite Bertram?"

  "Hm." Virginia didn't sound convinced. "Sea dragons, maybe." She looked around the table again. "Somehow I'm guessing that you aren't all sea dragons."

  "No," said Griff, smiling. "My mother is an eagle shifter." Virginia opened her mouth, but Griff was already moving smoothly on, leaving no opportunity for questions. "Commander Ash is the phoenix. And Chase is—"

  "Ooh, ooh, let me," Chase said, bouncing from his seat. He struck a dramatic pose, as if about to recite a Shakespearean soliloquy. "After all, how can mere words convey my full glory?"

  "Not in here, Chase!" Dai yelled...but it was already too late.

  The room had been crowded enough before. Adding a stallion did not improve matters.

  John grabbed for the table, stopping it from overturning, while Hugh and Griff squashed themselves flat against the wall. Dai encircled Virginia in his arms, trying to keep her away from Chase's hooves.

  "My God," Virginia breathed. She reached out to stroke Chase's gleaming blue-black neck. He flirted his head, ears pricked, clearly delighted with himself. "You're a horse."

  Chase gave an indignant snort. Virginia's jaw dropped open as he spread his wings.

  "Enough!" Dai slapped Chase on the withers. "She gets the point, you're a pretty, pretty pony. Now shift back before you destroy the place."

  The air shimmered, and the room abruptly seemed a lot bigger. Chase straightened his suit jacket, an unrepentant grin on his face. He winked at Virginia as he sat down again.

  Virginia sank back into her own chair as if her knees had given way. "And...you're a phoenix?" she said to Ash, her voice wavering a bit.

  "The phoenix," Ash corrected, his tone mild. "Forgive me if I do not demonstrate."

  "Uh, right. Of course." Shaking her head as if still in disbelief about what she'd just seen, Virginia turned to Hugh. "And you are...?"

  "Private," Hugh said flatly.

  Dai cleared his throat, breaking the awkward pause. "Anyway, everyone here has special talents. Between us, I'm certain we can deal with Bertram."

  He quickly outlined the events of the last day—well, most of the events—to the rest of the crew, filling them in on the details of Bertram's threat. "So you see, the first thing we have to do is protect the site, so that Bertram can't destroy it," he finished. He turned to John. "How are the clouds feeling today?"

  "Clouds?" Virginia said.

  "I have a kinship with water in all its forms," John said to her. He held out a hand, humming a short phrase under his breath. Virginia gasped, jerking her fingers back as a pint of beer ran up the side of its glass and snaked across the table to curl up like a kitten in the sea dragon's palm.

  Griff looked mournfully into his now-empty glass. "I was drinking that."

  "My apologies, oath-brother." Jo
hn flicked his fingers, arcing the liquid sphere neatly back into Griff's glass. He looked back at Dai. "In answer to your question, kin-cousin, when I sing the sky your tale, not a single droplet shall fail to grow fat with rage."

  "You can control the weather?" Virginia said, sounding awestruck.

  "No. I merely talk to it." John shrugged one massive shoulder. "But clouds are just water stricken with wanderlust, and are often pleased to hear a voice from home." His teeth gleamed in a feral grin. "You may expect it to become very, very wet indeed."

  "Which should stop Bertram's builders, at least for today," Dai said. He looked at Virginia. "You said that you could report the find tomorrow?"

  She nodded. "As soon as my colleagues in London are back at work. A find of this magnitude needs to go straight to the top, to the Head of the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum. I've met him before, so he should take me seriously. He'll have the authority to shut down Bertram's building works."

  "Why wait until tomorrow?" Chase asked. "Why not send him a message now?"

  "I don't know him that well," Virginia said. "It's not like I have his private phone number or anything."

  Chase grinned lazily. "I wasn't thinking of a phone call. More like a personal courier." He cocked an eyebrow at Commander Ash. "If you can spare me?"

  "You're not on call until Tuesday, anyway," Ash replied. "Can you find him?"

  "I can find anyone," Chase said, with complete confidence. He inclined his head at Virginia. "If the lovely lady would care to write a note, I will personally put it in the hands of the Chief-Digger-Upper by dinnertime."

  A corner of Virginia's mouth curved upward. "Okay, now I know what to put as my title on my next business card. Virginia Jones, Digger-Upper."

  She took a notepad and pen out of her jacket pocket and started scribbling away, still looking amused. For once, Dai was grateful for Chase's clowning, if it could put a smile on Virginia's face.

  "Griff," he said, turning to the dispatcher. "Can you talk to some of your contacts, see if anyone knows anything useful about the dragon shifter? I'd really like to keep track of where he is and what he's doing."