Dragons Don't Cry (9 page)

The red rock formations drew Acasia’s
attention. She also watched each car approach from the opposite
direction and travel past us. When we hit the main part of the
town, slowing down with the heavier traffic and control lights, she
began asking questions again.

“What do they hold up to their ear as they
walk?”

It was exciting for me to see things through
her eyes. “It’s a cell phone. They communicate with the device.
This realm has many cities and lands far away. The phone keeps them
linked.”

“And the lights, what is their function?”
she asked when we came to a complete stop at a red light.

“Traffic lights keep the cars from ramming
each other. It controls who goes when.”

We approached the airport and she had me
laughing aloud.

“They have ugly dead dragons.” She pointed.
“No, there is one in the air, but they are frozen.”

“Those are called airplanes, and we will be
riding inside one in a few moments.”

Her eyes grew bigger. “They eat us?”

I bit my lip. “No, it is another type of
machine. It will take us to my friend’s place.”

She looked at me with innocent, trusting
eyes. “I do not understand how they stay in the air, but if you
have faith in them, I will manage.”

A private jet waited. I walked with Acasia
up the stairs and we sat down in the luxurious seats. Brunya joined
us.

Acasia focused on the other woman. “This is
a strange realm, Brunya, but very fascinating. How did you know
where to meet us?”

Brunya smiled softly and replied, “I was
given your crossing location. It is the first time I’ve come to
welcome visitors from elsewhere. It’s an honor to be given this
trust and doubly so for a female of my clan.”

“If things are better for males than females
in this realm, then we have a lot in common. I’m glad to hear that
it may be changing for you.”

I grunted at her words, but stayed out of
their conversation. Female weakness was not my problem. Acasia
expressed her glee once we were airborne, and I relaxed. I knew she
would enjoy part of this visit, though I also knew she wouldn’t be
happy when she discovered the true reason we came.

Another car and driver waited for us when
the plane landed and drove us through the city known as Denver.
Brunya had some place else to be and didn’t accompany us. We pulled
up to the nightclub. Our driver opened the car door and ushered us
inside the large double doors that were guarded by two enormous men
who nodded at our approach.

We stepped inside. I’d known the vampire
walking toward us for centuries, but he looked different; more
relaxed, happier perhaps.

“Welcome, Bastian, and please waste no time
introducing me to your lovely bride.”

I pulled Acasia into my side, keeping a
possessive arm around her. “Dmitri this is Acasia.”

The vampire took her hand, ignoring mine and
kissed the backs of her fingers. I was ready to shove him away when
a low growl sounded over his shoulder. He laughed, released Acasia,
and pulled the softly growling woman in close to him.

“Bastian, Acasia, I would
like to introduce my mate, Nikka. She is unable to verbally
communicate with you, but she has plenty to say to me at the
moment.” Dmitri laughed and kissed the woman. “I know
kotika
, but if I can’t
razz my friends, life would be boring.” He listened for another
moment and turned back to us.

“Nikka welcomes you both. She would love to
show your bride around while you and I discuss business. One of our
female pack mates will accompany them and communicate for
Nikka.”

I looked at the excitement on Acasia’s face
and wondered what she was thinking. Every so often, I received
tidbits from her but only when her emotions were strong. Even then,
I only gleaned a word or two. “Would you like to go with
Nikka?”

She had ahold of Nikka’s hand and the two
were walking away like old friends almost before I finished the
sentence. I looked at Dmitri and said, “You’ve never had female
drivers or females other than waitresses in the club before. I
believe I have a lot of catching up to do. Will your female corrupt
mine?”

“Without a doubt. Come, we have much to
discuss.”

***

Acasia

I was away from Bastian and in the presence
of another woman. It was difficult not to jump up and down with
excitement but I acted reserved so I wouldn’t scare Nikka away.
Brunya had spoken aloud, and Bastian told me they could so I knew
earth humans spoke. Another female named Mandy joined us. She was
as excited to meet me as I was to meet her. She explained that she
was a wolf and human mix and that Nikka was mountain lion and
human. Since I now knew dragons shifted, I had no trouble accepting
what she told me. I had so many questions about their realm, and
Mandy patiently answered for about three minutes.

She finally broke in when I asked about what
Bastian called a cell phone. “So tell us about yourself. We’ve only
just learned of your race and we’ve been dying to meet you. Honey,
my mate, thought he could keep me away today. The man is seriously
messed up in the head sometimes.” She stopped talking and looked at
Nikka before turning back to me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll let you
answer my question. Nikka’s right, I talk too much.”

I wasn’t sure what to say and didn’t
remember her question. “Umm, I, umm.”

This didn’t stop Mandy. “Nikka says you’re
not a shifter or a vampire. Is there another species we’re not
familiar with?”

I was shocked. I’d heard of vampires and
knew they were sent up from Hades to plague the world. “No, I’m
sure Bastian would kill any vampire he saw.”

Mandy laughed, covering her mouth while
looking at Nikka. Nikka smiled and shook her head at Mandy.

“What did I say?” It was obvious I’d messed
up.

“Dmitri is a vampire and I doubt Bastian
could kill him.”

Oh great, I’d spoken out against Nikka’s
mate. “I’m sorry. Things are very different in my realm. I meant no
offense.”

Nikka only smiled, taking my hand and giving
it a gentle squeeze. I liked her, and the curiosity was killing me.
“Does your vampire drink your blood?”

Now both women laughed. “I’m sorry; that was
very rude of me.”

By the tone of Mandy’s voice, she wasn’t
insulted in the least. “Not at all; he’s the reason we live
forever. Vampires give us healing enzymes from their blood.
Vampires co-exist with beastkind because we make each other
stronger. Dmitri leads our clan.” Mandy took barely a breath.
“We’re also interested in your mate. Dragons are outside of our
knowledge.”

“He is not my mate. I’m his bride. It’s a
barbaric practice within our realms, but I have discovered it’s
hard on the dragons too. I will gladly answer all your questions if
you will answer mine without taking offense at my ignorance.”

I continued pressing them about their
customs, beastkind, and vampires. Technology was the thing I liked
least about their world. Mine was simpler and more comfortable.

Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders. “I
have business to attend elsewhere. Would you like to go to our
hotel room or stay here?”

Mandy spoke before I could. “What if we take
her to your hotel so we can keep talking and all be more
comfortable?”

I twisted around a little to look at him. “I
would like them to take me if you don’t mind.”

A slight smile played on Bastian’s lips. “I
don’t mind at all. I’ll be there in about two hours. Order dinner
and enjoy their company.” He gave me a quick kiss and walked
away.

A driver took us to the inn, or what my new
friends referred to as a hotel. The rooms assigned to us were on
the top floor and looked out over the city.

After our small bags were placed in the
bedroom, we ordered food on a phone, which they showed me how to
use. Wine arrived first and we all got comfortable. Mandy told me
of her mating with Honey—kidnapping him and making his life
miserable until he gave in. She spoke of their child and her hope
for another one.

I looked to Nikka when Mandy finished her
story; Nikka spoke into Mandy’s mind and Mandy relayed her
thoughts. She told me about Nikka’s mating with Dmitri. I was
fascinated with vampires and asked questions for an hour. Mandy
told me of the war between beastkind species and how much better
things were now that it was over. I was enthralled with their
entire realm, and Mandy happily answered even the most probing
questions.

When I took a long breath, Mandy spoke, “Now
it’s your turn to spill. Tell us if your man breathes fire in bed,
out of bed, or both.”

Two sets of eyes waited for my response, and
I could feel heat traveling to my face. “He, ah, I’m not sure how
to answer that.”

Nikka smiled in a mischievous way while
Mandy laughed loudly. “Well, the man is gorgeous and now that we’ve
spilled our secrets we want to know all about him. Have some more
wine and start with the easy stuff.”

“Okay.” I gladly had another sip. “He
breathes fire when he laughs in dragon form. I’ve never seen him do
it as a human, but I haven’t asked if he can. He also does it most
often when he’s in a temper.”

“Typical man. How did you meet?”

I told them what I knew of the curse and
then of the claiming. They were both outraged. Dinner arrived and I
was given a short reprieve from their questions.

Mandy looked at Nikka and shared the other
woman’s thoughts when we finished the meal. “Nikka says your lack
of choice is similar to ours when our beasts lock onto a mate. He’s
chosen for us and we have no say in the matter. It’s the same for
our mates so in this, both male and females are equal. I, on the
other hand, think the women in your town need to rise up, overthrow
the men, and demand a say in this claiming. I’m sure if there were
female dragons and the men had to register, it would be an entirely
different story.”

I know she didn’t mean to make me sad, but I
couldn’t help it. “I need to explain what I’ve discovered since
living with Bastian.”

I told them of the love the dragons had for
their brides and how the loss affected them. By the time I
finished, both women were in tears and hugging me. After our dinner
and more wine, we talked about odds and ends until there was a
loud, insistent knock at the door. I managed to wobble my way to
the door. A strange, huge, scary-looking man stood with his hand up
to pound the door again when I opened it.

“I’ve come for my mate,” he demanded.

So this was Honey, the cantankerous bear. I
smiled. “She’s trying to get up from the couch. We’ve had a bit of
wine.”

He peered over my shoulder, and if Mandy
hadn’t told me what a big teddy bear he was on the inside, I’d have
been worried. I followed his gaze.

Mandy managed to stand, but when she tried
to take a step in our direction, she put her hand out to catch the
couch and missed completely. Honey was around me and at her side in
an instant. I pretended not to see the slight lift at the corner of
his mouth, and just listened to him grumble.

“Our son is waiting for you at home. What am
I supposed to say, ‘Mommy can’t read to you tonight, she fell on
the floor and damaged her brain?’”

“I didn’t damage my brain on the floor. I
did it on the wine.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Acasia, meet Honey, my mate, the father of
my son, and the keeper of my…” she stumbled again, but this time
Honey picked her up over his shoulder and looked at me.

“She meant to say balance. I keep her
balance.”

“Heart, you dumbass. Let me down.”

He ignored her and turned to Nikka. “I have
two shoulders for situations such as this. Your mate wants you
home. Do I need to carry you, or can you walk?”

Nikka put her hand out and rested it on his
arm. He turned slowly walking to the door.

Mandy lifted her head and smiled. “Nice
tomecha, Acasia.” Keeping her head up was obviously too much
trouble, so she mumbled the rest against Honey’s back.
“Sheeyanexttime.”

Honey turned at the door. “Your mate is on
his way.”

I didn’t have time to correct him before he
was gone with both my new friends, and I was left alone. I sat down
on the couch, grabbed the half-filled bottle of wine, and took a
swig.

I needed my dragon.

Chapter Fifteen

Bastian

It was an hour later than I expected. This
was an especially difficult pickup and I needed to discuss what was
happening with Acasia. She was key to the situation and she
wouldn’t be happy about her role.

I walked into the suite and found her passed
out on the couch, an empty bottle of wine laying on her chest. This
wasn’t what I’d expected to find, but how could I not smile?
Removing the bottle, I picked her up and carried her to bed. She
mumbled, but I couldn’t understand what she said. I removed her
clothes, regretting that I couldn’t take my bride this night. I lay
beside her on the bed and willed my stiff cock to calm.

Hours later, she scrambled up and ran for
the bathroom. My bride did not handle her alcohol well. I followed
and leaned down beside her, gathering her hair to keep it out of
her way.

“Go away.” Her hand limply tried slapping me
aside, but I ignored her.

“If you remember correctly, you’ve upchucked
on my feet before.”

“Those were claws or talons or something,
not your human feet.”

“One and the same. Are you finished?”

“I will be after I die. You should have been
here and stopped me from drinking so much.”

“Yes, it is my fault, silly female. Here,
let me help you back to bed.”

“You could argue about it or something.”

I was trying not to laugh, but it was
impossible. “Come on.” I put her back to bed, found a glass for
water, and practically forced it down her throat. She sputtered
groggily a few times, and thanked me before falling asleep. I
crawled back in next to her hoping she’d rest until daylight.