Mated by the Dragon (14 page)

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Do you wish to go home?”

“No.” Chloe shook her head and drew in a steadying breath. “I want to learn more about what you do.”
Screw her. I’m not gonna let her drive me away.

“Come with me then. Let us find an adequate task for you to perform.”

Saul carried her to the desk where he set her in the high-backed leather chair. With one hand, he pecked out the password to open his desktop menu. “Harris scans each screenplay. I review new arrivals once a week to give the final approval.”

“So what will I be doing, exactly?”

“My job.” Saul guided Chloe to the enormous seat. “While I delegate much of my authority to Harris, Mahasti, and my other subordinates, I would like you to become accustomed to my work.”

“Saul, I’m a paralegal. Not a big honcho executive.” She laughed and settled into the oversized chair. Luxurious leather stretched over expensive cushions and molded to her unique shape in a comforting embrace. Despite her intentions to merely humor him, she relaxed and closed her eyes.

“You are far more than a paralegal. That life was beneath you. Now you are my partner in
all
things and that includes the maintenance of my hoard.”

“So I get to swim around in the vast ocean of jewels you keep beneath the estate?”

“If you so desire. Now, as I was saying, Drakenstone Studios produces no less than a dozen movies each year. As you know, we specialize in fantasy…” His voice trailed as Chloe dissolved into a fit of giggles. “And horror. What amuses you so deeply?”

“You’re so
serious
. Come on, baby, can you really imagine me sitting here behind your desk pretending to be you, doing whatever it is you really do in this room?”

“Yes, I can,” Saul insisted. “Trust in me as I trust in you, Chloe.”

Their gazes met and held, his golden eyes twinkling with warmth, reassurance, and love that she’d never experienced before with another man in all of her life. At times, it was so funny to Chloe that a dragon could give her the world and succeed where so many human men failed. “Okay, so I read these and tell you if I think they suck?”

“Never read the entire screenplay unless you are truly riveted by the plot,” Saul said. “Read the first and last ten pages. If that fails to intrigue you, the middle will be an absolute waste of time.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he told her. “While I have employees dedicated to this role, I prefer to give every submission my personal attention. Sometimes my staff passes over one that has hidden potential. A diamond in the rough, as you might say.”

“So this is what I always see you reading at home when I wake up at night.”

They devoted the morning to Saul teaching Chloe the ropes of his big-time executive job. When Harris brought them lunch around noon, it took every ounce of willpower Chloe possessed to wait for the man to leave before she attacked her plate. She was starving and the bacon-wrapped steaks smelled divine.

“No wine for you, Mrs. Drakenstone?”

“Chloe, please, and water is fine.” She dipped her head, tucking her chin briefly. It wouldn’t take long for her to become known to the public eye. People would see her swelling belly and know. Secrecy could only protect her for so long. “We’re expecting,” she confessed.

Harris opened and shut his mouth twice before he articulated an appropriate response. His eyes cut over to Saul first, no doubt gauging his boss’ reaction to Chloe spilling the beans. “That’s terrific news. Congratulations to both of you.”

When Chloe turned to Saul, his satisfied expression surprised her and lured a smile to her face in return. “Thank you, Harris. We are thrilled to await the little one’s arrival. Kindly keep this news to yourself for now.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

Harris played gatekeeper for the rest of the day, canceling most of Saul’s appointments while Chloe became accustomed to everyday life at the office. By evening, she didn’t want to read another line, meet another actor, or hear another audition. She slept most of the drive to the estate, sprawled on the backseat while Saul rode in the front and engaged Leiv in casual conversation.

Once they hit the open roads away from the Los Angeles traffic, Mahasti sped their way home.

Chapter 10

Contrary to Chloe’s initial expectations, she took enjoyment in learning the role of an assistant studio executive. Over the course of the week, she helped Saul draft documents with her superior typing speed, and they giggled together at terrible storylines. She also coaxed him into sex on his office desk and scandalized his assistant when her hand landed on the intercom button.

“Many of these recent submissions are beneath our standards,” Saul muttered. “Unfortunate.”

“Oh come on. You should make this one, baby. It’s so horrible it’ll be funny. It’s like a parody of a true horror movie.”

“Perhaps.” Saul stroked his chin. “But it was not intended as a parody.”

“Okay, what if I tell the writer that if they intentionally cheese it up a little more, we’ll produce it for them?”

“Excellent idea. You have complete autonomy. Do as you will.”

“One of these days you’re going to say that, then I’m going to greenlight a big budget porno flick with a dozen kung fu transvestites shooting cocklasers.”

Her words scandalized Saul, but he left her at the helm during a meeting with his casting director. She spent the rest of her morning chatting with Harris until Saul returned at lunch. Her husband’s personal assistant excused himself from the room to partake in his own lunch break and left them alone.

“I have a private meeting to attend this afternoon with Brigid and her father. You may remain here in the studio or go to the estate with Leiv and Mahasti.”

“But I want to go with y—”

Saul cut her off. “No you shall remain here or at the estate. You have proven thus far that you are not to be trusted in Brigid’s presence.”

“Fine,” Chloe snapped. “I’ll have Leiv take me home now then.”

“Chloe—”

“Go deal with your dragon politics.” She brushed past him on her way to the door and didn’t stop until she reached the elevator. Leiv greeted her at the front doors and escorted her to the waiting car.

“Hi, Leiv. I want the full drive home please… No magical rushing,” Chloe mumbled from the rear seat, where she laid her head against a silk-cased pillow. Sometimes, the feeling of movement eased her nausea. Saul had given her countless rides around the property and confessed to enjoying it.

“Of course. Will we make a stop for your usual?” Leiv asked.

“No Wendy’s today.”

It didn’t take long for guilt to gnaw more than her appetite away. Thirty minutes later as they left Los Angeles behind, Chloe pulled out her mobile phone.

I love you,
she texted him. She added an apology to the next message and waited, holding her breath, for his response.

Saul:
You were forgiven before the words left your lips. I love you, Chloe. Take the time to unwind and enjoy the use of our bank account. Spend frivolously.

I don’t want to spend frivolously. I want you to hold me,
she texted back.

Saul:
I must attend to business with Maximilian and Brigid. Once our negotiations are complete, I will return to share the news.

Okay. Love you,
she messaged, before putting the phone away again.

Leiv’s concerned face peered at her through the rearview mirror. “Is something the matter, Chloe? You seem very changed today.” Despite all of the time Leiv had lived in America, he still struggled with English at times.

She chuckled quietly against her pillow, a humorless sound that didn’t assuage the cold dread spreading through her chest. “I’m worried about Saul.”

“Bah. Brigid and Maximilian are harmless. The only danger Saul faces is that perhaps Maximilian will talk him to death. Fear nothing,” Leiv assured her. He glanced back at her and flashed one of his boyish smiles.

“Have you met them?”

“I have met Brigid many times. She would come to abuse Saul’s good nature and generosity. She was much like… like a parasite,” Leiv said in his thick accent. The driver shook his head, disgusted. Chloe had noticed that as he became accustomed to her company, his natural speaking voice became all the more prominent. “He courted her desperately.”

“What happened to make him hibernate for five years? He won’t tell me.”

Leiv silenced. The bear shifter’s loyalty to Saul touched her deeply, but the secrecy created an urgent need to delve to the heart of the matter.

“Please, Leiv. What did she do?”

“She took another dragon lover. Another volcanic dragon.”

“That’s cheating!” Chloe’s outrage flared, filling her with white-hot hatred.

“Not in the eyes of Draconic Law. It is not to be considered cheating until a bond has occurred,” Leiv explained.

“So it’s allowed but…”
She hurt him. She refused him, wouldn’t take his mark, and then she fucked some other dragon instead.

“It is a very dick move to make,” Leiv said, speaking the words for her.

“Very. So what is this? She’s done with her play toy and decided she’s ready to accept Saul?”

Leiv nodded from the driver’s seat. “So it would seem. She likely came that first day to toy with him, but your presence threatened her.”

“I threatened a female dragon?” Her incredulous voice rose sharply. He had to be joking.

“Female dragons are not kind creatures,” Leiv said.

“Why can’t we wish her away? If I asked Mahasti—”

“A djinn may not take away another living being’s free will, Chloe. Trust me, were it so simple, Mahasti would do as needed to aid you both. Our hands are tied.”

The disappointment leached the remaining life from Chloe’s bones. She slept until their arrival when Leiv gently called her name, waking her, then they chatted for a while in the garage while Leiv wiped down the front of the car and cleaned the windows.

“Ah, I blame you. Mahasti drops hints daily about babies. She is excited about the idea of becoming a mother now that she knows it is possible. Yesterday she told me, ‘Leiv, if we have our baby now, Chloe’s child will have close friend.’ And I am the bad guy because I say we should wait.”

“Aww. That would be sweet,” Chloe said, a wistful smile on her face. “But that shouldn’t be the main reason. You and Mahasti can cuddle my baby if you want. Consider it practice.”

Leiv laughed and nodded. “Yes, that is a fine idea. Now go on inside, Chloe, before you catch a chill. I will be in shortly.”

“It’s summer. I’m far from chilly. You just want time alone with your baby,” she teased him as she passed through the door.

Once inside, Chloe helped herself to a bubble bath. She soaked away her troubles, gave herself a pedicure, and painted her toenails an obnoxious shade of pink. Saul didn’t know any better, and had on impulse purchased her an amazing number of toiletries and feminine products, some she would never use, and others that were just… strangely colored.

“Hrm… That color isn’t really so bad,” she mumbled out loud.

She brushed out her hair, braided it, then brushed it out again in a fret. Once she decided on a ponytail, she jogged down the steps to find a snack. Had she been smarter and less angry at Saul, she would have made the usual pit stop for a Frosty instead of waiting until her stomach cramped from hunger.

“Mahasti?” Chloe stepped into the empty kitchen and frowned. She’s probably with Leiv, she realized. According to Saul, calling the djinn’s name thrice would summon her, but she didn’t want to interrupt a possible nookie time.

Especially if he changed his mind about babies. She doubted it. According to Saul, Leiv and Mahasti had centuries together… a djinn’s lifetime. She envied them.

I wish… I could be with Saul forever.
She sighed. It was a foolish wish to make, although it would fortunately go unheard. Such whimsies were beyond Mahasti’s power to grant.

“Ugh, I don’t even know what I’m in the mood for,” she grumbled, searching the well-stocked refrigerator. She twisted the cap off the chocolate milk and guzzled it straight from the quart. Rich liquid cocoa distracted her for a while at least until a garlic-scented aroma reached her from the fridge shelf.

Mahasti’s curry beef marinated in a deep dish with a thin plastic sheet over the delectable cubes. Chloe peeled the edge of the saran wrap off and inhaled.

Between her and Leiv, I’m going to be four hundred pounds by the time this baby is born.

After a glance over her shoulder, Chloe surrendered to impulse, scooped two pieces from the dish, and shoved them in her mouth. The curry spices danced over her tongue, improved by the tender cuts of meat.

It didn’t taste raw in the least.

What the hell am I doing? This isn’t cooked.

Part of Chloe wanted to freak out, but deep down, she couldn’t stop herself, like a crack addict hungering for the next fix, she plucked another cube and quickly devoured it.