Mated To The Dragon Of Manhattan (A BBW Paranormal Romance Book 1) (13 page)

"Is everything really going to be okay?"

I nodded, fighting just a small little wave of dizziness. "Yes. Yes, everything is really going to be okay. I promise you. We've just gotta stay calm and...." I took a deep breath, becoming even a little dizzier. "And just be strong and brave. No time for acting like cream puffs, we've just gotta...." I took another deep breath. "Be strong and brave. Just like our men are being."

"Brette, you sound...you sound kind of funny right now. Are you okay? Are you feeling dizzy or anything?"

I gave my head a hard shake. "No. No. My dizzy days are over. I'm brave now. I face things head-on now while remaining calm. I don't retreat. I just...I just...."

Another wave of dizziness washed over me, and I gripped the edge of a mahogany lamp stand to help keep my balance.

"Well, where are you exactly right now anyway? Are you up in the penthouse?"

I moved my head in a slight nod, as if she could actually see me. "Yeah."

"Well, I want you to sit down, if you're not already."

"No. I'm not going to. I'm-"

"You can be brave sitting down, too. Do it. I'm actually ordering you to. You won't be able to remain calm and brave if you fall over and bonk your head on something."

Realizing she was right, I went over to the couch and sat down, though a bit reluctantly. "Okay. I'm sitting."

"Good. Now, stay there."

For the next several minutes, we were fairly quiet, speaking only occasionally. My dizziness lessened. We decided to stay on the phone with each other until everything was over. It was also decided that I'd stay calm and brave on the couch until Truman called to tell me it was okay to open the door.

But when a loud boom like a thunderclap sounded from somewhere outside, I flew to my feet, completely unable to help it. "I've gotta go see what's happening. I've gotta make sure Truman's okay."

I ran to one of the tall living room windows, looked out, and saw a scene like something from a dream. Or a nightmare. Maybe only several hundred yards beyond the tower, dozens of dragons fought in the air, some clawing, some kicking, and some shooting jets of fire from their mouths at least fifty feet. Every few seconds, two dragons would charge at each other, streaking across the sky, and then collide, making another thunderous boom.
Bizarre
didn't even begin to describe how the scene struck me, considering that all the action was taking place against a backdrop of New York City. Not to mention that witnessing real, live dragons fighting was a plenty bizarre enough scene anyway.

Soon I grabbed a pair of binoculars, returned to the window, and looked out again. The sky had become even thicker with dragons fighting, their massive bodies literally blocking out the sun. Part of the city below them became dim, as if large, dark clouds were overhead. Which wasn't too far off the mark, as all the dragons were dark shades of brown, gray, green, and blue. It was impossible to even tell who the “good guys” were and who the “bad guys.” were and I desperately wanted to spot Truman.

But eventually, after a thunderous boom so loud it made me jump, Brianna gave me a little clue. "Owen told me that the other shifters have claws that are more silvery, and all of our shifters have claws that are more gold. Can you see the difference? Can you spot which ones are our guys?"

I peered through the binoculars and suddenly I could. I spotted several shifters whose several-feet-long claws were definitely glinting with a bit of a gold tone.

And then I gasped. "I see Truman!"

I recognized his long, charcoal gray dragon body and his gray eyes glowing slightly red, as if with fire.

"He's fighting with a big blue dragon right now...and I think he's winning! He just clawed the blue dragon's face so bad that the blue dragon fell back and it looks like he's roaring in pain right now or something."

"Does the blue dragon have a missing claw in front?"

I looked and saw that he did. "Yes."

"Then, that's Dominic. Owen told me he's a blue dragon and has a missing claw. Let's hope Truman kills him."

Soon I spotted Owen, who was a green dragon, and who, like Truman, seemed to be getting the best of his opponent. I told Brianna that, and she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

He soon killed the brown dragon he was fighting by stabbing him through the heart with one long claw and then stabbing him through the eye. The brown dragon immediately fell through the air, limp as a dishrag. Not a second later, Truman made a kill of his own, though it wasn't Dominic. It was a light gray dragon who'd swooped in after Dominic had fallen back after Truman clawed him. The light gray dragon fell from the sky, and then Truman killed another, and then another, seemingly in a frenzy, before moving on to attack Dominic once again.

I continued watching for a little bit, until a near-deafening boom from two shifters colliding made me jump so high, I dropped my binoculars. And when I picked them back up, I spotted Truman again, but not Dominic.

"That's weird. I don't see Dominic anymore. And Truman was just fighting him. But now...." I watched while at least a half-dozen other shifters of various colors swooped in on Truman. "But now, it seems like a bunch of others are now trying to contain Truman."

Another wave of dizziness hit me, and my whole body seemed to go weak. I dropped the binoculars yet again, and went to pick them up, breathing heavily.

Brianna told me to go sit down. "I can tell you're hyperventilating, Brette. Go sit down right this second."

"No. I'm just gonna keep on powering through it. I'm just gonna keep on being brave."

I grabbed the binoculars and then rose to my feet, a bit unsteadily, trying to take deep, slow breaths. But then I froze. Because somewhere behind me, very close behind me, maybe even only several feet, a man laughed. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and both my phone and the binoculars fell from my hands. Forcing myself to move, actually bending my entire will towards the task, I turned. And saw a tall, powerfully-built, blue-eyed man standing no farther than ten feet away from me.

He laughed again. "That's funny. You're going to be brave, are you? Well, let's see just how brave you're going to be when I'm raping you in front of your boyfriend."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The blue-eyed man continued. "Oh, and by the way, my raping of you will be right before I kill you by stepping on your throat with one of my boots, so if I were you, I'd enjoy the ride, so to speak, as it will be the last one of your life."

I screamed. A lengthy scream so loud and shrill it actually hurt my own ears. And to my surprise, or maybe, to my
continuing shock
, rather, the blue-eyed man I just knew was Dominic screamed right along with me. The sound of my scream soon faded, as did his, and he laughed.

"Oh, yes, let's scream! That will save us! Here, I'll help you again!" He screamed again, the sound tapering off into more laughter. "Oh, be serious, Brette. That is your name, isn't it? I think it is, unless my psychic powers have led me completely astray, which I don't think they have."

His voice was smooth and cultured, which was somehow unexpected
a
nd had the effect of making me more dizzy and disoriented than I already was.

He took a step closer to me, and I fought a wave of extreme dizziness, struggling to remain upright.

"You won't get away with this, you know. Truman will kill you."

"Well, he might have, had I stayed outside. But let's just say things weren't exactly going my way out there. So I decided to go to my plan B. Which was having a few of my men corner our dear Lord Truman while I made myself invisible, shifted, and passed right through these titanium-and steel walls, a feat I'll just bet he didn't even know I could do.

And now, the second part of the plan is that I rape you right up on the rooftop, right where he can see, which should sufficiently distract him enough so that my men can take him out easily. And after that, killing all his fighters should be no problem. And then...guess what? I'll be the new ruler of the Confederation of Dragon-Ruled States! How fun." He took another step closer to me, his dark blue eyes glittering. "But first...the 'fun before the fun,' we'll say."

Trembling, I took a step back, and then another until I was backed up right against the window. "Please don't do this. You don't have to. You and Truman can talk, and-"

"Oh, for God's sake, shut up. I'm not an idiot. I have a PhD in quantum physics; do you really think you can con me into believing that if I just abandon my plan, Truman and I can talk, come to an understanding, and agree to share the throne or something? No, try again. Not to mention I'm not at all interested in sharing the throne." He suddenly spit on the floor before returning his gaze to my face, narrowing his eyes. "Stupid bitch."

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was running. I was running all over the apartment, tripping over my feet, getting up, and dashing again. The room spun like a kaleidoscope.

"Truman, help me!"

I finally stumbled and fell to a stop near the marble staircase that led to the rooftop garden. The sound of Dominic's laughter coming from somewhere nearby rang in my ears.

"Well, thank you for making your way over to the stairs for me. That was most helpful."

I looked up, panting, and saw Dominic standing above me. Holding a knife. He gave it a little toss and caught it by the wooden handle. "Now, I'm not only going to cut your clothes off with this; I'm also going to cut your flesh a bit while I have my way with you, if you don't mind. You see, I'm hoping you'll do a bit of really lusty screaming for me. We must get Lord Truman's attention some way, you know. And now, if you'd be so kind, please trip your way up the stairs to the garden for me. Unless you want me to force you up the stairs by giving you a few little motivating cuts.
”

“
Which...honestly, I don't mind. Might help to get me in the mood a bit. I do like to enjoy a bit of screaming and terror in the eyes before the
real
screaming and terror begins. And in fact, some of my favorite rapes have been rather long, drawn-out encounters. You see, I've done this many a time before. Taking a woman by force is actually the only way I'm able to enjoy sex."

Shaking like a leaf, I began scooting away from him on my rear, and soon I hit the stairs.

He brandished the knife in my face. "That's right. Up you go. Need a little motivation?" He moved the point of the knife to within a few inches of my chest. "Would you like a little cut here? I can even give you some sort of design. Something tasteful maybe. A small flower? No, too boring. You need something interesting and vaguely postmodern. A bloody cross? With an inexplicable little butterfly on one side, and a tiny triangle with an eyeball inside on the other. Yes. Yes, that's it."

His blue eyes glittered, and I began scrambling up the marble stairs on my rear.

He laughed. "Yes, that's it. Up, up, like a good girl. I'll even give you just a little head start while I take a moment to use my psychic abilities to perceive how the battle is going."

I turned, scrambled to my feet, and staggered up the stairs, desperate to get away from him.

Once outside on the rooftop, I dashed across it to a copse of apple trees, head spinning. My breath coming in ragged gasps, I hid behind one of the trees, jumping not even a moment later when a thunderous boom sounded from somewhere not too far above me. Peeking through the leaves of the tree, I saw that the battle had moved from the side of the tower to directly above it. I spotted Truman, just several hundred feet above me. He was still surrounded by silver-clawed dragons on all sides, which he seemed to be struggling to fight off. All of his men seemed to be similarly preoccupied, including Owen.

But, knowing that I'd soon likely be raped and murdered, I knew I had to at least try to get help. I stepped out from behind the apple tree and cupped my hands to my mouth. "Truman! Help!"

He continued fighting without missing a beat, and I knew he hadn't heard me. I tried yelling again, but a mighty boom of two shifters colliding drowned out my voice. Sweat snaked down the back of my neck. I knew I didn't have a lot of time.

And so, I tried once more, trying to make my voice the loudest it had been yet. "Truman, please! Help me! Anyone, please help! Truman!"

I was just too far away. I knew nobody could hear me. Though, I realized, one consolation of that would be that Truman wouldn't have to be tortured by hearing me scream while Dominic raped me. Though for some reason, this thought made me burst into sobs, and I sank to my knees.

With tears streaming down my cheeks, I lifted my face to the sky, my gaze on Truman while he fought off a pale blue dragon, breathing fire. "I think this might be goodbye. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I thought I could be brave and strong, but I should have known better. I was stupid. I should have just let you send me back, so I could be safe. And now I'm going to pay for that mistake with my life. And I'll never...."

Sobs shook my shoulders, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a few moments before opening them again.

"I'll never see you again. So, even though I know you can't hear me, I just want to tell you something. And it's that I love you, and you made me so happy. I'm grateful for every minute we spent together. And...." I paused while more sobs shook my body. "And I guess that's it. So, goodbye, Truman. I hope my love stays with you always."

Just then, a massive, jade-green shifter smashed into him, making a thunderous boom. Seemingly dazed, Truman sank in the sky several dozen feet. But then, after a long moment just seeming to hang in the air while several dragons dove for him, charging him, he appeared to give his head a little shake. And then, breathing fire, he charged at the biggest dragon and collided with him so hard the resulting boom was by far the loudest one yet.

And that's when I realized I couldn't just give up. I had to fight. I had to try. Even if I was most certainly going to be raped and killed, I realized I could honor Truman's and my love by refusing to go down without a fight. I could honor our love by refusing to just lie down and allow myself to be violated, which I knew would be the ultimate act of cream puffery. I could still be brave, even in the face of violation and death. Because if Truman wasn't giving up, I couldn't either. And even if he never even knew about my last actions alive, I wanted them to be ones he might be proud of. I wanted them to be ones I myself could be proud of.

I knew Dominic would likely be appearing on the rooftop within seconds. And I had no clue how I could even attempt to defend myself. After wiping my eyes, I swept my gaze around the garden, not even knowing what I was hoping to spot. A gun with crystal-clear, concise instructions about how to use it would have been nice. Though I knew I wasn't going to be so lucky.

But suddenly, I spotted something I thought might be of use. Just a few feet to my right, several tall, wooden garden stakes stuck out of the ground. I wondered if they had sharp, pointy ends, and I figured they probably would. And at any rate, I knew they were worth investigating, as they would likely be the best weapons I'd find in the garden.

Still on my knees, I crawled over, knelt in the dirt, and began tugging on one of the wooden stakes while glancing at the door that opened out onto the rooftop. It was only maybe twenty feet away, and I knew Dominic would be stepping through it any second.

But I wasn't having much luck with the stake. It seemed to be stuck into the densely-packed soil pretty deeply. I tugged and tugged at it, then started trying to twist it out, but it remained firmly lodged. I glanced up at the dragon-packed sky and saw Truman clawing at the eyes of the jade-green shifter. I couldn't give up. Even though my hands were shaking so badly, I kept losing my grip on the wooden stake.

After taking a deep, steadying breath, I tightened my grip on the stake and gave it a hard yank, and it finally lifted out of the ground. And just like I'd thought it would be, the end of it was sharp and pointed. Very sharp and pointed, in fact. I knew a good stab with it would surely draw blood.

Still holding the stake in one hand, I gripped another and began trying to pull it from the ground. But I didn't have time to add it to my arsenal. Because at that moment, Dominic flung the garden door open and stepped outside, leering at me.

"Ready for some fun?"

A wave of dizziness so intense that I felt like I was going to be sick washed over me.

But I just ignored it and slowly got to my feet on shaky legs. "If you want to rape me and kill me, Dominic, you're going to have to work for it. Because I'm going to fight you. I'm going to fight you until I'm not breathing anymore."

He began sauntering over to me, chuckling, still holding his knife. "Aw. You are honestly very cute. I like the fighters. I like the ones who think they're brave."

I tightened one shaking hand around the stake. "I don't
think
I'm brave; I am."

He came to a stop maybe ten feet away from me, scoffing. "I don't think so. I had you pegged the moment I was able to intuit a few of your thoughts. 'She's nothing but a little cream puff,' I said to myself." He took one more step closer, sneering. "Nothing but a weak...scared...helpless little cream puff."

I charged. Swinging the garden stake like a baseball bat, I cracked it against the side of his head before he could even raise his knife, which fell from his hand.

He staggered backward, blood pouring from his temple. "You...bitch!"

He lunged for me, but I didn't retreat. I actually charged him again. And cracked the stake against his other temple. He fell on his rear, bleeding from both sides of his head now. And when he spoke, his words were slurred.

"Now, you've really pissed me off, you whore. You-"

Another crack of the stake silenced him, this one brought down on the very top of his skull. I delivered two more blows, one to his face, and one to one of his bleeding temples, before pausing to catch my breath. But before I  could, disaster struck. Dominic shifted.

He went from a man to a giant dark blue dragon in the blink of an eye, the force of his body expanding, rocketing me backward into a patch of sunflowers. But I didn't drop my stake. I gripped it as if my life depended on it, which of course, it actually did.

Still seeming to be dazed from the blows I'd delivered to his head while he'd been in human form, Dominic rose to his hind legs, more than a bit unsteadily, and issued a loud roar-type noise. I knew I had mere seconds, and maybe even just one. If he breathed fire, I'd be dead, most likely incinerated instantly, being that I was only a half-dozen or so feet away. There was no time for fear. There was no time to think. There was only time to act. And so, I did.