Part 11 (1/2)

Chapter 11.

Coal leaned up against the wall at the door. He folded his arms.

Julie knocked again. There was still no answer.

”She's sleeping... peacefully.” Coal said, his eyes on the opposite wall. The rooms and hallways within this... lair...it wasn't a lair though, not really. More like a ma.s.sive castle or mansion. No, a mansion was too small for what this was.

”She could be tied and gagged.” Julie narrowed her eyes at him.

The lair was tastefully decorated, yet quite spa.r.s.e for such huge rooms. There was no expense spared and the pieces looked to be antiques. Large Persian rugs, pewter candle holders. At least, she a.s.sumed it was pewter or possibly white gold since non-humans were allergic to silver. There were ornate crystal chandeliers throughout.

After waiting half a minute, she knocked a third time.

”Can we go yet?” Coal said, his voice low. ”I'll bring you back later. I promise.”

Julie shook her head and prepared to knock again.

”Coming.” She heard a croaky voice, from the other side of the door. It was definitely a woman's voice.

Julie smirked at Coal who huffed out a breath.

It still took another minute or two for the door to open. Pauline was in a thick, toweling robe. Her hair was mussed and her eyes had that sleepy, just woken up look. She smiled and ran a hand through her hair. ”Hi,” she said, before stifling a yawn. ”Sorry, come in.” Pauline gave Coal the once over before turning and heading back inside.

”I'll be back in just a minute,” Julie said to Coal. It was her way of letting him know that he wasn't welcome. She needed to speak to Pauline alone.

Coal nodded once. ”I'll wait here. It's unsafe to walk around by yourself.”

”Yeah, yeah... in case someone else tries to take me for themselves.”

His eyes darkened. ”It's not a joke.”

”I'm not laughing.” Julie closed the door behind her.

”Are you okay?” Pauline asked, then she smiled. ”Was that your dragon? He's cute. Not nearly as cute as Flame though.” She smiled over her shoulder. ”These dragon s.h.i.+fters are awesome, aren't they?” Her smile was about a mile wide and her cheeks were flushed. Then she frowned. She looked more closely at Julie and must have picked up on her unease. ”Oh s.h.i.+t! Did you get a bad one? Are you hurt?” She took a step closer and looked Julie up and down. ”He seemed nice. You look okay except for your knee but surely he didn't do that.” She narrowed her eyes.

”I'm fine.” Julie said, feeling like a bit of an idiot. Pauline clearly had the look of a woman who had just gotten it all. Her lips were swollen, her eyes sleepy with a content look. ”Sorry, it's just that I was worried about you and the others so I asked to check in. I can see that you're fine.”

Pauline smiled. ”More than fine.” She widened her eyes. ”I can't believe I actually slept with him so quickly.” She lowered her voice. ”I've never been this forward with a guy before.”

Julie tried to smile. This was too much information but Pauline was too excited to notice her discomfort it seemed.

”When we arrived back here I was really tired but also really worked up. Flame is just so sweet and so s.e.xy. The s.e.xiest guy I've ever met. He tucked me in and slid in next to me and I may have made a move on him.” She was blus.h.i.+ng wildly. ”He actually tried to turn me down. How sweet is that? He said that I should get some rest. That took care of any reservations I may still have had. I had the best s.e.x of my life.” She giggled like a teenager before turning serious. ”Those dragon women were full of BS. They told us complete rubbish. The s.e.x was off the charts and there was no forcing of anything. Flame has been the perfect gentleman.”

Julie needed to get out of there. Now.

”I take it you haven't... you know?” Pauline raised her brows.

”Um... no, I... w-well...” She sounded like an idiot. ”We were stuck in the forest all night so...” Was she actually giving excuses as to why they hadn't slept together? Surely not.

”It was amazing for me!” Pauline blurted. ”I've never been with a guy with that much stamina. Flame was a little rough around the edges but it was like his sole existence was to make me happy. To do what it took to ensure that-”

”I get the picture,” Julie blurted. She couldn't take any more.

”I'm not so sure about actually living here and having his children. It's a bit soon for that but I've decided to get to know him and to see where this goes.” Pauline smiled.

”That's nice,” Julie remarked.

”You don't think I'm crazy, do you?”

Julie thought back to her original a.s.sessment. If a group of these dragon s.h.i.+fters walked into a bar, they'd have a chorus of panties dropping in a matter of minutes. ”Not at all.” The crazy thing was, she meant every word. ”They are pretty hot,” she added. It was the truth. They were d.a.m.ned attractive.

”I just figured that while I was here, I should make the most of it.” Her sentiments exactly. ”Flame is just so sweet. You never know... maybe he's the one.” Pauline looked sincere.

The one.

Really? Now that was crazy talk. Humans and s.h.i.+fters didn't belong together. They were just too different. She thought about Coal. He was an attractive guy. His dragon was beautiful and although he was a bossy boots, he was also sweet. The man did have ulterior motives though, namely to get her to mate with him and to have his babies. s.e.x was one thing. She still wasn't sure about his man parts. s.e.x with Coal would probably be intense since he was so intense but she couldn't imagine staying in dragon land. No way. There was a whole world out there. Adventure waited. This couldn't be it for her. She wasn't ready for a relations.h.i.+p. She'd probably never be ready for one. People let you down. It was a given.

”You never know.” Julie finally said, noting that Pauline had that faraway look again. ”I hope that Flame told you that if it doesn't work out that you can go back to Walton Springs.”

Pauline nodded. ”Yes, he did.” Her face clouded. ”Not that there's much to go back to.”

”Good, you should know your options.” Julie smiled. ”I'm glad you're okay. We should chat in a few days. I'm going to check in with the others.”

”I saw Lisa. She was really angry. She shouted about suing the dragons for all they're worth. That poor guy she's with looked like s.h.i.+t. She had him cringing. A big, strong, dragon s.h.i.+fter was afraid of her.” She choked out a laugh. ”It was hilarious.”

Julie had to laugh as well. She actually felt sorry for the poor s.h.i.+fter that landed the heiress. Lisa was something else.

”You didn't see any of the others did you?”

Pauline shook her head. ”No, but Flame a.s.sured me that everyone was okay, so I'm not worried. They're not at this castle. One of them is with the water king and the other is on earth territory.” She pulled a face like she didn't really know what she was talking about.

There was only one way Julie was believing it and that was by seeing them for herself. ”Okay. You go back to bed.”

”Yeah.” Pauline yawned a second time, putting her hand in front of her mouth. ”I'm bushed. I'll see you soon.”

Julie nodded. The door opened before she got to it. Coal was waiting for her. ”Jeez, you weren't lying when you said you had better hearing than us.”

He turned down the hallway. ”Lisa is just down the hall.”

She nodded.

Coal walked right next to her. He didn't try and touch her though. They pa.s.sed one other s.h.i.+fter. He ogled her until Coal growled. It was really low, almost inaudible but that just made it all the more intimidating. The guy averted his eyes and slunk away. It would've been laughable if it weren't for the deep frown on Coal's forehead.

”It's this way.” He turned a corner and they headed down yet another long, wide corridor.

The way he had growled just now reminded her of the big room they had entered when they first arrived. Coal called it the great hall. It was filled with men. Big, burly s.h.i.+fters. All clothed in the same pants... well mostly. There were one or two naked guys as well. Coal's whole demeanor changed. He went from hardcore to lethal. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw tight. His muscles seemed to grow. Impossible right? Wrong. They not only looked bigger, they were bigger. He snarled at a guy that dared get too close and his teeth seemed bigger too and sharper. His eyes... they had that same slitted look he had when he was a dragon.