Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1) (8 page)

              “Where are you going?” Katie did not want Paul to leave. She was actually hoping that she would get the chance to fall asleep with his warm arms wrapped around her.

              Paul smiled at Katie. “Do not worry, babe. I am not running away. I just thought you might like some food before I ravish you again.”

              “Oh,” Katie was relieved. “Then I guess I should get dressed, too.” Katie hoped off the bed and went into her closet to find some clean shorts and a t-shirt.

              “What would you like?” Paul asked as she was shimmying into her clothes.

              “You mean besides you?” Katie stuck her head out of the closet when she heard Paul growl.

              “Woman, watch yourself, or you will end up back in that bed and we will not take another break for the next four hours,” he said with a grin that wreaked havoc on Katie’s heart.

              “You promise?” Katie winked at Paul.

              “That’s it, I am ordering take-out.” Paul pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked into the other room. Katie just laughed and finished getting dressed.

              On the way out of her bedroom, Katie looked over and saw the envelope sitting on her dresser. She knew that it held all the answers about her past but she could never bring herself to open it. Even now her heart started to race at the thought of opening it. Katie picked it up. It was time and she was not going to let her fear of the unknown keep her from knowing the truth anymore. She turned and walked out to the living room.

              Paul was just hanging up the phone when she walked into the room. He looked down at the envelope in her hands. “What is that?” he asked.

              Katie held it up to look at it. “This is my past. It is all the information the state has on my birth mother.” Katie paused. “I have never been able to open it. I know it is stupid, but I have been scared to know the truth.” Katie looked up at Paul and could see the sympathy in his eyes.

              “It is not stupid.” He walked over and pulled Katie into his arms. “After everything you have been though in your life, I would be scared, too.”

              Katie sighed. “Will you sit here with me while I open it?”

              “Of course I will.” He squeezed her a little bit. “I will do anything for you, Katie. All you have to do is ask.” Katie relaxed knowing that she did not have to go through this by herself. It was nice finally having someone she could lean on.

              “We can open it after we eat.” Katie pulled out of Paul’s embrace and sat it down on her coffee table. “I need just a little bit longer before I find out the truth.” She turned and headed for the kitchen. “So what did you order for us?”

              “Chinese.” Paul followed her. “I hope that’s okay.”

              Katie opened the fridge and pulled out two beers. “That is perfect.” She handed one of the beers to Paul and headed into the living room to wait for the food.

Chapter 12

              Paul and Katie talked about anything and everything while they waited for food, then continued to talk as they ate. Two hours and several beers later, they sat in the living room looking at the unopened envelope.

              “We can do this later if you are not ready. There is no need to rush this.” Paul put his arm around Katie and pulled her close. He liked the feel of her in his arms.

              “No, I have waited long enough as it is. Plus, I need to finally know the truth.” Katie reached over and grabbed the envelope off the table, tearing it open. Paul figured that she wanted to just get it done and over with before she had the time to talk herself out of doing it.

              Paul watched as Katie pulled a few papers out and started to read them. When she was done with one, she would hand it over for Paul to look at. One was her birth certificate, which did not have the spaces filled out for her parents. The next one was the intake report from the adoption agency. Paul looked it over but again, it did not have any names on it.

              Paul sat the second piece of paper down and looked over at Katie as she was reading the last page. Her face was drawn in tight. Finally after a few minutes, she handed the paper over to Paul and downed the rest of her beer.

              Paul quickly found out what was bothering Katie. At the bottom of the paper, there was a note from the lady nurse that admitted Katie to the hospital. She said a woman had come into the hospital shortly after midnight. She had started out saying that she was the mother but later changed her story. She said she was the mid-wife that had helped to deliver Katie. The lady then went on to say that the mother did not want the baby, that she wanted the mid-wife to bring her into the hospital and just leave her there. Paul had to swallow back the rage that swept through him. The nurse then went on to say that she had contacted the police but after a few weeks of no one claiming Katie, she had no choice but to release her to child services.

              Paul had to read the note again. Surely he was missing something. Finally, he looked at Katie as she sat next to him. “I know that it may not seem like much but I know dragons do not just give up their babies like this. There has to be something we are missing.”

              “How can you be so sure? I am obviously proof that they do!” Paul watched as the tears started streaming down her face.

              “Katie, look at me.” He waited until she did. “Dragons are not like humans. Most of us wait centuries before we are even able to have children. We would never abandon them, especially girls. Over the last fifty years or so, our numbers have dropped. Most females are mated already and for whatever reason, female baby dragons are not surviving.”

              Paul did not even try to hide the fact that talking about this hurt him, too. His reasons were of course different than Katie’s, but it still hurt him none the less. “But that does not tell me who my parents are. Or why they never claimed me.” Katie stood and started pacing. “It does not tell me why I was moved from family to family. It does not tell me why I was forced to live with people who hated and despised me. And it sure as hell does not tell me who I am.”

              Paul knew just how upset Katie was, he could see it written all over her. “Katie, it will all be okay. I promise.” He did not know what else to say, let alone what to do to make things better.

              “How will it be okay, Paul? I do not know who I am!” Paul really did not know what he could do to make her understand her past, but he had an idea on how he might make her feel better. He stood up, walked over to Katie and picked her up, carrying her out the door. Instead of heading down to the stairs and out to the street, Paul took the stairs leading up to the roof. Once there, he looked around to make sure no one was up here and sat Katie down in a lawn chair someone had left up there.

              “Katie,” Paul knelt down in front of her. “You are the bravest and smartest woman I have ever met. You are kind, funny, and determined. You do not need to know who your parents are to know who you are. You just have to look inside yourself.”

              After a few moments, Katie nodded her head in agreement. “You did not have to bring me all the way up here to tell me that.”

              “No,” Paul agreed with a smile. “I brought you up here to show you what you will be some day when you come into your full power.”

              Before Katie could say anything, Paul stepped back. Magic burned the air, making Katie’s hair frizzy. She sat there stunned as Paul turned from a man into a beautiful white dragon. At first she could not move, but then she had an overwhelming feeling to touch him. She stood up slowly and walked over to him, laying her hand on the base of his neck. She thought he would feel rough, so she was surprised when he felt more like a smoothed out rock.

              “You are stunning,” she whispered as she walked around him, taking in every curve. He huffed in response but stayed perfectly still as Katie made her way around him. Finally, she stopped. Paul turned his head toward her, opened his mouth, and licked her. Katie laughed. “You will pay for that later.” When she finally stopped laughing, she managed to ask, “Can I sit on you?” Katie knew that it was weird, but come on. How often do you have the chance to see a dragon, let alone touch one?

              Paul nodded his head and bowed down so that she could climb up. As soon as she was seated, Paul stood up, causing Katie to squeal in surprise. He walked around the roof for a few minutes before he stopped again. “Can we go flying?” Katie felt like a kid again. Paul shook his head and then kneeled down again so that she could climb off. Once she was down, Paul turned and walked a little ways away.

              Katie watched in amazement as Paul changed back into his human form. He walked over and pulled her into his arms. Katie went willingly. “That, my dear, is what you will look like one day. That is what you will become.” He leaned down and kissed her.

              Katie allowed the kiss to go on for a few moments before she pulled away. “You were stunning. Were you not worried that someone would see you?” Katie could not stop smiling. She hoped that her dragon form was half as beautiful as his.

              “People see what they want to see.” He squeezed her against his chest. “You are the first woman that I have ever showed my dragon form to.”

              “Why could we not go flying then? Oh and will I be white, too?” Katie loved having his arms wrapped around her.

              “It would not have been safe for you to ride on me without some kind of equipment to hold you in place.” Paul laughed, Katie figured it was because of the face she was giving him. He bent down and gave her another quick kiss. “And without knowing who your parents are, I cannot tell you what color you will be, or what abilities you will have.”

              “That sucks, on both accounts.” Katie grinned and then asked, “When I can finally change, can we have sex in dragon form?” She watched as Paul’s face filled with desire.

              “If we are mates, then yes. But you should know, that is how we conceive children.” Paul’s hands started moving up and down Katie’s back, causing her body to tremble with need.

              “I am okay with the idea of both of those.” Katie winked at Paul. “As a matter of fact, I think you should carry me back downstairs, take me into the bedroom, and we should practice making babies.” Katie barely had the words out of her mouth before Paul picked her up and ran back down the stairs to her apartment. Katie laughed the whole way down. They went straight to the bedroom where they had hot, steamy sex all night.

***

              After sex, Katie had fallen asleep in Paul’s arms. She cursed when her phone went off telling her it was time to get up and get ready for work. She laid there for as long as she could before she forced herself to get up. She moved around quietly so that she would not wake up Paul. She went into the closet and grabbed some clothes, then slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower. By the time Katie got out of the shower, she only had ten minutes before she needed to be headed out the door. Silently cursing, she threw on her clothes and made her way into the bedroom, stopping for a few moments to admire the man lying in her bed.

              Katie never thought that she would have a man that she could fall asleep next to, let alone one that looked as good as Paul. He was just completely perfect in every single way. And the best part was, he seemed to really care about her. She had never had that in her life. Sighing, Katie reluctantly walked out of her room, going straight to the kitchen to grab her coffee and a bagel.

              As Katie walked to work, she ate her breakfast and then finger-combed her hair. She felt a lot calmer than she did the day before as she walked through the front doors at the Elders building. She looked around but did not see anyone there so she just walked to the elevator and waited patiently for it. As soon as the doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the button for her floor. As the doors closed and the elevator lurched upward, Katie looked around. She froze when she caught her reflection. Staring back at her were a pair of blue eyes with gold flakes.

              Katie’s heart started to pound in her chest, her breath becoming short and fast. She knew it meant that Paul was right about her, and that he was most likely her mate. It also meant that anyone in this building that looked at her would also know what she was. She was standing in a building full of male dragons for Christ’s sake. This was bad.