Dragon Guard: Earth Dragons Series: Book 1 Read online

  “Fake hair,” she quickly said. “They attach it…somehow. I don’t know the ins and outs since I’ve never had it done. My sister would not have been able to grow her hair this quickly. How recent was the picture taken of her?”

  “It’s approximately two months old.”

  “See,” she shook her head, “I can’t be her.” Page turned around. “My hair is too long.”

  Damn but he still didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know about the hair. I can’t remember the length, only the light coloring. Yours is exactly the same. Your eyes and mouth are identical. A tropical ocean blue and lush full lips.” He spoke like he liked what he saw, his eyes dipping down to her mouth, something heating in their depths. Come on! She was reading this wrong.

  How did she convince him? “What about my boobs?” she finally blurted, feeling completely exasperated. It was the one thing that was slightly different about the two of them. “Mine are somewhat smaller than Alex’s. Or should I say…not quite as big, since I’ve never suffered in that department.”

  Chapter 4

  As hard as he tried, he couldn’t help it when his gaze moved down to her lush breasts. She wore a pair of faded jeans and one of those long-sleeved shirts. Light grey cotton and snug-fitting. Especially around that section of her anatomy.

  His groin tightened when he realized she was wearing a lacy bra. At least, that’s what it looked like. He could just make out the outline of her plump nipples.

  “Hello.” The female waved her hand. “Excuse me…you can stop undressing me with your eyes now.”

  Then it hit him. Fuck! The female was right. He nodded once. “You’re not her. I believe you now.”

  “What? Why do you suddenly believe me?” She put her hands on her hips, thrusting her magnificent chest out even more. By scale but she was beautiful. Beautiful and not a slayer. Well, more than likely not. A great combination in his opinion.

  “Um…” What were they talking about? Oh yes! “Your breasts are smaller. Not by much though. They’re still very plump.” He smiled, realizing he looked a bit goofy, but unable to help himself.

  “Unbelievable,” she all but growled, looking angry. “You actually recognize that I’m not Alex based on my breasts? I wasn’t being completely serious when I said that in the first place.”

  “You were being serious though.” He frowned, not understanding what she meant. “Like I said, your…mammary glands are…less big.” He was sure to use her words this time, knowing that human females could be touchy about their bodies.

  “Excuse me!” She sounded mad. “You can look me in the eyes now.” He could hear that she wasn’t happy.

  Oops! He’d made a rookie human error. No staring at their breasts, no openly scenting them. “Sorry!” He quickly lifted his gaze, meeting her blazing blue irises. Just then, he picked up the sound of wings flapping in the distance. “Quiet!” he growled below his breath. Mountain pushed himself against her, her back was plastered against the large trunk of a nearby tree. Her stunning tits were pushed up firmly against his chest. Not thinking about that! He watched her face as it turned stormy. She was preparing to tear him a new one. He pointed up. “Shhhhh,” he murmured.

  Her eyes widened as understanding filled them. Not ten seconds later a shadow passed overhead. He stayed put as the minutes ticked by. Mountain could scent her floral vanilla scent beneath the smoky smell of fire. He could hear her heart racing. Her breath as it filled and left her lungs. He could feel her heat, yet could still hear the almost silent flapping as the dragon continued to circle. What was wrong with him? He should shift and take her back to his lair. Should call on the dragon above them, right then to assist him. His kings would want to question her. This slayer. No, maybe she wasn’t a slayer. She didn’t have the mark. Yet, he could feel all of her softness pushed up against him. Mountain strangely believed her when she said she wasn’t one of them. She seemed genuinely concerned about her sister. Genuinely shocked that the female wasn’t on dragon soil.

  Then again, maybe it was his dick talking. He was attracted to Page. She was sexy as fuck. He’d jerked off to that picture of Alex on numerous occasions. That was how he knew about the breast size difference. If that made him a sick fuck, then so be it. Page was quite lovely and now he’d captured her. During a hunt. Captured! Wait a minute…!

  “Is he gone,” Page whispered.

  That’s when he realized he still had them up against the tree. All of Page’s softness against him. Her eyes were wide, she bit down on her lower lip. He could scent fear.

  “Sorry!” He stepped away. “I was just making sure, and yes, he’s gone.”

  “Okay…shew!” she exhaled. Then her eyes flashed to his. “Wait just a minute. Why did you hide us? Why didn’t you call that dragon over? Turn me in?”

  He clenched his jaw. Not sure how to answer. “I don’t know.” He finally went with the truth. “I should have.”

  “But you didn’t…because you believe me.” She smiled. The female…Page, was gorgeous when she was angry, even more gorgeous when she was serious. She was an absolute stunner when she smiled. “Hello!” She narrowed her eyes on him. “What’s going through your head? You got this strange look in your eyes.”

  “I should have turned you in and maybe the next time I will. I haven’t decided whether I believe you or not. I’m pretty sure that by the time we get back to my lair, I’ll have a better idea of what to do with you though.”

  “Of whether or not you’re going to help me, you mean?”

  “Help you with what?”

  “To get back home so that I can find my sister.” Page worried her lip, looking nervous.

  Mountain had something else in mind. Something else entirely but helping her find her sister would be a given as well. Only so that he could turn Alex in, of course, which might be problematic. It was a bridge he would cross when he got to it. There were several hoops that needed jumping through first.

  Then her shoulders slumped. “I just realized that you guys are really fast…especially when you shift into your dragon form. I mean, you can fly for goodness sake. That doesn’t give me much of a chance to sway your decision. We’ll be back at your lair in no time.”

  “I’m not shifting. You will have plenty of time.”

  She frowned. “You’re not? Why not? I don’t understand…”

  “If I shift, we’ll be spotted. We’re hiking back. I want a chance to get to know you. To decide if I trust you. It’s ultimately up to you though. Either I shift and get you back pronto but then you’re on your own when you get there, or we hike back. You will then have to prove to me that you’re not a slayer.” He wasn’t being completely honest by offering her a choice. In reality, there was no choice. He would need to take it slow to make absolutely sure she wasn’t being followed or concealing a tracker. To be sure she was telling the truth, really. There was no way he was taking her back to his lair until he was sure about her. The lives of his people were at stake. That’s what it boiled down to in the end. If she felt like it was her choice, life would be a whole lot easier.

  She cocked her head. “It would be strictly to decide whether you trust me, you don’t have an ulterior motive? Or do you?”

  He shouldn’t have ogled her breasts like that. “Relax!” he snorted. “I need to know whether or not I should help you. I must be completely off my rocker because I’m inclined to believe you.” He winced when she clapped her hands and smiled broadly.

  “So, you’ll explain everything to your people and let me go, so that I can find Alex?” Her eyes darkened with anxiety as she said her sister’s name.

  “Don’t get too excited yet. Just because I want to trust you and am inclined to believe you, doesn’t mean that I’m convinced yet.”

  “I understand why you would feel that way. I just wish I could convince you now! I need to get to the bottom of this. I’m not Alex. I don’t have a tattoo.” She touched her hand. “I’m not part of the organization. I need to find my sister. I
don’t have time to mess around. Plus, I’m not sure how spending time with me will change your mind either way.”

  Mountain paid special attention while she spoke. Her heartrate remained even, as did her breathing. Page showed no telltale signs of lying. Humans were fairly easy to read. It didn’t work all of the time, but he could generally tell if a person was telling the truth or not. Their heartrate would go up, their scent would change. They’d very often fidget or not look you in the eyes while they spoke. Then again, she might be a very good actress. Mountain wasn’t taking any chances. He hoped Page was telling the truth but only time would tell. He’d get to the bottom of this.

  “It’s how it’s got to be. If we hike back, I’ll be in a better position to help you. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Is that because you’ll trust me?”

  “There’s more to it.” Maybe. Hopefully.

  “How so?” she narrowed her eyes.

  “That’s all you need to know for now. I guess you’ll have to trust me on that note. If we go back quickly, you’ll have a hard time convincing my people that you’re not a threat. I won’t be able to protect you because I don’t know you.” Mountain knew this female wouldn’t like his real plan. He would tell her about it at the last possible moment. “It’ll take two or three days to make it back.” It would take twenty-four hours tops but he needed more time with this female, to be sure she wasn’t the enemy. “You have exactly that long to convince me.”

  “What will happen if I can’t?”

  “I’ll hand you over for questioning. One way or another we’ll get to the bottom of why you are here.”

  “I already told you. You and your people can question me all you like.” Her eyes blazed and her little hands curled into fists.

  “If you’re telling the truth, I’ll know soon enough. I promise I’ll protect you and I also promise to help you find Alex.” Most likely so he could turn the female in. He struggled to believe that Alex wasn’t a slayer. Page was mistaken.

  “She’s a good person.” The female looked at him with defiance in her eyes.

  Mountain shook his head. “We may need to agree to disagree on that one.” The female in question had kidnapped people. Had them tortured and had even shot more than one of the water dragon males. Good person? Like hell!

  “She is…I swear. Our father—”

  Mountain put up a hand. “We will have plenty of time for talking. Trust me…I want to hear all about it. Right now though, you need to take off your clothes.”

  She blinked in surprise. “Did you say take off my clothes? I thought I heard you say that, but…but… that can’t be—”

  Mountain nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I said. Strip! Do it now, please.”

  Chapter 5

  Page felt like asking him the same question again. She felt like checking to see if she had heard correctly because surely it wasn’t the case. He wasn’t really asking her to undress, was he?

  “Um...I normally expect dinner and a little dancing before I get naked for a guy. At the very least, knowing his name would be a good start.”

  The big bear of a man shook his head. “I’m sorry. How rude of me. I’m Mountain.” He held out his hand.

  “Mountain…right.” She took his much bigger hand, marveling at how warm it was. How rough and calloused his skin felt. He really was a mountain. His name suited him. He looked like a linebacker. Tall, wide shoulders and packed with muscle. A gorgeous silver tattoo glinted on his wide chest. He wore blue cotton pants and nothing else. Not even shoes. His eyes were a stunning golden chestnut color. His jaw was lightly stubbled. Now that she’d gotten over her initial shock, she realized he was attractive. Very different to Shaun, who was average height and build with perfectly styled hair. Her fiancé ‒ ex-fiancé ‒ she needed to keep reminding herself of that fact. Why was it so darned hard to remember? Thankfully, given the situation, no fresh pain flared, she was too busy trying to talk her way out of—

  Mountain gave her hand a squeeze, bringing her back from her own musings. He then let it go. “I want to find us somewhere safe to hole up for a few hours.” He looked up into the canopy above them. “At this rate, someone is bound to spot us.” His jaw clenched. “You would be taken immediately.” He looked like he didn’t like the idea. “We need to hurry this up. Take your clothing off and we can be on our way.” He shuffled his feet, folding and unfolding his arms.

  “No way!” She shook her head. “You’re nuts. Why do I have to undress?”

  “Your sister wore a tracking device. Thankfully it malfunctioned because it could have led the slayers straight to one of our lairs. I can’t trust you yet, even if I wanted to.”

  “A tracking device? You seriously think I’m wearing a tracking device?” If Page dug deep, she could understand his concern. Still, making her strip seemed a bit drastic.

  “I’m sorry, Page, but I have to be careful. We’re about to hike to my lair. I could lead you straight to my people. Hand you the location of my lair on a silver platter. Your father is bad news. The slayers would come and annihilate us. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.” He kept explaining himself, looking slightly flustered. “If it helps any, shifters are used to nudity. It’s natural for us.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.

  “It’s not natural to humans,” she muttered, more to herself than to him.

  “I see you’re not wearing any jewelry…” His gaze moved from one hand to the other, zoning in on the finger where, up until recently, an engagement ring had sat. He cleared his throat, his eyes moving to her watch. “That has to stay here.” He pointed to her watch.

  “It’s my Fitbit.”

  “I don’t care. It has to come off…I’m sorry. I don’t want to argue. This is how it has to be. It’s that or I’m alerting the next dragon who comes overhead, and we’re taking you in.”

  “Fine,” she huffed. Shaun had given it to her. Maybe it was better if she took the thing off. She began to unbuckle it, pausing, what if they got back together though? He wouldn’t be happy if he found out she’d lost it.

  “Page,” the shifter said for a second time.

  “Um…sorry…yes.” She shook her head, trying to snap out of it. She wasn’t used to being called that again after all these years.

  “We need to hurry,” Mountain urged.

  “Sorry, yes, I understand.” She looked back down at her watch.

  Screw Shaun!

  He had broken off their engagement. He was the one who had moved out. He was the one having coffee with someone else. Not the other way around. She yanked the watch off her arm and put it down on the ground. “Are you sure this is completely necessary?”

  “I’m afraid so. Hand me each item of clothing so that I can check them. I also need to be sure that you don’t have one attached to your body somewhere.” He looked up at the branches overhead, his eyes narrowing.

  “Is it another one?” she whispered.

  He put a finger to his lips, gesturing to the tree. She quickly pushed herself against the bark, hugging her arms around the trunk. Mountain came in behind her, pressing his huge body against her. He was hot, making her think that dragon shifters ran at warmer temperatures than humans.

  She shut her eyes as the shadow loomed overhead. Page felt his breathing pick up. Hers did as well as adrenaline surged. Was this the same creature from just before? Did he suspect that they were hiding? She prayed hard that they wouldn’t be discovered. The last thing Page wanted was to have to prove herself to the dragon species, who would see her as a huge threat. Not two hours ago, a dragon had fire-bombed her from the sky. It was a miracle she had even survived. No, she needed to do what this dragon said. At least for now. She didn’t have much of a choice.

  Mountain stiffened. There was a cracking noise. At least, if she strained her ears she picked it up. No, it was gone. Had she been hearing things? Wait! Was that…? Holy shit! It was! Yes, there it was again, an almost silent footfall. She realized that she couldn’t
hear the flapping noise from before. Was that him? The dragon?

  She concentrated on breathing slower, on staying calm. Page hadn’t been to church in a while, but she found herself praying. It seemed to take forever. Mountain hardly breathed. He didn’t move.

  Finally…finally…there was the sound of flapping again and then silence.

  Mountain finally stepped away from her. He was frowning heavily. “Let’s go!” he whispered.

  “Was that…?”

  He nodded. “That was close.”

  She pushed out a breath, her eyes feeling wide. “Too close.”

  “Let’s go…we’ve got to move before he comes back.”

  “How the hell did he miss us?”

  “We’ll talk later.” His eyes were blazing.

  “What happened to stripping?” she whispered back. Why had she even asked that? It seemed like he was letting her off the hook, so why make a big deal of it?

  “We need to get to safety before we are discovered.” She noticed that he still spoke under his breath and that his eyes kept straying to the canopy above.

  “Do you think that dragon knows we’re here?” she whispered.

  “I think he suspects that something is here. There is a good chance it was the same one from earlier. Let’s get moving. You need to be quiet. I suggest that we don’t talk for the time being.”

  She nodded once.

  He hunched down in front of her, facing away from her.

  “What are you doing?” Page whispered.

  “I’m making it easier for you to get on my back.”

  “I can walk you know.”

  “I’m going to run, and you won’t be able to keep up. Also, I’ll be a lot quieter than you.” He said it all as a matter of fact. There was zero sign of an overinflated ego.

  Okie dokie then! Page climbed up on his back, locking her ankles around his middle.

  Mountain hoisted her higher, holding onto her thighs to keep her in place. Thank god she was holding onto his shoulders, or she might have fallen back as he took off, taking big, powerful strides. Her mouth fell open at the sheer speed. She quickly closed it though when a bug almost flew in it. Page held on for dear life. She realized something else, he was quiet. She couldn’t hear his feet land. There was no crunching of gravel or snapping of twigs. Nothing!